Orangeous Dailies

(From left) Jessie, Amelia, Gabriel and I.

Started the night off with drinks at Timbre @ The Arts House.

Bought some drinks from 7-11 and sat along the riverside, before making our way down to Riverside Point.

Making our way to Cafe Iguana.

We had plenty of frozen margaritas and nachos at Cafe Iguana @ Riverside Point.

(From left) Jessie, Amelia, Gabriel and I.

Met up for dinner at Happy Joy Restaurant @ Bukit Merah Central.

(From left) Phonsak, me, Jessie and Amelia.

Headed down to Highlander @ Clarke Quay for some drinks.

(From left) Me, Phonsak, Amelia and Jessie.

Ended the night with plenty of nachos and margaritas at Cafe Iguana @ Riverside Point.

Margaritas.

After our paper, we decided to have lunch at ABC Market @ Jalan Bukit Merah.

Me : Four glasses of sugarcane, anything else?

Nick : One glass of Michael Jackson.

Me : What?!

Nick : Just tell the lady Michael Jackson. She will understand!

Me : What’s Michael Jackson?

Gabriel : Soya bean mixed with grass jelly.

Me : I see! Neither black nor white!

So I walked towards the drink stall.

Me : Auntie, give me four sugarcane…

Shopkeeper : Ok. Anything else?

Me : *loudly* And one Michael Jackson!

Shopkeeper : Ok. Table number?

Time : 2010 H

Venue : F1 track next to Singapore Flyer.

Injury sustained : Abrasions on the butt and the left knee.

Activity being carried out

Skate training. Doing recovery drills for the first time.

Injuries caused by

Last wheel of the right skate, clipping the frame of the left skate.

Immediate action taken

Stood up, doused the wound with water and continued training.

I am lucky because : Coach told me to keep my hands in front of me (instead of at the back). It saved me a lot of injury because I was able to stretch my arms out in time to break the fall.

I am unlucky because : It was my first time doing such drills and I was not used to keeping the recovery skate off the ground for such extended periods. After avoiding a patch of small stones along the track, I tried to continue the drill in an unstable position (legs wide apart) and ended up clipping the frames when I realized that I did not have enough balance.

Lesson learnt : Relax!

Pictures

Some lady fell/fractured her forearm during training. I ended up sending her to Raffles Hospital for emergency treatment. A highly untrained nurse tried to lift her from the car onto the wheel chair without any support for her injured forearm. She was in a lot of pain and I was very angry with the nurse, despite numerous reminders that she needed support for that arm.

Last Saturday, Gabbie dashed out of the house and tried to smell the neighbour’s mix breed. The mix breed was already 4 times bigger than Carlos, and almost 8 times bigger than Gabbie.

Gabbie got bitten on the nose the moment she got near. She retreated into a corner and started screaming for help. Her nose started to bleed all over as Dad carried her back into the house.

Thankfully, it was only a flesh wound.

Apparently Gabbie didn’t take what happened to Carlos seriously.

[ Update : 240409 ]

Recovering well after injuring her nose 1 week ago.

End of Year 2 Trimester 2.

The trimester break is here again! Less than 2 weeks before school reopens on 040509.

Kindly call my handphone to make a drinking-session appointment.

A funny ad for an optical store in Thailand with English subtitles.

Oh man, this post is quite technical, but I have to get it off my mind.

I joined the training sessions at Kallang multi-storey carpark on Tuesdays and Thursdays. They’re basically a group of speed skaters who gather to help one another out. Initially I was afraid of being laughed at for being slow and clumsy on the skates, then I told myself that if I wanted to improve, I had to go.

Speed skating is one of those sports where you will constantly need to be critiqued on your technique. You can’t see yourself when you skate, so you may think you’re doing something correctly, but you’re not.

Nobody laughed at me. In fact everyone was very supportive and it was a great learning environment.

Tuesday sessions were focused on Dryland (off-skates) and on Thursdays, we have the actual skating sessions.

During my first skating session, Coach put me through a few foundation drills. I managed to do those drills but the more I progressed onto the subsequent ones, I felt my feet literally swimming around the boot. I knew my boots were too big for my feet. I kept quiet and started asking around for more information.

Yes, they all said. My boots were too big for my feet. One of the skaters, Samuel Robin, tried on my boots and felt that they were just the right size for him. True enough, his feet were bigger than mine.

There were two flaws with my boot :

1) Size (speed boots were supposed to fit exactly).

2) Secondly, the shopkeeper actually ripped the original insole off, and replaced it with an orthopedic insole (which I paid almost $40 for due to my low arch). The orthopedic insole was thicker than the original, cramming my feet to the roof. Speed skates have no need for orthopedic insoles, they claimed. Probably due to the fact that they can be heat-molded.

I don’t mind having anything cheaper and heavier, but as long as it fits my feet perfectly, saving me all the sores from the constant shifting around. You wouldn’t want to go to basketball trainings with a pair of over-sized shoes, do you?

I cannot swap to other boot brands, because my frame is a 3-point mount, exclusive to Bont. Other boots only accept a 2-point mount. I can change my boot. That shop is the only one selling Bont and I doubt their expertise in selecting the right boot after what happened.

I can switch to another brand, a stock boot (mass produced), buying the complete set for $1k. A custom, which is build according to your individual feet mold, costs $1.6k, plus a 2nd-hand frame, probably around $1.8k.

I might as well go for the customs since it is a long-term investment. Then again I’m thinking how I’m ever going to get that kind of cash.

Initially, I thought of switching to cycling, since I can get a Scott Speedster S60 road bike for less than $1k. Then again, to give up a sport that I love, just because of money, is pretty foolish.

Meanwhile, I’m going to try and see what I can do with the current boot. I don’t think I can go that far, but I might never know.

I should have done some thorough research before I chose my boots. Given the scarcity of speed skaters in Singapore, I knew that my boots had no resale value.

I sprayed it my favourite colour… black.

Black Bont Jets.

Accounting final exam on 220409 (Wednesday) , 0930H.

Will be back after that with lots of backdated posts.

Meanwhile I’ll be reading the rest of the blogs in my list.

The man was dressed in white, standing behind the bus stop, looking at the video camera mounted on a tripod.

He even smiled at me as I drove past him.

I think the fine is a 3 digit figure.

[ Update : 090609 ]

Called LTA up this morning to check on the status of my appeal. The phone operator congratulated me on a successful appeal and advised me to wait for an official letter.

I had submitted the appeal two weeks ago via Contact Us @ One.Motoring.

The letter is as follows :

Appeal Against Notice Of Traffic Offence (Notice No: XXXXXXXXXXX)

Dear Sir / Madam,

I would like to appeal against my Notice Of Traffic Offence. I received the Notice Of Traffic Offence on XXXXXXX. The bus lane violation was recorded on XXXXXXX and the notice no is XXXXXXXX. The place and time of offence is : Sims Avenue Btw Kallang Rd & Sims Way at 0646PM.

I fully understand and have been complying to bus lane regulations until this unfortunate incident on 16 April 2009.

It was my first time traveling to Sims Avenue to meet an ex-colleague for dinner. As I was unfamiliar with the road, I had to seek directions from my friend prior to my trip. I was told to “filter left” one junction after passing Kallang MRT on my left. Upon crossing the junction, I noticed that there were dotted red and yellow lines on the floor, which indicated I could switch lanes. As I proceeded to switch lanes and prepare to filter left, I made sure that the road behind was clear of buses and clearly signaled my intention to turn left. It was only after I switched lanes that I realized I could not filter left until after the bus stop. The lines had begun to turn solid and I was not able to turn out in time due to the congested traffic on my right.

Attached is a picture taken of the spot where I was not able to switch lanes in time to avoid the bus lane.

It is not my intention to violate bus lane rules, but rather it was a genuine mistake on my part.

I would kindly request that you may consider a review on my case on the following basis :

1. It was my first time driving through Sims Avenue and I thought I could filter left just before the solid lines. The congestion made it impossible to see the road ahead on the left of my car.

2. I believe that throughout the entire footage captured, my left signal light was on. It indicates that I genuinely wanted only to filter left and not cause congestion to the buses behind.

3. It is my first offence and it would be my last.

Your understanding would be greatly appreciated. Please feel free to contact me at XXXXXXXX if you need further clarifications.

My details are as follows :

NRIC : XXXXXXXX

Car License Plate : XXXXXXX

Thank you.

Yours Sincerely,

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

HDB waived my parking ticket 10 days after submitting an online appeal.

Skins compression tights.

Thanks to Gabriel (a national rugby player) who introduced me to Skins compression tights.

They meant to be worn during the workout (for increased muscle power), or post-workout (for improved recovery) for a minimum of 3 hours.

Since I don’t have enough moolah to get another pair, I’ll be using it just for post-workout recovery.

I caused as much fatigue as I could to my legs yesterday night and wore the compression tights to sleep. I was pleasantly surprised at the results this morning when I took them off. My legs were still aching, but there was a significant decrease in the amount of pain and muscle soreness.

A few cans of Baron’s Extra Strong Brew (11.8%) in Jessie’s bag, to be smuggled into the cinema.

A brainless show like Fast & Furious 4, so I won’t have to think much.

Jessie’s house to GV Tampines is of walkable distance so I don’t have to drink and drive.

Perfect Saturday night.

One night, Dad called me.

Dad : Recently, there are a lot of Indian nationals moving into our apartment block.

Me : Do you want me to lock the front gate from now on?

Dad : No. Not about that.

Me : Then what?

Dad : Have you locked your internet?

Apparently, he thought most of them were IT professionals and wanted to check if I had enabled our wireless security.

PSB Idol.

When two dogs meet for the first time, unleashed, all hell can break loose.

The moment the house door was opened, Carlos dashed out to the corridor. The lift door opened. Our neighbour walked out of the lift together with her Labrador-sized mix breed. Carlos dashed towards the mix breed and attempted to play with it.

The mix breed thought Carlos was trying to attack them, so it bit Carlos on the ear. The neighbour tried in vain to stop her dog but failed. Carlos, in a state of panic, tried to hide under the mix breed and was bitten again on the shoulder. Mum quickly stepped in and carried Carlos away.

Michelle and Mum rushed Carlos to the vet.

Lost a bit of his ear.

Two deep puncture wounds on the shoulder.

Thankfully he did not sustain fatal injuries because the mix breed was almost 4 times his size and weight (close to 40kg).

No one should be blamed for this :

i. Carlos dashed out on his own will.

ii. The mix breed was only trying to protect itself and the owner.

iii. We both did not leash our dogs.

[ Update : 1153H ]

Our neighbour was kind enough to leave a post-it note on our door. She apologized for the incident this morning and offered to pay for the vet’s bill. Dad went over to let her know that it wasn’t necessary. It was also our fault as well.

(From left) Me, Shanti and Mum.

Brought Mum’s childhood friend, Shanti, who stopped over at Singapore for a couple of days, for drinks at Archipelago Brewery @ 79 Circular Road.

She’s going back to London tomorrow.

Mum got drunk after a pint of beer. Shanti and I had to usher her to my car.

When I came down from Jessie’s flat on a Sunday morning, I was surprised to find a parking ticket beneath the car wiper.

I had a valid night coupon placed on the dashboard of my car. Moreover, my car was parked in a white lot.

Still, I got a parking ticket for parking without a valid season ticket.

My car was parked in a white lot.

Parking ticket.

I have no idea why.

[ Update 160409 ]

The above notice was issued to vehicle SBT XXXX on 05.04.2009 at about 12:55am, when it was found parked at reserved lot no.267 in Car Park T3 at Blks 109 – 114 Tampines St 11 without displaying a valid season parking.

Due to the demand by residents for parking lots, we have reserved a number of parking lots for season parking only. These reserved lots are demarcated in red. However, to optimise the use of parking lots in the car park, we have retained some coupon parking lots for visitors. Visitors can park their vehicles in these lots, which are painted in white and display sufficient parking coupon(s).

We have looked into your appeal. In view of your explanation and the circumstances, we will exercise flexibility and waive the notice this time. Hence, we seek your co-operation to observe all the prevailing parking rules when using HDB car parks in future.

Old Asics GT-2100 and new GT-2140.

If you’re a heel-runner and have a low-arch foot problem like me, I would recommend the new Asics GT-2140.

I’ve always been a fan of the GT series. I’ve had the GT-2100 for 5 whole years and I had to replace it because the sole was coming off. I’ve never had any blisters or painful sores on my feet. It was a really good shoe to run in.

Asics GT-2140 is currently retailing for $199 at Running Lab (10% off for SAFRA and Citibank card holders).

Used textbooks are piling up and becoming a pain in the ass. I have no choice but to sell them on eBay.

Here, have a look at my listings. Let me know if you need any used textbooks.

http://myworld.ebay.com.sg/sukianto