Last of snowboarding

I went for my first snowboarding session this winter season on Feb 14 (yes, Valentine's Day) after one week of recovery from my arduous journey.

At Liberty Ski Resort, I took a beginner course to refresh my memory because I had not snowboard for a year. Without fail, I assumed my secret identity of SpongeBob SquarePaul by sticking two car sponges into my pants to cushion against falling on my buns. This time round, I was comfortable moving, turning and stopping with the snowboard.

The bunny slope was not crowded that day which I presumed people were celebrating V-Day elsewhere. It felt great to slide down the slope with cold wind hitting my face. At the end of that day, I bought a mountain passport.

On Feb 21, a bunch of us headed back to Liberty again where I took lesson two and upgraded my board to a Type II (intermediate) from a Type I (beginner). I had to get used to the board as it was easier to maneuver and had to make sure I did not exert extra strength else I would fall. During the lesson, I learned how to traverse down a slope and linking my turns.

Falling a few times on my buns without my sponges reminded me that I still had a long way to master snowboarding. The green and blue slopes were steeper and more exciting than the bunny slope.

Atlas, winter is coming to an end which means end of snowboarding too. I intend to try skiing next season if I am still around. Finger cross.

Recognizing aging

Signs that I have aged besides wrinkles and receding hairline:

1. Harder to adjust to jet lag. I used to be able to adapt to the different time zone quickly. Nowadays, I needed at least three days for my biological clock to be in tuned with the time zone.

2. My legs actually felt numb during my long 27-hour of flight.

3. My sense of balance is affected.

4. Tight tendons. I had to stretch my muscles in-between running to prevent aching.

5. Lower metabolism where I put on weight if I do not exercise enough.

After a month of indulging in gluttony in Singapore, I weighed 80.6kg. Since returning, my eating habit resumed to normal and I went to the gym daily, alternating between running and lifting weights. Currently, my weight was 79kg.

Happy Ox Year

In the year of the Ox, I finally got to celebrate Chinese New Year with my family after two years. During this period that I was home, it was great to catch up with my family and friends. Of course, I also missed my mum's cooking.

Lunar year of Ox pictures.

Posting pictures of myself

If you had been reading my past postings or visited my Webshots albums, I hardly posted pictures of myself. Mine were more of scenery, flowers and animals. I am actually a private person though I may be gregarious.

The feedback I got from friends was that they would like to see how I look (fat or slim etc). Debbie also mentioned that she would develop pictures of her son periodically and give them to her parents so that they could see his physical development.

This struck a cord in my heart since I am overseas and my mum would also ask occasionally if I had put on weight. While back in Singapore recently, I also flipped through my old photo albums which brought back many memories.

So, starting this year, lookout for portraits of me intersperse in my postings.

An idyllic Pulau Ubin

As my nephew, Emmanuel wanted to visit Pulau Ubin, a small island northeast of mainland Singapore, we arranged to go there on my last weekend in Singapore.

The sea breeze felt good as we sat in the ferry (S$2.50 per person) and the sun was partially covered by clouds.

I had always enjoyed being in P. Ubin as it was undeveloped with no high rise building and lots of greenery. Houses were made of planks and zinc. Pace of life was slower than in Singapore. Residents used to farm and grow orchard but relied on tourism nowadays.

We rented mountain bikes and cycled towards the highest point on the island which overlooked Ubin Quarry. We had to take a forest trail to reach the summit, passing by two lower viewpoints.

The scenery was fantastic with turquoise water as backdrop. One could see Johor Bahru in the north and Singapore in the south.

Next, we proceeded towards Noordin Beach where there was a barricade in the sea to prevent entry of illegal immigrants swimming across the Straits of Johor.

We were lost in the mangrove when we wanted to take the route to Mamam Beach. Our bikes and legs were covered with smelly mud. After backtracking, we were able to get back onto the tarmac road.

We went back to Singapore around 4pm and headed to Changi Village market where I had beef noodle and ayam penyet.

Pulau Ubin pictures here.