Running with rhubarbs...

Things you notice when running on a Michigan evening
1) Pretty pretty fireflies
2) Too many insects with an unnatural affinity for flying into your open mouth
3) How late the sun sets (i knew this before, but i haven't been back to Michigan in a long time)

So the wedding is over. It was fun, and it was my first time to an honest-to-goodness American wedding :) What was also cool was that it was my first time meeting H's extended family as well as my brother in law's extended family, and how accepting they were of me and H. It was nice, if a little awkward at times. The Jewish ceremony was relatively short, and I really liked that the ceremony consisted mostly of symbolic actions that consisted of good wishes for the bride and groom, and that the rabbi took pains to explain the significance of each symbol. Given that most of those attending were not practicing Jews, the effort by the rabbi to be inclusive was very touching. And Jewish music is beautiful.
So all in all, it was a wonderful wedding, even if I didn't get a chance to slow dance with H. Ah well. There will be a next time.

Other miscellaneous observations :
1) Visited the nearest Asian food market. It's large, and they sell literally everything, ranging from a ginormous wok and wok burner, to... live frogs that you can take home to prepare a dish of fresh frog legs . Anyway, I found GREEN TEA POCKY!!!! That made my day, since i can never ever find it in Singapore.

2) On other green-tea matters, I also found green tea kit kat in Nagoya airport, and treated myself to some green tea love. That's definitely something i'm splurging on when I go back...

Now if only i could find a green tea soft serve machine....

Ajantis is lovin the matcha kucha...

Here i am just crossing down the street...

So it's 4am and 2 hours to my flight. I've just spent the last few hours after swing amending papers and sending in stuff for people to follow up. Perhaps it's true that I AM a workaholic (gasp). H will be stunned to learn i finally admitted to it. Well, it's more like i don't like leaving things unfinished. I pride myself on the fact that i've yet to hand in a late piece of work over the past 15 years. Wow, that sounded.... scary :)

Anyway, i've been really addicted to So You Think You Can Dance. Watched every clip like 8-10 times. It's just amazing what the human body can do, and what the human body can create. I never liked lyrical jazz, or even ballroom, till i saw this show. The pictures and moves the partners create, god! They leave me positively envious that i can't even begin to remotely approach the talent that some of the competitors display. But it's inspiring. Dancing lindy hop has given me a much greater appreciation for the craft and artistry that goes into professional dancing.

2 more hours to my flight, 36 more hours till i meet H, and a few more from that till I meet H's extended family. This should be fun :)

Ajantis has been looking forward to this vacation for A WHILE...

Hello!? Goombye!

Ran another 26km last night from 130am to 4 am last night. Some people might call me crazy, but running at night is both relaxing and surreal.

The good news is that i found something that can keep my knees and shoulders from chafing after running. It's something called Opsite, a kind of skin-like bandage. What's cool is it comes in a spray on version, which makes it really easy to apply.

This is a cool story, even though some of you readers out there still think D&D is geek central. I'm positive almost every guy who grew up during the 70s to early 90s remembers playing some form of role-playing game. And who wouldn't enjoy an RPG as a kid? The chance to play out your own derring-do adventures, to be the hero (or villian) of your own story, and do what you would or could not do in real life. And this paragraph sums it up for me about D&D...

"I learned the most important lesson about D&D that day. I remembered that this is a game about imagination, about coming together to tell a story as a group. And the fact is, the players have as much right to tell that story as the DM does—after all, they’re the protagonists!"

Besides, where else would people be inspired to come up with something this cool!

Haha.

Ajantis is a swashbuckling 12th level mystic theurge.

Atlas never felt this sore...

I have four big bruises on my shoulder. It looks quite scary. My colleague said that it looked like a vampire bite. Add to that the fact that my shoulder is aching from several failed aerials, and chafing badly from running.

Ajantis' shoulders are not so happy at the moment.

Bad movie karma

Ran 26km just now! woo hoo!

Saw a bad movie on TV today. How can you tell?
1) Jean Claude Van Damme played the American hero
2) Ming-na Wen in cheongsam, with her hair in buns
3) Kylie Minogue in fatigues attempting to act
4) Very very bad dialogue
5) Cheesy fighting

Can you guess what movie it was?

My favorite dog breeds :
- Pugs
- Bulldogs
- Frenchies
- Golden Retrievers

Give me a dog over a cat any day! (sorry Arie :)

Ajantis is winding down....

The psychometrics of video-ing Lindy

Got around to watching some Lindy clips online. Inspired by all the cool social dances and moves on the videos. Perhaps that's what i need to break out of my current funk, and try new things in my dancing. That said, i tried some of the moves on the dance floor on thursday. Easier said than done :) Well, just gotta keep trying

My busiest week is finally over, but there are still a thousand and one things to be done. But this weekend, I just have to attend one event, and then i'm scot-free and i'm refusing to do any work. That, and 3 more weeks to vacation... woo hoo!

On the fitness front, i've been quite bad about eating lately, probably due to all the stress. Been narfing down every snack in site. I also might have pulled a stomach muscle running last week, cos i seem to develop stitches really easily while running since. Which is an unusual feeling and i'm not sure how to accomodate it. Gonna try running tonight and see how it goes.

That's all to update for now. Which perhaps is a good sign cos it shows that there is less stress in my life.

Ajantis is surfing online...