hey peepz!
its like 930 in the morning. and why the hell am i blogging again? argh!!! maybe cos it was a weird morning with too many thoughts and emotions running through my blood veins.
yesterday's training was quite a drama. shant bore you with details. another day to go down into the annals of history. was quite shack though. paced with our own juniors last night. they were constantly side by side with us during the 500m race set. i keep seeing them in the corner of my eye. guess they are improving real fast. of course, there were other factors to consider, but still, the fact that we did not pull away further than i thought we should have could mean two thing: they were getting good, we were not that good. or both. ah well. i hope its boths. cos i think we all still have a lot more to go, a lot more effort to put in in order to prove ourselves. in any case, i hope the juniors will improve faster. as yet, they look promising.
had quite a rude shock in learning how the world of dragonboating is not as friendly and amiable as i thought it is. learned that one party was suing another party for posing with their boat. learned that people can be more possessive and materialistic about their paddles more than they care about world hunger or world peace. learned that people stereotype you as the enemy as long as you are a competitor. hmm. guess i have been ra-ra-ing in my own small band of brothers too long to realise that the world of dragonboating is not about beautiful people (see latest urban), but really more a battlefield of glory and honour, personal pride and vanity.
when we were in penang, we were cheering on the national team and spc as fellow dragonboaters from singapore. hell, we were cheering for the myanmar and the indonesian national teams cos they were simply out of this world. i thought the sport was about fraternity no matter where people come from. i thought paddlers of the world unite. and we shall celebrate losses and victory. i thought the olympic spirit was substantial and exists among human kind. guess there will be exceptions. guess competition will always be the foremost characteristic of the singaporean system.
in any case. i still have lots more to see. and i will still express my support for our girls team and the ntu guys teams cos they are both going to tianjing to compete in another international race. before this, when i thought we were going, i kept asking the guys, this hypothetical question: if we got into the finals, but ntu din, would they cheer for us? and vice versa, if ntu got in and we did not would we cheer for them? its a tricky question no doubt. sometimes the "enmity" or rather the perceived "enmity" between the two sides can be felt to be as thick as brick walls, although i have no idea why there should be one in the first place. but if we were outside of singapore, representing our country, would we support each other? could we have become friends? could we have bonded as dragonboaters, rather than remain on two sides of a gulf? i dunno. being the aquarian that i am who strongly advocates peace and cooperation, harmony and friendship, i can be deeply perturbed by the state of human nature: "nasty, brutish and short."
ah well. too many thoughts. think mel, alex and i will be going down to changi tomorrow night to send the girls team off on their expedition. for us, changi is as far as we can go to get out of here. haha!!! wish nus girls and ntu guys all the best again. really wish we could have gone. but ah well, at least now i wont have to miss 6 lessons!!! muahaha! shit. deadlines.
its like 930 in the morning. and why the hell am i blogging again? argh!!! maybe cos it was a weird morning with too many thoughts and emotions running through my blood veins.
yesterday's training was quite a drama. shant bore you with details. another day to go down into the annals of history. was quite shack though. paced with our own juniors last night. they were constantly side by side with us during the 500m race set. i keep seeing them in the corner of my eye. guess they are improving real fast. of course, there were other factors to consider, but still, the fact that we did not pull away further than i thought we should have could mean two thing: they were getting good, we were not that good. or both. ah well. i hope its boths. cos i think we all still have a lot more to go, a lot more effort to put in in order to prove ourselves. in any case, i hope the juniors will improve faster. as yet, they look promising.
had quite a rude shock in learning how the world of dragonboating is not as friendly and amiable as i thought it is. learned that one party was suing another party for posing with their boat. learned that people can be more possessive and materialistic about their paddles more than they care about world hunger or world peace. learned that people stereotype you as the enemy as long as you are a competitor. hmm. guess i have been ra-ra-ing in my own small band of brothers too long to realise that the world of dragonboating is not about beautiful people (see latest urban), but really more a battlefield of glory and honour, personal pride and vanity.
when we were in penang, we were cheering on the national team and spc as fellow dragonboaters from singapore. hell, we were cheering for the myanmar and the indonesian national teams cos they were simply out of this world. i thought the sport was about fraternity no matter where people come from. i thought paddlers of the world unite. and we shall celebrate losses and victory. i thought the olympic spirit was substantial and exists among human kind. guess there will be exceptions. guess competition will always be the foremost characteristic of the singaporean system.
in any case. i still have lots more to see. and i will still express my support for our girls team and the ntu guys teams cos they are both going to tianjing to compete in another international race. before this, when i thought we were going, i kept asking the guys, this hypothetical question: if we got into the finals, but ntu din, would they cheer for us? and vice versa, if ntu got in and we did not would we cheer for them? its a tricky question no doubt. sometimes the "enmity" or rather the perceived "enmity" between the two sides can be felt to be as thick as brick walls, although i have no idea why there should be one in the first place. but if we were outside of singapore, representing our country, would we support each other? could we have become friends? could we have bonded as dragonboaters, rather than remain on two sides of a gulf? i dunno. being the aquarian that i am who strongly advocates peace and cooperation, harmony and friendship, i can be deeply perturbed by the state of human nature: "nasty, brutish and short."
ah well. too many thoughts. think mel, alex and i will be going down to changi tomorrow night to send the girls team off on their expedition. for us, changi is as far as we can go to get out of here. haha!!! wish nus girls and ntu guys all the best again. really wish we could have gone. but ah well, at least now i wont have to miss 6 lessons!!! muahaha! shit. deadlines.
haha. thanks...
train hard for sava too!! =]
will definitely miss you guys while i'm away!!
poignant.
haha.. thanks.
will miss you.
[but i think you will miss my presence more. -> no table at law corridor for 2 days!!]
take care!
hey hello,
im from "the other side of the fence". im really impressed and think its cool that u have such an attitude. din know that there are ppl who share my sentiments. i think all this rivalry/emnity nonsense smacks of puerile ignorance that we can all do without. should be more friendly instead.
have a great day man!