chocolate protein whey+fresh milk=heaven

bought fresh milk to try out with my choc protein whey...hohohohohohoo...

"i love you past infinity"

overheard this conversation between a dad and his kid daughter on the shuttle bus to orchard(they are an ang mor family by the way)
dad: i love you to infinity
daughter: i love you past infinity
dad: woah...that's alot...

anyways my flooble tagboard seems to be having some problems...i cant post anything...nothing pops up even after all the refreshing of the tagboard and all the ctrl+F5 i've been pressing...basket...

punctured only after 1 set...basket...

weather was great when i went for my noon jog...BUT out of the 3 sets of 2.4 intervals i could only complete 2

1st set 9.57 then rest 1.5min...quite worn out liao...half way thru 2nd set totally pooped...finished it in 10.44...kaoz...

after that did a slow 600m warm down jog and even tried running backwards for 200m...hoho...

looks like i cant fit 3 run sessions with the 2 gym sessions within a wk for the time being...gonna have to buck up...

ayam brand mackerel steaks in black pepper sauce...mmm..

adrian's menu today...

breakfast:
1 mug coffee+oats

reach office:
1x serving of protein whey

tea break:
3 slices bonjour pandan bread

lunch:
rice+chicken+sweet sour pork+greenies

snack before gym:
1x quaker granola bar

snack after gym:
1 mug protein whey
2x tiong bahru bao

dinner:
2 sticks of celery
4 slices of bread with chunks of pineapple & mackerel

one of those rare days where my tummy didnt growl alot...
meals are now things i look forward to everyday!!
and did i tell you that AYAM brand mackerel steaks in black pepper sauce is heavenly stuff?
hohoho

lost...bothered...annoyed...hungry...looking forward to real run!!!

just signed up for NB real run...so it's back to 2.4 intervals...tried to up my standard today
10.02, 10.17, 10.19 with 1.5min rest in between...so not too bad i guess...quads were very suan only after the 1st set...feeling the strain of yesterday's squat machine at the gym...

feeling quite bothered and somewhat annoyed by the insurance thingy...coupled with the lostness situation i'm still in at work...argh...

but what i've learnt from the listening to the agents is that there is no single best plan out there...different company's products each have their pros and cons...it's up to you to see which one suits you better...

still very much in the state of lostness at work...think i might even be doing less work as compared to the IA students...two of them handed in an op sketch today and i only completed a bloody cactus request today...basket...

our manager Na told us in today's dept meeting that he will be dropping by our cubicles anytime to ask us questions on our products...questions which are supposed to keep us on our toes and make us champions of our own products...woopie...then there is also the setting of 3 specific tasks which we have to complete within a time period...woohoo

interval between feeling hungry has shortened for me recently...been bringing bread to munch in office so mornings still not too bad...now its the period after lunch till going home...so from growling tummy in the mornings change to growling tummy in the late afternoons...sigh...

my very first race!!!

woke up at 6 today...sleepy eyed(cause we slept at 1230)...spent the night at tang's place so no need to rush down to the race this morning...tang's mum made us a cup of horlicks and 2 hard boiled eggs each...took a dump...after which we made our way down to kovan hub by bus to meet up with the rest of the guys(david, choo, delong, mingjun, keqin )...

there were sooooooooo many pple and i have never seen so many pretty sporty gals gathered at 1 single area before....hohohoho~nose bleed~

anyways we registered...filled in lucky draw forms...wanted to pee but toilet queue was too darn long-they only had 2 portable loos...so nvm...we did some warm-up and went to start pt to wait for flag off...

run was pretty good...not breathless at all...pace was very comfy...only problem came from my legs-quads were feeling the strain of thur's gym session+my left knee started to hurt after the 2.5 mark...forgot to take note of the official time at the finishing pt...but according to my casio, i clocked 42:07

me tang and choo even queued to sign up for the free 3yr mizuno membership card...dunno why also...haha...only 15% off regular items which is quite meagre imo...

went back to tang's place to wash up and we met up with choo to have lunch at serangoon garden-we had hokkien mee and we shared a plate of orh lua-yumz...we also saw fandi ahmad and his family there...

reached home...had my milo+protein whey...head abit pain so i slept until muay msged for her chocs redemption...we shared 2 slabs of ritter sports and a ft long sandwich from subway...tummy was very satisfied....hohoho

went to cold storage to find dad and bought the bread+granola bars so i can munch at office to help me tide over the hunger pangs before lunch...

pretty good wk i must say...muscle development quest started...completed my first race...next race shld be new balance real run...yay!!

gym, run, protein whey--adrian wants to grow muscles-hohoho

adrian's latest endeavour-growing muscles!!

protein whey arrived on monday evening...plan to have abt 2 servings per day...1 in the morning and 1 after gym/runs---so at least the barrel can last me at least over a month...

went to gym after work yesterday...quite crowded when i reached at 5.23 le...spent abt and hour there...going there again tmr...plan to go at least twice a week...and maybe have another mini session at home...

runs will still continue...still hope to squeeze in at least 3 sessions per wk--1 for sprints/intervals, 2 for mid/long distance....

did another 3 x 2.4km interval today to prepare for sunday's race...not too bad despite the aching butt/quad muscles...10.19, 10.29, 10.22 with 2min rest in between

collected my gregory nano from fall factor today...was very happy when desmond called to say that my nano has arrived...happy and satisfied when i had it in my hand....beeming with joy when i finally got to admire it after my run...and....haha...and then~doh~

turns out the bag is a tad bit too small to my liking...i started packing my things in and it could only hold that much an amount...began to regret that i did not take up desmond's offer for the kyro...haha...darn...

but overall still ok la...if just for going to work and i not carrying extra stuff the space is just nice...if put shoes and some clothes will have to SQUEEEZE abit...i will find out how squeezy it is during tmr's gym....

well i guess i learnt a lesson abt buying things without having seen/handled the real thing...looking at the catalogue with stats is definitely not enough...

but at least now i know how much space a 17L bag has...no doubt being limited in storage capacity, i still like the design of my nano...

so my first bag splurge didnt go quite as planned...time to save up for a BIGGER bag then...

how about another gregory????hohoho....

the brilliant weather beckons...

rained for abit this morning so i thought today most likely wont run...and anyway i was planning to start a brand new trng outlook next wk when the whey arrives...

but then the sun came out REALLLY sunshiny if you know what i mean ...it was too irresistable...sigh...so running attire on...another 3 x 2.4km interval....hoho

decided to go slower today...but with shorter rest breaks...
11.26, 11.19, 11.11 with 2min rest in between...

stairs...home...had pocari sweat...bathed(damn shiok the water)...having oats with an egg inside now...

i cant wait for next wk!!

new 3 x 2.4km intervals

tried out a new interval trng at noon today...
initial target was to complete each set within 15min...

but i thought maybe be a little more ambitious abit and put it at 11min...hoho

10.11, 10.56, 10.50 with 3min rest in between...nearing the end of 2nd set was pondering of changing to 12min per set liao...but lucky was able to clear them...barely...and after run was the usual stairs...

next wk's going to be fun...protein whey coming in...with it hopefully can finally kick start some gym sessions...sat macritie run with muay and dw....sunday mizuno wave run...

adrian's muscle gaining quest is about to begin...let's all pray for some consistency+determination+self discipline so that adrian can keep on going till he achieves his goal...

woopie

irritate, irritating, irritated

edwin has been stepping up his "irritate adrian" efforts...esp after i bought home the ramly burgers last wk...

as usual...he makes it a point to tell me why he is doing what he is doin--and that is to make me pissed and see if i will flip...

how nice of him isnt it...

insurance insurance insurance

been meeting up with agents for the past few days after work to hear more abt the policies they offer...so end up reaching home late and having dinner late...

today went ntuc income...after that went home...went for run...took the old jiak hong chu route complete with slopes...clocked 33:50min...stairs...bathed...dinner...run was good...but abit sian cus sun set le...everywhere orh soh soh...i prefer running in the day...with blaring sun even better..hohoho

still achieving nothing much at work...self learning is tough...my colleague gave me some repair guidelines which he got when he first started...tried it out this afternoon...i hope it helps me learn better though...wkends almost here...2nd wk at tos almost over...

woopie

一分钱，一分货

last night muay shared with me her views on buying certain stuff cus i asked her opinion on the type of deuter bag i was looking for...

it has always been imbued in me that why get sthg ex when sthg similar+serves the same function+cheaper will suffice?

well it is true that there are certain things which we dont necessarily need to get the better and pricier one (for example handphones...but then again it's really up to the individual) but after looking at what muay msned me-i guess there are stuff which we can really consider getting sthg that is of better quality+last longer...and these product attributes will of course come at a price...

no doubt i'll feel very heart pain splurging on an expensive item but WHAT if the item is so good and lasting that we might not need to get another of such an item ever again? ~well maybe not "ever again" but maybe for many many years at least...

so instead of keep on buying relatively cheaper items and compromise abit on the quality and replace them once they wear out...maybe we can spend 1 shot on a durable and decent product...BUT of course we make sure its sthg we need and as much as possible make the purchase count~so we dont end up buying ANOTHER new one just a few mths down the road making it TWO expensive purchases

the target is to make ONE...ONE expensive purchase for a particular product...

so after some thinking...i have listed some products which i myself qualify for those ONE time splurges...
-backpack
-sandals/slippers
-running shoes
-sports apparel

ooh...come to think of it the target of ONE for some of the items i listed above may not be realistic...i own 2 sauconys le so that category i fail...heh...

kk...maybe i set primary target of ONE...but secondary target of TWO then...hoho....and the 2nd splurge purchase cannot be too close to the first one then...hoho...

so anyway i made my way to fall factor after work today to have a look at gregory nano...no stock so i ordered one for myself...1st splurge purchase on a backpack for myself...to further console myself-i can say that the number of years i have not bought a new bag will more than make up for the price tag of nano...heh

next splurge purchase will be a pair of chaco sandals...that one not an urgent item so it falls into my "save up to get" list...

shit...with the nano purchase...the monthly limit of personal spending i set for myself is almost reached...and i havent bought the protein whey yet...

sprints for the evening-1.24,1.24,1.25,1.26,1.27,1.24

toys of yesteryears:episode 2

just finished washing clothes and waiting for breakfast to digest before my jog...feeling quite eng in the mean time so decided to do up episode2 for my toys of yesteryears series since i havent been doing any posts on toys also...

today i will touch on THE TRANSFORMERS...the #1 toy on my wishlist during my 1st childhood (it's sharing top spot with gundam for my 2nd childhood now)

a little brief history before i delve more into their toys
transformers(tf) started way back in 1984...it originated from a line of transforming robot toys by takara called DIACLONE from japan...then the angmors took the idea and made it into a cartoon series and hasbro also got the license from takara to produce the toys under the tf name...

basically for the cartoon, tfs are grouped into 2 factions-autobots & decepticons (in japan they are called cybertrons & destrons instead)...storyline revolves around the heroic autobots vs. the evil decepticons...

and now for the toys...
those 1st generation toys were called G1 toys and are considered vintage now...
-if any of you have any loose ones lying around-they are worth quite abit of money
-if yours still has its original box with the styrofoam inside-they are worth lotsa money
-if yours is still MINT in its original box (w/ styrofoam)-they are worth ALOT of money~especially those rarer characters

of course the value of your vintage G1s still depends on the toy/box condition(they have a grade scale which goes from C1-C10, C10 being the best), whether the toy is complete, how rare they are, have they been reissued in recent years...stuff like that...

now we move on to the G1 toy itself...they are also known as G1 BRICKS...huge chunks of plastics(and sometimes with diecast parts) with super-limited amount of poseability/joint articulation...most of them were not anime-correct(meaning they dont look like their characters in the cartoon)...some of their robot design/transformation were not very impressive at all

one commendable thing abt G1 toys is that their alternate modes looks really really good...i think the tf toy engineers back then designed the robot mode to suit the alternate mode...so i guess the robot mode suffered at the expense of the alternate modes~they were called "robots in disguise" so i guess they had to work along those lines too...

the next few pics are quite self explanatory regarding the brickness of G1 toys (just take note on the lack of proper neck, knee, arm, wrist, leg joints here and there) ~ and yes i am using my miniscule G1 collection as photo exhibits (techinically i only own 3 of them-2 of them belongs to edwin)

and just to point out the green robot (devastator) is a bootleg (meaning its a fake tf which looks almost like the real thing)...its supposed to cost real cheap and some of these china bootlegs that have surfaced are pretty well copied...

another thing about devastator is that its a gestalt(combiner robot)...these combiners can come in denominations of 3,4,5,6....so for devastator here its a 6-in-1 combiner as you can see there are 6 individual construction vehicles...

there are also other types of G1 toys-6 changers, headmasters, targetmasters...(all of which i dont own)...alot alot la...

maybe i will show some pics of tf toys past and present in the next episode to show how tf toy engineering has improved over the years be it design/transformation/poseability/joint articualtion...

basket...its pouring outside now...how to run...
going to grandma's place for dinner later too...FEAST!!!woohoooo!!!

insurance...protein whey...hmm...

been doing some research on both items to see which is suited for me and of course value for money...

after research/listening to agents, the shortlisted items at the moment for insurance are:
-manulife life policy
-manulife critical illness rider
-manulife personal accident rider
-ntuc income incomeshield plan

as for the protein shake
-optimum nutrition 100% whey gold standard (choc flavour!!-i'm hoping to get the double rich choc one but it only comes in 10lbs pack)

as the protein shake cannot be seen as a miracle drink, i read up more on how else i can help myself gain muscle mass and treat the whey as a supplement (which of course is the CORRECT method)

gonna print out the stuff i found online...all the pointers given by "experts"....free weights with small reps...have to eat more...blahblah....will have to work out a plan and hopefully try to squeeze some of these activities in...
-crunches
-free weights at home
-gym
-protein shake schedule
-dips
-push ups
-chin ups
-my sprints and long dist runs
-proper rest and hydration
just to name a few...

the most impt thing abt this plan would be consistency...even the "experts" also pointed out
~i quote~
"The truth is, the hardest part any training routine is getting started. You've got to break your old habits and make new paths for yourself."

"You can have the best diet, the best training schedule, join the best gym that has the best equipment, but without consistency it's all worthless."

"You must find the determination and drive within yourself to consistently put one foot in front of the other and see this through. If not now, then when?"

and this one i thought was very motivating...heh...woooooh

"You never know what you can do, until you try to do more than you can." - Tony Blauer

oh ya...clocked 56min of fun run this afternoon...even ran down to OG orchard at night to check whether they still had stock for alternator nemesis prime...i wonder why i did not give them a call to ask instead...hmmm

sleep sleep sleep

after a few days of trying out reveille timings for work...i have reduced it from monday's 5.18 to today's 5.28...gonna reduce it even further if i find i can make it to tiong bahru in time for the tos bus...

at night have to sleep ard 1030 in order to wake up less grouchy...1130 sleep i will wake up feeling like crap+more grouchness

still kept nodding off at my desk though...i brought my "refresher" but not much help...went to toilet to wash my face...kept me awake for awhile only...and it's so darn cold at the office...even with my sweater on!! why do they like to blast the air con in offices??? are they training us to be eskimos or sthg???

sleep is topped up on the tos bus to work and on the way home...yesterday almost missed the stop on my way home...today nearly drooled all over myself...but drooling is good...means i was totally knocked out which means i was REALLY resting...

after work met up with a great eastern agent-tammie...wow...was she animated or wat...

wkends finally here!! woohooo

25 x 400m = 10km

really wanted to see how i fare in a 10km run so i made myself go through an uber boring 25x400m along the riverside after work today...took me 46:20 min...
wave run coming up in 2 wks...gonna put in more effort to train up...last wk's ict totally derailed my running routine and momentum...

if muay can wake up to the morning call this sat, macritchie run wld be on...but other than that i plan to do at least another two 10kms this wkend...

collected my pc today at work...so at least now my table not so empty...heh...DELL 17" lcd, pentium4 processor with xp os in those mini desktop cpu...yet to get my password and email though...dun think i can msn and surf in peace too...my cubicle position too conspicuous le...dammit...

kept nodding off while "reading" the huge P&W trng material manual...lucky today i was in "awake" phase when my boss just walked by and asked me how am i doing...

wkend's almost here le...
woopie

2nd day of work

managed to take the company bus to and fro from work (there were SIGNS on the bus today)...better save on transport fees while i can before i end up like those engineers who cant go home at 3.50...then i can at most take the morning bus...so go home take bus+train...that wld be abt $2+...1 wk abt $10+...1 mth $40+ just for work alone...

got to know more pple today-jimmy,edwina,cheah,rachel and zul...jimmy edwina are same batch as me from ntu-they've been there for a mth le...cheah has been there for a yr...rachel just joined not so long ago but did her ia there...zul just did his masters and also joined not too long ago...

collected my stationery today...my supe gave me some stuff to read...had a session with one of the managers together with zul and rachel...again tried my best to stay awake~esp the last portion...talk quite long man...10.20 to 11.45...goodness....

apart from that another zuo bo day...pc still not here...table still empty...i even made a list of wat things to bring to put in my cubicle...

looking forward to the wkends le...and today's only tues...
woopie

1st day of work

was awoken in the middle of the night by some 爆风雨...wind was so loud and i think it toppled quite a number of my neighbour's stuff along the corridor and i think the rain was pouring super heavily outside...pulled myself out of bed to closed the windows and plopped back to sleep...feeling abit of headache...think it's my lousy pillow causing my neck pain again which always couples into a headache

then later i woke up AGAIN...this time due to my grumbling stomach...got up and drank from my bottle...then plopped back down again...headache still there...

5.18..alarm went off...my head was throbbing with that shitty feeling like you dint even get a good nights sleep...got out of bed and for some reason both my shoulders ached like hell...

washed up and it was coffee+oats...changed up and WAKAO...i never felt such an intense pain before in my shoulders when i took off my t-shirt...amazing stuff there man...

when i got downstairs it was still drizzling and upon reaching the bus-stop at 5.40 i checked the signage...it said first bus for 16 and 195 were 6.30 and 6.15 respectively...the tos bus reaches at 6.11 at tiong bahru mrt...

so i had to make my way to tiong bahru on foot...reached there in 15min...waited for the tos bus...jemin from hr told me to look out for comfort buses with the TOS sign/bus number...

6.08 a comfort bus came by...no sign...no number...and after picking up 3 passengers...it zoomed off without waiting...so ok...i thought maybe not that one ba...waited somemore...got an infineon bus...got some other bus-not comfort one...6.15 another comfort bus came by...no sign...no number...i went to ask the driver if it was the TOS bus...he said no...

waited until 6.18 i gave up and mrt+bus+walk-in...reached hr dept just on time...

4 noobies(including me) started work today...1 QA manager, 2 QA engineers, 1 process & methods engineer (thats me)...wee chong from ntu is one of the 2 QA engineers...at least got someone i know...

so whole day of lessons started with jemin giving us a welcome to tos presentation in the hr meeting room...after which it was all the way at the mph...tried my best to stay awake...and when i almost nodded off to sleep i geh siao geh siao changed my movement at the last moment and end up reaching for my sigg in my bag on the floor...heh...that made me wake up...for awhile at least...

after lessons i was brought to my cubicle (its got my name written there-Adrian Teo)~hohoho
got my own phone...no pc yet...near the door...and along the main aisle...so darn conspicuous...basket...

3.40 my boss Mr Na showed up and had a short chat with me....3.48 i made my way of out of office to wait for coy bus after my neighbour warned me that the bus dun wait one and we must be there early...

3.58...buses came...no sign to tell which one was the tiong bahru bus...so again...i blur like shit...buses picked up passengers--vrooooooooooooommmmmmmmmmm...

then i standing there like a clown...another bus came...no sign watsoever...i asked an operator where the bus headed to...woodlands he said...basket...

so it was bus+train back home...tmr i will board the bus FIRST and ASK the bus drivers...

evening went for 6x400 sprints
1.25,1.25,1.21,1.27,1.21,1.27
stairs...5 broad jumps...15 tug jumps...reached home made myself a pocari sweat...hohoho...yummy....

day2 here i come!!

3 down...7 more to go

just came back from reservist...wasnt as bad as i thought...in fact it was quite alright to some extent...

was abit shell-shocked on the first day after looking at the time table they planned for us...the trng schedule was like a high key ict packed into a low key ict...and from the experience of the 1st 2 icts-i was expecting to undergo yet another shitty ict...

BUT this time round we were under the charge of 2WO Yap instead of uncle mikey...on the whole he did made things abit easier for us (as compared to mikey)...and maybe my expectations werent that high to start with anyway so yea...when expectations are low and some minor minor good things happen, it makes everything feel better i guess...sthg liddat la...

so anyway...just a summary of my so-called lowkey ict

day1
-orientation driving+sar21 familiarization
drawing out the vehicle and bii was a chore...it's like a waiting to rush and rushing to wait procedure...after that went for orientation driving, first lunch in camp was packed...after lunch it was the technical handling test of the sar21...

the day ended early...but i had trouble sleeping...i always liddat one...cannot sleep on 1st night of ict...its those anxiety things...the night before the 1st exam paper...the night before sch reopens...the night after booking in...

day2
-sar21 range+IV
reveille was damn early-530...then had to drive to nee soon camp range for the sar21 live firing...mundane drive at snail's pace....50km/h along the expressway was bloody crappy...so boring and sleep inducing that it even made changing lanes exciting...

after firing 3 mags of 4 rounds each...we did our IV...i poked tang and he poked me...both of us were not successful...heh...after self inflicting pain session was over...lunched...some ccac revsion with short naps littered here and there...then night shoot of 2 mags of 4 rounds...then long drive back to camp again...

day3
-platoon battle course
outfield day...drove to track 13 area...did all the drills and what nots on the lsvs...lucky no night nvg driving...that wld have sucked and i wld have fed even more mozzies...but not too bad la...din get that many mozzie bites in the jungle...killed 8 huge mozzies straight at 1 target...
engagement area...

day4
-utws fam on agl
spent the day in camp learning the utws thing+clean rifle+clean mg

day5
-agl live firing
drove to track 13 area again...this time to shoot agl using the utws...reach back camp to wash the lsvs and return wat we could return

day6
-ippt+out processing
chose not to take ippt cus i got gold liao...returned the lsvs...out pro at abt 1215...then lunched with my friends at bedok corner...got a ride home on lee yin's new toyota yaris...hohoho

the whole ict was made more bearable with the jokes and chats with my army friends...food was great too!!(except the combat ration of course)-i had a good 5 day servings of meat!!!hohoho...lotsa meat and veggies...yummy!!!