Honda Pulls our of F1, We are still going to Tokyo

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/cna/20081204/tap-198-spore-12th-expensive-city-asia-231650b.html

Hong Kong was ranked 6th, while Tokyo took the top spot.

We were in HongKong For the Standard Chartered Marathon in 2007. It was breath-taking. Now we are heading to Tokyo. According to the report, it is the most expensive city in Asia. Hmmm, we are not pulling out just yet. Even when the Honda F1 team decided that 2008 is their last F1 season. The global economic crisis is taking a toll on EVERYONE.

Nope, we dream and we believe. We will live our dream. We are going to Japan come next march and we know YOU are helping.

Signed off,
Marco

Sponsorship for Tokyo Marathon on 22 March 2009

Quest for Sponsorships for Tokyo Marathon 2009

Here goes,

I will use this blog as a media to reach out to people to sponsor coach and I for a trip to Tokyo, Japan in march 2009 for the Tokyo Marathon.

The Passionate Runners

Coach - Mang Tsz Kit, Jackie aka Cityrunner, 26
Myself - Ong Wei Peng, Marco aka Crazyhorse, 25

Achievements so far

Having 9 marathons between us in 4 years to date 1 Dec 2008. Will be completing 1 more marathon on 7 December.

I started in 2005 and had completed 4 marathons so far, Coach is one up, with a MILESTONE of 5 marathons.

Over the next few months running up to march next year, I will be constantly updating our training progress and this quest to find sponsors/ well-wishers for our trip.

Sponsorship proposal

Coach has this dream of letting people get involved in our training, without physically there. Of course, you can join us for trainings on Sundays at MacRitche Reservoir.

Sponsors could get their name and message on our running Tees. That is the one that we will be wearing for the event in Tokyo.

The sponsor with the highest amount credited will be able to choose to spread a message on both of our running attire.

T-shirt Design

No, we do not earn our keep as designers. But the design is really cute. Here. This will be how you can help two fellow Singaporean fulfill their dream.

We welcome kit sponsors too.



Goal of the Quest

We are looking to get enough to cover the expenses for about 8 days of accommodation and return tickets for Cityrunner and Crazyhorse.

Next Entry

Passion and why it sustains us to continue running.

________________________________________________________________________________

How To

Interested bidders/ fellow runners/ well-wishers can wire,do internet banking to the fellowing accounts.

POSB Savings – 109162469
OCBC Savings – 5383030227

Singapore Marathon 08 and Tokyo Marathon 09

Won a place to take part in the Tokyo Marathon in March 09, though this is really expensive. 12,000 Yen, works out to be about USD120.

(1)Marathon
Marathon　（Entrants 30,000）
Quote Marathon wheel chair
Applicants 226,378 *48
Participants 30,000 *22

*include in total number

With 7.5 times more applicants my friends and I are really lucky to get a place. Woohoo, I'm heading to Japan again. Planning on a 5 day trip. Sushi, Ramen, Sashimi, Takoyaki, Here I COME..

Dealing with a YES/NO GF

Well, looking at the set of pictures, any frustrations are all gone. It's all worth it.

Nonono. I was saying about what used to be. Now, the whole issue is off the racks. Just like melamine-stained milk.

Coral Triangle

Spanning Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste, this extraordinary area holds the richest concentration of iridescent corals, fish, crustaceans, mollusks and marine plants in the world. Labyrinths of limestone reefs, extensive sea grass meadows and coastal mangrove forests attract sea turtles and giants of the sea such as humpback whales to feed, breed and rest in the rich and sheltered waters.



The problem is, the coral triangle is in a sorry condition now. It is polluted by sewage discharges, dynamite fishing and there is a strain on the marine resource as there is growing population living on the coastal lines.

6 countries in the coral triangle are trying to save the corals by setting more reef protected areas, giving them a breather from human activities.

Let's hope all plans go accordingly and the corals are saved. Friends, let's go diving soon. Even if the plans to save the fishes and the corals, I project to the see a vast difference in the waters. Hopefully, we are still seeing corals and not wasteland.

Come on, it is to our advantage that the coral triangle is so near to Singapore. We have to plan frequent trips man. Underwater, its a different world altogether.
God bless the waters.

Sources:
WWF

Nature Conservancy

Saving the Coral Triangle

Shontelle Layne _TSHIRT

Song of the Moment

Keeps ringing on the radio waves, catchy and nice.



Oh. Spoiler. Its a happy ending!!

How Time Flies

Haha, I could give a major excuse by saying there is no time to blog. There is so many things on my mind. So many topics I want to share with everyone. So many thoughts to download onto the blog.

The Coral Triangle of Asia, The McCain, Obama Presidential Race, F1 Race that is coming to end, the leaders of the pack in the English Premiership(Liverpool FC) currently. Everything is just getting so exciting.

Ah..Have to catch up on my blogging..

'Geek'y Friends

Woo..

You know you have geeks as friends when, they will check with hungrygowhere.com before they dine.

Check it out..its the craze now, for the geeks and the busy working adult.

2008 Olympics Sportsmanship

Strength of the mind

If the body tires, the brain pushes,. If the impossible is to be achieved, the mind must be convinced. If you start believing, you are a step closer to winning.

The star of the 2008 Olympics so far has got to be Micheal Phelps. 8 Gold medals, 8 World Records in swimming.

The dedication he gives to swimming: "Eat, Sleep, Swim". Kudos.

Quote of the day..

The harder I train, the more fortunate I am.

Polariod Style ECP dawn to dusk

A day at the beach

A little bit of jam on the way to east coast park. Nowadays, driving a pleasure. Contemplating on changing my car into a sub-wedding car if I get an invite. Dawn to dusk again. Magical transition. Whole new meaning to relaxing in Singapore. You need a rabbit call Bui Kia that is the size of a 3 in 1 printer(Rabbit do not make a noise).

Polaroid to cease operations

Polaroid has announced that they are ceasing operations of manufacturing the film and cameras. Ah, what an end to the iconic photography instrument. I have to lament that technology is really pushing some cool, vintage stuff to an end.

With that, I have edited a few pictures Polaroid style and is planning to lay my hands on one Polaroid camera. The camera is dirt-cheap but the film is expensive.

Check out this cool blog below.
http://www.postcardpolaroid.com/

Solar Eclipse from Western Siberia

Images from the total solar eclipse of August 1st 2008 observed from Siberia. The sun was completed obscured for a few minutes and the solar eclipse was experienced in Canada, Greenland, central Russia, eastern Kazakhstan, western Mongolia and China. The next total solar eclipse only occurs in several years where the next one will be observed in Northern America in 2017, in Europe - in 2026 and in Russia in 2030.

Above text and pictures from "freshpics.blogspot.com"

Ha. How cool is that man. Let's make a date, for the next earliest solar eclipse in North America in 2017. Anyone game?

Song of the moment _IM Yours Jason Mraz

Ahhh, this song have to be playing non-stop in my mind. Tune is catchy the chorus is ever repeating itself in my head. Ha. A talent. Above: Official Music video of the single.

Sunset In Singapore

Changi Boardwalk, at the end of the road at Changi Village. 2.2km board walk, kelong.. The only I know that anyone could get SUNSET in Singapore. Riding away from busy Singapore. Time to smell the roses.

Thomas Jefferson

“Our greatest happiness in life does not depend on the condition of life in which chance has placed us, but is always the result of good conscience, good health, occupation, and freedom in all just pursuits.” — Thomas Jefferson

90/10 Principle

Discover the 90/10 Principle.

It will change your life (at least the way you react to situations). What is this principle?

10% of life is made up of what happens to you.

90% of life is decided by how you react. What does this mean?

We really have no control over 10% of what happens to us.

We cannot stop the car from breaking down. The plane will be late arriving, which throws our whole schedule off.
A driver may cut us off in traffic.
We have no control over this 10%. The other 90% is different. You determine the other 90%.

How?

By your reaction.

You cannot control a red light.

However, you can control your reaction. Do not let people fool you; YOU can control how you react.

Let us use an example:

You are eating breakfast with your family. Your daughter knocks over a cup of coffee onto your business shirt. You have no control over what just happened. What happens next will be determined by how you react. You curse. You harshly scold your daughter for knocking the cup over.

She breaks down in tears. After scolding her, you turn to your spouse and criticize her for placing the cup too close to the edge of the table. A short verbal battle follows. You storm upstairs and change your shirt. Back downstairs, you find your daughter has been too busy crying to finish breakfast and get ready for school. She misses the bus. Your spouse must leave immediately for work.

You rush to the car and drive your daughter to school. Because you are late, you drive 40 miles an hour in a 30 mph speed limit zone. After a 15-minute delay and throwing $60 traffic fine away, you arrive at school. Your daughter runs into the building without saying goodbye. After arriving at the office 20 minutes late, you find you forgot your briefcase. Your day has started terrible. As it continues, it seems to get worse and worse. You look forward to coming home, When you arrive home, you find small wedge in your relationship with your spouse and daughter.
Why? Because of how you reacted in the morning. Why did you have a bad day?


A. Did the coffee cause it?
B. Did your daughter cause it?
C. Did the policeman cause it?
D. Did you cause it?



The answer is “D”.


You had no control over what happened with the coffee. How you reacted in those 5 seconds is what caused your bad day. Here is what could have and should have happened.

Coffee splashes over you. Your daughter is about to cry. You gently say, “Its ok honey, you just need to be more careful next time”. Grabbing a towel, you rush upstairs. After grabbing a new shirt and your briefcase, you come back down in time to look through the window and see your child getting on the bus. She turns and waves. You arrive 5 minute s early and cheerfully greet the staff. Your boss comments on how good the day you are having.
Notice the difference?

Two different scenarios. Both started the same. Both ended different.

Why?

Because of how you REACTED.

You really do not have any control over 10% of what happens.

The other 90% was determined by your reaction.

Here are some ways to apply the 90/10 principle.

If someone says something negative about you, do not be a sponge. Let the attack roll off like water on glass. You do not have to let the negative comment affect you! React properly and it will not ruin your day. A wrong reaction could result in losing a friend, being fired,getting stressed out etc.

How do you react if someone cuts you off in traffic?
* Do you lose your temper?
* Pound on the steering wheel? A friend of mine had the steering wheel fall Off)
* Do you curse?
* Does your blood pressure skyrocket?
* Do yo u try to bump them?

WHO CARES if you arrive ten seconds later at work?

Why let the cars ruin your drive. Remember the 90/10 principle, and do not worry about it.
You are told you lost your job. Why lose sleep and get irritated? It will work out. Use your worrying energy and time into finding another job.
The plane is late; it is going to mangle your schedule for the day.Why take out your frustration on the flight attendant? She has no control over what is going on. Use your time to study, get to know the other passenger.

Why are stressed out? It will just make things worse. Now you know the 90-10 principle. Apply it and you will be amazed at the results.You will lose nothing if you try it.

The 90-10 principle is incredible. Very few know and apply this principle.

The result? Millions of people are suffering from undeserved stress, trials, problems and heartache.

We all must understand and apply the 9 0/10 principle.

It CAN change your life!

Always Bon Jovi Cats in the Cradle

Got to post this entry and lock it in before July commences. June is a good month for me and this was taken by my Sony Ericsson K850i on 27 June 2008.

Location: IndoChine, Wisma Atria
Band: Cats in the Cradle.

Rich DiGirolamo

"

The easiest success measurement tool is a simple question. What did you do
today to move forward? The easiest project plan on earth is also a simple
question. What will you do tomorrow to move forward? At the end of each day,
document your success and design your next move.

" Rich DiGirolamo

Lancy and Chelsea from Sim's COzy Guesthouse

Children are the ultimatum, the pure innocence brings everyone closer. I miss them. We totally enjoyed our stay there, will be planning a trip to go to Tibet once the unrest is resolved.

I still WANT to go to Tibet.

Sign off,
Marco

P.S. The video was taken after the 512 sichuan earthquake. The kids did not know a thing but still there warned us about the minor quakes coming up when we played with them.

cheer chan 陳綺貞 - 旅行的意義 meaning of traveling

Love this song. Will be my theme song for a few days. Love her style of singing.

The World Today

Today, many countries in the world are plagued with natural disasters. People are seemingly helpless. But it seems like people around the world, all around the world, are flooding natural disaster-struck places with love. Donations and aid come pouring in. The government sector for almost every country are helping themselves out and humanitarian groups are striving to help out in these place.

If you think you are living in comfort, think again.

Our world rates wealth over courage and comfort over commitment. We think that nothing will ever disturb our loves. We are surprised when people get sick and die. We think that technology can fix everything. We take our safety for granted. We have more degrees but less sense. We have more medicine but less wellness. We've added years to life, not life to years. We build everything bigger, but not necesssarily better. We have more convenience but less time. We have more communication but less understanding. We make heroes out of actors but have no idea who the real heroes are.

From Ginza Apple Store, Tokyo

The Mac store here is damn cool, selling a lifestyle here, don't people just love apple?

Haha, enjoying my travels..

Marco

Ｔｈｅ Ｔｒａｖｅｌ Ｃｈｒｏｎｉｃｌｅｓ

Ｉ’ｍ　ｄｏｉｎｇ　ａ　１　ｏｎｅ　ｔｒａｖｅｌ　ａｒｏｕｎｄ　Ｃｈｉｎａ　ａｎｄ　Ｊａｐａｎ．

Ｆｏｒ　ｔｈｅ　ｔｉｍｅ　ｂｅｉｎｇ，　ｐｌｅａｓｅ　ｖｉｓｉｔ　

Ｈｔｔｐ：／／ｗｗｗ．ｔｈｅｔｒａｖｅｌｃｈｒｏｎｉｃｌｅｓ．ｂｌｏｇｓｐｏｔ．ｃｏｍ

Ｔｈａｎｋ　ｙｏｕ．
ˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍˍ
Ｔａｋｉｎｇ　ｔｉｍｅ　ｏｆｆ　ｔｏ　ｓｍｅｌｌ　ｔｈｅ　ｒｏｓｅｓ．

Chengdu Day 1

Will do the same set of pictures, else it will be very empty for my own blog.



Im touched Aili came to fetch me off, Im touched. Haha. And my sister driving me off to Terminal 1.




After a hearty dinner at the authentic spicy hotpot restaurant, I'm blogging while the others are planning for the chengdu part of this trip. Way too tired now, and Jackie already went to sleep. Haha, going to do individual body maintenance.

Expenditures before China/Japan trip

Background: Was intended as a Tibet/Japan trip. Had to make changes since Tibet is politically unstable and China has just started strict VISA regulations to travelers. Initially, it was essential to get a VISA to get into Tibet itself, and it is hard to get one. A pain to forgo such a beautiful place.

Flight to Chengdu, China : SGD436
Application of International Driving License: SGD20
A big backpack suitable for backpacking: SGD250 (its crazy i even get a 40% discount, i got it because its functional)
Ferry from Shanghai to Osaka, Japan: SGD300++ (cheapest class on tatami mat)

Of Endorphins and Serotonin

What happens in a relationship and why does passion die off?

It could be because of the brain, the single most important sex organ:


Endorphins is a neurochemical that can be produced at the frequent presence of a loved one.
Endorphins are a group of chemicals produced by the hypothalamus and the pituitary gland in the brain. As they travel through the bloodstream, endorphins act as natural painkillers and create a sense of well-being.

Sense of Euphoria

A product of endorphins, this creates the 'high' that many people experience when they first fall in love.

Obsessive behavior

Love causes serotonin levels in the brain to drop, causing obsessive behavior, researchers at the University of London have found. It also increases production of cortisol, which can cause high blood pressure and loss of sleep.

Tribob Sprint Biathlon 19 apr 2008

My first ever Biathlon event: Tribob Sprint Biathlon 2008

I completed the event in about 1 hour 10 minutes. I'm glad I completed it.

_________________________________________________________________________
Got the official timing: 1 hour 6 minutes and 12 seconds (recorded by the timing chip with a deposit of SGD50)

Transit

It was fun thinking of how to set up your own stuff at the transit area, how to place your shoes, socks, running singlet, a bottle of water to wash off the sand. A proper setup saves a lot of time. One participant even got a field chair set up.

Swim

The 750m swim was tough for me. Technique was not there and the sea water tastes horrible. I do not know what prompt me to go for it. My timing was bad and was among the last few to come in from the swim. Have to learn free-style next. I had some encouragement from my coach though. He said if I think the swim was bad, it's bad. He thought I did all right. Well, Tribob is an expensive event and I appreciate that he joined the event, accompanying me to let me have a taste of biathlon.

Run

It was a short 5km run, considering I try to do 10km every weekend. I realized training was not enough, after the swim, I could not push my body. I had to maintain jogging and was really delighted, somehow I feel its damn short at the finishing line. The swim killed me. My legs were heavy and I had to catch my breathing.

After the race

It was a delight having the event helpers to put on the finisher's medal for you. The finishing is a triumphant moment. I felt I worked hard it. There was this bag of isotonic drink, mineral water, banana and apple given to everyone. One thing about the event is, its a small event and its in Sentosa, there are not much people to cheer you on. Cheerleaders would helped a lot.

I would take time off to learn free-style and take on the full biathlon.

Tibet Preparations

Been some time since I blogged, there will not be too much organization.

Tibet is in turmoil. We are here safe in Singapore but Tibet is under siege. I would not take sides but as a traveler, it is a pity that we have to make changes to accord to the situation. We bought tickets to Chengdu, China anyway and is flying in on 9 May, 2008.

-If the unrest settles down in Tibet on 9 May, we will set foot in it still, fly into Lhasa.
-If Tibet is still in turmoil, that is no way the Chinese government will let travelers access the place. So we will tour a few major China cities and make a fast exit.

Research by Benny-san has shown that past travelers to Tibet had to hide the fact that are traveling to Tibet. The Chinese immigration officers are not willing to let just anyone get into the scared land.

It is not until the 'Tibet turmoil' that I know that Tibet's spiritual leader is living in exile in India. Well, I hope the unrest and protest will stop and both sides will take a peaceful stand on this issue. I hope that the Beijing Olympics will go on smoothly too. Afterall, the stand to many countries is clear,

"Do not let political issues get into the way of a great Sports event."

Very comprehensive coverage on the 'Tibet Turmoil'

7 Marathons In 7 Days 7 continents

Dave Heeley believes in himself.

Dave will be running seven marathons on seven continents in seven days.

Dave is blind and will be accompanied by his sighted running partner, Malcolm Carr.

7MM _ 7 Magnificent Marathons

This is so exciting and intriguing. This is an amazing idea, a tremendous effort, superhuman powers and teamwork. 7 April 2008 is the date. It has long been carefully planned but the results will be meteorically astonishing. Dave and partner, Carr will be worshiped. The message they want to bring across:
Guide Dogs wants a world in which all blind and partially sighted
people enjoy the same rights, opportunities and responsibilities
as everyone else.


All the way,
Marco

Disillusioned

I was disillusioned over life, not for the fact that I had qualified and not go and participate for my first Biathlon race.

I was disillusioned over my job, over finding the dream job. Been doing nothing for 2 weeks now. Sending resumes, attending interviews, talking to people. Watching 3 seasons of Grey's Anatomy. Went for several leisure swim and run sessions.

I was disillusioned over a dream job, something to do, something like I like to be working on, day in, day out.

I found the answer. Follow my bliss. What I would like to do is simple. I had achieved it before but I was just put off by my "dream job". My BLISS is simply, training for marathons, registering for them and going for them. Now there are so many event overseas and it is not limited to Singapore. So, I decided to think out of the box again, overseas marathons.

Travel and do what i enjoy most. So the "dream job" would be something that could satisfy my desire for sports, for travel.

3 things to be Happy

....

.marco. says:
driven? i feel like dying..literally this few days without a job..
Stuart says:
i think we got chemistry.

....

Stuart says:
Quoting Terry,
A man needs 3 things to be happy.
.marco. says:
yah...
Stuart says:
1. Someone to love.
2. Something to do.
3. Something to hope for.
I was blown away by this.
simple but so much truth in it.

........

Tag Heuer Monaco Diamond Black Python

Following the law of the attraction, I am thankful that I'm owning the watch, ha, this watch will come, one way, I work hard to get, else, someone else sees this post and sends me to me. I love the square face and leather wristband. Plus, the design to die for. Woohoo

Tag Heuer Watch Collection

Anniversaries - What they mean

Been a long time since I celebrate any anniversaries. Well what does each year stand for. Here is it.

first - paper
second - cotton
third - leather
forth - fruit and flowers
fifth - wood
sixth - sugar/iron
seventh - wool
eighth - bronze
ninth - copper/pottery
tenth - tin
eleventh - steel
twelfth - silk and linen
thirteenth - lace
fourteenth - ivory
fifteenth - crystal
twentieth - china
twenty-fifth - silver
thirtieth - pearl
thirty-fifth - coral
fortieth - ruby
forty-fifth - sapphire
fiftieth - gold
fifty-fifth - emerald
sixtieth - diamond

So, going by the above, when you are 25 years old, you are already in your silver years.

Stephen Chow's favourite piece of movie prop

Trivia below, HAHA check out the pictures.






So will the piece of "chicken" bowl appear in his latest movie? I think all his fans may have waited long time for his new moview, the last one was 2004, Kung Fu Hustle.

CJ7 trailer, 長江七號, Stephen Chow

Baseball Culture in Taiwan

I was digging out some old photos and I found this. Remember the Taiwan Variety Show showcasing about baseball and saying how their National Baseball player is in the America Baseball League.

Well, last October I was in Taipei to experience this, it was a night when their local league was having finals, and there was a crowd at their baseball "driving range", the crowd was watching the live telecast like we were watching our soccer finals. Good atmosphere.

I think the Japanese brought the baseball culture into Taiwan and see..They actually have their baseball team print on their 500NTD bank note. This should be known as the Little Maple Leaf Team.

I had a stint of my own baseball too.

Qualifying for Singapore Biathlon 2008

It seems like I'm not a swimmer just yet. I registered for the Singapore Biathlon 2008 and was greeted by the fact that I need to go a swim trial within 2 weeks. It would be 30 laps in the Olympic Size swimming pool in 40 minutes. Never was I efficient in swimming.

Swimming practice

After some 2 sessions a week swims for a week plus now, I'm feeling more confident in the water. But I still cannot thread water properly. Well, failure is the mother of success and my coach says I will make it for the swim trial if I believe in myself and that I imagine the swimming strokes in my mind.

At the back of my mind, I'm actually telling myself that I could only participate in a Biathlon in 2009, but I'm going for the swim trial nevertheless. I say a miracle if I pass my swim trial.

______________________________________________
Grey's Anatomy: "The most important history is the history you are making today."

Home Screening of the Secret

Ladies and Gentleman,

I had grabbed hold of the DVD of the Secret Movie. Not that Secret movie by Jay Chou, another one. Hmmm, anyone willing to let out their home theater system for the screening and unveil the secret?

Sign off,
Marco

P.S. more details to be disclosed.

http://thesecret.tv/

*The screening will be held on 13 January 2008 at Mr Jackie Mang's house, accompanied by the celebrity dog, BABY.

Blog Readability