Power to the protagonist

I need a potent dose of energy.

Quickie - Part II

I am heartened.

These days, whenever too much pressure builds up within me and I get dangerously close to exploding into a million messy pieces, I find myself craving for a solid jog of 3 big rounds around the sprawling park and its greenery* instead of that carcinogenic you-know-what.

I am finally really, truly, getting there.




*Occasionally replaced by visions of vicious attacks on buffet spreads.

Quickie

These days, it seems like 24 hours are simply not enough to get by.

I have chalked up a huge sleep debt.

And owe many others one too many SMS/MSN/email/phone call replies, drinking dates and such.

My to-do list is growing scarily longer by the second too.

So here is a short and sweet entry before my blog starts growing cobwebs.

There have been plenty of times when I have an incredible urge to blog about something, but a number of factors always conspire to get in the way of that.

So I have taken to mental-blogging.

I can actually see the words being typed out in my mind while a monologue carries out somewhere within me.

I hope I remember them all when I can finally plonk myself in front of the lappie at home for a substantial amount of time - without having a mountain of other online tasks to clear, and before the sleeping bug bites.

Alright.

That's it for now.

Till we meet again.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Let's talk about protection

For the longest time, I had gone without it.

I whined that it just wouldn't be the same.

Obviously, I knew what I was potentially setting myself up for by ignoring

this cardinal rule.

But, well, you know how it is...blind confidence tends to surface in the face

of absolute pleasure.

That has all changed now, though.

Thanks (or no thanks) to a most unfortunate accident, and rounds of chiding

by well-meaning friends, I am a firm believer of protection now.

Screen protector, that is.

For my beloved Samsung Omnia.

On its my day with me, the stylus slid across the shiny glass screen with a sickening screech and permanently scarred it with a heartbreaking 1.5cm mark.

The next day, the screen protector went on.

And it did not diminish the beauty of the Omnia in any way.

I only wished I had subscribed to the idea of protection earlier.

*Stares wistfully at the nearly-invisible-but-I-know-it's-there scratch*

Girl talk

"You have beautiful eyes," gushed Lena, a former colleague and dear friend

who had zipped back to Singapore from Shanghai for a quick visit.

Oh, thank y..."

"When you close them," she interjected, while squinting intently at the screen

of her Lumix. She was trying to capture an artistic shot of my dissection of the salmon tart.

"It looks like you have some nice strokes of eyeliner along your lash lines when you are staring down at the food."

Ah. I see.

So, I have beautiful eyes.

When I close them.

Wow.

Since I wasn't wearing eyeliner - or even the flimsiest coat of mascara - on that fateful day, I am still considering if I should file away the comment in my

THUMB-UP, THUMB-DOWN or TBC* folder.

At the same time, I am reconsidering our friendship too.

Just kidding, of course.

*Blinks aforementioned beautiful eyes innocently*

Seriously.

After all, Lena and I go back a long way.

Back in the days when we were practically babies trying to survive in the strange world of the grown-ups, we had clung on to each other for dear life

as we fought to keep our fire and sanity intact while battling various archetypical villains.

Such as the Wicked Witch and the Big Bad Wolf.

And of course, Lena has been nothing but nice to me whenever she returns.

She never fails to buy me rose wine.

The first time.

The second time.

The third time.

And she has even added lovely vino chocolates to the goodie bag now.

My profuse thanks have been extended. Now, there's just one more thing I like to say to her.

"Lena, I am not an alcoholic**."

*To Be Confirmed.

**The last time I checked, downing 1 - 2 beer in the middle of the afternoon in a tropical climate at an alfresco cafe is scientifically known as "quenching the thirst", according to the rule book of Alcoholic Anonymous. But oh, do keep the rose wine coming...I am not complaining.

Stinky paw

Though I have two pugs in the house, that stinky paw belongs to me.

The left one, to be precise.

I have no idea what happened, but it is reeking of pugs' pee...and it is resistant to all kinds of cleaning agents.

I have no recollection of going anywhere near pugs' pee the entire day.

How. Did. That. Happen?

*Praying hard the stench will mysteriously disappear when I wake up tomorrow*

Another feather in the hat

Or rather, another Singapore flag planted firmly on the map of
major international events.

Tonight is the night where racing royalty the likes of Lewis Hamilton, Felipe Massa, Fernando Alonso & Co will exceed even the most generous of local speed limits by more than a couple of times to race down the tree/colonial building/skyscraper-lined streets as well as century-old and contemporary bridges of Singapore, with the blessing of the government of this famously lawful city-state.

In fact, 60% of the cost of turning this racing fantasy into a reality
came out of the nation's piggy bank.

Despite concerns of visibility and safety by some F1 drivers when the concept of a night race was first announced, we have delivered on the deal to turn night into day, as experienced by the drivers at the first practise session
on 26 September, thanks to a bespoke, state-of-the-art lighting system set up along the 5.067km track.

It had been said that European cities would typically require a period of 2 years or so to set up a Grand Prix, but our little island has gotten everything and everyone ready for a flag-off in a mere 10 months.

I think that comment came from a certain main man of all this racing business.
I can't be certain if I heard that correctly though since it was something my ears caught on the news when my mind was fully focused on bringing the dinner to
my mouth. And I can't be certain either if there are any varying factors between the Grand Prix events that give rise to the time difference in preparation between countries, but well, there it goes again - my patriotism is doing a jubilant little dance.

Reuters has gathered the following reviews after the F1 teams' first night
on the track:

"The visibility is great and you don't really feel like you are driving at night with all the lights on the track." - Ferrari's world champion Kimi Raikkonen

"An amazing venue. It's a very physical circuit -- more than I expected, actually, I'd say it requires double the energy of Monaco over a single lap." - McLaren Mercedes Formula 1 race driver Lewis Hamilton

"Atmospherically probably the best pictures ever seen in F1," he said. "The scenery -- it's unreal, it's like in a movie. It's a big, big step forward for Formula One." - Mercedes motorsport vice-president Norbert Haug

"Singapore had become the marquee race on the calendar.The atmosphere is fantastic, the style of the place is unique, this was a good start to what will become the most exceptional race weekend of the year." - BMW-Sauber Team Technical Director Willy Rampf

Tonight is the night of the inaugural Formula 1 Grand Prix Night Race.

In the world, in Singapore.

P.S. I was at Funan Centre yesterday evening and when I stepped out of the building, it was as if I had walked right onto the F1 track itself - the entire Raffles Place district was roaring with the sound of the F1 cars burning tyres at their practise session. It was an adrenaline-pumping experience, and the night seemed more alive than usual. Lovely.