Race for Life - again!

The time has come again for another Race for Life charity run. We returned to Regents Park- always a very nice site for running. The grey clouds threatened our run but not our spirits! Our attempt to run in matching outfits was somewhat soured as all the pink stuff at Primmy was gone! We settled on matching green starry pajama pants instead. They were pretty funky and plenty of compliments were received. I can't wait to wear them at home! Hehehe

Kick it to the right. Kick it to the left.

Yeah that's right. I'm pumped.

Well, the 10K run must've helped somewhat as I managed to improve on my time and crack less than 30 minutes. Yay! I think it was 28 minutes or so.

Yep, not breaking out of asian mode. Running to the finish line with peace fingers. Jade doing her bit with the asian peace fingers.

Given that this is the last run I'm participating in for 2008.... I guess it's gonna be a slow decline into laziness and winter hibernation. Fatness time!

Leesh's Birthday

Yep, another year, another birthday. Leesh celebrated hers at Zebrano's last night. And hey, no one realised that the bar is often frequented by drag queens. That was... unexpected.

Drinks of the spirit kind were had and we had a good ol time. I didn't bring my camera so there are no photos and I can't be bothered taking any off Facebook.

I do distinctly remember dropping a shot on the floor..... mmmm... drunkeness....

Anyway, happy birthday Leesh!

Alicia Keys

I was pretty disappointed that I didn't manage to get to Alicia Keys' concert when she performed in February. But she's returned with more dates! When SuBoo said she was getting tickets, I said 'Me too!'

I'm not an obsessed fan, but you gotta give Ms. Keys a lotta respect. Writing her own stuff, playing her own instruments, no diva-like reputation. She's definitely a vocalist like Mary J and definitely not a teeny bopper, all-dancing, all-lip-synching fake artist.

Our seats were about as bad as they get, but for some reason on the night we were reallocated closer to the stage. They were still heaven seats and it was pretty much adjacent to the area I sat for Mary J but at least our view wasn't as obscured. Only my personal space was invaded by the beefcake sitting next to me. He was so beefed up, he couldn't close his legs properly.

Our view of the stage.

She sang her usual hits - yep, yep yay! - but I was hanging, HANGING for 'Like You'll Never See Me Again', 'No One' and "If I Ain't Got You'. The concert was going on and on and I kept thinking "Oh when is she going to sing them? When? When? She can't leave the stage without singing them!". She sang 'Like You'll Never See Me Again' and that made me happy. Here's a short video:

What was annoying was that people starting LEAVING long before it was clear the concert was ending. They were leaving mid-song! Wtf, is up with that? And they were leaving from the GOOD SEATS! If you don't want to be there, gimme your tickets!

The one advantage of the heaven seats is that I saw the piano being revealed at the podium closest to the audience. Waiting... waiting... and after some clapping and stamping, out Ms. Keys came again for the two encores. Yay!

(T-B) The piano all alone. Alicia Keys having a chit-chat with the audience. Performing "If I Ain't Got You."

Here are video excerpts. Sorry video quality is quite shite.

For those interested, here's the set-list:
As I Am (Intro)
Ghetto Story
Waiting For Your Love
Where Do We Go From Here
You Don't Know My Name
Teenage Love Affair
Lady Marmalade
Got To Be There
Heartburn
Sure Looks Good To Me
How Come You Don't Call Me
Butterflyz
Goodbye
Prelude To A Kiss
Superwoman
I Need You
Wreckless Love
Diary (excerpts from Tender Love)
My Boo
Unbreakable
Like You'll Never See Me Again
Got to Give It Up
Soul Train
Feeling U, Feeling Me
Go Ahead
A Woman's Worth
Lesson Learned
So Simple
Karma
Thing About Love
Fallin' (contains excerpts from "It's a Man's Man's Man's World")

Encore:
No One
If I Ain't Got You

British 10k Run

The last minute withdrawal of a few friends from the British 10K Run meant that I was... well, running 10 kilometres. Not cos I was dying to do so, but Jade wasn't available as the volunteer replacement. I was more than happy for her to do the run. But given that no one else was keen on replacing the replacment, I thought why not? Might as well step it up from the usual 5k runs I was doing.

The run goes past the typical London landmarks and despite it being high summer, I was pummeled by rain for the first 20 minutes of running. Then the road was wet for the rest of the time..... err... yay? Given my lacklustre training schedule, my aim of the day was to just not walk any of it. I achieved that goal, although my 'running' speed was probably just as fast as walking. I managed to finish it in about 70 minutes (not sure of the exact time), so I'm pretty happy with that.

Lil Miss J, our one and only spectator didn't manage any photos (she couldn't find us!) but this photo is as good as it gets.

The reward for finishing was this cyber-certificate.

Oh wow - this cyber certificate is enough incentive to do the run again next year! Btw, that is sarcasm. But seriously, yep, I think I'll do this run again next year.

Wimbledon

You know, I really like the tennis. It's pretty much the only sport I'll watch from start to finish. Wimbledon was always on my London to-do list, but the thought of camping in the queue for tickets was not my cup of tea. I've been spoilt; being able to watch live semi finals matches at home.

Yes the Brits like to queue. There's even a 40 page how-to pamphlet for Wimbledon.

It helps to have a boss who is a tennis fan and who has almost guaranteed access to Wimbledon tickets every year :D So imagine me when he said "I've got 2 quarter finals tickets. You want?" Hell, yeah!!! Gimme, gimme, gimme!

I actually thought there was only one ticket available and I would be going alone. Not an issue for me, not like you can have a conversation at the tennis. But on the actual match day I was given two tickets. I was like 'Huh? I thought I was getting just one?' Boss 'Er no, I told you it was two.' Luckily, Bao is unemployed and was more than happy to join me. Yay!

It had been a glorious week but of course the day I went it was overcast and rainy *sigh*. The tickets weren't Centre Court, just Court 1. But I didn't want Centre Court anyway, I wanted Court 1! I could have been viewing any old random match, but it must be fate or something - I was gonna see tennis hottie Marat Safin! *girlish giggles* Who cares about the other matches? I really, really hoped that the weather would clear. Knowing how difficult these tickets are to obtain... to have it ruined by foul weather.. ..... *cry*

The last time I watched Safin play live was at the Australian Open, when he defeated Federer in that legendary 5 set match. Man, that was on the edge of your seat stuff! It also was a match which demonstrated his weaknesses as much as his strengths. Inconsistent serves, breaks in concentration when he's frustrated, stomping on annoying moths. This year, he's really had a good run, killing serious title contender Djokovic early in the tournament. I really didn't expect that.

We arrived to no play on the courts due to the rain - crappy English Summer :(. What to do? Eat strawberries and cream!

They're actually.... not that great.

It's still raining. What to do now? Go shopping!

Bao got a sweat band (yeah cos of all that exercise she does) and I got a strawberry mug (cute!) and much needed visor. No really, it's gonna come in good use for my running in the rain/sun.

After forty minutes of watching the big screen of an Andy Murray replay and not doing much else, we finally heard the announcement that play would begin. Yay!

Safin was playing Feliciano Lopez. Who? Never heard of him. Oh ok, they have played before.

(L-R, T-B) Warming up. The empty scoreboard. My view of the court. As close as my camera can zoom to Safin.

Rain interrupted the first set - argh!!!!!!! Bao and I had a bit of a walkies, posed with the 2008 flowers and then just sat in our seats for the rest of the time - at least we were sheltered.

Play resumed and Safin lost the first set. Boo hoo. Too easily, in my opinon. 6-3 for crying out loud! He appeared distracted.... it was all pointing to an exit from the tournament *grooooaaaan* No, no, no, you can't leave Wimbledon like this!!!! Not after beating Djokovic!

Anyway he won the second and third set - yay! - in typical Marat-style i.e not dominating the court but struggling through with tie breaks to seal the set. Too tense, too tense! It's so stressful watching him play. Sometimes, you just wanna slap him and say 'Just kill 'em already!'. The fourth and winning set (yay!) was pleasingly in his control... yay! 6-3! It was as though Lopez gave up - yay!

The winning scoreboard. Yeah, look, you can't really see it but it's 3-6, 7-5, 7-6, 6-3.

Lopez probably had a bit of a think and decided to cut his losses early, knowing that the semi final would involve a battle against (or annihilation from) Federer. We all know Marat can beat Federer at his best, but I concede that he'll lose the semi. Also, Safin only appears to win crucial matches when me or Moo are around - we are his good luck charms! :D I'm happy that he managed to get this far and his current ranking into the tournament (75) really belies the level of tennis of which he is capable. But you know, if you're gonna leave Wimbledon, the best person to lose to would be Federer.

Here's a good video of match highlights.

Oh, here's the crowd watchign the big screen upon our departure. Murray vs Nadal on Centre Court.

I should mention that there was another match on Court 1 after Safin, but meh, I couldn't be bothered. Players that I didn't care for.