Runs, swims, lightning, thunder, Nature!

They're at it again... When I came home today, I knew it was coming when she flared up at me Sigh. Things just do not seem to get better. He's so nonchalant about matters, while she thinks too much to the point of getting stressed out. I'm stuck in the middle,not knowing where to go. But I know how I am feeling. And it's definitely not very pleasant. I have to do something about this soon...

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I went running after coming home from work. It's one way to escape from the ugly realities that's bugging me, another way to release the pent-up frustrations. I'm not letting the stress get to me, otherwise I would not be able to function as a proper being. Running allows me to get away from it all, though the troubles do whiz into my mind every once in a while and how I wish I can punch someone. Punch someone hard in the face to get him to wake up. Otherwise, I was enjoying my run.

It felt good. The air was cool, and there was a slight breeze as I ran. It is not humid like it was on Sunday! After all, this is the evening, approaching the nighttime. The skies have been cloudy and the sun hidden behind them in the late afternoon. I did not want to push myself too hard today; a 45-min run would suffice. However, my legs and body felt light today, perhaps cuz of my new shoes as well! :-) I took a different route to Yew Tee.

Wore my new shoes for the 2nd time, and I can really feel the difference. The shoes still feel squeaky new inside and shiny white outside. Too bad I ran to 'Green Haven' for its maiden journey on Sunday and there were oil slicks there. Hence, there are spots of oil on it!!! Heart pain! :-( as a result, I chose to run to Yew Tee today where there would be no mud and no oil slicks. All on concrete and tarred ground.

I have not ran this route for quite a long time. There are a few stretches that I liked a lot on this route. One is the route on a gentle down slope towards Sungei Kadut, another is when I crossed the bridge which spans across a highway and I can see the MRT track and CCK stadium in the distance. Construction has finished on a certain stretch that runs just between Sungei Kadut and Yew Tee flats and all the metal 'walls' have been taken down, so I can see the industrial area from where I was jogging and the canal as well.

I ran to Keat Hong Park and did 2.5 rounds there before proceeding onto CCK Park. Met an irritating uncle who refused to give way to me and I almost banged into him head on! We were so near and I had to step aside! Bugger. Then when I ran past him again the 2nd time, I simply "AHEM!" very loudly, partly to show my dissatisfaction and secondly, to clear my throat. Best lor... guess what he did when we ran past each other again. He actually dunno coughed or sneezed at the point when we past each other and I think I felt his fluids. RAAAA... What an irritating man. It caught me by surprise as I was deep in thought and did not even notice him running towards me as there were some other runners around him as well. Disgusting. Talk about a gracious Singapore. I was hoping to see for the next round but what a coward. He has already excited from the park. L-O-S-E-R.

Ended my run at CCK Park. I have not finished my run at CCK Park for a couple of weeks already. I have always loved this park for it was the very 1st place where I ran my long distances in. Did it in the comfort and security of a park before I dare to venture out. I would do 14-15 rounds around the park without getting sick of it! Amazing. I dunno if I can do that now again!

The greenery, the light breeze, the sounds of insects, the bullfrogs' deep croaking in the distance, the slight whiz of cars speeding past on the highway beside, the faint smell of frangipani as I ran past the trees and the entire surroundings of the park simply had such a therapeutic effect on me. I do not need any aromatherapy oils to clam my senses down. Going to the park in the evening as the sun is setting or has set is an absolute ecstasy. It's the type that will not have u jumping up and down, but that which releases its magic in such a way that your senses are jolted into a recovery state after a long and hard day. Your senses would be fine-tuned to the surroundings as they take in the sights, sounds and smell. The mind is relaxed and need to be focused on the environment only. Total rejuvenation.

I love the solitude that comes with entering this kind of state. Especially at CCK Park after night falls. There will not be many joggers, and the park is quiet. A very good place for reflection. I did my weight-lifting of the logs and crunches before cooling down on the patch of grass. Standing on the grass, it seems to give out a very cool feeling. Even when I walked back, there's some wild greenery enroute and I can feel the coolness that they give out. It must be respiration of the plants going on...

I'm so awake now. Because of the run.

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12th Sep 05 (Monday) : I went for a swim after work. It was a tiring day, cuz I did not get enough rest the night before. Monday blues hit me as I kept yawning throughout work and the doctor I worked with in the morning was rather slow(but very nice) and hence the morning passed very slowly... I had to take a 40min lunch only.

I did not push myself for the swim, as my legs were somewhat aching from the run the day before and from the standing the whole day at work. The dark clouds were brewing in the distance as I swam my 30th lap. I had the strength to complete my usual workout of 50F.S and 10B.S! however, it was cut short as the rain poured down at my 40th lap. Normally, Delta would allow swimmers to continue even though if it's raining. But there were thunder and lightning, so were all called up.

I will never forget this night as I had wanted so much to stand in the rain one day and observe Nature in action. I got to do it on this night. The rain was light at the beginning, but the skies were really dark. It was only 6.21pm when I got out of the pool. The lights at the swimming pool were turned on and the skies were so dark and forbidding as it contrasted with them. I have always like the ominous feeling that a thunderstorm brings. Especially with the cumulonimbus clouds rolling in, covering up the bright sky. Call me morbid or whatever but it never fails to remind me of the 3 witches in 'Macbeth':

"In thunder, lightning, or rain, shall we meet again?"

Hope I have not remember it wrongly!

Hence, I stood in the shelter watching the clouds making their way across to the skies above me and watched the rains pelt down, lightly at first, but heavier as time went by. There was much lightning and I caught a few long streaks across the sky. BEAUTIFUL! I find lightning one of the most stunning creations of Nature. So many people fail to appreciate its beauty and power as it strikes across the sky in that millisecond and lit up its surroundings. Just in that split second, it has managed to provide such a powerful display of its might. Too many people cowered at what's to follow: thunder. What a shame to miss out on one of Nature's best.

The heavens seem to unleash its anger in that moment when the rains came down real hard. The skies were totally dark and if not for the lights from the swimming pool and from the HDB flats nearby, it would be dark at 6.30pm. I looked around to the streets and the streetlights were not even on yet. I tried to imagine the roads dark with the rains pelting down hard. I recalled a place when I was in such a situation.

Sri Lanka. Dec 2004. Eileen, my travel partner, and I were in Nuwara Eliya for the 1st night. It's a town about 2000m above sea level. Cold. And yet, when we arrived that evening, it rained! Making things worse. We rushed out at night to buy something from the supermarket and some funny incident happened along the way. Oh dear. How can I ever forget that? Hah. It's something that Eileen and I vowed never to forget and not to share it with anyone else. The streets were dark, with no street lights, and it was raining rather heavily. Only lights? From the vehicles and the surrounding hotels and houses? What a memorable night. My private travel snippet that I cannot share here, but one that I will never forget.

There are too many scenes in my life from my travels that I treasure dearly and would hold on forever, just like how I used to hold on to memories from the Judo days. :)

Yeah, and so I stood and warmed down and looked up at the skies and the surroundings as the rain continued. The blocks of HDB juxtaposed against the dark background(skies) simply made them stand out so much. When the rain got heavier, they were blurred out, becoming a mirage. It was time to go and bath as well.

I must have looked weird, seemingly waiting for the rain to stop (at 1st), always looking up at the skies and 'wowing' each time a lightning struck across the sky. I must have looked even more like an idiot when the rain got heavier and the lightning strikes more, and still refused to make my way to the bathroom when 2 other guys near me already gave up hope and walked to the bathroom. BUT I don't care. No one can really understand the kind of respect I have for Mother Nature and how much I appreciate the makings of Her. Even on the way from the pool to the MRT station, I was constantly looking up at the skies, and I saw some of the longest streaks of lightning in my entire life. They are the most beautiful too. It's the night when I have ever seen so many lightning streaks in my entire life as well.

There seems to be a record high of lightning and thunder last night, even though the rain has stopped. There was a report in the papers today that a certain area of Singapore was struck and the power supply was cut off. What a night to behold.

Conservationists and environmentalists have been called 'fools' and other names before. That's because they know how to appreciate the little things in life and hence work on their beliefs towards making the Earth a better place. They can observe, listen and smell the minutely conspicuous things around us which others have failed to do so. They can take pleasure in the simplest form of life around them. With that, I take my hat off them. I would hope to be hailed as one below their ranks one day, with no proper training though.


The sun, the moon and the stars would have disappeared long ago... had they happened to be within the reach of predatory human hands.
~Havelock Ellis, The Dance of Life, 1923


Modern technology
Owes ecology
An apology.
~Alan M. Eddison