Thursday, January 15, 2009

zhng-ed my bike

Bumblebee upgraded to

Assault Bumblebee

Friday, December 26, 2008

a merry merry Xmas!

many should have seen my Facebook status.

"Eugene is listed as in a relationship with Yi Mei Chong"

yup. amidst the much speculation, Yi mei (aka yims) and i are together after many several "tolls".

actually it all started back in August when we first saw and notice each other, for me, it was back at Sports Fiesta and her was our first Track training at CCAB. after that it was a long long agonizing process for the two of us.

throughout these months, it was like a guessing game. i dunno whether she likes me and she also don't. we did send out signals to each other but it was mixed signals. i think this maybe partially due to my "withdrawal" syndrome at times due to my tendency to hold back when things develop.

things became more obvious when i finally asked her out for a movie (on the excuse of relaxing after studying for the whole day!). even after that, things were still murky and i was on the verge of giving up. after that, why i change my mind.. well.. it's between us! haha.. don't kepo..

anyway yims went m'sia for 4 days last week and i almost died.. ask hao about it.. haha

but it gave me some time to do last minute preparation for the big xmas idea i have for her (as hao named it Operation XT).

well, the idea came that time (end nov i think) when i was eating supper with her and she told me about her work plan for Xmas.. then i told her that i "booked" her Xmas because i wanna spend it with her. then somehow, i asked about her Xmas fantasy before that and i remember that she said that she would like to decorate her own Xmas tree.

next day, i went to search for a place where we can set up a tree and decorate.. both our houses are out.. well for obvious reasons.. haha.. so i booked a room at this really cool hang out place for the 25th.

next is to find xmas tree. and i really wanna thank Xihao for helping me with these.. like walking everywhere to find the tree.. everywhere was like.. either oversized or really expensive! so we walked down Orchard road visiting every departmental store, go to Carrefour in PS then finally found the perfect one at Bras Basah (thanks to his recommendation!)

when i was at the traffic lights looking at the tree inside the shop, i was like "omg, that's it!".. then he responded "who's the man!? call me the man".. haha damn funny.. but i was damn glad to find it!

so went to buy some really nice decorations at Metro (theme is blue and white!).. and in an attempt to really make the xmas tree lives up to its name of "Tree of Yims".. i had an idea of printing photos of her since young so that the tree will have reflections of her happy times she had. well these require the help of Eunice and Samantha (two of yims's best friends) to send me photos they have. haha thanks so much, Eunice and Sam. owe u girls one!

haha as u know, guys suck at art and craft.. so when i had to cut the strings and stick it on, it was damn frustrating.. somemore have to be right size if not cannot hang on the tree properly! haha.. i swear i spend my whole day just sticking twine to 30 odd photos.

so everything is prepared and i even wrote out an itinerary so that mentally, i can prepare for everything! haha.. that's why i was damn nervous.

2pm: leave house with tree and decorations
3pm: check in with all the barangs and set up the room with my laptop (for music)
3.30pm: meet her at Cathay before having late lunch and walk with her to the hotel.
4pm: Surprise! and tree building time!
7pm: Walk to Cathay and watch Yesman (bought tickets beforhand already)
10pm: Movie ends and we go and buy Pizzas and wine/booze (occassion la.. dun judge me!)
11pm: reach back hotel room and eat/drink till we die and listen to music and talk. =D

i was so hoping she didn't have to work the next day.. which is well..today..

plan didn't work exactly! i called for early check in.. so i reach there around 2pm to check in.. everyone was just staring at this guy who just walked in with this huge ass box and big bag full of decorations! haha.. i swear i would dig out their eyes if i could!! hahaa..

then yims asked me to go to her house to wait for her.. which was all the way back at Bukit Timah.. but in an attempt to not break the "secret surprise", i went with an Apple strudel for her family (damn sudden cause i didn't prepare anything for her folks at home before that!)

so i reached her house and she passsed me this huge yellow box (FYI.. yellow is my fave colour).. and guess what.. everything inside is yellow! there's this cool yellow lamp, yellow towel, yellow mug, yellow Nike tee.. haha.. i told her i was so "yellow-fied" by her. haha. thanks yims! sorry couldn't bring the box with me.. i will collect it from ur houes again!

well.. after that.. everything went smoothly.. and i am glad she liked the surprise (right yims?)



i asked the question after we finish the tree. tree of yims =)

.. after many weeks of hesitation.. but as the Jason Mraz goes "i won't hesitate, no more, no more".. me too. and she said yes.

everything was dreamy after that.. just walking on the streets, holding her hands. had a good laugh at the movie. shopping for wine and pizza. eating and drinking till we almost die! and how we can just talk throughout the night..

and yup.. once again

Yimei and Eugene are together =)


cool room, nice tree, wonderful memories, tasty wine, yummy pizzas, listening to music we both like, talking our hearts out.. being with the girl u always want to be with.. what else would you ask for? =)

Xmas buildup and celebrations!

as some of you might know, these few months has been quite an emo roller coaster on me. from poor results ( and i mean really poor.. not those who get A- and sad that nv get A type of poor!), injuries which affect my training and of course, certain personal problems.

things have certainly turn in the positive direction. i am definitely going to focus (which i seriously lack in sem 1) on my studies and study smarter. an attempt to pull up my overall GPA! i can do it! i dun believe i can't after surviving A levels and Adv Dip..

__________________________________________________________________
Team Runfanatics had a Xmas gathering at my house on the 20th and we had lots of laughter and fun eating. well.. as runners.. even as entertainment, we watch a movie on Pre (one of USA's top runner who passed away young).. Sham came late and came to give us a very inspiring 2 hours speech. he even gave out awards for best sportsman and sportswoman of the year who so deserve it. cheers to Isabel (completing 3 marathons in 1 month and all around 4:30! damn good) and Andy (amazing athlete who has fantastic results for 2008).. Tricia was selected as Captain and i really think she is the best candidate because she always cheer us on during training and i believe she has the potential to lead us to better performance.. Go Tricia, the team manager (points at me) will be behind u!

training wise, Sham talked to me and.. his exact words were:

"eugene, u can be one of the top runners in S'pore.. all you need is hard work and patience.. be patient."

well as much as the fact of being one of the top runners locally is a daunting fact, he managed to convince me to work really hard towards that target. by "patience", i am sure if you are an endurance athlete, you would understand what it means. this is to pace yourself right, train properly, get enough rest and not overtrain. i learned my lesson from my injury back in Sep. it crippled my ability to run and brought me a lot of agony. at the same time, i disappointed a lot of people who pinned hopes on me. i guess... this is the process of growing up and maturing as an athlete. from now onwards, i will listen to my body and give feedbacks to my coach(es). i will be working closely with Sham and SMU long distance running coach to refine my training and achieve my goals.

i've set my goals in endurance sport for 2009. my focus will be more on triathlon instead of pure running. i believe the combination of swim,bike, run works for me because i am not particularly strong in any discipline but slightly better when all 3 comes together. i will be focusing on shorter distances i.e. Olympic Distance of 1.5km swim, 40km bike, 10km run. in running, i will primarily be doing 10k races and probably 21k for Standard Chartered 2009.

one aspect of being a smart athlete is to choose your race wisely. going for every single race is not constructive for one's body and it doesn't allow you to peak correctly. my races for the first half of the year is tentatively as shown below

1st March 2009 - Newton Active Run 10k (come back race for 2009)
7th March 2009 - Singapore Biathlon (preparation race for Bintan Tri)
23rd May 2009 - Bintan OD Triathlon (one of my major race for the year)

there are many competitors to look out for.. everyone is getting stronger.. so.. no slacking =P.. gotta train hard and train smart!

__________________________________________________________________

21st December marks the first time JEZ met out in like.. 10 million years! haha.. this time round.. it's slightly special as each of us bring the person special to us to the dinner..

had dinner at Manhattan Fish Market at PS which serves great food. (have to book days before.. if not sure no seats!)..took some photos there and we went to Toast Box to hang out further before leaving separately.. haha.. kinda awkward.. but interesting.. hmm.. haha

photos are here


=D


Yueshan & Hao.. newly got-togethers! happy for u folks!


Steve (aka fatbear) & Jielin (aka Vamps)


that's the folks!

Thursday, December 18, 2008

i'm yours


Well, you done done me and you bet I felt it
I tried to be chill but your so hot that I melted
I fell right through the cracks, now I'm tryin to get back
before the cool done run out I'll be givin it my best test
and nothin's gonna stop me but divine intervention
I reckon it's again my turn to win some or learn some

But I won't hesitate no more,
no more, it cannot wait
I'm yours

Well open up your mind and see like me
open up your plans and damn you're free
look into your heart and you'll find love love love love
listen to the music of the moment people dance and sing
We're just one big family
And it's our godforsaken right to be loved loved loved loved loved

So, i won't hesitate no more,
no more, it cannot wait i'm sure
there's no need to complicate our time is short
this is our fate
I'm yours

Scooch on over closer, dear
And I will nibble your ear

I've been spendin' way too long checkin' my tongue in the mirror
and bendin' over backwards just to try to see it clearer
But my breath fogged up the glass
and so I drew a new face and I laughed
I guess what I'd be sayin' is there ain't no better reason
to rid yourself of vanities and just go with the seasons
it's what we aim to do
our name is our virtue

But I won't hesitate no more,
no more it cannot wait
I'm yours

Well open up your mind and see like me
open up your plans and damn you're free
look into your heart and you will find that the sky is yours

so please don't, please don't, please don't,
there's no need to complicate,
Cause our time is short
This, this, this is our fate,
I'm yours
am i ready? again?

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

definition of bliss

u know, how in our lives, we have always strive to search for the definition of bliss and happiness. yet, we are still struggling in finding out the truth. i finally understood why it is so. that's because we are not in it yet, therefore we don't get the true meaning of it.

two of my dearest Team Runfanatics teammates are getting married in M'sia soon (which i will be driving for over 2 hours to! in a Honda Odyssey. scary..) Tricia and Billy, just to let you all know, i am really glad to see the both of you tying the knot because you two are just so made for each other.

i was very touched when i saw this on Tricia's blog. (Tricia, pls allow me to quote this here).. though it's not decorated in very flowery words, the definition capture the essence and personalise her very own feelings and thoughts on what bliss is all about. here we go.. enjoy..

"I have simple definitions of bliss.

When he takes pain and injures himself to fix up the study room because he feels I need more space to study.

When he’s tired yet still stays up to keep me company while I mug for exams.

When he wants to go out for a walk or train but still choose to come home to give me morale support.

When he ferries me to and fro school with no complaints.

When he gets up early on the morning of my exams and goes out to ta-pao vegetarian bee hoon for me to eat before I head out for school.

His frankness and honesty to reason with me what he feels is good and not.

When I’ve ordered hor fun and he orders mee goreng, yet I want to swap with him because I feel his mee goreng tastes better. He’ll willingly swap.

When my cooking is horrendous yet he’ll still finish them up and tell me it’s not bad. Hee!

When I want to run and he has an injury. He’ll still run with me.

When I start blaming myself for the stupid mistakes I’ve made, he tells me he’ll still love me no matter what.

When he shoulders on burden that should have been shared, because he wants me to save my money for studies.

When he always give me the best yet scrimp on himself.

Even when he was tired from all the extra assignments and part time work he had to do, he will always tell me it's ok, because he wants to earn more for our future.

When we dream about what we want to do in the years to come together."

Written by Tricia..

beautiful.. isn't it" =D

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Mr Nate's Birthday!

Mr Nate turns 2! (ok.. not until wed though!) but we had a fun fun celebration with him yesterday! Maye-e held a party at her house with good food and company! Almost everyone was there! it's only then i realise i have not seen them for SOOOOO long.. haha kinda missed them! Everyone was so energetic and funny esp Sandy who was especially high! you can go see my facebook about it. how she pose with the Dino's broken head! haha..

Mr Nate was so indifferent initially but he got into the spirit shortly after (that's kids!) We were all eating and chatting (about tri stuff again.. what else?) haha. then we went to the playground to play sparklers and play with the workout stations! damn fun.. hahaa.. everyone was like a child.. haha.

LET ME SHOW U MR NATE'S CAKE.. it's very nice and special!





THE WHOLE SESAME STREET IS DOWN! haaha super cool. i also want this for my birthday cake.

haha.. gotta head home early cause i have to wake up to go cycling today! but the whole party was fun and i think my abs are so painful from laughing!


you guys rock!

Ride today

Right. this morning i was suppose to wake up at 545 and start riding at 615 to meet the gang at 7am at longhouse (which is about 20km away). but i only woke up at 615 and left the house at 630. so i was kinda late! haha sorry folks!

but the ride was cool. big gang. i think there were about... 8 - 10 of us. the ride down mandai feels good! After repeated hills training, my climbing improved slightly! yeah Mt Faber was no easy shit. suffered on my way up and since my cornering ain't that fantastic, my coming down wasn't too smooth. haha. i only climbed once! wanted to go 2nd time but the faster guys went on their 2nd round already and the other group didn't wanted to go. and i don't want to climb by myseslf! haha. maybe another time!

but climbing is fun! it just takes your breath away. the lactic in your thighs just burn your soul! when i am climbing, the image of a Tour De France rider always coming to my mind (i.e Lance Armstrong). i've always admired my tenacity and strength.. so i am gonna train real hard for climbing! and of course, i need to get lighter wheels (Bumblebee need to go for TAF programme). Simple physics. The lighter your bike is, the easier it is to climb. of course, there are other factors such as your technique and power which need to be train! right now, i am still thinking between 404 and 606. still got time!

This brings me to the topic of Ash's 808 debut! you can fall asleep while riding beside him. as what i said (as i was too excited then), you can see the sound! it's so rhythmic to the ears as if they are singing to you. they just go "zong zong zong zong"... NICE!! mine will come very soon. not 808 of course.. because it's more for longer courses.

i am starting to love cycling (i used to like). or maybe because it's good for my injury and it provides me with a stronger challenge!