JP Morgan Chase Corporate Run (5.6km)

Let me confess: I'm not a sports enthusiast and have not participated in any sort of competitive run in my life. Yes. Pathetic. Once in a while, you'll see me don my sports gear and jog on the treadmill. It's weird, but I'm not too sure what made me join this year's corporate run. Perhaps it's the free company's t-shirt and shorts. Perhaps Jane Doe's harping on how fun it would be to people-watch spurred me to fill up the application form! Hah.

This year's run proved to be a success, recorded a sky-high number of 11,000 participants. It was definitely an experience.

I mean, how many times in your life do you flounder your way through massive crowds of perspiration-dripping, hard panting people? Most participants were serious competitors! They find every way to squeeze through every possible "human to human crevice", nudging and shoving to get their hands on the bottled water laid on tables along the journey. What is most amusing is the fact that participants can find short-cuts in spite of barricades and run marshalls. But I....I adhered to my pride and continued the normal route, in spite of seeing bunches of participants cutting through pieces of grasslands. Bugger!

I gotta rant about the different corporate sports gear I saw. Thank god that my company chose a simple design and colour. Sad to say, some other corporate designs I saw were outlandish and colours too bright (Purple, orange, lime green...what were they thinking)!

As for my performance, I was disappointed with my timing (39.42 mins). I was asinine, absolutely half-witted. I started the run faced down 80% of the time, There were huge hoardes of people moving everywhere and I wanted to focus. When I saw the 4km mark, I was like "hmm...did I pass 4 km or do I have 4 km more to go?" I thought "I'm not that tired. I think I have 4km more to go. Pace yourself Grace." There I was happily jogging at my my quite "turtle" pace and it was when I almost reached the finishing line (about 400m to go) did I realised I made a frigging mistake!

Lesson learnt. Try again next year! Maybe should try the SCB one. 10km of course...

Relocation plans

Just got news from my boss that I may be relocated. No details as to how long, where and when I will leave, but most probably straight after my trip from Switzerland and Spain.

I think it may either be Taiwan or Bangkok. Don't know why, but I'm totally ambivalent. I mean, the good news is it's an excellent opportunity to advance in my career but if it's Taiwan, I'm handicapped in my Chinese. The place seems so foreign. Never been there. No friends. Different culture and my plans to see my friends for the coming months have been slashed off my list. Basically, stuck there alone fending myself. Hyiak!

And, I tried googling this city, Kaohsiung (the place where I think I will be posted to). "The most industrialised city in Taiwan", "Polluted", "If New york is Taipei, New Jersey is Kaohsiung"....hah...pray that it's a few month stinct.

Frig it. I am gonna conquer my fears and live it my Way!

Boat Asia 2006

Jane Doe and I attended Boat Asia 2006 at Sentosa Cove with given free tickets from Dad. Boats were very pretty and PRICY too. Hope to own one someday. Even better, a house at Sentosa Cove. I'll just sit by the water during weekends, read and fish all day. Heaven.

KUTA BEACH!!

Mount Kintamani

Spa Indulgence

We were given a free-two hour spa massage when we bought our accommodation at the NATAS travel fair. This was the highlight as we were treated to a body scrub and a foot and body massage. The massage ended blissfully as we soaked in a tub filled with milk and flower petals.

Monkey Forest

We come face to face with a band of monkeys. Vendors sell packets of peanuts just outside the entrance but we chose not to feed them as the monkeys looked aggressive.

Rice terraces

Rice farming is an important activity (I think agriculture accounts about 45% of their GDP. Tourism is next of the list, about 30%), and the countryside is characterised by a series of artistically laid-out terraces.

One Hellava Morning

Jane Doe and I woke up at 5.30am in the morning just to catch this morning shot! Yes.. crazy. Hmm..wonder whether I will wake up so early for work.

Temple: Gunung Kawi Sebatu

This was the most interesting temple. Its backdrop of moss covered walls, huge ferns and statues exudes an ancient feeling. It feels as if you have entered a lost civilization. Ritual bathing takes place occasionally in the pools with water flowing out from sprouts. Notice that I was made to wear an orange sarong as I was inappropriately dressed. Heh!

Temple: Taman Ayun

Temple: Tanah Lot

Jane Doe and I were fortunate to view this temple during sunset. This temple is one of the most photographed icons of the island. It makes a perfect picture postcard. When sun sets, the hues of pink and orange offer a dramatic natural phenomenon. There is hearsay that any unmarried couple who enters the temple will not be together in their future.

Bali Bombings

There were two Bali bombings at Kuta area: one happened on October 12, 2002 and the other 1st October 2005. The first bombing occurred in a Sari Dance Club and it killed 202 people. The majority of the dead were foreign tourists, especially Australians. A memorial was built to commemorate the people who died. The two pictures above are the two bomb sites respectively.

Bali Shopping and Accommodation

Yes, I just returned from my trip and it was pure relaxation.

For shopping, you'll find plenty of surfer wear, surf boards, accessories, Balinese wood carvings, and furniture (my dear jane doe bought bed lamps). You get reasonable deals as long as you know how to bargain. Street vendors can be irritating and the fact that we were gals attracted more unwanted attention (we had many love declarations made to us in one day. Oh man! you should hear when they utter "wo ai ni"! You'll cringe.)

Jane Doe and I stayed at the Mercure Kuta. The hotel is fantastic as our location is just directly opposite the Kuta Beach. There are plenty of sun-worshippers, bronzed surfer fiends, water sport fanatics. If you are game for beatiful sunsets, KUTA is the place! At night, it comes alive with restarants serving everything from western cuisine to Indonesian nasi padang. However, traffic is heavy, with an endless stream of cars and motorcycles, shops, cafes, street traders, money changers, bike rental compnies..but I guess all these add to the colour and bustle of my stay!

Good Friday!

What an interesting day for me. Had to conduct two discussions ALONE at the new client's office (another GLC). One discussion on mergers & acquistions and the other, tendering process. There I was in my twenties, facing men in their thirties to forties. I was embarassed in presenting my namecard to them as I was just a mere consultant. Fortunately, there were no tough queries and all went well. Phew. They were a funny bunch as well, occasionally cracking me up. I love this job. It makes you think and learn everything about various businesses. I'm gonna be a guru one day! Haha...

Anyway, one more day to BALI!!! Happy good friday! I love public holidays. In the month of May, there will be more.....

Got a reference for my Happiness Paper..Hah.

Lame as can be, I googled my happiness paper and found that a Finnish university had conducted a similar study and made references to my paper. Haha...cheap thrill.

http://www.vatt.fi/seminaarit/esitykset/hirvonen_9.2.06.pdf

Happy Birthday Pearlene!!!

My best friend whom I knew since seven, celebrates her birthday today! Give it up for the person who lights up the lives of many!!! Anyhow, we had a sumptuous meal at a Japanese restaurant at cuppage with good ole friends, followed after by coffee at TCC. Pearlene, keep your friday night free. Gotta hot date with me to watch westside story! Hah!

You know it when you're flying over Africa

Travelling Plans

Plans for the holidays are more or less settled. Jane Doe and I have booked our accommodation for Bali! My boss has given me the green light for my trip. My flights to Zurich have been settled and I'll head to Spain to meet up with Monty after the conference. Waha...from the cold of Zurich to the sun, sand, and beaches of southern spain!

Sweet sweet victory

When the going gets tough, it gets bloody tough. There are many times I contemplated of giving it all up: thinking to myself, what the hell am I doing slogging my ass off. For the past two weeks, it was just pure work. I sleep during unearthly hours, giving myself undue stress and trying to meet tight deadlines. My worried mum, as usual, said You can opt for an easier life. There is no need for you to work so hard as you can do the business if you want.

You see, it's not about having the so called "easier life". Who doesn't want to travel round the world, read plenty of books, indulge in frequent socialising? Who doesn't want to follow a success formula that your parents have created for you? It's tempting but the point is, if I start doing this now and when I turn grey, I'll know I'll have a void when there was no purpose in my life. Seriously, at this moment, there are four things I wanna concentrate: a) helping people b) work c) love d) education to myself. Hah...all seem ambiguous, but hopefully I know what i'm doing.

Anyhow, the hard work has paid off. My two projects will soon be coming to a close. My clients have been satisfied with our work. This sense of gratification is rewarding and somewhat addictive. In a way, it can be frightening, coz it pushes you to do better. I guess at the end, it's important to know what your priorities are and work towards it. Definitely, being a cow means sacrificing much of many other things. This pertains to love as well.

"Alberto Giacometti said that sometimes just to paint a head, you have to give up the whole figure. To paint a leaf, you have to sacrifice the whole landscape. It might seem like you're limiting yourself at first, but after a while you realise that having a quarter-of-an-inch of something you have a better chance of holding on to a certain feeling of the universe than if you pretended to be doing the whole sky. My mother did not choose a leaf or a head. She chose my father and to hold on to a certain feeling, she sacrificed the world."

- The History Of Love by Nicole Krauss

Very sweet.