climb these walls

"hard to find a place where there are no walls, and no lines begging me to cross" - trapt (these walls)

it was a full-on sporty day today.

first i was up bright and early to support my friend in the women's 10km race. i woke up even earlier than i usually do for work, but oh well, it's her very first race. the very race i chickened out in joining with her 'coz i'm not much of a runner. but the atmosphere was awesome and the runners even more so. i'm proud of my friend. i shall aspire similar greatness.

after that i left for a full day sports climbing course.


it's a lot harder than it seems and a lot more painful. my arms are aching. but other than a lil bop on the head on the wall and a very minor abrasion possibly caused by rope burn, i was injury free.

but it was worth it. i am now a level one sports climber certified by the mountaineering federation.

only level one.

well at least i can now check off one more item thing on my to-do list.

ode to the hair

"everyone asks me, who the hell is she? that weirdo with 5 colours in her hair" - mcfly (5 colours in her hair)

no matter where i go, i get a lot of stares. it’s not my face, not my dressing, not even my walk to the beat of justin timberlake’s sexyback (i’m kidding… i don’t strut… i think… haha!) no siree. what is gaining all the stares is my hair.

the hair

the hair gets a lot of attention. it can generally stop traffic. haha! in fact the hair is practically a separate entity of its own.

everywhere i go people notice it. i guess it’s kinda hard not to notice it. not when it’s short (which in itself stands out in a world full of long haired girls), flicky and streaked with some bold colour not found in nature. at least not found in nature as far as hair colours go but certainly in nature with colours of blue-green, blueberry, forest green, lime green and raspberry.

my friends are always amazed at the hair. most even wished they had the guts and chance to do the same. i’ve even had a fair amount of strangers come up and compliment me on the hair. but i don’t do it for the attention. though don’t get me wrong, that’s actually pretty nice sometimes. and it’s not even bout mustering up the guts. for me, the hair is just so me. it’s totally something that i would do. the hair suits me. it sorta brings out that punk rocker in me.

but the hair takes work. granted it’s not as high maintenance as one would think. but it definitely takes some maintenance. i don’t exactly fall out of bed looking like that. no way. hair product has to be put in and the hair flicked. weekly touch ups keep that bold colour bold. work.

and i’m fortunate that my work doesn’t mind my outrageous colours. i think my boss secretly wonders what colour i’ll come up with next. it’s certainly a conversation starter… even for other people.

"you’ve got a girl in your office with *blue / green / purple (*insert appropriate hair colour of the moment) hair!"
"yep we do"

but sad as it is, eventually the hair will probably have to change to a more sedate and widely accepted colour. i would probably run out of colours soon. or perhaps a new future job wouldn’t be so open-minded. though i would sure love to walk into an interview with the hair and when asked what i can bring to the company, say "colour!" with a cheeky smile.

the hair might even one day be less short and flicky and slightly longer (only slight ‘coz i just looove short lengths) with no need for hair product. just wash and go.

i wonder if and when that time comes, will anyone still notice me? or will i fade into the background. into oblivion. just another normal girl in the crowd.

maybe then i would have to learn to rely on my face, dressing and a walk to the beat of justin timberlake’s sexyback (darn i have to learn how to strut? haha!) in order to get anyone to look at me.

blistered

"tonight i feel ambitious and so does my foot" - eve6 (open road song)

let's recap... episode 1 of jo's injuries was the big ass bruise from rollerblading. episode 2 was the pain in the neck from stretching.

and now for episode 3 of jo's injuries... blisters from running.


just in case anyone thinks i'm this hardcore running machine, i'm not. i am however, i admit, a wannabe runner. but i was just in a funk on friday and somehow decided that pounding the ground forcefully as i ran was the best way to kick me outta it. well it may have helped... but it certainly didn't help my feet. i think if i'm gonna run, i'm gonna need new shoes. my current shoes just ain't cutting it... well except for cutting my feet that is.

but pain aside, physical exertion just has this way of almost calming me. and i try and push on 'coz it reminds me so much of what life is like. despite the pain, you just have to push on.

it's a baby girl!

"welcome to this place, i'll show you everything" - creed (with arms wide open)

it was some time ago when my guy friend who is based in china told me the good news.

and now the news only gets better. last night, his wifey gave birth to a baby girl. he even got to cut the umbilical cord and all.


apparently in china the doctors don't tell you the sex of your baby beforehand probably due to the fear that you'd abort your kid if you found out that it was a girl. so this time there's new meaning to when the doctor says in the delivery room that it's a girl.

i'm so excited for my guy friend. he's gushing bout his lil baby daughter like any proud new father. in the words of daddy dearest himself:

"she's gonna be the smartest, bestest, prettiest, loveliest. my little daughter"

can you feel the love?

starry starry night

"when i look at the stars, the stars, i feel like myself" - switchfoot (stars)

lately i've been on the hunt to do something different. something i like and yet something different from what i normally do. so i jumped at the opportunity to catch x2: x-men united and x-men: the last stand at the nokia starlight cinema.

an outdoor cinema festival set under the stars of a beautiful night sky... nevermind that the recent haze made for it to be more blurry night than starry night... we packed our snacks (the sole guy was an overachiever and thought this to mean more than just chips and dip but added bread, smoked salmon, sushi and cheese to the mix) and drinks (we had red and white wine but forget the water?? haha!), lay out our picnic mat, found a nice spot and sat down to enjoy the night.

definitely fun times!

and the pics aren't blurry 'coz of my shaky hands... no siree... it's the haze :P

pain in the neck

"show me my vital signs until i'm realigned" - shinedown (better version)

here's epiosode 2 in the latest series of jo's injuries...


yesterday morning at work, i lifted my hands above my head and gave myself a nice stretch... yowza! what was that?? i felt a pull in my neck muscles. after that i was in a fair amount of pain and fair amount of mobility in my neck was reduced. by early afternoon i decided to take some time off work to see a chinese doctor for some natural remedy that didn't include actual painkillers.

i should be a chinese doctor. the amount of time it took me to get there was longer than the amount of time he actually spent seeing me. he said that my muscles were cramped and twisted and then proceeded to twist me around a bit in order to untwist and realign me. and then he gave me some medicine and sent me on my way. all within 5 minutes.

i suppose i do feel slightly better. but i'm still experiencing pain and limited neck mobility. i suppose i'm still sore.

i just hope that i get better real fast and that this series will get cancelled now!

falling...

"she's falling down, it feels like a paisley shade of pink" - dexter freebish (falling down)

they say that you never forget your first time...

first time you fall in love... or maybe just the first time you fall...

i had my second rollerblading class yesterday. and i fell for the first time. well actually i fell for the first and second time.


the ironic part was that i wasn't even rolling along. i was just standing there. and then all of a sudden, out of the blue i just fell. twice. within a span of 5 minutes.

in rollerblading, you're taught to fall forward onto your knee guards and wrist guards. but it happened too fast for me to react and natual instinct took over. and let's just say that they should have butt guards as well.

the first time i fell it wasn't that bad. i was able to get back on my feet and ready to carry on. the second time was just too much. and my bruised butt begged me to stop.

now i have a huge ass bruise on my... well... ass...

the only other bruises i've had that could rival this one was from the time i was paintballing in perth.

well i guess now that i've gotten the whole first fall thing outta the way, it's time for me to get back onto the horse and try again.

next week that is...