Snowboarding

Uncles, Aunties and cousins all ready to go skiing and snowboarding.

Activities in the Snow

Random photos of me...

Slurpee

This is Slurpee, my Uncle Ravi's dog.

Uncles and Aunties

Uncle Chandran and Aunt Jennifer. Their kids are Jared, Candice and Justin. They live in Colorado Springs and I stayed with them mostly during my holiday.


Uncle Ravi. His wife, Aunt Heidi, could not make it to the Christmas party cos their son was sick. Their kids are Joy, Jesse and James. They too live in Colorado and I stayed at their place for a couple of days.


Uncle Abu and Aunt Suzy. Their kids are Asha, Shantini and Anand. They live in Dallas, Texas. They came up to Colorado Springs to celebrate Christmas with all of us.


Uncle Nate and his wife. They too live in Colorado Springs. They are close family friends and joined us for Christmas lunch.

My cousins; Asha, Shantini and Anand (family from Texas)

My cousins; Joy, Jesse and James (different family)

My cousins; Jared, Candice and Justin

Home Sweet Home!

Hey there! I'm back. As much as I enjoyed my holiday, I'm really glad to be home! Most of you should already know that I was in Colorado Springs the last 2 weeks. The weather there has been an eye opener for me. The day I arrived there the weather was cold but there was no snow. For the next 4 days, the weather remained around the minus 5 degrees region but still no snow. Then it hit! Snow storm, blizzard, what ever you want to call it. Strong winds, heavy snow fall. The temp dropped to around minus 20 degrees. It was cold. Due to the weather my original flight home was cancelled. Thankfully, God was gracious and I managed to get on the next flight back home. Above are some pictures of my holiday there. Enjoy!

Christmas Wish

Yesterday we went up to Cooper Mountain to snowboard. It was awesome. It was my first time snowboarding, I've tried skiing before but never really liked it. So this time I tried snowboarding. It was difficult at first but I soon got the hang of it after like 3 runs. How I wish they had snowboarding in Singapore. Anyway, I just got some bad news, my flight out of Colorado Springs tomorrow morning has been cancelled. The snow storm has not been too friendly on air travellers recently. My uncle is on the phone right now trying to get me on the first plane out of Colorado Springs. Please pray that I get a flight out of here. I really want to go home. I've really enjoyed my holiday but there is nothing like home!

A really, really white Christmas.

Weather report: Blizzard. Snow Storm. Strong icy winds.

Well, the last 2 days has been cold. I mean really, really cold. According to the news, they are calling it "The Christmas Blizzard". I've never experienced snow before. I mean, I have seen snow. I've gone skiing before. I've made snowballs before. But I've never seen snow falling from the sky. So seeing snow falling from the sky was really really nice. Then it turned into a snow storm and the snow was like really high. The funny thing is, during the blizzard last night, we decided to go sledging. So we drove out to the park and went sledging in the blizzard. It was cold. The snow was up to my thigh. The wind was blowing from every direction. Snow was getting into my face, into my mouth, into my nose. My fingers were numb, my ears were so cold. Walking up the slope with the sledge in the bitter cold wind was a challenge itself. But the satisfaction of riding down the slope was beyond words. Its noting like a water slide or a grassy slope. It was fun, but bitter cold. I went for like 3 ride before I gave in to the cold. Holding on to one of the sleighs, I walked as fast as I could back to the car. Damn, it was cold. Today the weather has eased up a lot. The snow is falling lightly and there is no more wind. My uncle and cousins are out sledging now but I decided to keep warm and stay indoors. Will be going shopping later. Hope my boots are all dried up from last night's escapades.

Freezing my butt off...

Greetings from Colorado Springs. As many of you already know, I left for Colorado Springs last week on the 15th of Dec for holiday. I've been here 3 days already. The weather here is really cold. Last night we went carolling with some friends. I mean as in real carolling, where we actually went house to house to sing Christmas carols to people. It was a new experience for me but I totally enjoyed myself. The only down part was the weather. It was -5 degrees. It was bloody freezing cold. Today we went to go get our snowboards cos we're leaving for the mountians on thursday for a few days of skiing and snowboarding. I can't wait. The weather is cold but I'm getting used to it. Haven't done much shopping yet. will be going shopping the next few days. Anyway, just want to say hi to Jasmine. I'm glad she had fun shopping Vietnam. Anyway darling, you take care and I'll see you soon. Ciao people!

Cos I'm leaving, on an Airplane...

Well, its finally here. I've been looking forward to tomorrow for almost 4 months. Tomorrow, I'm finally leaving for Colorado Springs, Denver, USA for my holiday. Jasmine is currently in Vietnam with her family on holiday. She left today at 1430Hrs. I'm leaving tomorrow morning at 0645Hr. I won't be seeing her till the 31st of Dec, when I return from my trip. I'm definitely going to miss her. Anywhere, just like the e-mail she sent me, here's a little prayer for you darling:

Dear Lord,
I pray that you protect Jasmine and her family while they are on holiday in Vietnam. I pray that they will not be affected by the typhoon. Let her have fun shopping and visiting places of interest in Vietnam. As she returns next week, I pray for a safe journey back and that you'll look after her till I get back. Thank you.

Amen.

Jas, take care and I'll see you soon k. Love you and miss you lots! I'll buy you many nice stuff back k.

To everyone else, I don't think i'll be blogging much when I'm away, but I'll be putting up many photos when I get back. Till then, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year everyone!!!

Bintan Trip.

Jasmine and I have been together just alittle over 2yrs now. Its been a wonderful 2yrs and one of the contributing factors is her relatives. Jasmine and me are not married or even close to getting married anytime soon but her family members have been really nice to me! Last weekend, 8th - 10th Dec 2006, her family invited me to spend the weekend with them at Bintan. I don't know if its a common thing now days but having your girlfriend's family invite you for a family holiday which includes all the aunts, uncles, cousins, nephews and nieces is really something. I consider myself lucky to have been accepted by Jasmine's family enough for them to invite me on a family holiday. Anyway, I really thank them for always being so nice to me and here are some photos of the place we were over the weekend!


This is a picture of the Bintan Lagoon Resort villa that we stayed in. We have our own private pool plus from where I am standing taking this photo, the beach is just behind me!


As you can see, the beach is clean and the water is clear plus the waves are like really big and you can almost surf in it!


This is just an artistic angle of the beach. I put the camera on the san and took this shot making it look like the sand and sky are touching with a thin line of the ocean in between.


This is one place we went for shopping. Its called "Pasar Oleh Oleh". The place really sucks. Hardly anything to buy plus its like Chatuchak in Bangkok but like only 10 people. Its a bloody ghost town!

My First 42.195km

I woke up at 4am this morning, Having a quick shower, I went in search of a taxi. Reaching the holding area opposite the Padang, I tried looking for my friends but realized that I was there too early. It was only 5am. Sitting sown on the flood I started my warm ups. Eventually all my friends arrived and we made our way to the starting point. There were thousands and thousands of people when the race was flagged off. What happened over the next few hours is something I'll never forget.

The initial run was alright. A little crowded but it felt really good. Turn around point was around 7-8km. (Can't remember exactly) As I headed out of Marina South, my Ipod Nano died on me. Its not my Ipod Nano, belongs to my brother and I have no idea why it just died. Anyway, As I hit the 12km mark I suddenly felt a tingle in my left thigh. Shit! Cramp! Pushing it out of my head I made it to the 15km mark before I had to stop and stretch. Luckily, some of my friends were waiting for me there and I added like half the tube of deep heat rub. I am now a true believer of Deep Heat Rub. It really works. Carrying on, I made it to the 21km mark with out much of a problem. Taking in some strawberry power gel, I pushed on! Suddenly at the 24km mark both my legs gave way. Cramps in both my thighs, hamstring and calves took alot out of me! I really felt like giving up. But thanks to God, who without I would have never made it, I decided to carry on. I've already made it to the 24km mark, why not just finish the remaning 18km.

I have never felt such excruciating and unbearable pain in my life. I have had many soccer injuries that can rival the pain but the feelings of cramps in both legs, blisters on both feet, abrasion on my arm due to the Ipod strap and the sheer fatigue of the whole thing is very very trying.

Well, I managed to walk and run periodically when ever my legs felt better and I am proud to say that I am now officially a Finisher of the 42.195km Standard Chartered Marathon 2006.