Brooks Once More

In 2009, I bought my first pair of Brooks shoes, Adrenaline GTS 9 at S$135. (No, the crappy army pair doesn't count. SAF credit points certainly don't count as money anyway).

Fast forward to two years later, I've decided to retire the well-worn pair. It had served me well in achieving IPPT silvers and gold.

As usual, it was off to Queensway Shopping Centre, the mecca for bargain shoes hunters. To my surprise, I was able to get the same updated series, Brooks Adrenaline GTS 11 for only $126!

A great bargain considering that the retail price was $169 and it was cheaper than the price I paid in 2009.

I purchased it rather promptly at Sports Interlink (#01-07/08/09/10/11/12), smugly thinking to myself that I had beat inflation.

My silly grin promptly disappeared when I dropped by Intersports (#03-11/29/30)... The same pair was selling for $118!!!

Yes, and I knew both of these shops were operated by the same retailer, Sportslink.

Essentially... Same retailer, same shopping centre, same shoes, different shops, different price.

I give up.

Brooks Adrenaline GTS 11
US Size 9, Width D

A Close Shave?

Just before heading out, I looked into the mirror for a cursory check on my hair. No, it wasn't in place.

I adjusted my fringe, tried to smooth out any stray hairs. No, it still doesn't look right.

My scalp. It's showing.

I tried to spread my hair across, but to no avail. Every time I distributed my hair across from left to right, the other side would start to show.

Shit.

My hair was thinning. My goodness, was this how I looked in the morning?! Why didn't anyone tell me about this??

I was getting frustrated. What was meant to be a habitual adjustment of my hair has turned into an almost full-blown crisis.

Damn it. Chemotherapy has finally taken its toll. Looks like I might need to shave soon.

I give up.

I got out of the washroom, hoping and willing intensely that no one would take notice of my hair... or the lack of.

Walking into the adjacent room, I noticed a sink with an array of shaving blades, brushes and powder. Alarmed, I walked briskly past a bald guy with an assistant, whom I assumed was helping him achieve that clean shaven top.

So what now?

Is it time to lose my mane of glory? The irony.

Then, I woke up.

2012, Another Beginning

Holy crap, it's 2012!

Just when I thought I couldn't be less active in my blogging, I've "surpassed" all expectations and managed to eke out a grand total of three entries for 2011. Needless to say, it's not that I'm too busy to pen my thoughts down, but I always seem to end up relegating blogging way down on my to-do list.

So enough is enough. It's time to start the year right by finishing up what I intended to briefly blog about almost a couple of months back.

Yup, it was my "homecoming" trip to New Zealand.

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So there… All good things must come to an end.

It’s always been that way. No matter how long the holiday stretches, there must be an end.

But it’s different this time too. I’ve remarked to countless others about this trip as “回家的感觉真棒”.

After spending 5 months in New Zealand on a student exchange programme, I’ve grown to fall in love with this country, and Auckland City in particular. Of course, for many others who have visited Auckland before, it is not a city that one can easily fall in love with.

I've heard many who have described Auckland as cold, faceless and without character, unlike other NZ cities like Wellington and Christchurch (before the earthquake). Of course, to be brutally honest, the  apparent "foreign invasion" from the Asian community certainly doesn’t help its case.

Yet it is this city that I’ve feel almost at home. The only foreign city that I can navigate around without any maps. Coupled with the idyllic pace of life and great company, I could not ask for more.

The cheap and wonderful whites help too!

Four years on, something felt different about Auckland.

New buildings and new shops have popped up, albeit at a slower pace than in Singapore. It has evolved, become more commercialized and international (aka Asian).

HuluCat Bubble Tea

Auckland City felt somewhat distant.

It was only weeks ago that I envisioned myself to be overwhelmed by bittersweet nostalgia, with every step I take or every corner I turn. After all, it was a place that I had dreamt of in my dreams on several occasions. No kidding.

Then it struck me.

The answer was clear as day.

Almost everyone I knew from my bioengineering courses, NUS and Overseas Christian Fellowship were no longer around.

The remaining two survivors...

Indeed, the fond memories I had of Auckland were defined by the experiences and relationships. Auckland was simply the place where these memories were forged.

Without the right people, the buildings remain as stoic and distant reminders of the better past.

It was time to move on and stop clinging on to the past.

Who knows what the future might hold?