I think it's time

The end of another chapter is looming.

From a place of satisfaction and possibly stagnation, a significant but reluctant decision has to be made soon. It is a blessing to have this opportunity in the midst of a global pandemic, yet prolonged comfort has weakened my sense of adventure and willingness to push the boundaries.

Despite much hesitation, the longer-term potential is unmistakable so maybe I just have to grit my teeth through the short-term sorrow and sadness this decision may entail.

We shall see.
Maybe I'll bite.
Maybe I'll let it go.
And then it wouldn't matter again.

CCB Day −4

Incredibly, it has been almost 7 years since my last post. But hey, what better time to return back to my dusty little blog than during a lockdown (aka 'circuit breaker' 🙄).

By 3 April, I had already been working from home for almost 2 weeks and rumours were spreading like wildfire on Whatsapp about an impending escalation of social distancing measures. And then there was an ominous announcement that PM Lee would be addressing the nation at 4PM.

Basically, any little productivity I had been clocking went out of the window. I had been procrastinating for the longest time but I knew I had to bite the bullet sooner, rather than later.

And my worst fears came true — Gyms were going to be closed for good on 7 April.😱

Those dumbbells rotting in my Lazada cart were finally processed and I placed my order without payment. As I went for my late afternoon run, I concurrently made panicky calls to Sports Elements in Leisure Park Kallang and Velocity to reserve more weights.

Less than 2 hours later, I found myself at Sport Elements calculating the minimum number of plates required and the permutations involved. Who says basic mental sum was not useful in real life?

Price was no longer an issue. That salesgirl could have asked me for a kidney and I would have offered my liver as extra collateral. Nonetheless, my folks, who witnessed my shenanigans, were floored by the final damage... $238.85.

Oh well, as they always say, no pain no gain, right?

First World Travel Pains

Shortly after my London work trip, comes the New Zealand "do nothing" holiday. As with all other trips, it ended in the blink of an eye. I was ambitious. Almost to the point of naivety. Other than the trip down to Hamilton, I was going to be stuck in Auckland City, which in my opinion, was quite a boring city.

With no specific place to visit for over a week, I had great plans of re-organising my photos from my past trips, planning of the upcoming Sweden trip, complete a couple of projects from work (?!), blogging while reading a couple of books.

Instead, I spent half the time shopping. -__-" A great deal of time was spent in buying winter wear to survive the harsh bitter winters in Kiruna, Sweden. And going from shop to shop, New World and Countdown, buying souvenirs and groceries.

Nah, I didn't shop at Lim Chhour.

And just when I thought I was through with shopping in London. Hmm..

 And I thought that my T2 splurge was over in Australia.

Obviously, the short daylight hours and erratic weather didn't help. Not only did I fail to finish the only physical book I brought there, work had piled up considerably. It was horrifying trying to keep up with the numerous work emails. It didn't help that I had to attend a teleconference on my last night in Auckland.

To make matters worse, I missed out on weekend markets and found out about the "newly opened" islands: Tiritiri Matangi, Rotoroa, and Kawau Island. But it was too late due to limited ferry times on specofic days. Heck, I didn't even manage to stroll down Hobson Street! (I had lived there during my short student exchange stint)

My temporary "office"

Well, this will probably be my last "do nothing" trip in a long time. The writings were already on the wall when I went there with such a long to-do list. Clearly, that violates the very definition of "doing nothing".

Despite not being well-rested, this trip has opened my eyes to prospects on working overseas. $$$$$ There ain't any free lunch in this world, and some things gotta give, be it career opportunities, work-life balance, taxes and rent.

A piece of prime estate in the city is still rather affordable here!

As they say, 船到桥头自然直. I guess in the end, I will have to go where the Lord would take me to.

For now, if my boss asked me about my holiday, I would just let him know I truly need a sabbatical. :p

Mizuno Mystery

To maintain my IPPT Gold streak, it was time to let go of my Brooks shoes and welcome Mizuno for the first time. I always preferred the Mizuno logo to the Brooks logo. And by a stroke of "luck", Brooks shoes were no longer carried by Sportslink shops (i.e. heavily discounted) and the latest models were available only at their official retail outlet.

Instead of the usual S$129, the Brooks GTS Adrenaline 13 retailed at $169 (usual $199). And that alone was a good enough reason to grab a pair of Mizuno Wave Inspire 9 at $143 (usual $179).

Mizuno Wave Inspire 9
US Size 9, Width D

We Have A Saviour

Euro(vision) Crisis

In a parallel universe, not so different from this, the month of May marks the start of Eurovision Song Contest. Yes, it's that campy annual singing competition that everyone (European) loves to hate.

On initial glance, I thought that the song entries for this year were exceptionally bad, and deliberately so in order to ensure that the representative country would have no chance of winning.

Apparently, winning the contest comes with the honour of hosting competition in the following year. And these times of European austerity, the privilege of hosting Eurovision has become some sort of curse.

I've digressed.
So thankfully, there are interesting gems out there.

My Personal Top 3 Favourite Songs

1) Gréta Salóme and Jónsi - Never Forget (Iceland)
I know what you are thinking, but no. I'm not blindly supportive of anything Icelandic just because of my slight obsession with Bjork. The music video is teeming with such melodrama, it simply compels me to watch it repeatedly. Haha.

Long lost lovers. Check.
Violin solo performance with awkward spasms. Check.
Strings with booming timpani. check.
Dramatic mid-video pause. Check.
Snow covered landscapes, auroras. Check.

Of course, I personally find the song more apt for some epic wartime battle, as opposed to a rather banal story of reuniting lovers. -___-


2) Pastora Soler - Quédate Conmigo (Spain)
A simple music video shot on the budget, allowing Soler's voice to really shine...

She reminds me of Celine Dion though.


3) Compact Disco - Sound Of Our Hearts (Hungary)
This is what I would define as "my type of song". Admittedly, it boasts of neither strong vocals, lyrics or tune, but the lush, layered style is reminiscent of my favourite electronic artists such as Hybrid, BT.


Very atypical of a Eurovision song.

The Top 3 Most Annoying Songs

1) Valentina Monetta - The Social Network Song (OH OH -- Uh - OH OH) (San Marino)A deliberately blatant attempt to capitalize on the popularity of social media, but isn't that so... erm. 2008? Every minute of the song feels like I'm watching a dead horse being flogged.


2) Jedward - Waterline (Ireland)
I might have liked this song if I was a decade younger (OMG). Worst of all, they remind me of Steps. Agad, now I feel like bashing their stupid grinning faces.



3) Trackshittaz - Woki Mit Deim Popo (Austria)
Just plain f*^$ing annoying.



4) Buranovskiye Babushki - Party For Everybody (Russia)
Okay, the song isn't annoying, but it bugs me that they are exploiting grannies to gain votes. Say no to elderly labour!

The Understated Gems

1) Rona Nishliu - Suus (Albania)
This is probably the most depressing Eurovision song I've ever heard. The music video is disturbingly dark, and complete with extreme vocal histrionics.



2) Max Jason Mai - Don't close your eyes (Slovakia)
Arguably the angriest song of the lot, yet a refreshing change of genre amidst the sickly sweet songs out there.



3) Pernilla Karlsson - Nar jag blundar (Finland)
I don't even know whether Scandinavian jazz exists as a genre. But this has to be it. Stripped down to the bare basics, accompanied by a piano, cello and a dancer.

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