| Wednesday, February 28, 2007 |
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one more thing..
thomas and i hosted a dinner party at our place on friday. we cooked a huge meal and after chilling at our house, we went clubbing.
it was a nice evening. and isn't my dress so pretty???
nat |
| posted by 3 @ 7:13 PM |
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something terrible happened today and it got me all shook up. its been a long time since I've gotten myself into any type of situation and an even longer period of time since I've lost total control of a situation and am at total susceptibility to a total stranger. this vulnerability is quite overbearing and i can only pray that with time, it'll just fade away.
this incident made me think back of older times. you know how when something happens to you and you sit down and ponder about it. don't you just wish that you could turn back time and erase it and start all over again? if you could, where would you have paused and restart it all? i dunno if i would have taken a different step. i probably would. but despite all the drama, i'm still okay. i still turned out okay. a little too dependent on thomas. a little flustered and all over the place. a little overweight. but nonetheless, i am okay.
i wrote about my friend kie a few months ago. she's the girl who got pregnant after she was with her boyfriend for about a year, cramped up all her remaining 12 classes in one semester, graduated, got married and had a baby.
this is her. and toshiki. one of the cutest little person i have ever met.
 
i asked her if she could turn back time, would she have gotten pregnant and go through all that drama. and she said yes. that it was worth all the hassle. that her biggest drama was telling her parents at that 22, she was pregnant and getting married. even though they cut off her expenses and she had to totally rely on her husband, she managed to make it work. at the end of the day, she's okay. toshiki is okay. her family is okay. and i think thats the most important thing. that ultimately, despite everything that has happened, you can sit down and innately realize that you're doing fine and the world is still bright and shiny.
then i thought about thomas and i. its going to be 4 years that we've been together. i don't remember whether i've posted this before but these are our very first pictures. it was maybe the 3rd week that we were going out when i took these.
  
then we got together and stayed together for a relatively long period of time. sometimes, i wake up and am amazed at how deeply i've fallen for someone that regardless of the situation, i'll always have his back and have excuses for him. its not necessarily a good thing but its the stability that i treasure the most. we're probably the most eccentric and complicated couple that most people know. theres constant drama, we yell at each other all the time and we spend so much time bickering and complaining about one another. BUT, at the end of the day, we still stick together because its in each other that we find comfort and solace. maybe its the insecurity of being left alone, of breaking a bridge that has been build over the years, no matter how flimsy it seems. a bridge is still a bridge.
we've taken the same kinds of pictures over and over again throughout our relationship. but somehow, i've never been tired of looking at the two main leads in this world i call my relationship. its pretty and pink to me, no matter how ugly and bruised it seems to the world. well to be fair, its pretty and pink for most parts!
so i'm taking this time to glorify my a-okay life and relationship. to recognize that once again, despite all the bullshit that just happened, i have the person i love in my life, things are generally going as planned and therefore, i am okay!
 
 
nat |
| posted by 3 @ 6:07 PM |
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| Tuesday, February 27, 2007 |
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i started my new job as a Honolulu Travel Blog Writer.
There are several of us but you can read my articles because my name will be published. I've only written one at this point of time.It's rather short because I almost missed my deadline.
Here is the link:
http://www.hotelsbycity.net/blog/usa_hawaii_honolulu
While you're at it, please feel free to click on the ads on my entries. Thats how I get my money.
Pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee support!!! Please. I'll give you all hugs when I'm rich.
Hahahahahaaaa...
Muacks!
Natalie |
| posted by 3 @ 5:54 PM |
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| Monday, February 26, 2007 |
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I have a confession to make (one of my many).
I am addicted to chinese star movies. like lionel says, the first step to quitting is admitting your addiction.
so yes, i am addicted to chinese star movies. even though the movies feature the same faces over and over and they have the same themes all the time, my favourite being those ridiculous mahjong shows. haha
my addiction has become so ridiculous that i actually find myself very attracted to edison chen! hahahaha. and when he comes on the tele, even if i'm by myself, i will unconsciously say "Edison" ala hongkie accent outloud. (Courtesy of Loocy who once told me that when he goes to get his hair cut, he'll just sit in the chair and say, "eh dee son")
don't worry Jordan!!!! you will always be my number ONEEE!!!!!!!
I LIKE JORDAN CHAN CANNOT ISIT!
but oh wait. i don't want to quit. how?
~mei~ |
| posted by 3 @ 12:59 AM |
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| Sunday, February 25, 2007 |
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this is one of my favorite things to do in hawaii.
every week, i spend some time to drive to the beach, pull out my chair and read for book. its amazing how relaxing this is and it makes everything so worthwhile.
nat |
| posted by 3 @ 6:21 PM |
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| Tuesday, February 20, 2007 |
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With all the intense visiting that's been done over the past two days, the silence today has been deafening. Not because I have nowhere to be, but because I'm under voluntary house arrest in a desperate bid to finish up my essays which all be due on my first Doomsday of the semester, monday 26th feb. I say my first Doomsday because in law school, there are many Doomsdays. everytime i flip through my trusty brownleatherclad diary, i always feel a certain sense of dread and i can't wait for it to all be over.
I haven't quite figured out what chinese new year means to me this year. but i suppose that it is supposed to mean a time of gathering for friends and family, and it definitely has been, apart from the fact that my two best friends have been sorely lacking in presence. but people that i haven't seen in a while, all gathered in togetherness trying to out-gamble each other, has made me realise that i miss them all somewhat. and maybe we were never all that close, but i guess sometimes its just nice to feel that we're-a-big-family kinda togetherness again.
and after chinese new year, everyone goes back to where they came from, with the most premature of the lot being jude who left for perth early this morning, having stuffed himself with durians and all the local food he could possibly stomach in the time he was back. so take care jude. i'll be missing you loads. *sob*
i met this couple yesterday, who were both in the legal profession. i spoke to the husband for a bit, and he told me that he used to be in legal service, but has since crossed over to the private side. they were both so.. intelligent, and confident and and i don't know what other adjectives to use, but i was quite taken by them. not in a teenybopper fan kinda way, but just simple and pure admiration. i wonder if it comes with age and if i'll ever be like that. but i doubt it. because i feel like i've been the same person since i was in primary school.
enough with them rambling thoughts, back to the essays. happy chinese new year everyone
~mei~ |
| posted by 3 @ 9:51 PM |
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| Saturday, February 17, 2007 |
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thomas and i were in the mall today and we spotted a fish tank. it was medium-sized, bare sand with a few underwater leaves here and there. and there were only three fishes. baby tiny fishes.
my first comment was that these fishes were quite poor thing because they only had two friends. and what happens if they don't like each other?!?!?
then thomas interrupts commenting that no body cares and that everyone should just get along.
.....
sometimes, i wonder how we both get along.
nat |
| posted by 3 @ 4:50 PM |
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| Monday, February 12, 2007 |
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A first for many things today.
today we had a picnic in the school quadrangle. and in spite of the ants and the drizzle and the spiders and the pine cones and the branches and the horrible people who turned their noses up at my avocado thingy, i had loads of fun. so thanks guys and girls!!! may we forever be immortalised on a law school publication. i love you all!!
today jingy and i finally went on our movie date. haha yes finally because somehow we something always cocked up last minute! and the movie was great too!! even though that dubious old man happily touched my leg. thanks jingy for being excellent company!
and today on the way home, some kids at the bus stop chatted me up. haha ok kidding. but yea, some kids from north light school who were waiting at the bus stop started talking to me just like that. they asked if i was teaching in their school, and what i was doing now and it was so innocent and friendly and so.. hmm.. second nature. weird by singaporean standards but it left me with a nice warm fuzzy feeling. for that split second in time, i actually considered taking up teaching as career.
and lastly, although it's not really a first, because I think my uncle's been in the papers before, here's my uncle! one of my personal heroes, someone that i will eternally be proud of!!
(pardon the bad IT skills. i tried my best to get the whole thing in but i coulnd't scan everything in at once coz the paper was too big for my scanner and i tried to piece it together and it wouldn't work!)
THE BOSTON TAY PARTY
DOCTOR Ben Tan, I could imagine. I mean that guy's super fit and a proven sportsmen - having won an Asian Games sailing gold medal.
12 February 2007
DOCTOR Ben Tan, I could imagine. I mean that guy's super fit and a proven sportsmen - having won an Asian Games sailing gold medal.
But when David Tay mentioned that he was going to take part in the Boston Marathon - with the good doctor - I saw the chance to put one in.
Mockingly, I asked if he meant partaking in the Boston Tea Party - or, in his case, the Boston 'Tay' Party.
I thought it was hilarious. You know, Tay - his surname - as in Teh; same pronunciation, as in tea, the beverage.
He didn't see the funny side. I didn't expect him to. You see, Tay's a serious bloke. Or rather, he takes things seriously.
Although never a national athlete, to him, sporting feats stand like Himalayan peaks - pointed reminders to those in the foothills of the heights that others have climbed.
That is why he will be running the Boston Marathon on 16 April - while the rest of us just talk about it.
Still, I found it hard to fathom. Like I said, I could see Dr Tan doing it. He's 37, super-fit and I know he tried once before - in 2000 - to run the Boston event, but just failed to qualify.
But Tay? I mean, he's no spring chicken. Though fit and with a physique that suggests he could kick sand in your face, the truth be told, he is 47.
So, I asked him, why undertake such an adventure when you could, maybe, be doing tai-chi at some neighbourhood playground?
He let that remark pass over. Then, with a cheeky grin, he gave me the 'Mallory'.
'Because it's there,' he said.
(In the 20s, when climbing Mt Everest was like landing on the moon, George Mallory made three attempts to scale the world's highest mountain. When asked why he did it, he replied: 'Because it's there.'
(Mallory died on his third attempt in 1924. In 1999, climbers found his frozen corpse on a slope, well within reach of the summit.)
So it is. It's there. But so, too, is the Singapore Marathon and numerous others closer to home.
'You don't understand,' he said. 'I won't go all mushy and say it's been a childhood dream or anything like that.
'But it's been on my mind since 2004.
'I've run 12 marathons. Only one was out of Singapore. But, man, the Boston Marathon is every runner's ultimate high.
'It's like a golfer dreaming of qualifying for the US Open. A tennis player making the first round of a Grand Slam. A cyclist taking part in the Tour de France.'
I could tell he meant it. Because I could detect in his voice that primal lust for adventure. Indeed, as he talked of his dream and the challenges of getting there, his brow furrowed and his eyes became as tight as a miser's fist.
SERIOUS
'I will tell you how serious I am about doing the Boston Marathon,' he said.
'It's huge. Not any jock in a pair of shorts can take part. No, sir, it's not that easy. You first have to qualify.'
According to Tay, there's an 18-month window - working back from the date of the Boston event - for runners to qualify.
So, in the case of the 2007 race, which will be held on 16 April, the qualifying window opened on 16 Oct 2005.
Tay used last year's Gold Coast Marathon in Queensland, held in July, to try to qualify.
And he did. He ran the distance in 3hrs 19min 37sec - breaking the 3:30 qualifying mark for the 45- to 49-year-old age group with quite a few puffs and pants to spare.
'It's not the fastest I've run,' he was quick to add. 'Six years ago, I could run it in 3:09.'
I had to believe him. After all, I'd once tracked him over the 42.195km of the Singapore Marathon - me in a car, he on foot, of course - and he became the focal point of a report for this paper.
He wasn't the fastest, but he made it look quite easy and I was impressed.
Still, I did a double take when he, quite pompously, announced that he was aiming to run a sub-three hour marathon in Boston.
I remember thinking it was a tough call.
I mean, he had to chop off something like 10 minutes from a PB (personal best) set some six years ago, and 19 minutes faster than his qualifying time at the Gold Coast seven months ago.
So, aside from putting on a red cape, blue leotards and red underwear - not to mention being faster than a speeding bullet - how did he intend to go under three hours?
'Train, my friend, train,' he said. 'Not so much running until you drop training, but training real hard.
'I run five times a week. Twice a week, I do trackwork, which is speed work done over a 400m track. I cover shorter distances, but I go faster.
'Then, once a week, I run 32km. The other two days, I do 16.2km runs. Then, of course, there's gym work twice a week to strengthen my legs. In between, I swim as it relaxes my muscles. All in all, I cover about 80km to 90km a week.
'My boss says I'm a masochist because I wake up before five every morning to pound the pavement. But that's how it must be if I am to achieve my dream.'
Over the past few months, Tay has gone from ambivalent to anxious.
Outside of his work as the Singapore swimming team's high-performance manager, the Boston event consumes his waking hours and lulls him to sleep after a hard day's work.
I've known Tay for many years and, to me, he has always been a swimming person - not a runner per se.
So, I asked him: If it was a challenge he was after, why not swim the English Channel or some other stretch of water?
'In recent years, I've become a stronger runner than a swimmer,' he replied. 'Actually, I've taken part in several triathlons and two Ironmen events, both on Pulau Langkawi - in 2003 and 2004.
'That sort of got me hooked on running. So, now, it's Boston here I come!'
Tay and Tan will leave for the US on 12 April. They will fly into New York City and then grab a domestic flight to Boston, arriving three days before the event.
Both runners plan to stay six days in Boston and, according to Tay, airfare, accommodation and meals should cost him close to $8,000.
Incidentally, he'll be staying at Quincy, near where the actual Boston Tea Party of 1773 took place.
It should make him feel very much at home.
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Running through 'scream tunnel'
THE Boston Marathon is an annual event hosted by the city of Boston, Massachusetts, on Patriot's Day, the third Monday of April.
It is the world's oldest annual marathon and ranks as one of the world's most prestigious road racing events - attracting over 20,000 runners from all over the world.
The event has distinguished itself as the pinnacle event within the sport of road racing by virtue of its traditions, longevity and method of gaining entry into the race - which is via qualification.
Set over hilly New England terrain, it is one of five races that make up World Marathon Majors.
In the 100th running of the Boston Marathon in 1996, the number of participants reached 38,000. While there is a cash prize awarded to the winners of the marathon, most of the runners take part just for the joy of participating.
Indeed, the qualifying standard is high enough that many marathoners aspire to meet it, and doing so is considered an achievement in itself.
Boston Marathon's Monday race date is unique to the sporting calendar of the major marathons.
The course runs through 42.195km of winding roads, through the centre of Boston, where the official finish line is located at Copley Square.
One of the highlights of the race is Wellesley College, where many female students cheer the runners in the so called 'scream tunnel'.
LOST FOCUS
Many runners have lost their focus on the race there.
The Boston Marathon is considered to be one of the more difficult marathon courses because of the infamous Heartbreak Hill near Boston College.
Only once has a world record time for marathon running been set in Boston, in 1947. The record time then was 2:25:39 by Suh Yun Bok of South Korea.
- Wire Services.
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The Holy Grail of marathon running
THE Boston Marathon will signal the start of David Tay's 'marathon quest'.
The 47-year-old high-performance manager of Singapore's swimming team hopes to complete the 'big five' or the five Marathon Majors, as it is known to 'serious' runners.
The 'Majors' comprise the Boston, New York, Chicago, Berlin and London marathons.
With a determined smile that masked a trace of worry, Tay described his ultimate dream: 'This is like the Holy Grail of marathon running. It's like a mountaineer scaling the world's seven highest peaks.
'I have not yet set myself a time frame, but I want to complete the Big Five by 2010.
'For a start, and work permitting, I would like to go to Berlin in September.'
The Berlin Marathon takes place on 24 Sept. This year's event is expected to attract over 40,000 'serious' runners from 100 nations.
It was at the 2003 Berlin Marathon that Kenya's Paul Tergat broke the world record, which still stands at 2:04:55.
'From there, it's back to the US for the Chicago Marathon,' said Tay. 'That's on 7 Oct and there are no qualifying times to meet. I have not yet decided if I'll do it this year or the next.'
BIG APPLE
After Chicago, New York beckons, and the run through the streets of the Big Apple will take place on 4 Nov.
Last year's event was the largest in history, with 37,869 runners finishing the full marathon. More than 93,000 started the race.
Traditionally, the dates for the London and Boston events are rather close and, this year, the London Marathon has been slated for 22 Apr - a week after Boston.
'I will probably run just one more - at Berlin - this year,' he said. 'I'm hoping to do two next year. One of them could be the London event. I haven't decided. And I'll save the last one for a later date.'
In between, and if time and funds permitting, Tay is looking to travel to Norway to run the Midnight Sun Marathon.
That will be on 16 June and it is to be held in Tromso, in northern Norway.
The event is unique because you run in the middle of the night - in bright sunshine.
~mei~ |
| posted by 3 @ 8:25 PM |
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| Monday, February 05, 2007 |
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chop chop chop! new hair! first time in 10 years.
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| posted by 3 @ 10:45 PM |
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| Saturday, February 03, 2007 |
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A singaporean friend of mine dressed up last wed (was it wed?) in yellow to watch the thailand singapore match. just for fun, with her thai language classmates and her thai teacher.
she told me that while waiting for the game to start, an old ah pek in a red shirt strolled in and sat down. after a minute or two, he said out aloud to himself in hokkien, "eh why's everyone in yellow here?" one of the Thai supporters told him that that whole area was meant for the people supporting the Thai team. Worriedly the old man rang his friend, and said very loudly, "eh you still want to come here or not? here all thai people. wait we cheer we get beaten up how?"
To that, the same Thai supporter replied, "Don't worry uncle, you can sit here and cheer."
after the game, after the singapore team won, it evidently wasn't enough for us because my friend told me that as she walked out of the stadium that night with her classmates who happened to all be girls, those clad in the red t-shirts continued to yell vulgarities at them chanting "butoh butoh!" whilst glaring at them. one even pretended to be nice and say, "good game!" whilst he stood in front of his friends who were simulataneously yelling, "butoh butoh!"
Singaporeans. why so ugly?
~mei~ |
| posted by 3 @ 5:29 PM |
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