I had always enjoyed a slow morning jog on a holiday. But it had been sometime since I did that. So when I overcame my lethargy and incredibly comfy bed in the fantastic weather this morning to go jog amidst the overcast skies and light run, I had time to reflect. I believe my life had evolved over the past year, where I understood myself a little better.
So much has changed ... got attached and recently detached... previous department was divested so was forced to change jobs, but landed a new role with much less travels... made huge decisions on life plans... I would like to think that I am in a better place now, but somehow, it just feels like I am back where I started.
After completing 10 marathons last year, I had thought it would have good to stop the chase for personal challenge. But after not doing the full marathon last December, I sorta missed the exuberance of completing an arduous run... which would have been okay if my recent training had been easy on my body. Maybe age is catching up. :P
Monday, May 2, 2011
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
天目湖
天目湖 - part of the seminar that the customer organized. This was a nice lake, made a tourist attraction. I always appreciate a large water body, though the company of close friends and family would have made this lake more interesting.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Marathon 10
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Marathon 10
Refering back to last year's post...
http://charles-footsteps.blogspot.com/2009/12/marathon-9.html
Did better this year, with trainings up to 2.5 hrs... First night marathon... the Sundown Marathon, which began last night at 2359hrs...
Marathon 10
Refering back to last year's post...
http://charles-footsteps.blogspot.com/2009/12/marathon-9.html
Did better this year, with trainings up to 2.5 hrs... First night marathon... the Sundown Marathon, which began last night at 2359hrs...
Decided to take part on this event late last year, inspired by friends, and this is the first time I'm taking part in the night event with lotsa good pals running together or supporting.
1. Mobil Marathon 1999 5hr 48 min
2. ExxonMobil Marathon 2001 4hr 33 min
3. StanChart Marathon 2003 5hr 00 min
4. StanChart Marathon 2004 5hr 22 min
5. StanChart Marathon 2005 4hr 47 min
6. StanChart Marathon 2006 4hr 50 min
7. StanChart Marathon 2007 4hr 32 min
8. StanChart Marathon 2008 4hr 53 min
9. StanChart Marathon 2009 5hr 07 min
10. Adidas Sundown Marathon 2010 4hr 57 min
2. ExxonMobil Marathon 2001 4hr 33 min
3. StanChart Marathon 2003 5hr 00 min
4. StanChart Marathon 2004 5hr 22 min
5. StanChart Marathon 2005 4hr 47 min
6. StanChart Marathon 2006 4hr 50 min
7. StanChart Marathon 2007 4hr 32 min
8. StanChart Marathon 2008 4hr 53 min
9. StanChart Marathon 2009 5hr 07 min
10. Adidas Sundown Marathon 2010 4hr 57 min
This makes 10, hitting my original target. Yeah!
The knees did not hurt as much this time, and it was more the abrasion, the sleepiness and the boredom that got to me. haha... now the question is... what will I do for this year's StanChart event?
Monday, March 29, 2010
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Taiwan Up 2010 ... and really tired
Arrived in Taipei since Monday, but with heavy thoughts. The upcoming meetings were not going to be the most fun, and the cold weather and winter environment made the mood somewhat darker.
This is the first time that I come across the Taipei 101 building. Walked by last night, and took a look and a snapshot. Strangely, the aspect ratio and the surroundings actually make the building NOT seem very tall.
This is the first time that I come across the Taipei 101 building. Walked by last night, and took a look and a snapshot. Strangely, the aspect ratio and the surroundings actually make the building NOT seem very tall.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
My "Heart Rate" Diary for 2009
It might be interesting to compare 2009 against 2008.
http://charles-footsteps.blogspot.com/2009/01/my-heart-rate-diary-for-2008.html
http://charles-footsteps.blogspot.com/2009/01/my-heart-rate-diary-for-2008.html
And below is the diary for 2009.
Into 2010
New Year's Resolution Time!
1. Sporting events + swimming, v.ball, badminton and tennis ... stay fit and active!
2. Property hunting ... better start now! >1 viewing per quarter
3. Being smarter and trust my instincts more
4. BUT not my driving or direction instincts!
With regards to 4., perhaps I need a GPS from here on. Kept losing my way recently, even on expressways. Wow!
1. Sporting events + swimming, v.ball, badminton and tennis ... stay fit and active!
2. Property hunting ... better start now! >1 viewing per quarter
3. Being smarter and trust my instincts more
4. BUT not my driving or direction instincts!
With regards to 4., perhaps I need a GPS from here on. Kept losing my way recently, even on expressways. Wow!
Thursday, December 31, 2009
the end of another year
it is time to review on the resolutions set out earlier this year, and to see where there had been success, and where I had fallen short...
1. Marathon + Sporting event
Not the best timing on earth, but completed the 9th marathon this year; Also joined the Passion Run in June...
2. Golf
Gave up before completion. Obviously didn't like this sport much.
3. Sports (badminton, tennis, beach volleyball)
This is a "cheating" resolution, since I would definitely be doing these! And did all these whenever I could.
4. Property hunting
Did not go ahead with this. Being lazy was the key reason, but potential job change was also another demotivator. No excuse for 2010?
5. Quality time with family
Yupz. Great year for this. Weekends, Genting trip... more next year!
6. 学以致用 - Dale Carnegie's concepts
Did not complete this course yet! Will continue next year. Using some of the concepts, though I must admit that there is some sort of personality clash with being good. :-P
7. Trust, share & learn
A little I guess, but nothing to be proud about. At least not as silo-ed as before.
8. Smile
Think I have been smiling more than before. Not that I frown less, but there are more reasons to smile sometimes. Small reasons, but reasons nonetheless.
Here's looking forward to the new year.
1. Marathon + Sporting event
Not the best timing on earth, but completed the 9th marathon this year; Also joined the Passion Run in June...
2. Golf
Gave up before completion. Obviously didn't like this sport much.
3. Sports (badminton, tennis, beach volleyball)
This is a "cheating" resolution, since I would definitely be doing these! And did all these whenever I could.
4. Property hunting
Did not go ahead with this. Being lazy was the key reason, but potential job change was also another demotivator. No excuse for 2010?
5. Quality time with family
Yupz. Great year for this. Weekends, Genting trip... more next year!
6. 学以致用 - Dale Carnegie's concepts
Did not complete this course yet! Will continue next year. Using some of the concepts, though I must admit that there is some sort of personality clash with being good. :-P
7. Trust, share & learn
A little I guess, but nothing to be proud about. At least not as silo-ed as before.
8. Smile
Think I have been smiling more than before. Not that I frown less, but there are more reasons to smile sometimes. Small reasons, but reasons nonetheless.
Here's looking forward to the new year.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Marathon 9
Refering back to last year's post...
http://charles-footsteps.blogspot.com/2008/12/marathon-8.html
This year, I had actually trained up to 2 hrs (only once... and only upon refering to that previous post did I realize that last year's training sucked as well). However, frequent travels and being sick twice recently did not help with the training.
Having returned to Singapore from Penang last night, I had a couple of hours of rest before heading to the city. It was a great run, to be honest, and it was only my training (or lack thereof) that set me back. The weather was uncharacteristically fabulous until 10am. One thing about this year's run was that I convinced myself that it was okay to stop and relax anytime. Walking to completion aint too bad. And thus, this year, I did a 5hr 7 min clock time (but about 5hr 20+min gun time)
1. Mobil Marathon 1999 5hr 48 min
2. ExxonMobil Marathon 2001 4hr 33 min
3. StanChart Marathon 2003 5hr 00 min
4. StanChart Marathon 2004 5hr 22 min
5. StanChart Marathon 2005 4hr 47 min
6. StanChart Marathon 2006 4hr 50 min
7. StanChart Marathon 2007 4hr 32 min
8. StanChart Marathon 2008 4hr 53 min
9. StanChart Marathon 2009 5hr 07 min
One more to make the 10 that I told myself to complete before I hit 40... depending on how my knees hold up, maybe I can up the ante to 15???
http://charles-footsteps.blogspot.com/2008/12/marathon-8.html
This year, I had actually trained up to 2 hrs (only once... and only upon refering to that previous post did I realize that last year's training sucked as well). However, frequent travels and being sick twice recently did not help with the training.
Having returned to Singapore from Penang last night, I had a couple of hours of rest before heading to the city. It was a great run, to be honest, and it was only my training (or lack thereof) that set me back. The weather was uncharacteristically fabulous until 10am. One thing about this year's run was that I convinced myself that it was okay to stop and relax anytime. Walking to completion aint too bad. And thus, this year, I did a 5hr 7 min clock time (but about 5hr 20+min gun time)
1. Mobil Marathon 1999 5hr 48 min
2. ExxonMobil Marathon 2001 4hr 33 min
3. StanChart Marathon 2003 5hr 00 min
4. StanChart Marathon 2004 5hr 22 min
5. StanChart Marathon 2005 4hr 47 min
6. StanChart Marathon 2006 4hr 50 min
7. StanChart Marathon 2007 4hr 32 min
8. StanChart Marathon 2008 4hr 53 min
9. StanChart Marathon 2009 5hr 07 min
One more to make the 10 that I told myself to complete before I hit 40... depending on how my knees hold up, maybe I can up the ante to 15???
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Xintiandi on a Saturday Night
Shanghai Xintiandi - The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaves
Took me an hour of hesitation, before deciding to come over to Xintiandi. A last minute meeting change resulted in my staying an extra few days out in Shanghai... and while I would have preferred to go home for the weekend, Shanghai for a few days ain't that bad either. And one of the draws was to experience the night life here... NOT. WIll pass clubbing and pubbing for a episode or two of Brothers and Sisters.
Got in touch with David (previous Shanghai "correspondence" was John) and we planned to catch up tomorrow. It had been two months since he had returned to Shanghai, after about a year in Singapore, and being close to our gang of friends. Now, without Facebook, it will be good to catch up a little with him, and find out how quickly he had gotten used to the life back in China.
The cafe is at a nice place to people-watch, and there are a lot of good-looking people around. Certainly better dressed than my t-shirt and jeans, but not that I am too conscious about my dressing. There is only so many pieces of clothings I could have packed for the work trip, with the cold weather and all. I wonder how cold Tokyo would be... I do not have my winter coat with me, and will probably miss it for the warmth and the stylishness. Probably reduced to wearing more layers of clothings, and risk mis-matching the business jacket with the down-winter wear. Maybe I should go shopping tomorrow?
Took me an hour of hesitation, before deciding to come over to Xintiandi. A last minute meeting change resulted in my staying an extra few days out in Shanghai... and while I would have preferred to go home for the weekend, Shanghai for a few days ain't that bad either. And one of the draws was to experience the night life here... NOT. WIll pass clubbing and pubbing for a episode or two of Brothers and Sisters.
Got in touch with David (previous Shanghai "correspondence" was John) and we planned to catch up tomorrow. It had been two months since he had returned to Shanghai, after about a year in Singapore, and being close to our gang of friends. Now, without Facebook, it will be good to catch up a little with him, and find out how quickly he had gotten used to the life back in China.
The cafe is at a nice place to people-watch, and there are a lot of good-looking people around. Certainly better dressed than my t-shirt and jeans, but not that I am too conscious about my dressing. There is only so many pieces of clothings I could have packed for the work trip, with the cold weather and all. I wonder how cold Tokyo would be... I do not have my winter coat with me, and will probably miss it for the warmth and the stylishness. Probably reduced to wearing more layers of clothings, and risk mis-matching the business jacket with the down-winter wear. Maybe I should go shopping tomorrow?
Sunday, October 4, 2009
moments before 32
spent the whole weekend watching 17 episodes of Brothers and Sisters... and when I finally went out for my first meal of this sunday (okay... 2nd, if you count buns and yogurt as brunch), I was also keen on taking a walk to move some of the lazy muscles.
it was only then that I realized the lake next to the hotel had a musical fountain with laser and hip-chinese music show. it was actually quite entertaining, and I like water afterall...
the bright spot in the top background is the moon on the 16th... supposedly at its roundest. Quality of the blackberry camera for night shot is poor, but at least the camera caught some of the moving lights.
Really could stay there and watch the dancing water jets, in the cool weather with the nice night sky. The laser show was quite good, reflected at various depths of water, rushing up, or splashing back down. If the music were different, and if there were good company, with a container of hot coffee, it would have been a perfect night. :-)
in China during their holidays
China's National Day... Mid-Autumn Festival... The adjacent festivities almost meant a standstill in China, since people are inclined to return home for a much deserved long break. In the past, this would be critical, as people needed to return home via rail, which could take days. Today, it is still important, as not everyone is rich enough to take the more expensive modes of transport.
Anyhow, despite the customer's plan to complete the work during this period, reality caught up, and there were insurmountable problems and hence delays. The result was the "burning" of holidays for many of the people around the project.
Photos from the park - day & night:
Thursday, October 1, 2009
China's 60th National Day
It is a big deal, the 60th National Day of China. The parade began at about 10am, and is still ongoing in Beijing, with a dramatic level of participation. There was military display, some group performances, and now, the parade floats are going around Tiananmen. There are mainly floats from the various provinces, but also includes (at least one?) foreign participants. The floats are quite elaborate, with iconic features of the provinces, rotating parts, people in various customers posing or waving to the people, and also large screens that show highlights from their regions. There is some more marching now, from the bands and other groups.
Wonder if they will be having fireworks in the evening? Should be an excellent display, if this morning's parade is anything to go by.
Of course, I am watching the parade in the hotel room in Heze. The same hotel room that did not have electricity from 2-6pm yesterday. The same hotel room that has questionable quality of water and questionable cleanliness of the towels. While I am fine with waiting for things to happen at the customer's site during this period, the local Chinese who are also supporting the customer are not the most excited bunch since they would probably prefer to be having their long-awaited long holiday.
A few more days to go...
Wonder if they will be having fireworks in the evening? Should be an excellent display, if this morning's parade is anything to go by.
Of course, I am watching the parade in the hotel room in Heze. The same hotel room that did not have electricity from 2-6pm yesterday. The same hotel room that has questionable quality of water and questionable cleanliness of the towels. While I am fine with waiting for things to happen at the customer's site during this period, the local Chinese who are also supporting the customer are not the most excited bunch since they would probably prefer to be having their long-awaited long holiday.
A few more days to go...
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
the 100th post - awake at 3+ am in China
Travelled to China after 1 month of enjoyable stay in Singapore. Almost looked forward to overseas work trips...
I'm awake at such a late hour, as dinner included too much alcohol. Upon returning to the room, I had only enough consciousness to bolt the door, remove my phone and wallet, before collapsing into the bed. That was about 4 hours of sleep? Anyhow, got up some time ago to do some work, and now preparing to go back to bed.
Thoughts on business dinners in China
Looking at it positively - chance to taste different delicacies, at company's or other's expense, free opportunity to drink alcohol, understanding another culture and history
On the flip side - too much of a waste of food, too much alcohol, and too much smoke
Why is there still a need to have too much food on the table? I hope that sufficient food that we can all finish will become the norm in the near future, but how do we promote this?
It doesn't help that I don't really fancy "delicacies" or alcohol all that much, so good luck to me for the next 5 days or so.
I'm awake at such a late hour, as dinner included too much alcohol. Upon returning to the room, I had only enough consciousness to bolt the door, remove my phone and wallet, before collapsing into the bed. That was about 4 hours of sleep? Anyhow, got up some time ago to do some work, and now preparing to go back to bed.
Thoughts on business dinners in China
Looking at it positively - chance to taste different delicacies, at company's or other's expense, free opportunity to drink alcohol, understanding another culture and history
On the flip side - too much of a waste of food, too much alcohol, and too much smoke
Why is there still a need to have too much food on the table? I hope that sufficient food that we can all finish will become the norm in the near future, but how do we promote this?
It doesn't help that I don't really fancy "delicacies" or alcohol all that much, so good luck to me for the next 5 days or so.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Bangkok 2009
Went on a last-minute holiday over last thursday to sunday, planned and confirmed only last monday-tuesday.
It was a good decision, to put down everything and take a break. Besides a few work calls and email checking, I was free to use my mind for my own purpose. Did some shopping, clubbing, and most importantly, roaming around with the same gang of friends.
Finally saw the Jatujak market, and despite the complaints of how hot, messy and unpleasant the market could be, I actually quite liked it. Well... I cannot understand why they are selling used shoes in the market, but the sale of some flowers, plants and pets did add something different to the typical flea-market style.
We went to a club two nights in a row (a third too, for those who stayed), and the crowd was amazing... amazing as in that it was almost impossible to move through the people, and we were pushed around more often, then moved by our own accord. The music was nice for these two nights though, and it was really enjoyable.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
IPPT and Holiday
Just took my IPPT on tuesday, and there were two takeaways:
1. There was a need for us to sign a declaration form on H1N1, and the nominal roll for the IPPT test takers was about 5 pages long, in NRIC number order... and i was in the first page... guess i was one of the older participants.
2. I was not really prepared to run too fast in the 2.4km run, since i had hardly had sufficient training prior to the test date, and i was having some muscle sore from recent trainings. But when the run started, there were two guys who were consistently fast, and pacing behind them, i managed to complete the run in 10mins 07sec. I amazed myself!
After some toggling back and forth on going and not going for holiday with the gang of pals, I had finally decided to go for it. Booked the flights, hotels and arrangements on Monday, and in less than 6 hours, i will be taking off to a nice and lazy holiday. Woohoo... photos will come later!
1. There was a need for us to sign a declaration form on H1N1, and the nominal roll for the IPPT test takers was about 5 pages long, in NRIC number order... and i was in the first page... guess i was one of the older participants.
2. I was not really prepared to run too fast in the 2.4km run, since i had hardly had sufficient training prior to the test date, and i was having some muscle sore from recent trainings. But when the run started, there were two guys who were consistently fast, and pacing behind them, i managed to complete the run in 10mins 07sec. I amazed myself!
After some toggling back and forth on going and not going for holiday with the gang of pals, I had finally decided to go for it. Booked the flights, hotels and arrangements on Monday, and in less than 6 hours, i will be taking off to a nice and lazy holiday. Woohoo... photos will come later!
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Journals from a week in Dushanzi
Journal log:18 July 1230hrs
Flight CA1901
Left Beijing this morning and took a little notice on how huge the airport is. It is pretty amazing from the vantage point I had.
Anyway, last night's news splashed on the bomb attacks at the Marriott and the Ritz-Carlton hotels almost simultaneously. It felt so surreal,especially since Iam heading for Urumqi en route to Dushanzi. What safety precautions can l fall back on, if something wereto happen? Not my most comforting moment right now.
Well, at least l'm entertaining myselt with my new Kohjinsha UMPC. Nice...
-----
Journal log: 18 July 2120hrs
Maitark Hotel 1006
Day 1 of "Disconnected from the world"
The trip to Dushanzi was uneventful, and on reaching the hotel, it became clear to me soon that there will be very few ways to be connected to the outside world. There is no internet, no connection on my mobile phones, even the local phones will not be able to make international calls. My only connection will be via my Beijing colleague, the Chinese agent and another Singapore colleague who has a China-registered number, by calling any one of them.
Let's see how my sanity holds with so much difficulties to be connected.
-----
Journal log: 19 July 0810hrs
Maitark Hotel Room 1006
Day 2 of "Disconnected from the world"
Weight - 66.4kg
7 hrs of sleep! Without much to do, and not wanting to work at those outstanding but non-urgent issues, without any TV shows that is worth watching, I slept more than I did for months. And I am looking forward to sleeping more tonight.
While strolling the streets last night, I noticed that the indoor lightings are always quite dim... dim compared to the lightings used in Singapore. Perhaps I am too used to the clarity with bright lights back home. And with regards to street design, the roads at Dushanzi are flanked by trees. It looks nice, but I must comment that the design was not well done. The branches of the trees were too low, and these trees are planted over pavements ... pavements that are now inaccessible by people taller than 1m. Duh...
-----
Journal log: 19 July 2205hrs
Maitark Hotel Room 1006
Day 2 of "Disconnected from the world"
It is really wierd, not having phone connections while mobile. There is no need to take my phones out, and that feels really strange... Will I get used to this?
I jogged around part of the town, and took some nice photos of the nearby mountains. It is not every day that I get to stay in a town near a snow-capped mountain, with some broad expense of green plains. The Dushanzi town consists of very new buildings, nice new estates, older style estates, as well as slums. The contrast of this small city/town is amazing.
-----
Journal log: 20 July 0715hrs
Maitark Hotel Room1006
Day 3 of "Disconnected from the world"
Weight - 66.9kg
Going back into the plant in the morning. Hope the progress will accelerate, but I understand that in this line, it is more likely for delays to occur. I wonder how I can handle this upset in the original plans.
-----
Journal log: 20 July 2150hrs
Maitark Hotel Room1006
Day 3 of "Disconnected from the world"
Probably getting fatter due to the heavy lunches and dinners. This is despite the morning 5BX that I have started to do. Perhaps I will remain fit after this trip? Well, I plan to skip dinner tomorrow in favour for a jog... think this is going to happen?
-----
Journal log: 21 July 0752hrs
Maitark Hotel Room1006
Day 4 of "Disconnected from the world"
Weight - 67.3kg
Another day here... hope things smoothen out at work. But I also look forward to having a day off to go touring. Hmm...
-----
Journal log: 22 July 0800hrs
Maitark Hotel Room1006
Day 5 of "Disconnected from the world"
Weight - 67.0kg
Not so much as disconnected from the world now. I could receive phone calls on the blackberry and the contact engineer also got me a local number for my use. But internet connection is still not there and I still cannot make international calls. Hope the government will decide to resume connectivity.
There is a solar eclipse taking place right now. Wonder if I will see it on the way to work later?
-----
Journal log: 22 July 2147hrs
Maitark Hotel Room1006
Day 5 of "Disconnected from the world"
Just came back from a swim at the next door public pool. Nice, though there is way too many people. But swimming does provide some much needed exercise. Dinner is going to be a Dove chocolate bar, yoghurt and oats cereals. Hmm...
-----
Journal log: 23 July 0757hrs
Maitark Hotel Room1006
Day 6 of "Disconnected from the world"
Weight - 66.4kg
Work is to begin today. Let's hope things go smoothly!
-----
Journal log: 23 July 2216hrs
Maitark Hotel Room1006
Day 6 of "Disconnected from the world"
Loading started, but with all the problems that I had previously envisioned. and we hanged around waiting for things to happen such that I only returned to the room around 9+. And my colleagues tried super hard to reach me with this one-way comms situation... so grateful... well, let's hope for a more smooth day tomorrow.
-----
Journal log: 24 July 0757hrs
Maitark Hotel Room1006
Day 7 of "Disconnected from the world"
Weight - 66.0kg
Light breakfasts and dinners over these 2 days have resulted in some reduction of weight. Guess I should continue to only have light dinners, though next week may not be in my total control.
-----
Journal log: 26 July 0952hrs
Flight CZ317 - Beijing to Seoul
Left Dushanzi yesterday, and was finally "connected" in Beijing, at the pretty good Crowne Plaza Hotel near the airport.117 emails for the 8 days of disconnection, with a myriad of issues to handle, some within the next 3 days. Oh dear... Hope I can get through these without too much pain.
-----
Flight CA1901
Left Beijing this morning and took a little notice on how huge the airport is. It is pretty amazing from the vantage point I had.
Anyway, last night's news splashed on the bomb attacks at the Marriott and the Ritz-Carlton hotels almost simultaneously. It felt so surreal,especially since Iam heading for Urumqi en route to Dushanzi. What safety precautions can l fall back on, if something wereto happen? Not my most comforting moment right now.
Well, at least l'm entertaining myselt with my new Kohjinsha UMPC. Nice...
-----
Journal log: 18 July 2120hrs
Maitark Hotel 1006
Day 1 of "Disconnected from the world"
The trip to Dushanzi was uneventful, and on reaching the hotel, it became clear to me soon that there will be very few ways to be connected to the outside world. There is no internet, no connection on my mobile phones, even the local phones will not be able to make international calls. My only connection will be via my Beijing colleague, the Chinese agent and another Singapore colleague who has a China-registered number, by calling any one of them.
Let's see how my sanity holds with so much difficulties to be connected.
-----
Journal log: 19 July 0810hrs
Maitark Hotel Room 1006
Day 2 of "Disconnected from the world"
Weight - 66.4kg
7 hrs of sleep! Without much to do, and not wanting to work at those outstanding but non-urgent issues, without any TV shows that is worth watching, I slept more than I did for months. And I am looking forward to sleeping more tonight.
While strolling the streets last night, I noticed that the indoor lightings are always quite dim... dim compared to the lightings used in Singapore. Perhaps I am too used to the clarity with bright lights back home. And with regards to street design, the roads at Dushanzi are flanked by trees. It looks nice, but I must comment that the design was not well done. The branches of the trees were too low, and these trees are planted over pavements ... pavements that are now inaccessible by people taller than 1m. Duh...
-----
Journal log: 19 July 2205hrs
Maitark Hotel Room 1006
Day 2 of "Disconnected from the world"
It is really wierd, not having phone connections while mobile. There is no need to take my phones out, and that feels really strange... Will I get used to this?
I jogged around part of the town, and took some nice photos of the nearby mountains. It is not every day that I get to stay in a town near a snow-capped mountain, with some broad expense of green plains. The Dushanzi town consists of very new buildings, nice new estates, older style estates, as well as slums. The contrast of this small city/town is amazing.
-----
Journal log: 20 July 0715hrs
Maitark Hotel Room1006
Day 3 of "Disconnected from the world"
Weight - 66.9kg
Going back into the plant in the morning. Hope the progress will accelerate, but I understand that in this line, it is more likely for delays to occur. I wonder how I can handle this upset in the original plans.
-----
Journal log: 20 July 2150hrs
Maitark Hotel Room1006
Day 3 of "Disconnected from the world"
Probably getting fatter due to the heavy lunches and dinners. This is despite the morning 5BX that I have started to do. Perhaps I will remain fit after this trip? Well, I plan to skip dinner tomorrow in favour for a jog... think this is going to happen?
-----
Journal log: 21 July 0752hrs
Maitark Hotel Room1006
Day 4 of "Disconnected from the world"
Weight - 67.3kg
Another day here... hope things smoothen out at work. But I also look forward to having a day off to go touring. Hmm...
-----
Journal log: 22 July 0800hrs
Maitark Hotel Room1006
Day 5 of "Disconnected from the world"
Weight - 67.0kg
Not so much as disconnected from the world now. I could receive phone calls on the blackberry and the contact engineer also got me a local number for my use. But internet connection is still not there and I still cannot make international calls. Hope the government will decide to resume connectivity.
There is a solar eclipse taking place right now. Wonder if I will see it on the way to work later?
-----
Journal log: 22 July 2147hrs
Maitark Hotel Room1006
Day 5 of "Disconnected from the world"
Just came back from a swim at the next door public pool. Nice, though there is way too many people. But swimming does provide some much needed exercise. Dinner is going to be a Dove chocolate bar, yoghurt and oats cereals. Hmm...
-----
Journal log: 23 July 0757hrs
Maitark Hotel Room1006
Day 6 of "Disconnected from the world"
Weight - 66.4kg
Work is to begin today. Let's hope things go smoothly!
-----
Journal log: 23 July 2216hrs
Maitark Hotel Room1006
Day 6 of "Disconnected from the world"
Loading started, but with all the problems that I had previously envisioned. and we hanged around waiting for things to happen such that I only returned to the room around 9+. And my colleagues tried super hard to reach me with this one-way comms situation... so grateful... well, let's hope for a more smooth day tomorrow.
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Journal log: 24 July 0757hrs
Maitark Hotel Room1006
Day 7 of "Disconnected from the world"
Weight - 66.0kg
Light breakfasts and dinners over these 2 days have resulted in some reduction of weight. Guess I should continue to only have light dinners, though next week may not be in my total control.
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Journal log: 26 July 0952hrs
Flight CZ317 - Beijing to Seoul
Left Dushanzi yesterday, and was finally "connected" in Beijing, at the pretty good Crowne Plaza Hotel near the airport.117 emails for the 8 days of disconnection, with a myriad of issues to handle, some within the next 3 days. Oh dear... Hope I can get through these without too much pain.
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