Shoot the moon
Today I was told that I "look like someone who eats rolled oats for breakfast or grit". This amused me greatly.
I have never been known as a person who ate healthily, and whilst I'm not proud of this, I can't say I'm ashamed of it either. I love my food and perhaps sometimes I love it a little too much.
Here are some facts about my eating habits....
- I will keep picking at food if it is left on the table in front of me, even if I've had enough
- If there's chilli padi nearby, I will find anything on the table I can eat it with, and I will not stop till all the chilli is gone
- I eat the same amounts as my husband, which is sometimes disturbing
- I have a penchant for olives - anytime, anywhere, anyday
- I have a very weak spot for candy, especially sour candy. I also eat sticks of fruit gums whole, like my Mum
- Candy Empire is one of my favourite stores
- I will always order a cheese platter over ice-cream or sweet desserts after dinner
- I do love cake though. And not fancy cake, just cheap neighbourhood butter cream cake makes me very, very happy. Andrew sometimes buys some home out of the blue to surprise me.
- I have a tendency to overeat and then say "I feel sick". Hubba tsks at me when this happens. As such, I mostly try not to overeat.
Silly facts aside, I'm not naturally little - Short, yes. But I have never been skinny or slight. Okay so I might not be a big girl but I spent a lot of my former years struggling with my waistline (read: faceline). I had the most unhealthy diet in the world, I drank too much and I just felt like the ugly Chinese girl amidst a bunch of blonde bombshells most of the time. During the school days when everybody started 'liking' everybody else, I often watched from the sidelines, fancying myself a misfit of sorts and playing pool with older fogies to pass the time.
My face was as round as the moon and my housemates could tell whenever I'd had a big meal from how inflated it looked.
One summer when I came back to Singapore, my sweet mother actually presented me with a box of The Cambridge Diet, pleading with me to do something about my weight. I was belligerent about the whole thing, but finally conceded to giving it a go. Thanks to her, I managed to reduce my very unnatural booze-bottom by about 7 kilograms.
That's when I met Hubba.
At one of my first few bike races as a spectator in 2002
He always used to tell me how pretty I was. It didn't matter to him that I wasn't at my best - Or maybe we both didn't know what my best was.When he presented me with my first mountain bike, I don't think he ever meant for me to get as into the sport as I eventually did. He just knew from my tales of my childhood that I had loved cycling, and that I hadn't owned a bike since I was 12, so he wanted me to have one.
Slowly, I got sucked into the world of activity. And you know what, I really love it. I love loving every moment of doing something I love. The adrenalin takes me to a different place altogether and I always feel so very free.
And of course the best part after a workout is the eating and enjoying every bit of it coz you know you did some work too.
But here's the kicker.
I am so afraid that one day I'm going to be inactive again.
Who knows why this may be, there are just so many reasons why this may happen. It's so easy to get lazy and not have enough time - we've all been there, no?
Nevertheless, until the full moon comes back, I'm just gonna have my laksas and mee siams and economy bee hoon with one piece of fish cake and one piece of luncheon meat with sambal belachan for my breakfasts everyday.
I'll be having none of that 'rolled oats' and 'grit', thanks!
See you on the slopes
Mt Buller, "Two-O-O-Ten-JULY'
It seems like just yesterday the four of us were at Mt Buller on our one-day ski trip. I had gone to ski school for a couple of hours with Ga, after which we then spent the rest of the day snow ploughing down the icy mountain. But then the evening came and we had to pack it in and drive down the mountain again.
This year, we decided we'd spend more time on the mountain. And to commemorate this snowy reunion, we attempted to 'date' our picture manually. Please refer to picture bove for our version of 2010-7.
So things were really different this year....
Riding Lysterfield Park
conquering a hill everywhere we go
Wherever we travel, Hubba and I need to somehow venture past the meadow and explore the outdoors.
I'm a sucker for sunshine and fresh air, and apart from loving the same, he's a sadist who wants to feel pain in his legs and the wind getting knocked out of his lungs as he climbs a hill. I think this is part of the reason why I fell for him - his love for life and Superman attitude is infectious.
The day we arrived in Melbourne, we strapped on our trainers and hit the pavement. But our itch wasn't properly scratched till the next day when we were off to the Commonwealth Games MTB track at Lysterfield Park with bike mate Jon and his friend Will....
The Big Dive
the closest thing to flying
When I was about nine, my Dad gave me the opportunity to jump out a plane. Really.
We were holidaying in New Zealand and it was something my older cousin Adrian was doing. The concept of it looked fun to me and when I said I wanted to do it too, Dad surprisingly said 'Okay' and took me along for the booking. But when I saw how much it cost and faltered, Dad was only too glad to say, 'Well, alright then.'
I never forgot that and literally regretted that ... Well, up till two weeks ago anyway!
Happy Trails
Nothing makes me happier than being outside, taking in the fresh air, enjoying the sun with people I love..... [Read more]
Stretching & Sciatica
Sciatica is really annoying because one of the effects it has on me is it makes me feel like I'm not in full control of my body.
It's a nerve irritation which has generally plagued my right leg, going down my lower back and wrapping round my thigh and going down the back of my calve and shin. In bad times when it was at its worse, I would have constant pins and needless which drove me round the bend, and dead leg syndrome when I sat down for too long.
It got on my nerves. Ha.
Ever since I started working on my core, I have felt less irritation in my sciatic nerves and I generally feel like my body is holding itself up. When I first started stretching before and after workouts, I would sometimes feel a sharp twinge in my right shin when I reached towards my right leg. I hated this feeling. Granted I knew I was inflexible but the twinge made me feel like someone took a needle and poked me really suddenly in my shin. Yearrgh.
But the more I stretch and the more I keep this up, the more I feel like I am improving. This week, I reached over to pull myself towards my right foot and guess what?
No twinge. Hurrah!!!!
I've kicked Sciatica in the ass. Big fat hairy woot! :)
Saying Goodbye to my Streetfire
I suppose it's been a long time coming now....
Streetfire was a great bike - Despite being an aluminum frame, I liked how responsive it felt on the road compared to my previous full carbon set-up. I felt like it gave me back as much power as I'd put in, and for that very reason, I loved it.
I will always remember the crazy rush of being able to chase someone's wheel down and stay hanging on to the back of a pack. My heart practically forcing its way up my chest and out my throat. My tongue dangling at the side of my mouth and my head feeling like it was going to explode from focusing on someone's hubs. Standing up and peddling down at the bottom of hot, long climbs. Trying to get into a good rhythm on long stretches on my aero bars. Pedalling in the pouring rain and feeling the wind blow right through me, sending a chill through my bones. The long rides which didn't feel so long because I felt great being out there. Alive.
Streetfire @ Singapore Ironman 70.3 circa 2007
But let's face it. It had really been ages since I've made it a point to hit the road regularly.
Apart from a random 100km Desaru ride sometime before Christmas and another random 70km effort (on which I ironically learnt about Evolve through Benjamin's Dad, James), I'd really neglected my road bike. It'd been gathering dust for the longest time in the living room. Even my fixie and MTB had seen more action and well, I just didn't see myself signing up for a race anytime soon. At first I dithered about selling and ended up deciding against it, but the months rolled by and I still hadn't found the motivation to ride.
So I made a difficult decision to just let it go.
What's the point in hanging on to all sorts of material possessions when you have no use for them? I guess I'd rather see it go to a new home.
Last shot with my Streetfire
When I realized it was the last time I'd actually call it mine, I felt a really heavy tug deep inside my heart. I know it sounds silly to feel for a piece of metal but this baby has seen me through quite a lot.... of suffering and elation. It has brought me through some good years and with it, I made many wonderful memories. Goodbye, Streetfire.
I'll miss you.
Enjoy your new home!!
No Pain, No Gain
Life is all about ups and downs , they say.
And as much of a cliche as it sounds, it's the downs that make you realize that there are ups. Yeah okay so is doesn't feel great when shit happens but if life didn't include some crap, how could you ever be a true connoisseur of life's joy?
Some of the most frustrating moments of the last few years has been very related to my physical well-being. It really isn't fun discovering that your 30-year-old body isn't like it used to be and that it takes a lot more time to recover from any sort of ailment. And well, it sure sucked to hear a health specialist use the words like "degeneration", "genetic", "not something that will go away" in the same sentence. The bills for all the health screenings and physiotherapy weren't fun to pay and I hated having to explain my condition to anyone for fear of coming off as the biggest whinger in history.
But if there's one thing I've learnt in the years gone by, it is that if you want something bad enough you need to go out of your way to make it happen. Sure it may not be a foolproof plan but you sure as hell have to try and more often than not, you do see results.
At the end of last year, I was told to stick to going for physiotherapy twice a week at least. Sarah, my physiotherapist, was a superstar but in truth, I just hated lying on a table and feeling like everything was out of my control. I knew if I wanted to get out of my rut, I needed to make it happen.
So when the time was right, I made a pact with Hubba to make a change.
Today, I really feel like a different person.
The aches and pains (if any) are all but muscular right now. My sleep patterns have come back to normal and my mental capacity at work is a lot higher. I work as hard as I can during my workouts and when I come home, I sleep like a baby. Hubba doesn't need to crack my back as often as he once did. I could probably go on and on but then I might start sounding like a broken record 'coz I think I've written this down once before.
I think the point I am trying to make is that if you want change, you need to think up a strategy and just try.
It can be a mental challenge or it can be a physical one but trying makes all the difference. Of course it is human for us to make excuses for ourselves (come on, we've all done it!) and to take the easy path - or as Gracie would call it the 'road of least resistance' - But there comes a point where the self-whip needs to come out.
No one can do this for you. But you.
So stop telling yourself "it's too far" or "it's too early" or whatever it is that's stopping you.
You can.
I think we all need that reminder sometimes.
I know I do :)
Grappling with Fate
Do you often wonder what you'd do if someone ever tried to make a grab at you? I have. Maybe it's an innate part about being small and runt-like, an insecurity I can't shake, but I've been ambushed before and it is not a great feeling.
I remember it like it was yesterday. It was our first year at uni and the five of us (Beck, Jode, Trott and our then flatmate Laura) were walking out of the area on an evening out. We were living in a suitably dodgy area in Leeds, known for neighbourhood rowdy kids and drugs. Out of nowhere, about 13 kids ambushed us all ready to pounce. It was Beck's insistence that we stayed calm and didn't respond to their hissing and spitting that really saved us.
Alas, as we crossed the main road away from the mob, Laura turned to yell at them and got beat up in the process. One kid even rammed a bicycle at her. We were across the busy street and unable to help. Thank god the attack didn't last long and they ran off when we ran back over.
But sometimes I wonder what would have happened had they stayed with her whilst we returned. Would I have held out and fought them off? I hated feeling helpless and violated. Laura was suitably traumatized even tho she escaped pretty much unharmed (very big girl, she was), but still...
So part of this quest in martial arts has to do with self-defense. Not that I plan to kick off in bars and brawl with people at all, but hey - why grapple with fate when you can learn the art on the mat?
I've tried BJJ and MMA since my last entry on Muay Thai. I must say I am leaning more towards the strike art, but there's no denying that learning how to grapple and move away from danger would be a critical skill to have. Today, I learned how to escape and knock someone over if they tried to grab me front on - and I managed to knock Hubba over easily. I also learnt how to make a quick getaway between someone's legs. Both great escape tactics for a small runt like me!
The only downside is grappling is a little unpredictable on the back. Thank goodness for the mats :P
Days Gone By
Wandering Eye
Riddle Me This
The Someday Author
My Gramaphone
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