1 month since the last day at MOE

And I am sleeping 7 hrs every day (most of the days anyway) which is a huge improvement from 2 months ago (roughly 5-6 on average I think), I feel much more energetic (like I get up at 7.45am for my 8.30am work time instead of waking up at 8.20am for 8am work time), I struggle with my inner self NOT to run back to my laptop after dinner or on weekends, instead, to take my time to absorb what the team is doing.

The bit about running back to the computer is the really relieving part, along with the disappearance of "I need to spend time to work later, can only have lunch outside and come back to work" thoughts. Those were super bad, because whenever we spent a longer time outside I would be thinking of the work lying at home, and even if I were outside I couldn't enjoy myself at all. 

And I have time to spend with the man again! (so much so that he's complaining about being very tired, cuz no more time to nap during weekend hahahahahahah)

But it is nice to finally get time to do what I want... exercise (wah lau the weight gain), bake, etc.... Paid an exorbitant amount of money to get the man a bike and yay... weekly cycling now (though the me-time for cycling is now traded off, lol).

Work wise it is very exciting and I only hope to contribute much faster, sooner, once I get the hang of stuff. Policy making at the national level is daunting!

P.S. Not so many questions on remaining work since I left MOE. I really worried for nothing, and perhaps I really should have left earlier.

The best~ day~ ever~

Too much AoS and Cal~ Lol.

Best day ever with the worst sleep ever! HELLYEAH I GRADUATED!!! PASSED ALL MY MODULES YAY!!!

So 2 months down the road since my last post, I've:

1) Fully recovered from the accident (at least physically);

2) Got promoted (grade) and promoted (post); and 

3) Settled and passed exams!!!! 

Best day ever, no?

I am back to regular exercising and apart from a minor frequent headache scare (which turned out to be migraine which left me soon after), I displayed no other post-accident physical symptoms. The scare and trauma is still there, evidently, as I still don't dare to go back to ECP alone without company. But I have taken the first step and did my first solo cycling since the accident last Saturday, which is a pretty good start in my opinion! Cycling alone again takes some getting used to, but at least I can control my own speed and pace without interference. 

The promotion came with a good performance grade and had totally surprised me, given that 5 yrs is pretty fast for the next level of promotion. But the AD (now D!) and heads (and now DDs) must have fought for me and for that I am grateful that my hard work has not gone to waste and that they have seen it. And then Vincent had to surprise me by calling me in for a private meeting just before my exams, mentioning furtively an "upgrade" for which I'm involved. Only after the meeting with Director did we realise that the Section has now turned into a Branch and therefore we are the filler positions for the newly created AD positions! It is again recognition from them and I really do appreciate the chances that they have given me. :) While I am finding it awkward to deal with my ex-peers as a more authoritative figure, professionally everyone has been pretty accepting and I am glad for that! 

MT5011 was the worst nightmare of my life. I walked into the exam hall feeling pretty confident and walked out completely crushed. But CC Tang must have marked pretty leniently and woohoo we all passed the module successfully! Having an overall CAP of 4.3 is pretty self-satisfying. Part of my intention in pursuing a Master's, besides the desire for more in-depth knowledge and wanting to stimulate my brain cells before they die 1 by 1, is that it is a second chance to prove to myself that my mediocre results in Chemistry could have been better and that I really can still best myself.

And that has proved true and yes, best day ever!

Slight hiatus

Sooner or later I may stop blogging. I think the only reason why I haven't stop is because I look at past entries and still know what the hell I was talking about and to me, the lousy memory person, that probably says a lot. I can remember a lot of things only with triggers. 

-sigh- old liao. 

Passed 28 yrs without much fanfare but good enough. Birthday present to myself was completing the NTU Bike Rally with 134km on an awesome bike! One fine day I will have my own bike but it will be because my brother has finally gotten tired of me damaging his and forbids me from using it hehehe. Will leave this record for a bit, should not attempt to go further till that IT Band Friction Syndrome has been sorted out! The pain in the knee, whilst localised and acute only when doing squats, is becoming very annoying and I will aim to have it out of my life!

First thing, of course, is to strengthen up my weaker muscles to align my legs properly! 

Rode; to sunrise

Personal achievement this year: 100km worth of cycling. Haha!

Seriously, almost wanted to die on the last 10km back to PA (there is a reason why I spammed muscle rub on my legs after I went home). But the finisher's medal is really nice! 

Ride to Sunrise 2013!

Map of the route

Nice way to end off the 2013 year.













I've definitely achieved (4) of my resolutions for 2013. Erm. Hahaha. For others.. Oh well, we can review them again in 2 weeks' time :p

Changes coming up at work; looking forward to them and though I am still considering whether to remain doing the things that I am doing now, I think I am really ready to give up IP training. 

One day before IP Forum

I've hosted (excluding the one I helped out as temp) 4 IP Forums so far, and tomorrow's the 5th. I've evolved from fretting over the introduction of the forum and "instructions" to the audience, to being totally chill the day before (which is today). Read my book, watched my show, went for Run for Hope and a short ride thereafter. 

I think I will sleep early. Hahahaha. I am pretty sure I can manage tomorrow without poring over what I have to say. ;)

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I can't wait for next Saturday to come so that I can cycle to Labrador Park! It's been a dream to cycle there ever since the first time I went there and discovered that a PCN network exists in that area! My recee guides will hopefully figure out a safe PCN route tomorrow. I am blessed that way, really gotta thank them lots for always letting me leech on the routes and their mapping prowess. And everyday I just gotta pray hard and hope that it doesn't rain on Saturday :D

Cycling mania!

I think I am addicted to cycling lately.

Getting into a weekly routine is something that I've been trying for the past half a year and it seems more regular than not now. :) Routine becomes discipline and I'm glad to be getting regular exercise from a sport that I love. 

And because I track the sports activities via Endomondo, I am able to see that my fastest speed has been steadily increasing (as with the distance!) Tremendous satisfaction and even Wei Xiang has commented on the speed! Hahaha I feel like I'm under a training regime conducted by him but I hope that I am already prepared for the Ride to Sunrise event next month hehehehe. And it is only when I go cycling with him and Ivan that I totally feel like a 小妹妹; because I can just shut off and let them discuss routes, bikes, etc. The gal just follows. xD

The fact that I feel no aches after 80km during the weekend also attests to the newfound fitness. Yay! Maybe I should now go for more badminton to train the entire body next - the KPI will then be when I am no longer paralysed after 3 hrs of badminton!

In eons..

Since I last peeled from a sunburn. :o Amazed. It was JC when I last did! 

Which can only mean.. This time is the worst since orientation in JC!!! @_@

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In eons since I can't remember when, it was a good lunch. The interaction between the colleagues is really <3 The unique gathering of MX-s from all units is something ever so special. :)

Back to gym routine!

I think I went gym like, ONCE in March. =.=!! March was simply crazy. 

But now April has arrived, and I am not so busy to skip gym altogether~! Time to get back that momentum and stamina and twice a week gym sessions. 

That's not to say cycling even. I haven't been cycling for the past 2-3 weeks. :( Raining doesn't help!!

Looking forward to next week - course = long weekend~

Newfound knowledge

That Starbucks @ Tampines has a hole in the roof. In terms of opaqueness, that is. 

All the cycling in the morning didn't do any change in terms of my skin color. Now that the sun is shining solely on one of my hands, maybe I'll find myself with a darker right arm later on :\ With the help of glass, no less. Haha.

But at the very least, I'm not feeling cold!

I absolutely adore the idea of being able to cycle everywhere in Tampines.. (:

1st bike trip with THE bike

 

Decided to be a good citizen for the most part of the time, and followed nearly all the rules along the road. Although my reflexes are still slow till the point that I saw a car coming and I SLOWED DOWN instead of hurried across the road, there were no major hiccups.  

Took a shortcut cutting into the park connector halfway to go to Pasir Ris park and for the first time appreciated the fact that I live so near to Pasir Ris that I can go to the park, circle 2/3 of the park, and be back home (stopping loads on the way) in 1.5 hours! It was quite shiok to cycle as and when I wanted and be under the sun but (un)fortunately the Vit D I gained was not enough to do any damage. 

The bike was.. comfortable. The gears and everything, being new, was very smooth. The handle was not so, however, even though the brother assured me that he got used to it by the second time. I wish there was a bell and a basket though! 

Nevertheless, I am sure I will spend more time exploring the other connectors now that I have a bike at home! Anyone with bikes (live in Tampines or at least the east part!!) wanna go cycling someday????

Spontaneous cycling!

Spent the afternoon and dinner with the gals. Can't believe I waited 45 minutes for a stupid bus, this has got to go into Joyce's personal records. Wth. =.= Surprise, or no surprise, that even though I was 45 minutes late, Grace reached later. :\

And hence we started our cycling trip amongst the crowdddddd. Sunday's never a good time for cycling because of the sheer number of people. But unfortunately, like the rest of the world, everyone is only free on Saturday and Sunday zzz. We didn't take it too far, because all of us have lost our cycling stamina =.= and hence by the time we reached the connector, 1 hour had already passed!!!!! Starting to be very amazed at how Val and I ever completed the entire route and back in 2.5 hours. HOW?!?!

But nevertheless, it was a fun trip, because there was not a lot of people and we could all cycle together <3 I think we all secretly made a resolution to get back THAT stamina, hahaha. =.= Perhaps my resolution for this year should be to complete the route in 2 hours. HAHA.

Waraku after that, and omg my food is deli =] Had a good time talking nonsense and inspecting our oh-too-much food, and I'm glad we had this rather random and spontaneous cycling trip. Heh.

Next week's Autumn Concerto will be good.. (: As usual, so emo over the songs! Excellent OST, I should think, even though there are old songs..

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Okay, so going to suffer tomorrow.. :s