for such is a time

"cheesy" hotdog rolls version 2!

i added cheese this time..yummy!

dessert: nata de coco jelly

cucumber mask-ing!

it has been a fun weekend for dearie and i. this is a long awaited rest as school has been very busy since it began this year. so what did we do?

Sat: - did MR run. dearie was the only one who managed to complete the 3 sets of 6.4km; the rest of us were punctured after 2. all thanks to the monkeys which ravaged our drinks. there goes my beloved raspberry pink nalgene bottle =( don't ask me how they managed to drink from it..but they did.

- we went brunch with the rest.. you mee dry! yum yum! it's fun to sit around, chit chat and enjoy a meal together with friends.

- we got home, had a nice nap..and then woke up to watch Slumdog Millionaire. a show we've both been wanting to watch but never got the chance to. the vlc and media player were both pretty laggy..but still, we enjoyed the show nevertheless.

- dinner: i made a version 2 of the previous hotdog rolls..this time round, we added cheese to it.. and dearie also suggest sardines..which i made a few for trial. yum yum yum! dessert was raspberry jelly with nata de coco. hehe.. we've been eating our hearts out!

Sun: - did ECP with our team again. the guys covered 30km while i did 25km with adrienne and yenling. peiyu, petrina and isabel did 20km. it was a mentally tough run for me..as i haven't done distances more than 20km at one go for a long while.. however, the best part of being in a team is having friends to go through the pain with. isabel ran with me a few kms until we reached safra. i ran out to changi coastal alone..but i could see adrienne and yenling ahead. i ran the last few kms with adrienne..and her strength is amazing.

- we went brunch again! with alex, isabel and yenling at old airport road. wantan mee for me!

- i don't fancy waking up at 430am to get to ecp by 530am for runs..nevertheless, the good thing about it is to be able to get home early. we were home before noon time..and that gave us time to grab another nap.

- we watched schindler's list. this is a 93 film i've been wanting to watch for the longest time in my life.. i am strangely drawn to war films/biographies and i enjoyed this steven spielberg film tremendously. no one wins in a war. there can never be a valid reason to justify all the killing.

so that's a weekend with no studying.. just running.. eating.. resting and enjoying time with dearie. as i sit here 9pm.. counting down to the final hours of this weekend, i am thankful for such times. time to enjoy company of good friends.. time to do things we like.. time to eat the things we want (and not worry about growing fat because we ran hard for it).. time to do the things we've been wanting to do but never got the time to... time to cuddle.. time to do masks.. time to laugh..and time to be a part of each other's lives. =)

it has to go up

Exams for the term had ended last weekend but we are still ploughing through 2 more assignments due this Friday. I was given a stack of readings on Monday and my task is to pick up noticeable events that might have caused a steepening and flattening of the yield curve on a month to month basis. I am required to send mine in to JK for compilation by tonight; hence I will not be making my way down to ccab for training.

I will drop my cpa application into the mailbox on Friday morning. Having checked with May, the whole application process will definitely take more than a month. My heart beats faster with the very thought of obtaining that cpa position.

I was counting down again to my final term of studies this morning. It’ll all pass before I know it.

A mental timeline of what I am going to do from now till end of this year.

- hand up assignment by this Friday, 25/09

- research on building my own portfolio (28/09 – 29/10)

- read harry potter & eq books (28/09 – 29/10)

- clear back log of newspapers to read (28/09 – 04/10)

- read up corp finance notes (26-28/09)

- start corp finance class (29/10 – 22/11)

- corp finance exam (12/12)

I am making plans in my mind now to how I want to approach things after my final exam. New goals. New processes. I must take active steps to head towards where I want to be.

Thought about the work now, the people around me and what I am feeling about all that. I am disheartened in some ways.

When everything has hit a bottom, there is no other way out but up. And UP it will be for dearie and i!

crispy hotdog puff

our new tryout home made dish-crispy hotdog puff! yum yum!

it was so good dearie and i had 4 each. we made it ourselves..it was not bought off the shelf =)

we also had ayamas canned curry to go along..and it goes well with kampung koh too! =)

pensive day

Another pensive day at work. dearie talked me through and it made me consider my dreams vs the reality, the mundane and the exciting.

He is right, we don’t always get things to go the way we dream of them to. There are many things we enjoy and wish we could do, however reality doesn’t always move in line with all that.

When I was doing my acca many years back, my dream career upon graduation was to be a tax consultant. I enjoyed tax planning modules immensely. Tax planning is like a game of working within rules. It is making the most out of whatever tax regulations that are in place and getting them to work in favour of the business as much as possible.

Well, that was my dream almost a decade ago. Truth is, I never got to practice tax after I graduated. I did apply for tax assistant positions and I remembered getting an interview back then. I wasn’t offered the job as the interviewer asked me if I knew tax assistants do the most basic jobs like filling up Forms Cs.

As I ventured into the world of finance through my postgraduate studies, I find myself particularly drawn to analysis. In the most recent assignment, we were tasked with different time frames through the last 10 years. In the given time frame, we are to construct yield curves and study what might have caused the peaks and troughts..the spikes..etc. the period my team was tasked is between Jul 2001 to Jun 2002.

In the initial plotting of the yield curves by month, it seems pretty normal. Upward sloping. Some steepening, some flattening and that was pretty normal. Nothing interesting like a downward sloping curve..or even a flat curve to be wow-ing over. Nevertheless, after we went into the observing the events during this period, there was more that met the eye. Sept 11 2001 – terrorist attacks on the World trade centre. Late 2001 to 2002, collapse of Enron and Worldcom. I was going wow.. that was quite an eventful year! I read into how MAS adjusted Singapore monetary policies to cushion the impact of the weakening global economy. How did the ripple effect from US went into Eurozone, Japan and Asia. Which economies were hit hardest and why. Which were not that badly hit and why.

The macro overview of the global economy invigorated my mind; despite the reading of 6 100-page reports was a little head-spinning. =P

It made me draw some references into the present downturn. I’m keen to read into the magnitude of this downturn and compare it with the 2001 one. Certainly both are very much different in terms of cause. I would like to compare and contrasts the different approaches the governments had adopted in the 2 different downturns. What areas of the economy did it hit? The recovery process during then and now? Are there similarities to draw? How has the business landscape changed such that what may apply in 2001 be irrelevant now? After each downturn, how does an economy evolve?

I’m curious.. and I am interested to know more! =)

I began conjuring ideas of going into academics..but I think research does not seem easy at all. My big ideas and dreams feel constrained and stifled within the compounds of my workstation. There is a pasture of learning I want to be racing through!

A hit back to reality. I still have to go about the routine, and sometimes mundane, of what my job requires me to do. Until I find something better, I resign that I still have to use a binoculars to peer into the world out there. I hope one day I can walk out of this box and experience more first-hand.

I agree with dearie that I do have to take ownership of learning. I will certainly look into doing more reading during my month’s holiday after my portfolio exam till the start of next term. It is the process of getting me ready for my next job! One thing I want to learn at my fingertips is the FRS. I want to be able to rattle off FRS easily..so I don’t get bullied by the auditors. =P

Learning is the only way to expand my capacity. It will get me to where I want to be.

leaving on a jet plane

Dearie commented I haven’t updated my blog in a while. Have been occupied with holiday, assignments, preparation of exams, running, training and work.

I thought about how I can best write about the perth holiday and marathon but I found myself limited by my vocabulary and writing skills.

In brevity, traveling to perth widened our global perspective. it enabled us to compare and contrast with Singapore and Malaysia. We discussed about the way things are done there and here. Some things we adored about perth and some, not so well liked. One thing we had to battle with was the cold weather. When the gusts of wind blew, it felt like one big cold freezer which we could not get out of. Running in the cold was quite a struggle as my body shivered when the wind blew. My nose became stuffy and phlegm developed in my throat. Quite a discomfort on those parts..but the only nice thing about the cold weather is we don’t perspire as much. After completing the marathon, we were relatively dry. A stark contrast to the ahm we did earlier, when 21km of run left us drenched in perspiration.

i am thankful for Michael who allowed us to bunk in with him. He had been very accommodating throughout the entire trip. Thank you once again. I thought traveling with Isabel was fun as 3 of us (dearie, Isabel and myself) are similar in several ways. I think we scoured the aisles of Woolworths and coles numerous times, looking for bargain buys. I laughed when I recalled how we huddled along the street of subiaco, sharing a roast chicken and strawberries. we walloped 2 tubs of Yoplait yoghurt, several punnets of strawberries, cherry tomatoes, 3 roast chickens, subway foot longs, 3 raisin loaves, kit kat cookies and cream.. =)

we finally got to sit at the cafe and oversaw the bustle of perth city. sipping coffee and basking in the warm sunlight were things we seldom got to do.

All these are memories money cannot buy nor take away.

Coming back to ‘reality’..i’ve been ranting more these days to dearie about work..Despite of it all, we are pushing ourselves on because we believe there is more ahead for us.

School is easing out as assignments are coming to a wrap and I’m just left with one more exam in less than 2 weeks’ time. I did up the final summary for my part of the fis assignment and after 3 days of work, I’m pretty happy with it. Get the consolidation done, add more content and we are ready to hand in. this is much like a work between 2 team members out of a team of 3.

We have some finishing work to do on the portfolio assignment, which I reckon we can complete that in a day or two.

Revision of portfolio feels abit tattered. I am unsure what to expect..but I do need to do a lot of reading for sure. Targeting to finish all the given readings before the weekend. Will want to delve into other recommended material for more reading during the weekend, towards next week as well.

As I strolled to catch the bus this morning, I counted down to the end of the course again. 3 months. I am exactly 3 months away from my final paper. I am so close to getting to the next phase of my life.

I really like what dearie just sms-ed:

"few years ago we hv nothing to b proud of. Few years down, we will be different. We will be better better n better."

I was simmering with displeasure over some incident at work..but after he talked to me, my perspective changed.

Dearie is right. Why be bothered with the little nitty-gritty things.. there is alot more ahead. I am already ahead of her. Once I graduate, my next goal is to obtain quality experience.

I'm a goal setter & getter.

During my 2nd round interview with my boss and the hr manager, my boss asked me, "what do you see yourself in 5 years time?"

i replied, "i want to achieve my cpa."

and yes, i am almost there. Next month i am eligible to apply for my cpa. On top of that, I am going above that.

If he is biased and doesn't appreciate the work i do, that's fine. i have other options! =)

rising above it all

Portfolio presentation went pretty smoothly though we did not quite hit what prof wanted. There’s still work to be done. good thing the assignment is only due one week after exam. That gives us abit more time to work things out as most of us will be busy preparing for the upcoming fis exam. I am thankful to have marilyn and lester in the team. I have learnt a lot from both of them and I am grateful for their patience with me.

Managed to clear the CPA admission exam. Received it in snail mail yesterday, after may sms-ed to tell me she passed. This is definitely a step forward for me because that means I have the seal of approval to apply for my cpa (non-pract) full membership. Apr 2010, I will fulfill the required 3 years’ experience. Yay! It’s not too far away..although it could have been accelerated if I have kept proper testimonial from my first job at Carrefour. That’s almost 8months of experience gone to waste because I have not obtained a testimonial to verify my work with them. Lesson learnt: always remember to get your employer to give you a testimonial before you leave the company. Even if they may not have good things to boast about you, the duration you were with them stated on the testimonial is most important.

Went for a run with dearie yesterday and I felt really out of form. The 13km run was not difficult but neither easy. I fret for the 42km next Sunday to be honest. Dearie gave me a prep talk and that helped calm my nerves to some extent. Got to do some simple calculations.. keep pace.. focus.. and make this trip a worthwhile one.

Caught “My Magic” on tv yesterday. A poignant film. The father’s sacrificial love for the son touched me.

FIS exam is this Wednesday and I am feeling somewhat jittery about it. The phobia of failing still persist.. but somehow, having worked through the 2 assignments, I think I kind of know what I am studying better. Like the run, got to make sure I give a good shot, do well and go on holiday with a peace of mind.

School’s been busy for dearie and i. something I tell mself is this will not last forever. every time I receive results that I’ve cleared the term.. it gives me that ommph! I can almost see the finish line and it is important I keep my eyes on them and sprint towards the end. A couple of classmates and I were discussing about graduation and james suggested we can consider going to Adelaide for the convocation. It will be nice..but I was thinking what I can do at Adelaide..(unlike Sydney or Melbourne).. traveling there just for convocation seems a bit extravagant..unless I have the extra cash to spare.. then again..if many of those in class do go for it together, it will be a pleasant event, won’t it? Haha..that’ll be in apr next year..so I still have plenty of time to consider about it.

It’s been a tiring month..but it is worth it. It is the accumulation of every bit of effort that will help me rise above the rest. =)

hard pressed but not crushed

i call myself a fighter but I am weak. I need to fight hard this week but far too often I find myself shirking away when faced with the pressure.

FIS assignment due Thursday has been submitted. Good.

Portfolio assignment I contributed so little. Now I’m lost as to where mel and les has done. I feel like a failure. I must take good time to understand what they have done..i don’t want to repeat like fis.

FIS exams. It is exactly a week away and I’m still struggling to complete the assignments.

Portfolio class this weekend.

The whole gunk of things on the top of my head is crazy. I find myself staring in blank air for long moments sometimes.

I need to get through this very badly. I must clear.

There are still team matters to consider about. Things just get tougher. I need more help.

Ok. Better get my job done for the day so I can work on the powerpoint slides. Even if I have to work till 2am for the next few days I must do it.

i look terrible these days. Messy hair. Scarred pimply face. Eye bags.

After this year, I need an overhaul!

Extracted from The Straits Times.

I like what this Canadian reader wrote. We often hear heartlanders complaining about Singapore government. Of course, there is always room for improvement in the way things are done, but I feel we should be contented that we live in a peaceful country. Not that I am trying to boast or put our government on the pedestal, but they deserve the recognition for being efficient and effective.

When I got to study the economies of some bigger countries, I took them and compared with what we have here. We are a small yet strong. The people put in charge of running this country know what they are doing.

In light of the economic crisis that has impacted the world, including Singapore, the government has put in place good policies. A good policy is not one that hands out loads of welfare. It just creates a society of reliance. Just like a great teaching goes, " It is better to teach a person to fish, so that he can fish and survive in the days to come; instead of handing him a fish, that will only last him for a day."

My eyesight has been deteriorating. Words from afar look blurry these days. Dearie says it’s a sign of short sightedness. It’s been bothering me as I had to squint badly at the projected slides. I can barely read what prof writes on the board. =( I do need to get my eyes re-examined soon.

i’m swarmed with assignments; so many of them it overflows from the brim. I need to prepare for the exam end of the month too.

Dearie bought me a birthday present yesterday. I love it and thank you so much, dearie. To me it contained a dream I want to look forward to. Dearie said one day when I become a full-fledged accountant, I will need this.

This morning, I thought about my future, as I walked to catch my morning company bus. Graduation doesn’t seem too far off; another 4 months to my last exam. All seems so close, yet so far. Like that blurry vision in front of me; clear at times, blur on other times.

Some good habits I thought I want to start inculcating: Reading WSJ and the economist on a daily basis. After listening to prof talk about the kinds of information he gathered from WSJ over the years, I feel by keeping myself abreast to the going-on in the market place will be helpful. When I was still pursuing my acca, I used frequent the library on a weekly basis and ensure I got the latest issues of economist. That habit dwindled off over the years and I think it’s time to rekindle that again.

The market is huge out there and I am astounded by how little I know about it. I’ve been confined within the 4 walls of my tuas office, unknown to me the world developed at a pace I am struggling to keep up.

This is so timely as dearie has offered me an opportunity to do some finance management for him. Wow. He is giving me a chance to put the things I study into good use! =) i will have to delve into some things I have on my mind but have never put into practice.. do some fact finding and analysis on my own. Intend to start on this once portfolio mgmt exams are over.

Keeping informed of what goes on in the economy is crucial in investing. Prof expressed his view on the market and I found it mind opening. He said, “ the market is a filter. It filters information from the economy and reacts to it.” There is a lot of truth in this statement as he went on to talk about beating the market and how it ties back into the different investment strategies. It comes down to the fact that if we believe that the market is efficient, then we will never be able to beat the market. There are indeed very few Warren Buffetts in the world who can beat the market consistently. I think there are more Ponzis and Madoffs than Warrens. =P

There are still many ways to earn decent returns on investments - that’s my perspective. I’ve thus far been a risk adverse investor.. hence my expected return will be relatively lower. Well, if an investment says it can yield you 10-20% returns per annum, then you better consider if it’s a ponzi scheme or not! =)

really excited with this new 'assignment'! got to make sure it's a piece of High Distinction work. =) and yes..i need new lenses quick..so i can see the gains coming up ahead!

graduation rewards

these are what i will be getting myself as reward when i graduate (if i do!) by dec. this is bait for me to work really hard. wooohoo.. and i think it'll be timely as i reckon my kanebo skin care should be depleted by dec. after all the raves about this skin care range..i am tempted to try. but it comes with a hefty price tag..which i will budget into my bonus distribution.

i am such an extravagant. but it's just once in a blue-purple-pink moon..so let me indulge! =D

*dearie please read this post! hahaha.

term 2 cleared

the picture tells nothing of what i want to write about..but i thought it is a cute picture that reflects some happiness.. and that's exactly what i am filled with now.

happiness. relief to be more exact. yayyyyyyyyyyyy.. i cleared EVA.. it is merely a pass.. nothing to boast about..but i am thankful to pass because the assignment was very challenging..and the paper wasn't easy.

so that wraps up term 2 of 2009. one credit, one pass and a happy tricia.

portfolio management was wonderfully delivered by dr ali over the weekend. there was not a single moment did i want to doze off despite feeling extremely drained from training and long hours in class. looking forward to attempting the assignment,...but i first got to clear my FIS assignment which is still half done. oops.

cpa pre admission test was nuts. 125 questions in 1.5hours. majority mcq with some short answers. i could not even complete the paper. i feel lousy after the paper ended.. something like fis in term 1.

i learnt alot about financial assets, funds..tried to use the solver.. i learnt about allocation of assets..and how it is adjusted according to our risk appetite..investment horizon.. required return. i've been running through what was taught in the 3 days and i have to say all these new information is mind blowing. that's probably because i have been this toad sitting in a 3 feet deep well, oblivious to all the things going on outside.

But no more is tricia going to be that country pumpkin..though i may look like one. =P jia you. i must work harder. learn. apply. grow.

marking progress

several things made some marked movements yesterday.

- some team issues were addressed. Will update the runners accordingly tomorrow. There are still details to be worked out so I’m hoping for more forthcoming response.

- trained with dearie at stadium yesterday and I managed to follow what he set out for me to do. Pleased with my timing, except for the 400m sprint at the end. When I reached the 300m mark, I could not even lift my legs. They felt like 2 anvils, which I was dragging over the last 100m. I only managed a 1.36 and (I know I shouldn’t have) I threw my temper. I raised my voice to tell him we have just done 10km of race pace, and another 400m sprint was crazy. =( sorry dearie.. I was just angry with myself. You are right, I am not conditioned to do that 400m..hence the lousy timing.

- managed to complete one longggg assignment question on yield to maturity. I need to make faster progress as the due date is drawing near. I need to sleep, eat and live FIS!

Icpas pre-ad classes start tomorrow again. I’ll be doing the cbd march again! Hehe. I am kind of looking forward to get out of tuas for now.

It will be a hectic thurs to sun.

Thurs – pre ad class. Revise for pre ad test on fri.
Fri – pre ad class in the morning. pre ad test in the after noon. Dinner at mummy’s! (that’s the best part of the day) last up, Portfolio class 7-10pm.
Sat – team training at MR (I missssss running at MR. Was just telling dearie I should have lost my ‘trail form’ as we haven’t trained at MR for almost 2 months.) classes from 1-8pm. Dinner at mummy’s, with dearie =)
Sun – training at ecp. Have to start at 6am to complete the 21km by 8am. Classes from 9-4pm. I reckon I will want to go home and sleep after which.

We are drawing very close to ahm and I must keep my form up. Dearie has been helping me to get my workout in place and he has been working hard too. Our aim is to do a personal best for ourselves.. and better the seremban timing.
Haven’t quite decided on scsm.. to do or not to do. Honestly a bit bored with it..but we are in pretty good form this year.. should we just go and do a good timing for keeps?

the ideal saturday

spent the ideal saturday:

1. went for a 20.6km run at rifle range with the team. It was a painful run but enjoyed the entire process.

2. got home by mid noon. napped for an hour. woke up feeling refreshed.

3. started on my fis assignment. got to pull my socks up!

4. cooked 4 teriyaki chicken burgers for a cost of $5. yummmmmyy slurps. that's what i call good home cooked dinner. =)

5. dearie and i went for a walk at the park connector. we walked for more than 1km before we thought we should bike instead! quickly walked home, pumped up the air of our mtb and took it out for a spin. It was a windy cooling evening so being out was perfect.

6. came home and had a nice ice cold coke light.

7. sitting here starting on my assignment again =)

8. turning in early for the day as we will be running tomorrow morning.

photos of our dinner.

we cooked the chicken and pan toasted the bread.

notice the added eggs too! dearie calls it ramly special.

and so this photo says it all =D

Post dated: Dearie's Bday 6 July 09

dearie eating longevity noodles. it is a must for dearie's bday. longevity noodles+2hard boil eggs!

i think i did a better job this year..compared to last. haha.. is it dearie?

mummy bought 2 brownies for dearie. brownie is dearie's favourite.. and we gotten these 2 from brownie factory (taka basement).. the top seller is yummy-licious!

posing for a photo before it disppears =)

i played and sang a birthday song for dearie. playing was off..singing was out of tune..but i guess it's the thoughts that count =)

hope you've had a good birthday. and for many more birthdays to come =)

Photos of junkyard

my "new" old workstation

antique pc. so antique there is a floppy disk drive!!

right next to wear i sit is this junkyard.

i couldn't take the dim crt any longer hence i swopped it with the lcd i was using. did i tell you how heavy the crt was =S

Seremban Hakka Mee

Photo of the must-try Hakka Mee at Seremban. It may look ordinary but it is delicious!

from junkyard to cbd

I composed an entry earlier this morning but all was wiped out because my pc went kaput and I had not saved the file. Sigh.

I wrote about my experience at shenton way. I wrote about how I missed the cbd march and longed to be part of the contingent one day. I wrote about coming back to a seat that has memorized my curves. While I fell back into the comfort zone I have demarcated, my pc acted up.

Apparently, the power supply has been cut off. With no warning, rhyme nor reason, the screen blacked out and the cpu could not be revived. I bade it goodbye and relocated to the seat opposite my current. Dearie called it a promotion and boy is it a promotion to celebrate about.

I now swear sisterhood with newspapers, boxes and empty files. My new position as “warehouse manager” allows me to work off a dim CRT, windows 2000, and a 391,536KB Ram (not sure how slow/lousy that is but I know my laptop has 3gb ram?). I tried to make it play some music but realize there is no sound output. Argh. With all that in consideration, it is perhaps a downgrade more than a promotion?

In another light, this seat is giving me another perspective to the office I work in. it’s a secluded corner and I have a wall on the right of me and half a partition behind me. Good thing I’m not claustrophobic; I kind of like the “security” the partition and wall are giving me. It feels more “contained” in some ways.

I am reminiscing the clattering noise of cbd march. I like the glitzy array of fashion ladies dorn and suave men all over the place. A little part of me questioned if I will one day be in that contingent.

You know, have an office over looking some parts of the cbd. Like May puts it “reserving seats with tissue paper”.. dressed in suit, pencil skirts, heels and coach bags. I just want to be a true professional. Work in a professional environment. Do some meaningful work. Make some important decisions.

I dream. And I can still hear the clatter of heels at the back of my head.

Seremban Half Marathon 2009

the race venue

dearie relaxing at the hotel (Seremban Inn)

Dinner. my silly idea..Oopss.

I deprived my dearie of good hawker food with this..but he looks like he's enjoying it hor? =P

My Champ! Mr Dearie Tey!

1st time i'm seeing a cheque with 3 signatories.

it seems like dearie is SHARING his prize money with me.. hehe..i'm trying to pry it out from his hands actually...hohoho

Dearie's impressive timing. V impressive for a 21k.

My timing. Not fantastic but my personal best.

Our lunch before departing Seremban. Ah Dee Lou Shu Fen. Yummmyyyy..but guilty la..( will post the Hakka Mee soon!)

I’m back! The trip to Seremban was fantastic and I enjoyed myself tremendously. Why?

1. Seremban is only 3 hours drive away from Singapore. The travelling wasn’t that taxing on dearie =)

2. The food was absolutely fabulous! We tried the famous must-tries: Tow Kee Hakka Mee and Lou Shu Fen..yummy yummy.. we could have eaten a good dinner but thanks to my stupid suggestion, we ended up eating tortillas and bbq chicken.

3. Dearie brought me to the movies! We caught Obsessed. The movie was mediocre but the company made all the difference =)

4. Both of us did a PB during the race =) Dearie came in 10^th in the men’s’ closed category with a timing of 1.28 while I came in 12^th in the women’s open at 1.56. Dearie won rm100 prize money! Woohoo! It was a hilly run but the route was good. Not so crowded.. traffic was ok.. and the whole race was well organized. Best of all, the weather was great; cloudy and windy. Perfect. (dearie must write the race report!! Because he ran with a KENYAN lady! Wooow!)

Sham’s training really paid off as I know how hard I was running.. and I could rake up my energy to sprint towards last 1km. I didn’t expect the route to be so hilly.. from the start to the end it was slopes never ending.. the mr trainings were good.. the np hill runs came in helpful..and the track training.. made a difference. Something I thought I should have done, which I did not, was to train 21k at race pace. I have taken the 20k runs too easy for the past months.. it was only last week’s 17k did I start to run harder.. I think it wasn’t suffice. It’s ok, lesson learnt. Will be taking a different training strategy towards AHM.

5. Dearie brought me shopping and we got some good deals in our grocery and toiletries shopping. I got 2 pairs of shoes at 20% discount at vincci too.

6. The hotel, Seremban Inn, which we stayed in is value-for-money. It's very clean, the service was good, located very near the race start (less than 1km run away)...the bed was very comfy.. all for rm80. Thumbs up!

I enjoyed this trip immensely.. thank you dearie for everything.

This race gives me good momentum up to AHM. I’m going to work harder for a better timing. =) dearie, you must jia you too!

running in pace

Dearie ran with me yesterday. I started with 7 laps and he paced me for 13laps. I targeted to do 8km in race pace of 45mins..and I achieved it! Dearie kept encouraging me to keep the pace and at every lap he would tell me my timing. That really helped me tremendously to keep pace and listen to how hard I was pushing. He also reminded to keep my breathing regular and calculated my km/h pace (I’ve got no idea how he could compute that) He helped me achieve a negative split timing =) some pointers I got from this session:

- my race pace is 2:17min/lap. To keep within 1-2sec frame is the target.

- breathing is very important. I gasped during my 8-10^th lap and it affected my pace.

- training must be at constant speed.. dearie kept emphasizing that. Constant. Constant constant. Oki. No more chionging at the end for me in the next few weeks’ training to come. I must know that it is the half marathon I am training for, not 8km race.

- do more warm up. Because I think I used the first 1km to warm up my legs and hence I was stressed out at the end of not being able to hit target. and yes..got to relax during run.

- rest is important. I was exhausted from the long weekend and I was not able to run properly on Tuesday. i was practically dragging my feet along 3km. sleep is king, indeed!

Dearie went to register for school today. It was funny listening to him rant about getting lost at campus. That's a problem i wish i had..haha..but my school is so small, it's difficult to get lost.

Over the radio a couple of days ago, it was reported that in the years to come, HALF of Singapore population will hold at least a degree. Having a degree will soon become a Norm.

As I re-read the earlier parts of this post, I like that parallelism I can draw from running in application to life. Knowing pace. Rest. Constant speed. And I think knowing the end point ranks most important of all.