hey peepz! i just got back about 2 hours ago from penang. quite glad to be back home i guess. it felt as if i had been away for a very long time when it was only for 4 days. unfortunately, when i got back home, everything just suddenly felt familiar again. nothing change.
where is that new life i was hoping that would miraculously appear??? haha! i guess i was expecting too much.
anyway. the trip was quite fruitful. i wish i had brought a travel journal there. but even if i did, i probably did not have the time to write in it. it was quite rushed. we came, we flew, we checked in, we trained, we rushed our "touring", we rushed to our comepetition, we paddled really really really really really fast, and we left in a hurry and we are back here in singapore.
many of us came back with tao sa pia and little gifts. but most importantly, all of us came back with fond memories and great experiences.
i shall immortalized some of them by mentioning the more notable ones, at least those to me.
the most vivid memory i guess will have to be the races i competed in. the stress, the fears, forced smile to keep myself calm, the near tears i thought i was going to have before the row, the psyhing up, the cheering for each other, the heavy breathing, xiangyi calling out my name, the countless number of strokes i tried to reach for, the shouting, the screaming, the support we gave each other, the pushing, the pulling, the choking right after the race, the dried throat, the numb right forearm. i think i almost cried in the second set. but i didn't. haha! calm and composed.
then after that, i guess it will have to be the 12 men crew race mens finals. it was a clash between the titans from myanmar and indonesia. it must be mentioned that those guys are monsters. and i literally mean monsters. they are huge and super strong. i thought they could break my bones with their bare hands! some of them walk on the scorching tarmac without squinting in pain! well, in that particular race, i was betting on the indonesians to win, cos they had an exceptional track record. in that race, the indonesians were leading all the way until the last part when myanmar suddenly gained a lot of momentum and caught up. then, it seemed that indonesia went into their own last charge and threatened to take the race, but myanmar held out strong and won by probably a hair length. it was an exhilirating race! my hair was standing on it ends. wow.
the next memory, will probably how i felt the girls and guys seem to be getting along better now then before. the mixed team got into the finals!! i was so happy for them. in their semis, they went off course, but in the last minute, melvin steered them back, and they came up with an exceptionaly charge to beat the next boat to grab the second place and a spot in the finals! someone said, that that was a great manifestation of the fighting spirit. and i must agree. it was a good fight! a wonderful race and i was very proud of them. at first, some of us were skeptical about how far the mixed team would go, considering that we had a single half an hour practice, the difference in stroke styles and the so called tension between the sexes. jason said that what seems to be lacking is really the communication needed to cooperate and work as a team. i hope that this is a symbol that we are communicating better and that we are supporting each other as a team. and i really hope that things will get a lot better in the future.
other than those, there were a few other very memorable memories for me. the going over to melvin's and gm's room to chit chat, the going out to the pasar malam, the eating steak at the ship, jason accidentally refomatting his video cam, the taking the lift, looking at all the other teams, making fun of all the other teams. it was really a great trip for me personally.
the cap said that we should take our subsequent trainings with a brand new attitude. one with added insight and experience from our rows, from our victories and defeats, from our debriefs and such. there are really a few key ingredients that we should have if we want to stand any chance of winning future races: discipline, heart, controlled aggression and effective strokes.
i learned that we need all of them together as a team. and i learned that i am capable of each of them. i know that we as a team are capable of all of them.
i really hope that this will motivate us and spur us on! go nus! jia you! whoosh!
where is that new life i was hoping that would miraculously appear??? haha! i guess i was expecting too much.
anyway. the trip was quite fruitful. i wish i had brought a travel journal there. but even if i did, i probably did not have the time to write in it. it was quite rushed. we came, we flew, we checked in, we trained, we rushed our "touring", we rushed to our comepetition, we paddled really really really really really fast, and we left in a hurry and we are back here in singapore.
many of us came back with tao sa pia and little gifts. but most importantly, all of us came back with fond memories and great experiences.
i shall immortalized some of them by mentioning the more notable ones, at least those to me.
the most vivid memory i guess will have to be the races i competed in. the stress, the fears, forced smile to keep myself calm, the near tears i thought i was going to have before the row, the psyhing up, the cheering for each other, the heavy breathing, xiangyi calling out my name, the countless number of strokes i tried to reach for, the shouting, the screaming, the support we gave each other, the pushing, the pulling, the choking right after the race, the dried throat, the numb right forearm. i think i almost cried in the second set. but i didn't. haha! calm and composed.
then after that, i guess it will have to be the 12 men crew race mens finals. it was a clash between the titans from myanmar and indonesia. it must be mentioned that those guys are monsters. and i literally mean monsters. they are huge and super strong. i thought they could break my bones with their bare hands! some of them walk on the scorching tarmac without squinting in pain! well, in that particular race, i was betting on the indonesians to win, cos they had an exceptional track record. in that race, the indonesians were leading all the way until the last part when myanmar suddenly gained a lot of momentum and caught up. then, it seemed that indonesia went into their own last charge and threatened to take the race, but myanmar held out strong and won by probably a hair length. it was an exhilirating race! my hair was standing on it ends. wow.
the next memory, will probably how i felt the girls and guys seem to be getting along better now then before. the mixed team got into the finals!! i was so happy for them. in their semis, they went off course, but in the last minute, melvin steered them back, and they came up with an exceptionaly charge to beat the next boat to grab the second place and a spot in the finals! someone said, that that was a great manifestation of the fighting spirit. and i must agree. it was a good fight! a wonderful race and i was very proud of them. at first, some of us were skeptical about how far the mixed team would go, considering that we had a single half an hour practice, the difference in stroke styles and the so called tension between the sexes. jason said that what seems to be lacking is really the communication needed to cooperate and work as a team. i hope that this is a symbol that we are communicating better and that we are supporting each other as a team. and i really hope that things will get a lot better in the future.
other than those, there were a few other very memorable memories for me. the going over to melvin's and gm's room to chit chat, the going out to the pasar malam, the eating steak at the ship, jason accidentally refomatting his video cam, the taking the lift, looking at all the other teams, making fun of all the other teams. it was really a great trip for me personally.
the cap said that we should take our subsequent trainings with a brand new attitude. one with added insight and experience from our rows, from our victories and defeats, from our debriefs and such. there are really a few key ingredients that we should have if we want to stand any chance of winning future races: discipline, heart, controlled aggression and effective strokes.
i learned that we need all of them together as a team. and i learned that i am capable of each of them. i know that we as a team are capable of all of them.
i really hope that this will motivate us and spur us on! go nus! jia you! whoosh!
there is much potential in all of us, if only we pause to realise it.
jia you!!
it's been a most pleasant trip and yes, i sure hope things are looking good between the guys' and ladies' teams. ;)
i believe we all had learnt alot through this trip... lets keep all the experience and FIRE with us and bring it even further esp this coming month..... i hope i will be able to call out your name from behind again!