firstly sorry that it took such a long time for me to get the groove to blog.
for one alot of things have happened in between either making me lose the mood to blog or i'm just plain tired from all that has happened.
first things first - my results. my results, as expected, took abit of a dive. that it happened was inevitable, the only thing that mattered the magnitude and scale of the fall. overall it's still okay, but i can't help feeling shitty about it. seriously i could have done better, and it isn't help by the fact that for one reason or another, i felt that the modules that i took last semester were rather tough. i felt crappy after getting my results since it's never nice to fall, but i'm now okay and ready to fight it out all over again next semester! haha. although it's interesting to note how fast a year has passed. a year ago i was still tending to pots and pans of various prices and shapes and sizes in takashimaya, and now here i am just having completed my freshman year. and looking forward to next week's ivp.
that of course brings me to the impending ivp. it's only next week, and of course it's impossible to say i'm ready. how can one ever be fully ready for a competition like this, or even exams per se? the thing about sparring in silat is that you do it alone, and for me it's really the first time that i'm competing in an individual event. yes, collectively we represent the school but at the end of the day in the ring it's really personal. this is different from performing with the military band in front of 60000 screaming crowds at the national stadium, and also answering questions in quizes. this is more physically and mentally challenging, and i go through it alone. if you ask me the fear/edginess/nervousness has yet to sink in, and maybe it will only sink in on the day itself. then again, seriously speaking as a newbie i don't have anything to lose since i start on a clean slate, and the only person that i have to prove to is really myself. so i'll just do what i can, and see how far i can go in ivp. technique-wise i'm really not up to standard, but i'll make do with what i can.
on another note after a long search i've gotten myself a job. thanks to intan, and then rahman, we got jobs at the science centre. my job is quite slack actually, though i only start this coming monday. all i'm supposed to do is just usher guests to some water exhibition thing that they are having, and i work only at most 4 days per week, 10-6pm. haha. it's quite a brainless job, and at least i get to walk around i guess. or rather, i'm suppose to move around in this automated skate-scooter thing that's called a segway. haha. well it's only for month so it's okay. it's just to fill up time and try new things. at least there are a few friends at work so it's still not too bad. after work i can just zip down to school for training if required, and if i really need the money i can just put in effort in that conversational malay tutoring programme that i went for an interview for earlier this week.
which brings me to the next point - an interesting incident happened on tuesday! haha. i was looking for the building on cecil street for the interview, and as i was doing so this sikh guy just came up to me and said hullo brother! i said err hello, and ignored him since i was more bothered with finding the address 139 cecil street. the guy didn't take the hint and the next thing he did was to come up to me and say -
"you have a lucky forehead. the shape of your eyes yada yada yada tells me that you are going to get lucky next mth. you are going to get a promotion in whatever you do the next month. that is what i forsee.
i just replied err okay. haha i didn't know why i should really believe all that mumbo-jumbo of his. then he went on to say he was a yoga practitioner that kinda thing, and the next thing he said-
"alot of people die early, in their 60s or so. as for you, i look at your face and i say that you will die at the age of 94."
i smiled and just said okay. haha. wow, he's like some modern nostradamus or something like that. upon which he took out a small piece of paper, the size of a bus ticket, and wrote '94' on it and asked me to crush it in my right hand, keep it clenched inside and hold my hand down. he then asked me to choose a number between 1 and 5. i chose 4. then he asked me to choose another number between 1 and 5, and i said 2. then he wrote both numbers down on another piece of paper, and in between he wrote '3' and circled it.
"3 falls between 2 and 4, so 3 is your lucky number. so in whatever you do remember the number 3 will bring you luck. so now choose a name of a flower."
flower? i couldn't think of anything so i just said rose. then he said
"so rose is your lucky flower. rose will bring you luck. now bring up your right hand, still clenched, and blow at it at the hole there. and open it."
well well, guess what? remember he wrote 94 on it? when i opened it the number 3 and the word rose was there, and some scribbling below them which i couldn't figure out. haha. i really didn't look impressed, although the whole thing is quite amazing. in the end he just wanted donations, saying he was from india and all. i could only give me 2 $1 coins since coins were all that i had. haha. then he went away. oh i forgot to mention - his body odour was really strong.
after my interview later on i went to do abit of shopping, and finally i got myself the bag that i wanted. isetan was having discount on the springfield bag, so i just bought it. the last weekend i bought a pair of dress shoes at the robinson's sale. we originally intended to go for the adidas sale but it closed after 7. so we went over to robinson's to see what we could get.
what an eventful week it has been. next week is really going to busy, with work, training and ivp. and the class gathering this sunday. haha. go go go!
Friday, May 30, 2008
Monday, May 19, 2008
silat camp
the past week and weekend has been very draining.
on thursday i did an 8km run with hadi. he was late since he was spray painting his bike first, so i did an 8 round warm up on the cck stadium track first. we then ran 5km around cck and teck whye area. hadi had his fieldpack on his back, which weighed i think 10kg? maybe heavier but i'm not sure. the run was quite relaxing, and should really go running more often to build my fitness up.
then friday saw the start of the silat training camp, which i co-organised with na'im and farah. i forgot to thank them for their efforts, so thanks guys! i shall thank them personally next time. in any case training kicked off in the afternoon doing ridiculous push-ups unimaginable by my own admission, and after that we proceeded with doing the 2.4km run. i fared very poorly (13.07 mins!!!), and it didn't helped that it was really hot, and i did not recuperate properly from running 8km the day before. my timing was embarassing so i must buck up. the night was spent away just talking and laughing away in 1 of the rooms.
the next day was our friendly with ntu. my first ever match! haha. i sparred with this guy who was two weight classes above me, and somehow i won. it's a nice feeling to win when your team is trailing 3-0 down, but more importantly i think at least i tried to do something about the match. i know i didn't play that good a match since i didn't really kick him around but all i did was to block and punch him repeatedly, and only managed to do a throw in the dying seconds. at least it was an experience to savour, and this should help me in my learning. the techniques must improve though, and i must be braver in using my legs. but it's nice to win, and well the team eventually did win overall, even though it was by the slimmest of margins (11-10). at night was abit of games session and just talking the night away.
sunday was madness. we ran from school all the way to bukit timah hill via clementi road. once we reached its peak we took a wrong turn and went down another way, and ended up at dairy farm road (bukit panjang was just a stone's throw away!) then we took a longer route way back, just walking all the way. by the time we reached ulu pandan road the rest had already left us far behind since they had started running ahead, so me, zuraimi, hanan and amirah flagged a cab back to school. haha. all in all i think we convered almost 20km or walking/running. it was crazy. 5 hours spent outside just running or walking. luckily training was not that rigorous in the afternoon.
today i went out with nana to marina square. i got those guards that we were supposed to get long time ago, but i didn't get the groin guard because i didn't know what size mine is. okay, i should rephrase that. rather, what size i should wear. haha. so i just got myself a pair of adidas forearm and shin guards. haha shame on me for emphasising on the brand, but i really like the brand. at a combined cost of $32, i think it's okay. then we walked around and ate at zamzam at bugis, where there was this funny scene involving my primary school friend hatta. haha. on a day like vesak day i was bound to run into a few familiar faces and that was what that happened.
okay that is all. must push push push!
on thursday i did an 8km run with hadi. he was late since he was spray painting his bike first, so i did an 8 round warm up on the cck stadium track first. we then ran 5km around cck and teck whye area. hadi had his fieldpack on his back, which weighed i think 10kg? maybe heavier but i'm not sure. the run was quite relaxing, and should really go running more often to build my fitness up.
then friday saw the start of the silat training camp, which i co-organised with na'im and farah. i forgot to thank them for their efforts, so thanks guys! i shall thank them personally next time. in any case training kicked off in the afternoon doing ridiculous push-ups unimaginable by my own admission, and after that we proceeded with doing the 2.4km run. i fared very poorly (13.07 mins!!!), and it didn't helped that it was really hot, and i did not recuperate properly from running 8km the day before. my timing was embarassing so i must buck up. the night was spent away just talking and laughing away in 1 of the rooms.
the next day was our friendly with ntu. my first ever match! haha. i sparred with this guy who was two weight classes above me, and somehow i won. it's a nice feeling to win when your team is trailing 3-0 down, but more importantly i think at least i tried to do something about the match. i know i didn't play that good a match since i didn't really kick him around but all i did was to block and punch him repeatedly, and only managed to do a throw in the dying seconds. at least it was an experience to savour, and this should help me in my learning. the techniques must improve though, and i must be braver in using my legs. but it's nice to win, and well the team eventually did win overall, even though it was by the slimmest of margins (11-10). at night was abit of games session and just talking the night away.
sunday was madness. we ran from school all the way to bukit timah hill via clementi road. once we reached its peak we took a wrong turn and went down another way, and ended up at dairy farm road (bukit panjang was just a stone's throw away!) then we took a longer route way back, just walking all the way. by the time we reached ulu pandan road the rest had already left us far behind since they had started running ahead, so me, zuraimi, hanan and amirah flagged a cab back to school. haha. all in all i think we convered almost 20km or walking/running. it was crazy. 5 hours spent outside just running or walking. luckily training was not that rigorous in the afternoon.
today i went out with nana to marina square. i got those guards that we were supposed to get long time ago, but i didn't get the groin guard because i didn't know what size mine is. okay, i should rephrase that. rather, what size i should wear. haha. so i just got myself a pair of adidas forearm and shin guards. haha shame on me for emphasising on the brand, but i really like the brand. at a combined cost of $32, i think it's okay. then we walked around and ate at zamzam at bugis, where there was this funny scene involving my primary school friend hatta. haha. on a day like vesak day i was bound to run into a few familiar faces and that was what that happened.
okay that is all. must push push push!
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
perak
i just got back from my malaysian trip yesterday.
quite tiring actually. it was a trip for all the sports leaders in team nus, so we did get to meet other sports leaders. frankly speaking, i think it's typical of me not to really come out of my skin and mingle around with the others in such camps. there's some barrier within me i think. oh well. so i kinda got myself left out of things, but well there are some people that i managed to make small talk with. it didn't help they really look the sporty kind, and they are always talking about competitions., IVPs, trainings, their halls, how they got their halls (it seems almost everyone lives in halls). haha i've never even entered a friendly, let alone a competition, i don't stay in halls, and well, silat is quite different from the other sports, especially team sports.
and again it happened. my passport couldn't clear the automated machine system fpr the 512976154th time. so this time round i actually got called into the office and the officer in charge tried to sort out things. apparently the system could not match my fingerprint to the one in my passport. so he says i have to go to ICA and update my thumbprint. right. the rings on my fingers are like trees you know? every year they grow an additional ring, so i suppose i have to keep updating my fingerprint annually.
we were based in gopeng, perak. i did whitewater rafting there. it was okay, even though going through the rapids didn't really pump up the adrenaline. on day 2 we did caving. it's quite interesting to be in the cave, seeing all the limestone formations. it was like a mini-geography lesson. although it was really troublesome getting down on my hands and knees and just crawling through the underground river in the cave. our clothes stank real bad from all the smell of the guano and the murky waters. later on we did rock climbing, and it was something i have never been able to complete actually. well then again, almost everyone could do it, so it isn't and outright achievement anyway. haha.
but the camp was okay i guess. maybe i didn't help myself by not really interacting, but yes i think the activities were okay for an inaugural trip of such a level. a few days escape from singapore and suddenly when i get back i get a whole lot of surprising news. haha. and the training camp is this weekend. it's all so troublesome. oh well, faster do faster finish.
on another note, some idiot of a malay girl called me while i was in malaysia claiming that i know this guy and she kept asking me on that. when i asking her back who she was, she just answered 'orang lah!' typical stupid minah kind of answer. then i just lashed out eh hallo, i don't know who you are but i'm now away in malaysia and you are really wasting my money on autoroam so please don't waste my time anymore. haha. apparently it worked and she hung up, and the call lasted a grand total of 1 minute! phew. if not i would have to pay for another minute of extra charges. but the next day as i was clearing the malaysian checkpoints she smsed. she tells me to tell this friend of mine to watch his mouth if not his face would be 'scratched' by some other guy. wow. how can i help save someone whose name i've never even heard of?
typical stupid brainless minah resorting to such measures when some guy's mouth becomes a loose cannon. i got worked up over this because she really thinks i'm masking my real identity even though i've told her my name and all. haha, seriously, good luck to that supposed friend of mine. if his face gets splashed with acid or pepper or confetti like as if i can do anything about it. i know it's a small matter, but it's just that i can't believe i wasted my time actually talking to some idiot of a minah on my handphone when we just reached kl.
some people really have nothing better to do.
quite tiring actually. it was a trip for all the sports leaders in team nus, so we did get to meet other sports leaders. frankly speaking, i think it's typical of me not to really come out of my skin and mingle around with the others in such camps. there's some barrier within me i think. oh well. so i kinda got myself left out of things, but well there are some people that i managed to make small talk with. it didn't help they really look the sporty kind, and they are always talking about competitions., IVPs, trainings, their halls, how they got their halls (it seems almost everyone lives in halls). haha i've never even entered a friendly, let alone a competition, i don't stay in halls, and well, silat is quite different from the other sports, especially team sports.
and again it happened. my passport couldn't clear the automated machine system fpr the 512976154th time. so this time round i actually got called into the office and the officer in charge tried to sort out things. apparently the system could not match my fingerprint to the one in my passport. so he says i have to go to ICA and update my thumbprint. right. the rings on my fingers are like trees you know? every year they grow an additional ring, so i suppose i have to keep updating my fingerprint annually.
we were based in gopeng, perak. i did whitewater rafting there. it was okay, even though going through the rapids didn't really pump up the adrenaline. on day 2 we did caving. it's quite interesting to be in the cave, seeing all the limestone formations. it was like a mini-geography lesson. although it was really troublesome getting down on my hands and knees and just crawling through the underground river in the cave. our clothes stank real bad from all the smell of the guano and the murky waters. later on we did rock climbing, and it was something i have never been able to complete actually. well then again, almost everyone could do it, so it isn't and outright achievement anyway. haha.
but the camp was okay i guess. maybe i didn't help myself by not really interacting, but yes i think the activities were okay for an inaugural trip of such a level. a few days escape from singapore and suddenly when i get back i get a whole lot of surprising news. haha. and the training camp is this weekend. it's all so troublesome. oh well, faster do faster finish.
on another note, some idiot of a malay girl called me while i was in malaysia claiming that i know this guy and she kept asking me on that. when i asking her back who she was, she just answered 'orang lah!' typical stupid minah kind of answer. then i just lashed out eh hallo, i don't know who you are but i'm now away in malaysia and you are really wasting my money on autoroam so please don't waste my time anymore. haha. apparently it worked and she hung up, and the call lasted a grand total of 1 minute! phew. if not i would have to pay for another minute of extra charges. but the next day as i was clearing the malaysian checkpoints she smsed. she tells me to tell this friend of mine to watch his mouth if not his face would be 'scratched' by some other guy. wow. how can i help save someone whose name i've never even heard of?
typical stupid brainless minah resorting to such measures when some guy's mouth becomes a loose cannon. i got worked up over this because she really thinks i'm masking my real identity even though i've told her my name and all. haha, seriously, good luck to that supposed friend of mine. if his face gets splashed with acid or pepper or confetti like as if i can do anything about it. i know it's a small matter, but it's just that i can't believe i wasted my time actually talking to some idiot of a minah on my handphone when we just reached kl.
some people really have nothing better to do.
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
okay finally i'm done with the exams yesterday.
but today was spent painting my room with my mom. now it looks really good with a fresh coat of paint, although the blue is abit too blue, almost looking like baby blue. the paint colour is called skylight anyway. so the shade of blue is brighter than the previous one. haha i can't help just looking at how fresh the walls look now.
and yesterday after the paper, i joined some of them for a short karaoke session in town. i can't sing for nuts really, but heck. it's always fun to karaoke once in a while, although i would never know what malay songs they would be singing. some of the old ones i would probably find familiar, but the more recent ones are really alien to me. haha. well when my jc class had karaoke sessions last time they always sang chinese songs. haha. but either way it's always fun to sing, or rather croak , my heart out.
and the exams have been really shitty. the papers haven't been good to me, and i could also feel that my revision was not effective at all. it really is worse than last semester, so since all have been wrapped up let's just say all i can do is pray and hope for the best. the main theme is damage limitation.
so now in this short few days, it's all going to be such a rush. another round of painting tomorrow, then going out on thursday and friday. thn saturday night till tues its off to malaysia. next friday to sunday is training camp. and i need a job to fill up the coffers. its really times of recession. inflation at 6.7% and the crazy rise in rice and petrol prices is no joke. looks like i need to reject offers to go on trips to bangkok then.
the other day on the train i saw this girl. she was about 5 or 6 i think? but she's such a poor thing. she had a tube inserted into her left nostril, then she's on this custom-made pram. she seems very immobile, as she was emotionless. her pupils were always looking upwards, so much so that you could only see half of her pupils. then her mouth was always open and kept hugging this soft toy of hers. i think she had a prosthetic left leg but i couldn't be sure. so poor thing. the girl really couldn't talk or show simple expressions. all the time she just stared blankly to the ceiling. i wonder what condition she has. it's quite saddenning. she's only a kid and she's already like this. i wonder how other kids who might suffer from even more chronic conditions are like. it was really something. sometimes one questions why some are born with such conditions and have to go through alot at such a young age. maybe the answer should be so that one could appreciate how healthy one is born, and really thankful for that. oh well, i wouldn't know.
okay that is all. really full of random thoughts.
but today was spent painting my room with my mom. now it looks really good with a fresh coat of paint, although the blue is abit too blue, almost looking like baby blue. the paint colour is called skylight anyway. so the shade of blue is brighter than the previous one. haha i can't help just looking at how fresh the walls look now.
and yesterday after the paper, i joined some of them for a short karaoke session in town. i can't sing for nuts really, but heck. it's always fun to karaoke once in a while, although i would never know what malay songs they would be singing. some of the old ones i would probably find familiar, but the more recent ones are really alien to me. haha. well when my jc class had karaoke sessions last time they always sang chinese songs. haha. but either way it's always fun to sing, or rather croak , my heart out.
and the exams have been really shitty. the papers haven't been good to me, and i could also feel that my revision was not effective at all. it really is worse than last semester, so since all have been wrapped up let's just say all i can do is pray and hope for the best. the main theme is damage limitation.
so now in this short few days, it's all going to be such a rush. another round of painting tomorrow, then going out on thursday and friday. thn saturday night till tues its off to malaysia. next friday to sunday is training camp. and i need a job to fill up the coffers. its really times of recession. inflation at 6.7% and the crazy rise in rice and petrol prices is no joke. looks like i need to reject offers to go on trips to bangkok then.
the other day on the train i saw this girl. she was about 5 or 6 i think? but she's such a poor thing. she had a tube inserted into her left nostril, then she's on this custom-made pram. she seems very immobile, as she was emotionless. her pupils were always looking upwards, so much so that you could only see half of her pupils. then her mouth was always open and kept hugging this soft toy of hers. i think she had a prosthetic left leg but i couldn't be sure. so poor thing. the girl really couldn't talk or show simple expressions. all the time she just stared blankly to the ceiling. i wonder what condition she has. it's quite saddenning. she's only a kid and she's already like this. i wonder how other kids who might suffer from even more chronic conditions are like. it was really something. sometimes one questions why some are born with such conditions and have to go through alot at such a young age. maybe the answer should be so that one could appreciate how healthy one is born, and really thankful for that. oh well, i wouldn't know.
okay that is all. really full of random thoughts.
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