to touch and to feel, to love and be loved

My new ride

Well, I should blog about my New York trip first, since i collected my bike only after i returned, but i just can't resist =)

Proud owner of a spankingly-beautiful Felt AR4:

Demonstrating how light it is:

And off i go!!!

Post-ride comments: it felt really smooth and responsive. Carbon fiber is the way to go, good balance of stiffness and comfort. The Ultegra drivetrain shifts accurately. And the bike is well-fitted to suit me =)

I bought a new bike!!

Went for my bike fitting appointment ytd. it was rather professional, with sensors and image capturing. we started off by a simple Q&A to find out my biking needs, usual distance covered, race goals etc. Then it's up onto the static bike for image capturing. after taking my measurements and observing the way i pedal, the fitter then went to do up some formula to see which bike can accomodate me. reason being, i'm quite weirdly structured: i have a long upper body and arms, and shorter-than-normal legs, for a person of my height. the fitter actually made me go onto the static bike again after he done up his formula just to confirm it. I neglected to tell him this before we started the fitting.

So, the usual sequence is that the fitter comes up with at least 2 recommendations according to the formula he done up. For my case, he took much longer than CJ, as my body shape will mean that i have to use a medium frame, but my short legs means my seat post will be rather low. according to the fitter, this will make the bike less able to take shock from potholes or bumpy roads. But i figured i won't be riding on such rough conditions anyway. one of the choices included the one i had already made up my mind to get. I did think through the merits of the second option (Ridley Excalibur, a Belgium maker), but the Felt AR4 '09 version was going at a clear-out price as the '10 bikes are already available, so i just couldn't give it up.

Here's a pic from the website:

A summary: full carbon fiber bike, aerodynamically shaped frame, internal cable routing, Shimano Ultegra SL drivetrain, and Felt AeroR3 wheels to complete it. it doesn't come with pedals, so i'll have to install that at the bike shop, together with a cyclometer, decided to go with the Cateye Strada Wireless. was up till 2am last night to do online shopping, managed to find Giro Ionos helmet (one of the best out there) and Sidi T2.6 carbon tri shoes (one of the best out there), both at half price off or better!! i'm so proud of myself =)

my first week (cont'd)

As promised, a photo of my license plate:

Funny thing is, i realised i haven't taken any pics with this car. maybe cos i find it boring...

Anyway, we went to the beach on sat, and it was my first encounter with the Atlantic Ocean. So now i have the privilege to say that I've seen 2 different oceans, the other being the Pacific.

Trying to be artistic, and capture how clear the water is. failing miserably...

and this is the first meal we cooked together!

I realised my blogging can never catch up with what i'm doing, cos i'm always doing research on online shopping instead of blogging. and i haven't been taking enough nice pics to put up anyway. but i'll try. This weekend i'm doing a road trip on my own. Going to the National Navy UDT-SEALS Museum for the open house and listen to this talk, and hopefully get some nice souvenirs. After that i'll be visiting St Augustine for some shopping and sight-seeing, followed by Jacksonville to meet Jessica's sister. There's a Sea & Sky Spectacular at Jacksonville, but i'll only go if time permits, cos i guess it'll be the same as the Miramar Airshow i went to last yr, with the Blue Angels performance and the static displays. I'll blog abt my road trip next week, and also abt all the stuff i bought so far =)

My first week here

Been wanting to do up this entry since tues (hence the title), but was down with a cold the past few days.. Well, things are quite ok now, after all the silly things that happened to the group before i got here. to cut a long story short, the house we are renting is apparently in the process of foreclosure. After talking to the landlord and checking the relevant legislation, we concluded we are safe to stay here for the next 4 months, and won't be forced to evict by the bank. it was quite weird when i arrived without knowing all these, cos i found the house to be sparse, and the guys didn't buy crockery and cutlery etc. but now the house is more equipped, though with only basic items.

before departure:

Never seen Changi Airport this empty and quiet before.

At Narita Airport:

At Atlanta Int'l. Ipods are actually sold at vending machines here!

Finally touched down at PBI, after more than 24 hours!

missed my connecting flight from Atlanta as the flight was changed to a different concourse, and i just missed the airplane by minutes. The service staff managed to put me on the next flight which was 1.5 hrs later, but that flight got delayed by a good 45 mins. well, at least my luggage was still waiting for my at PBI, was so worried that someone else might have taken it away...

My room (with an attached bathroom and balcony):

The attached bathroom:

My room, after getting a bedsheet set and a floor lamp. the bedsheet set is made of 400 thread count, 100% egyptian cotton =)

I bought a foldable table and a gym ball which doubles up as a chair a few days after. The room still look a bit sparse due to the size, thinking of getting a nice picture frame and plastic flowers to decorate it up a bit.

Update: bought a car, a '02 Honda Accord 4dr EX. registered it 2 days later and got a rather nice car plate. I'll upload a pic of it soon.

What i got for my birthday this yr

well well, what a year... I received some birthday cards, including one from my brother in Florida and one which is a cute stitched-on card. Not to forget the many well-wishes over sms, msn and facebook. Singtel gave me a pleasant surprise, 200 extra free minutes for the month. Maybank gave me 50% discount on tr'eats redemption, which i'm using to get Krisflyer points.

SAF gave me a 5 year good service medal:

just a coincidence that it's awarded this month, nothing to do with my birthday.

i bought a watch for myself: Sinn 356 Flieger from the Hour Glass.

look at the fine detail. simply elegant and yet quietly rugged.

it hase a sapphire crystal case back, to provide a peek into its movement.

it looks good with the rest of my flight equipment =)

and not to forget the most special one...... YOU!!

i'll miss you...

my cousin left for japan, and now i'm one close fren less to hang out with... haiz... though we only became really close after i was in nus, i treasure all the advice you had given me at times when what i needed was an honest opinion, when no one else would have gotten through to me. now i'm glad you found your happiness =)

your fav polariod!! i think it's becos of the colour combi (not the photographer's skills...)