Shoes or ME ?
everyday has been raining, took out my new Asic shoes to run again but yet it still slicing into my soles of my
feet, feeling very very uncomfortable in every stride I take, People running around must think I am a poser
wearing such a nice shoes but walking around in it. I should have gotten the Newtons Gravity trainer. I really had
change my stride to a Mid-foot strike. I am thinking of selling the shoe off, can’t really fit into a heel strike,
cause I have to change my stride again, How ? more money and time consume to change shoes. I felt really fast running
on a chi-running shoe. Really pick up my pace (not advertising) but it do feel good cause of the foward motion, but
I am no quitter, once I start I will end with it. THe cushioning is really comfortable for the Asic no doubt about it
but its the breaking into the shoe and changing my form again that is bothering me.
How now brown cow? guess the only thing I can do is stick with it, dont complain, Oh I do run without socks for
training. I think its not really good for the feet. As I think I am getting cracks in between my toes *symptoms for
athletes foot* anyway, dont think I will be buying anymore shoes till this GT2140 worns out, like in 5 years time. or
10000km mileage. Should shoes be worn that far a mileage? or that long a period?
More about sushi ..
Omakase literally means entrust and basically means “chef’s choice.�” The Itamae (sushi chef) is given the opportunity to select what he will serve you for that meal, and since this commands a higher price usually than one would expect, the quality of the meal (food and presentation) and his attentiveness should make it worth your while. This is not your average meal, and it should leave you satisfied, still interested, and encouraged.
The first thing to realize is that
there is omakase and there is Omakase. By that I mean in many areas,
omakase has begun to become popular and the concept has become a diluted experience due to less experienced restaurants jumping on the bandwagon. True omakase should result in careful attention by the Itamae, a great selection
of the freshest fish, seasonal items that you might not normally even
encounter and a presentation far beyond what you would ever see just
ordering a few pieces of sushi. You might be used to your yellowtail
(hamachi) in a roll with scallions, or as sushi, but have you ever had
it cubed and served with a raw quail egg and tobiko? I have seen plenty
of omakase platters with new and interesting presentations, as well as
unique combinations. However in some cases, where lesser understanding
results in a lower quality experience,
what you may end up with is a bunch of sushi items that someone else
chose on a plate, perhaps still tasty, but is not that dissimilar to
what you normally see in an average order. In bad sushi restaurants it
could be a great way for the Itamae hand of items that he may want to
be rid of. Stick to respectable places and you won’t have to worry
about that. With true omakase, the Itamae should be attentive to you
and not just hand you a plate and wander off. Traditional omakase is
also not based on a particular budget, it can be a costly adventure but
well worth it if the Itamae is highly skilled.
Some feel that it is best to not have
omakase at a place where the Itamae does not know your likes and
dislikes, however I feel that the true reason for omakase is to be able
to experience
the best items that are available at that time, and in that case,
knowing you is irrelevant since it is more about what is best at that
moment than what you like. If you only like California rolls and spicy
tuna, omakase is something you might want to skip. However it is also a
great way to discover new sushi items that you may have overlooked or
never thought to try.
If you are new to omakase, you might want to keep in mind what to expect from your meal.
You must be prepared to eat things that you may have never wanted to
try or look like something you may never want to. Generally, it is not
considered polite to leave food on your plate, but then again, no one
is holding a gun to your head. On the other hand, it is not impolite to
say to the Itamae something like “Omakase, please, but no mackerel.”
You can choose to not have sashimi, no sushi, or both if you would
like. Making requests is all part of the Itamae being attentive to you.
In general, it is best to order
omakase at a restaurant that you know. Or one that is well known to
serve excellent omakase. This serving style can be easily found, but to
expect great omakase in a standard sushi place would be a mistake. It
is easy to find good sushi, but omakase takes the experience to a whole new level. It takes years of experience, deep knowledge of the food, and devotion to creating the best meal for the customer that makes omakase great. Anything else is simply someone else’s order.
Ikura is definitely my FAV nigiri
Nokia is doing what ?
I really wonder how will this affect the race of the netbook, I do hope all prices will come down as I am looking to upgrade my laptop, My baby Acer has been with me for over 4 years now, its running fine and still going strong, despite the few upgrades I did to ensure that it keep itself up to date, its still looks pretty run down after so many years of usage, but hey like I always say if its not broken why fix it! lets see whats the price of this Nokia baby ! if its good and within range why not !
Legs N Paddles Report
Boy in Jacket : Hi Can you show me where is the Start Point
Boy in blue: Sure, you can start at the Overweight category where it says Pig House !
Boy In Jacket: Sure Oinkyou ! I mean Thank you *wondering how that guy in blue knew I was a pig
What a sight at 8:00am in the morning ! perfect morning, everything will be even more perfect if there was more cooling wind.
My Transition place, Towel, H2o and Shoe for the short run, NO socks again, Always love running with no socks
All the PFD (personal flotation device) and morning briefing and then we are on the water, from there 8:57am only started as was waiting for wave 2 people to join in the water, so Air horn blare and I started paddling like there was no tomorrow, didn’t know I maintained my 5th position till 3km mark, I really couldn’t keep the kayak straight, hey what do you expect its my 2nd time kayaking after like many years. Didn’t even practice for this, Running is my only vice. 2 other guys cut me and I fell back to 7th place while kayaking, but when I went on land and transit …
That has got to be girls favourite picture, she kept laughing thinking why is there 3 guys waiting for me, me on the transit, see no socks ! haha .. by the time I started running, blazed off immediately I cut two guys who was in 3rd and 4th place. Straight into 2km I felt a stitch, DARN it.. it always happens when I don’t warm up. While running most turn has marshal guiding the run, till we ran till the first sticker collection, number 32 ran a short cut, I told one of the marshal dont know if she is going to report, but I didn’t care, emailed the relevant party to say that number 032 ran a shorter route, I am not in the top 10 but Its dishonesty
I believe everyone should be honest ! No honesty No glory !
coming in after the run, look at the smile on my face, didn’t really push hard, It has always been my style, never push that’s why I never placed or position. I just race to better my own ! its not for fame nor glory. I want to enjoy this for the rest of my life ! anyway ! GREAT DAY
signing off ! !! hope they have more of this in the future, pretty fun and different from normal race day ! Still ain’t found the cash to buy my bike, hope one day I pray hard that my bike will come ! then I can start my Tri-training before transitioning to my Ironman Phase. wish me luck !
My Favourite Itamae (Nogawa-San)
This is about Sushi, I have been reading about sushi so much these few days it sparked my hunger for Sushi, and here’s how to pick the perfect sushi restaurant.
- Eat only at the best place you can find. Many sushi bars are a bit
expensive, but quality usually sucks, so price is no indicator of
quality. Ask Japanese people where they go to eat sushi and go there. - Stick to one or two good places once you find them. Regulars get better sushi and better overall service than casual patrons.
- A good Japanese restaurant is most often not a good sushi place. A good sushi place is usually a good Japanese restaurant.
- Count the number of Japanese sitting at the sushi bar. The more
Japanese people eating there, usually the better the sushi. Remember:
Japanese people are manic about quality. - Most often than not, avoid the restaurants with little boats of
sushi parading along a large sushi bar. It’s a great gimmick, but
remember that those restaurants are to sushi what McDonald’s is to
prime rib. - The only chain of sushi restaurants in the world worth visiting (in fact, I encourage you to) belongs to Nobuyuki Matsuhisa.
Nobu is arguably the best sushi chef in the world, and has opened a
chain of small but high-quality (and pricey) restaurants in major
cities in the US and in Europe.
Warning signs that you probably won’t get good sushi
- The fish and other seafood are not on display at the sushi bar
- The fish and other seafood on display look dry
- The sushi chef or (worse) a food server wants to take your order for all sushi items at once
- The sushi chef doesn’t give you a chance to order “one or two pieces at a time”, Japanese style
- The restaurant advertises “all you can eat sushi” for a fixed price
- The menu items are not listed in Japanese followed by a translation; they appear only in your native language
- The menu consists mostly of rolled sushi with names like California Roll or Oriental Delight
- More than half of the available ingredients are cooked
- The sushi chef hasn’t the vaguest idea of what you’re talking about
if you ask for kazunoko, shiso, inago, chirashi, or yama gobo - The morsels of fish atop nigiri pieces are so large that you can
barely see the rice underneath (believe it or not, some people think
that the sushi place is good because you get big pieces of fish). Big
pieces of fish are good as long as the fish quality is good. - The sushi rice is flavorless; sushi rice must have a delicate aroma and flavor
- The restaurant is part of a chain or franchise
If four or more of the conditions above are met, leave the place immediately and head to a different restaurant.
How to Order Your Food and Drinks
Eating
sushi is not about filling yourself with raw fish. Eating sushi is an
experience–some say a ritual–that involves all your senses. Serious sushi
can only be eaten at the bar because that’s the only place where you’ll
see the colors, inhale the aromas, share the laughter, and taste the
food fully immersed in the environment. Plan on a one and a half to two
hour meal.
- Eat at the sushi bar.
- Greet the other people at the bar and start conversation with them; sushi is about community.
- If you cannot eat at the bar, walk to it and check the quality of the fish before ordering.
- Greet the itamae (sushi chef)
even if you don’t eat at the bar. He’ll recommend special stuff if he
recognizes you as a regular and/or someone who truly knows how to eat
sushi. - Remember that itamae are not just “cooks”. They have traditions
dating back to the time of the samurai. These same guys fed the meanest
leanest macho hombre warriors of Japan. Be respectful and you shall
enjoy the best sushi. - Order all sushi items from the itamae, everything else from the food servers.
- Order sashimi (selection of fresh fish slices) first; ask the sushi
chef for his choice of fish. He knows what’s fresh today better than
you. “Please prepare what you think is freshest,” is the best way to
order. Let him be creative. - Order one kind of sushi at a time, maximum three if the bar is
busy. That could be nigiri, maki or temaki. Big plates are for the
table only. - If you are a regular, let the itamae decide what you’re having and at what pace it is served.
- Don’t rush through your meal. Eat at McDonald’s if you want to eat fast.
- If you’re at the bar and in a bit of a hurry (i.e. have a half hour to eat or so), order a chirashi,
a small lacquered box with a bed of sushi rice, a bit of sugar, some
pickled veggies and a chef’s selection of fish and mollusks. This way
you’ll get all your sushi at once in a single serving and then leave.
Eat it with chopsticks. - Pickled vegetables, sprouts, and some things like ankimo (monkfish
liver) are OK to order from the sushi chef if you see them advertised
at the bar. - Don’t be afraid to ask for things not listed in the menu. Chances
are the chef has them under the counter for those people (like you) who
truly know what they’re doing. Kazunoko, inago, hebo and idtakko fall
in this category. - If the bar is busy and you feel like you can’t wait, order some
edamame (boiled soy beans), suimono(clear broth) or misoshiru
(fermented soy bean soup) to keep you busy until the sushi chef can
take care of you. - Eat sushi with moderation. More than 10 kinds of fish, crab, and clams is too much because your palate numbs.
- Drink green tea, beer, or sake with your sushi. Soft drinks spoil
the taste and white wine is for snobs. Remember there are more than 300
kinds of sake, so at least one will be better than the cheap Chardonnay
they offer by the glass. - If you’re drinking sake, keep in mind that not all sake is heated for consumption. Nigori (unfiltered) sake looks like milk; drink it cold. For hot sake, ask for Sho Chiku Bai. Ask the itamae for more exotic drinks like gold sake (with real gold flakes in it!)
- If the sushi is excellent and you’re having a good time, offer to
buy a drink for the itamae and his assistants. You will discover that
most Japanese itamae drink Budweiser (as observed in San Francisco,
Beverly Hills, Chicago, New York, and Moscow). Don’t offer to buy
drinks during lunch; this is an evening tradition. - Don’t be surprised if your itamae pours you a glass of the special
reserve sake he keeps under the bar if he realizes that you know your
sushi and how to order it. Thank him, raise your glass and toast by
saying “kampai!”. - Tips:
The itamae and rest of the staff are tipped separately unless you pay
the bill with a credit card. The bulk of the tip must go to the itamae.
Whats for dinner ?
Did practically nothing much today just laze at home and was about to sleep, but girl came and poke my nose and made all sorts of jumping maneuver in bed, but still I wont budge, 
too bad, this pig is to solid to budge. Woke up at 4pm to cook, badabing badaboom ! Dinner served at 5.30pm, here is the extensive menu we prepared,, ahem .. I prepared.. okla.. girl just dry out the vege
.
oh so yummy delicious home made garlic bread, made with 6 wholesome goodness ingredients and with vitamin S too, vitamin S is salt if you want to know, The Long Flat Moscato was a good pairing, so please I strongly suggest you should go get a bottle to bring to your friends house to share, it was light and fruity after going with such light ingredient, nothing heavy for dinner, cause going for a race tomorrow, so heading to bed soon, Race Report tomorrow ! Bye Bye
this is namawee
Legs & Paddles
great looking yellow t-shirt, Hahah kind love the yellow colour, also that in another 2 weeks I will be running for the Yellow ribbon run, so waiting for that race gear too, I think there is a yellow cap in it as well. Anyway, will clue you in on the race route for this coming weekend !
SAFRA ARMY HALF MARATHON Post-Race Report
Hey don’t critize my morning look, it was 4.30am and i slept at 2.30am, bad sleep management I know hence the sleepy eye, Anyway was nearly late for my start off, but luckily manage to find a parking and off I go, some army boys actually directed me to the wrong place for bag deposit, this is one half that I didn’t care to plan, cause usually its in the same place, but boy was I so wrong, bag deposit was along the stretch of road rather than at the Padang, so mistake one, nearly cost me a very late starting time, nevertheless microchip time will save me. I think I started at 5.45am, also mistake 2, nearly left my heart rate monitor at the pavement when unpacking and wearing my shoe getting ready. DARN it.. so started running, lucky those bunch of early starters left off early, so more space to run, and boy was I so wrong, I am going to skip 1,2,3 till the 8km mark review cause it was a good run, my 1st km mark time from my watch was 6min, to a 10k would cost me an hour, I sped up till 8k mark saw my watch under 45min, so gained time there,
TILL the bad planning starts around km9 when going into East Coast road, I always train here so I know whats the road width and condition is like, just imagine on a regular day training here would have me zig zagging out of peoples way, let alone a 20k people running event. Had to eventually slow to a jog pace and last checked HR was down to 147- 155bpm so not a good sign, water station had no water, and poor army boys was just had no time to pour the water as hands just kept grabbing cups after cups, so slow crawl all the way in East Coast runway, lost a good 6 to 8 mins there. I am sure some of you felt the same as well, when exiting Fort Road and coming into Mount Batten road was a good breeze, by the time I had miss a refreshment station giving out Banana I know shit I am going to be short of energy hitting 10k mark, and I was so right, by the 15k my legs feeling every pound of the pavement lucky by the next stop there was a banana station, grabbed one and broke it in half saving the other for later, felt better but cause I missed the first banana station I was stopping at every water station and 100 plus, bloating myself with water cause hungry liao ma, never bring power gel this time. I can tell u by the 16k mark my legs felt like a light vehicle carrying heavy load, but still no cramp, just that my engine is heating up, took water from station and pouring over my head, 17th and 18k mark took forever, after the East Coast slowdown, I didnt bother to look at my timing cause I know I wont be hitting my sub 2 already, but lets just put it as it is at the moment, (Still wanna be optimistic) 19k seems like forever to reach, cause my shoes were soaking with 100plus and water, haha and its already eating my last toe of my right leg, now shifting weight to my left leg so I wont blister farther,
20k mark was passing through the F1 paddock, felt so good looking at the magnificent structure and the capability of putting barriers on road which is meant for people in such a short notice really impress me, I actually slowed down to a crawl at this part as my energy kinda like spent, but jogging pace till I heard this song !!! EYE OF THE TIGER by the SURVIVOR , SUPERB timing and REALLY BOOSTED my spirit, started composing myself and running my regular speed again despite aching feet and heating engine. just to share with you if you don’t know the song
after the paddock went under the Sheares bridge to cross the Esplanade , and before turning into One Fullerton, I caught a glimpse of a finishing line, WOW !! I was so happy, sped up even more to that turning and false alarm I tell you, POTONG STEAM, it was the finishing line for the 6km fun run. (see this is to teach me to study map route everytime before a race) Anyway looking right I saw people running towards the Padang and I guess I have about 800meters to go, turning into Jalan Penang Army officer was shouting only 300 meter to go! that felt good ! speed up all the way to the finishing line having a time of 2:15min in my watch, not sure of official timing yet. Dont think it will be sub 2 cause of East Coast, but I wont give excuse to myself, I just say run faster next time.
Some pics to share at the finishing line, Some dude proposed to his GF at the 10k finishing line, it was a great moment for them. I think when the girl was finishing her run he whipped out his card and ask for her hand in marriage, so lovely, 
Pre-race day prep
tried to blog but been block
I am just going to post this two picture, one showing clams steamed with alcohol and I can tell you that its FABULOUS, nothing taste like this and its HEAVEN !! serious.. not one person that I brought to this place will say that the clams are so-so, oh the waiting time, 1hour to 1half on a busy day, normal days prepare to wait for 40min to 1 hours, the other picture is just dried fried beehoon the perfection of the way the cooked it was absolutely yummy !
Oh ya .. accident happend near my place, guess the guy must have fell asleep or either he was going fast and wanting to avoid someone.
Ok I am not going to blog anymore about my trip back .. will blog more later on my goodies bag for these two coming weekend
wake me up when August ends
Land of snailnet
Sugar in your food …
So think twice again if you wanna drink this kind of stuff.. usually I crave for a coke, i will pour half a can of coke into my bottle then I will pour ICE and dilute it with water. Break A leg ! have fun seeing how much sugar is in your food.
Green Day 21st Century
Twitter me timbers
and got myself some twitting account, and found out why people use Twitter. I always wonder why people wanna use twitter, here are the layman terms I would use for twitter
1. its like RSS feed but its BETTER
2. its like updating blog but its FASTER
3. its like keeping tabs on friends but its not SNOOPING
4. its like FlckR but its FASTER
5. its like news but its COOLER
6. its like sex but you are more ADDICTED
7. its like booze but it gives you a HIGH
8. its like drugs but hey its TWITTER
yeah, those are my layman term dividing the fine line between twitter and RSS, Blogging, flicker, news and SEX, DRUG and ALCOHOL !!! sure why not, twitter does all that and more for me. OK not the sex part or alcohol or booze,, need the real thing, *that reminds me I have to visit uncle Jack and Mister Daniel soon, haven’t been seeing them often. Back to the 
. I wanna share this with you guys cause I dont want you all missing out on this. Most people facebook, but I don’t do FB, I just wanna Twit and Blog
If you are still clueless like I am in the first place here is a site that will help you, TWITTER HELP PORTAL <——– click here, I know I did for 3 to 4 times ! Sorry la I know I am a twit !! have fun ! do follow me at http://www.twitter.com/isaac976
Durian Frenzy !
(oh my oh my) lemme open it to show you whats inside of it…
clockwise from top left: Raisin, Blueberry, Strawberry, Lemon, Banana and guilty as charged "DURIAN" muffin !!
No durian oozing out but hey, one bite of it and you are hooked ! I love it cause they use real DURIAN, trust me, its worth the every $1.50 ~!! why am I eating that first rather than the rest? cause its only good for today, as instructed ! NO KEEPING ! sure it’s my pleasure to finish it aunty ! WHOOP one mouth and its gone ! haha .. love the taste of the muffin, my car smelt like durian after Dan and Kim packed for their road trip back. So visit SL muffins in Army Market Food court, if you need address lemme know.
Virgin KTV and Chee Cheong Fun with a Twist
Ok that was YTF story, located at the back of New World Center, if you want the addie i will ask Alvin to put the address in the comments..but really nothing to AHOOO AHOOOO , after that we head down to shoot some pool, aint gonna say much cause Alvin form was not there today, maybe he gimme chance.dont know la.. Headed down for my first VIRGIN KTV trip ! cherry popping music singing ktving !! its at this basement place at "Cuppage" called CASH studio, I didnt know when you go to a KTV they provide you with a tambourine and the CHA CHA, I think that’s how you call it check the pics out
And the best part of this blog is Dinner time, …… am going to skip on the singing session, but will comment on the singing abilities of Alvin, Ashie and BaoBei, what can I say, they must be regular singers for concert or charity performance, they can SING!! I tell you.. they DEFINITELY can sing !! Alvin sing till BaoBei cry and scream with joy ! but dont comment on the Virgin visit to KTV boy ok .. leave him alone.. lets move forward to dinner time, was bringing them to Orange Lantern some viet food but ended up with some COOL Chee Cheong Fun with a TWIST ! have you ever thought of DURIAN chee cheong fun? or even Cheese Lobster? kewl right, well I ordered century egg porridge and the of course DURIAN chee cheong fun, Alvin had the Otah CCF, Serene had the char siew CCF, Allan had the youtiao CCF, I might say, all taste very good wor, specially the DURIAN, it totally melts in your mouth, make sure when they bring it to you, you finish it before it heats up, yes heats up, try it then you know what I mean, but 3 thumbs up for the Durian CCF, er.. that is if I have another thumb la,, the rest of the CCF ok ok la, the porridge reminds me of wan toh sek dim sum in Geylang but bigger portion but same taste..DELICIOUS !! ok post the pics for you to see …
Brutal Fighting !
I don’t get myself involved in this kinda stuff but some of my friends do and they do fight, fighting is just not my vice, I remember the days when there are plenty of gangsterism around my state, It was so rampant that police have to patrol our school area to deter this gangs from recruiting new people into their so called organization. anyway surfing on youtube again I seriously got to put this 80′s fight up, check it out
I know Its not what you expected but its so gawd damm hillarious, but here are the real deal ! this one happened in China and the other one in Malaysia near Johor Bahru at DANGA BAY ! yes .. close to reality as it seems, SAMURAI SWORD boy ! The fight in China got one person killed, not sure about the JB one, maybe two ?
