Breakin Breakneck Speeds...

Boundin' over hills, ant-hills, that is, and rushin' around at breakneck speeds, has finally taken its toll... alas... it would be apparent, sadly, that me 'av finally broken me neck... *sob* Sustained what the good 'ol chap in the white garbs described, or clinically and affectionately termed as, "a really bad neck sprain... *dramatic pause* ...I'm afraid, ahem!" So here i am, trodding around with my neck in a cervical collar, minding my own business, and here's the good citizens out sniggering at me, every corner i turn, haiz... and everyone's taking pot shots at me, wife-y was poking me shoulders, brothers were jabbing my ribs, and everybody's trying to trip me... when it rains, it pours... looks like i have to do a triple-back-flip-nose-dive-pirouette-into-sleeping-buddha-half-lotus-position over some bonfire high flaming pomelo leaves, just to garner some better luck for the festive season... btw, merry x'mas pple, arg...

Unhappy Feet

"I know size can be daunting, but..." Arg! after recuperating from a swollen left toe tendon jus a month or so ago; am now the proud owner of a swollen right foot from the kiss of an unknown sea creature in the swamps of Pulau Ubin. 3 puncture wounds, sharp burning pain, shot up the foot to me ankle, to calf, to knee T_T twas suspected to be a catfish, though personally me thinks it could have been an elephant fish, cos i've now got elephant foot, eheheh ;) Dang, why me? all these freak accidents, alas, that's what life's about - keeping one on one's inflamed toes, isn't it? hardy har har... imagine this, i've only got a wee little size 9 shoe, yet lo and behold, here, to me horror and surprise i find meself with a size 10 tak-halal-pork-knuckle-looking-appendage at the end of me right leg, where me foot should be T_T Oh the horror! Jus got back from the good doctor's with a tetanus jab and whole host of antibiotics supplements ;) tis worth the pain, to be back out there in the cradle of mother nature's arms once again...

Strolling Up Gunung Tahan

Heyhey, am back from me trekking break, and 'ere be a little something I penned, whilst up on Gunung Tahan:

"A moment taken to put thoughts to paper - simple scratchings in a tent, in a forest, on a hill... this is our Tahan venture... A moment to take in the chill of the cool night - a contrast from the warmth of good food (instant or otherwise) and warm company. Many a moment shared and captured, on film, on paper; in the hearts and on the minds. Fellow instructors in a tent, fellow comrades sheltered from the cold, fellow friends amidst cheery banter, fellow journeymen on the trail to great adventure, with a common waypoint on this humble hill... A motley crew of many colours, myriad jackets and fanciful hoods, troubled tents of many sizes, soiled packs of multi-hues, and colors within, worn through... ...this is our Tahan adventure!"

was a short 9 day trip... 20-25kg packs, 3 days up to the summit, 4 days down, 1 day of caving, 1 day of abseiling, all in the name of fun, eheheh ;) all in all, twas a good pace, met the local wildlife, greedy wild boars, bloody thirsty leeches, lazy albino cave snake, scampering cave insects (cave centipedes, spiders, crickets), cave bats, and of course a bold viper perched on a tree branch on our way abseiling down the multi-pitch route ;) next stop... Mt K!

Shooting thyself in the foot...

Heyhey, howdy folks, it's been a while... How's things on your end? As for me, be busy with 2 more 5-day courses before packing off to Gunung Tahan, Malaysia, for a 9-day trekking and caving trip ;) am recovering from a torn tendon on me left big toe, 3rd week now... alas, me & me freak accidents ;) been relatively low-key physically, these past 3 weeks, trying not to aggravate the injury. But tis getting me grumpy, need to train, train, train... bodies in motion, must stay in motion, can't ever slack, eh? Lesson learnt, don't ever be jumping from boat to boat, least you slip & jam your toe under the motor box...

Over the last half year, I've kayaked 160km+ from Singapore to Indonesia, headed out to sea and slept aboard a sailboat, got my Lifesaving123 swim proficiency, participated in and won a pentathlon (swim, cycle, kayak, run, climb) team race organised by OBS, gotten fitter than ever before, and broken just about every mental & physical limit. It's been a crazy time, but I've still got to apologise for my prolonged absence and uncontactablility as i'm now stationed weekdays on Pulau Ubin ;) catch you around on weekends then, either for a drink and a quick bite or perhaps a quick chat online ;) keep in touch ;) looking forward to hearing from all you doodes and doodettes once again!

Land Ho!

hardy har har... ahoy 'ere land lubbers! am back after me long sabbatical on the islands ;) hav been at & o'er the sea o'er the last couple of months... ar... has life been good to ye, as it has to me? Ay, me has been taking young sea pups out into the great outdoors, ah... for the sun, the sand, and the sea, arr ;)

A New Chapter begins ;)

heyhey, I'm with Outward Bound School now ;) I'll be leaving to Japan with Huixian from the 24th of this month to the 6th of April, for my Sports Chanbara Training. Huixian and I will be there to view the cherry blossoms, which I've been told, only lasts for ten days a year! The trip is gonna hurt me pocket something fierce, but I'm working hard for it. I'll be slogging all the way till the 22nd, to get the moolah we anticipate we'll require for the food and travel and sports and training and food and snacks and food ;) Argh... hehheh... I eat too much...

Attachments went swell with a good letter of reference from Infinsys Technologies ;) ...how did I end up the OB way? ...with much prodding from Wifey and Ilija, i guess ;) had to go for 4 interviews before getting offered the OBS Instructor job. It was an interesting process, including a 3 day, two night endurance camp on Pulau Ubin. Those crazy days felt like a weird parallel of Survivor ;) All in all, it was a challenging experience.

Attachments came to an early end, supervisor agreed to release me, as my ol company needed help at the IT Exhibition at Suntec City from Wed till Sun. twas interestingly manic as usual, dabbled with the Microsoft product line again, the XBOX 360 launch this time, met old friends and long-lost loyal customers. Will slog till the 22nd, then pack, then it's off to Japan for two weeks for Sports Chanbara training, then back on the 6th, for wife's 2nd Degree Honours graduation ceremony on the 7th, then rest... then onward with me Outward Bound life.

Till my next update, have a great time, and keep smiling ;)

Plodding up Mt. Ophir

Jus got back with me missus and some friends, from a short weekend trekking trip to Mount Ophir ;) twas a nostalgic back to nature feeling, fresh air, cool weather, ahh... wat's life without the great outdoors! All in, our party of 7, consisted of me wife and I, Ilija from germany, Wilson the army regular, Chris, Qingzhu and his girlfren.

We'd set off on friday nite via railway to Segamat, Malaysia. Tis a great way to travel to malaysia really, though the airconditioning in the train car was a little too cold. As a tip, the train tickets are considerably cheap and hassle free, and is a viable alternative to coach or air fares. While shivering, we managed to catch our 40 winks in between hopping out at checkpoints, to stretch our frozen appendages.

Now the funny thing about weather forecasts is though they strive to be accurate, they rarely are. The trip was almost aborted on Thursday, due to the forecast for scattered thunderstorms throughout the entire weekend. Eventually, it hinged on Ilija's decision and the fact that this was his only opportunity to trek through a primary rainforest in these parts with us... and so, with hope and a quiet prayer, we went on with the expedition ;)