review of 2010's resolution

The year has gone by in a flash. In essence, it wasn’t such a bad year. At least, I did accomplished a couple of the 2010 goals:

1.  Complete my first full marathon

 

Alright, it wasn’t a sub-5 timing, but taking into account that at least 20% of the distance was spent non-running , and I was still battling with the cough the day before the race, I completed the 42.195 Km in 5hr 9min & 9sec. (At least the next run, I can definitely break the personal best record. ) I was ranked #341 out of the 2441 females who completed the race.  0r # 231 among the Singaporeans. Not too bad for a first try! :) 


2. Dminish fats. 
 Thanks to the multiple races taken part in 2010 (think three10km, one half-marathon, one 25km, one 30km, and one full marathon.. oh and a 5km city run which i went cuz of a friend!) and one trainer who thinks very highly of my ability , and hence imposed the very rigorous training runs (which uhm I sometimes failed to keep to.. Ops!) The needle point on the weighing scales is swaying more to the left and staying there. Bade farewell  to approximately 3000g from beginning of year.. (and please don’t come back!) Some of my friends commented that I should stop losing weight.. but there are still remnants of the fats left.. and I am still above the weight limit for blood donation although the Singapore blood bank stills refuse to take in my blood cuz of the white round ‘candy’ popped daily . HAHA no worries, akin to the winner of the latest season of the amazing race, the insulin-defective thingy is not a deterrent in keeping us less fit. :)

Guess that next year, the remaining fats in the body won’t be happy for long.. I foresee more mileage to be covered in 2011. Not air mileage, but road mileage!  e had gleefully gave me a ‘headlight’ (ie the reflector thingy for runners who run on road) cuz yours truly came to his mind when he saw this reflector.. took me a while to guess what it was since he said it will help me in completing the runs (my excuses for not running was – no time.. and sprains and etc – so I thought will be haha like vaseline?, or what’s not)

All I can say.. He's mad. :( But thanks to him... i get to update my wardrobe since the old togs are now ill-fitting.. ;) 

3. Visit the land of kawaii
I realised I'd yet posted any pic cuz i've procrastinated for quite a while.. It was fun since I get to see snow & the cherry blossom!! :)


Thanks to procrastination, I still can't drive (cuz I have yet get down to register for the basic theory.. ;p..

It's 12:30... time to knock off!  Yippie.. another 11 hours 30 mins to the new year!!

Capsule

I love these capsule machines that churn out random capsules upon the designated amount into the slot. Then again, it's pretty much a waste of money if the capsules are duplicates and the contents in the capsules are not what you fancy.

Not exactly a fan of kitty-san but i could not help but to plonk in 3 gold coins of a dollar denomination into one of these imported-from-Japan capsule machine on my way out of eHub after withdrawing moolah from the atm (to fund my cab fare to work) on Tuesday morning.. It will cost 200yen per pop in Japan. Based on the current exchange rate, there's a saving of SGD$0.16. ;)

It's so cutesy with kitty-san dressing up as a bunny with a furry ball.. There are a total of 6 designs ( i think) and I added two more (of different designs) to my collection .. :) [Rationalised that it's alright for a juvenile treat for me since the vast majority is happily clearing their annual leave after the festive celebration..)

From herMionE's iPhone :)

Silly Questions

Am in the midst of the crazy period (of vetting the tax provisions after the companies' have closed off their accounts for the year and reverting to them asap as the auditors need our confirmation..), and I'm certainly not in the mood to entertain silly questions from the clients... (aka the finance pple from our subsidiaries/ related companies)

To qoute  a few.. (words in bracket aren't audible..)

1.       BLUR ACCOUNTANT ('BA'): How did you get the brought forward figure?

A: (Dude), it's (exactly) the figure that was carry forward from last year end. And you have to look at the computation from previous year.

BA: Is it?

 

[Comments:: Doh, balance carried forward from 31/12/2009 = opening balance as at 01/01/2010= balance brought forward. I thought that was accounting 101. And this person is supposedly an accountant, not account assistant! ]

                                                              

BA: I don't understand how you arrive at the capital allowance for this year?

Me:  (explained to her it was computed on an accelerated basis due to the Budget changes for 2009) And we have highlighted this in our memo sent to you.

BA: Is it?

 

[comments:: Doh, did you guys read instructions?]

 

2.       Client's BLUR acc asst ('BAA'): Your figures are wrong!  The sum total should be 66 and not 108!

Me: (Punching in the figures ): 12+34-(-21)+41=108 .

BAA: No, that is not the total. I computed based on the formula on the form. The formula is wrong ah?

Me: The printed formula is correct. Line 21+Line 34-Line 45+Line 58. This is what I've told you.

BAA : No. I entered the figures into the form (soft copy excel spreadsheet) and the calculated total is not 108.

Me: Can you calculate with your calculator?

BAA: Eh, now I get 108. So the formula is wrong?

Me: The formulae printed on the form is correct, but I'm not certain of the excel formula.

BAA: but I've to key in the figures, so how? I have to change the formula?...

 

[Comments:: This is so silly, dOh, I don't have the soft copy of your worksheet. How would I know if it's correct or wrong? And there is always the calculator for you to manually punch in to check on the figures if you suspect there is an error. Don't it reflect VERY badly on you to question the validity before conducting your own due diligence.]

 

Gosh.. Irritant!

Which explains why teaching is not a career option for me. My lifespan will reduce by half and the bp will rise. Okay these are wick trimmers trying to train my patience..

 

But hey, you guys are the pro – the accountants or the accounting personnel while I'm just the tax person. Why do you ask me elementary accounting stuff and silly questions that has already been conveyed to you!!!

 

URRRGGG!!!

 

Merry Merry Christmas!!!

the 42.195

Apparently, 4 hours of sleep insufficient to sustain me for a gruelling long race.. Unless I'm on drowsy medication, the probability of me hitting the sack before 22:00 is remotely possible.
Not to mention I was roused from sleep after minutes of tossing and turning by the persistent phonecall which i eventually picked up. :(

Arrived @ Tampines Stadium to catch the shuttle bus to the starting point amidst slight drizzle. The ratio of male to female was heavily skewed towards the former. Perhaps females runners prefer shorter distances.

It was a pretty sight to be running under the brightly lit Orchard Road, with the shimmery dazzling reds and blues. As Mr. Sun had yet risen in this part of continent, it was a breeze to be running on the tarred-road with minimal traffic. (Not to mention no human road-blocks in the form of strolling runners which appear en-mass on Sheares Bridge at the tail end of the race!)

 lol wonder what were the two guys standing in front of the trees looking at..

 waiting for..

 the star to fall.. 

The hyper supporters from all walks of life really made a difference as they cheered us on in their hyper mode. :) Not to mention some of those random messages donned by the runners themselves, either to spur others or some are totally uhm weird...One of the irritiating one that motivated me to overtake him so as not see that message again went like:

"Eat!Eat!Eat!Eat!Eat! 

Drink!Drink! Drink! Drink! Drink! 

Pee! Pee! Pee! Pee! Pee! 

Run! Run! Run! Run! Run!". 

This ah-pek whom I eventually overtook towards the last 500m has this message on his back:

I hope his friend quit smoking despite him not finishing under 4:50..

Saw a number of Japanese grannies & grandpas who persevered on in spite of the sweltering heat. One went on even after seeking medic help!

Other interesting sights were like superman in spandex, male runner donned in sequin tennis-skirt getup.., lady with sledge of toy doggies for cause against cruelty towards animals.. etc :)

Oh well, as for me, the lazy bone-me did like at most 5 secs of warm-ups and started on the 42.195 journey. No wonder the left and right calves tightened in protest towards the 27-28km mark.. Which I resorted to walking and walking and more walking.. Not to mention that it was bright and sunny.. and the route after ECP to Marina Barrage did not have much shade as that part of the island was still pretty much in a state of WIP.
Since i started walking.. i took out my dying iphone (drained out of battery as I tried to mapmyrun but that apps was a battery-killer!) and snap a few pix before it finally went deads minutes after i reached the Finish line.

 i was almost dying.. en route to Marina Barrage - the desert stretch!

The peeve of the race was the human road blocks. It’s just massive human traffic when the routes of the 10km/ 21km /42 km merged. Not to mention by the time the full mara runners meet up with the 10km peeps, the 10km peeps would be the leisure walkers.. I am not prejudiced against the slow pacers. But it would be much appreciated if they would not hinder the path of others trying to pick up their pace. Road hogs. Maybe high beam would work on them. Afterall, this is not BIG WALK. Perhaps the organizer should have different finish point for different categories.

From the official photographer (hence the watermark):

 woo i'm a couple of centimetres off the ground! flying.. lol

Collected the coveted (not) finisher tee (which was gigantic despite taking the xxs –smallest available size)!

 the tee collection tent!

 mine!:)

Headed for the leg massage that was complimentary for all full -marathon runners. (reckon that will do some good to my tired calves!) Not much of a queue since I would suppose not many has finished the course yet. After the 'free-spa', the over-worked limbs made their way to the land of farfaraway *the Pit Building* for baggage collection from the Padang. Thankfully, I've the foresight to pack my flipflops cuz a HUGE blister evolved from the friction between my right big toe and its friendly neighbouring toe. (Perhaps toe-socks will help?)

the new blistered toe & the blue-black toe [one-month old injury..thanks to the old pair of shoes i tried training in.. :( ]

the huge wheel... it's a bright & sunny day! (And I'm glad I finished the race by then as it was fuming hot!)

As my friend had to zip off to his class with his wifey straight after his half-mara, (which our original plan would be the brekkie thereafter), dragged my feet to the promenade station in which I passed by the continunous stream of runners trying to finish their last lap..

It was an alright race, would have been better if I'd not fallen sick and disrupted the training for 2-3 weeks (btw I was still coughing on the eve of the race - cuz of the nasal backdrip, and the cough miraculously disapeared on sunday, re-emerge on monday.. :(], did ample stretching, and ample rest..

Oh well, despite walking like at least 7km ( perhaps the speed of my walking is faster or equivalent to another's slow jog), did not make it to my target of sub-5 ( e wanted me to do a sub-4:30, which i think in my alright condition would be achievable), completed the long march in 5:09:09 net time. The race result:

In case the font size was too small for reading, I'm #230 among the local ranking & #340 among all the females of all nationalities who took part in this race.. 

But sigh, it's not about the placement. The way that e put it summed it up (when I was trying to cover up the timing was not too bad despite not meeting the targeted timing..
".. the fact that we both know that you can do better than that; even though you come in first ranking in the world, it is still your 2nd best timing.."

Oh well, perhaps the sundown would be better? Definitely.. :)

Fuel

Fortunately I'd packed the stuff last night else I'll be in a frantic this morning...

Gosh... Feel like sleeping now...

Grabbing a couple more winks en route orchard rd. ;)

Christmasy

Last evening, went to the Narnia's Premier (courtesy of my bro who passed me the tix) with May. the crowd is not as mad as the HP 7's gala premier  :) ] I like the 3D version.. :)

Since the show was at 19:15 which would most likely screen 15 - 20 minutes later... we went to fill our tummy @ Nihon Mura (over the crowded Popeye's)

 May (to the salmon belly): "haha,  i'm gonna eat you!"

yippie.. it's cooking!!

Ordered the sirloin teppanyaki which was quite good for the price (definitely beat the WELL done charred 'medium' sirloin from T1's Ashton which I'd last Sat). However, I did not notice that there was a small tub of butter & black pepper sauce for the beef until 10 mins later..(I was puzzled why it took so long to cook the veg & meat until I spotted the butter!)

 Yummy!! It's cooked to perfection cuz you can determine the extent you want it to be done.. 

Enjoyed the movie. What a shame that I missed the previous - Prince Caspian. Wanna buy the rest of the books in the Chronicle despite being children's fiction. I'd the first three books (a bundle pack for $10 that I bought at a mph sale) ;)

After the movie, we adjourned for coffee @ starbucks. Bought the Christmas starbucks card cuz it's so cute!!

 peachy cheesecake

 my dark cherry mocha (which I think I would prefer the toffee nut latte.. not a mocha drinker!)

 May was happy snapping away with her camera while I only had my iPhone...snap snap snap..

But I'm still pretty happy with my iPhone cuz the pix quality ain't too bad.

Christmas display @ Cathay's starbucks.. 

the snowman bear!  I won't mind that as a christmas pressie!

Something random..the gingerbread house that greets me every morning on my way to work after emerging from the station. Never fails to remind me of Hansel & Gretel.

Merry Christmas!

The wrong approach

Alright, I rambled about this to may this morning.. It's really uber (−_−＃). 

Had dinner with this friend of mine ( an former-church friend) whom I'd not met for a few years .. Thought it would be just another catch-up session but uh-huh.

Alright, she seems to slightly thinner than I last saw her (at her wedding or house-warming).. Thought it was due to stress..

I'd stepped the trigger button on her weight yoyo journey and she began sharing about how she ballooned after wedding, cuz  she stopped acupuncture, then her back condition due to the excess weight, and her annual health check that led her to decision to shed excess baggage.  And her friend intro this program to her which she said it's purely supplements and no vigorous exercise required ( she didn't know that I pick up distance running in these couple of years.. and had no qualms to do weights & resistance training ) and can eat normally (uhm normally? If one's definition of norm is fast-food ,  still no changes required? ). Then she shared that since the program work on her and she was uber impressed by the testimonies of the larger than life zapped back to pint size with all their ailments like high bp/ blood glucose level reduced, she saw the biz opportunity and her friends intro her to this biz oppty. 

By this point, MLM flashed across my mind while I tried to look engaged. I knew where it was leading, and the sales pitch to come when she flashed those before & after pix. (−_−＃)

Guess what, she actually said sensible diet & exercise won't help one to shed pounds. ( uhm apparently, she didn't know there's one live example right across her! ) 

She continued sharing the program which uhm those supplements one is supposed to take will (a) suppress appetite ( doh I don't eat much in first place) (b) suppress trans fat and absorption of fats, lower bad cholesterol ( uhm my cholesterol level has never left the uber healthy range ) (c) increase metabolism ( no wonder the mass will decrease !) and (d) protein shakes to suppose help tone muscle. (duh... I prefer natural proteins!) 

Perhaps she didn't know I'm sorta a health buff and haha I'm no idiot to biology ( being accountant doesn't mean I'm not a science student, alright? Uhm actually I was introduced to the world of bookkeeping only in uni.) 

Then the program apparently require a 'right diet' too and light exercise to tone. Then why the bashing that exercise n good diet ain't effective? the  program simply helps to boost metabolism rate so energy from food is utilize at a higher rate ( exercising thru strength training will too help to boost one's metabolism rate) so it's same logic but in the supplement probably accelerates the process.

Then the protein thingy..isn't this the same as low carb, high protein diet thingy? 

All these refutes ran thru my head while I looked interested. 

And perhaps sensing that I didn't express my interest in trying - she shared the compensation plan ( which she said was very attractive that swayed doctors, lawyers, accountants, even million dollar round table insurance advisor to join her network ) network - nice way of naming your 'kah-kias' . It's so plain that it's multi-level marketing!
So assuming you manage to attain 4th generations of network ( ie 4 levels of kah-kias and their kah-kias), your active n passive income can amount to us$40k a mth. ( (−_−＃) my smartie brain told me that this is only possible n sustainable if everything remain status quo per mth.. Ie each kahkias sell/ buy 3 programs.. Doh it's not within ur control rite? And sustainable only in economy boom! Obviously I didn't buy that.

Oh this MLM company has this 'gene-resetting' technology too -the anti- aging program.. Okie...I'm suspecting this co to be the MLM 'new-skin'.. Lol it was.

I was thinking, why the beat-around-the-bush of the company's name. MLM stigma? 

Alright, I'm not the least swayed by the 'compensation' plan. I'm pretty happy being the professional status n the relatively alright compensation plan.. I need no paid incentive trip ( if so, won't left ngo if I like sales n incentives to hit target). 

她碰到我这大钉子是她不幸！unfortunately for her, I'm rather well-informed and educated .. And relatively analytical mind.  

But happy for her that she's enjoying what she is doing and she seemed more positive .

And duh, I prefer working out than popping supplements pills , despite being a us patented program. 

One will just assume that the rich won't be bothered by pocket change amount of outstanding .

Nope, that's a wrong assumption. Gosh, because of a sum that won't probably get you a meal at a fast-food restaurant( okay, maybe a kid's meal), forked out extra time out of the busyness to settle it. And it's not as if the chance to settle it real time is remotely impossible. Oh well, c'est la vie.

Randomnly, one line found in 一指神功 came to mind upon processing of the request. Ops! Thankfully, that didn't come to pass. I'm civilized still. ;)

The request was fulfilled soonest possible.

One prosper as the soul prosper...

It's black Friday!

Happy Sweet 13th!

Yay! my 13th birthday came and gone pass in a flash... ;)
Not much of a celebration cuz was not in much of a festive mood due to the constant 'ahems' ( Which i pray that it be gone immediately cuz i need to start my preparatory runs soon like tomorrow?!!)

The pre-celebrations..(sort of)

12 November.. 

Lunch treat from a couple of my colleagues which was sweet of them (cuz there is no established practice to celebrate birthdays within the dept)..

And later that evening, the cg celebrated the birthday too, together with cgl.. cuz it's his actual birthday :)
Pressie from the cg (which was a tad too big but it was size eur S in the (not sure if the tee comes in eur XS which was the size i usually don for the mng tee..)

and lovely blinkies for the ears from ms i..

the '13th' birthday on 14th..

Started the 13th birthday with a trip to the gym (cuz e can ony make it on that day and i've skipped a session last week cuz of the ahems..)

 yay! finally get to exercise after 2 weeks! :)

Lunch was dim sum imperial tampines...

which followed by  chilli crab dinner @ the pasir ris' mellben (the branch of the famous crab restaurant in amk)

the chilli crab wasn't too bad (but at least it was fresh and succulent) but it was on the salty end.. Preferred jumbo's version..


Not forgetting the numerous 'happy birthdays' wishes on the fb's wall & sms-es.. ;)
That pretty much wrapped up the '13th' birthday! :) ooo.. and the lovely dinner @ aribuya on Monday from ziv & jac...

We ordered the beef set for two and added a plate of beef tongue.. The beef was good and didn't really take much of photos. :) Had my virgin taste of the tongue of cow.. very chewy... :) Portion was just nice for the three of us to share.. :)

That pretty much summed up the 13th birthday celebrations..

ohh... and time to go off... to catch HP7 !! :) gala premier thanks to my bro..

(all pix taken/edited by the humble iPhone.)

Silly Human Error

This system is certainly not workin..
Irritated by it again. Human who administering it worse. Peeved.

Okay, it's PMS.

After note: But apparently, it's not evident to those whom I shown my disgust to! Lol

Smile.. it's a new day!

Yay! It's Friday!! :)

Feeling more chirpy today because it's down to the final case .. (though it's not an easy one.. nonetheless it's the last in the queue..!)  

Passing forward the smile and greeting that the bus captain of the service 12 (that I took this morning) gave to his alighting passengers. The extra effort that he took to bid the passengers really makes a difference! 

Even my brekkie is happy food!

Yippie.. it's Friday!

Pampering

Had been a no-day no-night period, thanks to the 30 Nov statutory tax filing deadline ... Which resulted in me catching the flu bug due to lack of snooze .. That disrupted my training runs for a wk+ ;(... but I'm glad to say it's finally clearing! 

In view of the festive mood n the many late nights, pampered myself last Friday...@ the LacBar . It was peacefully quiet at the parco @ marina, despite being a public holiday... Maybe most have jetted away over the long weekend ...

Love this new shimmery sparkly hue of red that was out of the new Burlesque collection 2010..Though the name is kinda duh - Ali's Big Break.

It was the shimmery SIA red when it was freshly applied.. The colour sorta 'mellowed' after a couple of days which I preferred .. Perhaps oxidization applies even for nail lacquer!

Chose a dark hue of black cherry chutney for the toes.. :) which may not be that suitable to don for work ... Hmm now I crave for cherries!! ;)

Yay.. I'm turning 13 this Sunday!!  ;)

From リイー. herMionE's iPhone

Halloween!

Was greeted by a hand on the floor, outside the gym,  when i stepped out of the lift yesterday..[grainy pic cuz I'd oversharpen-ed the blur image..:(]

The gym made some efforts to doll up the place for Halloween.. .

with cotton spiderwebs...

 

Trashbags curtaining...

and the jack-o-lantern on the rubbish bin...

And the dead body at the foot of the poster (someone who collapsed due to over-exhaustion? )

LOL.. i hope that's not me after this week!

obsessed?

Five years ago, i would flip if someone asked me to join a competitive run.. Seriously, back then, running 30 minutes on the threadmill @ the speed of 8km/hr was a great achievement! In 2008, thanks to ziv who was then nagging @ his wife & me that we were not fully optimising our gym membership and thanks to him, who managed to convince me to join him in the fun run of the safra run that year (in attempt to get jac to join in the fun..) somehow or another, that started the avalanche of runs that I started participating... [Not to mention that the training regime imposed by e, whom i re-connected with that same year, pointed me in that direction..]

Oh well, not that I'm complaining , since I manage to vanquish some of those stubborn fats and improved stamina & less prone to long-battling bouts of flu. 

Last Sunday, went for the Nike city run [forgotten i'd signed up for that run and the ge run following sunday but was inevitably scheduled for duty for s3. drats, it was tooo late when the schedule was out a few weeks ago despite informing the i/c the very instance the new system rolled out].. but still i made it to expo a quarter pass nine.. fully made-up :) timing wasn't too bad (considering i woke up late and rush down after just gulping down a tetrapak of soy milk..) @ 55:35.. :) nothing much to wow about.. except that it was a sight to see so many luminous yellow peeps running... oh.. it was a SG vs KL run - the two cities will compete for the most mileage clocked from 1 Sep 10 to 31 Oct 10 that was synced to the Nike+ site.. Oh well.. sg was and still in the lead but i guessed partly was due to fact that there are more sg users participating in the challenge..nonetheless .. haha i'm currently 13 on the leadership board [cuz i've to clock many miles/km weekly thanks to e..:(]

And the evil e is enforcing me to double the runs this week cuz i missed the 30km last week (despite of all my excuses and legitimate reasons - like work). MADNESS! the perils of having a workaholic trainer..(cuz he does really work very long hours.. 24/7)

I'm not really obsessed with running, just trying to maintain the momentum that was kicked started. Not to mention very toned lower bod.. :)

the eternally happy meal..

Alright, not eternal yet..  But it seems that this happy meal has survived for 180 days in the open without decomposing.. woah! According to Yahoo News, Sally Davies, a New York City-based photographer, has documented the 'growth' of this happy meal in her flickr album which was pretty amazing.. At the 180th day, (7th October), the beef pattie just looked a tad darker, with the french fries resembling those dried preserved papaya or mangoes. Amazingly, the bun hasn't gone moldy!
 

According to this website, it's the high FAT content that perserved the burger/fries.. As for the bun, it contains preservatives calcium propionate and sodium propionate (which are also found in bread sold off the supermarket aisle..) To qoute " A Happy Meal manages to stay unspoiled because it is fatty, salty and practically empty of nutrients -- which, really, are all good reasons to avoid it anyway. "

 

Imagine all the fat molecules passing through your body... eeeuks.. :(

异想天开

Attended Rainie's concert last Sat @ SIS.. She blewed me away! ;) great vocals n very genuine. Sensed that she's really appreciative of her fans! Apparently this was her first concert out of Taiwan's shore..

Am not her groupie but she's one of the rare few Chinese artistes found in my iPod playlist..

Didn't get the chance to snap any pix cuz my phone went dead screen on my way out despite battery gauge is only at 50%. (the phone is not off but I can't turn it on/off but outside parties can call thru but I can't answer.. Not as if I'm aware that it rang! Revived only when I plug in the charger.. Weird! N I haven't drop it at all!!)

Anyway, the green inflatables which light up upon motion distracted me from not being able to snap away... Not to mention that it adds to the atmosphere !!

Uhm, okie, mine tix was 传媒票 but it was a rather good seat - should be the most exp category .. Cuz was at the arena nearest to the stage, hence a blimely that I can't snap with the non responsive iPhone ); nonetheless , one of the concerts I enjoyed.. Too bad I missed the retrolicious concert cuz next day was the newton run ..

Yay! I think I will get to go to Sammi's concert again! ( thanks to my bro!)