Things to do in 2007
This is not a resolutions list. I repeat, this is not a resolutions list. If it was, I would be a very, very sad person with no ambition.
- Start making rubber stamps
I’m far too cheapskate to buy those overpriced stamps at paper craft shops and the Hobbycraft show, and I have fond memories of making stamps out of rubber erasers. There are pound shops here that sell loads of erasers. The one thing I will spend on is good quality stamp pads and a sharp knife. The goal? Creating my own postcards (as distinct from Artist Trading Cards, I’m not an artist) and notecards. Adding more oomph to the greeting cards I’ve started making. - Get a routine
Neil and I have yet to settle into a daily routine here, and I want to finally join the Scottish SPCA and do some weekend volunteering. Also, while it’s cold, to join the gym and go after dinner during the week. - Exercise my tourist rights
I’m going to explore the Real Mary King’s Close. I will see what’s left of Glasgow’s medieval past. I will go on more walks to see the country. - Visit more cemeteries
Don’t ask me why; I think it has something to do with Singapore’s relentless march of progress, with new condos and hospitals built on freshy exhumed ground. I loved the Necropolis when I visited in 2003, and I’ve been to two cemeteries since I got to Scotland this year. I would really like to visit Craigton and Kirk ‘o’ Shotts.
What are your non-resolutions?
36:53
Not a great time for 5k, but I never walked, even during the hilly bits. Yay!
Now that I’m home, a report. It started raining the moment I made my way to the shuttle bus that would take us to Tanjong Beach on Sentosa, where the run was starting and ending. By the time one of many buses dropped participants near the beach, people were seeking shelter where they could. I was quite concerned about my phone, but I was wearing a top that could protect it somewhat.
I was in the middle of the five kilometre group, which meant a very, very slow start. I found myself running sideways and diagonally frequently during the first 10-15 minutes of the run. Then most of us who were running managed to break free of the tangle of walking bodies, and it was good going from then on, pretty much. I knew it was going to be a hilly route, and I was determined to run the entire course, so I made sure to take care whenever I was heading uphill or down.
The rain was actually rather wonderful; it kept the air cool, so I didn’t sweat much. I wolfed down a banana immediately after, and I even got a small towel (yay, I’m so cheapskate). The serious look I have on my face in the photo is due to the fact that I couldn’t work out how to save pictures from my cameraphone to my microSD card — it only seems to work by saving directly to the phone’s internal memory.
Running (well, jogging) five kilometres wasn’t a problem — which led me to think that I should’ve signed up for the nine.
There was a lot of grunting
My Dopod’s camera ain’t bad! I can’t carry my Cybershot around while I’m jogging, so it did the trick. The resolution leaves a lot to be desired, but it’s great for a quick snap.
Here are some blokes playing a rugby match. I have no idea who they are. One team wore blue shirts that had a colourful stripey bottom half. The other team were (from reading the backs of the teeshirts) Blacks RFC. Rugby Football Club, I presume. There’s a cute story about why they’re called Blacks on their website.
As you can see from the photo below, I have no idea if cameras on phones possess a zoom function.
My liver is pulling on my diaphragm and it kinda hurts
My morning at the gym was bad today. I was late because I’d called my sister with SkypeOut (to try and use my credit before SkypeOut is blocked in Xiamen, destroying market order my arse).
So here’s a tangent. If they block me from using SkypeOut in Xiamen, the time limit on my credit will expire, and I will have wasted Euros for a service I cannot use, because the monopolistic incumbent cannot handle any hint of competition. Useless bastards.
After all my gabbing with my sister, I got to the gym and found myself feeling a little thirsty. So what do I do? I down half a cup of water.
BIG MISTAKE should have scrolled across the projector screen in the treadmill room at that point.
I got a stitch. I am a complete wimp when it comes to stitches; they are worse than a sprained ankle, because they hurt like fuck but technically do not affect how my feet and legs move. When I was in school, my athletics coach advised sucking your gut in when you got a stitch while running. I’ve been trying that trick for years. What she didn’t say was that after you think it’s gone away and you relax, its wee brother (or sister, it’s hard to tell) comes by to exact revenge because you killed their hero.
Try to explain to your guilty conscience that exercise-related transient abdominal pain has caused you to dramatically decrease your speed on the treadmill. I was wracked, wracked, I tell you. Or it could just be the stitch that was wracking, I’m not sure.
On top of having to watch myself very carefully to make sure I don’t fall off the bloody treadmill by having my ankle or knee collapse (and this could definitely happen), I now have to attempt to focus on my breathing to become a ‘left footed exhaler’ and figure out how to breathe with my diaphragm as naturally as possible (I can do it with some concentration, two years in the school choir have finally come to some use).
I’m not the most coordinated person on the planet, so this should be fun. For the studio audience. Goddamn, they won’t even need a laugh track.