After a long break from Running events.. (pics by Roy)

It's been a long while since Ive joined an organised running event..  All I did the past year was running at the gym on the t-mill ,depriving myself of the chance to enjoy the wonders of nature and relaxing effect of an outdoor run..

Running in the gym is like urban living, while running at the park is like living in Pandora!!

I finally got the motivation to get up early for such runs.. it really makes a big difference when you attend such runs alone, and with friends.

With friends around, you'll chat all the way..

before the race starts,

during the race,

and after the race..

So the 10km didnt even seem that long after all!

The race started half and hour late.. and all the runners were wating at the start line since 6 plus cos they said to be there early, by 7am.. but in fact, it started at 740am (I had my timex! )

The race finally starts, and we were all running on cyclist tracks!!

Imagine, paying $39.90 for this run and there was no proper planning of route to prevent runners from colliding with cyclists..

The running route wasnt closed entirely for the event!

Finishers...

we took our own sweet time, prefering to look glam over the sweaty, worn out look.

The marshalls were the worst ever!! Wonder where they came from...

After crossing the 9km mark, a lady in front asked the marshall, how much more we had ahead.. the marshall replied:

"less than 3km"

Wow.. thanks! It was already confusing enough to have 2 very close sets of distance markers..There was another run earlier and so we had 2 very confusing signs to tell us how far we have run..

Imagine how frustrating it would be for elite runners who are racing for the tops, and are pacing themselves very tightly..

Smiling despite having a poor finishing atmosphere...

I miss the feeling of finishing at Standchart.. This, was just totally miserable..

Luclily we had each other to smile at..

Post run stretch..

Had a nice, relaxing run with no stress about timing.. we were just talking along the way.. and finished in 80 mins.. very aunty timing, but who cares....

It was a nice run overall, at least I had a good friend to run with..

And it was disappointing not to have any post run goody bags or souvenirs..

If not for charity, this run is definitely a disaster..

Good luck in organising Citispa run 2011.. if there will be any at all!

( I chanced upon loads of complaints on the events facebook page.. )

A race with no flexibility. Marshalls were for show - road clearance not made, no cheers, no directions given. Drinks were brought in at a very late minute before start of race. When you know that whoever is going to be late or because of some speech needs to be given, there must be a PLAN B. Pre-, During, Post-run ---...> All bad. It was simply another jog of which the ladies jog on their own along East Coast. Best part all these for a hefty $35. (it was $39.90 in fact! )

The problem was no one from the event actually informed those of us at the start line that the race had a) been delayed and b) when the start was going to take place. At the start line there was no speaker so when you actually started the race we had to hear it from a distance (being broadcast in the tent). As an organiser you should have a back up plan for when the race is delayed i.e. maybe you should have thought about presenting the cheque after the race. I understand that this was a charity event but it is totally unacceptable for an organiser not to think about the participants in a race, who incidentally you put at risk by starting at a later time. I hope all the runners were ok.

Unfortunately, a poorly organised event by people who obviously don't take part in running races!!!! The delayed start was a joke, there was no speakers at the starting line so nobody knew what was going on, and there was no km marker at each km. Not great at all

A great product!

I have never raved about any products ever before on this blog, but this product here really deserves being raved about!

Got this in the goodie bag for the Citispa run  which was held last Sunday.. decided to give it a try since I am so afraid of UV rays now.. So I took 2 caps in the morning before the run, applied a thin layer of sunblock on my face and none at all on my body!

Was running in the morning sun for about slightly more than an hour and I returned with no tan lines or sun burn, in fact, I didnt get any darker! I have no idea how much it costs, but I think this is a great investment cos it only needs to be taken prior to sun exposure and not on a daily basis (if you are not out in the sun)

This shall be my lifelong sunblock from now on!!

My very own car, finally!

Finally collected my Avante today! I am lucky to have bought it early.. this week, the prices of all types of cars have gone up!!

I have great things to say about the car.. light steering,so light that I can park with one hand now!! .. silent drive..so sound-proof that I could hardly hear my horn when I used...it is a friendly car indeed! it took me less than a drive to AMK today to get used to it!

Gonna start decorating it and on Sat, Trav dearee and I are going to dress her up, inside and outside! Cant wait!

A little treasure found

On Sunday, I was searching thru a drawer for a cloth and I found this!!  My primary 2 Cross-stitch assignment for art. Is was surprisingly nice and clean, and kinda amateurish.. typical of little kids who are tasked with very "adult things"
Quite a timely find.. I can have this in our new room!

Gonna collect the car on Thur or Fri.. am excited and I have been finding and collecting little things for the car.. like little display things, pink mats for the boot, decorating the IU cover (done mostly by Trav) and buying more"blings"  to decorate the mirror..
And am looking forward to Sat where the car will be accessorized even more, on the outside!

The shortest week in my life

It just seems so, cos the past week was hell..

Taught many lessons throughout the week, and wardrobe and some admin for the agency's bintan shoot when I went home, and looked for a car to buy..

In all this work frenzy, I managed to find time to pick up a car!! And Im really really excited about it! It has taken away quite a bit from my bank acct (cos I paid in full, no loan, cos I dont like to pay interest), but I dont feel any heartache at all.. its sorta like enjoying the fruits of my labour.. hah..

My CNY with the Family

This CNY, we decided to head sumwhere warmer.. cos Daddy's skin cant take the winter cold anymore. So we re-visited Australia after 15 years and we still love the place!

(except for the occasional racism from childish, teenage Australians who work in low class places, and who probably suffer from low self esteem)

It was summer but we were very lucky cos the weather was perfect during our stay, mostly cloudy, cool breeze and very little, but still present sunshine.

It was rather hectic, cos the morning we arrived, we headed out for a City tour immediately and we slept on the plane the previous night. And the tour guide cum driver was the worst ever.. cant be bothered to say how bad he was..

But at the airport upon arrival, we were made to stand in the rain to wait for his bus. It was indeed welcoming!

He brought us to the Wild Life World at 5pm when it closes at 6pm. Great planning of the city tour, when the Wild Life world was actually right smack in the middle of the city!

So We rushed through it and the aunties in the grp just kept complaining and whining non stop.

Anw,this must be the biggest Croc i have ever seen in real life!

The day  went by very quickly and I slept at 630pm Singapore time that day.

The next day was quite a special one. We took a trip out North ( I think) to Blue Mountain.

Stopped by the Sydney Fish Market in the morning.

Lovely Classic Archi work!

It's a pity we dont have nice seafood in Singapore.  The entire market was filled with food stalls selling cooked and fresh seafood. Apart from the fishy smell which I can't tolerate, everthing was great!

Just look at the way the display their oysters.. They sell them there like how we sell eggs in Singapore!

As usual, the 2 greedier pple in the family had a feast there.. Mummy and my bro bought a plate full of seafood. This lobster is just a small part of the feast. It was a pity I was too full frm breakie that mornin.

It was Valentines Day and the 1st day of CNY that day! At the fish mkt, there was a florist and it was really sweet of Daddy to initiate this pic

After the Fish mkt, we travelled a long way to Blue mountain. It was a pity it drizzled and rained that day. Though I didnt have an unbrella and was kinda soaked, the breath-taking view just compensated for everything unpleasant.

At the same place, there were rides to explore the Blue Mountain area and the 3 sisters rock. The area was a reserve and we took this tram down to the bottom to trek through the reserve.

The ride took 90secs, and it was thrilling but very very dangerous. The entire tram went down 90 degrees and we had no seat belts on. though the speed of desend was slow, if anything went wrong, we would all just fall down, like into a cave!

We actually did a lot in a day there. In the evening, we had time to visit this CNY carnival at a field near the hotel. There was food, entertainment, stalls selling Chinese things. The entire place didnt even feel like it was Aussie.. but tats also cos Sydney is filled with pple from all over the world..

I think the CNY atmosphere in Sydney is better than in Spore. They had a 10-15 min long fireworks display at Darling harbour. We found out about it by chance and it was mesmerizing. Never have I seen such lovely colors and sequence! It was drizzling that night, but the crowd there didnt let that dampen the celebratory spirits.. After the fireworks ended, everyone spontaneously cheered and clapped! It is really unlike that in Singapore where pple shove and push their way, and just rush for the carpark when its over

We spent 2 days at the outskirts of Sydney and lived by the beach. Breakfast was beautiful! Birds, colorful ones, not the black mynahs in Singapore, ate happily at their tree. The notti and daring ones would stare at you and steal ur food while you are unaware.

The view I woke up to..

There was a visit to the shark and ray aquarium too! It was definitely disapointing cos I expected to see a place better put together than this.

But nevertheless, I had a good time entertaining myself with Ray feeding.. (the sharks were tiny btw)

We fed them with smelly sotongs.. at the end of the stick,there is a peg and u'll just need to clip it there and feed that to the rays!

They are cute if  u see them from below!

And I was the only one who kept going on and on.. feeding them till the sotongs ran out

Near the ray place was Hunter Valley. The garden was huge but boring, except for the part where the Story book garden was. It was filled with these nursery rhyme characters.

It was a pity the weather was too hot that day..

This makes a very nice wedding shot..esp so for Trav dearee and I..

Just like Shrek and Fiona

And this is definitely the most exciting part of the trip. The sand was super fine and it was windy that day. After sliding down the sand dune, I had sand all over my body..

The slope was super steep.. it was quite easy and I managed to find the courage to be the demo person of the group.. so without much hesitation, I sat on that board and enthusiatically went down merrily!

At least my demo was perfect.. I made it seem easy and not so scary, and soon enough, everyone started going down.. even the aunties were daring enough to try it.

Luckily, I didnt fall.. otherwise no one in the grp would dare try it already..

Very steep indeed!

After sliding down, you'll have to find your way up the slope, and the sand.. it is much better a workout than 30 mins on the t-mill, definitely!

We spent half a day going out to sea to watch dolphins! It was special cos the dolphins were in their most natural states, not like how we usually see them in pools for performances..

The Aussie authorities also didnt permit the feeding of Dolphins as they wanted to make it as natural a state as possible for them to live in

It was a great day for going out to sea.. breezy with a touch of sunshine! just right for a mild tan!

I always have this thing for boats and the sea.. it is ironic though, cos Ive had a boating licence for almost 4 years but I havent gone out to sea yet! And Im sure I cant berth anymore!

The time spent at the jetty was nice and unforgettable, cos the entire place was like a little country side, town area.. the shops there were something like the classier version of Changi village shops..

while waiting to board the boat, some cute lil birds were being cheeky.. I was so afraid they would peck my ass, so I couldnt get a nice shot taken..

My fav shot of the entire trip! Everyone here looks genuinely happy and relaxed!

It's just perfect!

Next year, there wil be an additional person on the trip! =)

The cute crew went around with this stamp after we spotted the dolphins..

Am loking forward to the next trip with the family!

2010 is gonna be a super exciting year!