Yipee!! new pair of running shoes!!

wow.. what a touching story...

standby some tissue paper

The whole IMF thing is finally over.. it was an something i was looking forward to, a global event which seeks to solve problems, such as those plaguing impoverished countries the world over, climate issues, human rights, etc etc.. but somehow it didn't impact me one bit at all. rather, i was naively hoping for it to end asap, so that our ships doesn't have to do so many extra patrols.. sigh.. what have i become now??

singapore has been praised for doing a great job in organising the event, with many delegates and commentators highlight the beautiful garden city, the safety and security coverage and the efficiency normally associated with our country. but somehow i feel that there wasn't any effort to engage the s'poreans. rather, we were only asked to "smile" and be a good host. perhaps it was only meant for high-level pple and those accredited activists. perhaps we were not thought to be capable to engage in any debate or forums or discussions.. hmm.. oh well...

i went down to suntec once last week, was rather empty. kinda cool to do shopping in such a quiet environment, haha.. had to walk a long distance just to get in though. took a pic of a large banner proclaiming "Welcome to Singapore!!" but i took it in such an angle to show it just above the cold ugly fences they put up around suntec. haha.. turned out too blur, so i'm not posting it up..

thought of the day: by giving more voting power to those developing countries made-good, don't we get back to square one? what happens to the smaller poor developing countries that needs help the most?

every great achievement.. was once considered impossible...

nice?

a japanese brand. not sure if it's found in singapore. there's a website. kinda cool, huh? the frame design seems to "copy" many features from other bike manufacturers. the vertical oval shaped seat stay, the teardrop shape for the top tube, etc etc.. a hallmark of japanese enterprise, perhaps?

Terry’s Letter Requesting Support For His Run

The night before my amputation, my former basketball coach brought me a magazine with an article on an amputee who ran in the New York Marathon. It was then I decided to meet this new challenge head on and not only overcome my disability, but conquer it in such a way that I could never look back and say it disabled me.

But I soon realized that that would only be half my quest, for as I went through the 16 months of the physically and emotionally draining ordeal of chemotherapy, I was rudely awakened by the feelings that surrounded and coursed through the cancer clinic. There were faces with the brave smiles, and the ones who had given up smiling. There were feelings of hopeful denial, and the feelings of despair. My quest would not be a selfish one. I could not leave knowing these faces and feelings would still exist, even though I would be set free from mine. Somewhere the hurting must stop... and I was determined to take myself to the limit for this cause.

From the beginning the going was extremely difficult, and I was facing chronic ailments foreign to runners with two legs in addition to the common physical strains felt by all dedicated athletes.

But these problems are now behind me, as I have either out-persisted or learned to deal with them. I feel strong not only physically, but more important, emotionally. Soon I will be adding one full mile a week, and coupled with weight training I have been doing, by next April I will be ready to achieve something that for me was once only a distant dream reserved for the world of miracles – to run across Canada to raise money for the fight against cancer.

The running I can do, even if I have to crawl every last mile.

We need your help. The people in cancer clinics all over the world need people who believe in miracles.

I am not a dreamer, and I am not saying that this will initiate any kind of definitive answer or cure to cancer. But I believe in miracles. I have to.

Terry Fox, October 1979

A single dream. A world of hope.

Run for Hope 2006. Anyone interested in doing his/her bit for charity? Sunday 17th Sep, held at sentosa. click here for more details.

About Terry Fox

Terry Fox was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and raised in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, a community near Vancouver on Canada's west coast. An active teenager involved in many sports, Terry was only 18 years old when he was diagnosed with osteogenic sarcoma (bone cancer) and forced to have his right leg amputated 15 centimetres (six inches) above the knee in 1977.

While in hospital, Terry was so overcome by the suffering of other cancer patients, many of them young children, that he decided to run across Canada to raise money for cancer research.

He would call his journey the Marathon of Hope.

After 18 months and running over 5,000 kilometres (3,107 miles) to prepare, Terry started his run in St. John’s, Newfoundland on April 12, 1980 with little fanfare. Although it was difficult to garner attention in the beginning, enthusiasm soon grew, and the money collected along his route began to mount. He ran 42 kilometres (26 miles) a day through Canada's Atlantic provinces, Quebec and Ontario.

It was a journey that Canadians never forgot.

However, on September 1st, after 143 days and 5,373 kilometres (3,339 miles), Terry was forced to stop running outside of Thunder Bay, Ontario because cancer had appeared in his lungs. An entire nation was stunned and saddened. Terry passed away on June 28, 1981 at age 22.

The heroic Canadian was gone, but his legacy was just beginning.

To date, more than $400 million has been raised worldwide for cancer research in Terry's name through the annual Terry Fox Run, held across Canada and around the world.

See u at the starting line!!

tmr is 2 sep 2006, one year to go.. to Singapore HIM!!! click here for the website.. been spending most of my online time on reading related websites for training tips, gear recommendation, etc.. anyway, tmr signals the start of my training, haha.. hope to be fit enough to take part in the race. gonna squeeze all my available time to train, yet not compromise my current work and ministry committments. balance is the key. i believe that God will help me with this, will always be in step with me, and grant me strength and persistence when i need it.. =)
"I believe in the basics: attention to, and perfection of, tiny details that might commonly be overlooked. They might seem trivial, perhaps even laughable to those who don’t understand, but they aren’t. They are fundamental to your progress…….They are the difference between champions and near champions." -- John Wooden

p.s. some time saving tips for busy pple here, and something abt race nutrition.