The Pool. Finally.

#2 writing this Eid weekend. 

And I want to remember this exact moment. FIRST SWIM OF THE YEAR. 

I felt so so so so good, and finally, RH opened up the gym and the pool. There has been so much queries about the re-opening on the FB chats, and finally...

To ensure safety, there is a booking system. You can only book a day in advance to use the facilities, for a 2-hr slot each. We decided to swim today, at the 10 - 12 slot. And because it's hot hot hot, it was so good.

Right now, at 44 deg. 

I was a little surprised when I arrived at 10am. The queue.... was so long. And I suspect some folks did not book in advance, and there were so many lengthy discussions and arguments to get into the pool, which was... terrible. The same queue was both to admit entrance to the pool and gym, as well as for booking the next day, and so it was a terribly slow crawl.

And there were so many people behind me too. 

Nonetheless, when I finally swam, the water was so so nice and relaxing. Steve joined me half an hour later. Towards 12pm, the crowd cleared... mid-day would possibly see less folks because of the searing heat. 

We mused a little. Maybe because of the restricted timing and the need to adhere to the booked slot, the sense of urgency, and the sense to "make full use of the slot" became very acute. We stayed right till 12pm. Haha. Which, is possibly the longest time I've spent in the pool. The other swimmers in the lap pool were familiar faces - the korean daddy and daughter, a man whom I felt looked like Raven (in "Running with Raven"), and English Obaasan, and a French woman? And oh, a Korean mama in bright red swimwear. The other side at the fun pool - kids and families were just wading, and playing with their floats. 

A swim really relaxes the whole body. It's also good for the joints. I dunno how many laps I did today. In between, there was small chatter with neighbours. In between, I stretched a little. 

So happy - this warm, relaxed feeling. 

And we'd be going shopping soon. Yay. Eid Sales. I wanna just have a good meal, enjoy my time with @steveywonder, talk, and buy many many things. :-D

Kindness and Generosity

I think there will be quite some writings this weekend. :) It's been another blast few weeks where time flew by, and this weekend, is a long weekend because of the EID holiday. 

I woke up so early today; twice, once at 430am, another at 7am, and took Kenji for a nice long walk. He's grown older, slower... and his walks are also shorter, with moments of rest in between. But, he is still my darling, my love, and I just love to spend time with him at one of our new favourite spots, sitting down and resting a little, letting the hot humid air whiff by us at times. 

As I walked and counted my blessings, it's been last week where I had a really cosy and happy fellowship with Lily. It's been more than half a year since we last met f2f, I think maybe close to 9 months perhaps, so the fellowship was all the more sweeter. I went over to her place, and was so blessed. She made so much food for me.... just for tea munches. Coupled with 2 bottles, and with a very nice backdrop of the Corniche and her house, I just felt it was a really very lovely afternoon. :)

I was touched by the genuineness, generosity and the kindness. She used to be my neighbour at Rihan Heights, and then, I'd go over to her place for chicken herbal soup, and cheese and wine. :) So, she hasn't changed at all - still looking very fabulous, and still shares so much stories. 

I told Steve I really enjoyed the fellowship because it was a chat around family, values, loved ones, and keeping each other updated about life. Her son has returned to Singapore to serve the army, and so, how time flies. I also always love to listen to her stories about her SQ life, and the various relationship experiences and adventures she has had. So time flew that evening. We chatted... until the skies turned dark, and it was soon almost 8pm. 

Some days, as I think about where life has brought us, I feel so thankful for my own life journey and adventures. A friendship like that with Lily has brought me to also know her sister and her mummy. Sometimes, it is just amazing how connections are formed. 

Really blessed. Thank you Lily. 💓

Running and Election Fever

Reading Murakami Haruki's book on "What I talk about when I talk about running", and I am enjoying it so much. I can identify, and resonate with the talking in my mind, the whole thinking process of running, as well as him weaving in his novelist career into this running memoir.



灵感。 so important when it comes to writing, and to find ideas, flow and that writer's well. His book is a mixture of both running and writing, and I am just enjoying it this warm summer day.

This last 2 weeks have been election madness in SG. I was following and watching all the rally speeches constantly, until last Wed, when I really felt tired from all the online negativity, and varying degrees of shaming. Thurs was cooling day; and Friday, we stayed up all the way to watch the results. Unsurprisingly, PAP won, and unsurprisingly, they won narrowly in particular wards, and unsurprisingly too, the opposition party started to feature more prominently. I do have a lot of thoughts too, and I for one, think the outcome has been a good one. So many authors and writers and columnists I read today - I resonate with. Even till today, the news is awash with this election. I think National Day next month is a great timing - that we must all, whether PAP or opposition, together forge SG forward.


On Friday night, curled up, watching the election, with WA abuzz from friends discussing results together. :)) Living overseas, however, it is not that easy to vote. The voting centre here in the Middle East is in Dubai. I can leave Abu Dhabi to vote, but the borders restrictions might mean I cannot re-enter Abu Dhabi unless I am tested and cleared of covid.

Election aside, the next biggest thing this weekend was that I bought my Nike Zoom Fly 3. Finally.
I've heard good reviews about this pair of shoes from my sis (and she has 2 pairs!!) and from a few other runners. It sure costs much more, and I thought - ok, maybe I should check it out since there are some sales here. Original price was 749AED. And there was a 40% discount... for erm, the brightest pink pair only, at 475 AED. The other colours like white-washed, greyish-black, blueish... all no discount... so I thought for a while. And I bought the bright pink pair. The nike guy told me it's very beautiful. Bright pink. I laughed. Hahhaah. I said that it's more likely that the colour cannot sell so well and that's why there's a discount. He then told me he shaved off like almost 1 min off his run. I said - wow.... but don't bluff. Haha, but I bought the bright pink pair in the end, and was very eager to try it.


And va va voom.... my timing really improved. I was lamenting recently that I am becoming a more terrible runner. From 5plus, to 6 min, to 6:30, to 6:50, to 7:15... oh my gosh... as the weeks passed, the timings are getting worse. Of course, the weather is also getting more humid, and the temp higher. I never really watch out for the timing. Most importantly, it's because I really just want to run and feel so good after all the sweat. And.... va va voom... my timing really improved with this pair of powerful pinks. According to RunKeeper, my average this week is now 6:35, compared to 6:52 last week. Oh my gosh... and my wonderful husband says it is because I 心里作用。 哈哈哈。

My timing today was also better than yesterday's! Haha. Next week maybe I will wear my Adidas boost and see if it's really the magic of Nike zoom fly 3.

And so, back to this running memoir I am reading. I am at Chap 4 now, and Murakami Haruki explained how he started his running journey, what kept him at it, what goes on in his mind when he ran, how he benefitted from it, how it resonated with him as novelist, and I am surely intrigued.

For me, my main motivation to run somehow is the good feeling - the body-spent feeling, body-on-fire feeling, the unceasing sweat feeling - at the end of the run. Where finally, I can just stop, breathe, lay there, and feel my body get in tune with just nature and me. That, is my primary motivation to run. And that, is something I've kept at since I returned to Abu Dhabi in March, every weekend, save for 1 Saturday. It's such a beautiful discipline, and I really just enjoy the post-run feeling. I know that if I ponder if I should start to run, especially on days when I feel tired, I should just-do-it. That's because otherwise, I also spend and waste more time about whether I should run, or not. So if I just-do-it, just one hour later, I will reap the most wonderful and enjoyable feeling of the run.

I am at this part where Murakami talks about the ingredients of being a good novelist. Talent, Focus, Perseverance. So so good.

Run on, and keep doing my best.