It Must Groove: My Weekend

I had yet another hectic weekend and although it was hectic, I really enjoyed the weekend. I got to meet many new people and experience culture.

The weekend started with dinner with the Chens on Friday night. Aik had recently met a new friend, who is from Singapore, and invited his family to dinner. And most times when Chef Chen prepares a special meal, I usually get invited and I bring my appetite. The menu for dinner was a mixture of favorites from Singapore. The main course was chicken satay. He also made a noodle dish called "hor fun." Aik and Lily are good cooks and I am glad I get to be the taste tester.

The satay being grilled.

A closer view of the delicious satay.

The finished "product" with the peanut dipping sauce.

Our new friend Kevin, helping out at the grill.

It was great to meet Kevin, his wife Linda and one year old son, Curtis. They have lived in the area for about 2 years now. We had fun talking about our former lives and experiences in Singapore. I hope to be able to hang out with them more in the future.

Another reason I look forward to hanging out with Aik and Lily is Janelle, their daughter. She is a cute kid and I am trying to be a part of her life as much as I can. She is growing up fast and she is a sharp kid.

Janelle's latest craze - the hula hoop.

Showing me how it's done.

Here's goes...

Striking a pose for me.

The famous blank stare and the smiles came after.

Let's try again...or maybe not.

Chef Chen, with a bowl of "koropok" or deep fried prawn flavored crackers.

Aik's newest toy - it gives him 60 miles to the gallon!

I was trying hard not to over-eat at the Chens because I was going to run in a 5K race early Saturday morning. It was difficult and even though I ate less, I still had my fill.

Saturday morning came fast and I got up early for the Run of the Mill 5K Run. This run was to benefit a medical center that treats cancer and supports cancer survivors.

This is the second 5K run I have taken part in this season. This was definitely the more intense run of the two. They reckoned that there was anywhere from 1500 to 1700 people participating in the run and official count for the finishers was 1278 people. The number of participants had grown from 200+ to 1500+ in about 4 years. This run included 7 Olympic Marathon runners - apparently the timing of the race would count as a qualifying time for the Olympic Trials. Apart from the 7, there were a lot of other serious runners and competitive people running. It made the atmosphere way different than my last run.

Back of the line for registration.

I have kind of a love/hate relationship with running. I really do enjoy running and I enjoy running against a clock. However, I have this silly nagging dissatisfaction with my current state. I put a lot of pressure on myself when it comes to running. I do it (and I know it is silly) because back when I was in the military, I could run the 2.4K in 8 minutes or slightly less; which would probably mean I could complete the 5K in about 15 to 16 minutes. The guy who won overall, came in at 15:26 minutes. Obviously I know I had not trained sufficiently and I am about 15 years older; but it still bugs me and I know with enough motivation, I can get back some of the form.

Here's me before the race.

Here's me after the race with my "door" prize for completing the race.

I came in with a time of 32:07 minutes and was the 658th finisher overall. I wasn't too pleased with my time but I have to say that this was a much tougher course to run than the previous race. In any case, I am quite motivated to get better and make running a more consistent part of my life.

Here are some pictures of the Corvette car showing after the run:

Next up for the day was a birthday part for my co-worker Tofu's son. It was Manoah's first birthday. I was quite honored to be invited to the party - which had a luau theme. I met many new people at this party. It was fun to meet the family and friends of my co-worker.