The Runner

5 AM in the morning;
A figure cuts a lonely shadow by the ember street lights;
He moves down a long straight road;
With open and wide strides;
That are full of purpose and a hint of pride;
His brow is etched with sweat;
Which soon gathers by the buckets;
And starts dripping off on to the road;
Leaving a mark, no matter how transient that is;
His breath comes hard and fast;
A subtle reminder of improvement works required;
But more importantly, that he is still alive;
The only sounds he hears are of his track shoes crunching the gravel;
That and the sound of his pounding heart which threatens to burst out of its seams;
The kilometers tick by, though not as fast as he imagines them to be;
And his legs burn with lactic acid;
Threatening and imploring his brain to cease all motion;
But all he thinks about is left right left right, this is still worth striving for;
Oh it seems so tough;
Running a 10K before dawn breaks;
But this is the easiest part of his day;
For when dawn breaks;
It's back to reality and at least 12 hours in a seat;
The perfect seat to put this training all to good use;
As he trains hard for a sole purpose;
That is for life and a future worth striving for.

On Gratitude

As the date that marks my 30th year of life draws closer, it becomes even more apparent that there's just so much over the last 30 years that I am grateful for. I thought it might be a good idea to etch these thoughts down in digital ink as a reference point down when the going gets hard in the future. This is going to be a long one sided ramble without much proof-reading or editing (if any at all), pretty much straight from the heart and shooting from my hip stuff, so be forewarned. 

* Grateful to be born in Singapore in the 1980s, where there was sound infrastructure, a stable and appropriate political system, and a decent economy that, coupled with global technological advancement, allowed for development opportunities;

* Grateful to be born into my family, with my parents and siblings providing a nurturing environment and all manners of support that fostered my growth into an adult;

* Grateful to have no major congenital defects, to be born with a healthy body and a sound intellect that could be used as a base for development; 

* Grateful to have real life mentors who have provided a philosophical stance on how to lead one's life;

* Grateful to have had a bunch of close friends that I've grown up with since secondary school days, who have been a positive influence in my life;

* Grateful to have experienced love, and to experience lost love, a few times; 

* Grateful to have a job that's nothing short of consistently challenging and intellectually stimulating, which pushes me to the limits, develops my character on a day to day basis and at the same time pays good money which allows me to fast track my journey to be a capitalist; 

* Grateful to have a bunch of super smart colleagues that I interact with on a day to day basis, who readily illustrate mental models and soft skills that I can potentially adopt; 

* Grateful to have come across the main concepts of investing and FIRE when I was serving the nation, which gave me a clear path on what needs to be accomplished and done instead of dicking around for a few years after graduation and then realizing that there's much more to life than work and consume, which would subsequently, but naturally cause an extension of the FIRE age; 

* Grateful to have had all sorts of experiences, ranging from discovering interesting ideas through reading books, making and being able to appreciate and enjoy music, being able to take part in different sports, learning how to ride a bike, traveling in style, backpacking around the globe, interacting with different characters and individuals, etc.; 

* Grateful to have been a positive influence to at least a few people's lives (I hope);

* Grateful to be able to contemplate these thoughts; 

* Grateful to be alive, and feel alive; 

* Grateful to have the opportunity to improve myself as a human being again today; and

* Grateful to have lived a life of no regrets thus far; 

Pretty sure there's much more specific details and thoughts on gratitude that I have, but the above represents the main causes that I feel extremely grateful for. 

What are you grateful for in your life?