The thought of the end of my internship next fri just makes me excited and so looking forward to the much needed break that i have been deprived of since, erm...the end of the previous term. I had hardly gotten to enjoy one week of after-exam break when i was hauled right into a 15-week internship, not to mention that it was filled with after-work trainings/tuition/piano...not spared even on weekends.
Of course, the end of internship doesn't mean total freedom. For one, i still have my DB training on tue & thur nights, tuitions on mon, wed, fri n sat...and i've just signed up for the job of taking primary school/secondary sch kids for maths/science/social studies trails to places like esplanade, changi airport, science centre, zoo, birdpark, sungei buloh etc. But i think it shuld be fun, revisiting places i went to when i was at their age...
But even so, i will still have a lot more time to myself than before...hehe...here's a plan of what i'm gonna do for the following 2 weeks before sch starts (in case i forget):
1. Meet up with peijun, nana n gang to go ChinaOne and mayb for more spanish/mexican food
2. Go sun-tanning at Sentosa
3. Clubbing (Zouk, MOS)
4. Tennis/Squash with Kaixin, probably more people
5. DB Team Dinner
6. K-Lunch with peiling n other db mates ba (dun forget ur promise wor)
7. Get my fav kueh from Beauty World
8. Compile my pics, do more collages
9. Kayaking, running n more running in preparation of duathlon n AHM
10. Meet up with people i haven't seen for a long time
11. More quality time with family (coz bro is going for attachment in USA disneyland in late aug for abt 6 months)
12. Retail Therapy
Nothing impressive abt what i'm doing during the break, so can see how deprived i was for the past few months...haha...like no life lor
OrAnGeL was fuming at
3:26 PM
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Went for 1-star kayaking course over the wkend at KLSSC. The gist of the course was mainly capsize drills n more capsize drills, as well as 2 to 1 rescue work. It was exciting, as well as full of hilarious moments....caijun n kaixin were like so blur lah...keep coming out on the wrong side of the kayak during the capsize that they had to do it umpteen times to get it right! Karen was damn funny too, fancy capsizing her boat at the shoreline when we were all trying to shore up...her DB team was launching the boat at the moment in time and all saw her unglam capsize, so everyone had a good laugh!Haha...
On the 2nd day of the course, we learnt 2-1 rescue work, quite fun too, 1 person was to capsize and the other 2 will go rescue the capsizer, to empty the kayak of water and bring the person back into the kayak...Then we all did a massive capsize drill near Pebble condo, and had the 3 Star pple come n rescue us. They were damn pro sia, 1 person rescue 2 pple, they emptied the boat and got us back on pretty fast...Impressed sia...But capsizing in the middle of the river was abit scary la...coz got jellyfish underneath, tink i kicked one of them when i capsized..haha
Then there was one more massive capsize drill where all 10 of us capsized n had to find out own way to rescue ourselves...mainly by using 2 boats as a pivot to empty out 1 boat so that we can get back on...The instructor was damn mean la..tekan us...he took one of the kayaks with him, opened up the drain hole, allowed so much water in that we had a hard time lifting it to empty the water lor...
Overall the 2 days were very memorable, though i'm aching and burnt like nobody's business now..with bruises on my knees from the diamond-shaped position of sitting in the Bandit. Kayaks are really quite hard to control, esp when there are currents or wind, unlike dragonboat, where there's someone to steer the boat...But of course, 1 main takeaway from the course i guess will be more of really the twisting of ur body to get effective strokes. Even the J-draw requires you the twist ur body in order to draw the water lor. As for the classic draw, i don't think i will ever master it...it's sth like embroidery lor, requires patience and has to be done real slowly...
OrAnGeL was fuming at
10:18 AM
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Trust is not something to be given freely
Once gotten, it should be treasured and well taken care of
Because it resembles the character of a fragile piece of glass
Once broken, it can never be restored back to its original state
Even mending doesn't bring back the 100% trust you yearn for
So do treat your every action with considerable thought
Before it brings out the dark grey clouds overhead
That provides a glimpse into my sentiments
OrAnGeL was fuming at
3:20 PM
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Was damn happy yest...I actually kept up and stayed ahead of the pack during our run training from SESS to KLSSC & back!!! and my teammates commended on my improvement...hehe...i think they muz be quite surprised abt the change in me...
I remember how when i first started out in dragonboat, i use to detest the running we did almost every training. On saturdays esp, i use to procrastinate when i wake up in the morning, about whether to get there on time for running or just give an excuse and get there later for just the rowing. Even weeks before the Singapore Dragonboat Festival, i still felt that way, mainly because it's hard for me to finish the run consistently. I always thought that the weather was too hot for running, or the distance was too far and my stamina was just not there yet. I think even joan thought i had an attitude problem n showed me the same attitude as well...haha
But mainly her, and plus the support and encouragement of my teammates, boosted my performance in the team. Joan 1st taught me to regulate my breathing, and i found it really helps me to endure longer...Wilson also taught me the way to running long distance...but most impt of all, the desire to win, the bonding during the camp, as well as joan's guidance from our frequent talks made me find my purpose and passion in dragonboat.
All along, perhaps i had not found what i wanted from myself and from dragonboat, i did not have the mental strength to conquer the indominable barriers that were hindering my progress...but joan helped open me up...sorta trigger me to find my intrinsic motivation to do better, to win myself, to achieve a mind over body effect. Even zhui's long emails to us were a source of learning as well...made me think deeper about what i was really looking for. All this while i only thought from the team's point of view, that we wanted to win, not once thinking i wanted to win, and hence not acting on that desire to win...it just made me depend on the whole team to win instead of starting on myself...
This was especially when joan told me about the white dog/black dog story, where 2 dogs quarreled over every single thing all the time...and the dog that won in the end was the one that was feed the most. This brought to mind that in last week's run, i was having mental conversations while running, and everytime i tink of how long the distance is, how many people there are hindering my path along clarke quay, i had the tendency to slow down to a walk even though on the other hand, i wanted to complete it quickly. Having learnt that, during yest's running, i practically just concentrated on running without any conversations in mind...it seemed as if the black dog wasn't being fed at all....and the intensity of concentration was sth i've not experienced before.. and allowed me to last at a good pace thru'out the run....
Now, Joan has tasked me with a challenge: to inspire others so that the whole team can progress together as one, and for myself to evolve further....You can be sure that I will put my best foot forward ya!
OrAnGeL was fuming at
11:24 AM
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Shape Run 2006 & Pei Jun's 21st
It was madness yesterday morning, having to wake up at 530am just to travel to marina square for the shape run. While preparing to go out, i actually pondered over my stupidity of paying 15 bucks to torture myself over a morning marathon! And to think that there's more to go for AHM and standchart marathon....bleahz
But it felt good after the run, there was a sense of achievement as I conquered the distance with every step taken, bringing me closer to the finishing point Was especially glad that i did not stop to walk, but just kept running. Of course, 5km is not sth i haven't done before, so hopefully, AHM will bring me higher!
Was feeling kinda apologetic as i ran on ahead and left kaixin, caijun, ying huei & karen behind, but fact is that as much as i wanted to run with them, i knew that if i slowed my pace, i may well not have to motivation to complete the whole run. Pace and continuity are indeed important factors to completion of a race satisfactorily, not to mention the mental strength as well.
After we all completed the run, i found out that karen actually sprained her ankle while running, but when the security guard to came to help, she refused to be treated as she feared she will not get her goodie bag if she did not complete the run. She promptly got on her feet and continued running. It was really hilarious...haha...Now her ankle is swollen and bandaged up....Muz take care sia...i do admire her tenacity over shape run's goodie bag...i guess the bag of goodies has certain allure for her..lolz
Haha, and she also msged me last night saying she saw me on channel 5 news for the shape run...so funny sia...but i din managed to see it...was out celebrating pei jun's bdae. Her bdae was supposed to be on 15 July, but due to her numerous work commitments, we could only meet up with her yesterday night.
Me, Kaixin, Peijun and Nana went to Tapas Tree at Clarke Quay, the ambience was fab, with its dim lighting, exquisite lamps, anitque fans and spanish paintings...basically everything. The food, the tapas were deliciosa, especially the grilled squid, the potato in spicy tomato sauce (Patatas Bravas), made me just hanker for more, except that my stomach couldn't take in any more food...haha...Drinkswise, spanish fly, sex on the beach, and a few other cocktails were quite nice. I would think that the latin cocktails sounded quite creative.
On to peijun, we got her a black skin swatch watch with a super huge face, as well as a choco-mint cake...the place really had v good service, we only asked them to bring out the cake and they got their in-house band to come over to our table to sing bdae song to her, as well as 'pretty woman', it was a really nice gesture so much so that we gave them half the cake...haha
Overall, it was a v enjoyable evening, other than pei jun being apologetic over our spending on her prezzie and dinner....but, so long as she enjoys herself, money is not a concern...hehe
OrAnGeL was fuming at
9:51 AM
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It was an amazing weekend over at the Singapore Dragonboat Festival 2006 held at Bedok Reservoir....It was an event where limits were broken, where we staked out every fibre of our beings, staked out all that we had....One long year has passed, and looking back:
We 1st joined regatta last year as greenhorns, just wanting to gain some exposure & experience of competing with others in the race....
In Mar this year, we participated in MR500 with the thought that we did not want to come in last for the races and this we achieved....
But this time round, at the Singapore Dragonboat Festival...we entered into the race with a burning desire to want to win all the other teams, to row without regrets....we did all we could n thou we did not win, it was an achievement, a feat for us to move up to the finals, for we all rowed till we were broken..N it signaled the moving up to the next level of game...of moving up into a new league, where no longer would we just struggle not to be the last few anymore, but to be among the winners!!!
This is the 1st time i saw the gals break down in tears after the heats, esp the backpack - cheryl, peifen, weiling....it was totally amazing...i guess it was due to the intense feelings they felt after the heats, of putting everything they had into the race....The feeling was especially great when Keith said ' Gals, welcome to the finals!!' The feelings of joy was simply undescribable....
Though we were not winners in the sense of medals eventually, we definitely were winners in terms of mind overcoming the body... I can still recall the guys' race for PM cup, where the commentator mentioned SMU leading for 1st half of the race....it was really heartening to hear that, even though the spectators were like: 'What the hell! SMU??', as NTU/NUS were hot favorites for the race. It really cheered on the morale of the whole team...
With this event imprinted in our minds, i guess we juz bonded even deeper, being able to connect to each other at a deeper level....n the event ended with us feasting to full satisfaction at Bedok 85...
Following this, we are going to set progressive goals to get to where we want to:
1. Shape Run 2006 - 16 July 2006
2. Relay Duathlon 2006 - 5 Aug 2006
3. The Real Run 2006 - 20 Aug 2006
4. Army Half Marathon 2006 - 27 Aug 20065. Regatta
6. Standard Chartered Marathon - 3 Dec 2006
When Regatta comes, our motto will no longer juz be 'nothing is impossible' but that 'impossible is nothing', as we conquer challenges that we thought we never could have overcome previously!! So be prepared to watch our backS!!!
OrAnGeL was fuming at
3:51 PM
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