after reaching home from work, i usually go for a 3km run unless im too lazy. and so this evening was no different. i donned my dua dua faculty tshirt and my guards running shorts tts really short with those super-high slits at the sides. i changed to my heavyset metal frames and put on those old chucked-in-one-corner school socks. i was all set to go and left for e park tts a 5min walk away. i must really have been a frumpy-looking sight to behold. and since i thought i wouldnt meet anyone i know, i ruffled my hair while strolling over. i turned a sharp right at this corner, walked into the playground and then i saw her. she was with another guy. i gave a silent yelp and knew tt there was no way i could turn around and pretend that i never see them. worse, there was no buffer time to 'tidy myself up'. she waved and gave a cheery 'hi', i offered an awkward one in return. after that, e 5 min chatter felt like eternity. part of it was due to the mandatory exchange of greetings and e small talk tt ensued. but it was further exacerbated by my over self-consciousness. and e ironic thing was tt i thought of her while passing by her place, and wondered how it wld be like to meet her.

having 'disposed off' them, i reached e starting point and began my warm-ups. they were basically e stretching exercises tt were so firmly ingrained in my head, courtesy of SAF.

and then, i made my move.

as i start pounding the tarmac, i start my stopwatch. i seem to have a mysterious force pushing me ahead today. was it due to e chance encounter earlier on? for once, i move with an easy, almost effortless stride. i seem to glide above e running path, my mouth limp and relaxed, and my arms swing half-circles against e side of my ribs; all while my feet easily eat up the distance.


yea rite. the path still loomed before me as a vision from hell— blackened and raw, rolling endlessly and thus blotting out the end point. thru out e run, my leg muscles pleaded with me to abort, but i persevered. i was really dying in e racing sense when i finished. i could hear my sharp gasps of breath loud and clear as if i was sucking in air through a rusted grate.i panted so hard it almost hurt. and my thunder thighs must have pounded the tarmac really hard. my colossal calves burned so badly. i was the portrait of utmost exhaustion, with sweat beading across my entire beetroot-red face, eyes lolling; and even my tongue, which sought refuge from the parched interior of my mouth, was beginning to dangle. and thats when i met another fren, a guy this time.

omg. that was such a fantastic moment. why do ppl have to pop out of e blue when i least expect them, and why do they always talk to me at the most inconvenient of moment? i shld have won an oscar for the smiling expression i put on when i talked to him. oh.. the pain tt belied inside..

and oh, the joy of SERENDIPITOUS encounters with friends in your neighbourhood.