Taipei & Flu

Feeling very sick now, having caught flu while in Taipei... Guess I was totally weakened after the marathon and became susceptible to bugs. Sigh...

Anyhow, came back from a short business trip last week, based in Taipei and travelling all over Taiwan for 2+days. Had time to do some strolling on the first night, and decided to take some "tilted" photos.

Instant Mee & Chocolate Mud Cake

Spent the last 2+ hours in the kitchen, messing around with the production of a chocolate mud cake... and i realized something ...

I had recently made a mistake with a friend's wedding - thought it was a lunch, but it was actually a dinner; I had recently mistaken an appointment date from another friend, such that I thought the appointment was one week earlier; and just now, somehow, a 100 gm portion of unsalted butter became 250 gm... siao liao! And that part is the icing, which is the most important part of a chocolate cake, according to moi.

The whole "ordeal" of baking and clearing up took so long that I became very tired and settled with instant noodles for dinner. Of course, the explosive 7-Up over-shadowed the mess from the cake, but that is another story.


The cake turned out a little dry, and messy... but at least it tasted like cake. Ha ha... it is surprising how low expectations can help make things seem okay.

婚礼进行曲

听了这首胡彦斌唱的歌，觉得他唱得非常感伤...



Perfect for building on to melancholy for that ideal dark cloudy and windy day...

Marathon with personal best time

Just completed the Singapore StanChart Marathon with my personal best time according to my watch. Felt really good during the run, while I was initially worried about "cramping out" in the middle of it. The key milestones were 20-21 km (where I had embarassingly succumbed to leg cramps during a half-marathon few years back), 25-26 km (where I had to walk instead during a previous marathon), and between 30-42 km. But I wasn't particularly concerned about the last part, since cramp-then-walk-lor...

The weather was great, being mostly cloudy and windy in the early part. The sun did come up about 9+, but it was manageable, even with the sparse shade.

One worrying thing during the run was a strange and cold sensation on the head, and a weird heart beat. The cold sensation on the head could be due to my attempts to lower my body temperature by dousing water on my hair. Probably not a great idea, since I had not done so in the previous few runs.

The weird heart beat was more of a concern, with the number of runners who complete their ordeals and seemed fine, but collapsed some time after. Better monitor myself from here. No longer the young 20-something guy.

Just remember the great feeling during the run: hey, this is going well. my body is tired, and in pain, but all within tolerance. and i am moving pretty consistently, only stopping to drink water every now and then. i can stride, but choose to move slowly. i can look at the people around me, at their REASONs for joining the marathon, though there were a lot less people who put their REASONs on their back this year. i choose to smile at the supporters, who were cheering the runners on. i choose to smile and be curious about this lady who had a rag doll of a child strapped to her back, as support for the Children's Cancer Foundation.

Now that the 7th marathon is complete, i wonder if 10 is really all i should be planning to do. Well, we shall see.

somewhere over the rainbow

vacation at Waikiki

It is less than a week since my holiday in Waikiki, after the conference in Kauai. It was a well deserved holiday, after a crazy year, and especially the past 2 months.

As there was very little time to plan, I settled for a short break at Waikik on the way back. Even rented a car, even though I was not at all confident of driving on the other side of the road. In fact, I was nervous when I first gotten the Jeep that I did not know how to start the car properly.

Anyway, I did not choose this SUV initially, but the person at the rentals was saying that I will have to wait for some time if I want to get the small car. And hey, when will I ever get a chance to drive a Jeep again?

So began my adventure, with driving and navigating. For those who may have been driven around by moi before, you should be able to guess how bad I was. But it was fun!




The room and the hotel turned out very well, and I really liked the location, the lobby area (was surprisingly nice, and the bar area was very cosy too).

Walking around the Waikiki beach is a must, and I did just that. Walked through that for one afternoon, and lazed on it for another. Beach bumming is nice...

One of the standard tourist sites is the Diamond Head State Monument, which is actually the crater and the peak of an extinct volcano. The photo below is actually the crater.

The walk up and down took about 2 hours. Good cardio exercise in prep for the upcoming marathon?

Driving around to sightsee was a highlight on this trip. And I was lucky enough to have the company of 3 fine young people, to have dinner and drinks with for each of the 3 nights of this break. Perhaps I do like drinking afterall... just needed the right company.

Work ends and Vacation begins?

Well, that's me on the right with two of my friends (guess where they are from...), and that was after our 50+ minutes shore dive. While the water was not perfectly clear, it was still very fun, having seen the turtles, the "dragon" fish, the "car wash" fish, etc... apparently i cannot recall the actual names of these fishes.

Another enjoyable thing we did was to just laze around in the pool and jacuzzi. So looking forward to that again.

The work is complete, or so I think. At least the bulk of the day-time work is complete, and can probably work off the blackberry. Tonight, i shall need to plan for the itinerary for the next few days, so that i can have a good time in Honolulu. Gotta reward myself for the good work so far. (shameless, aint i?)

Waikiki... wonder if i would just laze around at the beach, drive around and get lost, visit all the touristy stuff or go clubbing or partying like mad.

a lazy 2nd day in Kauai

yes, it may be inexcusable... i was so lazy and lethargic that i slept in for the morning, after a short run/gym + breakfast. i only got my ass out of bed when my korean customer/friend called me.


meeting them for lunch, i hung around with the folks until most of them got their rooms, and strolled along the beach there after.

then we had a good time lazing in the hotel pool... this is probably more relaxing and better for my well-being than going out to look for adventure. at least for today.

well, still have not decided on where to stay or what to do during my vacation following this conference. perhaps i will decide on this hotel near this clothing-optional beach... ooo... and the beautiful wife or a handsome colleague/customer was telling us that you will never see what you hoped to see at these beaches. haha... but i think i will "watch out for the bridge as i get there". better be more prepared for the dinner later, and the work/trips tomorrow.

a little breathless

how do you respond to stress?

when i was much younger... (as much as 6 years back), i would respond with an itch from under the skin. i was puzzled for the longest time, until a dermatologist told me that there seemed to be nothing wrong with my skin. it seemed purely psychological.

i would like to think that i am older and wiser now, and not so easily stressed. in fact, i had not had the "itch attack" ever since university days.

now, however, i have been feeling congested at the chest. it was like i needed to sigh continuously to release the pent up frustration from within. there was no single event that resulted in this, i think, but a combination of lack of rest, work pressures, and emotional conflicts... and there is only 1 thing i have control over......................... must get some rest soon.

Back in Yeosu ... part 2 of work

Having spent a night in Seoul (only for zzz... since only reached at midnight), I have returned to Yeosu for the second part of work. Due to advancement of schedule, I had to work on this saturday night. Not a problem!

Finally a photo of me... was a little bored in the office, so played with my N80 again. Goofy look: plastered hair (cos of cap) and school boy pullover/polo tee.

And I had a little time a few days ago, and went snappy with the E-510. A view from the hotel room, facing some houses/shops instead of the bay...

And the photo below tells a story. Yes, I know it is not nice to just snap photos of people without their consent, but if you can see my point of view from the photo, you will agree that it was justified. So what was I trying to capture?

Yeosu ... contender for World Sea Expo 2012

Shall be staying in room/s like in the photo below... "/s" and "like" becos I will need to shuffle between rooms, since I did not reserve for sufficient days, and the plans were so fluid that perhaps I will need to go somewhere else real soon.

Just came back from an 1.5 hr run, and it was almost great. The run was around the bay area (again), and instead of getting lost in the city area last thursday, the bay area was a familiar (read: boring) place to jog. Great only because it was very cool, and there was very little perspiration. And I must say that I am proud of myself! 3 jogging sessions here so far! And this is only my fifth night.

When I was jogging around the bay yesterday, there was this kid who climbed onto the ledge by the pavement, that led to the stone-pebble beach some 3-metres below. I was so horrified that I stopped and stared at him. And then I carried him and set him down on the floor. He was so cute that he just looked at me, slightly puzzled. Not a shred of fear for this strange uncle who looked shocked. And I don't think his mother, who was tens of metres behind, was very impressed.

Anyhow, as I was jogging at the same area again, there were several kids doing the same stunt. Perhaps I was desensitized now and did not do anything... but the previous concern arose cos I am ... paranoid? No. I would want someone to look out for my loved ones as well, especially when it is a simple thing of stopping a dangerous action.

One of my favourite songs these days is a tribute to Ella's dog. It is such a sweet song that when I heard the song clearly, I fell in love with the feelings... Oooo... touchy-feely sia.

Anyway, just thought of dedicating this song to someone whose name has a similar ring to it...

A month long at home

It is hard to come by, with close to a month of sitting at home, driving around aimlessly, and doing very little about my life... errr ... the last part is at least constant wherever I am. Having turned 30 just a few days back, my favourite present was this phone call from my brother, with him, sister-in-law, niece and nephew singing the birthday song to me over the phone. While we already had a cake-celebration the weekend before, it was still nice to have people I love doing that.



Under the instigation of my colleagues, I have finally gotten my hands on a digital SLR - the Olympus E-510. Good package, I must add. Sure, it is not one of the "big-two" brands, but it is probably what I need at an entry level. Anyhow, it may be another of my 5-minute passion ... and if I think I can start taking good photos from now on ...

With the StanChart marathon drawing near, I had been training progressively. However, after the last 18-km run, there were the familiar abrasions at the standard places. And I also fell ill, not unlike the time after the first marathon. Then there was this news about the Chicago marathon on Sunday, where a man died, and many were admitted to the hospital. While the heat conditions were not unfamiliar to us in Singapore, it was probably not what the people expected in Chicago.
http://www.voanews.com/english/2007-10-08-voa26.cfm

With a long trip to South Korea starting tomorrow, I guess there will be less time to train (excuses!). Perhaps since there is no way this guy would be trying to complete the run in record time, he should be safe... but I better know my limit.

After ...

Only stayed home for 8 nights, and am now in Taiwan, for a couple of meetings, before heading over to the States.

Weighing 66.5 kg before the China business trip, I now weighed between 66-67 kg on the new machine at the gym. Guess the skipping of meals in China had helped to maintain my weight. Now, I shall see how many kilos I will gain from eating American food. Will probably need to work out like crazy when I get home next month.

Day 25 in Daqing

Well, I had enough of staying here, with further delays at work. Forced a departure date for tomorrow, and since the delays were not my fault (though I did hold them back for about a day, but that was rightfully done, and one day is nothing compared to the weeks that I have stayed here), they did not hold me back.

Taxis ...
Would you take a taxi that already has some passengers in it? I guess the context had to be clearer. If you were in some god-forsaken place, without other options in sight, that might not be such a bad idea. Of course, there is a risk that the gang could be in cahoots, and there might be smoe dire consequences from entering that taxi... but I sure did not think about that while I was here. Perhaps it is just the environment, where the people are not shady and just want to go about their life. It is not so 'complicated' here. But I think in a large part, it is me. I just do not have sufficient ability to be wary of my surroundings. Especially when I am tired and frustrated.

And how about allowing your taxi driver to pick up someone along the way? Again, context. If it seemed like a preplanned thing on his part, perhaps it would be a good idea not to agree. If it were in the middle of nowhere, perhaps it is also good to ask if it is a wise thing to do. After being picked up in a partially occupied taxi twice, I was quite agreeable for my taxi driver to pick up a guy from a road off the highway towards my hotel. It was not a place where people would be waiting for taxis, but there he was. I did not even attempt to see if he was potentially dangerous. I did not think very much at all. I think I have got to be more sharp while I am in a foreign place. It is nice that the people in Daqing are a pretty okay lot, but that does not apply to other places in general. Must remember that.

Connection
It was funny, cos I had this opportunity to meet this other guy who is in the same field, and we had so much in common that it was such a pleasure to chat about everything from work to life. For someone with my job scope, I might think that the only people who could really understand what it is like are the colleagues. But even among colleagues, you may be lucky to find more than one who can relate to you that well. I think I now have someone to look up if I decide to go to Shanghai for a weekend trip now!

In the event that I do decide to go overseas for holidays... I will go where friends are... I think.
Friend/s in
... Shanghai - 1
... Beijing - 1
... Amsterdam - 2 (the other in the Hague doesn't count, since he is returning home soon)
... Edinburgh - 1
Not a very international list as yet.

But now, I am just looking forward to going home. A little more than 24 hours before I reach home!

Day 19 in Daqing

A sunset view, along my usual jogging path around a nearby 'lake'.


And they have this ball thing on the lake, that they put kids into, to trap them before abandoning them on the lake, and letting them asphyxiate slowly ... haha... too imaginative here. Reminds me of some previously-aired gladiator type programme, where contestants would combat each other in some contraptions like these. Does look kinda fun.


The use of solar power is very directly relevant to China, where the electrical power distribution may not be as extensive or as cost-effective in certain parts of the country than elsewhere in the world. Here, there is a strong business case for going green. Of course, this is only a small drop in the ocean of energy needs, and I have this nagging question on the 'providers of solutions' here ... about the quality of the products. You might too, if you saw the commercials they have on TV.

Day 15 in Daqing

More than 2 weeks here ... there has been some more delays at site, hence pushing back the effective start-date of the 2nd part of my work here. That equates to a later return date. Sigh... I would like to think that I can deal with boredom, since this is not the first time that I am waiting for things to happen. Work in the room, surf net intermittently, watch a couple of shows over youtube or tudou. I think the food is getting to me though.

It has been a rotation of the options for food. BBQ, chinese food at some small eatery, chinese food at the restaurant in the 'hotel'. It is getting so boring that I have even taken to skipping meals, or taking cereals instead of a full meal. Of course, there were also trips to the shopping areas, where I had McD for one afternoon, and KFC for another. And no, the shopping areas were not particularly interesting. And the prices of the imported stuff are not too different from the prices you would find in Singapore. There was nothing that compelled me to make a purchase.

Day 12 in Daqing

What should have taken only 3-5 days took a total of 12 days!!! This includes a night-long fight against the elements yesterday... sigh.

While I should be glad that this first part of the work is completed, I am to remain here until the second part begins, hopefully in 4 days' time. From there, I would need to put in at least 5 more days... So many days to be spent here.

Day 6 in Daqing

Though technically the 7th day in China, I had only arrived in Daqing past midnight into the second day, with the incredible delays at the Beijing airport.

Progress at work had been slow, with delays from other areas. This is unfortunately a typical aspect of my job. While it is great to have the time to skive once in a while, this is getting ridiculous. I wonder how much more patience I have in myself.

A nice thing about work today was that on leaving, some folks whom I am not familiar with invited me to have dinner together. They were very warm and friendly, and of course, they were curious about Singapore. It was a good exchange of information, with some steamboat food. It certainly beat my previous idea for dinner (just drink milk in the room) hands down.

It was nice, as these people were very human. Some of them had to leave in the middle of dinner to go home and settle stuff. And no one really minded. It was so free and easy. I guess this is the best kind of dinner affair, without a clear need for hierarchy at the dinner table.

During the course of dinner, I purposedly dropped a familiar name to them. It was one of their (ex-)colleagues. She was a very kind and responsible person whom I had worked with a year back, but had been "out of action" since late last year. The problem with this information was that no one had given me a very clear picture. Even the person closest to me seemed very unwilling to tell me more, and had most recently changed topics when I asked about her. What I had understood was that she was ill, and had to rest at home. In a normal situation, he should have offered me her contact information, so that I can decide whether I want to reach her. But nothing.

The people at the dinner table began discussing excitedly for a while, about someone hurting another person, and was thus held in custody, awaiting trial or something like that. It sounded like a really complicated situation, and I had the feeling that my dear friend could be in trouble for something that she did. There was a bit of a sinking feeling, cos she had been a wonderful person, a responsible supervisor, a doting mother, and a loving wife to a colleague. But as the people at the dinner table mentioned, that was not a glorious thing, and it would be best if I did not know exactly what happened.

But that made me a little apprehensive over the other people whom I had been very close to at this site. Perhaps I am still a foreign visitor that they feel obliged to show off only their best, or at least not to show anything problematic and potentially shameful. Perhaps the level of "friendship" or 关系 is nothing to speak of proudly... Perhaps it is just as well, to avoid feeling too much, feeling too sorry.

Daqing - this may be a long trip ...

What had initially appeared to be a simple 2-3 week work is now becoming increasingly unclear in terms of schedule. Why, there is even a chance that this may extend for a month. Much as I like this place, being away for a month, with many unproductive periods in between, isn't the way I would like to spend time.

This hotel is not particularly posh, but it is certainly good enough, with a working desk, and stable internet connection. Of course, the rooms are kinda bare, and the surrounding does not provide any distraction for the free and wandering mind, the sorta state I will be in for many days during this period.

And there is hardly any place to do any exercise, besides jogging... Did a short jog in the evening, to a park of some sort. In a way, it is good that this is the summer season, and T-shirt with shorts makes appropriate attire for outdoor sports. Imagine trying to exercise outdoors at sub-zero temperatures in the other seasons of the year at this nothern location.

Will pop by at the mall tomorrow. Might as well try to enjoy time here while waiting for the work activities to unfold.

Before ...

Just weighed myself last night ... 66.5 kg. It has been like a bullish market, being up, up and away, with each work trip. Even after a month of frequent cardio workouts, I could only cut 0.5 kg. Perhaps it is just healthy mass! I would certainly like to believe that. Being away for the next 2-3 weeks will definitely be a test on my perseverance to workout and keep fit despite disturbances in my routine. However, it is not as easy as if I were staying in some posh hotels with gyms... it is probably not even good to do outdoor jogging where I am heading for.

Will have to switch to a channel 8 mode soon. Gotta become fluent again, and hope not to stumble too much on technical jargons. At least I am not unfamiliar with this work location, and there are very friendly people there.

Home for a month

It had been a nice month, staying in the country. During the previous trips out, I had thought that there were plenty of stuff that I should do when I returned. Stuff like catching up with old friends, doing more sports/exercises, going to explore other places in Singapore, explore other eating places ... How much I did was another matter altogether... The sloth that set in was incredible.

Did meet up with a few old friends, and it was good. And I am opening up slowly to people around me. Perhaps it is about time, about time especially when I am about to reach the big 3-0...

Gonna leave for a China trip again. Was going to call it a "China-Korea storm" but the legs of the trip are not confirmed as yet. Sigh... that is my life. Hope to be back before the National Day holidays though.

And this is the link to another song that has been trapped in my head for the past few weeks.

This Heart is a Stone

Thought this was a very nice song, when I heard it whilst calling a customer ...




or ...

Dalian once again

Back to Dalian yesterday, ready to do work today... but there was a delay (not that uncommon a situation)... so I spent most of today wasting my time away.



Walked around aimlessly around lunch time, and came across the Russian street. This Northeastern Port of China, surrounded by Russia, Korea and Japan, showed the influences from the cultures from these countries.

On my previous trip, I had gone looking about town on a car ...

And for this trip, it was nice to stay so very close to the shopping belt. It is also like in Kaohsiung...

Day 4 of "Scary May '07 Work Trip"

Had a terrible time yesterday, with the travelling from Changzhou all the way to Daesan. As the trip involved a number of transfers from cab to train and back to cab, by the time I arrived at Shanghai Pudong International Airport, I was so tired that I was sighing the whole time there.

This fatigue carried on all the way through the flight and on the road from Incheon to Daesan. It did not help that I had a deadline to meet, and had to work till about 2am local time. And woke up by 6am to get ready to meet the rep from the customer.

At the customer's site, it was some waiting (in fact, i waited until late afternoon to begin my real work). Waited and slept a little. Also had some nice discussions with several of the folks here. Some of them have really good english, and I must work harder to reduce my speaking pace, as well as reduce the number of strange phrasings that I seemed ever so incline to use (there i went again). It was also nice to meet some old friends, who had turned up at the same location for the activities.

Not sure how long this scary work trip will take. Have already completed the 1st part, with Changzhou (again) visited. After the work in Daesan is up, it will be back to China, though Dalian this time. Should be exciting.

Night Market @ 麦寮

After sticking around for almost 10 days, my work here is finally done. Taiwan is nice and all, but when you are away for that long... and I must admit that my productivity was on the decline.

One of the guys at work offered to bring me to the night market at the nearby town. While I was initially hesitant, the trip turned up really fun. The company was great, and there was a number of interesting sights.

There were a number of game stations, that I had not seen in night markets before. There were a lot of small pinball machines, and a row of basketball tossing machines. The latter had been featured in some Taiwanese variety shows, where the guests would challenge each other on the maximum number of successful tosses within the time limt.



There were also some game stations where people needed to catch fishes or prawns with nets or with small hook devices.


There were also plenty of food stalls, serving all sorts of delights. It was a lot of eating, a lot of looking around, and a lot of laughter. This was really what I had needed.

常州 - Second Look

Returned to China again to complete the work, and stayed at the Fudu Traders Hotel for the full 6 nights. It was certainly a lot better to be staying in 1 hotel room throughout, rather than moving every day... which was what happened in my previous trip ... 3 hotel rooms in 2 hotels for 3 nights. Changzhou was such a busy place that week.







I had no mood to go touring around the city even though I had more than a few nights of free time.

There was a time when I heard that the Chinese culture is strong on tea, and will not allow coffee to assimilate that quickly. However, a lot of people in the cities are beginning to indulge in a cuppa more and more. There are plenty of coffee clubs and houses in Changzhou, serving western food, local chinese food, and beverages galore. I had heard about Bread Talks in Beijing, and was not too surprised to see an outlet in Changzhou as well.

The shopping scene is quite nice and if I were in the mood to shop around, I would have probably gotten quite some stuff. But I was quite amazed by a nice-looking mosque that was along the shopping belt. It is a "寺", and I only realized it is a mosque after seeing the crescent and the star.