Vaguely Incompetent ...

Just moved to my new place in Ang Mo Kio.  Very tired.  Hooked up the PC and checking that the Internet works.  Back to unpacking now.

Got myself the Xbox 360.  S$490 from E2000 in Funan.  Played a few hours of GTA4, and am loving it so far.

Dragonboat training today was really tough.  8x 1000m.  Heard that Sunday's going to be even tougher.

Hmmm ... had a rather bad night's of sleep last night.  Feeling really anxious about something.  Looking forward to dragonboat training later today to work it out of my system.  The club's really serious about the June race, and now training's been upped to five times a week.  Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday are land trainings, Saturdays and Sundays are sea trainings.

Going to move house week after next.  On Monday the movers are coming down to see if one truck can take all our stuff.  I figure that we're going to have to make some tough choices to throw stuff out, especially the books.

I'm also really keen on getting the XBox 360, mostly to play Grand Theft Auto IV more than anything else.  Although there are a few games that I'd like to get as well.  Problem is I don't really have a nice TV/Monitor to hook it up to.  From what I've read, the 30-inch Dell can't be hooked up to an XBox.  So ... hmmmm.

Visited the Bukit Batok Home for the Aged with the dragon-boat peeps today.  There was some song singing and interaction with the residents there.

As expected, things were mighty awkward at first.  People were ill-at-ease, and didn't quite know what to talk about.  I was fortunate in that the old fella I was with turned out to be rather garrulous.  He spoke mainly in Mandarin, but can also speak English, Japanese and a couple of other dialects.

He regaled us with stories about the Japanese Occupation, including one rather interesting one about how Taiwanese men were pressed into service with the Japanese army, hence creating a group of Hokkien-speaking Japanese soldiers.  Some of those soldiers deserted when they were in Singapore, selling their arms and uniforms to either gangsters or the Malayan Communist Party ... or both.  (His facts seem to loop around a bit.)

The weird thing was, even though he seemed lucid, he carried around a large plastic bag full of rubbish.  He dug out a couple of batteries to give to one of the guys.

And the best part is, when it was time to leave, he offered us $5000 if we could break him out of there.

We turned him down, of course.  But if anyone wants to make some quick money, there's someone at the Bukit Batok Home for the Aged who can make a deal with you.

Just finished another session of Dragonboat training.  Not too bad today.  Did a 4km run, followed by circuit training with weights and then some pool training. 

I'm tried, but I can't get to sleep.  Must be all the adrenaline still in the body.  It's a bit like having too much coffee at night.  I want to knock off, but I just lie in bed looking at the ceiling.  Very annoying.

Also, lots of little aches and pains, strangely enough, all on the right side of my body.  Right shoulder aches, but I think that's from my posture using the computer.  Right elbow hurts like crazy. Been that way for about a month now.  I think it's tennis elbow, and I need to see a doctor for it.  Right ankle hurts on the median side beneath the ankle bone. I suspect it's because I'm using neutral support shoes to run.  I bought some arch-support soles today and today's run was much more comfortable.

In other news, the (limited) renovation to the new place is done.  Now all that remains is to clean up and give it a coat of paint.

I've been keeping myself busy during my break from work.  A quick update on what's happening so far:

- Helped my cousin out running his Laser-Tag game.
- Explored hidden places on my bike (see previous post).
- Got myself certified for CPR.
- Started Dragonboat training ... which is hella tough.
- Trying to get my new HDB flat into a livable condition so we can move in after Chinese New Year.
- Attending the "Basic Exercise Course" run by the Singapore Sports Council, as a first step to getting myself certified as a Fitness Trainer.

And all this in the past seven days.  I'm having a great time.  Money's starting to run out, but I think I can hold off for another month or so.

... To be kinder to myself.  To cut myself a bit of slack once in a while.  To treat myself like a person, instead of being a tool for others.  To take care of myself.  To realize that I'm worthwhile, and deserving of life.

From "Battlestar Galactica: Razor" ... This is awesome in so many ways.