Ultimate IVP part 1

No commentaries for this post.. too busy with work. So just uploading some pictures of IVP frisbee that happened over the weekend at Sengkang.

Suburban Run 2009

It is the end of the week and to end it off with a running race really takes the cake. I enjoyed immersing in the racing mood and the weather was great for a 10km run. My running company included the usual suspects : Mentor, Chairman, Troy and 2 other students. The run was good, but the route was nothing to shout about. It was done in a decent time and post-race events rekindled primary school memories when I saw the Milo truck. Milo truck used to be one of the highlights in sports days or cross-country days where every student would flock there and get a cup of thick and smooth milo.

After the race, Mentor, Troy and I headed to Big D's (yes again..) for lunch. Im glad both of them enjoyed the food. We had the pasture-fed ribeye. It is believed that the cows are free to move around in the fields and hence have more exercise which leads to more tender meat. Well, we were not disappointed. The steak was juicy and tender. Flavour was as strong as I would have preferred it to be.

Some pictures from mid-week: I went for night cycling to thomson prata house with Kumar and Weiheng. A mountain bike riding with 2 roadies is no mean feat. Its akin to a celica riding next to a GTR or Porsche boxter. But they were nice enough to ride at my pace. It was an enjoyable ride as the roads were all clear at that time and we just loved having the wind kissing our faces.

Met up with 3 other students that are going Alberta and we discussed some of our travel plans. Now awaiting for the package from UofA. Yay! Excited.. Really Thank God for this opportunity and also nice people to go togehter with.

This week EPS is having their Outdoor camp at Labrador Campsite again. Something which I pioneered last year. Im really glad and proud to see that the outdoor legacy has been continued and I will be dropping by to join in the campfire!

Big D's Grill

After a long hiatus from writing about food, I was enthralled by the rave reviews that I've heard about Big D's Grill. Everyone has been gushing about the quality of the food and I had to go down to give it a try. Today was a great end to the "HELL" week of the semester. 4 ASSignments due plus INSTEP plus training for races really pushed the body to its limit. So it was great to have Jam and Rach to go for a nice meal followed by great music at wala's. (plus the quintessential chicken wings!)

Mind you, when you take a look at how the food was presented, you would think we are at some fine-dining restaurant. Well you only got it half-right, the chef used to work at a fine-dining restaurant but now decided to open a stall at a coffee shop. It really is amazing to find such high quality stuff in a coffee shop! The price was also affordable as we each paid $20 and shared 4 dishes which is great value!

First up: Jamin had the Beer-battered Fish and Chips.

This one is true to its word. You can taste the beer in the crispy batter and the fish was firm and juicy, yeah JUICY.. not the dry or mashy type. Chips were home-cut potato slices. Nicely done.

Crabmeat Linguine: My dish. This one had many people going gaga over it and I could understand why. For $10.90, you get real crabmeat and the portion was substantial as well. My only grouse was that it was a tad dry. If there was slightly more sauce then it would be perfect.

But the picture looked really pretty ain't it?!

This one is the real stunner of the day. Carbonara Pasta. This is as ubiquitious as finding bak chor mee in a coffee shop as what the Carbonara is to an Italian Pasta restaurant.

But No.. we were so pleasantly surprised! IT was so light and smooth on the throat. The sauce was not too thick and overwhelming which was why it was so quickly slurpped up by us.

Finally, the star of the day is the "Rolls-Royce" of pork. This is the Kurobuta Pork Loin.

It is served with mashed potatoes, ratatouille and mexcian beans & bacon. The pork loin was understandably priced at a premium because of its texture. It was marbled with fat and had a robust flavour coupled with a nice chewy texture that was not too soft. Did a cut-up side view so that we can see the fats.. By the way they are on the left side..

It was a satisfying meal knowing that we had great food at a great price! And the best thing is there's still more dishes to try out! I would love to get my hands on the wagyu beef, ragu taglatelle and goulash..

Tonight has been a great way to round off the week. This week has been incredibly tough. And I thank God that he has seen me through it all. Read a note on daily bread, it said it would be sad one day if we cant thank God for anything.

So I really am glad that I can thank God for who he is and what he has done in my life. Oh. and Im so excited about Alberta! Shiok!

The Journey

Its been awhile. A long time in waiting. After weeks and months of administration work, finally there is light at the end of the tunnel! This journey has been tough, not tumultous though, but I thank the Lord and the friends and mentor he placed around me to get me through this period!

After the round 1 of acceptance, I have been confirmed a place at University of Alberta.

I am the only student from NIE going for it. Wanted to see if there were any friends from NIE going then I could arrange something. Oh well, at least there are 2 others from NTU going to Alberta with me in Semester 2.

It has been a journey which i learnt alot, somewhat similar to the race i organised last year. It was very testing and kept pushing me to my emotional and mental limits. It also questioned me how much I really wanted it. Jam said that it was "Survival of the fittest" and that phrase cant be more apt I say! After going through so many obstacles, I asked God, if it was in his will to go coz I dont want to go if it wasnt. Thankfully, I still had peace in my heart and tried my best. I think it was a test of faith and perserverance. Boy am I glad that I hung on.

Special mention goes out to the mentor, who believed in me all this while and telling me to "Just do it la" Haha.. Thanks Sir. Also to JVR, Jam and ET, thanks for letting me air my grouses as well..

Hope to touch the snow =)

Are you going to finish strong?

Today, I fought another battle with INSTEP course matching.

Felt slightly defeated though. But thanks be to God, Dr Teo came to the rescue.

She set me down,talked to me and even went through the possible alternatives with me.

Before I left the room, she said: "Alex, before you leave watch this video first!"

And I watched a video about Nick Vujicic entitled " Are you going to finish strong? "

He has no limbs and was speaking to students about picking himself up after he falls down. He

asked them : Are you going to finish strong?

He said: What do you do when you fall down? you pick yourself up. You can't just stay there..

And then he uses his head and every ounce of muscle he has to stand up. Much to the roaring

applause of the students.

I teared a little. Inspired and motivated now. I went to the tutor and Praise God! He approved of

the course and I went back to give Dr Teo a high- five!

I started this INSTEP journey and now I want to FINISH it strong.

Thank God for his grace and also for an amazing tutor and human being in Dr Teo.

Here's the link for the Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqantZJ6WwM

The 2 minutes of this video will change the way you see things again.

Carnivore @ Vivocity

Today's educational tour on food has opened a new chapter in my gastronomic books.

Visited the carnivore at vivocity with the mentor and it was a new insight gained on Brazilian food I must say.

It has an interesting concept of serving meats on skewers right up to your plate by the wait staff.
It is free-flow buffet and they do have an array of greens to offset the protein paradise that you are in upon stepping into the premises.

The notable mentions are the sausages which were full of herbs, ribeye steak, lamb and fish.
The black bean prok stew is typically Brazilian and its roots trace back to the societal demographics. They were poor and this dish was the best that they could come up with..

Got to apologise that the pics were really bad.. I used my camera-phone as always.

Anyways, I just want to update that im still undergoing the process of my INSTEP application.

Course-matching has been tough but I WILL DO IT.

Pardon me if i may seem sulky/moody/depressed and what-have-you for the past weeks.

INSTEP is an emotional roller-coaster. If you dont believe, can just try applying it.

But the final word is : I AM GONNA PERSERVERE.

For The Lord is my Helper (Heb 13:6) and I shall trust in him.

Pending...

There's a word that came to my mind as I was driving around Bukit Panjang last year in preparation for the race. So I came up with this joke: Which estate in Bukit Panjang has flats that takes the longest time to build?

The answer: Pending !

Get it?! Because it is always waiting for approval.. that's why it takes the longest to build..
Well for the uninitiated, Pending is one of the LRT stops at Bukit Panjang area..Playing a pun on the word.

Pending is a process whereby you are waiting for something to happen. Or rather waiting for something to be approved. We wait everyday don't we? Waiting for that train, the traffic light to turn green, queuing up for food or any other thing..

We can wait expectantly or dread the entire process, better still, some can be oblivious to waiting!
Waiting is a time lag from your current stage/phase to the desired stage/phase of life that you want to be in. Well we don't have the say on this matter. Rather waiting is simply imposed on us..

I have been having things with the label "pending" on it.
My instep, for one, is still pending. I want to thank God that NTU has offered me a place to go for exchange at University of Alberta.
I made through the interviews and got accepted, and now have to do the course matching stuff..

My second metacarpel bone is also still "pending". The cast has been removed. Thank God.
I still have to put a splint for another 2 weeks and then go back for review. Thats a month out from volleyball. Thank God that the tutor is understanding.

Waiting trains character. it gives one patience. so that when you do reach your desired stage from your current stage. It will be much sweeter. Now you never know when that's gonna come or if it will even come. But that's where you trust. If it's in his will the door will be open for you.

I need to. For his timing will be the best timing. Nothing else would. Man are such forgetful creatures and I need reminders of his faithfulness too.

In all, waiting can be a good thing. Though its painful, it sobers you up.