So here we are enjoying our new apartment, which we moved into last Saturday. Movers were engaged to pack, transport and unpack our items to the new apartment, all of which took place over a course of 2 days. Our apartment is still quite messy, aside from the kitchen which we spent our entire Sunday afternoon tidying. Size-wise it is larger than my previous one. It is about 1300 sq meters in size, with 3 bedrooms. It also has facilities comprising, inter alia, a gym (containing all the basic equipment that is more than sufficient for me) and a pool approximately 50 metres in length. It takes about 11 minutes to walk to the nearest MRT station, and the bus stand is located even closer.

Its been a month now since I stopped work and began attending my classes at NUS. The initial period of joy and happiness of not working has been replaced by periodic feelings of guilt- I feel like I’ve been slacking for too long. The grass is always greener on the other side. Lectures are on the average, 2 to 3 hours per day, leaving me with plenty of free time. I haven’t considered taking up a part time job of any kind, not yet at least, for various reasons- I needed to sort out the move, for starters; I do need to take time to study. The course is not a walk in the park as I expected it to be- its not that I’m falling far behind and I don’t understand what is going on- but I certainly need to take the time to study. Plus, my wife is due in November, and I want to take the opportunity of being a student to be a father to my child, at least in the 1st year of her life. And, I miss my family. Every time I’ve gone back to KL, it was a rushed affair- 2 days of juggling between spending time with my family and friends. Now that I have more time, I can spend at least 5 days to 1 week in KL. So I should remind myself constantly that this period is a fantastic opportunity for me to do the things I’ve just described.

I’ve been able to log in some substantial mileage, averaging 15-20km a day, at least 6 days a week. I certainly feel fitter. Again, at the risk of repeating myself, cardiovascular-wise I feel fit, but the legs still feel somewhat heavy due to my time spent on the saddle instead of being on my feet on the roads. Doesn’t help that I’ve been biking either (more on that shortly). But I have lost some weight (I’m down to 62kgs now- 3 short of my ideal racing weight) and my legs are feeling lighter by the week, so that is an encouraging sign.

I’ve been biking around the neighbourhood too, trying out my new toy, usually for rides lasting a hour or so. The neighbourhood is somewhat undulating so I do get a good workout with some hills.

I did read some somewhat shocking news- my friend John Tan was involved in a bike crash and looked to have suffered what appeared to be pretty serious injuries. Well, it looked serious enough to me and it shook me up considerably. We have to be careful out there but cycling isn’t the safest sport in the world. Sometimes all it takes is a seemingly small innocuous pebble on the road to cause the most serious of crashes. But those who truly love cycling will still hit the roads despite the apparent risks. And they will continue riding after recovering from their injuries. I will be careful out there and will try to minimize the chances of it happening, but sometimes, crashes will happen.

Anyway, there will be a mid term break, and I’ll be back in KL from the 3rd week of September for a weeklong holiday. Maybe I’ll see you around?