My sister and me

Bowling alley.

Stance.

"Put in more strength!"

She smiled. She laughed. She hopped and tiptoed. I laughed. I chuckled. I didn't talk much. At one time I wanted to see how stronger I could swing and see how hard the ball can crash. More strength does makes sense. It'll hit more.

She was good at keying in. She had her own style. No strength but style. I think she got a spare before.

"You need to drop it at the centre. See the line? Find the centre, the middle. In that way you could hit the middle duck."

"Why are you dreaming? I waited so long."

"No I was looking how good they were bowling.", she reasoned.

"Why do I always have to wait? I've finished paying and you were supposed to follow me."

She was looking at some pens at the counter.

How is work?

The last few weeks have seen design and brand engineering, some mathematics and the occasional issues of personal ambitions and upbringing. There have been attempts at very technical computerised drawing too. Electronics has a odd lecturer, mechanics with a friendly and funny tutor and the electronics prac was interesting. Other than that the canteen and eateries are always choked, filled to the brim. My wheels would love to go but the rain is a factor.

Hong Yi said that he wanted to be a politician. Cool.

Real Run 2009 aftermath

History repeats itself again. At the 9km mark, I dropped. After a wide lead, i dropped. At that stage when victory was almost certain, i dropped. When just a few efforts of what my buddy said around 4 mins or so could have saved my fate, i dropped. I dropped for the wrong reason.

This sport is a lot about tactics, tactics of the mind, strength of the mind, focus clarity of the mind. The mind aspect is as intriguing as the human brain.

Before i started, i thought that adequate form was there as i have been in race- ready mode till then.

But my assumption could be wrong.

For probably what i have done so far, have not really put me in race- ready mode.

Victory in the future is made sweeter i guess.

Exams

Is it that way to know how we measure up the talk of the town again? It is big thing, over here in our homeland. It's been repeated and repeated till it's become a cliche. "You are not going anywhere if you don't study hard". How many million times has it been heard? No matter what, it's quite true in a way.

Everyone knows anything starts from an idea, a thought. A thought is a possible intellectual product. An intellectual product can go far. Youtube started from a small idea. Microsoft started from an impulse. The Wright brothers came up with an idea of a plane after seeing how the bird flew. It all starts from thinking. Thinking well is a great start.

The brain has been studied as a phenomenal organ of the human body. There are infinite connections and millions of static movement per second. The brain can store, it keeps the heart beating and it works with the nervous system. We know that supercomputers can trounce the brain in some feats. But can the brain beat machines in any way?

So we have seen our great reliance on this phenomenon, the thinking organ. At home, it is a battle of the brains. Good papers ensure you at the top of the ladder. Good papers can be achieved if you can think well. How far can intellectual resource go? Microsoft is the 8th biggest company in the world today.

New facelift

The best thing about the new facelift is the shower facilities which has an open- air concept and unique mechanism. The switch to the shower is like a pulling action, a hanging handle which lets the shower flow continuously for about a lengthy 5- 8 seconds. It is a great joy to shower after a tough workout. Adding to that main highlight are the basic but commendable facilities such as systematic parking lots and the ease of getting a 100-plus bottle. Other than that the new MacRitchie also has a new internal landscape. It's new but just normal.

So I have left it for quite some time till today when I revisited it again. The terrain seems more punishing this time. I probably need a new shoe just for MacRitchie.

But today was particularly tough. I probably overdid the weights yesterday.

Ugly side of bad economy

When the economy becomes bad, the ugly side can show itself. People resort to cost- cutting measures. It's not about cost- cutting is wrong. It's fine. The way to do it is the issue.

Hiring staff which costs less is a cost- cutting measure. For example, hiring a foreigner to be a receptionist in your store. It sure cuts costs. But i've come across a number of instances when business can be a problem when these foreigners are hired. One, i don't get what they mean sometimes. Two, it's a bad business deal experience. Three, i might not get the correct product, correct product information.

Another cost- cutting measure is reduced train operations. It is said that the trains will be more frequent at peak hours. But still, at peak hours, the congestion is existent. What has the authorities done to justify the high prices of public transport? The trains are still congested at peak hours.

A typical cost- cutting measure is reducing wages. This is really bad. Ask them, who are hit.

The journey

How do you keep focused in 16 minutes? How do you increase aerobic threshold? How to put up a killer finish? How to kill from the start? How to lay a solid core? How do you sustain interest? How to tolerate early offensives? How to tolerate late offensives? How to take middle- of - the- race offensives?

Answering all these is a journey.