Inertia Is a Sin

Finally Started Cycling

chengpuay — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 12:55:52 +0000

I used to listen to Siva talk about cycling, Zendogs, and his long rides from one end of Singapore to another and joined in the Pedal Ubin rides now and then. The most memorable ride I had was probably that in 2005 where I rode a tandem bicycle to ferry a student while guiding a group in Ubin.

So between that and reading Lance Armstrong books, I was pretty much content.

Then Siva alerted me to a old GT Vantara to be given away. Here’s the fateful email:

Hi Cheng Puay,

Bike is yours, please arrange with Rob for pickup.

Hi Robert,

Cheng Puay an obvious choice to revive the bike. Glad he’s interested.

Cheerio!

Siva

This is what the bike looked like before I sent it for servicing:

And after a visit to Mr Tan’s bike shop, it is ready to go on the road.

However, I only started riding last week with Siva, Kenneth, Adrian and Kevin. Siva, being one to understate things, said that they will be going slow and it is a simple ride from HV to Changi. Adrian, Kevin and Kenneth will be coming in foldies. So I said yes, thinking then, “How fast can a foldie go?” and thought that this will be a leisurely ride like one I used to do along ECP.

I was wrong on all counts. Underestimating the time, I rushed down to Holland Village from Clementi and then joined Siva and Adrian and Kenneth there. Briefly remembered the route to be from Farrer Road, to Lornie, turning into Marymount where we waited for Kevin.

I was glad for the break for my legs were feeling the strain. My lights were not bright enough so Adrian passed me a rear light for my havesack and Siva clipped on a front light for me. Again I underestimated the importance of good gear for safe cycling. Thankfully everyone was kind with their advice and equipment.

Continued up Tampines where I faced my first slope, Kenneth was tellling me, “There will be 2 slopes, this and the one at Pasir Ris. After that should be a pretty smooth ride”. This was the time where I was shifting through all the possible gear combinations to get the pedals going and trying to keep up. Siva will usually hang around to wait for me. The stretch along Tampines Road was really good, flat road, industrial buildings and sun rise. You do not feel like in you are in Singapore.

So I was pretty much hitting my limit and exhausted when we turned in from Pasir Ris to Changi. But the boys were looking very relaxed and enjoying the ride. As Kevin wrote:

Woke up late, so I biked to the Holland Village circle line to catch up with the rest at Marymount. Siva, Kenneth, Adrian and our new rider, Cheng Puay, waited patiently for me. We carried on through Bishan, Kovan, Tampines, Pasir Ris, and eventually Changi Village, which was our breakfast pitstop, and little bike shopping place.

Was really glad that Airani joined us and gave me a lift back from Fort Road. I do not think I can cycle back from Changi!

Thanks Siva and Adrian for the lights and everyone for being so patient with a newbie.

Lessons learnt:

1. You need good gear for long rides. Every piece of equipment matters and has a function. Good quality comes with a price and it is worth it.

2. You need good riding buddies for long rides.

What I wrote so far, going to post it before 2011 ends

chengpuay — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 01:04:58 +0000

One cannot say you fired up the computer anymore. Macs now are so fast that the moment you lift the lid, the screen is there waiting for you, with all the apps you last opened still there. Gone where the days where you sit down and ponder about life while waiting for the progress bar to finish loading and you can still hear the hum and the click of the CPU in the background; and get worried when the clicking gets loud.

I was reading George Clooney’s interview on Equire, one of the preview articles you get for free on the iPad. You really consume a lot of information nowadays from everyone. While I was reading the article, I was thinking to myself, I liked how the words seemed to flow so nicely and how neatly they are arranged. You can almost hear him utter these words in front of you. That is when I realised I should start writing the blog post I have been putting aside for months. Otterman and Adrian has been hitting the lethal combination of Marsedit and Flickr and I better get started before the inertia gets larger.

Notable things to talk about and mention for 2011.

1. My mother: Hope you had gone to some place better and thank you for all you have done. Things will be different but will learn to adjust.

2. Sungei Buloh Anniversary Walk: Finally had the chance to join the group, and it was really fun to share the beauty of the place with an appreciative audience. The usual suspects were spotted, mudskipper, crab, dog faced water snake and crocodile!

3. Penang and Durian Coffee: Finally found time to squeeze a short trip. It was great just to walk around and soak in the sights and taste the great food.

4. The intern: Not mine but was glad how things will turn out.

5. Overseas Service-Learning Trip to Cebu: As with all trips, I learnt again abit of myself and was humbled by the amazing people who dedicated their lives making the lives of others better.

6. The full lunar eclipse: beautiful and magnificent sight.

7. Greeting cards from overseas: simple gesture but touching and brings a smile always.

8. I actually won a photo competition!

9. Books I read: Life Ascending, the ideas suggested makes me want to rewrite all the notes I did for the students.

10. Movies worth mentioning. Invictus.

11. Coffee Mugs – I broke 2 bodum coffee mugs and got back 2

Ok shall post this before I go for the wedding photo assignment. Shall come back with photos and more stuff.

Full Lunar Eclipse

chengpuay — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 16:03:07 +0000

This should be worth posting. The last full lunar eclipse for 2011.

The next one will be in 2014.

Was glad of the good location (kitchen window) and handy tripod.

Image Post

chengpuay — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 23:43:27 +0000

Received a nice surprise from London yesterday Just…

chengpuay — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 23:42:20 +0000

Received a nice surprise from London yesterday.
Just a simple card but then often the best things are made that way. No frills, just sincerity.

That made my day.

Thank you!

Finding focus for the blog

chengpuay — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 12:45:23 +0000

Had insomnia the past 2 nights. Will wake up at 12am and cannot go to sleep till 3am. Strangely I can still function after 2 consecutive nights of just 2 hours of sleep.

My mind kept coming back to the blog and what I am going to do with it.

The things I have been putting most of my energy and time in the past 2 years has finally come to a conclusion this Sept. It’s time to find a new focus and direction for this blog.

So things to start writing about.
1. My own Mac experience. Just to seal it
2. Research projects I am involved in.
3. My overseas service-learning project in Cebu
4. Photography
5. Books I enjoyed reading

That should keep me occupied for a while.

And the things coming up

chengpuay — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 13:51:01 +0000

Happily there are things to look forward to and many things to clear.

1. Overseas Service Learning trip to Cebu – Nov.
2. Possible book with lekowala
3. More field trips for the draco and bat project
4. 2 presentations to settle for 2 conferences on education
5. Cafe Scientifique in 2 weeks time

Wish me luck.

A quick update

chengpuay — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 13:49:00 +0000

Its been almost 4 weeks since she passed away. It was a peaceful departure in the end and I am glad that the suffering has ended.

Was very touched by the concern and well wishes from friends, colleagues, and even neighbors who happened to walk by. The 5 days passed so quickly and before one knows it, one is back to work.

The human mind is pretty resilient and thankfully I can kind of get back into the new routine without much difficulty.

Steve Jobs passed away on 5 Oct 2011. Another life taken away by cancer.

rainbows

chengpuay — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 23:49:42 +0000

Saw 2 beautiful rainbows in this month. This is something worth putting everything else down and writing it about it.

Should mean good luck I hope.

A dedication

chengpuay — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 13:09:59 +0000

My readership has stabilized to about 4 hits a day. Nice number as this was primarily an online journal. My stuff on biology and science is mainly in rbiology.wordpress.com and my twitter.

Guess it is as good a time as any to pen down the thing that has been occupying my thoughts for the past few months. My mother.

Her cancer has undergone metastasis and moved to the lung. The first signs were her persistent cough and gradual loss of voice. When she consented to an x-ray, a dreaded shadow loomed at the center of the lung.

That was the explanation for all her symptoms, the shortness of breath, fatigue, and persistent cough. She was admitted for a CT scan and a biopsy. My buddy at SGH showed me the CT film and it was more cancer than lung, with secondary growth.

Could still remember that moment, I was sitting down beside the computer, looking at the screen and felt all the strength leave me.

So now its been about a month since the news. Mother was discharged and the family went back to the routine of spending more time back home.

Me? I now try to finish work early, take leave during chemo sessions to be with her, and try my very best to focus on my new portfolio.

A word on my new portfolio, I now have to set up the service-learning programme for the school, both local and overseas, largely by myself.

So how will things turn out? I am not sure really but things like this really surface things which we know is important and now is more immediate and urgent. Considered taking leave, yet you know you cannot really leave things undone and trouble others to pick up pieces after you.

She is, like all mothers, someone very dear and important to me. She is the reason I could have an education, working long hours in a factory to make sure my fees are paid and I could just focus on learning. I managed to even get a Masters and now a nice job.

So now you do what you can, count each day past as a great blessing and show your gratitude and try to make things better.

Like what Randy Pausch did: http://www.thelastlecture.com/index.htm