#42running42

#42running42

爸，我做到了。两年前我又开始跑步了，起初真的很难可是我没有放弃。今年12月3日，我成功跑完42km。

On a physical level, nothing is more demanding than a 42km Full Marathon race for me. Cos there was a time I have been advised by doctors to give up running all together. But I did it!

I think this is has to be the longest personal project I have embarked on, a 2-year training starting Jan 2016. Gearing towards the finale on 3 Dec 2017 where I challenged my first Full Marathon (42km).

Training was going on well and my runs were progressing fine all until May this year, when I had to undergo a totally unforeseen retinal detachment surgery and I was out for 5 months from May to Sep, not running a single step. I seriously thought that my dream is once again gone and everything seems bleak and down. 1.5 years of training all wasted, it was like tripping just before the finishing line and got to be taken out.

Thank God for amazing support from friends all around me. 2 brothers from my cell group decided to sign up for the FM race just to show their support, thinking that even if I cannot run and fulfill my dream, at least they can help me fulfill it. But their support spurred me on and provided that additional push of faith in myself and I started to pick it up in Oct. It was tough, running less than 2km in my first run after 5 month’s break, my knees were pain and I was totally out of breath. To keep the long story short, I pushed on and eventually managed to clear two 10-12km run before the race day.

 

All these could not be possible without the greatest supporter I have, my wife. Right from the beginning she has never doubted me, always encouraging me, even when I had my surgery, she was reassuring me that I can still run after the recovery. She has more faith than I had in myself. Just like the bible says, “when one man finds a wife, he obtains a good thing.” I truly believe I have obtained the best thing in life when I married her.

Fast forward, I am a proud winner of my personal dream, to complete a Full Marathon. Will I do it again? YES!
Don’t ask me why, but running has not just become a way of exercise, but it has become a way of discipline and constant reminder that God is good in my life. A reminder of all the love and support I have received. A reminder that I can fulfill any dreams if I can just believe.

#42running42

Carnival Fun - Family Bonding

I think carnivals are the best way to promote family bonding. What better ways than food, games and prizes?

How not to get a “NOooooo” when painting your hands?

Do it when everyone else is doing it too.

Organized by Touch Community, this simple act of hand prints on wall will serve to remind people of equality and unity.

The J Babies’ handprints.

We have been to many carnivals before, and the girls will always pester us to play at the game stalls.

 

  

If not for charity, I seriously believe that we are (the girls are) throwing money towards something that was designed for fun but not for winning.

 

But no matter what, I am learning that family outings are not so much on how much we spend or not spend. It’s the time when we build memories that will last. And I want to create memories with my family that carnivals are fun because we are able to enjoy fun and do charity at the same time.

Isn’t it enough to see this face of contentment? =)

To add on to the great day, this is the first time both girls won something from the games.

 

PS. my mom won’t be too happy with the additions of soft toys at home.. hahaha..

Camping with a Capital G

A few weeks back our family finally fulfilled a long standing wish of the ladies. Read it right, the man in the house aka me was not the least interested in camping.

I mean which man who has gone through army’s field camp (except the really minority) would say they loved the experience. Sleeping on hard uneven ground, tents pitched with less than enough enthusiasm, bugs and sorts crawling all over the place, and if you are lucky like me, rain and soggy muddy field.

That was the background of camping for me and no amount of words or pictures can I manage to lower the ladies’ excitement of this camping trip. Well, at least the venue is not some ulu places but the East Coast Park.

Welcome Glamping Society!

A brief understanding what is glamping. A simple way to understand is camping with style and much more comfort. No bugs, no hard sleeping floor (in fact you have beds), no fear of rain, no fear of being attack by wild boar, no army officers to shout at you! Hahaha..

We were treated to a luxurious 6-man tent, so we invited a fee friends over for some gathering and fun.

Check out the interior decorated like bohemian style, rugs and all.

Here are a few cool facts about glamping.

1. No need to set up the tent on your own. All is done nicely and securely for you (I mean that is what you are paying for). So just bring your barang barang and bunk in.

2. Simple food are provided for you and your group. Be wild and free, that’s all we need to do!

3. Just relax and enjoy. We basically just packed our change of clothing for sleep, the rest are taken care of. There was even a flamingo float for those who are interested to ride the ECP waves.

4. Plan a BBQ. Okay, we didn’t cos we were lazy to bring all the stuff and food. McDelivery is available.

5. Enjoy the sunset! This is probably the main reason for having it at East Coast Park. The sunset was stunning!

Last but not the least, spend a great evening with the missus. No camping or glamping is complete without the missus completing her wish.

Happy wife = happy husband

Growing up Gals: Fearful or Fearless?

As we grow older, do we become more fearful or fearless of things around us?
For me, I knew my fears pretty early in life – fear of heights, fear of roller-coaster, fear of cockroaches. And sadly, the 3 fears have grown up together with me, like my unwanted best friends.

So I was fascinated to see how this phenomena will turn out in my girls’ lives.

Joey (11 years old), typical first born child (like me). Independent, bossy, self-motivated (like me).
Jayne (8 years old), typical younger sibling (if there is one). Shows more public affections, not as independent, slightly less motivated (like Kless’ brother).

Just a few years back, I remembered that Joey was still a timid girl, not willing to try most of the activities that required her to climb or jump or with speed. Of course, I am more than willing to accompany her since I am one not given to fast speed activities too. But on hind sight, I am thinking did I stifle her growth in courage or trust by not encouraging her to try?
Jayne on the other hand, was more willing to take the water slides and do the 4D rides, etc.

As time passed, things seems to change a bit. Joey grew bolder and Jayne took lesser interest in the exciting stuff.

We brought the girls to a small indoor rock climbing studio recently. Hoping that the girls will have a chance to try it out and learn something new. Especially for Jayne, she has always like to do such rock climbing activities.

My Little Climbing Room is situated at Promenade @ Pelikat, which is in Hougang area. As you can see, it is quite a colorful place and both my girls liked it immediately.

 

 

The climbing walls are categorized as fun, beginners, intermediate and advance. The fun walls are like the ones shown above, where the kids can just climb up and touch randomly selected numbers or go through the hula-hoops. Both of these walls do not required other equipment or ropes.

In fact, when Joey stood beside the number wall, she is almost half way there.

While Jayne took a bit more effort, but nonetheless it was not difficult for them.

 

Joey gave up on the hula-hoops obstacle course as she is more like her dad, quite stiff boned. Thankfully, we still have Jayne (that’s why it’s good to have more than one child). And her size is just perfect.

Another fun wall is to climb and touch the dots on the wall, and do it in the fastest time.

  

So far so good, until when we got to the more serious climbs. This was when I was suddenly buffered by Jayne’s reactions.

 

Jayne the courageous girl has become the timid gal, she was afraid of the heights and possible fall even though she was tightly supported by the ropes. On the other hand, Joey passed the test! She conquered all the 3 levels of rock climbing walls and was eager to do it again and again (until her fingers are too tired to grip anything).

What happened??

Is Jayne going through a stage of self realization? Realizing that she is not that “garang” anymore? Are the changes due to peer pressure in school?
One became fearful and the other became fearless.

Girls, if you are reading this post, Daddy is not telling you to be fearful or fearless. In life, never swing to the extremes, there is nothing absolutely fearful nor is there anything absolutely fearless.

“Fear not, be of good cheer, be strong and courageous.”

Don’t be fearful of anything, cos you have daddy and Daddy to take care of you. But be of good courage, learn to say “no” or to protect yourself when the need arises.
Don’t be fearless and live life with no discipline. Only with discipline can one learn to build character.

In the meantime, just enjoy the fun!

 

It’s Traveling Season!

We are coming the the end of 2017 and it is the traveling season again!
Most of us love to travel but if you (minority) do not, then you have to read on, cos this may just change your mind.

“I love to travel but I hate all the hassle of booking air tickets, accommodations, trips, looking out for nearby attractions, etc.” Does it all sound so familiar?
I mean spending many hours browsing through the internet, looking for the best prices, sourcing for new ideas, reading up reviews from different travelers, secure bookings and last minute changes, waiting for friends to confirm their schedules, etc. Who really enjoys all these mundane work?
Thankfully, I have an awesome wife who loves to do all these planning, and all I have to do is to provide the budget sheet. Participation level is minimum when it comes to planning for a trip.

But the same question keeps ringing in my mind. How did she plan everything so effortlessly? How come she has so much time to look through and check through all the different sources and ideas?
Finally, the secret is revealed.

Booking Hotel with Traveloka!!
No wonder she is always able to find so many interesting places for our family trips! I browsed through the website and was in awe of how easy it is to use and how much info there is available.
Like the picture below says, “Not sure where to go yet? Get inspiration from Traveloka Blog.” This is basically like a one-stop site with everything one needs to plan for a trip.

So let me share with you some of the things that I find useful and why am I recommending it to you.

Best Price Guaranteed + Honest Pricing
If you ever find a better price elsewhere, Traveloka will match it or beat it!
Many of my friends agree with me, if a website dares to say its price is the best and gives their guarantee, then there must be some truth in the claim and we can be sure it will deliver. I personally like the numerous flight choices available when I was searching for a KL trip. With “Flight Discount Coupons”, SIN-KL on Scoot is only S$70.30 (inclusive of all taxes and surcharges). Fantastic!!

Price Alert
Finding it troublesome to keep track of the ups and downs of prices? Have you ever missed a special price fare because you are not at your laptop 24/7? Fret not with the super useful Price Alert service. Just create the settings of your alerts, sit back and let the system search and inform you.  Best of all, you can receive all your alerts via the Traveloka App (both on App Store & Google Play).

Easy booking + Convenient Rescheduling
One thing we have learnt in our traveling episodes, changes are inevitable. So with the convenience of changing your flight schedule or other bookings, it will greatly enhance the traveling experience even before you fly.

Lots of Reviews from Travelers Around the World
As I was looking for recommendations in Malaysia, planning for a short getaway with my extended family, a familiar place popped up - Avillion Port Dickson. The reviews from other travelers were super useful. I was able to pinpoint what the hotel is offering and how helpful and understanding the staff were. A lot of positive and also some not-so-good feedbacks which made the reviews a lot more creditable. With this, I would surely book Avillion Port Dickson online with Traveloka.

Have I tickled your appetite to travel? Year end is coming and it is the best time to wind down from the busy work year and book a trip with your loved ones or friends!