went back briefly to school today, passed the respective photos to the people who should be holding on to them. didn't join the other trainees, since mrs. chan mentioned that i still looked pale in the face, so i went home instead - there'll be plenty of other chances of working and eating together in the future...

teck heng was right - be generous about printing photos and giving them away, and just forget about the dollars and cents - because doing so will spoil the happy mood that people would be when they get that photo initially, especially if it was meant as a surprise.

just got back home - i was seen to by dr vincent tan. better still, saint from nastynice.net popped by my website with some greetings, sha too. am i glad that i'm not 100% bad - i'm just probably 1% from reaching there - time to improve myself. it's really an eye-opener, to see every single person decked with n95 masks, or surgical masks. after a fair wait, my diagnosis was viral fever - it may take 2 weeks for a full recovery. even the tarmac outside the a&e department was mopped with disinfectant, now that's really happening!

really, these medical folks make a massive difference in our lives. to think that too, nearly five months ago, i accompanied this runner auntie to ttsh's a&e department after she was in hysterics resulting from what i presume, severe dehydration. damned, i'll work in the medical line in the future if i can too - or at least, if not, i'll be a fellow volunteer at red cross singapore.

and i learnt that God doesn't want me to join him up there yet - i've still got work to do. and yes, reading lance's book does help to boost the morale. i was walking that tightrope that says "life and death", and i made it through, luckily. it's really good to be alive. and i'll ask myself what kind of person i want to be, with this possible close-to-death situation i have been through.

i've just woken up to measure my temperature - had a 38.1, then after drinking some water, and leaving a time lapse of 5 minutes, the readings were still 38.0, 38.0 and now, 38.1. this could be my final post in a long long time. i'm calling the special ambulance in a couple more minutes' time. kommissar, if i contact you directly, or if you see this site has not been updated with any blog for three days, please print out my entire blog beginning 16th april, that will be needed for contact tracing if i'm a confirmed case.

i sent "ich liebe dich" to her when i felt that things are not going to be in my favour. that takes a load off my mind. i'll be trying to bring along the bible, lance's it's not about the bike and my mobile with charger over to ttsh.

one last measurement now - 38.1. till then.

something is damned wrong again. temperature bounced up back up to 37.1 after having "behaved" well by staying below 36.8 for the whole day. will not be attending school tomorrow, for sure. called up the doctor, he asked me to measure my temperature 4 hours later, at 3 am, and call him back if it is high again. after talking to gina, my hod, i decided that i'll call 993 if the temperature is high - note that the late dr alexandre chao died while diagnosed with dengue fever, but after autopsy, it was sars. i have absolutely no trace of any rashes on my body right now, and i've got this damned temperature fluctuation that kicks in at night. i'm not worried about exams, online arguments, or my own life and death - i just don't want to affect my students and my mom. going to read some chapters from psalms now...

and i've gotta mail dr mike koh regarding the presentation for this friday on biomechanics - i have no idea if i'll be ok to be there in the first place. temperature's 37.5 now.

i've made a bid on a particular road name sign on comchest auction, and from the looks of it, i'll be able to secure my bid of this particular road sign for only $51. most people don't know this road name, despite having gone there 1001 times in their youth. i'm one of those who knows the road name very well.

maybe tomorrow i'll call colin that i'm confirming my purchase of the r535 from him.

talked to wendy earlier in the evening - gosh, time seems to fly by - it's since around 3 years that we first met back at sajc over some handicraft thing. and it was like nearly two and a half years back since we'd watched x-men together at... where? i'm getting senile too, can't remember too much details too...

saw the doctor, but he still couldn't come to a diagnosis. oh, by the way, here's something interesting from the clinic that i copied down for your entertainment -

medical certificates
1. are never given on demand. courteous requests may be considered.
2. are given not based on the request of parents, teachers, employers, policeman, m.p.'s etc. they are given based on medical need as determined by the doctor.
3. are given only when ic produced.
4. are not given for times that are past, only for the future.
5. will be extended only after re-examination (without charge) & found the illness has not recovered.

and i haven't even gotten down to the rules of the clinic. stay tuned...

went to pass teck heng some of the photos that i meant for him after the consultation - he was pleasantly surprised at the photos that i took of him during the mr25 ultra-marathon, as well as the picture of his daughter. he advised me to take priority of my life and not stretch myself too thin, by not having enough sleep and such. he's intending to get a new digital camera, but looking at the circumstances, he may have to get a p&s (point & shoot) camera, since most of his nikon lenses are manual ones. tough luck. if not for him, i wouldn't even have thought of taking sports photography - no one will trek into the forests of the central catchment area with film and cameras, wait for you to pass and then shoot your picture. you need to know the route, know the people, and know how to shoot your photos. he's a fantastic guy as a father - he's bringing his daughter (who's nearly 4 years old now) to do things like running (or plodding on the stadium tracks), catching butterflies, tree lizards, cycling... and flying a kite. it's so holistic, the way he intends to bring up his daughter. sadly, i never had anyone to bring me out to fly a kite when i was young - if you don't do it at that age, you'll miss the magic of it all - it's pointless to go out later on in life, trying to make up for what's lost.

cannoncal gave me a surprise call today around noontime - he invited me for a ride. i told him what happened to me since wednesday, and he was understanding enough. for a regular cyclist to need sheer effort to disengage from a pair of fully operational clipless pedals, something severely wrong has to happen. it's sure swell when one dissociates with the younger "kids" at times and join the "ah peks" for rides. (yes, cannoncal's nickname is ah-pek as well these "ah peks" have waaaay good bikes, much full suspension that can be locked out, you get the idea. in short, faaaaaaantastic bikes! mavic bro, you know what i'm talking about yeah?

something is off with my browser, i believe. after logging in to yaccs, i can see the comments posted by some friends like ash dear, and sista' charmane, while poor ol' me is stuck at loading erm...friday's blog? danged, wonder what's wrong. anyway i'll be going back to the doctor at 6-10 later this evening to show him my temperature log for today, which went:

260403
2315h - 37.6

270403
0500h - 37.5
1100h - 36.6
1200h - 36.7
1300h - 36.8
1400h - 36.7
1700h - 36.9
1800h - 37.4
1900h - 37.5

you see, i'm also stuck at wondering if the doctor knows what he's really doing. using his stethoscope, he put it across my back, and chest once, after a few minutes, redid the same thing all over again when i dropped by yesterday evening. that time i brought along my personal thermometer, since he wanted to test if it's giving erronous results - it passed. but the doctor's instructions were really odd - he asked me to wear four layers of t-shirts, drink warm water for 2 hours last night and sweat it out, to "force out the heat in within" (can't find an appropriate way to paraphrase his words in mandarin, you know), as well as monitor my temperature in 4 hour intervals today. but the first instruction was really, really odd.

guess i still wouldn't be going back to school tomorrow - the unexplicable upper back muscle soreness is still there. oh, and the medication he gave me on the 21st and the 24th are - diclofenac and xanax respectively. diclofenac is meant to "relieve the pain, tenderness, inflammation (swelling), and stiffness caused by arthritis and gout. it also is used to relieve other pain, including menstrual pain and pain after surgery or childbirth. this medication is sometimes prescribed for other uses; ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.". xanax is "an antianxiety agent, benzodiazepines. used primarily for short-term relief of mild to moderate anxiety and nervous tension. it is also effective in the treatment of activity depression or panic attacks. it can be useful in treating irritable bowel syndrome and anxiety due to a neurosis as well. it may help the symptoms of pms if extreme, some cancers pains if given with various narcotics, agoraphobia, essential tremor, and ringing ears." funny, i sure don't have crimson tide, arthritis nor gout. and speaking of valium, i can see it smack right in front of me when i'm in his consultation room, in a plastic drawer. it's supposed to be a controlled item, isn't it?

the guy who is so bored that he's giving my site a lot of hits, is still not contented with hurling insults on my site. yaaaawn.

keep it up, curse all you want. - but remember what God said to Abram, "I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse those who curse you. Through you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." - genesis 12:3

i didn't make that up - God did say it. you do read the bible, don't you?

a lot of you folks missed out on the show. this guy called "fish" came and wrote all sorts of stuff on my site - again. tireless - really good. might as well recommend him to snoc to represent the nation in endurance sports... the schizophrenic suspect has so far, made mention to both togoparts and clubsnap - just like the person who misbehaved as the moderator a couple days ago. hmm... it's easier than i expected it to be!

stay tuned for more hoohah from the mysterious one - he'll be back, for sure.

today was truly one of those days i really had to multitask. i was talking to sh on the homephone, then suddenly my handphone went off, and i was talking to my ct. as i was talking to my ct, the handphone's call waiting went off, and that was mrs rani from the nie sas calling me... wah piang eh. still alright la. also had phone conversations with jessica, the nie practicum office admin personnel, as well as the clinic nurse of 6-10 clinic. so many calls today!...

oh, the printer for the maniefest banner is a funny chap. siva told me to call up the guy, apparently because he was getting into technicalities that siva was struggling to understand - so i was asked to call up this printer guy, and see what i can do about it. siva was only able to tell me that the printer wanted 2:1 for the aspect ratio. in the end, after i made the call, i was asking for the aspect ratio, and the printer was telling me, 2:1 ratio, so i told him that my pixel count for the file was 1890:945, which is 2:1, but when the printer insisted that something was wrong, i was really confounded. then my magic question elicited the magic answer from the man - "what is the size of the actual banner you're printing?", to which his answer was "120 inches by 48 inches"... ARGH! gave me a undescribeable eeewaaaarggghhhaaahahhaa feeling. 120:48 is 5:2, while his request of 2:1 was equivalent to 4:2... arghhhhhaahhaa

ok ok, i support free speech. so here's part two from the same bloke

Haha... you truly are dense... Don't you get it? Not everyone's like you, having to prove this and demonstrate that... I'm sure and confident of my abilities and therefore, do not see a need to PROVE myself. People who matters to me can see this for themselves.

You have once again DEMONSTRATED that you cannot carry out a logical argument on top of making irrational deductions. Punctuating paragraphs with smiley faces is your way of masking your hidden emotions of insecurity. Let's hope these signs do not manifest physically or you may really need to see a sin-seh....

So , did your crystal ball tell you what am I going to post up next? Better still, ask your crystal ball who am I...

but i think he's even more longwinded than me and pam combined... i've heard from my crystal ball he's writing lord of the sotong rings soon...

as the crystal ball so foretold a day ago, here's a mysterious post from "the one with higher eq than seh suan"

Oh come on loser Seh, u should have been named Soo Seh.. think that suits you much better....

You actually took the trouble to spend so much of your precious time putting together things in the bid to hurt another... dat's something only a loser will do.... everyboady can see who the ultimate idiot here is... and that is you, "Soo Seh" Suan... ( also means you are sour about losing)

You know what? Anybody with a sane mind will know that deep inside, you are someone who is very insecure, constantly having to boast about yourself in order to compensate for your incompetencies and inabiities to accept who you are. You see the need to repeatedly prove yourself when others really see nothing but a fool in you. It is sad to know that someone of your age is still behaving like that, especially when the future of our generation is in your hands.. tsk tsk tsk......

Just like having a house-warming, the very fact you blog makes your "house" open to the public. Therefore, you should have anticipated that there will always be a chance that your house may be "vandalised', especially when the owner is not well-liked by most and is a total LOSER.

One more compliment for you... heard of the phrase empty vessels make the most noise? That's you too... Congratulations, you have won the "IDIOT of the century award".... =)

Without you, there won't be smart people around... thanks again...

yes, yes, yes, i'm stoopah. wait. stoopid. how do you spell that word? ok ok, for you to demonstrate your supreme intelligence, could you pweety pweety please tell me about the background of a look pedal, please? along with how many bearings there are inside a look pedal's needle cartridge? pweeease?

thanks for visiting my site and adding to my visitor traffic. hmm. i should comtemplate getting an advertising service to sponsor me since your mysterious appearance has hit up my visitor counter waaaaay up! by the way, from the way you write, you sure could write fantastic medical journals and fhm uk magazine...

one last thing - i'm a sin-seh, not a soo seh. oh, and that old song by beck used to go... "i'm a loser baby, so why don't you kill me..."

had a long long talk over the phone with siok heng last night, most of the contents were about the skylink saga. told her things such as spinning on the bike (oei, pam! you better not gear-mash!) and suggesting time atacs for her first clipless pedals. oh, by the way if you're reading this, skylink you ought to take a look at this new url i've created in your name!

to the comment from "spynks", here's the final deal - togoparts is "too-gone-parts" to me now. in other words, i'm cutting off all links with the site. and for and "someonewhosurfedby", my answer is, i accept constructive criticism, not baseless accusations. surely, if these two abovementioned persons were actual people, they'd leave their actual contacts, but since there's none, it's easy to deduce who "they" really are. hmm. detective work just seems to get easier these days, my dear watson!

oh yes! got close to it, only got skylink suspended - have you heard of any moderator of any forum getting suspended? ooh, bad moderator!

i got suspended too, but it doesn't matter. the forum is getting boring now, anyway. went to 6-10 clinic around my place, and the doctor told me i'm clear to go back to school tomorrow. let me see my temperature now... 38.0 degrees?!?! with my sister's new digital thermometer, i got a measurement of 37.6 degrees, as of 9pm.

i also picked up my massive development of 135 digital pictures - a whopping amount (at least for me) of $47.25. but it sure beats memories of film prints when it cost over $20 for 36 shots you don't have control of which you want to print, and the film processing charge. ok, i have the basis of my personal portfolio now!

total of 63 pictures were related to school work - the equipment in the pe store as well as the pictures from the sports day. another 8 photos for teck heng, related to him and his family. only 41 shots were deemed worthy enough for my personal collection/portfolio.

this is such a disgrace, a moderator having to resort to mud-slinging my profession. let's see what happened on this thread regarding a picture posted - if you can't see it here, that means that skylink has just deleted it to save his face.

sehsuan - Posted on: 24th Apr 2003 10:48 AM just for your reference patio, i'm not sure about the place where you popped in because i can't tell with the sole landmark in the background, but please note that cycling is off-limits especially within the central catchment area. thanks.

cue - Posted on: 24th Apr 2003 10:51 AM Oh come on Sehz, whats life without a little bit of fun and excitement? Have a chill pill dude. *wink*

sexyguy - Posted on: 24th Apr 2003 10:59 AM There is no trail.... Just a few slopes leading to the reservoir usable by cars... Now tat's legal right?????

sehsuan - 24th Apr 2003 11:05 AM can't help it - i used to run XC before i started to cycle, cue. so it's a road, sure it's alright then, sexyguy. but i sure didn't like to run in the forests only to come face-to-face with a biker coming smack at me, or chasing me down from behind on a trail

skylink - Posted on: 24th Apr 2003 11:12 AM just for your reference, do you know the white house is off limits to you? thanks. stop being extra lah and go out and ride more.

sehsuan - Posted on: 24th Apr 2003 11:22 AM now look, "peacekeeper", some of your posts are imflammatory too. sometimes, i wonder if you fit for a peacekeeper on the site at all. i'm concerned about not going to off-limit areas, if you're read my very few posts within the "Bike Trails" section - do a search on it. i mentioned to Zishin if i should do an article about where NOT to go in singapore for cycling late last year, but he declined since he thought that would only encourage people to go into these forbidden places where they are least welcome... you get the idea?

patio - Posted on: 24th Apr 2003 11:50 AM Hye!! relax guys.... Sehsuan,i would put it such tat u re offending more n more ppl out there.Should u learn be less nosey instead?

sehsuan - Posted on: 24th Apr 2003 11:55 AM it doesn't really matter if i irate more people, if i can play my part for NParks and inform cyclists where not to go, you know. truthfully speaking, i enjoy XC running more than XC biking - that's why i abstain from going XC.

skylink - Posted on: 24th Apr 2003 12:24 PM For the intellectually challenged beings here, "peacemaker" is meant for members who have a basic respect for other people. For you, I have only one thing to say:"Not happy call police arrest me lah~!" I guess PE teachers never had to learn communication skills in CPE rite. Maybe you could pick up a book in the library.

sehsuan - Posted on: 24th Apr 2003 12:26 PM don't generalize a profession - and please refrain from mud-slinging, especially with your own appointment as moderator.

skylink - Posted on: 24th Apr 2003 12:30 PM it isn't mud-slinging when it is the truth for you. Come on, haven't you had enough posts in this forum from multiple members telling you to mind your own business? please do yourself a favour.

sehsuan - Posted on: 24th Apr 2003 12:36 PM Quote: " Formerly posted by skylink: I guess PE teachers never had to learn communication skills in CPE rite. Maybe you could pick up a book in the library. " this is not mud-slinging? then what is it called? anyway, it's not CPE anymore, you're severely outdated. please note the context of my words - i'm addressing the issue of staying legal (not going into forbidden trails) seriously. i've seen more desirable moderators on TGP, but what you've just posted is a disappointment.

patio - Posted on: 24th Apr 2003 12:42 PM RELAC guys!!!!! dun argue liao lar:(

skylink - Posted on: 24th Apr 2003 12:44 PM hey I think this is not the only forum Whole world against you thing. http://forums.clubsnap.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=28503 http://forums.clubsnap.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=28522 for someone who says disrespectful stuff about his own father online to the entire world, I say your words mean nothing to me or anyone.

yes, i posted openly about my severe dissatisfaction with my old man, but so what? i'm more liberal than most locals. i don't talk to the old man at home at all - he once told my mom that he'd rather not talk to me because he would end up arguing with me anyway. so heck it, i don't need to talk to him. by not talking to him, there's peace at home. and here we're talking about an old man, who poured away guppies that fascinated me when i was a child, into the toilet bowl and flushed them away - while he's keeping louhans that eat so much more, and aren't pretty at all. what is life is we hide all our dissatisfactions in within? it's far more unhealthy that way.

skylink, keep your stinking keyboard characters away from my website - you're NOT welcome here, stinking roadie. now i have to go to tagboard and cleanse your comments off.

and finally, to add the finishing touch, i proposed a removal of skylink as a moderator for togoparts.

not feeling well today after all the lessons - my upper back and neck regions are aching really badly. and i was feeling warm/ok, warm/ok in like one hour intervals. i do not have breathing problems yet, and no signs of cough - but i think i'll call up my school tomorrow and tell them my predicament. my temperature, measured this afternoon was 37.3 degrees, 10 minutes ago, i measured 37.2 degrees orally. i went to koh's t&t on the 17th, because it's my family doctor, but the moe/moh press release asks for people who have been there from the 9th up to the 15th. 2 days late - things could still happen. it's not any more helpful that i feel the migraine that was plagueing me about a fortnight ago, starting to flare up occasionally today. so i did what i thought was the best - i contacted her over msn messenger earlier today, and told her that in case anything should happen to me, i'm still be thinking of her. i'm a sucker when i have someone in mind - guess i trust people too easily - but what i've learnt is, if you live in distrust, you will not find love; if you live in trust, you will see love everywhere.

i'm not worried if i live or die - but my students - i cannot afford to get them into trouble. if in case this site is not updated for several days at a stretch, you all know where i would be then - warded in ttsh... and also because of this, i declined to join the other fellow trainees in my school for lunch after contact time.

one happy point to note though - siva told me over msn messenger probably half an hour ago, that my practicum site impressed him. i'm flattered - but i sure hope it's not the technical aspect by which he was impressed by...

argh. marking the students' mathematics workbook now at this unearthly, noctural hour, woke up at 3am to do so. the horrid writing, the lack of discipline in class... *shakes head*

the news last night mentioned that a particular family of 8 that was told to wait outside their clinic after being instructed to wear masks by the general practitioner, but ended up taking off the masks and mingling over over the place, happened in my area. they were moving all over the s-11 opposite my block. now, if they were confirmed or suspect cases, i'm not too sure, but here's my reaction - grrr...

yes, ying - my area is more or less your area, or smfsc's area...

apparently hearsay has it that some folks, one or two of them around my residential area - have contacted sars. in fact, the s-11 i frequent opposite my block, apparently had one storeholder (or was it patron?) collapsing there last night, and sent to ttsh. waiting for the 10 o' clock news later on. sidetrack, why do we say, "o' clock"? i think it spread over because of some countries that are brit in heritage (occupation or otherwise), because only the angmohs have names like o' shea and o' shit...

i'm not feeling too well - is it just the lack of rest, or am i dying? in case it's the latter, i have to bid adieu to my site's readers, and more importantly... blow some virtual kisses to her...

but on the other hand... i really have no idea. gotta slog my arse off to do the lesson plans later tonight.

went to see the doctor around 4+ pm, got my mc. got back home, changed out of my clothing to a fresh set, then went over to ceqin's place to settle her computer. the power supply unit of hers seem to work with my items, but when i plugged it in and tried to power up her motherboard at her place, there was nothing. no reaction, no humming, nothing. kosong.

in a slightly desperate bid, she gave the green light to pop over to sim lim square to get a new motherboard, as well as an internal cd-rw drive unit. total spent - $207, at costronics. surprisingly good service though - the staff offered to test out her motherboard to make sure it's a gone case, and of course, in case of anything else, i was there to watch too. and yup, they got the same response with her board - nothing. it was hiliarious though, to watch her talk to the indian national staff, and the local indian who was probably a senior at the store, by calling them "yo brother..."

so of the $207, $115 went to the gigabyte 6vem motherboard, and the other $92 went to a tdk cyclone 48/24/28 2nd edition drive. cheap eh? finished the fixing, and basic software stuff by 9:30pm - got back home not too long ago myself.

there, just done with the maniefest banner that siva asked me to help him churn out last night. what do you think of this - any comments?



by the way, i'll do a self-quarantine today. it's scary to face the students when you're not feeling well - i admit i'm a little on the "little upset" group of people, but compounded with mouth ulcers, i'll chicken out from school today. who says only the students don't want to go to school?

but then again, it is scary when your family doctor's clinic is involved in an issue that killed people around the world, albeit in small numbers. i hope nothing freaky breaks out from me - and i'll call the school to tell them about my predicament too.

after watching fann, chris and allan cross that dual tightrope act at bugis junction over tv, i made a call to 1900-112-6855. shouldn't you too? lines are open till 22nd april. call now!

i was looking through their site for the NKF fundraiser, although the photos were of the artistes doing their practices and rehearsals sans makeup, some of the pictures were erm, horrifying. i mean i clicked a thumbnail only to see this:



the shadows on florence's eyes are horrid - they shouldn't even have posted it up at all. sigh. the other photos, apparently taken at night, have a high level of digital noise - definitely not film quality - that should be alright, since they're not going to have full time photogs with them.... but i was thinking, wasn't there this photographers' ethics - like not posting pictures that would somewhat make the subject look bad?

and regarding my previous post - should i go on self-quarantine?

erm... am i going to be affected? should i self-quarantine?

when sars initially was closed down to a housing estate, it was the serangoon/hougang area - with a student from peicai secondary and pat's schoolhouse - both fairly close to where i stay. that' point number 1.

when the newspaper was read out by fabian, my sister's boyfriend this morning, the t&t clinic, which i patronize as my personal doctor, apparently had a sars-suspect case visiting it on 9th and 11th april. i last went to t&t on 17th april, last thursday. and the doctor's the same doctor, the pharmacists are the same... *gulp!* should anything untoward be happening to me, i would be thinking of her first...

met up with handbag, lincoln, henry and peiyi at ang mo kio community library today for the biomechanics assignment discussion. met at about 1pm, dismissed at about 3pm.

today's plus point is that a couple has set up a new site, www.sars.com.sg as a one stop sars information centre. good work!

jasmine (one of my long time contacts on icq) has just mentioned to me, so i'll do a plug for her on my site.

she's from alvron, and she wanted me to let you guys know that they've just set up a studio for jamming. there are a total of 3 studios there - some of the studios feature marshall and swr stacks, as well as premier drum set(s). they also handle hiring and installation of professional audio, lightings and musical instruments, and offer attractive booking rates. the studio's located along bukit timah, opposite beauty world, at 17 lorong kilat #01-08 s(598139), and their contact number is 93878918. in the meanwhile, check out their corporate site at www.alvron.com!

had a little time for a little mushy words with her online yesterday afternoon, but main concern is to let her know what problems she may have to overcome during obs in early june. at least now she knows that 1) i have to give her lessons on how to kayak, 2) she knows to bring long sleeves, sunglasses, a large cap, and gloves especially for the kayaking expedition...

p.s. not my girlfriend yet, just named her "her" because i don't want every tom, dick and harry, mary, jane and sally to know her name... thanks mavic!

went to ceqin's place to take a look at her computer - upon looking, it seems that her hewlett packard's power supply is fried. watched il mare and the way home, both korean movies at her place. good shows, i must say...

this is dedicated to fans of where's wally! try looking for wally here...

does anyone remember this picture taken on 27th may last year?

basically, thursday was a lobo day. took the day off on mc, since i had two sore spots with one mouth ulcer each, and a sore throat. saw the doctor, she gave me antibiotics this time for the sore throat - a first, if i remember correctly. she added, with this sars not ceasing, we have to play things on the safe side.

talked to kisetsu over the phone later in the evening - she hasn't learnt how to spin on a bike, but still relying on gear-mashing. sounds violent, doesn't it?

just heard celebratory shouts from the kopitiam downstairs apparently inspired by some soccer goal by someone over cable tv. mad blokes - why are they so happy? most likely, these are the same people who will not support the local soccer team for anything in the world, but will bet heavily on some international class game.

reminds me of what happened last year because some girls couldn't digest what i wrote about korea and japan when they made it through to the which-round-was-that? quarters and semis respectively, of the world cup, if i remember correctly - all because they can't see it from the professional physical education aspect. korea and japan, whether anything was foul or not, everything is run by the book - the referee is the man calling for the entire game. of course, if you can't take it - stop playing the game - because you're following rules anyway!

marking primary 2 students' mathematics workbooks can have a detrimental effect on oneself. i'm sooooo tired after marking only about like 20+ of these workbooks - because even after three weeks, students still can't do their corrections that i bracketed out for them to do, and folded the page so there's a fantastically large bookmark.

in fact, some of the handwriting in these workbooks, you know it's not done by the students, but by somemore more senior - like an elder sibling or even the parents!

i'm going back to sleep. carried 15+ workbooks back home, but too tired to mark them. argh. gotta cycle back to school with that load this morning...

just finished designing the ticket for the nie-sif-yep fundraiser event to be held at hard rock cafe, on 20th may. charge is only $15, including one free drink (no idea what kind of drink though). why not order one for yourself, or two for yourself and your boyfriend/girlfriend and join us?


see what photoshop can do? eunice can do even more fantastic stuff than this...

i only received the job last night from siva, guess it doesn't take too long to churn out a ticket like that. my previous work was pession, also commissioned by siva. i also was the person responsible for designing macritchie runners 25's dinner and dance 2000.


pess' pession ticket design


macritchie runners 25 dinner and dance 2000 ticket design

was caught up in a mad rush today - went over to joyce's store in sim lim, but before i saw her for a fleeting moment, i happened to chance upon mokhtar, handbag and one of their mutual friends at her dad's store on the fourth level. she disappeared though, when i was about to ask her regarding the pricing, so i made my way over to collect the lcd protector screen from ivor instead at peninsula plaza.

surprisingly, this girl whom i saw crossing the road outside peninsula plaza minutes earlier with a guy, and taking a snapshot of themselves right after they've crossed the road, is none other than ying! during the collection, i met fundee as well. i didn't go to confirm her identity earlier, but i thought that i should try anyway - at most if it's the wrong person, just say "oops", and run like the wind... i confirmed her identity when she and her guy friend just stepped out of bestcam, the place where i bought the cla-1 conversion lens adapter for the 4040 i was once using. she sure looks svelte, long-legged, and nothing short of attractive in person! hmm... how come i'm so "blessed" to know so many such girls online? ponder ponder...

then it was a mad rush back to sim lim - gave the lcd protector to joyce (it was intended as a gift for her long ago) and i bought a 4-external, 1-internal port usb 2.0 controller using the nec 720100a chipset for only s$30 from her store (friend's pricing, after all - this girl's really quite generous, you know). right after, it was a rush over to kinokuniya where i bought triathlete and maximum pc.

after i got home, first thing that i did was to change out from my larsen tt tires back to slick tires - save me a lot of effort trying to get up to speed. thankfully, the old uncle at gee hin chan gave my chain a quick spray of *something* when i told him i needed some lube to smooth out my drivetrain.

and before i really forget, i hope that stephanie recovers quickly from the (flu?) bug that's struck her, so that she can go back to work real soon...

just called colin, i'll be getting a shimano r535 wheelset instead of forking out $130 more for the r540s. gotta save where i can, you know.

need to go out now - my schedule tonight - sim lim square to pick up some usb 2.0 items (from joyce, preferably), getting the lcd protector sheet from ivor outside cathay photo peninsula at 1815 hrs, and finally a hair trimming session tonight.

ciao!

majority of yesterday was spent slacking away, seriously.

today morning was kickstarted off with the sars briefing back in the school. got back home, did a fairly thorough servicing for my bike - the brakes, the fork, cleaned out most of the grit that's stuck all over. only took the trouble to regrease the brake cables, since they're more crucial for safe biking. surprisingly, fedly asked me about how to get a beginner's mountain bike - where else to refer him to, but to togoparts?

stephanie sent me a sombre pictorial reminder of aids/hiv passed on from a friend, and how it is already wreaking havoc even before sars stepped into the limelight. not for the very faint-hearted.

radio69 sent me this email probably yesterday, that makes a lot of sense:

The 10 Secrets.......

The 1st Secret - The Power Of Thought.
Love begins with our thoughts. We become what we think about. Loving thoughts create loving experiences and loving relationships. Affirmations can change our beliefs and thoughts about others and ourselves. If we want to love someone, we need to consider their needs and desires. Thinking about your ideal partner will help you recognize her when you meet her.

The 2nd Secret - The Power Of Respect.
You cannot love anyone or anything unless you first respect them. The first person you need to respect is yourself. To begin to gain self-respect asks yourself, "What do I respect about myself?" To gain respect for others, even those you may dislike, ask yourself "What do I respect about them?"

The 3rd Secret - The Power Of Giving.
If you want to receive love, all you have to do is give it! The more love you give, the more you will receive. To love is to give of yourself freely and unconditionally. Practice random acts of kindness. Before committing to a relationship ask not what the other person will be able to give to you, but rather what will you be able to give them. The secret formula of a happy, lifelong, loving relationship is to always focus on what you can give instead of what you can take.

The 4th Secret - The Power Of Friendship.
To find a true love, you must first find a true friend. Love does not consist of gazing into each other's eyes, but rather looking outward together in the same direction. To love someone completely you must love them for who they are, not what they look like. Friendship is the soil through which love's seeds grow. If you want to bring love into a relationship, you must first bring friendship.

The 5th Secret - The Power Of Touch.
Touch is one of the most powerful expressions of love, breaking down barriers and bonding relationships. Touch changes our physical and emotional states and makes us more receptive to love.

The 6th Secret - The Power Of Letting Go.
If you love something, let it free. If it comes back to you it's yours, if it doesn't, it never was. Even in a loving relationship, people need their own space. If we want to learn to love, we must first learn to forgive and let go of past hurts and grievances. Love means letting go of our fears, prejudices, egos and conditions. "Today I let go of all my fears, the past has no power over me - today is the beginning of a new life."

The 7th Secret - The Power Of Communication.
When we learn to communicate openly and honestly, life changes. To love someone is to communicate with them. Let the people you love know that you love them and appreciate them. Never be afraid to say those three magic words: "I Love You." Never let an opportunity pass to praise someone. Always leave someone you love with a loving word it could be the last time you see them. If you were about to die but could make telephone calls to the people you loved, who would you call, what would you say and ...why are you waiting?

The 8th Secret - The Power Of Commitment.
If you want to have love in abundance, you must be committed to it, and that commitment will be reflected in your thoughts and actions. Commitment is the true test of love. If you want to have loving relationships, you must be committed to loving relationships. When you are committed to someone or something, quitting is never an option. Commitment distinguishes a fragile relationship from a strong one.

The 9th Secret - The Power Of Passion.
Passion ignites love and keeps it alive. Lasting passion does not come through physical attraction alone; it comes from deep commitment, enthusiasm, interest and excitement. Passion can be recreated by recreating past experiences when you felt passionate. Spontaneity and surprises produce passion. The essence of love and happiness are the same; all we need to do is to live each day with passion.

The 10th Secret - The Power Of Trust.
Trust is essential in all loving relationships. Without it one person becomes suspicious, anxious and fearful and the other person feels trapped and emotionally suffocated. You cannot love someone completely unless you trust them completely. Act as if your relationship with the person you love will never end. One of the ways you can tell whether a person is right for you is to ask yourself, "Do I trust them completely and unreservedly?" If the answer is "no", think carefully before making a commitment.

went out to teck hock hin to pick up my sidi t1 shoes with the remainder of $100. the shoes are good - only $129 for a pair of shoes made in italy - great value!

having gotten the shoes, i happened to chance upon marcus from hall 10 in a shell gas station close to the bike store, thereafter i went to meet digipix in simei to get a reel of gaffer tape for $35. it's a tyco adhesives polyken reel specially imported from the united states. and for a length of 55 meters, that works out to only less than 65 cents per meter - cheap enough. gaffer tapes have numerous uses - it can be used to protect surfaces from nicks and scratches, and after you remove it, it leaves absolutely no trace of the adhesive on the item. one more interesting use is that you can use it for bondage and secure your boyfriend/girlfriend...

don't blame me if you do the latter and end up in a love-hate relation because of that!

i went on over to seng chu hin, and met amrun in the store. he gave me sound advice regarding family life, and planning on placing priorities on a girlfriend or cycling. actually, not really. he did tell me to allocate time for each activity that i have, and on making decisions, i can listen to advice from a lot of people, but then again i have to sieve them all through, and the crux of the matter is that in the end, i'm the person making the decisions for myself, and i have to be responsible for them. simple message - but longterm effects. will think about it.

teck heng just left not long ago after passing me two photos - one of myself, one of kit leong during last year's ultramarathon. and i forgot to mention that i watched waterboys earlier this afternoon again.

if you thought cycling up mount faber is killer, wait till you try cycling up to alkaff mansion - you'll have your lungs out of your torso trying to intake air in ways you never thought of. presenting the tour de pek xua!

by the way, this is easily the single largest fenr - almost 50 cyclists!

thankfully, after the entire ride, we didn't have an unexpected show(down) between a drunkard (two, actually) and about 10 of us sitting at a coffeetable - all because one uneducated chinese bloke thought he heard "old shit" when "oh shit" was blurted out by what-his-name when one of the drunkards toppled his bike. the boys in blue responded pretty fast, i must say. and it's scary to have two drunkards talking to what-his-name while standing right behind my back - so close that i can feel one of them leaning against my chair! adrenaline rush!... thankfully everything was fine...

i'm so bored i'm cooking up acronyms for shimano parts

dura-ace.... "durable, ultra-rich alloy... and campy's enemy"
ultegra - "ultimate easy gears for rich angmohs"
tiagra - "throw it away, get ready for another"
sora - "serviceable on road ah?"

went out cycling with siva, debbie, lau ban, "siao" lily, xuan and wooi ling at bukit timah's trails - primarily to finish off the "unfinished business" that we left half done the last time. it really was an eye-opener to see how brave (read: foolhardy? garang?) debbie was - despite using a steel bike with no suspension, she just bashes her way down slopes without thinking too much. i've gotta learn that from her - but i'm taking the easy way out by planning to become a road cyclist.

i went on to bike haus after the ride ended, and i was disappointed that the soloist team frame is not in stock yet - colin mistook it that i wanted the soloist, i guess. never mind - i still can have more time to consider if i should get the more aerodynamic p2k or still push on with the soloist team. i don't mind the standard soloist - but the colour scheme is just soooo orbit! striped just like a bumblebee in different colours, that's all. anyway, i saw this caucasian who was taking care of this bull terrier-sembling dog, waiting outside while his other two friends were testing a bike at bike haus. the dog was very friendly, although i can tell it's really muscular, lean and mean... wait. it's not mean - it's really very friendly - it was having a good time licking my hands, almost my face - it's just like a pup! i mean, it's 9 months old, almost adult now - but it's just soooo adorable - but you don't really see erm... friendly bull terriers, right? it kind of resembled stephanie seymour - the eyes are of different colour from each other, because it's albino. really a marvellous dog that can change people's perception of dogs. sad thing though - it's also deaf.


the whyte prst-1. in case you think it looks like an insect - you're right. the praying mantis.

i then carried on to hup leong, where i was gawking away, but not before meeting gary (one of those folks who owns a whyte prst-1), and later, zaskarboy with his friend george (who owns a gary fisher joshua xo). would be meeting up with them tomorrow night at the fenr. oh by the way, i pulled off a "record" of sorts - from the road right outside hup leong to right under my block, i took just under 26 minutes cycling - inclusive traffic lights and everything. fast eh? distance? only 9.5 km...

oh, and i went to tiong hin to karcheow jeam because she went there to look at her "toy bike" - the 13.5" microscopic sized specialized m5...

due to the looseness that developed in my rear freewheel, i took the opportunity to learn how to tear up the whole thing instead, after i changed both my tires from skinny 1.25" slicks to the still-unfinished 1.95" larsen tt's. went down to tiong hin in the evening, and wow! jeam's specialized m5 hardtail is ready for some rocking... but with carbon fiber handlebar?

*imagines the sound of PIAK!*

oh, ok. i was thinking carbon fiber handlebars don't really lighten up a bike anyway, so what's the point, really? and it breaks waaaay too easily. let me recite what's the basic specs:

specialized m5 hardtail, size 13.5"
shimano deore xt groupset (shifters, brakes levers, brakes, crankset, derailleurs)
thomson elite stem and "slightly bent" seatpost
selle italia oktavia lady genuine gel
shimano pd-m424 spd pedals
shimano deore xt hubs with mavic 617? (or was it 517?)
hutchinson python gold
rockshox sid race

yup, that's about it.

gosh, so many things to buy buy buy!

first, the bike. actually, the sidi t-1 shoes i've booked at teck hock hin. $100 more for that one (i placed a deposit of $29 on it).

then the bike. the deposit will come when payday arrives. still trying to figure out which is better - the soloist team or the p2k. the p2k setup would be fantastic for road riding, but then the included fork is not uci road legal. but the aerodynamics of the frame are fantastic, with the rear wheel cutout... but on the other hand, the soloist team is the team bike for a renowned professional road cycling team, and the fork is a uci road race legal one. highest likelihood, i'll get the soloist team as per normal, since i'm not able to make it for triathlons that often that i need the rear wheel cutout of the p2k... sigh.

and cameras? i'll buy another olympus c4040 so that my underwater casing is not wasted - and i'll buy another canon eos-10d for my land photography. but of course, the lenses will amount to at least $2000 alone. total estimate of spending on cameras? s$6000 and up...

talked to stephanie via icq today, touching on issues about career, dreams, and health & fitness. i tell you, she's a very good listener, this girl. by the way, anyone wants a 2 year old pregnant pug? jeam sms-ed me about a friend of hers who has to give it away... also, sha, surprisingly when i was cycling on sunday, the migraine left me, though in the morning it was still hanuting me. it does seem indeed that migraine can be countered with physical activity. i'll try to go online and find some stuff regarding it online and dump it on my site soon.

p.s. in case you didn't know - pugs are rumoured to fart a lot...