Jogging in Fivefingers

I have worn Fivefingers for four 30 minute-jogging sessions on the following dates and venues:
(1) 15 Oct @ Botanic Gardens
(2) 22 Oct @ Botanic Gardens
(3) 6 Nov @ Bishan Park
(4) 11 Nov @ Bishan Park

For the 1st and 2nd sessions, I ended up with the back of my leg muscles aching for a day or 2 but no knee aches. I experienced no muscle aches at all for the 3rd and yesterday’s sessions. I have to wear my toe socks to prevent discomfort and blister of the skin from rubbing against the plastic piece of the shoe.

We’ll be jogging at Botanic Gardens next week, so I will be able to tell if the terrain/route makes a difference or Fivefingers is one of the greatest invention! J I notice that I feel lighter on my feet and can run slightly faster by landing on the balls of my feet. I can’t sustain the higher speed for more than a few minutes though and have to go back to a slower comfortable pace.

The odd 1 in the family :)

That was what Mom smilingly said earlier and I told her that I'm the normal 1 while the rest of them are weird :P

Guess I'm quite strange for being nonchalant about being single, sleeping with Bob, unusual taste for certain food, not satisfied with my job, always trying to keep myself occupied, sudden interest in learning Japanese after more than a decade, having different kind of friends, being stubborn and refusing to listen to advice as I want to learn from the experience before agreeing with my advisers, treating my parents like friends and lecturing them, etc. Dad said I seem to want to do things differently from others. Hmm. Guess it's what makes me tick, and it's my way of trying to find happiness or this inner peace :)

Cat & Bird in the park

"Cat & Bird in the park" by Coboypb

I was inspired to do some doodling as I'm happy that my home PC is working. The CPU seemed to have died for the whole of last week. I have actually called the repairman to take a look tomorrow evening and I just pressed the button on the CPU to make sure it was dead. Surprisingly, it started to make the usual noise and the start screen appeared on the monitor. But it restarted 3 times before it allowed me to update the antivirus software and go online. I think I better let the guy take a look as it's not the first time the PC just restarted by itself. Sis and I were discussing last week whether to get an iMac or Macbook if we have to upgrade our PC again. If it's just a problem that can be easily resolved, I'm more than happy to stick to this PC and save money :)

Taking a break from Bob

Bob has been away from home for a week because I asked a friend to help me take care of him for a few weeks. This is mainly to give Mom a break as it can be tough trying to feed the community cats in the morning, trying to get Angel to settle down in one of the rooms and let Bob out for a few hours. Bob will sometimes try to move the barrier away when Angel is protesting behind the door. Mom finds it stressful when the 2 cats do that, as the time for Bob out of his "prison cell" may have to be cut short.

See the photo below of Bob checking out the barrier comprising of detergent bottles, orange peel and fly swatter (from Daisho). Bob will retreat @ times when we wave the swatter in his face, but when he is intent in trying to get past the barrier, I can only stop him by carrying him away by the scruff of his neck.

The 2nd photo shows Bob's interest in other objects in the house. The open door leads to my bedroom aka Bob's "prison cell".

I feel stressed at times too when I'm out late @ night and Mom will have to accompany Bob in my room and Bob is harder to manage @ night and Mom won't be able to get him back into my room. Bob will meow loudly when he is alone in the room and we don't want our neighbours to complain. The only entertainment in my room is the radio and Bob :P so poor Mom will miss her favorite CSI on Tues/Wed. If I'm home, we can let him out for an hour while Angel is sleeping in Sis' room and I can easily carry him back to my room to sleep.

I had taken a number of photos of Bob before sending him to my friend's place. I miss him already - miss him keeping my head warm @ night, hugging him, touching my nose on his :) I may consider putting Bob @ my friend's place for short period like this, whenever we need a break.

Me bonding with Bob :)

Bob guarding the main door

Bob oblivious to the "big cat"

Bob in his cute sitting posture

A nice shot of Angel

I find it hard to get a good photo of Angel sometimes. It could be due to his colouring or he is very active :)

Soba in dashi soup with lots of veggies

I don't add oil when I cooked them, so I think they are healthy meals :)

Shoes investment

I like the 2 pairs of shoes I bought recently.

The first pair from this brand "Terra Plana" was bought at Barefoot shop at Orchard Ion. It cost me $159 but I'm happy with the purchase for being environmentally friendly (eg. recycled leather). The right shoe pinched my foot a little when I wore it the first time but subsequently, they feel comfortable.

The 2nd pair is Vibram Fivefingers. I read about it on a friend's blog, checked out online reviews and asked another friend how she feels wearing the shoes. I tried them @ Outdoor Life @ Velocity @ Novena Square and they felt comfortable. There was a 10% discount for cash payments and I got the shoes at $179. I walked in them for a few nights, when feeding the cats. When I jogged in them for the first time @ Botanic Gardens, I got blisters on the inner side of my feet. I rectified that when I wore them a week later by wearing my toe socks. My back leg muscles ached quite a bit and I felt good after the jog and best of all, my knees didn't ache :)

Morning walk @ Southern Ridges

Yesterday, my 2 friends and I started our walk from the Marang trail @ 9am and ended it @ Hort Park around 12pm. Weather was fine. It was a good work out climbing some stairs and taking a stroll on the footpath. I took many photos and here are some nice ones:

On top of Mount Faber


Henderson Wave - I like the structure, the blue sky and the greenery, in contrast with the HDB flats.


We saw a long green spotted tree snake and I managed to take some photos of its tail before it slithered into the crack.


The Forest Walk, linking Telok Blangah Hill to Alexandra Arch


Alexandra Arch


Hort Park


The purple lotus got a lot of my attention :)



My initial focus was on the purple flowers before I realised there was a swing and I just took the photos of the family in it.


Colourful wall


There are also couches to rest and relax.


Our picnic was yummy and healthy. Our friend baked the bread using the bread maker. We had an open face sandwich with lettuce, tomato and carrot. I prefer to eat the mandarin orange and crackers on their own :)


It is good to sweat, walk and be away from the mad crowds and air-con malls :) and admire the work in blending development with nature.

Sleeping with Bob

"Sleeping with Bob" by Coboypb

The end of a 3-day weekend

We had a nice dinner just now. This morning, I suggested brown rice porridge to go with some dishes. Mom prepared the ingredients while Dad did the cooking under Mom's guidance. Sis and I just helped to eat :)

Yogurt cake again

I spent the afternoon baking another yogurt cake after I last tried baking one 2 weeks ago. This time, I tried another similar recipe I cut out from the newspapers. I made some variations by adding big dark chocolate buttons to half of the cake and the other half has lemon zest from 2 lemons. The cake turns out not too sweet (the way I like it) but will need feedback from my family to see if they like it too.

Before baking


After baking


A slice of the cake with lots of lemon zest. I think I added too much. I like it but it may be overwhelming for others.


I used the big dark chocolate buttons that Sis got for me from Brighton, UK and the ingredients are organic. I have cut the pieces around the buttons. Hope sis will like the cake and help me to eat :)

Art therapy

Sometimes there are things I can't write down but at least I can express it through drawing. It does help somewhat - at the moment, I still feel a bit heavy hearted. This occasional worry for the community cats and the hope that we can always keep them safe.

"Shadow hiding in the bush" by Coboypb