Sports Harden the Body

There is growing popularity as a CCA among primary school children. Many parents encourage their children to pick up the sports as it is supposed to build stamina and character. The trainings are arduous and likely to inflict injury for beginners. However, continuous training builds up poise and the stamina. The injuries are likely to lessen as the body hardens.

Actually, the same applies for yoga even though yoga is meant to be a milder sport relative to gymnastics. Yoga philosophy believes in understanding the body so that we build up our body strength without inflicting injuries. We should stretch but not overstretch. While staying in certain positions, we must ensure that we can continue our normal breathing instead of feeling uncomfortable. We should have buffer strengths so that we can protect ourselves should we lose our balance. So why do I say it hardens the body as well?

I have always had weaker knees perhaps due to my numerous falls which seem to hit my knees. Hence, kneeling positions are often uncomfortable, especially prolonged kneeling. I will end up having blue-blacks on my knee caps just by kneeling for about 15 minutes. In yoga, there are many positions which require kneeling. Initially, redness and blue-blacks of my knee caps were common after each yoga lesson. Now, I no longer see blue-blacks or redness even kneeling for a prolonged period.

It is usually tougher in the beginning especially for things which we are not used to. Yet, we need to overcome this initial difficulty, then we can build our strength. If the fear of injuries deters us from taking the first step, we will forever be restrained by this phobia and we will not acquire the necessary strength and skills. Only by falling can we learn how to break the fall the next time we trip. Only by sustaining the discomfort can our body get used to a certain position or training and we no longer feel the discomfort subsequently.

I am not saying now I have full flexibility to contort my body upside down or left to right. I am also not saying that I am injury-proof like Superman (except against Kryptonite) or have strength of Hercules. My improvement may be inches and so small that it may be barely noticeable. Yet, one day I hope that I can proudly tell you that my sit-and-reach result exceeds that of my school days. If you are not my schoolmate, I will let you on a secret. My sit-and-reach is really borderline, ie just meet the minimum mark to pass during NAFA test in the past. Hence, you can imagine how bad I was, especially for a girl.

Generation Gap with Babies

I remembered I used to be able to hang around with younger kids pretty well. Now, I am very hapless around babies.

Yes, they are adorable and charming. However, other than my looking at them and their looking back at me, I seriously do not know how to behave in front of them. Should I play with them? But play what, especially for the younger babies who are not enough to hold their own toys or to identify with different things. Should I talk to them? Say what? It is abit awkward to talk in baby language, but in the first place, what are baby languages? Moreover, language is only the tool, what about the content? I cannot possibly just start with “BB” and continue with “BB” forever.

I am more lost when they start to cry. I immediately freeze. What should I do? How can I pacify them? What are they trying to say? What do they want? Carrying them is clearly not an option. They are so small and soft while I am so clumsy. Handling them with TLC (tender loving care) is almost impossible with my rather retarded motor skills and reflexes. What if I hurt them while I carry them? Worse. What if I drop them? Nope, the best way to protect the babies is I don’t even attempt to carry them. Period.

Maybe, I am so foreign because they are others’ babies. That’s what some people may innocently choose to believe. Nah, if I am already feeling so hapless within the few minutes’ span, I cannot imagine facing a baby 24 by 7.

Is this because the older I become, the further away I am from the thinking and the wants of the babies so that I lose the ability to communicate with them or the comfort of ease with them? After all, I have been a baby before and have gone through what they are going through. Yet, now with babies, it is almost as if we come from two different planets. No wonder, there are so many fairy tales resolving around the fact that adults lose certain abilities of the children. I wonder if those tales are someone’s figment of imagination or is there hidden truth.

Coordinator

I have undertaken a number of coordinator roles since end of last year - from the coordinator for total corporate product revenue roll-up budget, to the coordinator for total Singapore Business staff cost and to the recent annual product costing exercise. I used to have much respect for the coordinators as they are often facing the tightest deadline and to stay back the latest. Typically, any delay in timeline by each team member will snowball and squeeze the remaining time for the coordinator because the ultimate deadline never moves. However, my respect for them increased exponentially since I have a real taste of what it is like.

To be frank, most people are not that stringent when it comes to disciplining themselve to meeting deadlines. We often have thousand and one reasons, or should I say excuses, on why we cannot submit on the deadline despite being informed of the deadlines many moons ago. Or worse. Sometimes, even after we submit on the deadline itself, our perfectionistic self may discover "areas of enhancements", be it genuine rectification of errors or pure improvements, such that our earlier submissions are as good as no submission.

Many often misinterpreted coordinators to be pretty high profile and simple jobs. After all, aren't coordinators supposed to set deadlines and chase people for their submissions on the deadlines? Aren't they have nothing to do except to consolidate submissions? Aren't they not just a mailbox since when there are queries, they will direct back to the team members? Well, maybe there are coordinating roles which are cushy, but some of them could involve high level of stress and mass amount of data.

One of the key milestones for product costing has just passed. During the day before the presentation to the head for corporate products, it was again an intense exercise of roll-up, check formula, put in presentation slides - cut and paste many excel tables. Being not exactly having a very "keen eye" on details, checking tje integrity of the numbers and aggregation can be a tad stressful especially when I am not familiar to quickly discern any irregularity. Late submissions heightens the stress level when I need to roll-up quickly to have a first-cut view.

Somehow with the experience of the previous 2 exercises, I believe I have more expectations and feel like lost and overwhelmed. I believed I can enjoy the process more because instead of being flooded in the sea of data, I can take time to think through the analysis and pick up from my boss some skills on what to look out for. Doing coordinator provides the overview which may not be visible to someone who is just supporting a segment.

Notwithstanding the stress, I hope I can benefit more from this opportunity, be it in terms of technical knowledge, working with different people and learning how to manage stress and priorities. I hope I don't make too many mistakes along the way and cause inconvenience to anyone. Yes, I will continue to work hard. Please cheer me on. :-)

Repeats

I am watching a couple of repeated programs in TV now. Some of which I have watched before while some I have missed when they were first broadcast.

Sweets for My Sweet
Jade Seah and Michelle Chong enlivened the half-an-hour program with their witty and rather upfront questions on the romances of celebrities over different desserts. Even the more reserved and low-keyed celebrities were drawn into some chatty revelation under the close scrutiny of Jade Seah and Michelle Chong.

Each week, a pair of celebrity couple would be invited on the show to introduce some of the dessert stores that they frequent. Amidst the tantalizing desserts, the hosts quizzed the couple about how they first got to know each other and interesting events surrounding their courtship.

In addition to the gourmet desserts that were constantly featured, the celebrity gossip added spice to the saccharine array cakes, pastries, ice-cream to the traditional Kuehs and Tong Shui (Chinese sweet soups, literal translation). For the “Chocoholic” and those with a sweet tooth, the program offered new suggestions on possible areas to ‘heal’ your cravings.

So Simple
I was fascinated by the D-I-Y and go-green concept. It is a different concept from the usual spate of programs which revolve around fashion and food. No doubt, food and fashion may be featured in parts of the show, but the theme was more of D-I-Y or living philosophies of the various guests who proclaimed organic food and doing things ‘healthy’ for the mind, soul, environment and body.

We do not need the most expensive gifts to show our sincerity. Making gifts using our own hands to capture the happiest memories may be the best gifts. We do not need to devour food with the most expensive ingredients, but simple vegetables and home-cooked food could be the best for our bodies.

Hanazakarino Kimitachihe (花样少年少女)
I have talked much about this serial when it was first broadcast. Hence, I would not continue my blabber here. I just wanted to reiterate once more. The show was equally good even for repeats. Few serials could compete with it.

2 words: just watch.


For the first 2 programs, there were subsequently a second series but the repeats were for the first series.

Blocked Ears

I have sometimes taken many things for granted including some of my senses. The recent flu has caused my ears to be blocked for about a week so that for that entire week, there seemed to be a filter between my ear drums and sound. I cannot hear myself very well either which accounts for the louder than the usual loudness of my voice, until one of my colleagues has to ask me to keep my voice down.

Missing my normal hearing has also caused some insecurity because hearing is also one form of tell-tale sign of potential danger. When you cannot hear very well, you miss out alot of good things as well, such as the rustling of the leaves against the wind, the melodious melody when your neighbour's child is practising on his piano...

I hope my blocked ears will go away soon.

500th Entry

This is the 500th entry in my blog.

500 - half of a thousand
500 - 500 miles, a country song which is quite popular in my primary school days
500 - covers travel, food, emotions, wishes, memories, outings, adventures, and many more.
500 - covers a period of close to 2 years
500 - thanks for listening to my grouses, my hysteria, my queer thinkings

Let's cheer to another 500, and another 500, and another 500, and another, and another... ... ... ... ...

Back to the old story. Ahem. I am still waiting for the start of your story.

Return of the Flu With Vengence

I was on MC last week. I had to take half day leave yesterday and MC today to rest. The flu has come back, albeit with a vengence this time round. Not only do I feel more exhausted and weak. The nose kept running without giving me a rest. I lost any appetite for food. My throat felt dry. My nose blocked during the night and prevented me for having a good sleep. The lack of a good night's sleep aggravated the illness.

Was this a sign of my body protesting as I did not give it a good rest the first time I was down with flu? Or was this a sign of my aging body that even the slightest virus could easily conquered my immunity and ravaged my body? Or was this an early sign of a more serious ailment brewing? Morbid thoughts started to run through my head on my apparent vulnerability to this common infection.

Even my usual doctor did not seem to be able to save me from the discomfort of the illness. TCM failed to perform miracles. Thus, I sought the help of another doctor whom my sister held high praises for in her last consultation.

The disgnosis was that I was down with an allergy that caused my nose to run incessantly. He presribed me tablets to be taken both in the morning and at night. Hopefully, with adequate rest and the medicine, I will be able to recover soon. Feeling lethargic and confining to the home are making my mind restless.

Lunch Appointment with Excolleague

I met WK online while I was working at home during my MC. When he heard that I was down with flu, he asked if he should bring chicken soup down. Being ultra-thick-skinned, I unabashedly replied in the affirmative. He might not have expected such a response from me and immediately backed off saying that he would not be able to make it. Yet, he had chivalrously suggested we meet for lunch instead the following day.

I was abit apprehensive. Although he drove, his office was not quite a stone's throw away from my office. Moreover, I worked in the city area where many would frown just thinking about the jams and the ERP gantries. Hence, even 10 minutes before lunch, I was still wondering if he was pulling a joke on me. I nearly wanted to just join my colleagues for lunch until I received his SMS.

We drove. Correction. He drove us to Newton hawker where he recommended a fish soup bee hoon which was supposed to be good comfort food for someone who was recovering from illness. Although it was refreshing to venture out of Orchard for lunch, the lunch was an enjoyable one more for the company. It was good to be eating with a familiar excolleague who could probably take my bluntness in good jest (or was this too presumptuous on my part?) . It was good catching up with the happenings to this old friend (feeling slightly guilty for his kindness while I hardly take any initiative to keep more regular contact). Despite having not seen him for more than a year, there did not seem to be any awkwardness.

Nevertheless, happy times flew past. It was time to head back to office for meeting. I was glad that he still remained as cheerful and positive as ever. Keep going, WK!

New Favourite Cheesecake

The musketeers wanted to meet at a restaurant which I found at Hungrygowhere.com. When I reached the door of the restaurant did I discover that the restaurant has in fact closed down. We had no choice but to adjourn to another eatery which we could find in Plaza Singapura. The choice? Secret Recipe.

I had heard from Ah Peng previously that the cakes at Secret Recipe were delicious. Expectations were raised even before I tasted them. This started my agony over what I should have for my main course so as to leave stomach space for dessert later. In the end, I chose a soup and salad.

We decided to choose 2 cakes to share under my strong insistence of watching out for calories (definitely tipping in a northward direction). We went for rasperry cheesecake and chocolate and banana cake. To add on, we went for the frosty fruit drinks.

I simply fell in love with the raspberry cheesecake. The miky cheese with the sweet and sour raspberry were certainly a divine combination. It was one of the best cheesecake I had ever tasted. Most of the cheesecakes I have tried previously was either too heavy, too hard or too dry. This was moist and the blend of salty cheese, with sour raspberry and sweet chocolate crumps base was appetite whetting.

The chocolate-banana cake combined two of the ingredients which were supposed to make us happy. The sweetness would please anyone with a sweet tooth. However, personally I would still prefer the raspberry cheesecake with the soury tinge.

It is indeed a wonderful and satisfying meal.

Downpour. Drenched.

I waited.

I hoped the rain would subside a little.

10 minutes have gone by. 15 minutes. 20 minutes.

After 25 minutes, the skies remained overcast and there was not sign that the rain would be easing. It was already 7.55 am. I could not wait any longer.

Braving the rain with my big umbrella, I began my longer-than-usual walk to the train station with the slight floods and puddles of water.

One-fifth of my journey later, I needed to take shelter at the nearby bus-stop while I folded up my long pants to prevent the water seeping higher up my legs with the pants as the perfect conduit. Image? Who cares?

This folding of pants continued until I reached my cubicle. Despite my furious efforts to dry my pants by dapping with dry cloth, the situation is not alleviated. I quickly pour myself a hot cup of water to prevent falling sick. I dried myself (naturally in aircon?) after one hour.

When I thought all was well, I woke up this morning with a running nose which quickly took a turn for the worse.

Walk. See. Smile.

The musketeers met at Plaza Singapura this month for our monthly gathering. Since it was a stone’s throw away from my office, I decided to walk to our meeting place.

The walk was quite a happy one since the air was crisp and slightly cool after the rain in the afternoon. En-route, I passed by the Istana and the green patch opposite Meridien Singapore. The happy cows and the colourful portraits of famous artistes such as Marilyn Monroe and Joanne Peh drew smiles to my face.

I missed those happy cows. Whenever I was surprised by their sudden appearances on green patches where I least expected them to, I always welcomed their ‘greetings’. The scene was sometimes bordering hilarity. Yet, who says life should be serious all the time.

I was glad I chose to walk instead of the lazy way of taking a train ride. The walk has definitely boosted my spirits before my meeting with the musketeers.

Hey, they should thank the cows or they would be facing a gloomy face throughout the night.

Sweet Indulgence

I used to be a big fan of durian. Yet, for health reasons, I have purposely steered away from durians. Durians are top on my list of heaty food. All my closer friends can attest to the fact that I don't take to heaty food very well. Many common maladies, such as flu,cold, sore throat, fever, will welcome me open arms when I consume to much heaty food. Hence, durians are certainly a big no-no for me.

Yet, the long queue in front of the Four Seasons counter at Ang Mo Kio Hub always fascinated me. Is it really that good such that the queues never disappear even after a year since its opening when any associated novelty should have worn off? Moreover, the queues are present regardless of whether it is a week day or weekend.

Well, I finally lay my hands on the durian puffs (even though its durian pancakes seem more popular). It is almost like eating durian with the pastry almost melting together with the durian. I don't remember its more expensive and more famous competitor being as good. The smell and the taste of durian practically explodes in my mouth. The strong aroma lingers even after the puff is swallowed. This is almost tantamouth to eating the fruit itself.

Such indulgence truly makes my day. Yet, I hope I don't have to pay a high price of it through my health...

Sweating Over Financial Planning

Let's face it. Financial planning scares or intimidates everyone of us. Although I am trained as an accountant, I am abashed to say the thought of financial management overwhelmes me. Risk vs return? Long-term investment vs short-term speculation? Equities vs fixed income? If the mere terminologies already put you off, wait till you need to drill further into their relationship.

Is it a female thing? Somehow, when I was sitting through my financial management tutorials, I had to struggle with the computation of IRR (internal rate of return), NPV (net present value), Black Scholes' model. On the other hand, my male course mates were simply thrilled with the financial concepts. Many of them literally breezed through the course. Needless to say, financial management earned me my only C for my whole undergraduate study.

Now, I have to deal with IRR, NPV and ROIC (return on invested capital) computation on a day-to-day basis as part of my work. Financial management terms are no longer black holes to me. However, translating financial management to my own assets management (though I often retort to those who advises on asset management that I hardly have any assets), the phobia continues. Hence, everytime I have to talk to my financial consultant, a.k.a insurance agent, I have to brave myself for full concentration or I will start losing the content of our conversation. Even with superficial finance knowledge, it still takes alot of brain cells to process what he is conveying, I cannot imagine those who are new to financial fundamentals.

Kudos to the finance professionals who make things more laymen and less complex for financial idiots like me. Given that financial management is an important part of everyone's life, it is essential for us to have adequate understanding to plan for our retirement, our health and our dependents. Every cent counts towards the building of our nests. Hence, we cannot afford to take too many chances with our investments and risk management. With a knowledgeable and sincere financial planner, it can definitely help financial idiots, like me, to overcome our phobia and sweat less over the complicated issues.

Streetdirectory.com

I was appalled and disappointed to find out that Virtual Maps on Streetdirectory.com would be removing the maps. Streetdirectory.com has been a good directional source for me to find out how to get to somewhere and the time taken for each alternative. It is a shame that this service is no longer available. Hmm, hopefully I can find a replacement soon to help directional idiot like me.

Up, Up, Up... ...

I am not referring to the inflation rate of Singapore. Neither am I referring to the stock exchange. I am referring to the temperature in Singapore.

In some of the temperate countries, they will be enjoying the warmth of the spring with the cool breeze blowing. In Singapore, we seem to be right smack in the middle of summer. This is the time when I long to get into office. Why? For the free aircon of course.

Heat affects appetites. Not only do I feel hungry less often, I also start to shun anything that is soupy and boiling. I long for cool and crunchy food. Hmmm...now salad is certainly on my radar screen, especially those dress in balsamic vinegar. Yum yum, cool, refreshing and slightly sour... ... Best way to cool down in the white hot heat. =p