Renew thyself completely each day; do it again, and again, and forever again. Chinese inscription cited by Thoreau in Walden

It has been quite sometime ever since I updated my blog. Been rather busy lately and also pretty lazy to type out my thoughts for there's too much and I dunno how to rearrange them. I will try to write down some of my stronger feelings I'm having lately...

Today is my rest day and hence, I could spend more time in front of the computer. Rest day, as in no training day. Well, went running on Mon(11th July) and swimming last night(12th July). These kind of 'trainings' or simply 'work-outs' are simply part and parcel of my life nowadays. When I do miss one that I have planned in advance, I get very uneasy and will attempt to make it up as soon as possible. In fact, lack of exercises will cause my entire back to stiffen up and be prone to muscle spasms. This problem actually dates back to a long, long time ago during the Judo days. Sigh. It does continue to haunt me whenever I exert too much during a run or did not warm up enough. That's where the swimming comes in. It does help to relax my trunk muscles.

I would normally go for my longer run (>1hour) on Sundays but met up with my clique on Sunday which was kind of like a farewell cum bday celebrations for the 4 Cancerians who were present. Hence, I did my run only on Monday. It was a very pleasant run, just when I needed it to get things off my chest and simply run. It rained at 515pm, according to my Mum in my area and I got home after work at 545pm. Perfect timing. The weather was great, cooling, a bit humid as I got to 'Green Haven' but the surroundings simply captivated me. The mist that lay above the greenery after the rain was so alluring, absorbing me into a total trance that seems to focus my mind on the run and the beautiful environs. I could only hear my own breathing, my own footsteps, the insects, the occasional wind and the water flowing in the canal.

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I was, and still am, bothered by issues plaguing my family. The issues occupied my whole mind on both Monday and Tueday actually, until I talked to a good friend who popped by my place on a surprise visit last night. I also started to get a grip of myself and am prepared to face reality as the truth will soon surface. I'm at the moment imagining the worst to happen and as such, this will prepare me for the upcoming things that's to happen. I know I have my best buddies beside me to support me when I need a helping hand. The few who know of what's truly happening in this dysfunctional family of mine. And also the other very good friends I have who have been through so much with me during our growing-up days.

Big changes are going to happen in my life, but I refuse to let these changes overwhelm me. Although they did on the past few days. It had been unbearable coming to terms with these issues and there are only more to come. But right now, I'm more or less mentally prepared to take on these challenges which are here to test my mental/psychological strength after 5 years. I know I still need to get on with life and it's a life I'm living!!! I do not want to be overcome with all these issues that I have to be concerned with in the upcoming days soon. Therefore, I'm not thinking about them and am living each day out as fulfilling as possible. When the day is here, then I will face it.

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Several close friends are leaving abroad to study in Australia, namely my friends from NYP who are leaving to obtain a degree for their respective field of studies. Have been burning my past 2 weekends meeting up with friends and do last-minute catching up. As I'm typing this, a friend is on her way to Australia with her mum. I would be going down to the airport next Wed to send off another 2 friends.

Time flies. 3 years. And I have been at work for the 6th week already. Enjoying it till now. Guess I'm a very optimistic person who can adapt very well to my environment. Not so in the past. I hated changes. So much. Do not particularly fancy it now though. But my growing-up days had see me through so many traumatic changes that I have become a very adaptable person now. Flexible as well. That's a good thing, ain't it?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Sought solitude in my runs and swims. They helped me distress as well. I love the solitude that keeps me calm, composed and in a healthy mental state of mind.

I remember I used to take note very closely of how much time I would spend at each workout, especially during the runs. That was before I discovered 'Green Haven' and before I did long-distance running. The therapeutic effects of long-dist running soon overtook all other aspects and I no longer check my watch to make sue I?m back at home at a certain time. That's really silly. My runs are supposed to relax me and I really enjoy everyone of it now.

It's surprising to hear this coming from a girl who hated running in the past and was forced to join the TAF Club in her Sec 1 days due to her 'Borderline overweight' status of 120%. Haha. In fact, I weigh the same now as I was back in Sec 1 when I was 13. I'm 22 now. Amazing!
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3rd July: Milk Run. Must be the only run where I see so many kids!!! I did not see any familiar faces, of those who usually take part in such events. They must be at the OSIM Triathlon in East Coast. Anyway, it was a rather fun afternoon which I spent with a good buddy, L. It was her 1st such event and although she did stop several times during the run, I would love to see her taking part in more such events! I?m sure she will grow to love it, like me, and I'm also very sure that she can do very much better than what she did at the Milk Run!

We have agreed to sign up with another buddy, LM, for a duathlon in JB which is to be held at the end of the month! L and I would run 10km each, while LM would bike 60km!!! Siong! She can surely make it! I even managed to borrow a racing bike from a friend who's willing to part with it over the weekend to lend us. Can't wait for the race to come! I will update more about it!

By the way, we went down to Zion Road Hawker Centre for dinner after the run and boy, was the food good! It was my very 1st time there. After the sumptuous dinner, we made our way to Tiong Bahru MRT by walking there! Came down to Choa Chu Kang Lot 1 cuz my dear friend wanted to use the OSIM i-Squeeze chairs to massage her calves at the roadshow here. Haha. She got her wish!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tomorrow is the day the big audit team comes to our department. I will have to cut short here and go down to studying some notes right now! I would not want to be the one who cannot answer the questions posed by them!


If you're going through hell, keep going.
---Winston Churchill