Venus Run 2013: Celebrating the International Women's Month

March is the international women's month.

I did not know this but apparently March 8 was the women's day. Well, lucky for me I have a spouse who makes each day as my day (wink, wink...), so I don't really give a hoot as to when exactly is the women's day.

Having said that, there are quite a number of festivities in Singapore to commemorate the international women's month.  One of those is the Venus Run 2013 which is organized by the Singapore Athletic Association. "The organizers of Venus Run believe that women can stay strong, healthy, and beautiful through running. Venus Run strongly promotes healthy living through active participation in sports so as to enable women to achieve healthy balanced lifestyles amidst multiple and demanding responsibilities to fulfill at work and at home."

I love the fuchsia runner's singlet for this year's Venus Run co-sponsored by Moving Comfort.


The roles we weave through life.
I am glad that I am able to add Runner as one of them.
And of course, the eternal Blogger-Writer.



With friends and fellow runners Leklek and Ems.
I will soon be missing these events with them.


This year's 5KM competitive run was held at the Marina Barrage, giving the runners a scenic backdrop of the Marina Bay Sands, Gardens by the Bay and Singapore Flyer. Quite a sight to behold on a cool, Sunday morning! I stopped at the 3KM marker to appreciate the view (and yep, had to snap a few shots via my phone that was tucked into my belted pouch...).

Truth to tell, I was still reeling from a recent bout with illness and I was having last minute hesitation, doubting my fitness to be able to finish (what should have been) an easy-breezy fun run. I am glad I had enough will to haul myself out of bed and move those legs.


The Singapore Skyline sight greets you at the 3 KM marker


Whatever is your clandestine role in this life, I wish you a Happy Women's Month!!!

The Five People You Meet in Heaven

"There's a story behind everything. How a picture got on a wall. How a scar got on your face. Sometimes the stories are simple, and sometimes they are hard and heart breaking."

I encountered this book more than three years ago, while I was reading another favorite book-- The Chicken Soup for Children with Special Needs. This book was mentioned in one of the short stories in the Chicken Soup series.

A few weeks after, while scanning the shelves at the bookstore, I saw the paperback edition. I did not bother to scan the reviews for this book so I bought it out because I was intrigued.

The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom is about meeting the people who came to your life for a reason. The setting of the story dwells at the events that happen shortly as you pass the after life. 

After the first few pages, I was definitely, irreversibly hooked. I finished reading it while waiting for Kevin during his Saturday speech sessions in La Marea. The story was riveting and poignant. I shed tears along the way while reading the emotional parts of the story.

Maybe because deep inside I already knew the first person I will meet in that afterlife. At that moment, there was no doubt in my mind as to what the purpose of my own life was all about. Never been clearer.

And I thought, that it would still be best to divine the purpose of your life while you are actually alive, and not have it spelled out for you in death while pondering into winds of eternity and wondering what you could have or not have done. So I raved that this book came to me at a great time.

"So many people walk around with a meaningless life. They seem half-asleep, even when they're busy doing things they think are important. This is because they're chasing the wrong things. The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning."

I also could not help but remember friends, people who became a part of my life.  Most of them stayed on for a while; sometimes a really very short while, so fleeting, before life took me to another phase, another chapter. And there were people who actually disappear in your life, only to come back again, at a portentious time when you actually need them to be there. Such were life's mysteries and blessings.

"When someone is in your heart, they're never truly gone. They can come back to you, even at unlikely times."

I was in my late teens when I began to recognize the fleeting pattern of how people, places, faces passed by my life. There was and I predicted then, that there will be no permanence. Only series of changes. Moving from city to country.  Country to city.  One lifestyle to another.  New places, new people, maybe some friends to be made, friends to say goodbye to someday.  And that patterns never ends. And sure enough until this day, it does continue.

"There are no random acts. That we are all connected. That you can no more separate one life from another than you can separate a breeze from the wind."

That was many years ago and I never understood why.  When you are young and carefree, you may see the patterns of the future but you don’t want to over-analyze things.  But now I know better.  People do come and go in my life, most of them with a special purpose.  And when their mission has been served, we say goodbye.  Some of them do come back.  Some don't.

And that is how it is supposed to be. 

That was how my life was willed to be. So I accept it.

"Sometimes when you sacrifice something precious, you're not really losing it. You're just passing it on to someone else."

But through it all, there were the very few friends and acquaintances, who served as the bridge to my past, the present and maybe well into the future.

"And if you are ever going to have other people trust you, you must feel that you can trust them, too--even when you’re in the dark. Even when you’re falling."

And perhaps, that is why at the end of our life, the metaphorical five symbolizes the ones that truly last forever, not by virtue of time spent with them, but the meaning they were to bring into our lives.

"All endings are also beginnings. We just don't know it at that time."

What's Cooking Up at Cookyn Inc.?

It's the first ever teambuilding event for the AAIJK PS Team!

Arranged by the PS team's self-appointed Chief Entertainment Officer Bharath and with Kanitha's help, the  teambuilding a la Food Network Challenge was set in the kitchen studio of Cookyn Inc. tucked somewhere along the Rangoon Road.


The Wacky Wannabe Chefs

Thanks to Cookyn Inc for the hosting and facilitating the cookfest
and for the pictures for this teambuilding event

We were divided into three teams and each representing a unique cuisine. Takagi-san and team got the Japanese theme. The Spanish cuisine was led by Pepe (of course).  We thought those were pretty convenient set-up.  And last but not the least, my team got the Vietnamese cuisine, not to mention we had to battle it out with only 5 members for the greater part of the competition. We should have named our team Voltes V.

Ready, Get Set, Cook!

Each team will prepare two dishes, the quantity should be able to cover the PS team attendees. The gastronomic value of the dishes will determine whether or not we will have an enjoyable group dinner later after the cookfest!

One of the two dishes is unique to the group's theme and will have to incorporate a special ingredient that was revealed in the middle of the competition.  The "challenge" dish will be common for all three teams (Potato Salad) and will also need to incorporate the second special ingredient. This must be presented in a way that epitomizes the cuisine being represented by each team.

We had one hour and fifty minutes to complete the task, including preparation, plating, poster making and clean-up.  Each team will then have to plate up their masterpieces and and a chosen speaker will have to present this to the entire group with posters/visual aids to boot! Needless to say, our artwork planners were indeed very busy in the dying minutes of the competition!

See the different teams in action!

Getting ready for some serious cooking!

The seaweed as the Japanese team's secret ingredient

Whip it!

Chef Pepe calling the shots!

Andre and Regina in charge of the challenge dish

All done and ready for the presentation



Wrap away !!!

Multi-tasking at its best.
"Hey, start thinking of the poster design while you are peeling the mango and potatoes, ok?"

Can't wait to try 'em!

A closer look at the final products... all world class creations!



Turning Japanese
Strawberry and Green Tea Trifle and their version of Potato Salad ala Sushi Roll

...and I need to get the recipe for this!!!! Yummy!

 

Spanish "El Torero" Team's Chicken in a Parcel and Chunky Potato Salad



A closer look with a dash of the Pimiento powder

The Dai Doi (Great Food) Team's Vietnamese Spring Rolls and
Creamy Potato Salad with Caramelized Lychee, Red Pepper and Onion topping

Top View. This plating also showcases the mango, the special topping and a dollop of the peanut sauce.

And the Winner is... The Vietnamese Team!!!

Creative presentation, clock-work precision and teamwork won the day!

Once in a lifetime chance to win an I-PADdle!

And the final verdict is in the tasting!

Cheers to the PS team!!!

And, it's the moment of truth... Time to taste the dishes!



Seriously Now!



You can say that it has been truly a tough competition, with each team, true to the indomitable PS Spirit, gave their best and also had fun in the process! Campai to the PS Team for a job well done! 

An Evening with The Song of India

It's been quite a while since I've had Friday night dinner with friends. There are too much goings-on lately that most of the time I simply prefer to be at home on Fridays and have a lazy evening and midnight munchies with hubby and the kids.

One of my friend Leklek, organized for us a Friday night dinner at The Song of India together with friends from work.

The Song of India is hailed as one of Singapore's Best Fine Dining Restaurants so I you can tell I'm wide-eyed with anticipation. I've been to India twice and I have an appreciation for Indian cuisine so I was looking forward for this experience.

The restaurant which is located along Scotts Road is actually a restored heritage bungalow from the colonial period era that gives an old world ambiance. Our reservations were slated for dinner so the lighting was toned-down. If it is a dinner date for two, it would probably have been romantic. I read in reviews that others may find this a downer. I suppose the place is generally serene but we didn't quite notice this as we were too busy chatting (a bit boisterously we admit) and laughing! I was seated facing the wall so if the other patrons have been glaring at us, I couldn't tell.

Our dinner was a 4-course menu of kebabs artfully presented in degustacion proportions. I am not a heavy eater so the proportion works well for me because you can try a bit of everything. I consider its hint of spice as mild so if you are not a hot-and-spice-person, this should be perfect.

The appetizer was the spiciest for the night.
This is mild to moderate for me though.

This is part 2 of the appetizer fare. Different types of kebabs.

The entree is called the Art Platter Kebab,
served with warm roti which you can dip into the sauce.

The dessert is a mango and ginger ice cream with fruits.
Followed by milk tea.

I also read they have a great wine selection but since of the ladies still have post-dinner plans, we skipped the alcohol. And I am curbing my alcholic tendencies after weeks of hubby's homemade Mojitos which I am using as my excuse for my muffun tops.

The entree was very good. I like the spiciness of the prawn and the lamb was tender. Yes, I do appreciate a good meal of lamb. There were also different sauce-y accompaniments (forgot all their names), one with mushroom, another with lentils. I miss my all time favorite tikka paneer though.

We had different points of view on the dessert of mango and ginger ice cream. It worked for me. It's not very sweet and I am guessing that aside from ginger, some other mild spice must have been infused as well. Dinner was capped by a serving of milk tea. I actually wanted some second helping of the tea too.

And of course, in between are snippets of stories from our-lives-so-far. Life has been too serious lately so it is refreshing to let your hair down (and have an excuse for glamming up).

Indian cuisine at it's finest. As Leklek aptly puts it, it is a night of good food with good friends. 

Partners In Crime

I had an opportunity to link up with old Cabuyao friends last July 21-22 here in Singapore. The F&HC Offsite is an annual event held in Singapore and the venue this year was the Marina Bay Sands. I'll talk about my MBS experience in a separate blog.

Meeting up again with old friends (...and when I say old, it means our friendships went back from years ago) made me realize I havent really laughed for a long time now. There wasnt really anyone who was good at cracking the sort-of-wholesome kind of green jokes, friends who have stories of misdaventures and mischiefs that could make me laugh 'til I cry, friends who are unabashed at making themselves sound or look silly just for the heck of it, friends who would stick it out despite me being me, and all that history.

Or friends who could listen to your woes and tears when you needed a shoulder to cry on. At one point in my life the past few months, the tears just came streaming down in solitude and I only had the rain to camouflage them.

This is a tribute to my friends from my old workplace. While work will never really cease to stop, the difficult days were easier because you have been there. I truly miss all of you.




My friendship with Ninnie is strengthened by a common clandestine bond. 

"Glo G" and I started out as project partners in 1998 and lunchmates since 6750 days.
Pretty much because we both get hungry by 11am. We also went through many shared EO days at the Plant and who would have thought our future home will be in the same Plant.




With Boss Ed and Ninnie. QA brought us together. In my case, I was their adopted member. Circa CLT days, we called ourselves the original outer circle.



My Kikay Friend at the Plant.
Zarah and I make up the formidable Liquids Initiatives Team then.
With 4 major initiatives per quarter. We were the good cop, bad cop team. Guess Who's Who?

We were batchmates at the B3 College held in SG, had a pact of solidarity.

Mommy Joyce is truly my mother and friend for all season.
Eversince my month 1 in the plant and we were seatmates at the front row of the Cabuyao shuttle.

Jas is my first mentor in PS and also a friend through the many episodes in my life.

One of the Best Team Ever! We were a team but we were also friends. Together we first brought to realization the MPO packaging dream of being Asia's best.

The title "partner in crime" last ended with Dwight so far.
We were friends since Liquids Engg days and we had gone through so many hilarious, forgettable, witty, desperate and argument-laden days. Our friendship even survived despite the expired Hopia- I thought he was being thoughtful leaving me a piece for merienda. He told me later it was expired!