Pain

I have just completed the Army Half Marathon yesterday. It was the first time I had ran in the AHM but it was not particularly daunting as I had ran full marathons before. Thinking that it was only half the distance of a full marathon, I made the mistake of not wearing my protective knee brace.

The huge number of people running and the relatively narrow roads at some stretches meant that I had to slow down for quite a number of times. And the constant acceleration and deceleration took a toll on my knees. Add to that the uneven road surface and my knees were begging for me to stop towards the end. I had no choice but to walk for most of the last few kilometres. It's not worth risking my legs for a run like this. Crossing the finish line didn't bring as much elation as I had expected. The satisfaction is not as much as that of completing a full marathon. I was just relieved to finally get some rest for my legs.

My father crossed the finishing line some 20 minutes after me. It was the first time that we took part in a race together. I think my father is getting fitter nowadays. Influenced by his colleagues, he has been going running in recent times. He's even going to join the full marathon at the end of the year. For someone his age, that's quite an achievement and an endorsement to the saying that it's never too late to start getting fit.

Sometimes, I wonder what is it that keeps me wanting to join these runs and torture myself. After much thinking, I've come to realise that the torture is part of the appeal. The pain experienced during the run makes crossing the finish line all the more satisfying.

City of Sin

I shall end my posts in the US with my experiences going to Las Vegas, the entertainment capital of the world. The first thing that came to my mind when I stepped out into Las Vegas is why on earth would people build an entertainment centre in the middle of a desert. It's the hottest place I've ever been to and Cambodia pales in comparison to it. It is hell on earth. The sun was vicious and there was no clouds to provide any relief. The air was hot and sucked every moisture from our bodies. My eyes were burning every time a gust of hot air came my way. Even the night did not give any mercy. The atmosphere was still as unforgiving.

Las Vegas is filled with casinos. Almost every building has a casino in it. And the casinos were huge, the number of slot machines was dazzling. I only tried my luck playing the slot machines and a wheel of fortune kind of game. I lost only a little money since I was playing with pennies mostly. The best thing about the casinos is that they offer free drinks to patrons. And I took the liberty of ordering some alcoholic drinks, which more than compensated for my meagre loss. There seems to be a competition going on in Las Vegas. Each building is trying to outdo the rest in terms of glamour and stature. Buildings were replicated to look like famous places around the world. Each company tried to attract as many famous stars as possible. And it's perfectly understandable given the stakes at hand. It's a multi-million business and attracting patrons is key to success.

Las Vegas won't be called the city of sin if it doesn't have an active sex industry. And it is unabashedly shown everywhere. From billboards to advertisements on vehicles and to people on the streets giving out cards featuring call girls. There's no way one can avoid seeing some semi nude girl posing erotically. It can get quite sickening, even for me as a guy, to see girls abandoning their self esteem for a few extra dollars. The girls in the business have become objects, play things for those with money.

In the midst of the Las Vegas trip, I made my way to Grand Canyon. It's one of the natural wonders of the world. To see the Canyon is to discover for myself how insignificant we human beings are in the face of nature's majesty. The sheer scale of the place is breathtaking. Photos just do not do justice to the wonder of the Grand Canyon.

I've visited all the places that are featured in GTA:San Andreas. Los Angeles, San Francisco and Las Vegas. It's a little surreal to see the places I've been to in the virtual world coming up before my very own eyes. There's a little sense of familiarity in a way. But at the end of the day, I've never felt at home in the USA. Throughout, I've always felt like the tourist who's always looking through a glass window. And it's with this feeling that I'm leaving this place.

Packing up

So this is it. I'm preparing to leave UCLA. Shading the last circle on my OAS, attempting to squeeze all my possessions into my shrinking backpack , trying to use up my facial foam, shampoo, dental floss and all other essentials. 6 weeks passed incredibly fast. I don't think I've experienced American culture fully. I communicated with only a few Americans and even then, there's not much depth to the conversations. I never had a homestay here. I do not know how they lead their lives over here. The only real opportunity I had was my American roommate. But since we don't talk, the opportunity was lost.

America, I've discovered, is a land of wastage. It is too blessed with resources that its people have forgotten how to cherish things. I see so many huge vehicles around and quite often, there's only one person in the vehicle. The canteen is so obsessed with hygiene that when I tried to add another serving to my old plate, I was refused. The staff gave me another new plate which meant that there will be another dish to wash. The shoe shops here give off cotton socks for trying on shoes which are then thrown away. I couldn't bear to see a perfectly good pair of socks being thrown away like that and so took it back. The people here don't even know where their water came from. It just flowed out of the tap for them. I've been wondering about it ever since I came here because it has not rained at all.

I've seen for myself how fat Americans can get. And fat Americans are really fat. 60% of Americans are obese. And it's no wonder, looking at their diet. Fats, sugars and salt are loaded in their every meal.

There's good in America too. The people here are more than willing to help out a stranger. Many a times, I've had help without asking. Just by appearing lost, there will be a stream of people asking whether i need help. Americans are generally friendly people and I've not encountered any racism here. There is a good mix of people here, Asians, Hispanics, Blacks, Whites and many other people. This is a country of immigrants and they're generally receptive to foreigners. However, I still see segregation along ethnic lines over here. It's still the same everywhere. People still tend to stick to their own kind.

Coming to America has made me appreciate Singapore a little more. It just feels good to be able to go from one point to another without having to travel for miles after miles. It feels good also knowing that everything is so close. The hospital, schools etc. And the best thing is Singaporean food. I seriously think we have the best food in the world. Such a large variety of different cultures and at affordable prices. Singaporeans take their food seriously and we are immensely proud of our food. Going to poor places or rich places still make me appreciate home more. I love Singapore.

Will I ever get the chance to visit this country again? Maybe but not in the near future. Maybe one day when I have a family and my kid pesters me to bring him or her to Disneyland and I tell him or her: "No, you're going to Legoland."