Fight another day.

My service term is due on the 6th May, which is exactly 12 days from now. The IPPT cat test will be taken into consideration for entry into service term. Meanwhile, it's time to train up. I'm preparing to go for a 3Km run and a swim after that. I'm actually quite excited and I really hope my body is able to adapt to the trainings smooth and fast.

End of Lobo life man.
Yea! For now.

Fight another day.

Bali exploration from 14th April to 17th April 2013.

with my darl. :D

Ultimo Italian Restaurant at Seminyak.
The Cream of mushroom soup was served with chunks of mushroom chunks. Filletto Al Pepe is a dish served with salad and panna potato. Although the medium rare tenderloin was slightly towards the salty side, the tenderness of the piece and panna potato totally made up for it. The Seafood Risotto was pretty amazing. If one has prefers an oriental taste to their Italian mains, seafood risotto is the dish to order. It's like 'seafood pasta rice'. Lastly, the dessert for the night was Panna Cotta. Thick smooth 'pudding' paired with sour raspberry sauce.

Scooter rides in Bali.
We've rode the Bali roads for two days. The scooter rental costs 110K IDR for two days. We rode for a total of two days with 5 bottles of petrol that costs 27K IDR. The petrol is sufficient for trips within Seminyak, a trip to Kuta, and a trip to Sanur. The traffic conditions in Bali can be described as orderly madness. The locals seemed to ride on instincts and they are really friendly and helpful. We can't count the number of time we've asked for directions. Sometimes stopping by beside the road and approaching a shop staff, or, just by simply turning our heads to the people beside us (on scooters). They were accurate with their directions most of the time. There were two situations when the locals guided us on their bikes. The last one was particularly memorable. We didn't take Jalan sunset (a main 'highway') to reach Seminyak. Instead, we weaved on small roads. A left turn, another left turn, magic! Uma Karan was right beside us on our left.

Sunrise in Seminyak and Sanur.
We saw our first Sunrise in Bali at Seminyak. Uma Karan to be exact. As we were about to scoot off to Seminyak, we stopped by the front of the pool to take a short glance. The pool reflected the purplish pink skies on it's surface. Beautiful indeed. It's a short ride (approximately 10 minutes), from Uma Karan to Seminyak beach.

We decide to venture to Sanur next. It's the eastern part of Bali and supposedly one of the best place to watch the sunrise. Sitting at the Breakwaters at Jalan Matahari Terbit, we watched as the glow of the sun unfold.

Poke my thoughts.

This question is thought provoking.

'When the button is pressed, will you have stay and fight on?'.

I've just finished a two day 'values' workshop. To be honest, I have no idea what the exact name of the workshop was. I started an Air Imagery Course on the 25th April and I'm back at AFTC for two days to attend this workshop. And tomorrow, I'll be going back to where I should be till the 8th April. The course is really intensive and interesting.

Indeed, there were lectures, videos shown, sharing sessions and activities throughout the whole event. And out of all the activities that were organized, the part that I enjoyed the most was the sharing or real time operation stories by the two veterans of their own field on day 1 of the workshop. It engaged my thoughts and made me reflect.

Let me share with you my answer to that question. For now, I'll try not to answer hypothetical questions. I'll be working on my profession, making sure I am trained enough to have the operational capability as a future leader. This should be the priority. Values, just like passion, are big words. And I believe, the most reliable answer to the question will be revealed when the 'button is pressed'.

Oh, right.

Attended NTU's 25th Anniversary dinner yesterday. Other than being with the AUG gang, and seeing the always so welcoming Shifu, I felt detached most of the time. Largely due to the fact that there are simply so many juniors I, we, haven't before. But one thing for sure, the tenacious feeling for the sport I love so much was undeniable.

I need to radar for new dresses.

Happy aches.

'Call me crazy, but I love suffering the day after my workout'
From Fitness Inspirations page.

>300 repetitions of abdominal exercises and my abs ache now. I've focused on my arms and quadriceps too. I've had a protein loaded breakfast which includes fishball noodles soup, two egg whites and a packet of Vitasoy. I'll be hitting the gym again in the afternoon later, for health, for a beachbody, and a project ;)

Heat acclimatisation program will start the coming Monday. An air imagery course will start on the 25th March 2013. Activities are planned up.

Stella's dash.

It all started when Captain. G dropped by the TMS classroom to look for helpers to help him with the planning of the Singapore Armed Forces Sports Association (SAFSA) track and field event. My colleagues and I helped with the selection and communication with the runners. Then Captain. G told me that he needed players to help gain participation points for RSAF. Initially I hesitated because I was unsure of what are the standards like at the SAFSA level. But nonetheless, I promised him that I'll take part in the 100m Women's open. Only. Why? Because it's my pet event for my secondary school sports day and I'm more confident in my sprinting abilities) I was signed up for the 4x100m (women's and mixed), without my prior consent. But I agreed anyway.

I feel excitement when running.

Today, I reported at the stadium shortly after breakfast. I had macadamia nuts, a berroca drink and a milo drink. That's all about it. My quads still felt overstretched at that point of time. I was in heat 2, lane 3 for the women's open 100m race. I qualified with 14.51q. I peeped at my results. I was 0.01 seconds faster than the first runner up. I finished the finals with 14.37 seconds. A 0.03 seconds of winning margin. I ran as fast as I could. And after the race, I received heartfelt congratulations from the spectators and the participants.

4x100m women's was an interesting one. My hunch tell me that we'd get to top three. After deciding with my colleague, we concluded that my start up was fast, plus I need fresh legs for the final 100m, thus I volunteered to be the first runner. We were good. And totally out of my own expectations.

4x100 mixed. The team consist of three men and one woman. And the only woman is required to run the last 100m. The gun went off. I assessed the situation awhile. I waited for my third runner. And when our third runner was coming over at me with the baton, I grabbed it, turn and just told myself to run my might. We were initially on the second last/ last placing. There were already runners ahead of me. But I dashed through, overtook, and we made it to the second. It's an exhilarating feeling. I've fought my way through to gain points, to test my limits and get out unharmed (Oh my quads. Phew!).

I was presented the Women's Open best performance trophy. The prize presenter whom said to me 'who else can it be?'. I smiled and take it as a form of recognition. In my secondary school days, I always wanted to get the individual female trophy. I brushed through the award a few times, so close, yet I didn't get it. But today, it's all in all a pleasant surprise.

A review on the tripadvisor for Bintan Sayang.

Private. Kampong style vibe. Value for money.
 My partner and I were there on the 16/02/2012 to 17/02/2012 for a 2d1n weekend getaway.

We signed up for the couple package at 208SGD nett which is inclusive of land transfers, city tour (Uban) and an hour of massage each and food (lunch, dinner and breakfast). The return ferry trips were at 67SGD each.

I'd say that we were very surprised by the quality and quantity of the lunch and dinner (included) provided at the restarant. For lunch, we went with the default menu which is a 6 course meal with hot plate tofu, stir fried chicken, sambal kangkong, fried sotong, butter prawns and gonggong (a type of shellfish). For beverage, we went with the local coconut.

For dinner, we chose our own dishes. And we had a Teochew style steamed garoupa and hotplate beef. 

The seafood's fresh and good. And is easily one of the highlight of our stay.

The sea villa is the best accomodation they have. The room is spacious, warm and cozy. There are two rooms in each villa and they have a private balcony for each villa And since we have no neighbours, we had the whole balcony to ourselves.

We didn't went for the city tour and neither have we tried the massage (good according to the previous reviews). Private, kampong vibe, value for money, good seafood, efficient service. The whole place doesn't shout luxury, but it's comfortable enough. *Note that the restaurants and the reception do accept SGD. But note that if one chooses to embark on the city tour, the vendors from the small town accepts Rupiah.

We will recommend Bintan Sayang's Sea villa for a weekend getaway. 

The consensus of Tofu and me!

A quiet weekend.

Had Hotcakes with sausage MacBreakfast. Managed my finances today. Phew... Been a long while.

I had 6229 to myself till this coming Friday. Am kinda surprised dad left his precious car to me while he's on holiday with my mum and Issac. So I took it for a ride on the road today, with Keith Urban's music blaring out from the speakers.

Shopping spree today. Had quite a 'harvest'.

:)

Now.

Now.

I got posted to the TMS office this Monday. I am perfectly okay to be assigned some work. But the restriction of freedom to just within the area of the office is just, is just... painful for an active person.

This coming Monday, there's a high chance of me and my colleague to be posted back to the classroom. I had my fun in the office. Mostly through texting, reading and talking to my colleagues. It's enriching in a way. I like the idea of 'looking out for your mates'.

Yay!

Android. Sony. Xperias.

The Xperia Z which will be lauch in Singapore on the 1st March 2013. I've registered interest with Singtel and Starhub although there's a higher probability that I will just buy it without a contract.

Not a tech geek and neither am I one who changes my phone frequently. For now, I'm looking for a phone with a longer lasting battery life. Probably the Xperia Z.

These are the important features that I'm looking in a smartphone. A stylish and sleek design, brilliant display, good camera, and a relatively long battery life. Hmmmm. Am I'm pretty pleased with android so far! Xperia S almost satisfies all. It just falls short on the battery life. It definitely can't last for 24 hours even with light usage.

According to Sony mobile website,
Xperis Z: talktime is (up to) 11hours and standby time (up to) 550hours
Xperis S: talktime is (up to) 8hour and 30minutes, standby time (up to) 420 hours

Weighing just 2 grams more than Xperia S, Xperia Z's display is at 5 inch and is relatively larger than the Xperia S which is at 4.3 inch. I'm already pretty satisfied by the size of S as I can browse through websites with ease and comfort without squinting my eyes. Z's larger and I hope the size won't be bulky.

Z's dust and water resistant (1m, up to 30minutes) with HDR video. I was like thinking that the only time that this feature will be put to good use when one wants to take shots in the swimming pool, or while snorkelling. And oh ya! Now, it's possible to 'wash your phone'.

Been an owner of several Sony phones. The K800i (thumbs up), Xperia X10 mini (crap) and the Xperis S (more than satisfied). Hmm. Xperia Z?

Reviews from CNET Asia:
'Should you get this phone? If you are insistent on a full-HD display and an all-rounded feature set, the answer is a resounding yes. While it doesn't have an impressive battery life, the Xperia Z's stamina is at least comparable to popular smartphones such as the iPhone 5 and Galaxy S3--whih means heavy users should always have a backup external battery pack handy.'

January Adventure.

There are times in Tamworth that I wanted to type a new entry, but time and the limited connection doesn't allow me to do so.

All in all, this had been an good experience. In a sense, it made me more aware of myself and my limitations. Now, having once being a flyer myself, I'm able to better appreciate what military fliers do.

Awaiting for another door to open up shortly. :)

The gentle, sweet, freezed and fermented rawfruit badass.

Inniskillin 2008 Riesling. 
From Canada.

Sweet, nectar textured with fruity notes.

An addition of a 'rock' and pairing it with sweet grapes toned down the sweetness of the drink. Am not sure whether it's a faux pas for a rock to be in the picture, hmm. But heck it. It does really taste better this way.

At DFS, I was enquiring about the recommended types. And I was told by the staff that Riesling that is inside the pretty silver colored box, was 'Lychee flavored'. How layman is the explanation right? But yea, that did entice me to get just that.

'Riesling based Icewine is renowned for its acidity and mineral notes. Its vivid orange and citrus tones will combine with a rich range of creamy and decadent food textures and tastes, from foie gras to crème brulée'. Gosh. Where's lychee? Haha.

 Ice wine is indeed expensive, but it's not for a no good reason.

''Once the extreme temperatures arrive, Icewine pickers arrive, often in the dead of night, to harvest the frozen clusters. The precious grapes are immediately pressed in the extreme cold to extract the luscious nectar. In this process, the water content in each grape remains frozen in crystals, leaving only a few coveted drops of concentrated, intense liquid. Icewine yields are a mere 10-15% of an average table wine harvest. Slowly fermented over the coming months, this delicate nectar will eventually become Icewine.''

Each grape yield a small quantity of liquid. Imagine an almost dried fruit with only a little moisture remaining. The quality and quantity justified it's cost.

Wouldn't settle for another gift for the occasion ;D