30.1.2025 Thursday - steroids or natural recovery?

socks from Japan via Lionel, and slippers from Taiwan

 I start the day early, (for the Second day of the Lunar New Year) at 6 a.m. slow run round the block to the gym for a stretch and a bit of strength training. I know it would a difficult start, and I know that I would feel good for the day having started ahead of everyone else.  

4.2km slow run but HR is 120 when it should be 100-110 (but mine was 120) - so this is still a bit of a strain on me. I feel good, maybe it is the steroids or maybe this pace is more sustainable.

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29.1.2025 Wednesday - Year of the Snake begins

Wet, so not going out. No one invites us either - I am happy sketching at the dinner table while the tv plays a movie. Later I go to the gym when I am the most tired and realise that I still have energy to do intervals. This is good, I'll run again tomorrow.

6km run - with intervals reaching 10min/km pace (Norwegian Protocol)

 

28.1.2025 Tuesday - a wet Lunar New Year Eve

 

27.1.2024 - a good day all round

 

26.1.2025 Sunday - gradually changing the streetscape

 

25.1.2025 Saturday - raining so no running about

I hurt my arm yesterday playing tennis, so I am feeling a bit vulnerable and sad for myself. I decide to do something about it. I visit the TCM for a bit of 'cupping' and also blood letting. Running at the gym feels harder than normal, and I go home even more tired. I should simply rest.

The highlight of the day (night) is the lifting of the final module of the Singgahsana steel frame columns. By now, the entire existing building is framed with the new red painted steel structure. 

24.1.2025 Friday - lunch at the office

This is likely the last office lunch for a while. Folks are tired from prepping and cleaning after the event, but it is going on, everyone is happy and talking amongst themselves and eating. This morning, I arrive at 7a.m. to start cooking a veg pasta sauce to serve with penne and chilli oil. Later I help Roosh and Melvin with their respective one-pot rice. One which is halal, and the other with Chinese sausage. 

It is also a busy work day otherwise, and I do end the day rather tired. Which is another reason not to do this for a while.

23.1.2024 Thursday - on steroids

 Arm hurts, from the gym. Feels like the beginnings of tennis elbow, I massage and take meds to ease the inflammation.

Sam thinks I should go for a full body check up and scan, I have been resisting and playing it down for years. 

22.1.2024 Wednesday - saying it as it is

We have done our part, they have not. And when he tries to negotiate a way out of his shortfalls, I lose my cool. I tell him off like a parent. 

And as usual, I feel bad about it afterwards. Especially when I tell off 2 more people, one for not doing his work coordinating compound lighting, and the other four trying to pull a fast one with the concealed lighting conduits in the car park. 

I console myself by saying that it's for the good of the project. Leong would say - yes, but there is no need to lose your temper. Agreed, but it works, and I feel better momentarily. 

But I should stop doing this, at my age - it's not cool. 

21.1.2025 Tuesday - leaving a legacy

At dinner, we tell stories from university and I tell them that at the final years of uni, I had 2 bosses; a Chinese one from the restaurant where I worked nights and an Italian one from the architect's office where I worked some days of the week while finishing my 5th Year Design Studio. One night, Philip the Chinese restaurant boss says 'Ming (he could never get my name right) - I just bought a piece of land at Belmont Heights and I want you to design a house for me'. I sensed that it was going to be a big task ahead if he was going to get it built and decided to introduce him to my Italian boss, Pas Cirillo. They met and Pas took Philip for a drive looking at the houses Pas built, after which they agreed to work together. The next day, I met Pas and offered to initiate the design with Philip and asked if I could then continue with the design development drawings. He agreed, and from then on I would sit down with Philip and Jan to talk about their house after the restaurant closed for the night. 

 

20.1.2025 Monday - overwhelmed

 After a long weekend of work, I feel very tired today. I am not aware of it until late in the afternoon, when I get a phone call from a client about ceiling heights in the apartments. I speak to PH, who seem to have it under control abut I am not certain. I speak to Fiona, and soon we arrived at a possible solution. Then I wait until I am on the way to tennis before I speak to him, and discuss strategies to how we would discuss  with the client. 

I ll feel better after the tennis, but I play badly and feel worse after sports - the first time I have felt this way. 

Day 2 of walking an hour a day

19.1.2025 Sunday - add walking to the routine

 It rained the whole night, in the morning I walk for an hour before some strength training (100 body weight squats). This is Day 1 to the routine, let's see how 30 days will impact my fitness.

I skip squash and continue to check through the Springvale set, which tests another type of fitness. ANd like a long run, I am glad that I did it when I complete the task at 6pm

18.1.2025 Saturday - is for drawing

 

17.1.2025 Friday - Steel-lifting Stage 2

 I finally get to work on Block 3, and this morning I have what Ricco would call a good chat with JY. We discuss the practical aspects; Fire-fighting access, circulation, land in front of the river, we also talk about the key concepts which differentiate this with our other schemes for this client - the green link connecting all levels with pauses at every floor, views of the river, architectural language. After this, she sets off to calculate the building volume to work out the extend of the fire -fighting access. 

Block 3 apartments

16.1.2025 Thursday - steel in broad daylight

 

15.1.2025 Wednesday - plenty of site work

An early start to the day in preparation for a Pre-CPC inspection at Renna, I asked Sam to come along, jokingly saying that she is replacing her son. Sean is busy planning tonight's photo shot of the first steel frames at Singgahsana. 

Andrew has been planning the logistics for the lift; site clearances, traffic control, flood-lights, etc. He has been updating everyone prior to the lift scheduled for 8pm tonight. 

Coincidentally, Eric is in town and wishes to have dinner, I tell him I have to be near this site, and show him our drawings. He is excited and wishes to see the 'lift'. We have dinner at the Kantin, and meet new people fom Taiwan - I don't remember all their names, only that I paid for their dinner and drinks. 

I need to speak to Eric about our plans this year.

 

14.1.2025 Tuesday - enjoying the health

S goes in for a procedure to insert a stent to relieve congestion near his heart. I makes me think about how we have both been quite fortunate with our health. Makes me wonder how I would deal with the situation if she was ill. I am so dependent on her for all these matters, I appreciate her with a Japanese lunch after she collects a cheque from Teck's office. 

Later that evening, on the car ride home after squash I ask the good doctor about stents and so forth. He confirms that he himself has not gone for a test, but uses the fact that he is playing squash regularly without any ill effects as a gauge of his heart health. I tell Sam this but she ignores me.

13.1.2025 Monday - a good chat

 I am delighted to hear that R mentioned to Sara we had a good chat. It was part of my simple plan to chat with everyone in the office each day, about the project which they are working on. It should not be too difficult with our small staff numbers (and with the convenience of texting). So I wonder over to him and we look at his drawings list, and then at the roof framing plan he is finishing for Freddie. He is enthusiastic and sharp, quick to understand things explained to him. His Hokkien is a bit poor

butterfly park with Roosh

, so I have to repeat myself sometimes. But that's ok, it is a good start - EH can see what we are doing. 

12.1.2025 Sunday - Yannick and Nigel