--> The Trip to the Gym.. <--
I can't believe I actually woke up at 5.30 in the morning to meet my personal trainer at the gym at 7.45.
Thank goodness she's a nice friendly American girl who laughs at my lame Michelin jokes and thinks I'm a riot. So yes, we did have fun moments.
One great thing I learnt about my body: I actually DO have muscle in my abs!
Unfortunately, it's just one huge muscle covered in 5 layers of winter warming blubber. And it actually hurts like hell now because of all the abdominal torture I was put through today. It actually hurts to even laugh properly because I actually get tummy stitches!!
And, I realised that although I have arms, they're virtually useless because I can't even lift weights properly and the muscles I never even knew I had are overstretched. By the time I reached the office, I couldn't even write a note without looking like a shivering lunatic...
Then, there are the chunky sausages, otherwise called my legs, which are burning as though they have indeed been fried over a hot pan. I crossed my legs when I was sitting down and it took me almost a lifetime to uncross them again because my inner thighs ached so bad that I almost decided that maybe I should stay crosslegged the whole day while the rest of my department went for lunch.
My body is really one knotted and twisted ball of pain!!
I guess this is the price one must pay if one wants to drop 1-2 dress sizes.
This big *ouch* better be worth ouching for...
Chloe Andrina
12:26 PM
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--> If There's One Thing I Could Change... <--
I would turn back the clock and make sure I didn’t get stupidly drunk on Tuesday after my exam and belt out songs in the tube station!! Ok, it was entertaining for the rest of the world and I guess if that makes everyone happy, then well, c’est la vie!
The exam was terrible, needless to say. Personal tax was kind of okay BUT I finished all the short questions in less than an hour and I just wondered if there was something I missed out.. too simple to be true..Then when the Business tax paper came, I then understood that the examiners have one twisted sense of humour! Just as you hoped you were going to pass, they dump an outrageously difficult paper on you; which makes you melt into a helpless puddle on the floor.
Of course, the question that ran through my head was: Why am I doing this???
Obviously, pondering over this mystery led to a lack of concentration as my overly generous Irish friend topped up my glass and before you know it, I’m in a Thai restaurant (How I got there, I never knew) proclaiming in my ultra Singaporean way as I dig into my prawn kuay teow, ‘I can’t finish my food but I’ll finish the prawns because they’re the expensive bits on this plate..’!!!
It was a miracle that I even got to work 15 mins early.. So I’ve been doing all these small menial jobs and attending talks about how we should dress, wear make up, make sure our underwear is never visible (you know, the normal stuff we always do..yes, flashing underwear!) and never to talk about our clients openly in the lifts in case we horrify a potential client with our obvious breach of confidentiality.
Again, I asked myself on Friday: Would I change all of this?
I also got to thinking about my life and the relationships I’ve made over the years and wonder if I would change any of it. I had a few rough patches with people whom I thought were close friends of mine. I admit, it hurts and it still does and I find myself wishing that I never offered that hello or handshake or never let myself express my vulnerability.. basically, I wish I had never given so much of myself. Maybe without that tentative first step, I’d have been a much happier person.
Then again, I guess life is a trial and one of the bigger challenges is knowing who to trust and who you can keep as friends. It’s probably a skill that we have to pick up slowly and painfully. Perhaps to look at the brighter side of things, if I didn’t encounter these people who have hurt me, I might not be able to treasure and appreciate the ones who have brought me joy.
Chloe Andrina
12:18 PM
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--> The Angels are Singing.. <--
Wow, I kind of gave up blogging after a while because I thought noone was ever going to read it again!! No wonder there was Heavenly singing when I saw comments from Yuru and Praks.. haha.
What has your bo liao ex GP teacher been up to? Well, the poor soul's been studying and dying. She's been overtaken by numbers and penalty dates and percentages. My course has only managed to solve the age old question: Why Does Chloe Hate Maths?
So here I was, in King's College library.. (Yes, so sad, I spent most of my waking hours in a library and my weekends were spent in the office trying to cram tax in my head until the numbers and rules are dribbling down my ears!!!) and my files were splayed open. I flip through the pages, bored and resigned to this less than happening period in my life. Then, I look around me and take in the solemn and quiet atmosphere of this grand and ancient place, as though phantoms from the past and ghosts of the past living were swirling around me. I wonder who used to live here or if any of the Norman Kings plotted a war against the Welsh or dined with rich gusto within the thick solid walls.
My sights land on the books around me. I sigh and try to concentrate on my file:
Cars are a taxable benefit for the employee, must be time apportioned and National Insurnfhtlslmc...I groan inwardly and stand up. That inner itch returns and I wander along the shelf, gingerly fingering the spines.
Romanticism. English History in English Literature. Revenge Tragedy. I stop. I see it.
Beowulf: An Epic Poem.I tried to walk away but my fingers weren't listening to my head screaming for them to stop reaching out. The book slides from the shelf and into my waiting palms. The pages manage to open and there before my eyes, the familiar Anglo-Saxon words greet my eyes and I am at once filled with wonderment and nostalgia. I read a few more lines and I feel oddly surprised that I still remember how to understand this language.
Frod, Etherling..
Dom, Brecan... the words jump and I know what I'm reading: Beowulf's fight with the dragon.
I close the book, a little sad and make my way back to my seat.
Slump.I miss being a student. I miss plowing through books and I miss reading. I miss Literature and the feeling I get when I engage with the characters. I miss hearing the voices of the characters and thinking or feeling as they do.
I think I'll be on a reading spree after my exam tomorrow...
Chloe Andrina
1:09 PM
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