samm

Have you received yours?

2009-12-23T15:31:59Z

I've received the best gift of Christmastime - that my bones are fully healed and I CAN RUN. i saw the last of my x-ray 3 months post op. vast improvement from the previous one. my bones have fully fused together, just leaving the swelling to come down, and the pain on the scar tissue. cant quite wear shoes that'll cut across the scar. but having given the green signal that I can resume rowing and what not just puts me on cloud nine.

of course, there's a dozen other things to be thankful for this season, from being given the opportunity to go abroad to study, to the love my friends have showered upon me during first few weeks after the surgery, to the jibbitz i've received to decorate my crocs ;) the list goes on.

carols by candlelight with gdine was lovely (: though the family isn't gonna celebrate christmas this year (meaning no xmas dinner/lunch just a quiet one) i truly am blessed this festive season. thank you friends. i received jawzzie's card from suisse today. a wooden carved card !

we bballers had our annual xmas partaye at kim's house last night

Friday Blues

2009-12-18T04:48:53Z

batman is a naughty kitty ): his balding severely on his lower tummy as well as his legs and so we decided to book an appointment with the vet at 10.30 this morning. at 10.15, we were fighting against his wailing meows, razor sharp claws & teeth just to put him into his cage which was on the verge of falling apart.

10.45, no success and yknow never mess with a cat when its angry. i gave up and post phoned the appt to 2.30pm. this time, i'll try to lure him in with cuttlefish. but i know it may not work cuz he has an IQ of 300. we shall see.

- -

yesterday, i secretly made my way to bishan's gym on a hungry tummy, cough medication and a lack of sleep. well i wasn't feeling too bad when i reached there. warmed up with 600m of ergo and did the bike. after a couple of rounds of lifting weights, i started to feel oozy, out of breadth. never before had i experienced such a thing. it was either 1. my stamina has hit rock bottom, or 2. cough medication? but it was a non-drowsy formula.

perhaps it might be the lack-of-glucose but i sure felt shocked. now i know what it means to athletes when they have to stay away for a couple of months from an injury. and so, with a spinning head, i made my way to the vending machine and bought H20. think that helped a bit.

jollyolme @ 2009-12-12T17:52:00

2009-12-12T09:52:11Z

the team mates are in penang now for the Penang Pesta 09 and i still feel a lil sore that I'm unable to join em. sigh. it'll be a perfect way to end of my dragon boat season this year. looking back, i do miss those days terribly. i can see my arms are significantly shrinking in muscle mass which I do hope to improve when i get back to sg. not being able to jog limits me in a way, but at least swimming is a form of cardio. i don't wanna turn into a hulk by just lifting weights alone.

we headed to noosa beach yesterday and the waves were lovely ! it isn't perfect cuz Hawaii will always be the best :D or till i find a better beach. but NZ's South Island is still more scenic. today was factory outlet shopping at Gold Coast's Harbour town. pity my mum won't be going to Surfers Paradise. she was annoyed we weren't really on time with our schduele and decided to go apt hunting tmr at toowong district. i saw a few pretty gd buys at Harbour town ! like fossil watch @ AUS70 (sg sells for over 100), polo ralph lauren polos going for AUD49 (only limited colours) and sperry boat shoes !

least i know where i can do my shopping next year ;) target has pretty cool (and cheap) undies too ! tina, if your reading this you MUST come to this place. hohoho i think we'd go bersek man.

at the end of the trip i ended up with a 15$ canterbury rugger shorts! can never find that deal in sg, and a white tee for 5$ from some shop. i so wanted to grab all the undies on sale and the sperry etc but i think this will do for now, till i'm back again.

the only thing i look forward too is to Lone Pine on mon, a koala observatory ! i can finally cuddle one since i was uh... 7 yrs? on tues i have an interview with my accomodation i applied for. :x

Down Under

2009-12-09T11:27:25Z

good day earthlings, i'm currently at a student hostel on-campus at UQ and after many many tries of connecting to the internet i succeeded. the hostel (cromwell) is pretty decent but at night its gets real darrk. its not the hostel i applied for but nontheless i found out how the route to the city frm campus and walked around the city with my mum and sis.

we're heading to sunshine coast + noosa on fri, and to some koala place & gold coast, harbour town over the next few days. cant wait ! tomorrow will be the on the campus most of the time to explore the various buildings etc.

right, my eyes are no more than slits as i barely caught sufficient sleep on the airplane.

p.s. i asked for singapore sling on the airplane and the cabin crew asked how old i was. 21 i replied. you shld have seen the shocked expression. kodak moment.

whowhatwhenwherewhyhow

2009-12-08T03:15:42Z

everything's such a mad rush. from my mum getting all worried about this that and that to my cat puking on the mattress at 12mn last night just when i was about to turn in for a good rest, resulting in me stripping off the bed sheet to my maid's scolding of the cat at 0800 hrs... and it just went on and on and on. we tried to do an online check in for SQ but realised we couldn't secure a place cuz my tourist visa was based on my old passport no. which has expired since i renewed my passport. i'm now waiting for the agent to call back so i can collect the new visa.

i want to swim. but i cant - till the agent calls.

i need to cut my hair, its in a disastrous shape.

but my long awaited (8 months) custom-made oaks has arrived (: i decline to state the price i bought for. it may be absurd to some, but its definitely way cheaper than going to a local optician to custom make it. prob saved $100-$200. i picked everything from scratch, from the frame to the O logo and the lens. i got it in pearl white iridium, polished gold O icon, black ear socks & a black iridium polarised lens. nontheless, it has left a huge hole gaping in my wallet. if you'd like to know the price you cld drop me a msg. the model is a ladies frame, enduring edge and it comes with a single lens. its pretty small so for those who're used to wearing a M frame/Radar it'd be a sudden change.

if not for the fact that i had an extra enduring edge lens in red iridium, i would have gotten an M frame instead.

enough of chinese food !

2009-12-05T14:25:40Z

good day palzz... i just touched down this aftn from a five day trip hongkie dongkie. it was a fruitful trip cuz 1. i bought M&S undies ! 2. SGD200 Clarks brown suede shoes (mens) 3. ate waaay to much (plenty of beef brisket noodles) 4. saw the not-so-clear connection between the relatives and our family.

i've never walked so much / fast in a loong time. the people just shove you ! every direction you walk there are people who will bump into you. i've never walked up such steep slopes but Soho is a nice area (: nontheless, im tired of the crowd where every hour is peak hour. im more than happy to be back.

a snapshot of HK city at night by victoria harbour. we caught the rehersals for the East Asian Games. the light up was lovely, way better than chingay / NDP.

Happy Birthday Mum !!

2009-11-29T08:51:49Z

love,
your three daughters.

if i could do it NOW

2009-11-25T12:20:09Z

yknow what i feel like doing right now? to run over to switz and give jawzzie a FAT hug and tell her, WE did it ! sleepless nights, endless projects, midnight mugging and all paid off (: i wanna pop a champagne with her and tell her if it weren't for her, i wouldn't be able to pull through it. well done BFF, well done. im soo proud of the both of us !

-

HJ is back frm melb ! and cryssie and the few of us met up for non-stop slapping action ! i loved today (: and kinns came to starbucks with her polaroid cam and new bangzzz..

jollyolme @ 2009-11-19T22:54:00

2009-11-19T14:41:27Z

"Nothing's better than the wind to your back, the sun in front of you, and your friends beside you."

Aaron Douglas Trimble, Runner

I couldn't agree more.

i (techincally it was my mum) bought a dress after 4 years since grad night! muahahah.that adds a second piece of dress to my closet! its teal coloured and has a can-can (!!) the second purchase was a black overall a la mao ze dong coat.

jollyolme @ 2009-11-08T21:56:00

2009-11-08T14:23:48Z

i had the best dinner in ages. round 1 was yong tau foo which didnt leave me full so i had smoked salmon salad with sliced tomatoes and advocado dressing. all prepared by sab. but the hi-light, really was the sparkling wine to accompany it. :D it was divine.

that aside, it was sarah's 21st bday celebration at Barossa yest. halloween pics are added under the cut too.

311009

jollyolme @ 2009-11-07T16:01:00

2009-11-07T08:01:01Z

The months seem to fly by.

Jia and crystal will be back within the next two weeks, I'd be in HK at the end of the month, Xmas will be round the corner and before I know it, I'd be in down under.

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jollyolme @ 2009-10-22T15:38:00

2009-10-22T07:46:56Z

yesterday kinns brought me to have superb lunch (: Tao at Pomo. actually i've been there with jaws before (she always gives good recommendations!) 7 course set lunch for 18.50 (20% disc off!) its an understatement to state that i enjoyed each course. it was divine! their cream of pumpkin soup was woohooo. the service was impeccable and paying below $20 is beyond worth it.

then it was to PS to meet ele *ahem* where kind kinns caught Julie & Julia with me despite her having watched it.

its been nearly five weeks since my op. five weeks since i last did cardio. i know it sounds nothing much.. but im terribly miserable :/ i don't know how i'm gonna survive not swimming/running for another five months. as much as i try to use the resistance band and do a variety of ab exercises at home, nothing beats getting your body pumped up.

patience.

the overpriced rubber shoe.

2009-10-17T14:09:32Z

my walking's been improving over the days i sense! well my right toe sort of doesnt hurt when i subconciously push off with it. the left is still a lil retard but flexibility will naturally set in says mr doc. meanwhile, goodbye geisha shoes, hello teva/crocs !

jollyolme @ 2009-10-15T21:50:00

2009-10-15T13:49:45Z

though my freedom was cut short cuz worried mum was scared e stapler wld come out, i was a happy kid for those few hours.

muji>uniqlo>muji>mango>marks & spencer> birkenstock>cedele>fox>fossil then 7 hrs was gone. crocs shopping tmr!

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Cloud Nine

2009-10-14T10:45:47Z

I received the revised attestation letter from school and submitted to the agent. However, a day later, I received this e-mail:

Hi Samantha,

You submitted your attestation letter yesterday, however, UQ would still need the certificate to state that you have successfully graduate from Diploma in Tourism Management from Shatec. It needs to be reflected in your final official transcript that you have completed the program and being awarded the Diploma in Tourism Management. Unfortunately, you will still need that before UQ can release your unconditional offer.

my heart sank. big time. not again. and no way is Shatec gonna release the official cert earlier. that was what i was told. well so i just had to wait. but just a few mins ago, i checked my inbox and there it was right on the screen:

Dear Sam,

UQ has decided to release your unconditional offer for Bachelor of International Hotel and Tourism Management! Congratulations! Please kindy see letter attached..

If not for the condition of my feet, I would have danced around the bedroom right there and then. what's more, I'm heading to town tmr :D after one month folks! AND i found decent teva sandals to bear with instead of wearing my geisha sandals ! (okay but no matter what I wouldnt wear the geisha shoes out)

another miracle? i wouldn't doubt that.

The Bucket List

2009-10-11T04:17:45Z

I think miracles happen all the time around us, no matter how small. this morning when i woke up, i checked the condition of my feet and i could feel the BONES! well for the last month or so my feet were swollen really badly. but these week especially, i noticed the blood clot slowly dropping off, and the size of the swell reducing slowly, but surely. there are still signs of bruises around both feet but i spose that will fade away in time as well (:

so since my days are rather slow and montonous, i made a bucket list of what i should do once i can start walking out of home! next appt will be on tues and if all goes right, i believe i can start wearing normal broad-based footwear.

# indulge in a decent sushi teh meal with lots of sashimi
# get uniqlo boxers
# check out M&S sale (hopefully its still on going)
# get to tina's place to play FREEBIRD! Lynard Skynarrrddd & hone my mahjong skills

okay i shall add more as the days go by but i think i should start walking to novena sq first! the feeling of walking is still a little odd to me. like, i'm pretty cautious of my big toe and how i push it off prolly cuz there's a stapler inside!

W. Somerset Maugham

2009-10-05T16:28:11Z

" ... the only thing that counts is the love of duty; when love and duty are one, then grace is in you and you will enjoy a happiness that surpasses all understanding."

The Painted Veil, 1925

dedicated to dearest gdine: i believe your much stronger than you think you are.

-

"in my life, i have regretted many things but i need you to know that i will never regret knowing you. in fact, you are still one of the best things that has ever happened in my life so far. i thank you for the memories..."

a birthday postcard from suisse, BFF jazzie to be exact.

i think the greatest blessing is having friends and loved ones whom yknow you can trust on despite being a million miles apart, and knowing that you've made an impact in someone else's life (: thank you jawzzie.

WELCOME BACK TO S'PURA GDINE!!

2009-09-30T11:35:04Z

yayy! my beloved partner is safely back in sg after a 2 month long euro-backpacking trip! well not a fantastic sight to be greeted with the haze and the pretty strong tremors i felt just a few mins ago. see, even batman sniffs that there's something's wrong with the air!

and sure enough, check out the condition at 7:14PM

the CBD is clouded with a blanket of smog. terrible.

yesterday was a good day for me cuz palz of the boring gang came to visit me! sheila baked her all-time yummy cupcakes (: 'tina turner' bought me oreos, dark ferrero, meiji dark choc, b&j & muji milk tea!! talk abt a whole lot of food to last me through. on top of that, i received the resistance band and i can start doing some exercises :DD felt goood to have a burn in your biceps after all these while.

stitches have been removed and the wound is healing nicely. its 2 more weeks before i can move onto broad based footwear. im hunting which crocs should i get now! heehee finally a good excuse.

Chucky's scars

2009-09-27T06:55:16Z

so i wasn't greeted with a fantastic sight of my feet. no, far from there. i was horrified just staring at those 10cm long stitches starting from my big toe all the way down the side of each foot. and on the second toe, stitches went to about approx 4cm long. to make it worse, my feet were so badly swollen, esp the left. i couldn't believe it was mine i was staring at. i think i wasnt mentally preped for the sight of it. i mean lulu's scar is soo puny! and it looked like they really sliced up my entire foot.

i wanted to take a pic but it was horrifying so i gave that a pass. the doc changed the bandaged to a smaller one, and i'd be removing the stitches next week. prolly takes another 1 month plus before i can try wearing wide footwear (to accomodate the swelling). well its better than wearing the geisha shoe cuz i've been at home for TEN DAYS! its killing me :/ to think another 30 days of staying home..

the most disappointing thing is that swelling make take up to 6 months to subside ): that'd be next year!! good grief.

i did egg the brusied area and it reminded me of egging jaws's bruise when i pushed her down at tiger room. miss you!

8 days

2009-09-24T13:41:17Z

i'mma heading to the doc tmr to get the bandages and stitches removed. im excited yet nervous to welcome how my new feet would look like - minus the ugly scars. i read an article that sunlight will cause scars to darken due to hyperpigmentation; that's one more reason why i should avoid the sun (so not me).
yesterday aftn, i gave in to temptation after being confined at home for 7 days. i limped down to the poolside for a tan. the pool's water was just... ! and today's weather was perrfect for a lazy aftn by the pool too, but i stayed indoors :D one point for that.

aside that, my dad's 5D mirror went terribly wrong! my mum wanted to use it so i helped her assemble the lens etc. just when i looked through the viewfinder, I found nearly 90% of it black, leaving a small hole of white. i took off the lens and check it, and realised the outer coating (is that what y'call it?) of the mirror came off. i googled and i came across this article: Canon has learned that in rare occurrences the main mirror of some EOS 5D digital SLR cameras may fall off, due to deterioration in the strength of adhesion...

if that is so, that's a relief. anyhow, i do suspect it's about time to clean the mirror as i spotted some black dots in my last photo taking. thing is i can only bring it down to the service centre when i can walk, which is uh . . . hopefully by mid oct!

jollyolme @ 2009-09-18T15:23:00

2009-09-18T07:40:19Z

i've never slept so much in the past few days! post-op was beyond horrible. the anasthesia made me puke like a merlion. every few mins more yellowish stuff came up. first was saliva and white liquid. then the yellow which was disgusting! bile i think, according to my mum. record breaker for not eating for more than 24 hrs!

and finally, last night's dinner was the best! i gobbled down my fish porridge and even had the appetite to have 2 bars of dark choc (: technically i'm spose to be confined to the bed as much as possible but i cant seem to do it. i even attempted doing crunches and reverse crunches but gave up after awhile. the only transport i have now is the wheelchair. so when im not in bed, i'm practicing moves with the wheelchair e.g. parallel parking / wheelie. who knows i might go onto a bunny hop one day!

the constant flow of sms-es which poured in made this recovery phase much better. from the well wishes to the follow up of wishing me a speedy recovery helps (: and i've never seen my mum so concerned and helpful before! though i can manage my way using crutches, she'd insist to support me. and she served me bfast in bed at 7.30am making sure i took my medicine after. talk about motherly love.

so for all you good samaritains who wanna know how i go about with my daily life,

i gotta keep my legs elevated as much as possible, even while im not in bed.
i was given geisha-looking shoes which i gotta don on while walking and it aiint easy balancing on your heels!

my mobile transport

all in all, everythings going pretty well. i just hope my joints wont be as stiff cuz i heard cases whereby the toes came stiff after surgery :/ and im not use to not using water to bathe, and just relying on wet wipes. i dont feel clean!

This is it!

2009-09-16T04:18:25Z

kboxing class with dern was pretty fun aye! we learned the basic punches and kicks. but i gotta work on my flexibility esp in my lower body states the instructor. he said my joints are pretty tight :/ okay so thats one thing i can work on when im home quarrantined.

to the hosp in 15mins and i havent eaten since last night's pizzas at timbre. surprisingly i'm not starving though i'm hungry but still tolerable i guess. oh Sims3 is addictive! i like drowning the sims in the pool by removing the ladder :D then it creates a tombstone. heh heh heh.

Wakeboarding at Ponggol on a Saturday Noon

yuen the pro amongst us

weileng after a round

derrick and his horse stance

thank you all for your well-wishes!

</strong>

Firsts for everything - or is it?

2009-09-12T14:47:08Z

i went for my first KTV session yesterday not singing any chinese songs;
i had for my first wakeboarding experience today at ponggol which i'd love
to try again. im heading for my first kickboxing session with foo on tues!

and im going for my first surgery (under GA that is) in a couple of days time : /

but its my last rowing session tomorrow. well that is if i do turn up.

D-date!

2009-08-24T11:37:59Z

its confirmed. 16 sept - i'd be going under the knife for 3 hrs to realign my bone. i do feel a bit queasy when i think of the whole procedure - the cutting of the skin than the sawing of the bone, drilling of three titanium screws into each foot (that's for life!) and then sewing the wound up. eeouuchh. so till then, i'd have to swim/run/walk all i want.

its mid-aug alr! you know when your too free when you catch 3 movies in 3 consecutive days; Bruno, Orphan & GI Joe. plus The Proposal tmr. you know when your free when you can pop by your palz's house, bring along your external hard disk to transfer songs hohoho. 17th aug was dear foobsy's turn to entering adulthood. typical plan, we gave her a surprise at midnight - but hey she indeed was caught offguard!
and last weekend marked my last row with the team - the 10km row. well technically I highly doubt i can return to the team aft the surgery to train up for regatta. its a sad thing indeed, but sometimes things dont always go our way does it?
<

Stepping into adulthood, 17th Aug
0000 hrs, Sengkang

AustCham 10k row

1230hrs - waxing the canadian's buk boat

1330 hrs - rowing to the starting point

after 45mins of rowing - charging to the finishing line coming in 4th.

I like watchin' the puddles gather rain

2009-08-12T14:36:00Z

i've been bumming for 62 days since internship daze. at times i do feel that i need the income, but at other times i feel so relaxxed knowing i can get out of bed at whatever time, head to the gym when there's least crowd, pop by the library, rent DVDs, laze by the poolside till i fell asleep, meet kinns during her shifts..okay so thats how i've been passing 1,488hrs so far. im starting to get slightly restless, but im gna see an orthopaedic this fri. might be removing my bunion aft 20 yrs of it growing up with me :/ its not causing any major problems but i guess its more of in the long run since its rather hard to find proper working shoes. either that or iwhen i wear court shoes t'll hurt aft just minutes of walking. not hours, but minutes.

i youtubed the procedure of the surgery, read forums on the recovery phase and IF i do go for the surgery (which is most likely) seems like 10k would be my last race and not river regatta :/ i doubt i can recover in time to train. i do feel a sudden tinge of disappointment but perhaps its time for me to let go?

i've been trying to mentally prep myself for this. 2 weeks of being bedridden, a month to two of recovery.
wow. we shall see the outcome on fri. meanwhile, 2 trainings on sun! morning at bedok then evening at kallang. wheewww