Walk To The Finish

I had much anticipation for this year's Marathon, and my personal goal was to shave off at 20 minutes from last year's timing. 

However, it turned out anything but the way I wanted it. Rushing to the flag-off point, checking in baggage, and queueing up for the portable loo meant I was late to the starting line. That left me with little warm-up time, but I thought I'd do fine.

And I did - for the first 18 km, keeping to a respectable pace. Then disaster struck - my Iliotibial Band gave out, thanks to the lack of proper stretching, and I slowed down to make it to 21 km. That caused a host of problems, like a chain reaction, as I had to adjust my running gait to accommodate the pain. Which made it worse as my other leg bore the brunt of my weight, and cramps appeared elsewhere with the awkward running. In the end, I had to walk and hobble the rest of the distance back. I ended up taking at least 2 hours longer than I had planned or wanted, but with a valuable lesson in tow - stretch, stretch, stretch!!!

Guess there's always next year. Sigh.

Playground (of) Filth

Brought the kids to a playground in the next block of flats, and was (un)surprised at the filthy surrounds. The side effects of public housing is the fact that some inhabitants treat the public space as a dump - the tubular structure in the photo had burnt plastic (from people extinguishing their cigarettes inside the tubes) and bunched up used tissue paper in the trunks. They also boasted graffiti from a wayward spray painter. Welcome to the heartland playground.

While I've consistently brushed off these side effects, the point hit home when my kid asked me what 'F**k' meant - thanks to the spray artist's ability to write legibly. I had to evade the issue. Now I'm reconsidering bringing them there again, and even contemplating writing to the local council to complain about the filth - both physical and verbal.

Video arcades re-interpreted

Time was when kids visited video arcades to play their favourite Konami/Nintendo games - slotting in multiple 20-cent pieces to feed their addiction. Accused as a distraction that made bright-eyed bushy-tailed schoolboys wayward, kids in school uniforms were denied entry to these dim and noisy joints.
As technology made it cheaper and easier, these games have found their way into homes, and now thanks to highly configured consoles, kids can now hook them up to flashy flat screen TVs, which reproduce high-definition versions of those games so beloved by kids of yore. Now daddies and sons could enjoy the games and grow obese together.
In the photos were the scenes captured recently at the toy section of a shopping centre, where kids could 'try' before they 'bought', but I suspect, they 'tried' more than they 'bought'. Amazingly, I had a flashback of days gone by when schoolboys crowded a popular arcade game, providing running commentaries, friendly jibes, and generally rallying around a player who's about to get the crap beaten out of him by the villain in the game. The amusing thing was that there was a notice stuck under the console (see red 'Warning' label under the LCD screen) warning players that they would be escorted out if they wore school uniforms while playing with the controller. Some rules rarely change.
Viva Arcade Games!

An evening at Que Pasa and a nice bottle of Bellingham too

Went to this popular watering hole on a Friday evening last week, and we tried the South Africa's Bellingham Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot (vintage 2004) - very nice. Reasonably affordable by local standards, and a good wine too. Subtle mix of fruits, full-bodied-ish, and easy on the palate. Nice aftertaste. The tapas weren't too bad either - served fresh off the pan.

The More I Learn, The Less I Know

...at least that's what I realise after sitting through four to five weeks of classes. The topic of Comparative Global Media Systems looked straightforward enough, but turned out to be otherwise.
Am struggling to make sense of the theories, implications to society, and relate them back to the subject.
As if holding a fulltime job wasn't enough...

Cafe Along Purvis Street

Revisited an old haunt - the Hock Lam Beef Noodle Stall along Purvis Street. Following that, we tried this cafe further along called Miss Clarity Cafe.
Well, actually, we tried the cake and coffee. Cake's called Twin Delight (one layer of thick chocolate on top of a layer of cheese cake, with a biscuit base) - we shared one slice, and it was enough. Trust me (it's been 3 hours since I ate it, and I still feel full).
The cafe latte was so-so, although they made an effort in presentation.
In case you wanna visit, the sign is in pink, and it's towards the end of Purvis, nearer the new National Library. Seems like a popular joint though, and reservations seems mandatory for dinner.

Potato Head Spoofs

With the current rage surrounding movie blockbusters such as Spiderman 3 and Transformers, I was at the toy store the other day and spotted these. Made my day :-)

Cafe Iguana

Went to this Cafe a couple of nights ago. The Margaritas are killer, and I'd recommend the Horny Toad. Here's what the place looks like. Oh yeah, visit during Happy Hours - it's really value for money.

Waving, Not Drowning

So there I was, wondering if I had dived in too deep, wading back up to the surface. I don't know what it is I'm after, but its elusivity keeps me swimming ... hopefully in the right direction.

Anyway, just started this new role a couple of months back, but it feels like I've been there much longer. A sign that I'm fitting in, or just in over my head, I wonder?

Music-wise, the band's really recorded two great songs, and I couldn't believe we sounded so tight together. Unfortunately, that was the old line-up, and we've lost the keyboadist. A new guitarist has come into the fold, and we're starting to venture along the acoustic path. Will report on that development soon.

Academically, the semester past was really a mixed bag, and I did as well as I could given my lack of motivation, so I'm not really complaining. It's summer break now, and we'll get back into the second half of my four-semester course probably in a couple of months.

Hopefully, life will return to more normalcy post-June, and I'll be able to assess things better then, academically and otherwise.

New Chapter

Will be moving into a new job come next week - after about 14 months in the present one. I've brought forward the start date, which is just as well as there are new challenges, in start-up mode, that'll keep me busy and focused ... hopefully, for the next 24 months or so. Looking forward to the challenges (and rewards too).

Am mid-way through my Masters, but the motivation is wearing thin. This semester's subjects are dry and un-engaging, as I lamented in the previous post. Hope to scrape through this with the minimal amount of points to proceed onto the next semester. Need to be more diligent about choosing my topics next time. Sigh.

Music-wise, the band completed a couple of gigs at the Esplanade in March, which were well-received. We will be laying down a couple of tracks for our demo this Saturday. Hope they turn out well.

Moving on ... again

Someone once said a rolling stone gathers no moss, and while the gist is true, I'd like to argue that in my case, it IS better for me to roll on than gather any moss here.

So I'm off to another work opportunity, which kicks in early April, and I'm excited by the prospect that offers. The organisation is rather sizable, the culture seems benign and encouraging, and the work looks reasonably challenging.

Hopefully this will be a stop that I make for at least 24 months, if not longer. My contribution to the organisation will hopefully be seen and appreciated as adding value and pushing the organisational envelope a little further. And of course, on a personal and profession level, I glean and gain as much from there too.

That's about all's that exciting me on the work front, and I can't wait to cross over.

Outside work, the band is going great guns with two secured gigs in March, which features some big names from around the world. And we could do another one in April if all goes well.

My Masters programme is going well, but the units this semester are turning out to be a bore - my coursemates feel the same way. Hopefully that doesn't dampen our desire to do as well as we could this semester.

Meanwhile, I'm biding my time, and counting down the days to the switch. Stay tuned.

Boredom creeping in

The danger with the 'comfort zone' is the boredom factor. I would rate 'boredom' on a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being least bored, and 10 very bored. Right now, I'm about a 7.5 on the scale, and it bothers me that I feel this way.

Why? Because I've only just switched over. And I already feel under-challenged.
I could list the reasons for this feeling, although I rather not.
Would it make my life any better?

Sigh. I wonder if the next stop I make will be any better - the perennial question of what I'm seeking always surfaces, but it is a hard one to answer, let alone contemplate during quieter moments. I don't know, and I doubt if I'd know the answer in the future.

So I did the next best thing today - I jacked in my headphones to my iPod, picked out a song I liked, and turned up the volume. That cheered me up considerably.

I wonder if I'll get out of this rut. Stay tuned.