A one-live cat’s life

I am celebrating my 29th birthday today.

I have been feeling my - pre-depression, seasonal blues since last
week because of it. Growing a year older! Well one cure to my
depression is running. It is the cause of my addiction. never thought
how much kilometers i will be running this week as last week has been
really a bum week for me not have ran for more than 25Kms. And just
yesterday i thought, that since today i am turning 29, i should be
running my 29th KM for the week.

Tuesday: 7Km, bay run
Wednesday: 14 Km, Bayrun(7×2) - it was difficult to run in the dark! without light, specially near the mental hospital! errie!
Thursday (21.08.08)-7Km Bay run + 1 km King George Oval

1. Thanks I have strong legs and strong passion to keep myself running

i never had anything planned to do on my bday, although i wanted to
go out somewhere unfortunately, i can’t. I am left to do a night work meaning i cant go out late.

2. look at the brighter side of it, thank you i have a good job, and I dont need to go to work on Friday

Today I got two bday cards. One from my Family, which affected me
really well. I was sobbing to see and realize i do miss them as much as
they miss me.

3. Thank you for a good and supportive family, dad, mom, Ting, Celes and Lola

This is the thrid consecutive bday that i am working for the client
and literally working on my bday! 2006-was in Jakarta, a public
holiday, but was on call to baby sit servers at the site. 2007-was at
the site, deploying a project, 2008 in Philippines, coming home in my
flat by myself - will be working on 8 production servers alone in
Sydney away from my family

4. Thank you that i do have opportunity to travel, i do love to travel

5. Friends around me, my ever good friends from highschool and
college, and friends i have known since i started working who sent me
their bday messages - Thank you guys

6. Thanks for the Good health

7. Thanks for nice homes

…. things i still need to do and continue doing

8. make a good difference to the world every single day

9. share my blessings

10. learn new things everyday

11. Travel the rest of Philippines

12. Travel China, Korea, Myanmar and Brunei

13. Travel rest of Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and Papua New Guinea

14. Travel North America

15. Travel South America

16. Travel Europe

17. Meet new sincere good friends

18. Smile and make someone smile everyday

19. Run a half marathon

20. Run a full Marathon

21. Snowboard

22. Be better in swimming

23. Travel India and Nepal and parts of Middle East

24. Get my masters in Uni

25. Be a better cook

26. Run faster on races and avoid injuries

27. Create a beautiful piece of art, refresh and do my real love - draw and paint

28. Write better

29. Be fluent in another language

In 28 years of my life, I haven’t seen snow!  Growing up in a tropical country where the season is only either wet or dry, Snow is very foreign object to me!  Thus, experiencing it will be overwhleming i guess.  Ive been to places that do get snow, but never was i able to be on the winter season. 

Never did i think that in Australia it do snow, and so when i have been hearing from my colleagues and learning from them the ski-resorts and area where it snow, i think it is a good opportunity to go and see and feel how winter with snow feels like! 

Starting month of June winter in Australia starts, it is very different from the rest of the world.  Some stores even have this signs saying Christmas in july! and they do sell Christmas ornaments and of Christmas motiffs.

Anyway, I am glad that there’s this community called CouchSurfing.  Where i posted a message of interest to go see the snow.  After a month of correspondence, we were able to arrange the trip with the big organizing of James (our host and who drove us during the trip), and our host in Aulbury (boundary of NSW and Victoria).

I took a day off from work on a Friday, and we started the journey to Aulbury by 1430.  Arriving James’ house at 2100hrs.

@600 we left Aulbury and headed to Falls Creek. We travelled on two vehicles.  Travellers with me were James, Steve, Luanne (fellow 1st timer to see snow), Stephanie (fellow 1st timer to ski), James, Kaye, Nonie and Josh.

Arrived at Mount beauty to get our gear hires (ski clothes, skis and boards - 85UASD)  Left the shop at 830is and arrived the Falls creek resort by past 930.  On our way to the mountains, it was a zigzaggy two lane road.  As you go higher towards the alps, you can see the vegetation changing from leafy to branchy kind.  I was in awe, seeing the Snow caps from afar!

We took the lifts and lessons for beginners which is 65UASd each.  I did have a few runs while waiting for lunch and the lessons which i did have a few fall since i do not know how to stop.  But looking at the slopes, it do looks scarey sliding down! and skiers just seem to do it so easily without any effort!

We took the shuttle and cable up towards the lessons area.  And so glad to see a large group of adult doing the first time skiing!! I am not so old after all to learn to ski :).  We have a Austrian female instructor.  She taught us how to side-step, ski and snow-plow (stop).  that was after 2 hours with 9 other beginners.  I say that the lessons did help me learn to stop and do it properly.  after which i never did fall again!  And the lessons also gave you more confidence.

I did have a few runs on the beginners slope.  It was of help being a runner that my legs are not getting tired from this activity,  although my arms did get sore because most of the time carrying the skis when we were still to do the learning.  (I think my free weight-training and light equipment training helped me carry my gear compared, literally the boots, and the clothes and ski and pole are of the same weight as me).

It was a plan to go again on a Sunday, but James our host was having a going away party in his house, having partied and sore during the day, everybody decided to just sleep and rest.  It was indeed a very pleasureable experience.  The road trip, the couch surfing and the ski.  I would love to learn more and go skiing again in the future.

Steve and Stephanie and me- the night of James’ Partey!

@ James house in the city of Aulbury

argh! 2 weeks and felt so exhausted lately with work.  Frustration is starting to get into me as too many tasks on my plate and I unintentionally miss a lot of things making me so inefficient at work

Worse thing is when people start to do finger pointing at me when they should think that working should be of team effort. I just don’t like this feeling.

I think this break to Falls Creek will make it all better again next work week.

First thing I did before going to work even i am already so super late! is buy the Sun Herald newspaper, as the official results of the City to Surf will be published.

I was estatic to find out that i did better than what i have expected! I shaved off 7 minutes from the clock time at the finish chute.  This makes me qualified to get a red bib (fastest group) next year!

The City To Surf as mentioned in my earlier blog entry, registered runners are 70,000 but 57,795 ran the race.  RIP, bless his soul, one young Brit runner died 200 m away from the finish chute. 

This even was also the largest chip race ever according to the organizers.

pictures grabbed from fairfax and marathon-photos.com

On an unexpected friends coming over bring alcoholic drinks on a Friday night, I was not able to do an early slow jog with the Woodies on Saturday morning, woke up and did "swim" instead. rehydrated LOTs to make up with the dehyrdation i did on Friday night.

Sunday morning set my alarm at 620am as race starts 9am. Waking to find out to have this nasty back and abdominal pain from dysmenorrhea (why now!).  Which was making me think should i go to the race or not contemplating at the bathroom, and decided to just go maybe it will go away, put menthol balm i told myself.  Ate my breakfast and was bout by 730 waiting for my bus ride.  Surprisingly to find out a lot were waiting for the buses to go to the city and are also doing the City 2 Surf!  No buses arrived so one by one we did share a taxi with these City 2 Surf strangers :), which i am grateful.

Arrived at the race area, dropped my bag, took off my jumper, and waited at the green forecourt area(2nd batch of runners, those who did a 75 -100 mins from last C2S, dont ask me how i got to get there and it was my first c2s ) forecourt area. Oh how enviuos I am with those wearing the red bibs ( less or equal to 74.59)!!  We were followed by the blue bibs and the yellow bibs

So the 2nd gunstart went off, that was us, it was a slow walk for few meters trying to get through all the runners, then jog then run.  It was challenging to get pass the crowd and runners ahead of you and you have to be careful not to get tripped over.  Squeezing myself with runners, and i mean squeeze, hitting elbow to elbow literally no exaggeration!  This is the only race i saw in my running "career" so well participated and the crowd would not just disperse as the length of the race progress. It is just too crowded!! Imagine 70,000 runners doing the race! Its a good thing that encourages and motivates you to keep on running thinking you have to overtake this runners and knowing you have someone running with you on the course.

It was a hilly course.  The hills just did not stop, i kept on praying for a flat and a  downhill after each hill but no.  it was only probably at the last 3 kilometers that it was downhill and you start to see the beach! and you know you are almost there.  There were no markers how long have you had run, only at the 9km and the start of the heartbreak hill which was the 6th km.

It was a very festive mood, lots of volunteers, lots of water and gatorade along the way, RSVP sponge baths!, expectators came out of their houses cheering for the runners, pubs you pass along way wit their bands, kids/people playing their guitars and bagpipe along the way just keeps you alive and moving.  Its just so challenging that there are people who do run so fast so i just kept to thinking and targetting to overtake all Asian female runners i see.

At the last 1 km of the course was also 3/4 uphill and 1/4 downhill that i  was not able to do a sprint at the end.  I am trying to convince myself that i did okey considering it was my first C2S but it is not good enough fr me! i might have shaved off the 2 mins thinking back if i would have not stopped for drinks, and slowed down on hills.  Next year, I swear, I will be targetting to get myself qualified to the red bibbed group. Yes, call me ambisiosa but i would like to get that red bib!

After the race, re-grouped with the Woodies, and went to the pub.  Crazy ozzies! You can’t imagine that they would go straight at the pub for drinks after the run, so we did a dehyrdation and carbo loading.  I had 5 pints of beer!  It was a good mood at the pub wit hthe olympics playing on the screen and the c2s runners, it was a very ozzie, sporty mood.  I had fun, even with the not so good timining

Location: Hyde Park to Bondi beach
Distance: 14Km
Time: 78.xx mins (clock time)
Pace: 5.57
(This blog will be updated on Tuesday for pics and exact timing)

Just a log of my cram training!

03/08/08: Rozelle Bay, Balmain,Bay run 800AM 21.5 KMs

04/08/08: rest day — got dragged by my PM to pig out ! :’-(

05/08/08: Treadmill 11.6033 KMs 65mins 06/08/08: Bayrun + Balmain 11++ KMs 5PM 60 Mins (yes i’ve been guilty of am hogging the machine!)

07/08/08: Balmain 8 Km 950AM 40 Mins

**08/08/08: Treadmill 11 Kms 65 mins Total: 62 ++

** 09/08/08: rest day/walk/jog/stretch

*** im still freaked out how i go on Sunday, Woodies estimated me at 76mins i feel like i would be slower!

Im psyching myself i will finish the race at a decent time, without getting scared of the hills!

So 4 months and 2 days has passed since i moved to Sydney, Australia.  With no family or relative in the country, moving alone is a big step for me (and an asian cultured family).Just updates from me. 

And so how am i coping up? have I already adjusted?: Been busy with work that I do not have time to feel homesick (and feeling guilty i cant even write an email to my family!, good thing we chat :D)

What made you move to Australia? The place, the people and the environment.  First time i went here, last year of February, I fell in love with the place.  Just so much to see, people are friendly, people value nature and the environment and they have a laidback lifestyle compared to the Asian cities.

So is there anything you don’t like in Australia?
1. The customer service in most of the service/hospitality business.  Well embarassingly most services here do have call centers in the Philippines, and being a Filipino, i can tell it is in the Philippines.  Im sad that the agents are not so nice, accomodating, and service oriented (so-far) with my experiences. Asian hospitality is still the best (hotels, restaurants)
2. Thought westerners are more bit of a class, as they always bash the poor Philippines, but OMG! my commuter experiences, people just don’t have manners, they do put their feet up the chairs, and unconsiderate.  Filipinos do still have manners.
3. Some locals think they are better than me just because they are white. (to many experiences to enumerate)

So far best things you are enjoying in Oz:
beaches, weather, running routes, food

Challenges as of the moment?
being too nice.
being single, no family obligations just makes people at work i do not have a life and wanted to break my back! (i thought it was laid back) but i am learning to say NO its a weekend, no I have a scheduled appointment i can’t do it just like any other Ozzies/locals deal with work.

just lately:
sms from boss: Chaia, please call me back, its EMERGENCY!!
me (heck, its a saturday! what is it?), called … problem in a solution we deployed ..

(this already happened once and i did help, to find out my time is not paid by emergency call and i just did fair deal of asking compensation days instead)

me (replied): okey BUT i can only help you this afternoon till tomorrow noon
boss: why is that?
me (duh?!?! its a weekend!): i did make some plans and i can not cancel it, I am sorry
… well i am not paid to be stressed on a weekend, i do have a life huh.  Well i know they are working on putting me in the roster though.
just rants on a weekend :D, that’s why i am online im waiting for their call …