so glad u r around

One of the aspects I love most about dearie is his matured perspective. having to face a supervisor who often brings more frowns than smiles, he never fails to bring into rational viewpoint whenever I lose my sanity.

This morning, a whole lot of rubble was stirred up and that caused the whole suspension to be murky and turbulent. He called and talked me through the problem.. and having realized it was my mistake that I have overseen the email, I took moments off to reflect. Within minutes, I felt a lot better and things were put into perspective again.

Like dearie said, looking on the positive note of things, at least she is meticulous to pick up little mistakes which I often overlook. This is something I have to learn. By working with her more, I hope I can pick up this trait; which may not always be a bad thing to have. in some ways I find myself stupid, because having worked under her for the past 5 months I am still oblivious to the things she looks out for. The lightbulb lit up above my crown today. Yea, I really should be more careful with those nitty gritty stuff she picks all the time. now I know where and how I can remedy the situation – to have no errors for her to pick whatsoever.

another point dearie pointed out - i work for myself, not her. at the end of the day, i need to work to be paid. and yes, in the all-gloom-and-doom economy out there, it is paramount to have a job, that pays! this jobs has little to wow about, but essentially it pays me. i need the money to study and function.. so there's no escape from it.

i agree totally with dearie on the next point to- no matter where i go, there will always be difficult people to deal with. i can't expect them to fit into me, as i am in no position to expect so. she's a salaried employee of the company too, therefore if she tries something funny, she will get the boot!

A spouse is like a blind-spot picker. It’s having someone who dares to spar with you and tell your mistakes face front. And sometimes, he even helps twist my head left or right wards to understand there is more than just one way of looking at things. thank you dearie.. for being that person who plays this vital role in my life =)

have i posted this photo before? to me the photo depicts all i want to say. he holds me hand and runs along side with me, my dearie billy.

deepa curry photos

what we needed for the dish

the final product

dearie tucking into the curry with brown rice
yay! dearie cleared out the entire bowl!

but that's what he looked after wolfing down all that =P

i only realised i forgot this when i was washing the dishes =(
verdict: 7.5/10 (if only i have added the milk! argh!!)

deepa curry

I gave dearie a surprise yesterday on deepavali holiday..actually not much a surprise as he went grocery shopping with me.. I cooked him one of his favourite food – CURRY! Feasted on curry, on deepavali. How apt!

Dearie scored it a 7.5 (out of 10 and not 20 I hope! =P).. however, I feel I’m far off from what mum can do. =( I burnt it a little.. added the stuff in the wrong sequence..and added way too much water.. best thing, I forgot the milk!!?! Argh. Stab stab stab myself!

I’ll upload the photos tonight. Let me find the photo of what mum cooked vs mine. It’s heaven and 3 feet down the earth. I need to practice more. Hence dearie got to bear with a few more experimental rounds. Perhaps I should consult shi-fu for enlightenment; instead of dumping all the ingredients into the pot.. on top of that, I certainly need a deeper pan because our frying pan is too shallow..and using the pot caused everything to stick. I had a hellish time scrubbing up the mess. =X

Hope dearie liked the surprise nonetheless.. =)

We spent the holiday in our best loved simple way. morning we went for a run around our home.. I did about 11.5km..and dearie did a lot more.. after which, he managed to pump up the basketball and we played that at a court nearby. It was pretty evident I don’t have much a making of a basketballer as after 15mins of throwing and dribbling..my arms were wobbly and all the shots went haywire. Dearie taught me a few nice moves. Haha. I commented on how we should form a team the next time we play basketball during runfanatic training.

Exams are fast approaching; so are assignment deadlines. There’s plenty to be done. Work hard now, enjoy later =)

p.s: the photo on the left is NOT the curry i cooked. will upload the photos of the one i cooked in the next few days.

emerging out of it

Dearie came to the rescue of this damsel in distress. Tadah! I’m alive..kicking..and making a whole lot of fuss again. ho ho ho!

It’s terrible to be stuck in a rut. I hate being in the ultra-pessimistic mode. A listening ear from dearie and a power-nap helped made the world a little brighter. Not that those thorns in the flesh dissipated into thin air..nor did dearie hocus-pocus them into submission.. nonetheless, I came into resignation that these thorns in life exist for a reason.

Instead of focusing my time on negative energies like these, I prefer to channel my attention to things that excite me. my bones ache for a good workout and I can’t wait for tomorrow’s training and mon’s mr relay.

Want to run more on mon, so praying for good weather! 2 tuition following that..then I get to stay home and do some studying.

A lot to catch up on. I’m lagging behind revision. =(

So quickly..we’re coming to the end of October. One step nearer to bonus. not looking forward to appraisal because thorn A is conducting it. bleah.

thorn

He’s a thorn in our lives; some one I wish I could remove for good. Why can’t he learn and grow up? Have we not been accepting enough? He has always seen me as a failure; I’ll never forget the words he used to condemn my life with. Over the years I’ve learnt to ignore his never ending wants. Just leave them, after a while he forgets about them. However these days he’ll jack his wants up and goes out to get them on his own, after which claiming from the company. Argh. This is ridiculous and I wonder how can I put a stop to it. Mum is torn..and she always give in. I’m infuriated but there’s nothing I can do.

It saddens me tremendously that I can’t do anything to rescue my mum from a person like that. I wish I am successful, then I can get my mum to stop working, stay by my side and retire.

This will be my driving force.

What I envisage and working towards:

- graduate with masters in 1 year’s time. Take graduate photos with family =)

- change job. Hopefully something better paying and with better prospects

- work hard to earn more and do well in career

- have a kid!

- buy a bigger flat

- move mum in so she can take care of the kid

- earn enough to be able to go for family holidays once a year

- dearie and I drive a Subaru forester =)

The above is still subjected to approval with dearie..but that’s what I dream of having and those are what I’ll be working towards.

If u haven’t notice, he’s not in our plan because I don’t intend to include him in the first place. mum is the closest kin I have next to dearie.. and she will always be one of the driving forces behind me. I remembered working hard during exams and what kept me going was always mummy’s encouragement. She never fails to tell me “jia you, do your best” in the morning before my exams. I learnt not to be a burden to her and I will continue to do that..i want to be the one to lighten her burden..and in the years to come, I want to carry her burden for her.

We don’t just live for ourselves..our lives intertwined with the loved ones around us. I live for dearie..my mum..my family, friends..and myself =)

time of unrest

What goes on in her mind baffles me. the rift between her and us has widen drastically because of what she just did today. I find her foolish for not considering what her actions would have done. It’s not before long when no one in the department would want to even utter a word to her. I wonder if it was of these same reasons she left her earlier jobs.

We won’t know when she’ll strike and I find her actions erratic. A part of me feels the uncertainty gnawing on me. I am struggling to hang on solely for the bonus.

i must put my guards up now as it is a time of unrest. For as long she is around, there will not be peace and we are all susceptible to her manipulation.

How long can I last? 2 months? 6 months?

training and shoes

Despite feeling totally shacked out, I totally enjoyed the training yesterday. I haven’t pushed myself so hard for quite a while and I embraced every moment of it. Christine did a longer 5km set while wee ling and I were asked to do the 600m and 400m sets. I definitely did better than my Monday attempt. Running alone vs running with someone.. the latter made me work harder. I value sham’s coaching..and from now till end of the year, I’ll want to be diligent in attending training sessions. Christine lost quite a lot of weight and she looks fantastic now. I remember the first time she joined us, she struggled to finish the 3km run. Yesterday, she completed 5km in 35mins. Impressive!

I managed to meet the 75% assignment target but I got this huge cloud of blur-ness on top of me when I got there. I am lost in the myriad of terminology and concepts. Alike last term, qm was the module that got me worrisome, this term it’ll be POF(principles of finance). econs is more of concepts, less of calculations.

Right now I’m working on my assignment..going through my notes..text..whatever I can do to complete it by the next 1-2days.

I’ve been wearing the black leather shoes dearie bought me about 2 years ago. The leather has cracked..the left sole has a little hole..but I can’t bear to throw them away.. these are the most comfortable shoes I’ve owned so far..and it cost dearie over rm100. dearie bought me another pair of black leather shoes to replace these some while ago, nonetheless, I haven’t started using the new one. Whenever I’m tempted to shove them down the chute, I remember dearie’s shoes. The last pair he threw away was worn till the sole nearly came off. The current pair he has has a hole on one side but he’s still wearing them. Somehow he has rubbed his thriftiness on to me. he’s always generous to buy things for me but stingy on himself. It reminds me not to take things for granted..and I will only throw away things when they are beyond using condition. =)

Today’s john’s bday! Happy birthday to you, brother! =)

double yay!

i gotten a hd for accounting. i was hoping for a d actually..but i'm thankful.

thank you dearie for keeping me company through the nights i studied..even till times u were so tired u dozed off on the sofa..

thank you mummy for helping me check my assignments for errors.

will work harder this term. this is the first small hurdle. i know there are many tougher ones way ahead and i will press on.

this smiley face cuter rite?

things coming together

Tricia pats herself. Not bad not bad. I managed to complete 1 quarter report out of the 2 required. Reason being the other company’s accounts is currently still under adjustment, hence I am not able to proceed with preparation of the reports. secondly, I finished my POF assignment 1 half way. yay! I managed to slog till almost 12mn to hit the half way mark. Due to a meeting yesterday, I didn’t get to even open my POF file, lest work on it at all.

Today’s resolution:

1. Prepare the template for quarter report. this will speed up the process when the accounts are ready.

2. Start a little of the conso worksheets. Probably the related parties transaction and inter-co recon.

3. finish POF assignment up till 75%. That means hit item 7 or 8 by today.

As I sat at the bus stop reading business times before tuition, I felt the articles in the papers seem to mean a lot more now. prior to the econs and finance class, I read them at face value..now I feel I have a better understanding of what am I really reading. Especially on recession and economic downturn.. the micro and macro effects on the economy. Why Singapore has such huge reserves..why must it understate its budget surplus..how budget deficits are financed by government debt.. balance of payments..what kind of role does central banks play.. the spike in interbank lending rates.. LIBOR, SIBOR.. how the government simulates the economy by injecting government spending..lowering interest rates.. fiscal and monetary policies.. everything seems to link together seamlessly and I simply love the big picture of things I am getting. It’s like this huge and jumbled up puzzle bits coming together to fit.. there are still a lot of missing pieces I am gathering..but honestly I am looking forward to the next econs class!! Can’t wait to hear more of what Prof Peter Wilson has to impart to us =)

I wore a top which I kept in the closet for a long while yesterday..i felt it fitted badly on me; like the checkered pants I wore last week. somehow I felt it was tacky and I looked pretty awful in it. I’m packing it away after laundering it.. it’s becoming evident that clothes I’ve worn 5-6years ago do not always fit as they do anymore, even though I haven’t grown “out” of them.. perhaps they have outlived the era they belong to. haha.

Looking forward to training this evening. Rickety old bones getting her act back. I must admit my fitness has dropped drastically. but I do agree with wee ling that it’s not too late to start! I have less than 1.5mths to scsm and I do hope I can maintain the same kind of timing I achieved last year. Not confident of it, but I will do whatever I can. I am a fighter, and fighter doesn’t give up without a fight.

lazy bugger gets her act together

I confess I’ve been slacking with my POF assignment. I do need to get my act together, yet my brain isn’t moving as efficiently as I want it to be.

By hook or by crook, I must finish half of it today and another half tomorrow. c’mon tricia, stop being the lazy bugger!

I lost my momentum in reading articles etc..i still got a whole stack of FT under my desk.. a whole file of articles I want to peruse..and several print outs I want to investigate into. These days I lug around too much. way toooo much.

Some things I resolute to do today

1. finish 75% of my 2 quarter reports

2. finish 50% of my POF assignment

If I can manage to meet what I’ve set out today, I’ll get myself something. Hmm. Haven’t thought of what to get for myself. But let’s see how close I come to it first. Let’s begin the race against time right now! =D

need to run

i need to run alot alot more.

i want to run everyday.

i want to look into the mirror and love what i see - someone strong, lean and confident.

there's no class this coming weekend, hence i must make it for runfanatic training on sat. come sunday, dearie and i will do macrit loops. hope to do more loops.

i have this momentum running through my veins and i am going to do something about it. i will see something come to past. i know what i want and i am going to get it.

weight loss is the new fad

Tuition has been postponed for today. Good thing I msged Anna this morning to confirm. I’m guessing she might be having some celebrations after her farewell assembly, hence may not make it home on time for tuition.

Dearie is super duper packed with tuition for this entire week. =( Please don’t overtire yourself.. and I know he’s going to be somewhat frustrated that he isn’t able to train. Therefore I’ll try not to mention anything about training in front of him. and I need to come up with some clever ideas on how I can cheer him up as I do understand when tiredness gets the better of us, one can get pretty grumpy.

I made a lousy start with the bland beehoon and half cooked french beans. Oh gee, tricia has to fare better than this =(

Econs through the weekend was insightful..and I’m hoping to read up a few publication of hoon hian teck and friedman. I printed some BOP and Current account data from the singstat website. Want to take a look and do some comparison with that of US.

One topic dearie hates hearing me mention is – weight loss. I guess guys will never fathom why girls have this peculiar obsession with losing weight. I have always struggled with it and I’ve yet to fully come to terms that this. Day after day, I still dream waking up weighing lesser.. my arms looking slimmer…fitting into that snug levis size 25.

Dearie tells me of his former days when he attempted to lose weight. Running 10km everyday, eating only green apples and cereals for dinner. Deep within me, I wish I could do something like that, just as an attempt to lose that last few kgs I’ve struggled so long with. If dearie can do it, I can do it too. I just need some self control and discipline..and I need to feed dearie on another table too! This will stop him from interfering with my weight loss programme. haha!!

i passed QM!

my first result for my first term. i PASSED QM! so glad to clear this. 10 more modules to come. i'm thankful for a good start. jia you tricia!!

cheery+quest

Cheery colours make tricia a cheery girl. I was cladded in nice U2 orange top (dearie bought this), wore flowery earrings dearie made and in the toilet, I can “admire” my fushia pink “inner-beauty”.

Recently I’ve been clearing my waredrobe gradually. A colleague commented on how retro a pair of pants I wore looked. I felt a slight tinge of quirkiness. Checkered and flaring at the ends, it is indeed a pretty cheesy pair of pants to think about it. after washing it clean, I folded it and stuffed it into the “reject” bag. I’ve been clearing steadily clothes I’ve owned for years; some either worn with fluff or simply too outdated to be even worn out to the market. By clearing them out, I am making myself wear the newer and trendier clothes I’ve got. I don’t want to auntify myself all the time..i’m a young professional and I ought to dress like one =)

Reading runners world today, there was a page on a anorexia girl who wrote in to running doc for advice to lose weight. She’s intaking 600cal a day and exercises off 300cal by running. She found her weight stagnated and sought running doc for a reason why. The response from the readers on the comments section was overwhelming. Many shared their journeys out of the eating disorder and how it ruined the many good years of their lives and wrecked their health.

A lady’s quest to stay in shape..or even to shed weight never ends. Because of the “perfect” image forged by the media on how beautiful women should look (read: tall and slim), women chase after this mindless dream of looking slim. I confess that I am one of those women who yearns so much to lose a couple of pounds. But I’ve gone through a journey myself, and it taught me that I must not do it at the expense of my health. It feels exhilarating to stand on the scale and find I’ve gone down by a few kgs..but the dizzy spells and rumbling stomach are not the price that should come with it.

I’ve experimented with many products in the market that promised weight loss..name it, I’ve probably tried them..but all failed to work. there is no miracle pill to lose weight; the only way is to watch your diet and exercise. Watching diet does not equate to stop eating or just surviving on apples and cabbage. It means giving the body quality food to stay satiated and energy to exercise.

In my life time, I’ve gone to my lowest of 43kgs to highest of 51kg..now I am hovering around 46-47kgs. albeit feeling heavy and fleshy sometimes, I will not go into drastic dieting nor starving. I enjoy my Cadbury chocolate.. occasional oreos.. my brown rice.. veg.. noodles.. ban mian.. all the nice food out there.. I do not stop eating. I stopped counting calories too..but I do keep a food log as it’s been a long time habit. I eat till I’m 70-80% full; not 100%. I eat so as to keep training. training allows me to eat. Both go hand in hand.

Ok..i’m still lamenting about the last 2-3kgs I want to lose..i don’t quite have the determination to cut out some food I love… and I can’t afford more time to train given the commitments I have.

Maybe I should give myself a challenge. I actually made it to the 44kg mark when I was training more intensively. I can start this out at end of October. This is a healthy challenge.. and I will be preparing myself for SCSM and ultra in december too!

not bad!

Well done tricia! i deserve a small pat on my back as I managed to complete all the questions to the study guide for POF yesterday! yay! I’m making good progress. I’ll start on my assignment 1 later and I hope to finish it by mid of next week, in order to check my answers against those from my team mates.

I’ve managed to keep up with my lunch time exercise for the past 3 days as well. I haven’t missed one since I started last week, so that’s worth applauding for too! Keep it up tricia! because no matter how small an effort is an effort. No matter how small a step, is a step. All these little effort and steps accumulate and add up into something greater! Hence, keep persisting!

Running mileage isn’t impressive this week as fatigue took the better of me since Sunday; attributable to dayima. Hope to catch up abit on sat’s training.

Work has been at its usual flat-lined progress. As I am typing this entry, I am trying to close another of my accounts, which I aim to finish by this morning. this will give me ample time in the second half of the day to prepare for anna’s class and also start on my assignment.

Planning to do a morning run tomorrow morning as I’ll be having class till 10pm.. Saturday will be runfanatics training at ccab.. Sunday..if time permits, I’ll love to hop into gym for a good 2hours work out. =) training keeps me sane. It gives me time-out from the daily grail of work and studies. And most importantly, it helps me stay in shape to fit into my clothes. Haha. i’m not hopeful but if I can slim down a little before our actual wedding day, it’ll be such a bliss!

uncut diamonds

Guard well your spare moments. They are like uncut diamonds. Discard them and their value will never be known. Improve them and they will become the brightest gems in a useful life.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

little pebble

We were briefed on the economic crunch from ag today. It’s something we are all aware of. Cash flows. Collecting debts. Credit limit. All the measures to ensure good cash flows and minimize write down of debts. The whole economy is down and it affects everyone. Blessed are those who are still in school, as they needn’t come in face with the recession to most extent. Years like these can make or break companies, each step must be made with caution.

Ag reiterated exactly what I mentioned to michelle yesterday, “cash is King”. Haha. I have potential of a finance director! =P

I perused into how the economic crunch is impacting on us. Our exposure of risk in relation to investment is fairly minimal. Our investments are mainly on long term plans, which though may not yield us an attractive return, but risks are low. On the other side of the coin, indirect impact of inflation does hit us straight on. managing our finances to maximize what we are getting out of every dollar becomes something we must be wise on. main financial commitments are fundamental bills everyone incurs. On a whole, it eats into how much we can save..but we will still do fine as long we continue to work. I can sense a pressing need to find means to save more.. as yes, cash is indeed king. In times of uncertainty, the liquidity cash gives is the assurance that lets us sleep in peace at night.

When things hit the bottom of the well, it will bounce back. of course, the next question one would probably ask is, “when?” I shrug as I’m no economist nor financial analyst. From what I’m gathering off papers, most influential persons are saying in the next 1-2 years. we can take comfort that market moves in a cyclical fashion.. a dip will follow with a peak..it goes up and down, up and down..

I thought about how it’ll affect chances of employability if I am to go out there. companies will be conservative in hiring .. packages may not be as attractive as before.. companies will still be hiring, probably more to replacing people who have left.., more than opening new positions due to expansion. Despite all these, I guess if we are gems, companies will still be willing to take us in. hence my aim is to file out my jagged edges and polish myself to become a gem with worth.

Team mates have emailed out on date to meet for assignment. Woohoo. I got to get my butt moving. Need to plan out time and things to cover. I managed to read up 1 chapter of notes yesterday. need to read text. Work on questions. Digest the information. Need time!!

Econs is this week. gear yourself tricia!

I am working hard for a cause. i’m a little worthless pebble but I believe one day I will be a gem, as long as I keep refining and polishing myself! =)

drawing strength

i am hanging on with all the strength I have got till end of this month. ZX’s lessons end yesterday (hooray!!) ..next to count down is toward HS’ on 29/10 and Anna on 30/10. 8 more lessons for HS and 7 more for Anna. Hang on hang on!!

conversing with dearie yesterday made me realize how short this school term is. I commenced the term last week and it’ll end on 22/11/08. there’ll be classes this week, next week I’m free, followed with 2 more weeks of intensives. Following one week of break after the intensives, exams are next in line. though it’s a super pant up term, it also means I get a nice 6 weeks of break till 2009! Duality effect I guess.

I’ve began revising POF yesterday..and I got through 2 chapters of questions in my study guide. I aim to complete the next 2 chapters the next 1-2days. To got through the text book questions..and starting on my assignment 1 soon.

Econs module this weekend..it’ll be a hellish time because swee tin warned me of the short assignment 1 notice. Basically we’ll be given the assignment on Friday night and we have to present it on Sunday morning. I only got Saturday to work on it.. gee! Where is my sloman econs text?

I could sense dearie’s weariness from work, project and tuition yesterday night as we lied in bed. Underneath the blanket I reached out for his hand and held it tight. It was my way of telling him that I am with him and we will go through this together. This is how we draw strength from each other.

new tools

dearie bought me this new calculator on friday night as i required it for my POF class..this little gadget costs him $63!!?!? i can buy 3 scientific calculators with this amount. but it does make life alot easier.. this is one of the 2 calculators approved for cfa..will i take my cfa? i wonder..

this is the pricier version of the one i have..with 5 extra functions.. but costs $99 (gulps) i thought i didn't need the extra functions..until the prof talked about MIRR and i could not find the button on my calculator =( because it was one of 5 extra functions. but anyway..good thing we have EXCEL! everything else which i need is available on Excel! haha..in a way this translates to MIRR will not be tested in exam lor! yayyyyyy...

rest and hanging on

After some good weekends of rest, we were back into the bustling race. I had my first intensive of the term through Friday to Sunday..while dearie had his back to back tution sessions. We were totally exhausted by Sunday late noon..and popped into bed early.

It was great to be back in runfanatics training on sat. although I was slow to finish the 15km..but I was just glad to complete the distance. Looking forward to more runs..want to quickly get back to wed training too.

Facing some difficulties in getting my brain to start moving, despite having the cup of nslo. Caffeine doesn’t quite work its magic on me. =(

Today’s the last lesson for zx as she’ll be sitting for her N levels POA paper tomorrow. wishing her all the best =)

As zx’s lessons come to a close, anna will take over the Monday slot come 13 oct. I find anna an easier student to coach as she’s more open to concepts.

Principles of finance is quite an interesting module to do. intensive was like a pressure cooker though.. I am trying to figure out the calculations and get into the whole flow of things. I’m sitting with 3 other classmates; familiar faces from the last qm module. As we’ll be working in groups of 3, I’ll be forming a group with marilyn and roger (a new student). I’m totally at ease with working with marilyn as I find sparring thoughts with her helps me understand the concepts better. She guided me through qm last term too, which I am really grateful for =)

I may be dropping hs tuition next year as I find that it’s not maximizing my time best. I will be selective in only picking POA students as I find in doing so, I am maximizing returns! Hahaha (look I’m in the finance flow already!) all tuition lesson should end before November so I have 2 months to seek out new POA students for 2009. ideally I will want to take 2 POA students, 2 days a week.. and the rest of the days I want to study and train.

Tahan abit more! We’re hitting the finishing line for this year’s tuition soon. Hang on dearie! hang on tricia!

good wifey incentive

dearie gave me my first good wifey incentive yesterday! =D it pays to be a good wifey..yay! my first step to tai-tai-sm.

some from the photoshoot

our first stop was at the track. this is the place we often trained and running is our passion =)

candid shot!

we were suppose to be appreciating the nature..but we were tugging the little leaf as though we were hoping something would fall from above =P

oh..billy & tricia's signature shots! dearie looks like he has just fallen from the heaven! he's my angel that's for sure =)

good habits

tricia wants to give herself a pat on the back for the good habits. this is to remind myself to keep up with it.

1. brushing teeth after lunch during working weekday - i'm so proud i've been keeping up with this habit for the last 2 weeks. i find my gums gradually turning to coral pink, a good sign that it's recovering from gum problem.

2. light exercises after lunch - it began with stretching during lunch break, has evolved into doing light weights. today i formulated a 10-exercise set which i resolve to do at least 2 sets each noon in the office. i brought the 0.75kg free weights to work on monday and today marks the 3rd day of doing weights. the 10exercise set makes up of 8 arm/shoulder exercises+lunges+squats. i was feeling all warm and broke out a little perspiration after going through 3 sets of it today. knowing 0.75kg is not significantly heavy, i increased the normal 12-15reps to 20-25reps.. aim is to tone than to build.

3. packing lunch to work - we've made through 1 month of eating home cooked lunch. despite my rojak cooking, dearie still eats up every grain of rice everyday. fortunately he's not a picky eater like me. starving myself doesn't work, i realise..my weight doesn't go down by eating just cereal and bread. this wed i weighed myself, i am still 46kg but alot more satiated with wholesome meals these days.=) no crash-dieting for me as i know i'll end up binging more at the end of the day.

4. morning runs - not all runs came to realisation but i manage at least 1 morning run a week. not impressive but still worth commending.. ought to do more!

habits take time to form and get ingrained in us. tricia is driven! jia you!

speckies

there's a need to wear speckies for longer periods of time in a day soon..because i find my eyesight deteriorating fast. i find objects becoming blurry and focusing is much a challenge these days. the term is starting tonight. will need to visit the optometrist in the next few weeks to remedy this problem=(

hiao po speaketh!

Yay..it’s Friday! We leaped 1.5days and advanced to Friday pretty swiftly this week!

I’ll be having class tonight till 10pm.. Principle for Finance.. econs class will be held next week..I do hope the classes turn out ok.. must try not to tire myself too much tonight as I am really looking forward to the Macrit run. I missed out a whole lot of runfanatic training.. like last Sunday, we were totally exhausted on Sunday we skipped training again. I felt really bad and dearie reminded me it’s really a break of trust when I indicated I’ll be there but last minute backed out. this is bad! No more of this, tricia!

Ooh..i’m so in love with the kanebo lunasol series.. must get my hands on it..but first I must finish my l’oreal whitening range first. It’ll take at least 2months to finish them at least.. let’s take stock a little.. remaining skin care yet to be depleted:

1. Clarins toner (since april) – 40% left

2. L’oreal day moisturizer (since end jun) – seems like still quite a lot left

3. L’oreal day sunscreen (since end jun) – same thing..alot left also. Smells like cement. Haha =P

4. L’oreal Face protector (earlier than jun) – this one has spf50..will use this for training. Dad gave me a brand new bottle recently..that means I have 1.5bottles of this.

5. Kanebo clay whitening foam wash (since july) – I am perfectly satisfied with this. Will stick with this for a while.

I’m planning to purchase a set of lunasol at year end during Christmas sale..the festive sale should get me some good deals.. in addition, that’ll be my reward for working hard after receiving my year end bonus! hmm..that’s provided I pass my exams too!

I mustn’t buy it now as I’ll definitely abandon my present ones for lunasol if I own them. Hence I will use up what I have diligently first.. that means I must start applying sunscreen on dearie..for his good! hahaha..

Tricia the hiao-po speaketh!

mirror me

Problem about mid week holiday is it leaves me lethargic the next working day. I came back to office struggling to ignite my engine.

Dearie and I made 4 pairs of earrings ourselves! On Tuesday noon, mummy and I went to the handicraft shop near her shop and I bought the materials required. Upon reaching home the same evening, I began working on them. dearie saw me clumsily fumbling with the pliers, he came over and offered his help. He’s really good with the pliers and cutter.. as he worked steadily through the beads, hooks and rings. I was the design engineer while dearie was the technician! He stringed most if not all the earrings together and the satisfaction from the amateurish attempt was beyond words. =)

Tricia is fast becoming a hiao-po. First I wanted to make my own earrings..then I wanted to make myself pretty. After using the kanebo lunasol samples..i want to upgrade from l’oreal to that.. a part of me still feels it’s unnecessary and a waste of effort..but much of me yearns to bring out the better side of me..after how jesslin literally transformed me, to the point I could not believe what I saw in the mirror.

It made me realize I can be pretty too. It just takes some effort. =)

Dearie has the making of a make up artiste, we were discussing the other day. He’s really good with colours..and make up is all about blending colours! Painting faces!

Not sure if it’s a good thing or not..but because my office is tucked in the far corner of Singapore, and by nature of work, I needn’t meet external vendors nor customers, I’ve become very chin-chai with my dressing to work. I recalled using make up on the first few days of work, only to eventually revert back to the sloppish me for a brief while. Then I picked myself up to look more corporate.. and sometimes a little boring. The daily routine is to get into office. Sit at my workstation. Face the monitor. Leave work at 5pm. That’s about all it ever gets.

Tahan a while more.. the next place I go, will hold more than this. =)

toothy tricia

Ahh yes.. my teeth and gum condition are improving.. I see my gums less red and sore..i haven’t tried biting into ice cream (usually my teeth hurts).. but I feel it getting stronger! Persist tricia..dental health is important.. just like complexion! Imagine I have nice skin but when I smile, I’m tooth-less.. oh my!!

captured moments

Photoshoot’s done! I found it fun and I’m thankful for everyone there on that day who made it such a blast.

-dearie: you look great.. suave and good looking as ever..muaks! thank you for allowing me have the photoshoot..

- mummy & daddy: thank you both for being there..for the lovely flowers..and my dad as back up photographer..delivering the shots to us on the same day! =)

- weeling: thank you for coming and making so much time to help out at the photoshoot.. hee.. it’s so cute seeing you walk here and there with a flash in your hand..and standing behind the umbrella..=)

- jesslin: thank you for making me look so beautiful.. =) you are indeed my first choice mua.

- siew weng: thank you for accommodating to our silly requests..and going the way out to make this photoshoot possible.

We had some shots from dad which we really liked and we’ll post it on shortly. It was pretty funny when we did the signature jumps.. it was just so us.. dearie looked like he had fallen from the sky.. he’s the angel who fell right into my clutches..muhahaha! and he has such nice natural brown hair..how come mine is so black!?

Tomorrow our company is on half day.. that means I’ll get to leave work at 12noon.. meet mum and go shop for earrings stuff and in town..weee!! Wednesday is hari raya holiday, dearie and I are going to macrit to run. I’m making plans of doing a long run..maybe run to aircon road..back perhaps..if possible..plus a bit more. Hope we can clock 20km.. I’ll bring my foot pod probably to measure the distance. Will cook dumpling dinner on wed as I’ve got wanton skin left from yesterday’s dumpling dinner. this time I’ll remember to incorporate spring onion inside the dumplings upon dearie’s request. =)

I am finding so much fulfillment and joy. I found delight in simply looking at dearie dine into the dumplings and enjoying it. looking at my dad’s excitement with the photos and getting them all developed on the same day made me feel special. Spending time discussing with mum which crystal looks well with what earring was just fun! I don’t have to go far to find happiness because it is just beside me all the time. I just have to take the effort to be close to it and I will find bliss.

Having things fall into place gives such sense of satisfaction. Photoshoot went pretty well with all the planning made. Next is the actual day which I will need a lot of help from my parents in law and christin. I’ve made plan to meet up with her for discussion on Wednesday and we will peruse into the details of things. much of the load has been lessened by my parents in law. Mum has helped us source for most of the things we need for the day..and she is a lady with wide contacts! Even the auntie at the shop which sold us the red wedding essentials said my mum managed to rent the houses at a better price than she did! =)

School is starting this Friday..and I’m looking forward to it.. timing is perfect because I’ll finish exams for this term 1 week before my actual day. Tuition will begin to ease starting October.

Oh yes, after how pretty jesslin made me look on Saturday, I find that I ought to start dolling myself a little more these days. First and foremost I must ensure my complexion stays in good form..that will mean I must eat more fruits.. with that checked, next step is having suitable skin care products. I’ve been using the kanebo whitening cleanser and I simply love it. mummy passed me some sample for its toner and moisturizer.. will try it soon. Thirdly, it’s the cosmetic I want to use. Simple lipstick is essential..and I really love the gold coloured lip stick and pink+gold shimmer gloss jesslin used on my lips. Instead of the usual sausage effect I get from my own futile attempts, the gold made my lips look subdued and it controlled it from grabbing too much attention from the rest of my face. I’ll work on it. minimal make up should make me too wayang..but pleasing and sweet to the eye (I hope!).

shooting crew

It’s going to so hilarious on Saturday. We've got quite a crew here as my parents insist on accompanying us for the photoshoot. Dad is worried that siew weng might not do a good job ( I trust him 110%!) and mum is curious what a photoshoot is like..she only had studio shots during her time.. and dad says she wants to take some photos herself too. =D ok..basically my dad says they want to be the calefare for the day..hahaha.. I didn’t have the heart to shut them out of the shoot..even if I did, I believe they would pretend to be in the area and “bump” into us..hahaha =D

They have prepared all the accessories I need for the photoshoot and actual day.. I’ll be picking them up tonight. We have quite a constraint on transportation as we only have 1 car.. dearie will have to do 2 trips to ferry all of us out of lower pierce..sorry about the trouble dearie =(

The locations we have picked are pretty wulu..but perfectly us.. the running track..and trail (lower pierce not really trail but out of macrit, if we run further down we actually reach lower pierce..we’ve ran there a few times. nice nice. Air con road!).. these are places we enjoy running at.. =)

I’m not really for the conventional places for taking photos..i like something “us” .. I am not that bothered if it’s weird..but it’s just US! I got to know my dearie at a duathlon.. sports and training are integral to us..

Oh yes! This Sunday we are finally back into runfanatics action!! Yippee! 15km run at ecp. though I’ll be like at the back of the pack..coz I haven’t ran more than 8km for almost a month..but I just want to train with the gang! =D

the princess speaketh

I took a small step forward yesterday. the episode with the make up artist allowed me a chance to learn from the mistakes I made.

- never jump into conclusion

- sms and prose are not all the time the best form of communication

- clarify and check

- don’t create a fuss until I have clarified and understand the situation

- family and friends are precious

I’m looking forward to the photo shoot on Saturday because I believe we have the Dream Team! =) seems like dearie isn’t really keen for photo taking.. and I do agree it can get stressful because we worry we may not in our best form for the day..and having it captured means we’ll be reminded of it constantly! Nonetheless I feel it’ll be memorable to capture this point in our lives.. for we only live through this once..and having someone to capture it down for remembrance will be a way to retain the least of the days. For the first time in my life I’m getting to be donned in pretty gowns..dress up like a princess..it’s just every girl’s dream!

I was diagnosed with stage 2 gum problem o_O and I’ve been diligently brushing my teeth after lunch..and also using toothpaste recommended by the dentist. In addition, I’m also gargling with Listerine every morning and flossing at night..despite all that, my gums are still blood red (not coral pink)..and still hurting. =( tricia’s worst nightmare: having my teeth all fall off and becoming bo ge (teeth-less!!) got to be more patient…hope to yield results soon..

I’ve brought some art paper to work and I would be commencing to make thank you cardes in the next 1-2days. These cards are for my friends who will be helping us out for the wedding and photoshoot. I want to handmake the cards and pen words to thank them personally. will look around for small tokens too.. truly want to appreciate them and not take them for granted. =) for our parents.. hopefully we get to go Tokyo for honeymoon next year..and I promise I’ll get them all gifts! =)

christine ohuruogu

i was reading business times and i so love this quote made by Christine Ohuruogu, the 400m gold medallist at the recent Beijing Olympics.

“I might not get the best start or be the fastest but if you want to beat me you have to fight me. I will fight to the line and I do not give up.”

runs in the morning

Being able to execute my morning running plans always leave me feeling accomplished, like today.

I found discipline from the air..hahaha..yesterday I stood in the bakery contemplating if I should buy a whole 4 buns of ham/cheese bread or should I just buy 1. as much as I would like to get all 4; economies of scale of buying 4 is more cost-saving.. I visualized myself gobbling all 4 and feeling guilty about it, I stopped short. Finally, I bought just 1 bun for $1 and quickly walked off, in case I succumbed to my weakness for bread.

That’s my first little victory.. over my gluttony self.

Dearie picked me up after tuition and we headed down to mummy’s place to pick up mooncake she had helped me purchase for my mummy-in-law. It’s one BIG box of temptation..gulps..resist! resist!

After we got home, dearie accompanied me for a 8.5km run.. I could sense he was very tired yet he still went with me. thank you dearie. upon getting home, he got onto doing his project. By the time he stopped for the night, it was already 1am o_O

Having turn in earlier.. I managed to get myself out for a 5km run at 5.11am.. it felt awesome! I ought to do it a lot more often.. =) and the next one on the schedule is tomorrow morning. i really want to run more..so I can enjoy good food without guilt. that was my second victory.

Tonight after tuition I’ll finish up all the housework..prepare dinner and hopefully still have time to go for a short 5km run before dearie comes back. =) I’m feeling my tummy flatter already…must keep the momentum going as the photoshoot is next Saturday..i must look at my best.. and pretty =D

and yes..i do need to hit more mileage for scsm.. i'm falling a little short of mileage these days.. back to runfanatics training and mr training soon.. =)

"making" more time

I pondered how I can “make” more time. yes, literally “make” more time.

Having completed my first term in school, i took stock of how I have managed my time and if I’ve been effective. Moving forward, “making” more time is what I’ll strive to do.

How to make more time?

- prioritizing

- cutting down on unproductive activities

- resting and waking up early

Some things I feel I haven’t done well in the last term.

1. I left revision of qm till pretty last minute. Although I did read up the text consistently, I found that I didn’t understand well what I was reading until I worked through the questions. By the time I did work through the questions, I was 3 weeks away from exam. That wasn’t too good a strategy. For the new term, I must ensure that I am working through the questions regularly so that I can clear any doubts early and not leave it till last minute.

2. making notes. I need to make notes as I read, it’s very useful in open book exams.

3. tuition assignments. I was too fast to decide to take up the p4 assignment and now I cannot just dump it off. I should have been more focused on tutoring poa. I was anxious to take up a 2^nd assignment after zx and I didn’t consider how it would affect my own activities. Good thing zx will be taking her n levels soon and that means tuition will halt after which.. so that frees up one day in the week. Anna will have her o levels at end of oct..so after that, another free day too. I wonder if hs’ dad would want to drop my tuition classes. After all, it seems like hs is still not picking up on her Chinese and English. =( on the positive note, if he calls for a stop on tuition, I can reshuffle my tuition come next year. Will be wiser in planning for tuition next year, meantime, I’ll just hold on to the 3 students I have now. hope they can do well..and that’ll be a great track record for my tuition career. =)

Moving forward, in relation to tuition, I am planning to just tutor 2 days in a week. I will only take poa assignments as poa is my pet subject after all. If hs and zx stay on with me, I will just keep to just them. At least I still can attend runfanatics wed training =)

fridays when I’m not in class, it’ll be used for gym sessions! =) Sundays with no class will be dedicated to biking or mr running. Saturdays will be for runfanatics training..argh..i miss training with the group so much!!

other than these activities with priority standing, the rest of the days, I still want to tutor to earn extra income. Dearie’s working very hard and I am going to travel alongside with him.

something I’ve been hoping to execute but I lack the determination and discipline to do so – running in the morning. it’s something challenging for me. and it’s not just about waking up early, sleeping early is also required. Not sure how I can work about this..=(

oh yes, I forgot to comment about my exams.. accounting was pretty alright. I could do the paper..and I hope I can get more than a credit for it. qm was tough..but do-able. After redoing my assignment 2 yesterday, I discovered I have done the same regression question in the exam wrongly. =X but i think I should be able to pass.. I hope to get a credit for it..hope!..i can only hope! (grading: high distinction, distinction, credit, pass, conceded pass, fail..in that order)

hard to lose..weight

I’ve completed all my assignments for the term. Yay! Now it’s down to the compilation of qm assignment and send out before next Monday..and we’re done! I can go for my holiday with this load off my back.

The fc hounded me this morning for her credit limit stuff which I am still not absolutely sure what she wants.. but at least I’ve completed her budget templates and jun conso.. now she wants july and aug before end of the month.. good thing I’ve got more things to do..but I need to fully grasp what she wants first..

There’ll be quite a few holidays coming up..firstly hari raya, followed by deepavali. Not sure if dearie and I can take a break as it’s very close to o levels and we have to be around to coach our students.

My eyesight is deteriorating at a dismaying speed. Objects look more fuzzy these days and I’ve been rubbing my eyes more than I should. I do need to get new lenses done.. because it’s disturbing me.=(

Photoshoot is a stone away and I haven’t lost a single kg. I should be..i ought to..but I am not doing so. I stepped on the scale and tipped at 46.3kg. have been hoping to lose abit more but glutton as I am..i am finding it hard to lose the weight. Ought to be training more after exams but tuition is still an excuse I dish out sometimes. Tonight I’ll run after tuition. And now that I have completed my assignment, I can sleep early and wake up early to run in the morning and then come back to cook packed lunch.

i think I’ll look less ba-zhangish if I can shed another 2-3kgs. Ahhhh..i just want to look good in the photos.. why is it so difficult? =( really want to get back to runfanatics training soon… or just go for long mr runs.. will have to work it into my schedule =)

relief!

Relief relief relief! Joy of joys! I finally completed all my accounting assignments. I’ve emailed out my myob assignment to ms harris..and I’ve completed balanced the last of the manual assignment. I couldn’t have done it without the help of marilyn, my classmate. She has been such a wonderful friend as we discussed and went through the assignments.

I spent half the day in school with her to go through the 2 assignments and then she gave me a short tutorial on qm. I’m so thankful for friends like her who come along to give me a hand. =) thank you marilyn.

After which, I went shopping with mum. as I didn’t have budget for much, I only bought the lingerie I needed for the wedding. My mum bought new clothes and shoes.. and she bought me a new dress and top too. I could see so much joy on her face. On our way walking home, she told me she really enjoyed the time shopping as she had been wanting to do so for a long while.. =) I really do want to keep her company more often with her.. and I will set aside time to do so despite school and tuition. Oh yes, have I told you how good my mum looks in dresses? She’s gorgeous! I can’t pull off dresses like she does..

There was one dress I fancied..but I didn’t buy it as I didn’t want to spend the $50 on it.. mum said it looked kinda plain..but I just like it..very tricia style. Very country..very cute. =P

It’s Friday. Tomorrow’s the qm paper. I’m not feeling confident but I’ll try my best nonetheless. I just hope to earn a credit for the module.

Another hour before knock off.. today has been pretty productive.. finished the budget templates..closed the accounts for the rpr.. and did up the accruals for nsses. I’m leaving the rest of the tasks till next week. on top of work, I wrapped up my 2 accounting assignments.. prepared lesson with Annabelle later.. I’m left with qm to revise.. okok..ending off here. Utilise my last hour at work to study! =D

floaty

I feel a little floaty today. Could it be the nslo I just had in the morning? I read a short story printed off the net for my student and I found myself walk into the world of the author. Maybe it’s the caffeine.

Reading, comparable to running, can be a form of escape from realism at times. haven’t been reading as much as I used to, and gone are the days when I would scour the bookshops just to lay my hands on books highly raved about. These days my plate is full of textbooks and notes.. i do need a dose of fiction badly.

I’ve got a whole lot of gunk up in my mind.. trying to think about the report fc wants.. tuition later..tuition tomorrow..tuition the day after tomorrow..assignments… revision.. a whole big big big lot of stuff spiraling up there.

I noted a few things down..jotted the time and dates into my palm.. I listed my tasks for today..i ticked off 2 since the last 1 hr 15mins..

2^nd day into cooking healthy lunch..i’ve enjoyed the first day of it so far..it kept me satiated till the evening..and the roughage from the brown rice has helped the clearance of bowels pretty much. not sure if dearie is attuned to my kind of weird cooking.. and would it drive him crazy..he’s been a economy rice person for many years… such switch might be nerve wrecking.

Leave has been approved. It’ll be a good break for me. away from the insanity here.

rewarded

It’s Monday once again.. the blu-est day of the week.. haha.. as I retrospected on the weekend that has just passed.. I take pride in it.. because in all simple things, we took joy in doing.. and time was made fruitful because of that.

Dearie bought me an expensive mechanical pencil from popular on Saturday. I’ve been coveting for that nice pointed pencil for quite a while..with my shakula (shakalu, shakila..blah) getting all dirty, its eraser top depleted and the plastic cover broken.. ok..it wasn’t a need..but more like a want. Dearie paid $4.10 for the pencil. a pilot h-325 in transparent colour. Dearie asked me to remember him whenever I used this pencil.

In truth, he is a part of my life and I needn’t things to remind him how integral he is to me. =)

We had dinner at mum’s and dearie was (again) the last man surviving on the dining table; all of us took our leave after taking in our fill. He cleared up the chilli fish head till it was left in bare bones..and he even gobbled down all the sweet potatoes, brinjal..the calefare on the dish..hahha..

Dearie spent almost the entire day at tuition, 3 back to back sessions, from 10am till 4.30pm. it was really crazy and I do hope he doesn’t do it for long term. It’s detrimental to health! I’m already tired after 1 session, imagine 3?!??

i popped by mum’s to go through my accounting assignment, which till date, is unable to balance. Noon time I slacked around, cleaned the house a little and then studied more for QM exam.

i cooked chicken mushroom mee pok for our dinner that night..and oh yes!..before that we did another 8.5km run. Dearie did a total of 17km for the day (8.5km in the morning, 8.5km at evening..while I did 12.5km (4km in the morning, 8.5km in the evening).

Training and eating are like hubby and wifey. We should train hard..then enjoy a nice meal! This is the way to go if you don’t want to get fat..hehahehae

i have submitted leave for this Thursday. Need to meet up with marilyn to go through the accounting assignment. We both agreed it’s quite a waste of time and getting it to balance is as hard as climbing mount kk. Hahaha.. and there is also QM assignment to go through too.

After my final exam on sat, just got to toil another few more days to finish up QM assignment and I’m going off for a break to segamat with dearie. really looking forward to it.. =) these are the rewards for working hard..yay!

note: i stole the photo of pilot pencils from the net..from someone's blog. i don't have all 3 of them! but i am a proud owner of the one circled now..the transparent pilot pencil.

working, hard.

we've been working to our max since the start of the month. dearie and i have took up various tuition assignments.. the main bulk of the burden is on dearie, tutoring for 5 out of 7 days a week.

it's 10.30am now, saturday morning. i've revising for my qm exams next sat, and at 1pm, i'll be going out for tuition..good thing we'll be hitting town for a breather after which.. so that's a nice break.

i missed runfanatic training.. i overslept..and laze really held me back to stay home.. which i felt was a wise choice because i got to do interval training with dearie at the stadium..we had peanut butter waffle after which ..and i can settle down before 10am to start revision. if i've gone to training, i will be spending more than 2hours commuting..and that time is somewhat lost.

i'm still trying to make sense with qm by going through the questions..one by one. i must get a good grasp of it.

i've been reflecting on how i am spending my time now, as compared to the past. somehow, priorities have shifted..and i feel i don't have that much a luxury to just sit back, be merry and do whatever pleases me most. because i now have responsibilities i must shoulder..i have dreams to pursue in my career.. and i yearn to better equip myself for the challenges ahead. it can be quite a struggle sometimes, without the luxury of cash reserves..but working hard for it makes me treasure it more. like dearie casually mentioned this morning while we were bitting into our peanut butter waffles, "young people who strike riches in their early 20s may not know how to treasure it..but if one earns his 1st million at 40 through hard work, the guy will really treasure it." he spoke of it in relation to usain bolt, the world fastest man at present, who was commented by many as arrogant.

these days as i surf through blogs..look at display nicks of younger friends..i find so much of myself in them.. at early 20s, all i wanted to do was ironman. my biggest dream was to cross that finishing line after 3.8km swim, 180km bike and 42km run. that was the ultimate dream i pursue everyday. i trained and trained..spent many hours in the pool, on the roads, in the track.. i woke up wee hours at 4am and biked out..some days i even took leave, just to do 4-6hours bike rides when preparing for it. unfortunately (or fortunately), despite having registered for 3 ironmans, i never gone to one, i never did one nor did i finish one.

i find no shame..though i do not bask in any glory for completing one. because somehow, i've passed that phase of my life to pursue such conquests.

i found no glory in it because so what even if i've done numerous ironmans but do not have money in my pocket? so what even if i achieve a good vo2max or stamina ability yet improverish in my relationships with the people around me?

today i am pursuing my post graduate studies because knowledge is power. i am working very hard, because money is also power. i work 5 days a week and tutor 4 days a week. i spend quality time with my dearie.. we spend time resting at home on weekends and cook our own meals on sunday.. i call my mum during weekdays and have dinner with her on saturdays. this is also time well spent, in pursue of other things in life..which to me for now, overcast ironman dreams.

nonetheless, i must admit, a part which i am still working hard to balance is time for training. i am now forgoing training on wed because of tuition. when the o levels are over, i will reschedule wed rf training back..as tuition will be back to 3 days a week, instead of 4. in addition, because of exams every 2-4 months, i am also missing saturday trainings too. it's a lousy feeling to be out of the runfanatics action..but i understand i can't have the best of everything.

we gain some, we lose some. meantime, whatever pockets of time i can find, i will be out training. and most of the time, weekdays are the hardest because tuition finishes late into the night. however, dearie and i always make up on weekends..we'll go for our mr runs..on rainy days we'll hit the gym..and like this morning, we did interval runs.. running helps me find strength and rejuvenates me all the time. i did 6x800m sets and pushing through the 800m was such a pain but the after effect was accomplishing. no fantastic timing to boast about but i'm glad 5 out of 6 timings are within my expectation of sub 4:15. i managed a 3:59 set by keeping pace with an indian uncle.. i have conjured plans for further 800m training for next week, and also a mr run on sunday if the weather holds fine.

oh yes, and another new thing dearie and i are embarking on..healthy meals.. i've stocked up our fridge with fresh food..chicken, veg and pork..we just need to go get our brown rice and some other stuff from mum...and from next week onwards..we'll be cooking lunches at home and packing them to work. why are we doing that? because:

1. it's healthier. i agree with dearie that food outside are..erm..oily, salty and full of msg. i'm sick of eating bread for lunch and dinner. all the food will be steamed, boil or stir fried in olive oil. sweet!

2. it's more economical. it's good thing dearie's isn't a picky eater like me.. we just need some veg, meat and brown rice everyday.

i really hope this holds through..and since dearie and i are in this together..we can try to keep to it as much as possible... i do need to shed some kgs before the photoshoot and our wedding in nov. gulps! hahahaha .. it's different having someone who is going through it together..just like we're both working hard, together. we train together (at different speeds though)..and we stay healthy together. we're part of each other's life..and that's all that matters =)

uh-oh..better hit back to my books..got to finish a few more topics before i get to relax later. will be back!

over and above

it really means alot having friends to go through tough times with..sometimes it's time like these that binds the hearts of like minded together stronger ..

i processed and thought through the situation after the discussion and sharing. i asked myself what can be done? what should i be doing? if i can't change, then what else should i be doing?

i remember this little excerpt from a poem i thought my children during a character camp once..

" i will bear the things i cannot change, and change the things i can"

somehow after talking it through with dearie, i came to terms that tpl is something i cannot change..and although i cannot do much, i prepare myself mentally for anything she comes up with. from learning her different "patterns" that my friends have encountered, somehow it preps me that if she show her pattern again, i am not caught off guard and i needn't get affected by it. it's like getting vaccination! =) staying level headed and calm is important to stay afloat.

can you remember the last time you swam in a pool or sea? in the sea, the more we struggle, the faster we sink..the only way to keep ourselves afloat is to stay calm and relaxed. our bodies are made to float in water..and we can be over and above the situation.

i remembered a pastor shared once, "difficult people in our lives are Grace Developers".. indeed..we learn that in the toughest times we learn to develop grace =)

i do find ranting and sharing really therepeutic..because i know i am not alone.. life still must go on..and to come to terms and decide what we must do about the situation .. i believe for us, we can choose to be over and above the situation. =)