Category Archives: Mumbling

Date night

$129.

That was the amount of money my wife and I spent on our innocent date night a couple of weeks ago. And it came to that amount only because we snuck our two boys into my in-laws’ house and ran out before we could hear any protests. That little antic saved us at least $80 in babysitting money to a stranger, who would probably have eaten another $40 worth of my junk food stashed in our house.

Perhaps not as eventful, but just as enjoyable!
Perhaps not as eventful, but just as enjoyable!

Still, how did it add up to $129 when all we did was have dinner at a cheap and cheery Lebanese restaurant, before watching Iron Man 3 at a cinema?

Let’s see, we went first to the restaurant to eat. And because it was so cheap and cheery, I virtually ordered half of the menu. And that was just for my wife, who’s on the slender side but can eat like a rhino. I, of course, ordered the other half of the menu just so that I don’t make my wife look bad with all that food in front of her. When all the dishes finally arrived, our table looked like a Klump family dinner scene from The Nutty Professor, except devouring them was a couple who could probably both fit into Klump’s trousers.

Dinner: $74!

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I’m just a little bit caught in the middle

While still some months away, the impending arrival of my 40th birthday is really wreaking some

Thinking about the big Four-O

Thinking about the big Four-O

havoc in my mind these days. It is prompting some strange introspection, especially during those long runs when there is nothing but wind at my back, sweat on my brow and a sympathetic ear in my head.

On the one hand, I am grateful for the many blessings in my life. Indeed, whenever I pound one foot in front of another along an often picturesque running path (whether in rain, hail or sunshine), I often wonder how many men/women would give their right nut/(insert whatever is appropriate for female) to be in my position – one that is filled with good health, great kids and an irreplaceable soul mate, all surrounded by a supportive network. Continue reading

Artful codger

I do it all the time!

I do it all the time!

A couple of days ago, I was filling out an online entry form for a fun run to be held in September this year. Name, gender, date of birth, address, who should we call if you heart stops beating or you trip over and crack your head wide open.Frustratingly, I kept on getting stuck on one question, one that asks to what age group do I belong. I must have clicked on the 30-39 bracket 4 or 5 times. Each time, the god-damned website returned with the message: “Please check your answer before proceeding to the next question“.

Just before I was about to fire off an irate email to the race organisers, telling them in no uncertain terms to fix their bug-ridden online entry form, I decided to read the question one more time, and this time with care. And the words were:

Click on the age bracket you will belong to, at the time of this race (my emphasis).

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A moment of silence

As a sincere mark of respect to all his running soul mates in Boston, there will be no blog posting by The Jogging Dad this weekend. What I had in mind to write about just seems even more trivial than usual, in the context of what just happened.

Rest in Peace to those killed in the incident, and best wishes to those injured.

Even more important than ever, keep on pounding.

Music to my ears

Can't run without it.

Can’t run without it.

I have been sent a number of emails since this Blog began in October last year, asking me one question. Actually, I lie. I say “a number of emails” only to give the impression that I have a big following in the blogsphere. In fact, I have had just three emails in all that time asking me to explain or elaborate one aspect of my life. The question is actually quite mundane and merely reflects the curiosity that these three much-valued readers (a rather material percentage of my readership) has about this strange person called The Jogging Dad.

However, before I address this question (which will take just a couple of sentences), I just want to ramble a bit on another mundane aspect of my life – something that I sporadically talk about but in no way does justice to how much of an integral and personal part of my running life it is, namely, music. Continue reading