The Rain Will Kill You

I woke up early this morning to go for a run, but the rain stopped me. So I postponed it to the afternoon, and then it's raining again. Damn, I already canceled my afternoon plans just so I could go for a nice 12km run, but then it just had to rain. Am I supposed to cancel my evening plans too?

The thing is, I've done my hardest to prepare for this coming Sunday's 42km...up to a point, and that point was last week. There's this part of marathon training called "tapering", and man, I fucked that up big time, I think. I've rested too much, the weather hasn't been on my side...and now I'm not sure whether I can live up to my expectations.

I got complacent, after running 35km...I thought the hard part was over, but it wasn't. Sigh. Let's just hope for the best. Gonna run my own race.

Katana Umbrella

I want this for Christmas. I want this so badly I'm willing to buy it for myself. It's on ThinkGeek. After an hour or so of browsing around the site, looking for other things I can by, I was ready to check-out, but gasp, horror of horrors, they don't ship to Singapore.

Sigh! How can you ship to fucking Swaziland and not ship to Singapore? I can not comprehend this, I want my Katana Umbrella.

Kanye West is fuckin' ridiculous.

I've been listening to Kanye's new album a lot of late. It's one of the best albums I've heard, full-stop. I downloaded all his work a few years back, and I thought, "This guy's not bad". But his latest album, My Dark Beautiful Twisted Fantasy is on a whole new level. I'd compare it to the Beatles, if I could, and I am comparing it to The Beatles, it's awesome.

"What's a white Beatle? A cockroach," - Kanye West.

He's the best lah. He's a superstar for our day and age. He makes gaffes, like that time with Taylor Swift, but at least he's honest. He plays it straight, stays true to himself.

Go download his album, and buy it. If you have the time, watch the video of Runaway on youtube, which is 34minutes long, a video accompaniment to his album. And check out this interview of his with Rihanna:

Kanye: So what inspired you to have that pink tank on your last tour? That was amazing, when you were sitting on top of the army tank.
Rihanna: I love to combine femininity with a kind of extreme masculine egde, and I felt like the tank is just not a typical thing that you think of when you think of a girl — or in any kind of relation to a girl. Then we made it hot pink. We just added that touch.
Kanye: I mean, people really need to see a photograph — the entire tank was pink. That was a great piece of commercial pop art. Was the idea of that to kind of portray an American Dream — like the fantasy of a this hot black girl sitting on a top of a pink tank?
Rihanna: I never actually thought of it like that.
Kanye: How does it feel to know that you could have any man in the world. Or woman. How does it feel to know that you can turn straight women gay?
Rihanna: Is that a real question?
Kanye: Yeah.
Rihanna: Well … Thank you. I don’t know how to feel about that. I guess that’s flattering.
Kanye: But just to have that level of power. How do deal with it? No one woman should have that much power.

Vampires Suck.

I wish the following images are fake. With all my heart, I thought to myself, let these be bad photoshops. But they're not. They're real, and if you go to this link, you'll see proof.
http://browseinside.harperteen.com/index.aspx?isbn13=9780061962257






































































These association with Twilight kinda cheapens the classics, know? I'm sure the authors would be somersaulting in their graves if they knew their works are being promoted by Twilight, of all things. Twilight barely qualifies as literature, to me. I don't mean to take away anything from Stephanie Mayer and I respect the fact that she was able to produce 4 books. Writing is no mean feat.

I respect her, but I hate her books, so there. Cliched, bordering on fanfiction, with cookie-cutter characters. Oh, it reinforces this idea of girls=damsel, which I'm against, because I'm a male feminist. I'm cool like that.

Me VS 42km

I just finished yet another long run! And this one was the longest. Close to 35km, my god! The thing that really made this long run special is that...I didn't walk. Not for one bit. My previous long runs reduced me to a walking casualty around the 30km mark, but not this one. I was fully prepared.

I have this sort of ritual I do before I go for my long runs. It includes all the following items, without exception:

-Emptying my bowels off whatever's in there. Which means sitting on the pooper. As I sit there, I'll read whatever issue of Runner's World or Triathlete I have, for inspiration. The athletes in there do way more grueling stuff than me, and I take refuge in the fact that whatever I'm going through, they're going through worse.

-Peeing twice. Once just before I take a dump. And another time just before I leave the house.

-Drinking coffee! Caffeine really helps in the long run. Heh.

-Applying plasters on my nipples. Nipple abrasion is a real killer! I've seen photos where nipples are literally bleeding through some runner's singlet, and it's not pretty.

-Tying my shoe laces three times. My laces are really long, so I do it once, then another, and then another just to be safe.

-Eating two bananas. This will be done within the one hour preceding my run. The bananas are a real life saver, especially if you're going for more than two hours.

-Checking to make sure my running gels are ready. Running gels really help. For anything more than 21km, they are a life saver. They give you a real boost. It's like those video games, whereby you're out of health, and you need a health pack. Those running gels are like your health pack. They work, trust me.

-Making sure that my 100plus is ready in the fridge. After my long runs, I'm really really thirsty.

-Ice-pack in the fridge, ready. Again, for the aftermath of a long run. Icing and massaging saves your legs.

Hmm, that's all I can think of for now. I'm sure there's more stuff I do. All this takes like...45minutes? And after the run, I've a sort-of ritual too, but that's for another time.

I'm on a runner's high :)

Hard life?

Finally, the photos for the New Balance Real Run 2010 has been uploaded online! OK, for runs, the organizers usually hire companies to take photos of runners. The company takes a gajillion photos, and using some number recognition system, they can send you photos of yourself as you're running.

For the New Balance Real Run, the photos have been uploaded here: http://sportsphotox.com/. You need to register, so take note. And even when you do register, there's a watermark. You need to pay for the version without watermark.

This is my photo. I look like crap, but with running, you don't go for glamour. You go for glory!


















Heading for the Anime Festival Asia later. Why? Because it sounds like an experience? Have a good Sunday!

Smelly Feet, Smelly Feet

I went to my friend Jonathan's house today, and together with our classmate, Moses, we worked out at the gym. In my bag was my clothes, plastic bag, towel, protein powder, etc. I was carrying my shoe bag too, which contained the smelliest pair of shoes in the world.

If you've read my post yesterday, you'd know that I went for a damn long run. And that I go for runs almost everyday. How often do you think I get to wash my shoes? And how often do you think I wash my shoes? Zero times. Through rain, puddles, wind, sand, the best and the worst of the elements, I ran through them, and with me, my shoes.

And they're damn smelly. I'm standing on the train, reading my book (this time, it's Kazuo Ishiguro's When We Were Orphans, which is getting good), with my shoe bag between my legs, and I can smell the condition of my shoes. If my shoe was a mammal, it'd be a skunk. If my shoe was a pokemon, it'll be that skunk pokemon whose name I can't recall.

So my thoughts of Pokemon and smelly shoes led to thoughts about evolution and our feet. What if...we evolved into our upright position...just to escape our stinky feet? Us, Human Beings, are the only creatures on this planet which are bipedal. Our ancestors walked, or scurried, on all fours. Then they thought, holy shit, our feet are smelly. And then they focused millions of years of evolution and ta-da, we're standing on two feet.

Nice theory, no? And that's a wrap!

If you can't French Toast, then how do you expect to French Kiss?

I ran for 3hours this morning. Holy shit, I felt like dying.

The Singapore Marathon is about 20+ days away from now. I've been training hard for it, trying to run 42km within 4hours. Why 4 hours? It just seems like a nice round number. I ran my previous marathon at a timing of 4h25mins. Trying to shave off 25minutes is no easy feat...but I'm trying my best.

I've been training hard, running at least 5 times a week. I do 2 easy runs of 8 to 10kms, one 21km run at marathon pace, one interval run for speed and finally, the worst part of the training. The long runs are the worst. I started off at 1hr30min, and I add 10min with every passing week.

What's running to me? It started off as a way to lose weight. Now that I've shed the weight, why do I still run? It's primal, in that I think it satisfies an innate need to cover large distances...before modern transport, that's how we moved after all, with our foot. It's also spiritual, in that through running, I find time to reflect, and think, as well as clear my mind, and be at peace.

And it's mine. Nobody can take my runs away from me, you know?

With that said, this will probably be my last marathon. I'm not quitting running! I'm just quitting this distance. I'll do half-marathons, because that's more manageable. Seeing as how I'll be working during the Adidas Sundown period, and I'll be studying during next year's Standard Chartered period, I doubt I'll be able to find the time to run as often, and as much.

Oh, and I don't want to subject my body to such fatigue again, hahaha. It's satisfying, but...I can be satisfied at 21km too.

Route for this year's 42km, for your viewing :)

This would be a better place if I was the President.

You know something that really really annoys me? People who stand on the right side of the escalator, that's who.

We take escalators everyday. They're god-sent; automatic stairs which bring you up heights of 10metres upwards. You don't have to break a sweat because this machine is literally lifting your lazy ass! Of course, the magic of escalators is that you can use it as stairs at the same time, shortening your journey even further.

Escalators are everywhere. Let's take my journey to camp for example, and count how many escalators I have to ride.

At Tanah Merah Station, I take one down to the underground, and then another to the control station and finally another to the platform. That's THREE.

I would ride said train all the way to Paya Lebar. At Paya Lebar interchange, I take THREE escalators just to get to the Circle Line Platform. This brings our total to SIX.

I would take the Circle Line to Bishan, and from Bishan, I would take the Red Line to Ang Mo Kio, but before that, I've to make my way on foot to the Red Line platform. To get there, I take TWO escalators, bringing our total to EIGHT.

I finally alight at Ang Mo Kio Station. To get to the control station, I take an escalator down, then I take another to get to the underpass, and then another up to the bus interchange where I would take 169.

What's our grand total? If you've been keeping count, it's freaking ELEVEN. And if I have to go back and forth camp that day, it'll be TWENTY-TWO ESCALATORS.

Most of the time, the ride up the escalator is a pleasant journey. If you're lucky, there'll be a girl wearing a short skirt riding slightly above you! If you're lucky there'll be girls on the other side who are gorgeous. If you're unlucky, you'd be rushing up/down the escalator, and some dumbass would be blocking your way.

I hate to cite anything from stomp, but here's a picture to illustrate my point better:














It's damn irritating! When the train is right there, but some gay is blocking your way....oh, it makes my blood boil. Most of the time, I'd just say excuse me, but what if the person blocking the way is several steps in front? Nothing you can do but suck thumb.

Here's what they should do: Install tasers on the right side of the escalator. If you stand there for too long, electric shocks would be sent through the handle, or the platform, and you'll know you're doing something bad. Deceptively simple, yet shockingly effective.



Or they can color the handrails a different colour. It'll be a visual stimulant. It can be red, and they'll think danger, and they won't stay there for an extended period of time.

Simple right? Riding up/down those 22 escalators would be orgasmic if I was the President.

Cheapskate Inception

I had a conversation with a friend whoORD-ed only recently and he told me my blog was a little gay. And after reading my previous two posts, I'm inclined to agree.

Bet let's take a step back and consider the fact that I'm just starting out, and that I've been rotting in army for 2 years, and in fairness, the "gay" tone is to be expected. So just give me sometime, and eventually, I'll find my rhythm.

I'm not even sure of what this blog is supposed to be about. I envision a sort of outlet for random stuff that I do, but that's not enough is it? Or maybe a wall where I put up all sorts of things I find on the net? Like I said, I'll find my rhythm.

And here it is: Cheapskate Inception!

Don't rain on my parade.

Doesn't the Vivocity logo look like a penis? Oh wait, I just googled Vivocity, and apparently it's VivoCity! Who knew?

Anyway, to get back to the subject I raised earlier (penis), the VivoCity logo is most certainly phallic. There was a time when I was in JC when I took a bus to VivoCity to take another bus to AC. Inadvertently, as I wait for my bus, my eyes would fall upon this logo. And the thing about the VivoCity logo is that it changes color. This color change thing is what drew my attention to it, not it's penis-resemblance.

"Oh, look at the way that logo changes color. How nice. Oohh, penis! It's a penis!"

Here are some images for your reference:










































And here's a picture of a real penis for comparison:

































Nah, I'm not gonna post obscene image. Unless that's what you want, and if so, I got a gajillion. It's the "O" man, the "O" is a phallic-head.

So now, whenever you're at VivoCity, you've got something interesting you can point out to your friends. At the risk of sounding like someone who has "penis" in their minds too much of the time...

Which brings me to something I'd like to clarify: This post by no means sets the tone for my blog. This penis post will be a one time thing. Hard as it may be, I'll strive to keep my posts strictly on matters above the belt.

PS:This update was supposed to have been made yesterday. I was supposed to leave camp at about 2 and then make an update, but I ended up staying until about 6. So I shifted the intended update to yesterday night, but I ended up meeting my cousins to hang around and then some JC friends to play LAN, and reached home only at 12. So I shifted the intended update to today, after my planned run. But it's raining, so here I am, instead.

See you babes.

If this isn't nice, then what is?

Hello everybody, I'm back!

I was an avid blogger a few years back. My blog (raymond-angelo.blogspot.com) was all the rage in my secondary school, and in JC, some people read it and so on and so forth. I was hot shit. But then I went off to serve my country, and this resulted in infrequent postings and an eventual lost of interest.

Seeing as how my two years of NS are coming to an uneventful conclusion, involving me clearing weeks of off and leave, I'm here right now trying to regain some sort of my former glory. First the facebooksphere, then blogosphere, then the twittersphere and then the World.


Let me tell you a little bit about me. I can take the conventional route and blabber on (which I fully can, I can talk about myself non-stop, I swear)...but I'll let you know more about me through...SONG. And by song, I mean Facebook profile pictures.

I was born in 1990 in a shitty (I'm assuming) hospital in the Philippines. I grew up, and I grew big, on a diet of rice, cheese and milo. My childhood was straightforward enough. I spent my days running around, playing catching, playing Playstation, watching anime and things like that. Raised by my grandparents a province in Philippines, I grew up kinda sheltered and kinda spoilt, and fat. In the picture below, I'm the swell looking guy on the left.


















On the year 1998, my family made the move to Singapore. Hmm, it was difficult at first trying to adjust. Suddenly, speaking tagalog wasn't possible. Even speaking english (because of my accent) wasn't easy! My classmates didn't make fun of me per se, but they still found it strange. I got used to it, though. I went through primary school with OK grades, which could have been excellent if it had not been for my Malay results.

I went on to Queenstown Secondary School, where I spent my formative years, made many friends, found love (?) and lost weight. I don't have a profile picture of me in Queenstown Secondary, because everybody was still on the Titanic that was Friendster back then, but I had the time of my life over there. I was in the best class, had good friends, and I didn't go through it without achieving some stuff. Our debate team was champs, I got valedictorian, oh and I made out with O-level results which got me to...

ACJC. Things were different in AC, but still fun! My studies didn't do so well, but I think I had a great time, anyway. I joined council, debate, the school magazine, made lots of friends and farted around. Here's a picture of me talking shit during Orientation. Knowing me, I was probably telling a penis joke, or a knock-knock joke.


















And then NS came, and suddenly, I'm in green. I can't say much about this, so I'll just...put these three pictures, you figure out everything else from there.








































What do I do besides NS? Hmm, I hang out with my friends and try all sorts of things. Rock climbing, tennis, swimming, LAN, cross-stitch, gym, cooking, guitar...I dabble in a little bit of everything. But amongst all the things I do, there are two things which you can say I love. Firstly, reading, and secondly, running.

I'm into all sorts of fiction, but I prefer funny books. I read Kurt Vonnegut, John Irving, Franz Kafka, Haruki Murakami, Kazuo Ishiguro...yeap, those from the top of my head.

As for running, I like to run 5 times a week, at least. It's a spiritual experience for me. It's healthy, and it clears your mind. It allows you to push yourself, and exceed yourself. Oh, and you can never lose. Below is a picture of me finishing my first marathon in 4h25min!
















I've embarked on this quest to find a girlfriend. I made a resolution at the beginning of the year to find one by the end of this year. If you refer to your calendar, you'd see that I don't have much time. So ladies, feel free to feel me.












Yeap, so that's about me. I'm finishing my NS in a month's time. I'll try to update here at least once a day. Routine is something I'm able to follow quite strictly, so you won't be disappointed.

Oh, and I'm random and that's a good thing, right?