Now we have that to be , some sort of much awaited rest period that was feels good enough, letting off the tension for just awhile before embarking on a new journey.

That means: school's starting soon


We'll like to think that way, its kind of a weird way to end this year, with the companionship of a different bunch of frens.
People from different backgrounds and characteristics, forged into common identity and comeradeship by a sworn oath, that which we now call our team . ( ok we didnt swear no oaths when joining, but heck u get my point)

Christmas countdown? ALternative tactics used was to not go town anymore cos its quite senseless to go in and attacked by spray cans and gropers .
Hanged around at vivocity and sat down with portions of the team , in relative peace and tranquility ( that the right word to use?) chatted. enjoying the presence of each other, admiring the the sea scenery and night sky view, mindlessly hoping that some angels would appear from heaven and serve as a choir to complete that kind of atmosphere.

Whoever thought of that original idea of going vivo, yeah thanks for that, and stopping me from going town.
THough when going home that night i almost got chased by stray dogs :(((

Christmas Eve, really there's little point of counting down afterall, which u see many forgoing the true meaning behind it all. Cliched it may sound, but that what which was meant for is used as an excuse to party on yeah .


I dun need to say it all out, but if u still dun know what Christmas is ; GO to church.




Yupps then Christmas Day itself was spent going to church in the morn with Qian and Yong , despite everyone lacking sleep.
As was put blankly, it was good, to say the least , if otherwise right, cos its been so looooong since then.
Guess its time to find back the me i left behind here.

OH yeah random stuffs along then, on the way to church at the mrt i came across a scene of this guy talking out loud to himself. Me being me, i tried moving closer to hear it out and get an idea of what's going on.

Sounds like a nuts case, but some sort of high class nuts case. It was a man in about forties, in decent clothing, talking to thin air , advising about some sort of legal or financial business. Sounds like he's a lawyer or property investor of some sort , or he thinks he is .

That which made me think , its like , after spending a quarter of your life in education, another quarter sluggiing out in the real working world, this is what life could produce. A dark side of nature, making a man lose his purpose, that , or making him slip into a world of his own.

I thought, how does it really feel like to be in that kind of position. The world would be diffenrt, subjective, and very much restricted to his own point of view. Given the way he was arguing with "air" , sounds like he's insistent on his own ways.

Kind of a tragedy if u think of it , a great life and future spoilt by, whatever factors that led to that.

for all that the world could offer , that is

For what is training

Right so long since i posted , cos now, ha i (or rather my dad) fixed the comp, so it doesnt have so many problems.





Life is , training. Nothing else.





This holidays, despite promises to be active in church more, to study more, they don't seem to count for anything. Training.



Round Ubin came and went, of which i sank and returned. Then comes another endless routine of long distance training for the upcoming Canoe Marathon. And its , taking its toll. Losing the idea of studying in JC , sometimes i wonder what am i doing here for. Losing the idea of training, and i wonder... Why do i train for.



Why do i do things but give it up in future to replace with another impulsion interest.

Kept sane by the constant companionship of teammates, that otherwise, oh my, i realise i dun have anything else.



So now we resist anything that tries to disturb the stability of the team bond, that included those unfortunate incidences, which well, ultimately goes out to a selfish purpose.

Its not about running away from difficulties, but there's just so much that could be done in its face.



Ok fine that would just mean we'll have to move on.





Training~~~~~



Aye long dist training just means i'm left forever to chase people in front. And that what i;ve been doing, other than keeping people from chasing up to you. Thats just like any race.

Time trials, well, satisfying, but not contented.



Ahh losing track of time, since which is which training session did each event occur i cant remb.



Lets just say the Christmas break is something worth looking out for...

Can't be strangers

Right so now just came back from a real eventful day.

Morning whizzed past fast in the Pasir Ris SSC , waiting for people, then more waiting for coach, before getting to real work doing boat maintainence on site.

Then only did we got down to test the water conditions at the Pasir Ris coastline.
Yes and i empahisize the coastline, because we never got to go out any further then the coastline region.
Wave condition, i would put it, to be something like having a lot of powerboats doing endless power runs past our boats. MOreover, these K2s and K1s are flatwater sprinting boats, and when put into choppy conditions as bad as these, we never got a chance to paddle proper strokes.

Took a K1 out, since coach refused to put out our K2 in those conditions, but the session lasted barely 30 mins, for fear of damaging the equipment. Yeah the tapping strokes had to be so frequent and hard, i thought my blade wouldn't last out. Being bullied by metre tall waves, yes they were at least a metre from trough to crest, and when sitted down in the kayak, they overshadow you.

Bedok <>

You could never hope to have conditions like that in a reservoir. And we may yet to need to abandon the race tmrw if conditions doesnt change for the better. So much for the long distance trainings.
BUt then again, it was real fun riding the waves using sprint kayaks. The bow could angle down all the way till the water line was at the cockpit combing, and the next wave would literally crash into our small little boats, utterly flooding the interior.

Heck, i would have gladly paid the $20 race fee just to come here and play with the water. Hehz



After that was a period of transition, while i went over to Mark's house for a reunion outing of PAE 07s07 .. Yupps no doubt it was as usual round of talking, a closer bonding session. And its always have to be that after we parted then do we treasure the bonds we once had. Nevertheless, it wasn't awkward at all, since everyone still pretty retained the bonds shared.

Eating junk foods just one day before race is a sin, something i might have to foot the consequences.
And to add on the the carnage, MArk brought out his private stash of citrus vodka and whatever cocktail mix was that. Since it was quite a first time had I hanged out with friends in the presence and availabilitiy of liquor, I thought I might as well take the opportunity and try it out. Wouldn't hurt i guess...

Thus i downed till I flushed red, it wasnt a lot , just a small plastic cup of that vodka , and the cokctail milk mix, enough to make me start smiling senselessly, followed by a headache i couldnt help but drop onto the table while the rest of them continued talking.

A short rest nap on the couch while some played cards did help to soothe the whirling...

And for once, i decided to return home voluntarily on taxi.

Hence ended this little outing we had, since Arun is leaving for Aust soon, make do for a little farewell party for him then.

The bonds we once shared, may it last till. Yet i'm quite surprised the time span since we met didnt degrade us to the awkwardness amongst strangers, that is.

28 Nov 2007

The morning started off on a rather low note, late for training despite flying down on a cab, yeah and that’s just the start of a chain reaction that kinda wrecked the training session for me at least. Being late, given a talking, punished 300 push ups then I got to rushing around getting my own equipment ready, then rushing all the way to fill up the water bag only to have it leak half its contents out because I didn’t cap it properly in the rush.

OK there goes my recovery drink. Hastily started out, with no warm up since everyone was already done with it and waiting.
The 500m up and down sets at high power didn’t do much good, since right at the start I burned out , not being able to fully utilize all that I got, and becoming more and more demoralized with each passing set. Until the fact I regretted going for more, save that supposed to be more practice and more training, it did only to make me more down and use even lesser strength. There you have the power of the mind, but then, I was completely off the mood for training.

True I could blame a lot of factors; the bad morning start off, lack of energy, the strong up winds, the lack of a warm up, people cutting lanes etc etc.

Ultimately it comes to the knowledge that, hey , its just I allowed those to take the negative impact on me. Its not about how badly they will do, hell you cant blame the devil trying to disrupt your life; that’s just his job.
What you could do is protect yourself against him. That’s where I failed, that’s where during training, I allowed myself , for that moment, to wallow in self pity and the “ its-not-fair-for-me” mindset. Yes, and that’s where I have to take responsibility for, and the price is a wasted training session, just mere days before the Ubin race.



That’s just one of the bad stuff that has to happen. On a higher note the day had much excitement brewing in its bowels. Hanged around after training, wasted some time before heading over to Queensway to collect the new jerseys and thereafter, headed on to Qian’s or rather her brother’s chalet to hijack it for the night.

Took some time settled down and played our night away.

Finding it a first time , know that really, there wasn’t really much to make of one’s birthday. Not that it really mattered, because, for the past years, its all been just as normal as any other day. Maybe the dinner would be better, but that’s just about it anyway.

But since, this time I wasn’t spending it at home. And I really do mean it when I say it was really a surprise, the way it was brought forth. Even though I didn’t really make a lot out of it, but yeah, I really do appreciate that.


THANKS TEAM … that ‘lil gesture meant a lot … Hehz



And hence continued the night away, playing cards till late late into the night until one by one the people collapsed, those who did so early got the best rooms and beds, those who didn’t made do on the floor, with stolen pillows and blankets and towels ..










29 Nov 2007


Right spent the early morn slacking, allowing this bit of enjoyment outside of training , that which comes so rarely.

Towned and watched “The Kingdom” , something which touched about the terrorism issues in the middle east, one of those shoot-em-up movies that probably worth watching only on TV. OK I shan't spoil too much, but then again there’s just that something I felt most about the movie.

Those who watched it will know, like when the head villian was dying, something he whispered to his granddaughter, very much similar to how the female lead was comforted upon the knowledge of the death of her close friend. A promise that “we will go kill them all” .

Kind of put to thinking that, its really alarming how vengeance can comfort. Yes it is saying that the thought of revenge, of violent retribution can serve as a motivation for life which is quite something which happens in the world today.

Kinda disappointing to find out that the ending has to end so negatively, in a note to say that actually glamorizes violence. I was expecting the director to put in something like “ Don’t worry life still goes on” , or , “ Its ok there’s still hope” kind of message to include when character faced the death of a loved one.

Then again, its just this world that’s going about it. Go find any Doomsday talk in any religion and you find that it says that THE END comes preceded with a period of mass violence, moral degration and the likes of it.
Who’s to say the world’s going to last forever?




And hence after got back to Bedok to train illegally with TP, and since it became like a self training session with not much of a program in place, I went on with my own 500m sets while Eugene goes for his rounds.

Same kind of feeling , reminiscence of the A divs race again, using the same boat, same paddle, same lanes, but a much different me. A different feeling though, no one’s looking, no one expecting much, no stress, no competition, just a maxx effort in the the sprint. Taking revenge for the lost training the day before, and the last time trial which went so horribly wrong for me. Hmm lets just say I’m playing around for now ..


Back then when the race meant so much for all that I fought for. As I paddled down I was thinking, hey its just how much u really want for it, that kind of dissatisfaction that pushes you to fight even harder.

Because I was dissatisfied then, being left out of the PA championship race in June wasn’t quite the way I intended to be. So I fought, for every training, for every bit of time I get to practice with the K1. The passion to win, not the actual race, but the fight to get to participate in the A Divs in July was that overwhelming factor.

I fought , and hence , qualified me to say, I got what I fought for. And its this kind of self training that allows the active exploration of skills learnt, and putting it to practical use. So for once, at least it was worth the while.

Messed up with time

Disorientation of the sense of time sets in when the routine comes and goes weekly, and more often than not, attempts to summarise them only end up with fragements of memories that has no time or date stamp. That or otherwise, I only remember vaguely what happens, but not when did it happen.

Well ok there it goes, because most of it is just about training and more training, and the sessions comes so intertwined i cant remember when's when and how's how.
And since its more than mid way through NOvemeber, it just wont do to have nothing to write about as a keepsafe for looking back and this great part of time. Well essentially its just a time when we training the hardest, or do we , the longest, since time is just at its highest rate of abundance.

NO work for me this hols so far, not like the past few years when i squandered my year end breaks in the bookshop in exchange for some xtra cash. NOt that i'm looking forward to it, but this years means i wont get to have anything much to spent for personal indulgences.

Fine, maybe its still too early to say. Qian's got herself some time off to teach tuition for the quick buck. Time to rethink my stance?



Training .... Yes thats something that occupies the bulk of my brain and physical capacity. So far we are all training for Dec's ROund Ubin race. Right so its juz long dist and more long dist , having changed K2 partners countless times to try out., the otehr day. YEah since i prefereed to be back rower, relinquishing the task of having to control rudder, focussing more on the awareness of the situation and providing the bulk of the engine force.

Ceyong dumped me for korky , and thereafter left for OCIP so theres no really another way to reconcillate it in the short term . Not with Tzet and Nelson; our pairing just don't work out well . Jonn is too obseessed with Nic to agree to swap partner. RS would work if only he was straight, (oops and i do mean if he could keep the boat moving straight ) . GJ needs more practice with the K1 first ; no time to learn the harshness of long D drafts.

That leaves me no one left to pair with, and since i wasnt really looking forward to pay $20 to let the K1s win , i was contend in being left out of the Ubin race team for this once , focussing more in K1 until a suitable occasion. Till recently , coach was to put me up behind him so as to go the race as the second drafting K2 to go with Nic& Jonn ...

Which leads to today's training, quite slack , xept that i was a bit stressed with the thought of having coach as the partner. Fine provided it took him longer to warm up, as he claimed, so we took off easily for rounding the reservoir with Jack on the left and Jonn being in the LiangJin on the right, since Nic was sick.

A fine start, and easy forward, and worked out well. Maintaining at relatively low speeds of about 10 km/h according to the GPS speedometer on board jack's boat. and that was already quite slacky, Jack having the cheekiness to complain that it was too slow and slack despite Jonn and Wai Kit struggling to keep up .

Wai kit fell back right from the start, Jonn beat up to about 2.5 km before making a spectacular exit from the draft formation by capsizing.
After that, it became routine again. Long distance and being back rower, heh i would admit i was pretty much providing only brute force and little technical work save for the balance. Fine maybe thats my kind of contribution.




Open house came and went, and it wasnt as a blast as i was to think it might be . Maybe its just this time of the year and the lack of publicity. Whatever it was, the little bit of efforts we did for it, like the cam-whoring session at the pontoon after one of the trainings , so as to get some presentable pics to show off for.

And we tried to initiate Operation: Jonn Gan approach C**** , which pivotal point ended up on a bottle of half drank mineral water. OK fine inside joke... HAHA

Oh if I may add , GJ wasnt let off as well ...

Right ok thats as much as i would want to say. Will try to be a little more consistent and keep those promises made to myself . OK fine that wasnt necessasry

Think more ahead

29-10-2007
Mon 1138 pm




Right so now it’s a long over due post that gonna have to summarise my past week .
Plenty of things that so intermixed I dunno how to start recalling .


Right from somewhere the past week did we start working on the OP right after the WR was submitted, which was right after the Promos ended, which was after who knows how many weeks spent mugging , so much that now I’m losing track of the past .

KK recallll ~~…..

Separate issues … Training first ..

Mon and Tues was two consecutive gym sessions that was basically insanely programmed but yet so satisfying because finally I reach a point where I myself voluntarily dun want to gym further for those days. Yeah talk about breaking thru muscle limit.
Followed by more long dist paddling and drafting sessions with the K1 , alternating that and the short C1 session , after that and all , thoroughly wreaking havoc thru the body.

The indicator came at Wed night, thurs morn when I got one of those what superstitious folks call it the “bei gui yah” or “ being squashed by ghost” … Scientifically speaking, its just something to do with the over exhaustion of the muscle that immobilizes it during sleep.

That as during the late A.M when I jolted up of sleep to feel the whole body dysfunctional, yeah and key thing is only the body is dysfunctional, my mind came fully conscious, but my body wouldn’t react to attempts to move. And man did that felt real, I about realized the situation as soon, and serious I wouldn’t blame those folks for thinking its ghost squashing me.
It felt like someone was pinning u down and cant move, no nerves would work, no muscle would move. Scary at first, but what an interesting experience it was, like being jailed in ur own body with ur mind functioning perfectly and looking at the world on a third person point of view thru ur very own eyes.


Thurs after a bloody slakcy day with only chem Lect being the only attraction, was spent working endlessly on PW … And since A LOT of pple ponned, mine being the only group that’s at full strength , work wasn’t really productive, and with aline suggestion of a dance for OP , even less practical work was done.

Slacked with the class after that , with most of the guys absent, and esther Kelly and the Chinese pple gang opting to go k-box , which didn’t entice me, and since I wasn’t going to go singing with all girls and me the only guy.

In the end left me , WS , Valerie and the TJ gang in class, so for once I decided to break out and join them which was perceived to be the “class” since no one else was left.
Went PS to pizza , then hanged out and Istana Park and the starbucks. And woots its really been long since I could laze out at town with frens doing nothing in particular , that was back in PAE times ..

Time really is airborne huh, J1 is over airhead … Not really ready to accept that fact, and since time had been hard pressed over the months, I realized I didn’t really spent a lot of time with the class. And hence now this opportunity came just in time.




Friday’s farewell assembly for Mrs Lim the Principal was really an eye opener, yeah though somehow I dun have much of contact with her, its kinda pity to see her retire, this goes to proof, parting is never good to bear,

If my enemy parts I’m gonna miss him too hah

Also from that assembly got me hooked on to the song “Canon Rock”, which I later got JK to send to me and got me on the line with the song.

Fri’s training was pulled forward to 1230, for the staff meeting, and was kinda slacky
But now I really have to work a lot more on pull-ups
Can’t let the numbers drop further.. 12 is disgusting right

PS again with the team after training, and its lazing again, since there was nothing much on the agenda, and Qian wanted to buy slippers to replace hers that was bitten by monkeys the other day at bedok. (Oh yeah did I mentioned my specs were stolen my those monkeys too?)




Sat K1 time trial is shit to the extreme for me at least… Maybe for the rest you all would’ve broken more better timings, but for me … Haiz

Didn’t even get to start off much, hastily lined up after the earlier group, seeing the extended red buoy in my direct path but have no time to go for another pass of lining up again. Thinking that I could push it aside later …
And Eugene started us off unconventionally, and I opted for a left stroke start to make room for the small buoy …

First stroke, then second, the third again on the left, and my whole left blade got caught up with the cable cord of the buoy marker and tangled. IN the momentum of the start, I felt the tug of the tangle but ignored it to go for the fourth stroke thinking I could shake it off.

BY the time I went for the fifth on the left again, the whole blade was hopelessly twined by the cord. Struggled a bit forth to get loose, but the inertia from the sudden stop threw me ahead and side off and capsized, that’s barely five metres from the starting line.!!! Freaking hell! … Whatever happened on was history and I dun wanna talk about it … Haiz

BUt now after the talk with coach, i might just end up forgo on C1 afterall , not that i have no interst, but the current focus is the A divs next year, and i dun think theres enough time to go for round Ubin race and the NAtional MArathon next year and still keeping up with the C1 practice. I really come to a point that i would have to make a decision and choose . for the better of the future, unless something intervenes in the decision. That is the way i have to make do with ...

One more Ending

Ha

And we have the end of our promos exam , with the results pouring back in our faces , some good , most bad ... I think us as 07 S04 is going to face a drop in membership by next year, given how Jk and Nig are responding to the plight landed in. SHit , and shit big time ...

Bad things aside , the week was started with the very dramatic INterhouse rugby games at school. A certain twist added to it , not quite what was expected, but in itself, much more. Enjotyable , though its heck tiring in the midst of a game.
The short pre game clinic and practice and teambuilding served a great deal in getting the teams of noobs in line, setting tactics right and getting the blurness out of everyone. Venn has an awfully undermanned squad , compared to the other house whose reserves seemed neva ending.
MAtch starts , being that in the water logged field , playing prop , getting all those blunt of the scrums, lineouts , and messy rugs , but freeing me up from the task of breaking through and content on chasing and tackling pple.
Right but since when Rugby sevens' allowed such a job scope ... Ran like mad up and down the field , pushing and jumpng and chasing...

Real fun though , and come to think of it , that would have been my sport had i made the choice when i entered school.

But chill, Canoeing is great too ... Too deep in to want to backout, and having no obvious reasons to look away but to focus on my own sport . That, being the point, but no harm enjoying the essence of others ... heh







Coming straight to today, in the morning chapel service , had David Chong leading the supposed worship session , but ending feeling like old Sunday school kids.
A different perspective, bringing the memories of more the real Sundays schools attended more then ten plus years ago. Simple , and sweet.

Who said Christian worship had to be cliched and flamboyant?

True we see the genres of music develope thru ages, rock and metal seems to be the in thing for youths, but looking at the quieter side of one, a low hymn serves it purpose as well as it did generations ago.
Like wise , a guitar or a piano would have been enough ... much proven by the chapel session this morning.
heh now it makes me regret not having start learning piano when i had the chance in pri 1 ... haiz , too late , too little,
BUt hey knowing the guitar is great too ...

Little things in life to keep optimism .....




And something happened this week that made me wanna rethink my stand , my intentions for the future , short and long term alike ... Maybe its cos i'm too stubborn to change. Its not all about the face to give up , but maybe , ...... just so happens ... its time to let go ...

Freedom of another kind

Woots


And exams are over , in a whizz that blurred our lives wholesale into unspeakables . Yes it was hard to bear, but to relive that moment again , studying cramming and making the best out of what little time we had , taught me a lesson in life.

Then again , there are times when all is put to the test for that ...

Beyond the exams , BLOODY HELL i lost my Graphing Calculator !!!!

OK fine , it may not be hurting that much , but hey , that is a reminiscence of once which i lost my wallet before. Oh yeah those were the days really i lived on by raw faith.
God forbid , but it feels just the same, another test of faith then challenges how long can u last in believing God Himself to intervene and put it back to you.

Faith, or simply believing, something i lack so much after so much has happened.

Almost sounding cliched, but really m its been quite sometime since attending sun svc or CGM ... Then again some ask: WHY BOTHER ?

I say : " I 've come to learn that I cant live without."

WITHOUT GOD ...




Oh yeah for that matter, the other time i lost my wallet, i managed to get it back one whole month later, when all hope has fallen down. That true test of faith ... Wow

1/10/07 1246 AM



Its right here again, standing at the threshold of yet one more start of another exam. Getting numbed by the mindless acts of digesting notes and creating new ones, innovative tricks to help get hard data instilled into the mind.
Its not about the the hardship, for always , in all things that have passed, there’s this tinge of laughter to be enjoyed if you’re at least keeping positive.

Yes the school canteen is hot and stuffy and boring, but its also the place where the hearts and minds of students do blend in. Devouring not food but heaps of paper, working late into the night. And with the right group of people, to understand each other more deeply. You know it, and its everywhere.

JE is far , but it served as a alternative during the weekends.

Safe to say , for this exam break it had been rather eventful, or eventless. Guilt riddened with the lack of exercise since training got cut prematurely, excessive gym-ming, and the bonds forged and the bonds broken. Marking an end to another chapter of our teenage life, right when would you ever get another chance to study for another promos exam … (Unless you get … whoops … )


Also you see what a lot of people took the chance of this lull since almost every CCA is suspended. I wont need to explain .. There’s KY from the team , and other random pple like KH, and so heard a lot of others from 4-2 like shawn felix clement got it too ahhh … too much irrelevant info.. .




Chemistry is knocking at the doorstep, economics threatens to tear my future, Math is like a ever relentless female dog , physics loses its appeal …
Shit let this never be a day I regret…


Which is worse, to go in an exam hall unprepared, or to study all day long for an exam that will never come ? Despite all , I choose the latter.

Darn promos ….

Another holiday

10/9/07 0109 am Monday



OK here goes .. Hols are like already over in effect , and , somehow despite all that harshness of the realities of the impending promos, even the tough time spent mugging during the holiday was somewhat memorable . After all, its still a fragment of memory of such is the life in JC. Once in a lifetime , studying for promos , if u look at it this way , hey , the stress level shouldn’t have to pile u all the way till u start forgetting the joy within every situation.



Even if it suck . That is.


Time runs real fast, and I dun need to reiterate the importance of catching that moment, it runs past and is gone forever. The choices made in that moment, the lives changed in that moment, it all could be determined by ourselves. Heck its like the only thing that we can put into our hands, and not let the forces of nature mess around with it.
The memories, keep it safe.


Like the semi idle study session in school almost everyday with the team , mthat or otherwise at eugene’s place which erms had little productivity but lotsa fun and interaction (plus a free simpson movie) … That summarises the September school break for me, off it goes , never to return again .

Lets just hope this blog can at least retain some of it in the years to come in the future …

Revisiting the past

05/09/2007 – WED 1209 AM




AS usual something wrong with my com and blogger is inaccessible .

Good things comes like when you were losing hope , that one little ray of light, though it does not light up the whole place , it provides that comfort that , somewhere out there , the sun is still shinning , and light is plentiful . Walk through the tunnel , get outta here


OK Recap on Fri’s teacher day celebration , a very retarded ACES day like every other, and a whizzing programmes in the CC … yupps but the AVA crew should really learn to control the lighting ambience .
After much delay decided to go back to Cat High , despite no one contacted me about any planned gathering , holla ..
Hehz class 4-2 had one of the highest returning students ratio, save for the AJC peeps who fell victim to their school’s erratic planning , but shawn and grayson still did make it out illegally ..

Tried to find back some of the teachers , and some of ourselves which we left behind , the time , the effort, the brain cells spent studying , the brotherhood forged with sweat , the quarrels and mini-fights , each one hold that bit to stir our memories within .
And its always good to gather back , look back and think : “ that was me”

Never having been a photogenic class, we didn’t really have that many photos taken together in those years that past, but now as we gathered , hell , what a waste not to take one big one together . And with Mrs Anna Tan our stand in form teacher , we did . With as much of the class that was present.

That was us .



Catholic High Sec 4-2 class of 2006 , and I neva tot I’ll miss it that much .

Hung around at bishan J8 , ate stood around and talked , while wasting time , rotting , as always. Its was always like that , and , seriously I really , cant have much to talk about all of us , and it makes no sense to dedicate the whole post . haha



Right Saturday , I defied the suspension with the permission of Ms Ong and went with some of the seniors to leisure paddle at Bedok.

Crapped a bit before lauching off , since TP was also training , so there was a lack of K1s available , so I decided might as well carry on with the C1 . Then was lost in my own world of exploring the C1 again , disregarding the others , experiencing the leans the tilts and the turns of the C1 , just like I did with the K1 months ago , lost in my world . And that’s when training are the most productive when learning to use a new boat.
K doing fine m and getting to love the C more and more as I paddle more and swim less . Movements are straight , turning arcs are crazily big , and strokes come wide and huge coupled with a big pull , managed to pick up some speed to feel a breeze caressing the face, and heh , its getting to feel more comfy . For all be known , ha I might end up C1-ing for good after all .

And of course like any leisure paddle session , there was the slacking time on the pontoons, and the stunt attempts . I practiced my edging and attempt to paddle the K1 half submerged, cupped several attempt to jump off the boat . Wai Kit stood in his PS’s K1 , I sat down and paddled the C1 with a wing paddle , and a K1 without a paddle

And the seniors tried to race using the C1s , off the pontoon , by competing who stays on the boat the longest without dropping out . Dude C1-ners ….

Had a pizza feast treat by coach after that during the afternoon , since he won quite some prize money from his recent adventure race in Malaysia. Quite a feat I would say , bao dao wei lao , and at his condition , to WIN the race , must have taken quite some guts and pro-ness to do it …


And that’s about it … Sunday’s spent rotting as usual , and the weekdays , are spent in school …. Duh ….

Seemingly familiar

21—08-07 , 1204 AM


OK My blogger is screwing up again so this post might come in a bit late cos I drafted it using MS word … Practically my whole com screwing up cos its getting ancient and nearing obsolete . Eh wait that’s too extreme , but nevertheless , the functions are nowhere near the modern gadgets u find in the stores.


Lets try to summarise this past week for I have little time here and lest I lose track of it .

A productive Fitness assessment on fri , at least for me , I managed to break all my personal bests .
A even better K1 time trial for I broke another personal record after like ages since i used K1 .’

Sat was weird , a cold cold morning that forced me to don the windbreaker on the bus trip to training , a sinister foreboding of things to come.
Gathered anticipating the time trial , a setting for all of us to gauge our progress and set future goals . But no , coach insisted no underweight boats allowed for this test , so I couldn’t use my good ‘ol SwiftRacing K1 that accompanied me thru the times training for the A Div …

Settled for a blue raptor K1 which everyone else did , but kinda uncomfy with the seat and boat structure. Hauling it down the slope was a bit tricky , not so , its just that 2 kg difference , but hell , now I know why I like light boats .
Warmed up runs , at least my skills are not rusty anymore thanks to Wednesday last min practice . The reservoir was plainly empty , no other schools were training already , as far as I know , VJ and TPJC have cut trainings so we own the reservoir at least for now . Whizzed the test , and not counting Wai Kit , I made 5th overall which didn’t changed positions from last time but saw my timing improve more than 10 secs !!! '

Which events follows up to the unglamourous climax , details are confidential , but Eugene became our martyr for our safety consciousness and focus on academic excellence .


Other things include me finally taking My Red SwiftRacing K1 down for some leisure paddling , riding the wash from the girls’ K4 was so freaking fun .

Planned to have study session after training but end up going TM , and then with Sheng, Yong , Tzet and Qian , went watch fireworks fest at marina bayfront … An ultra long wait , and resisting passive smoking , we got our reward in the form of a spectacular lights display in the sky .


Trekked thru town , to lau par sat , doing random things , talking , forming tu-tu-trains and irritating other pedestrians , and my bravado in trying to snatch the cigarette out of a smoker’s fingers …


Sunday was spent rotting and sleeping and trying to do homework and recuperating … Somehow I admire those who have the capacity and discipline to forgo sleep to die die finish homework till late night , a feat I cannot achieve without external stimulants .


Shit loads of working and urgent revision’s piling up at my face and I still manage to laugh it off . Crap , when will I find back my old self ?


Time is short dude , watch your back when u walk , it doesn’t slow down . it never did .
MS word pisses me off and destroys my mood in blogging.

So its only descriptive and little reflections for this post.

A different way of doing things

Thought that , by now should've realised , that the world won't always work according to your ways , and there'll be pple u dun like just so close to u . And having to live with that , its not always easy .
But since when things in life ever was , considering the fact that hell , we don't even know exactly how the world functions .
BUT the least that could be done , is , not to bitch around too much . No matter how much an asshole the person resembled , how he shot u in the back while ur best armour was strapped in ur front .

It doesnt help if u could list out more things in words what he did wrong to you than all that ur computer could store; digital files are not matter and wont hurt if u threw it at him , unless u threw ur computer at him , thats another story .

Excess in bitching not only does it keeps ur at levels of tension higher than healthy levels , it actually undermines a your own integrity and the opinion of others of yourself that receives your whinning . That , in itself , warrant enough reason why not to bitch .




OK updating my own life journal ... Relay duathlon at BEdok the past SAT was something rather new , in competitive events that encompassed both on land and on water , both myself and my partner . Though i didnt win anything in the superficial sense , not like almost everyone else around me with the prizes and medals , the learning process never stops going on and on .

Endurance , not the body but the mind , by pure willpower to prevent pple overtaking during the race , that is pushing ur body further by that will , instead of trying to Jedi Mind Trick ur opponent to give way . THAT , by experience , has never failed to fail to work .

And also the mind , the spirit of competitiveness , to excel beyond ur peers that , roots within everyone else who stood out amongst. To set a target , even if its ur closest friend , to defeat him , in a race , in gauging ability , and it will mean a lot in the long run to see who stands out . It doesnt need to be an elimination match , but it would suffice even only for self satisfaction .

THAT is my motivation for all my self trainings .



After which is the team bbq , ate played and played and crapped . That could summarise .
Save for the part which i tried to play my role as Log Head during the preparation phase of the bbq , which us the juniors treated the seniors. Quite ex , but it was rather worthwhile .



Missed church AGAIN on sun , for no particular reason , basically was a plain overslept from the past night of playing and fooling around . Allowed the day to rot away doing nothing impt .




Monday's training was something new ...
Instead on Gym , we went over the other side of the Village bridge to SAS to use the SAV swimming pool , which then coincides with the water polo peeps training . So we made do to the nearer shallower end of the pool and let the polo peeps train in peace and have the other end of the pool .
Partially because we're kind and partially becasue we dun want to have to use the darn deep end of the pool and end up drowning since we didnt have a life vest .

Those with H2 Econs had to join an hour late , so the meagre pple around started warm up , swam tons of laps and picking tips from Mr Q abt basic techniques and all that . Till i almost cramp ... It sucks to cramp in a pool ...

Directional control was the major issue , since i dun have a rudder attached to my rear end , and i couldnt see where i was heading when half the time my head was under water without goggles . And guess everyone else is the same since we started cutting "lanes " like no one's business .

That was followed by a session of playing some noob polo-captain's ball hybrid much to the amusement of the actual polo team . Jack with his ultimate own goal , Nelson with his ultra underwater jumps , Jon with height and speed , and everyone else splashing water .


That was really a great enjoyment incorporated into training , which was also hardcore cardio workout .


Right ... Morning training tmrw ... Fitness assessment this Fri , team K1 time trial this Sat ... Lets just hope my K1 skills are still functional ... ANd i shall have to make my choice dam soon ...

Being easily influenced

AH ok , so much for being easily influenced ...


And hence i missed the FOP due to external influence . All three sessions of them . Kay doesnt sound that bad , but last year around this time , i was not to take this down lightly . To leave it to conscience thinking that , so as long what i think i'm doing is the right thing .

TO be guilty of it is to be struck by ur own conscience , but what if the very conscience is diluted by the lure of everyday things in life ?



Fridays training was rather fufilling , long time (act not so long ) had land training like that . The satisfaction of having exerted strength using every part of the body , and then recovering , and then push again . On and on , yet it doesnt feel so daunting by now .
Gone were the early days when i used to dread land trainings .


Saturday was a much different experience .
Having settled down , equipment and all that , while the rest was busy getting paddles arranging boats , heheh , I with the help of the seniors who were there to train for fun , took out the brand new C1s and took some time to assemble it trial and error .

And jonathan the ex-captain kindly availed himself to teach me the basics of C1-ing , nevertheless since the club manager didnt allow us to borrow the spare plastic oar , we had to make to with only one carbon C paddle , and sharing it with the seniors who wanted to play with the C1

Good progress though i would admit , but somehow , its like returning back to the basics .

IF otherwise , i dun even know should i , or do i want to progress on with C-ing . I like the feeling of speed , of high reps paddling , without having to bother about steering affecting all that .
That which was found in the K1 , no one else bothering u in balance or coordination , your own world , your own frequency , your style of balance ( tilts ) and alll that .

But yet the C1 is a very interesting boat to handle . Intriguing i would say , but maybe cos there isnt much good examples of C1-ners around here in Bedok , well , i would say i havent seen one around . NO one to match up to , nothing to looking forward to become . And thats as much as the C1 is to me .

Well the expectations are such determinant that , abides u to follow . What pple expect of u , and what u really want to do . I dun want to have to live in a world of pretense , but yet i dun want to have to regret the choice , and to waste the efforts put in .

Ultimately its abt decisiveness , a quality i do not possess .


Take some time , try it out . Thats what was said .


Its has to be soon to not lose out . I love the K1 , but i want to love the C1 as well . Thats the problem with me .

And i'm being influenced , always

Abandoned post

Woh ok so now i'm multitasking .

Task 1 : Watching church service online, via the live webcast, cos i woke up late and missed service AGAIN

Task 2 : Meeting my PW groupmates online and coordinating some discussion .

Task 3: Doing online research on PW

Task 4 : Doing EoM

Task 5 : Attempting to blog about the past week but no mood .


OK i try again later cos now abit busy ....

The hand over for us

The weekend then was filled with many events that makes life complicated yet exciting . Well its not the surface that matters but hell yeah its everyday a new level of learning and experiencing first hand .





Right , Friday .







Whacky days never seem to lack around . Maybe its just me , or the people i choose to be around with , but yet , I still don't feel the closeness as a class . NOt a complain , definitely not , the fault is with me , and i just so happen to miss almost every other class bonding activities there is .

Like the speaker workshop during Orientation 2, class outing at sentosa , Learning Journey , various after lesson hangouts .



ITs not that of the way things are meant to be . Which also makes me think back the times in Pae 07s07 .



Not perfect , but it stood as a standard to look out for .





Still on Friday , ah ... Econs test which i ermx , threw it away literally .



EG :



Qns : With reference to Figure 1 , explain how blah blah blah ....



My Ans : The extract gives a good view . However , cross referencing to extract X ... blahblah .....









Ah nvm . And thereafter , met up with the canoeist to go for team dinner downtown .

Changing appettite , which has similar ambience and food as cafe cartel the other day , which has similar ambience to swensons , which has similarity to pizza hut , which has similarity to Macdonald's , which has similarity to Food Junction , which has similarity to S11 (or VARI NICE ) , which has similarity to any old kopitiams u find in HDB estates ,



In which price range has no resemblance to any of the Swenson's or Cafe cartel's .





After that , gathered round at Marina's Square outside large stairway for a briefing and Team Elections .

And always we think about ourselves as the juniors , leaving bigger issues to the seniors , taking a backseat , picking it up at our own pace .
With the elections right before us , its awake up call .

Cap- Eugene
V.Cap-Ceyong , GuanJie
Logistics - ME , Jack
Treasurer- QianWen

Small crew , but big vision . With the passing on of duties , now when people say Team SAJC Canoeing , its us , not them anymore .

And it came rather as a surprise , not cause i cant do nuts , but rather how much am i worth to everyone else to shoulder it . I dun want to have to let pple down , much less myself . HOw will I ever make it out and do it the right way , and i hope i am not sending out a wrong signal to pple around me .

Talked alot about the team , openly , and see the passion each holds for the future , its not gonna be easy , as was stated out right at the start . We are not hoing to remain stagnated , for each year holds a greater future .

After being dismissed , hung back for briefing on the next day's NCC race . 10km . Adminstration and basic race layouts , tactics , lookouts , and tips . Using a simple whiteboard and markers and hands for illustrations , how to overtake , turning , watching , clearing , starting , disaster prevention ( capsize or collision )
.
BIg time , lasted quite long , but nevertheless yet another learning experience . Kinda like those sailing competitions and races , which actually sounds rather cool .

Ah shall talk abt the race tmrw , now very late





OOO yah and to add , God never fails to amaze me with things that comes out of the usual way .


IT was rather late after the gathering and briefing and after Yong boarded his bus . Abt 12 am or so , opp Marina square and i was waiting for 162 .

Seemed to take forever , as more and more pple piled out of the esplanade . Getting really frustrated , cos its late and i am tired and there's a race tmrw . Decided against open cursing for its rude and it wont help the situation .

Mumbled a short prayer , more like a self encouragements . Its not like those long exaggerated prayer nor chanting in the movies .

"Father , I need a bus , Can YOu help ?"



Well there wasnt a audible verbal reply , ( If there was , you're gonna hear it in the headlines )


BUt a few minutes later bus 162 finally came

When i boarded tried to tap card as usual but the machine didnt register . Bus driver said in chinese " shang che shang che , ji qi huai diao liao " --- " Get on the bus , the machine's spoilt"

OK that good so i get a free ride .
And then the driver got up , open the top panel from the front , removed the BUs service no. plate , then got off the bus , removed the no. plate on the outside , and returned to the bus to receive "what -the -hell" gazes from everyone on board .


Annoucing this time in English " Machine spoil , if you want to alight just press the bell "


And so he sped off , literally , not accepting any more passenger . And since there wasnt much pple on board , and all them inculding me are returning to the hearlands residential areas , we quite by passed the whole crowded orchard and newton area , went all the way to thomson then my hse . Real fast abt 20 or so mins .


SO look at it , I asked for a bus i and quite literally got a bus . Free fast-forwarded ride home .

WHo's to doubt whether God exist?

The dumb Gu niang rules

And it didnt stop just there .





After the final stages of the Nationals A div , to some , it may mark an official but not so practical end , to many whom may have spent many a days working hard for their prize . We did and we could say we achieved so much and be thankful .

Yes there could have been more , but its over , and for every competition , be it a race , a fight , a run , a test , there's always gonna be the pple who emerge above , and others to learn humility below , but each have their stories to tell of their journey , of what they learnt .

As for now , the focus is still the same . This Sat shall be National Canoeing Championships. Though this somewhat a bigger event than the A div , being open category and all , it doesnt really sound so bad than the last time .
Me taking K2 10000m with CeYong . Given barely a week or so to practice coordination and teamwork and mutual understanding that is so impt for any K2 competitors , well that might as well have been taking our K1s and glueing them together .



Shifted boats over to Macritchie on tues , had some light paddling to get familiarized with the environment . And actually went overboard .
Coach took us into the far depths of the reservoir , all the way beyond the golf course and way past the legal borders of activity area. Unknowingly because it was rather long since he was around training in Macritchie as his days a national rower . And so when we returned there was the canoe club manager and the national coach waiting for us confronting us with the fact that we broke the rules and wanted to book us with some PUB authority etc etc....

With his usual humour , he laughed it off . Exclaiming the how "GU niang" the rules have changed .



ANd we probably broke as many rules as we could have over at the foreign territory .

Seeing that the pontoons were quite crowded with HCI and the others , we took the initiative to launch off the muddy shoreline like we did in Bedok's rocky shores . Kicked up so much of the mud and dirt and whatever that the surrounding waters turned muddy . So much for a reservoir.

Cutting lanes like we own them doesnt sound as bad as that , but thats probably an unwritten rule somewhere isnt it ?

Macritchie supposedly wont welcome us for the next visit , but What-The-Hell ...



All right , and back to today , having the post race review at school , coach came specially for this , not much as of a video viewing , with tips and comments and feedbacks here and there . More of it was coach having us to share our experiences and then him talking about the seniors future , the plans for the team etc ...

As I said , i'm with the seniors squad and it might not always be relevant for me . Its the same way all the while these months , putting myself in their shoes and trying to imagine what would be my reactions if i were them.
And its gonna be weird without them around in training. NOt that I'm emo-ing , ( i rarely ever do ) but it will take some time to get used to . Come to think of it , its july now , half the year is gone so soon , thats like a quarter of our JC life . We better get working to make this time worth while .

Soon we'll find ourselves being the seniors , so its up to us to question our functioning as a team to have something to show for that .


BUt first for me , I still have ALOT to work on .
I wont always take it down being the rear end pack . ...

Not my race

GO SA CANOE!!!

Whew .... IN where i have finish my leg of this competition , a gruelling 6 hours wait , a 10 min satisfaction , and the rest of the time to look back and figure out the events leading to it , and also a burden let go from the mind and heart.

Not the best definitely , but a great learning experience nonetheless . The pre -race mental preparation , intensive warm-ups , and last min prayers . I wouldn't really say they didnt work , but its hard to gauge wat kind of response it was due to have .

ANd having opponents who were at the very least rather sportsmanship and friendly helped quite to calm down a panic strickened amateur like me . And the teammates who cheered for me even though i was the closely but yet the last one in .


My point of view at the race .

Prior to launch , Jason the team manager was beside giving last min tips and encouragements , while some others helped carry the boat . Since I was the 2nd last event of the day , most of them were quite free already . Walking thru the gates of the launching pontoon , hugging the paddle tight sieving thru the corwds who were there as well to see several other K1s on their way to launching . That , I thought , definitely were my opponents .
Sizing them up , looking good , still having that tinge of anxiety . Jason told me keep focused on the race , not the competitors , as I did like wise , fearing a lost of concentration would have catastrophic consequences .

Finding a empty spot on the pontoon , motioning to my teammates to put the boat down , and receiving the slaps on the back and final good luck wishes . With one swift move , slotted into the cockpit of the boat , reaching for the paddle , I tired to keep my mind clear of negativity as I tapped twice and moved off the pontoon , made a right turn and headed up the bay towards the starting line.

Bringing the momentum up keeping straight body posture and trying to relax stroke by stroke on an easy paddle up lane . From far the air horn sounded for another race , keeping concentration still , unwilling to budge.A side wind abt 70 degrees to the right of the lanes was blowing hard , sun was hidden behind clouds , and making it a cool environment , almost too comfy .

Reaching the forth set of big buoy , the starting line , the starter boat was calling for the race before me , a T2 race , to line up . Moving further up lane to give space for the T2s to turn for lining up , moved abt 100m further and turned right , made a 270 degree arc turn so that now i face the lanes perpendicularly from the left . Tested water around to keep calm , heart beating faster despite this very slow start . Loitered near the start line .

Till the time starter called for boats to approach . Mistakening it as a call to line up , i went straight for the starting buoys , only to to stopped short , and yelled at over the loudspeaker . Whoops bad start . Starer took attendance , anticipating it , and also cos I am lane 1 , I acknowledged as my boat was called first . ( Here we call each other by boat number , instead of by name nor school , makes it easier since everyone could see your number plate )

Here then boat 3 , (forgot was it RJC or ACJC ) , came over seeing me quite tensed up .

Boat3:" Hey boat 1 , You J1 ah ??"
ME :(nods) "yah"
Boat3: "Yeah all the best for the race !"
ME: (raises paddle in acknowledgement) "Yeah thanks !"

ANd hence calmed me down alot , knowing that I'm not racing against meanies who here to bring u down. Good show of sportsmanship , and which was what also let me start and end on a light heart , instead of slipping into utter depression . Everyone here exchanged good luck and all-the-bests , showing good sports spirit

Finally starter gave order to line up . Suddenly every simply stopped short of the line , reluctant, wary of negligent starts where starter pre maturely starts a race. Starter called again , still no move . Confused i broke the stalemate and moved forward , only then did the rest . Lining up , I was quick to respond to starter line adjustments , all but boat 4 who appears to be deliberately lagging to gain max advantage of a better start .

"Lane 4 one stroke back "
"Lane 1 and 2 , 1 stroke up"
"Lane 3 hold "
"lane 4 hold "
"lane 4 ,1 stroke back "
"All lanes hold "
"Lane 4 hold "
"Lane 4 HOLD!!!"
"lane 4 one stroke back "
"lane 4 HOLD!!!"
"ALL lanes hold!!! "

Finally ...


"STArt in ten ...."

ANd the air horn goes offf . At that instance , alll boats blasted off hard , me too trying to pick up speed and start bursting . Twisting body , utilizing maximum usage of the body to conserve some strength for the arms and also to build up more speed .

Upon reaching next set of bouy , that is 300m mark , wanting to slow down burst frequency and maintain speed . Realised that my picking up and bursting frequency almost matched the others as they started on maintenance strokes , ouch .... So in the end i gritted on and continued without slowing down the frequency , so in a sense i was bursting my way from start to finish .

Halfway to next buoy , abt 250m , feeling dam tired , as the shore line came closer , heard someone cheering for my name . Gritting my teeth i continued twisting . Passing the 200m , I thought i should starting picking up again . BY then i could already see the two adjacent two lanes already abt 1 or 2 boat length ahead from the corner of my eye .

Just here i lost concentration and tilt hard left , which i instinctively braced left , just a touch and go , but losing significant speed . Throwing all else aside , picked up speed again , this time not wanting to lose balance , did not utilize much body effort , pure arm pull that propelled me .

Aching all over , yet the sound of the cheering crowd which i took them alll to be directed at me ... Going into a frenzy , i charged on knowing that though i may not win , i will complete my race beautifully .

By now due to parallax error i could no longer gauge how far ahead was the other boats . COuld see boat 4 or 5 leading abt 3/4 boat length , pulling hard gain , maintain this all the way thru the finish line .

As I passed thru the line , lagging from the first boat , boat 3 no less , by abt 15 secs or so .


At the finish line ,


Boat 3 :(panting) " BOat 1 ! Nice one ! Good race !"
ME: (shag voice) "Yeah man thanks alot....! YOu too ..."
ALL: (turning to one another ) " that was a good race ... " " good job everyone ! " "Boat 1 u J1 ah , nice one !'
ME " yah see ya all around ! "


And that concludes what my race was all about ... Even though i didnt make it past the heats , it was really a good experience racing with them all . A chance to push beyond my limit , testing my skills , meet strong competitors , and grow up a new level .