@hhChoooo… who sneezed?!?!

I’ve recently been posting more stuff on Multiply than here, one major reason for that is that on some really personal stuff, I can limit the viewing to whom I know. Though not often, its a useful function, plus also its really user friendly when posting comments and photos. It just the “See it all at a glance” kind of convenience. So think my postings here will be less frequent.. If you’re following this, then go to http://choopoot.multiply.com/ for updates

Yay!

I’m getting increasingly excited about the upcoming dive trip. Going with Seb and Juergen and my dive buddy Aldridge. No doubt this would be one of our more pricey trips, but guess its gonna be well worth it! Its got one of the most interesting itinerary. Wall dives, Cave dive, wreck dive!

Our dive will take us all the way to Phi Phi (which I always wonder if I should pronounce “Ph” as a “F”.. Fi Fi island or Pee Pee island? but since we call Phuket as Poo-cat.. rather than Foo-cat, then I shall pronounce PeePee.) where we will stay for the night and continue our dive the next day.. I’m so very tempted to get myself an underwater camera case, so I can take some pics of those cool stuff we see… ooo…

Well, I’m counting the days…3 days to go… looking forward to some sunshine, massage and compressed air!!!

Pre-race: Woke at 3am to get myself ready. Was hoping to fully clear my bowels before the race, therefore the early waking time. Unfortunately, seems like my system is still asleep… will this come to haunt me during the race?

Start of the run

1km: Nice run, very cool morning

2km: Kenyan marathoners came running in the opposite direction! Boy! They are really FAST!! Its such a sight to see the non competitive runners cheer them on!

3km: Sky’s starting to brighten up.

4km: Is it just me or does it seem like more and more people are overtaking me.

5km: Yes, they are overtaking me.

7km: What?! Only 1/3rd the distance!!??

9km: I can feel the blisters forming.

11km: Something doesn’t feel right in the belly….

12km: Something really isn’t right in the belly… I need a toilet, and I need one FAST!

13km: Alas! Porta-Toilets in front of esplanade. Bomb time. Pray they have toilet papers.

13km: No progress… still bombing.

14km: Resume race, feel A LOT LIGHTER!!!

15km: My legs are sore, blisters getting to me.

16km: Nicoll Highway was never this long and this hot!!

18km: Finally, out of the Highway. 3km to go!

19km: Just a little bit more… Back at Esplanade…Hey, that’s the Porta-Toilet I used just now!! heh heh!

20km: So nice to have pple cheering you on. Perhaps its because “Going to die liao” is written all over my face.

21km: My first half marathon.

Race week is here.

The Standard Chartered Marathon. (Half for me tho’)

I feel really ill prepared. My longest run thus far is barely an hour and a half. The whole run would probably be 2 hrs and 20 min. It means I’ll be relying on pure mental strength after about once I pass the 1-1/2 hr point in the run. Oh well, I signed up for it. So grit my teeth, pray for good weather and just run.

Funny when I recall all my past races, there will come a stage during the race, when I will ask myself why I’m doing all this and the thought of giving up is just so real. The limbs go numb, the lungs pant, the lips parched and the heat overwhelms. During those times, I remember always asking God for strength, just to finish the race. Just to reach the End point.

Well, this race, like any other will be no different. We need power from on high!! haha!!

On leave for these two days. Nope it isnt’ for holiday, but for study…

My first papers on this saturday… now if only I can get myself to just sit still and read… and stop smsing, chatting, and blogging… heh.. and of course dozing off…

back to the books.

I have always wanted to catch on camera one of these lightning storms, but its ever so difficult.

Finally…
Here are some cool shots, you should have seen the entire sky light up with bolts of beautiful blue lightning!!

I liked this last one because it really brought out the depth of the lightning clouds. Awesome.

Its been such a hectic week right up till today. So… I’m rewarding myself with a good 2 hr “stone” break. Yes it sounds so pathetic, I only have 2 hours to stone before I start this crazy cycle again. Time is precious, and I miss having time to just do nothing.

I started out the week with dengue scare, I’m just glad the episode is over. My place is (so far) the only blocks of flats that hasn’t seen much dengue, the blocks surrounding mine are labelled hotspots! Naturally, with the onset of fever, aching muscles and joints, headaches, painful eyes, I thought I might be coming down with dengue fever… Doc said it was viral fever (but that we could not rule out dengue). So it was a relief, but I could not have imagined how the fever could wear me down so much! Totally weakened to the point that I panted as I walked around, and my knees were so numbed and weak, they buckled a few times while standing.I’m glad the strength is back…

The crunch is coming. Exams are just round the corner, the stress is setting in, the assignments are coming one after another. You know its stress when you dream equations, formulas and computing algorithms…. and guess what? I actually woke up with a solution to a computing problem!! Of course, it was also quite an unrestful sleep… (eyebags)

I miss hanging out… seemed so long since I’ve gone out on weekends with friends. Since school started, I’ve been hanging out with Tim the Tutorial, Alfred the Algorithm and Lester the lecture notes every saturday. Where’s the life? I’m so looking forward to December.

Now, I’ve got one assignment left… the toughest one. I’m praying I get through this alive…. Help Lord! (how I wish this cry was not for school work but for His work.. sigh .. )

Just came back a week ago from a dive at Tioman, it was quite a relaxing dive. Slept most of the time, making up lost ground I guess. But that is exactly what I like about diving.

Firstly being cut off from the world. And just for that 2-3 days, I have am Handphone free! Not that I hate having phone calls, but just that I am free from making or taking calls.

There is also the part about sleeping through the day. Sleep is becoming a luxury item nowadays. I rarely get 7 hours of good sleep these days, Some folks I know can live on 5 hrs or 6 hrs of sleep. But I know I need more. Yeah, call me a sleep-head, but I know my limits. And I know the importance of rest. Being able to live on 5-6 hrs of sleep, to me, is nothing to boast or be proud of. Eventually it takes its toll on you. Anyway, back to diving.. being on a dive trip is just eat, sleep and dive… occasionally puking is interjected as part of the package, but heck. Its well worth it. HAHA!

Finally… diving is so peaceful… its quiet and peaceful in the water. You float about. You see God’s beautiful creation swim up to you, gazing curiously at you. You see the slow graceful movements of the soft corals in the currents, the fishes hiding among them. The colours of the underwater world is astounding! And the slow rhythm of the dive, nothing is done in haste, the finning motion is slow, the breathing controlled. And of course the freedom of space. On ground, one is limited to a plane. Underwater, you are never limited. You float over the corals, movement is 3 dimensional. A sense of breaking free from limits and gravity. Just float…. wonderful awesome sensation…

Well, that said, who wants to go divin?

Anyone keen to go?
Early bird discount is up till end Aug.

I’ll probably go for the half marathon. Maybe next year the full thing. But well, I’m all geared up!

Got the New Balance Real Run this coming sunday. Hope I don’t die at the beach part of the run (2.4KM run on Soft sand!!!)

I’ve been wanting to put my thoughts in writing, but I’ve just got no time. The past weeks have been crazy. Thankfully by God’s grace, I lived through it. Don’t think it can get any worse! err.. i’d better not say too soon…

Beginning of this month, I started school, started on a new job, and it was the prayer week! Its quite a juggle to cope with so many transitions all at a go and with lack of sleep! Really thank God that things have more or less settled in… Still there are so many thing on my mind to do.

On my mind are also much things I wished to put into writing.. think I’ll put them here and return to complete it later

1) Living life with the End in mind.
2) God’s provision and grace for my new job.
3) 24/7 and overnight prayer

I’m just thinking.. I don’t think I’ll have the patience to put down point 2 and 3. I’ve already journaled these down (on paper), I’m feeling lazy to log it here…

I’m sleepy… going to bed…

This is gonna be such a stretching week, so this is gonna be real short, coz its late and time to go to bed. I’ll have to arise early for Prayer!!! YAY! 24-7 prayer chain!

Its a stretching week coz I’m in a new position in a new department in Maybank. And the things I’ve to pick up are totally different. Add to that, school starts this week. So classes are on in the evening after work. Add prayer. so that’s why its stretched. Don’t think I’ll have time this week to run or swim (The New Balance Real Run is coming up at the end of the month, so must train). But its fine! good to exercise a some spiritual muscle!

Was really encouraged to see an overwhelming turnout on the first session on monday night. It was expected to have a turnout of 15 people. But in the end there were at least 45!! More than three times the expected number. we eventually shifted to the Chapel! It was just great to sit in God’s presence. The three things that kept coming up in the prayer was, waiting for God, faith and obedience.

I’m looking forward to the rest of this week. Trying to get to church for whichever session I can make it.

I’ve never really walked the Botanical Gardens before.

So I decided to make a trip there and just walk through the WHOLE park. IT WAS A LONG WALK!! Heh heh…

I’d say a jolly good workout. Thank God it was a cool afternoon…

Here are some of the shots of the Garden.

Don’t you think the patterns look real nice. Like a leaf on pasted on another!

The Symphonic Band Stand

Had to get wet to go into the caves

Sea of Red Heliconias

Sea of Yellow Heliconias

A whole Sea of Heliconias

This is one super old tree, got no idea what’s its name, but I’ll find out.

I’m just so un-IT savvy.

Been trying so very hard to figure this whole thing out… gosh…
Never been so do-do in the past, but now.. ok, I hope that I can figure this out soon and start posting things in this blog… else its just gonna sit here and rot…

how do you change the time of this thing?? its always 8 hrs behind singapore time…