Chapter 42-- Army Half Marathon 2008

Went for my 3rd Army half marathon(AHM) and Singapore Shears Bridge run this morning and as usual, was feeling very thrilled to be able to take part again in one of my most favourite mass running event. Although I only run 6km like what I did last year, the main objection of going for this type of mass run is simply to soak in the atmosphere and enjoy a good morning run with thousands others. 6km may seems too short a distance for those elites runners but to someone like me who is always too lazy to train for longer distances, 6km is just nice as a challenge to me. Besides, what is more important is to enjoy the beautiful scenery and the running process( how many times could one have highway lanes closed just for him to run?) Results are really just secondary to me. This year running route is slightly different from last year especially for those running the half marathon as they would be the pioneer batch to ever run across the marina barrage. In addition, the finishing point has been shifted back to Padang instead of at the marina bay floating platform(which runners now run past it instead).
I particularly like and have always feel an affinity for the AHM and Singapore Bay run because it is the first mass run that I was exposed to when I was still an NSF 4 years ago and is still the only mass run now till now that I religiously sign up for. Perhaps what makes the AHM so different from the other mass running events is that it is possibly the only time whereby all the various army formations and units get together to have a cohesive run. In fact, it was always through AHM that I realized that some of the more ulu units actually existed! In addition, what makes these mass run so fun and enjoyable is that one will hardly feel the distance he or she is running or has ran as fellow runners will be motivating one another to push one’s self to the limit and to go for that extra mile. I believe that the camaraderie shared during the whole race is what makes these runs so so so additive, making people come back years after years. The adrenaline rush felt when one approach the finishing line and the endorphin that cause one to shout out that “I finally make it!” surely and definitely make these races so worth while to take part in. For those sad, pathetic lazy bums who are unwilling to even sacrifice one Sunday morning to go for a run or jog, you really do not know what you have been missing in your life. For those who are still contemplating whether to go for this type of run, I urge you not to hesitate any longer and just sign up for the next mass run event. Nobody is going to laugh at you for running so short a distance or taking such a long time to finish the race. As I say, it really should be the process that matters and not the results. Besides, even elite runners must start from zero. Believe me. You’ll be hooked to these races in no time. Also, it’ll be a perfect excuse for us to enjoy fresh air and the morning sun once in a while :P

I simply cannot wait to sign up for next year AHM…


PS: Standard Chartered marathon…I will surely conquer you one day…


Regards,
Yongster

More good years ahead...

Chapter 41--This is where I call Home

Went to celebrate the nation’s 43rd birthday with Jiayi, Rui feng, Jiewen and 22000 other people just now at Marina Bay and I must say that it got to be one of the best ndp performance that I had witness over the years. Although the feeling of going to the parade had more or less “matured” from one of great excitement to one of anticipation in recent years, each of these parades that I had attended over the years nevertheless serve as beautiful nostalgic memories for me. The past 3 parades that I had attended- in 2004,2005 and this year 2008, in particular, left quite an impression on me. In 2004, it was the first time I was involved in the parade as a helper albeit as a SAF soldier and was able to have a first hand experience with behind the scene actions for the very first time allowing me to finally have an understanding of how ndp were executed(and also to get a chance to watch my idol Kit Chan upclose in person!). That year parade was also special because it was the year Singapore Defence force celebrated its 40th Total defence force day and it was also the last year that Mr Goh Gok Tong attend the parade as our prime minister before he step down. In addition, it was also the last parade that I attended in the national stadium before it is stated to be demolished to make way for the new sport hub. In 2005, I revisited Padang for only the 2nd time for ndp since I started to have the chance to go watch “live” national day parade and that parade was special in its own right because it involved the mobile column and being in an active armour unit during my active national service days, how could I possibly not feel a sense of pride and honour watching all the armour vehicles driving past with my peers of 46 SAR in it especially when I ORD just a few months before the parade?
Anyway, back to the parade for this year, we were indeed very lucky to obtain the “best” seats for viewing the performance and fireworks. The elevation whereby our seats are situated are just nice to have a close-up view of the spectacular firework displays and not too near to the stage whereby we cannot actually “see” the performance. In fact, I must say that the position or “feng sui” of my seat this year has to be the best in ALL my ndp that I had attended. It was also nice to see that the organizer has MV s of the past national day parade theme songs shown on the large monitor screen before the parade. Not only did it help the audience to really get into the mood and hype up for the actual parade, it also serves kinda like a sort of memory lane for us to realized that hey we have really came a looong way since 1998 when the 1st national day theme song was introduced and sang by the very talented Kit Chan. Despite the slight drizzle, the atmosphere there was certainly sunny. In fact, I must say that the rain not only have not dampen our moods for the biggest show in Singapore, it only serve to make this parade even more memorable for us hee hee. It was also great to see the choir back in action after missing from last year parade(which btw nearly caused me to fall asleep while watching the show on tv last year with the SAF orchestra playing instrumental notes; it is not to say that the SAF orchestra isn’t good but hey this is national day parade and I want to get high and not be sedated instead. In addition, their conductor was highly active and cute dancing along with them while singing the songs during the pre-parade segment. It certainly was the first time I see such “siao on” conductor. The highlight of the show IMO however, still remains the marching segment because being a soldier myself before, I can truly understand how much sweat and hard work is needed in order to execute those near perfect, precise moves. Not only that, watching these fellow soldiers marching past bring a sense of pride that simply cannot be describe. Although people may cursed and swear when they realized that they are chosen to be the marching continent for a parade, one cannot deny that he or she looks the best when they are marching especially in those smart uniforms be they number 1 or 4. In fact, me, rui feng and jiewen even went to suntec to witness the uncasing ceremony for the rehearsal parade last week.
The remaining segments of the parade continues to be a more “boring” affair with schools and organizations putting up performances which I can never truly “appreciate”( perhaps because I was simply not artistic inclined enough). It was only during the firework display that I kind of woke up from my trace. Singing the various evergreen national day songs with thousands others while watching the various fireworks explode into their spectacular patterns in mid air really makes my heart race and jump. It remains the best way to end the ndp.

Hopefully I can get my hands on tickets for ndp 2009.

Wish me luck.

Regards,
Yongster

More good years ahead...

Chapter 40-- A perfect show

The recently concluded channel U show “A perfect cut” is indeed one “perfect” drama that I have watched this year. I like the show for the fact that each of the gripping 13 stories reveal and discuss so much about and on life philosophies that it makes one really sit straight and think about some of the ideas and principles mentioned in the show. It is already a well-known fact among people who knows me that I love this type of shows which inspire one to think and ponder. In addition, one could not help but noticed that the characters in the show showed so much chemistry among themselves that the whole storyline flow along just so smoothly and flawlessly. Credits must be given to Thomas Ong for his portrayal of a self-centered and highly confident plastic surgeon who has such high self-esteem that whatever things that he done must be “perfect” and flawless especially on surgeries performed on his patients. His famous line “There is no ugly people in this world, just poor people” offered a new dimension to how people perceive beauty and even though I disagree with some of his principles on life at times, I however, do find traces of myself on his character. For example, both of us are selfish individuals who often neglect or deny the feelings of people around us but yet when there is someone or an incident who or which can enlighten us or touched us, our heart will still melt and we will still gladly reflect upon ourselves accordingly. Michelle Chan also did an excellent job as a self-righteous psychiatrist who although often dishes out good advices to her patients, are unable to provide herself answers to some of her own personal problems. Zheng Wanling role as a mortician and as a typical “ah soh” on the other hand inject a lot of humor into the show while Julian lee role as a personal trainer serves as eye candy for ladies to indulge and as a motivation for men to work out.
Besides the wonderful and colourful characters on the show, I really must kudos to the scriptwriters for being able to produce 13 truly brilliant and amazing episodes of show. None of the episode is a bore and all of them taught us about a thing or two about how one can view life. I wonder if they employ a philosopher to write the script because the life philosophies mentioned in the show really hit one like…wow. I am not one who is really into philosophies this type of thing but yet I am impressed by some of the lines delivered by the characters in the show. Some of the episode that left a lasting impression on one(but then again, all of them leave something for one to reflect) include the episode of Pan Lingling as a career-minded women who neglect her daughter causing her to commit suicide after Thomas Ong had performed plastic surgery on her. She inadvertently blames him for performing surgery on her daughter especially since she is still under age thus causing her death because she thought that her daughter’s surgery was a failure but later devastatingly found out that she was actually the one who indirectly cause her daughter’s death because her daughter’s blog reveal that she discovered that no amount of surface beauty can replace the emotional emptiness she felt in her heart without her loved one around. However, what really makes one’s heart cringed in the episode appeared in the ending when Zheng Wanling ‘s role as a mortician are able to restore the beautiful look of her daughter earning the respect of Thomas Ong who confessed that he has always look down upon her occupation but now discovered that her job is actually quite a noble one as she is able to bring pence and closure to deceased’s families which is something that he could not do despite being highly educated. In the end, when they reveal the reasons for chosing their respective career, both of them realize that they did so because of their deceased mother who once had a scar on her face before she pass away. Thomas Ong vote to become a plastic surgeon so that he can help restore the look and confidence to people with s problems on their looks while Zheng Wan ling wanted to becomes a mortician because she was so impressed with the mortician who is able to “cover” up their mother’s scar after she passed away enabling her to rest in peace beautifully. This particular episode thus once again serve as a important remainder to me that I should never look down upon other people or their jobs especially those that appear “unskilled” because it is often these jobs that amazed me as even “skilled” person like myself may not be able to perform these so called “unskilled” jobs as well as what these “unskilled” workers are doing. Another memorable episode involve Thomas Ong losing his eye sight temporary and during this fragile period of his, he gradually understands that it may not so important to care about how other people look or perceive one when he realized that he had worn a pair of mismatch shoes all the while when he was outside. In the meantime also, he could not understand why so many people were looking or staring at him when he went for a walk with his lady caretaker and even thought that he had worn a mismatch pair of shoes again. He was even more puzzled when his caretaker told him that people were not actually looking at him but at her instead causing him to assume that his caretaker must be a very beautiful lady. In the end however, when he finally regained his sight, he almost could not recognize his caretaker as there was a large patch of birthmark on her face. Even though he offered to help remove the birthmark for free as gratitude for taking such good care of him, she felt that it was unnecessary as most important of all is that her loved ones like and see her as what she is, both inside and outside. It was then he made this very touching and sincere statement: “ Thank you for letting me see what TRUE BEAUTY really is and even more importantly, what is TRUE LOVE”. Such profound statements are scattered throughout the rest of the 12 episodes and that really add substances to the show. In the last episode, Kelly played by Michelle Chia concluded how one can live a “perfect” life best. “ If one can accept the imperfects in life, then everything will be perfect.”

Think about that.

PS: I also love the theme song "我知道我变漂亮了"and the ending song "你没想像中爱我"of the show as the melody are so "ear oil" and the lyrics so well written and so touching with everyword so related to the show. Was really impressed with 石欣卉 as she sang both songs with so much feeling. With these 2 great songs, I can say that my image of her had become "salted fish turn into abalone".

Regards,
Yongster

Still many more good years ahead...