Thoughts from a Techie

I posted this photo on my instagram a few days ago. Cheesy captions aside, I was pretty excited. For this was my first attempt at finishing a marathon. So how did it go? Terrible I would say. So terrible that even 4 and a half days later I have yet to fully recover from the madness that is Sundown Marathon 2015. This is an honest race review. Before race I got myself a target of finishing in under 5 hrs. Preferably anything from 4:30 to 4:45. So I started out running a tad faster than the 4:30 pacers, knowing that my speed would degenerate over time. That plan worked out extremely well for the first 24km. In fact, counting the first 21 alone, I did the best 21 of my life at 2:14, 15 mins better that half a year ago at SCMS. And that's considering I stopped at all hydration and supply stations along the route, compared to last time when I was more reserved when it came to race supplies. So far, extremely chill and rather full of confidence. But that's only until I ...

Probably the shortest post I'll ever do on this blog. 5 things to look forward to after 5/5. 1. Reconfigure my laptop, phone and tablet. Fresh installs are always awesome. 2. Free my bike. Currently locked to a random bicycle lot under 18C with a busted lock. Process likely to be documented. #DIY 3. Presidential duties. Oh God. 4. Massive spring cleaning. Redundant = gone. 5. 28/5 = Home. Can't wait to be back. All the best for the remaining papers everyone.

I wrote about my experience doing transport management for Chingay on Valentine's Day ( read ). That was the preview show for primary and secondary schoolkids to watch. Yesterday was the first day of the main show. And it's turning out to be one of my more interesting volunteering experience.  Yesterday was 10x more taxing on the mind compared to Vday. Work started one hour later because the parade started one hour later than the preview show. The same 4 hrs of nua-ing. The same edible food. Most importantly, more performers sharing the same bus queue. And I did not get to stand with the bus bay folks as with the preview show (which was a much lighter job); my position was smacked right in the middle of the impatient crowd of "900 beautiful ladies". (our running joke on the performers, as this was what written on the Chingay programme brochure) Yet however tiring it might be, there were always people trying their best to give me a good day. Just want to sin...

This is the story of a strange Valentine's Day. 1400 Needed to rush from NTU to get to Chingay. 179 out, first stop outside NTU. Normally it's extremely easy to wave for a cab (it's right after a PIE exit), but for strange reasons, 15 mins out and not a single available one. So I moved to a nice spot to call one instead, waited another 10 mins , got into my cab... Only to find out the uncle did not know where the F1 Pit Building is. First time I raged a person in English. Of course it did not solve the problem. Most stressing issue was finding a way to guide him there. He did not know how to use the GPS unit that's standard to every cab. My trusty Google Maps could not help him. Digital's useless, so he went analog. Pulled out his buddy the street directory and asked me to help him find the place. R to Republic Blvd, map 133, grid 2A. Still slightly clueless... until I pointed out the Flyer nearby. Finally a place he knew how to get to. 10-15 mins of clue...

Tried Facebook's Year In Review function. Saw the obvious limitations of algorithms. Decided to write something of my own. For me, most of 2014's great moments came in December. Hands down my greatest personal achievement of the year (if not my whole entire life to this moment): finishing a half-M. Nothing beats the insane feeling when I crossed the finish line, especially given the equally insane circumstances - breakfast-less, sleep-deprived, and to a small extent, intoxicated (thanks to another great moment the day before. Too much greatness.) The logical progression is to have a shot at the M. Not too soon I guess, but at least I've already got a date to replicate the half-M. And of course this time the plan will include proper sleep and breakfast and zero alcohol. Shortly after comes IHG. First time playing real competitive football with a bunch of awesome folks who always score in the last 10 minutes. The comeback kings, or more formally known as Pioneer Hall...

Pre-exam de-stress. For the better half of this year, I've been enjoying the comfort of home - that is staying close to the people I love most in this world and having access to cheap 3G. How cheap? Well in prepaid terms there are a few plans, the most limited is 50MB for 10,000VND (just slightly over .50). I picked just that. Here's how I survived. 1. Use an Android. Since the introduction of 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, data limiting is built in to Settings. And since most Androids out there are running 4.x, we're off to a good start. 2. Use that setting. There are two main settings to take note - setting limits & disable background data. First, set the "red" limit to the bandwidth cap i.e. 50MB. Then set the "orange" limit to slightly lower e.g 40MB. Most important, DISABLE BACKGROUND DATA. Because when you only have 50MB, every random sync counts. That takes care of "passive" data draining. How about "active"?...

Today's a pretty special day. It's been exactly 5 years since I first set foot on this island. For this, I've decided to do something pretty special. At this very moment I'm composing a blog post on my phone for the first time. And I'm on my way to NUS to join my brothers for a little celebration. Trying my best to smoothen the mobile writing experience... by taking the longest possible route out of NTU - a few rounds of CL-Red followed by Weekend Rider. About two years back when Tumblr was still my favorite blogging platform, I wrote a "3 years and counting" post. Luckily I haven't decided to take down my Tumblr; and while I prepared stuff to write this, I decided to take a look. Most of the photos I used back then was hosted elsewhere and no longer accessible, so I was left with a rather short block of text, detailing some of the great memories I had with people. And indeed it's the people I've come to know that made the last 5 year...