wheeeeeeeee

exciting

or maybe not. haha, almost made it a year without falling sick, last few days of 2007 yo. wheeee, this works out to an average of falling sick once a year for the past 6 years. nvm, now i get to take my favourite strawberry flavoured medicine (for kids). anw, hope i'll be all fit and ready for 2 jan (:

countdown's tonight. interesting. haven't figured where i'll be.

diablo time (: and i'm almost done with that 2016 piece puzzle, bout 60 more pieces to go.

lord of the clans

so the year's coming to a close

went back for rg cca orientation, last time yos (: after that no one to recognise me anymore, haha

was quite cool, impressed with the standard back... home (: Nice solid bangs, kinda reminds me of our part b ncos. not just another company. yep, fast huh, our part as all grown up, and all the other sec1s (2005) that i've met, bring rgs to greater heights (:

wheeee, once in awhile someone would remind us that we're the special batch, first to go into raffles programme, first to... list goes on, some good some bad, repeated many times over. what strikes me most is the legacy we've left behind. people still remember (:

yep, rg graduation wasn't real, in the sense we've never left the raffles family. but this is it, time to make our mark in the big world out there!

2007. haha, won't go into messy recounts of what happened, but it was a great year. many years ago nanhua was the best days of my life, then the whole rgs (everything i did there) then now Raffles Canoeing, the best days of my life. notice the pattern? It gets better every year (: So bring it on 2008!

really excited about starting school next year. YAY another year (half) in school! 2 Jan! new year resolution is the same as every year, go all out and live life to the fullest.

You know, being rather tan and all, random pple like the meat counter lady at cold storage or the soya bean drink auntie at the foodcentre like to strike up conversation about their younger days. One used to go bungee jumping, the other rowed sampans back in the kampung days. my point is that it seems like as people get older, there's this milestone where after that, there's this... don't know what you call it. but you get scared of doing the fun stuff you used to do, there's always this holding back. part of it comes from responsibility i guess, it's true for my dad. yep, i'll define that as really getting old. oh wait, maybe it's a slow process. haha, all these started cos i was thinking of how i'm going to conduct pe lessons next year. i'm 18, technically adult, but not yet i guess. haha, i can't imagine a pe teacher saying let's go playground for PE! but we'll see (:

Doomhammer was silent again for a time. Finally, he said, "I have kept to myself these many years, since the final, ignominious defeat. I know what they say about me. I am a hermit, a coward, afraid to show my face. Do you know what I have scorned the company of others until this night, Thrall?"

Thrall silently shook his head.

"Because i needed to be by myself, to analyse what had happened. To think. To remind myself who I was, who we were as a people. From time to time, I would do as I have done this night. I would venture forth to the campfires, accept their hospitality, listen to their experiences, and learn." He paused.

World of WarCraft: Lord of the Clans by Christie Golden

have a good year everyone (:

run (:

wheeeeeee (:

went to run again (:

1915: take bus 200
1920: alight at dover bus stop (today was distracted and missed the stop), walk 4 bus stops to poly guild
1947: sign in get stuff
1950: start running (:
1825: stretch, play
1840: go off

wheeeee, i think the hundred hours thing is super cool (: changed the mode on my watch now it's 2204! anw poly is super exciting, they have this warm pool 38 degrees celsius, cool pool and normal pool

haha, mega killing time now (: i used to think treadmill no kick but i realised i actually run faster (long runs) on treadmill, yay. for distances <3km, not worth, cos based on a 12minutes 2.4, works out to 12km/h. i run about 9.6km/h avg, which totally owns my 7km/h for marathon

yep, can't wait for the year to start. training! probably going to poly only twice a week, like sat and sun nights. yea, going to pack my schedule with training (: probably going to playground overdose considering it's like 20 paces from my working place! (:

check out singapore's no.1 female marathoner vivian tang training schedule, coolios (:

http://redsports.sg/2007/12/26/vivian-a/

I asked her what she has been doing since the December 2 Singapore Marathon. “No running, zero!” she said, as we tucked into Vietnamese beef noodle soup at Holland Village. She can obviously afford the break after a year of training, of getting up at 5 a.m. on weekdays, 4 a.m. on Saturdays for long 20-25 km runs and 6:30 a.m. on Sundays for shorter 10-12 km runs. All that on top of the evening sessions after work. “I do most of the training alone during the week. It’s just more convenient,” said Vivian who draws up her own training plans without a coach.

good night (:

wheeeeeee

went queensway bought 2 pairs of shorts and socks, no nice shoes though. looking for dark-coloured shoes, very practical cos my shoes get muddy quickly.

been starting to run again (: haha, was looking at my reflection, my legs' bone structure is confirm weird, darinne told me before it's bow-legged.

today went poly gym (: took a 25min walk there, then ran 5km, the evil treadmill auto slow down at 25min! haha, had to reset then continue. anw, was playing, then weighed myself, yay i gained 200g in 2 days, then the gym instructor guy asked "are you a regular?"

(was thinking huh? gym regular ah?)

"are you an SAF regular?"

LOL (: add this to the list of coolios questions people ask me (: haha, he went on to talk about how i should go join airborne, and apparently there are female commandos? interesting (:

yep, exercise for life (: after a healthy detoxicing run guess where i went? happy hour with dad in the pub lol (:

wheeeeeeee

finished with diablo nightmare mode (: now on to hell difficulty which is extremely horrifying cos it takes me ages to just kill one zombie= getting owned. cool, from slayer muddy to champion muddy

yep, my bro's back (: 1 more week till school reopens!

and spongebob christmas special tmr!

was looking for a nice sports story, but well, decided to post an excerpt from the meaning of sports by simon barnes:

65 The deepest and most elusive process within ourselves is, roughly speaking, sport. But it’s normally called dreaming. I’m not talking about the it’s-always-been-my-dream-to-win-an-Olympic-gold-medal sort of dream. Those are daydreams, fantasies, that some people are able to force upon reality. But that is a quite different process to the one I am talking about here- the real nightdream experience of the spectator. Sport is such stuff as daydreams are made of, for sure; but it’s also the stuff of real dreams: the dreams that happen to us when we are asleep, the dreams that thrill, alarm, concern and baffle every one of us.

When we enter the dream state, the aroused state of rapid eye movement sleep, we take all sorts of odd things and weave them together into some kind of story. A dream is a narrative of heightened reality, in which we take extraordinary things for granted:... the ability to fly

What is sport but a narrative of hyper-reality? A place where the normal rules do not apply, where the usual sort of reality has been temporarily suspended? Like dreams, sport can bring us the most ecstatic and profoundly felt pleasures, and can also bring us matters so complex and confusing that we don’t know how to react to them. Sport can deliver those moments we thought only possible in fiction or daydream, but with a visceral intensity that no amount of private musing can rival.

But perhaps the dream state that sport brings us most frequently is the anxiety-dream. That is to say, the dream in which you have an important exam to take, but you can’t find the room where it’s taking place, and as you search with increasing desperation, it gradually becomes clear that you haven’t read the books you are to be examined on...

But sport brings us anxiety-dreams on a regular basis, and many of us actively seek sport all the time, as something that enhances our lives...

Sport brings us these anxieties again and again...

...the taste of triumph is so wonderful? Or is there an addictive quality in the anxiety itself? Either way, the sporting experience is a way of engaging with hyper-reality, and that is a necessary part of the human condition. Dreams end in waking...Likewise, sport ends: the whistle blows, the umpire announces game, set and match...and we, we who watch, we who have the dreamer’s experience, why, we get on with our waking lives. Unencumbered. Why should we not? We know, all of us, that the confusion of the dream and the waking state is stepbrother to madness.

19km 4 capsizes in 2h 30min (:

macritchie was rather quiet today, very few people around. winds were mega strong for some reason, still need to work alot on balance, but surprisingly wasn't feeling tired after the row. anw this is the last trng jiaolian going malaysia. so 2 jan here we come!

ok this works out to 7.6km/h... not fast at all, but still faster than my fastest avg running speed for stand chart lol. yea, so this confirms i shall not be running the ultra marathon, though all the best to the 175 brave souls who will run that race. Sundown marathon has 5000 slots for the full marathon, haha, but haven't decided if i'm going for it.

what a productive day! packed my stuff, halfway through that 2000pc tulips garden jigsaw for mum and just wrote a stack of cheques for dad. wheeeee, my bro's finally returning from taiwan this sunday (:

Selling

Hi everyone,

now that JC is over, i'm selling my stuff (to get some money to pay off the boat). Guaranteed good notes, the ones i were hardcoring for A levels and Prelims. was sorting out my stuff and the not so good notes i'm already selling to karang guni for $0.10/ kg. haha, if you need my academic credentials can always ask. Prices negotiable, make me an offer, everything in very good shape except my physics TYS. Yep, and i'm not selling my maths and physics notes especially cos it's sentimental, haha (:

GP

• GP/KS bulls (2005, 2006 issue 1 and 2, 2007 issue 1 and 2) at cost price ($2 for GP, $3 for KS) or $10 if you buy all 5 issues from me
• Info packs plus past yr GP papers
• and you get to photocopy my imba notes for free which will get you imba grades for GP and into the dean's list (haha, must advertise a little)
• 1100 words (20% untouched) (quite a useful book, more for general knowledge and if your teacher insists you get one)
• The Right Word (80% untouched, this book is quite cheem, suppose to help with SATs preparations)
• Time magazine at $1/issue or i might just throw in a couple of issues with each purchase

Maths

• H2 Mathematics Volume 1 (Pure maths)
• A mega huge stack of mid year papers, revision exercises and practice papers
• 2006 prelim papers (brand new, didn't have the time to touch it)
• 2007 prelim papers with full solutions

Econs

• 2007 prelim papers (fresh copy)
• Economist magazines

Physics

• Prelim Papers
• SPA notes (score maximum on that 20% of A levels!)
• Summary notes and Revision lectures + mock questions/papers
  
• TYS (the thirty year one, my rough workings are attached= worked solutions for most questions)

yep, i've organised most of the stuff into mega stacks, ranges from 2-5cm thick when fully compressed starting price $20, again negotiable. find some time you can look at the stuff before deciding if you want to buy them. thanks for your time (: p.s. canoeing juniors if you want chem/bio/lit notes, i'm waiting for the other girls to return from their hols, then see if they're interested in selling, maybe we'll have a mega sale.

Have you ever done flag day before?

painful huh? haha, so do spare some change for the salvation army pple + random flag day-ers this festive season (:

progress progress (:

16km yesterday (: the canoe marathon is 22km for junior women's, working towards that

holidays ending soon, can't wait! haha, school's going to be exciting (:

the big conspiracy

just read james' blog, an old post about nationals. previously while blog surfing, the first page i look at on a senior's blog would be the july archives...

(ok some emo time here, pls skip this if you don't want to bring up memories of those days again)

let's see, after nationals, well, i knew it wasn't over. went back for a couple of trainings, then i realised i couldn't bear going down to train again, felt that something was missing. haha, my pride mostly. in short nationals was devastating, couldn't face jiaolian and everyone. yea, so there i vowed i'll only go back to macritchie when i'm in a position to change things for the better. have you heard the quote about how when one (wo)man is set on doing something, the whole universe conspires to help her? When i saw the email confirming the relief teaching job, was quite overwhelmed. knew that this was it, after waiting for 5 months. Going back to pick up from where i left behind, where we left behind.

It is my dream to see the raffles canoeing team win the championships at nationals, and i also know my dream may not be THE dream for everyone. I can't promise we'll bring home the gold or any colour for that matter, but now that i'm in a position to, I hope to help everyone realise their true potential and put up a good fight, to show that Raffles is still in the running for great things. Whatever situation i'm in is pretty new and unprecedented, but as Caesar says, "if there's no way, make one". I know a couple of juniors do read my blog, so let me say it here, 2008 is your season, it's your year, if you guys feel i'm interfering, just say 'muddy stop' and i'll thank you for the reminder. Much of what i treasure from canoeing stems from the 'just whack' learning process, hope you all will find your own way there (:

to wear the jersey is a privilege...

for myself, i'm not quite done with canoeing either. always had this crazy dream about making it to the national team (after seeing last year's women's open winners invited for selections). well won the gold at women's open, but the timing wasn't right, this being the sea games year. haha, kept waiting and waiting but it didn't come. so this time i'm going towards it. going to see how fast i can get. still a long way from realising that, at present i think 90% of k1 rowers would thrash me, but i'll persevere. if you want to dream, dream big, nothing to lose. speaking about timing, the laos 2009 sea games will not feature canoeing.

yea, these 2 years has made me seriously consider studying sports science/ kinesiology and developing a career in that area, but that means going (most probably) US/Canada, and not having proper training and coach for 4 years? will get to take a gap year though with this option, but confirm no scholarship. nus currently offers the best chance for me to continue canoeing, but that means taking up an engineering degree, possibility of scholarship but i don't like the idea of 6 year bond to a place i'll leave after 6. NIE is an option too, but MOE doesn't offer scholarship for PE teachers. haha, exciting choices, very lucky to be able to choose.

yep, that's it for now, going to fix my jigsaw puzzle and training awaits tmr.

i wonder what my july 2008 post is going to be like

wheeeeeee

went for canoe bbq/chalet yesterday, food was great, played road rage on x-box and the company was nice (:

anw i made more progress! after 3.5 trainings of swimming around the pond, rowed 10km yesterday (: wheeeee (: and there was this scf guy (bill?) who helped to correct my stroke, cool stuff

redsports surveys

Hi friends, if you could just spare a moment:

http://redsports.sg/2007/12/15/sports-supports-youth-olympic/#comment-11036

please help Uncle Les in his bid to collect 2010 signatures to support Singapore hosting the youth olympics!

and if you have time, please also complete this: http://redsports.sg/2007/12/12/red-sports-help/

Singapore sports first!

wheeeeeeeee

today i rowed better than yesterday, and tomorrow (monday) i will row better than today (: still swimming a bit, but getting better with the boat (: one thing about rowing now is you've got to be ultra thick skin, like when you cap out at the 500m+ buoys need to get someone to save, or ask pple to help you carry boat. haha, plus all that swimming, yea, character building ftw

yep, for this week i've woken up early to go for training five days. would love to train every day, not possible yet, but soon i'll find a way (:

woohoo watching sea games now singapore is 5 up against vietnam in the 3rd-4th place playoff

still waiting for canoeing action (:

today was much swimming, but getting acquainted with The Boat (: tmr awaits (:

marathon race analysis

first 7.7km: 59min 21s, 7.8km/h
next 13.3km: 1h 58min 35s, 6.7km/h
next 5.8km: 53min 39s, 6.4km/h
haha then disaster struck for the last 15.4km: 3h 49min 37 s, 4.0km/h

overall: 7h:50m:39s (gun) / 7h:41m:12s (net)

Result in Entire Field - 9323rd place/ 9697 (suppose to have 12000 pple in full marathon)

paddles up

omg i just discovered nicholas the hwachong canoe capt/v-capt was from the same P3 class as me and jason lau. no wonder sau kept saying he's from nan hua and i should have known him.

on bigger news, i'm picking up my paddle to row again. Dad's buying me yi liang's regatta. Tried it this morning, mega capsizing + swimming session, picked up a couple of brusies/scratches but no problem, that's how i learnt to row anw, eventually went out to the 500 mark. the first time i tried to sit in a T1 i capped at the pontoon. Boat seems like a perfect fit (: couple of races lined up, canoe marathon jan 27, selections, women's open, NCC, some games in dec, training for these, one step at a time.

yep no one has ever tried this before, got to figure out lots of regulations, but well, fun and exciting! Done with As so don't have to worry about studying. Not going NS. Got the relief teaching pe job with RJ. Shaun and jiaolian willing to help me out. Not if, but when, this pulls through, jiaolian will be the first person after my dad and mum i thank. Tried to pay him but he refused, and i wouldn't get to row if it wasn't for him. yea, spent an afternoon watching the j1s train, can imagine how tough jiaolian's job is and how it must be for the teachers.

So from now till 2 jan going to be training, when school starts, it'll be morning run + dry row, relief teaching, training, then for the mth of jan NCAP, and from march onwards driving lessons! yay (: yep, if you need me i'll be free on day 8 of the week (:

to think it all started from RIKE 2005...

might seem crazy, perhaps a waste of time to some, but i don't want to look back ten years from now and ask 'what if?'. rmb the redgrave concept of contempt? Redgrave constantly sought security, and he found it in the knowledge that he had done more than anyone else who opposed him. He had rowed more miles, lifted more weights, erged more ergos. He had suffered more. He had cared more. He had overcome more setbacks. When Redgrave went into battle, he knew that all the others had had the choice to work just as hard as he had done, and that they had chosen not to do so. From this comes the tiniest scruple of contempt. These people had stinted themselves in their desire to be the best. Redgrave knew he had not done so.

It's not every day that one discovers a passion, an area of interest to pursue, so this is it- canoeing. It's not going to be easy, i'm gonna have to beat everyone out there and dare i say, be the best there is? haha, pokemon says "i want to be the very best that no one ever was" Going to live my dreams, how about you? The end of the year is always a good time for thinking and setting those new year resolutions. alternatively you could choose a birthday challenge (:

"In our lives we will encounter many challenges, and tomorrow we face one together. How we accept the challenge and attack the challenge head on is only about us--no one can touch that. If we win or lose this weekend, it will not make a difference in our lives. But why we play and how we play will make a difference in our lives forever."
---Beth Anders

Ferdinand Foch
The most powerful weapon on earth is the human soul on fire.

"It's not where you're from; it's where you're going. It's not what you drive; it's what drives you. It's not what's on you; it's what's in you.
---Gatorade

"Having a role model in life is a great thing to have; one who provides us with direction and inspiration. However, we will forever be restricted by that person's limitations if we live within their boundaries. Be influenced, but set your own standards and develop your own principals, if you are ever to live beyond someone else's dreams."
---Jason Shahan

I think i don't believe i can't do it more than i believe i can do it. haha (:

wheeeeeee

went for land training today with the j1s, real man training (:

my left foot isn't healing, 3 weeks more to rest, but anw going to treat it like that sprained ankle in sec 4 then took 3 months to heal.

yep, anw happy hour with platoonmates today (: yay (:

comeback time (:

loo posted a video on the guys blog, go see.

2 years of canoeing, a lifetime of friendship and memories. thanks team (: j1s threw a farewell party for us on saturday, super exciting with tug-of-war over the pool, the beautiful boats and food! haha, nice seeing the team again, though not everyone was there. yep, so it's farewell but not really farewell (:

listening to pumped up music= disney (: haha, used to listen to this weeknights after trainings (: compared to one year ago, definitely stronger, comeback time (:

congrats to all team singapore athletes at the sea games! splendid job to the rafflesians there (:

sea games

woohoo watching sea games now, fun and exciting! Go singapore!

went for water today, rowed k2 with amanda (:

omg, check this out

http://www.sundownmarathon.com/index.php?page=registration

Sundown marathon (what a cool name) is a night race with distances ranging from half 21km, full 42km and ultra 84km + a team challenge 42km. yay (: time to start relieving the good old running at 10pm days (:

yep, lots of opportunities knocking at the door now, in a very unique position. I know i want to do all these, so 10, 20 years down the road i won't ever asked myself "what if?", but i'm going to let things unfold for awhile to decide the best course of action.

it was quite random, but that night after women's open when i reached home, my dad said even though he has won bowling leagues and club championships, he never dared to try out for the national team...25+years later he's still bagging the medals. so maybe it's true our deepest fear is that we're powerful beyond measure.

went to register for basic theory test today!

i'm going to pass my driving asap, haha, try 2 months (:

anw wow, if you register with the school it comes up to quite a bit of $$, will be doing private instead.

wheeeeeee (: today at the (sea) games 11pm channel 5 (:

exciting!

i think my feet are 60% fixed yay (: today went for cpr certification, first one to pass and get out of the centre yo (: took a bus down to orchard, went to borders to kill time (6 hours) then amanda's birthday dinner.

yep, been reading the highway code, quite interesting, lots of colours (: btw did you know cars can't stop within 9m of a bus stop and 3m of a fire hydrant (not that i see many fire hydrants around)

anw how exciting, i started a facebook account to access prom pictures

ok yay time to read more highway code (:

grad night

lol today's horoscope is how appropriate

anw the past 2 days since marathon has been painful, unfortunately, still limping but much better already. yep, times like this help you appreciate how nice and patient pple around you are + the random strangers like the bus drivers.

before i blog about grad nite, check this out:

Why Do Runners Run?
By: Dan Crowe

I have seen their tortured faces.
I have heard their pounding hearts.
I have seen their head bowed in the sorrow of defeat.
I have seen their hands hoisted in salute to the goddess of victory.
I have wondered why do runners run?
I have seen long lines running in the park.
I have seen them run to the accolades of a thundering crowd.
I have seen them run in the solitude of a rain- swept street.
I have wondered why do runners run?
Is it a burning inside or a thing called pride?
The search for an inner peace or the quest of a golden fleece?
I believe the gods decree that some people must run to prove that pain is fun.

thanks yufang (:

grad night was yesterday! how exciting (: haha

went for rehearsal at 2pm, waited, rehearsed, then went to crash on a sofa until 5pm. Went to change, took <15 minutes then onward to prom!

prom was super massive, 100+ tables and everyone looked so different (: nice seeing everyone gathered together one last time before results. emcee was a bit weird, but well, a big thank you to the organisers.

yep, viola's prom queen, ky's prom king. dance queen jiayi, dance king sam. and parker's mr hot bod. somehow my feet prefer the heels than my sports shoes, bad sign eh. anw was quite thankful feet held on for the whole duration. haha, mega photo-taking sessions (please send me photos thanks (: ) and thanks everyone for your support (:

so that was it, as we sang the college anthem one last time (maybe we'll sing it at results?) auspicium melioris aevi (:

tmr be cpr course

exciting!

prom tomorrow (:

got my shoes today in 10 minutes! walk in, look, ok nice, ask for size, wear, buy! haha, but i took ages to walk to the shop and back. wheeeeeee

mind's wandering off.. thinking of the next big crazy thing to do (:

aftermath

testing testing

yay i can walk!

today i woke up at 6.30am and as a marathoner (: exciting! spent an hour lying on my bed deciding if i should attempt to get out of bed and walk. legs were feeling the usual muscle aches, but strangely both my feet, around the ankles are bruised. so today is alternating ice and oil to try to get them fixed before prom

wheeeeeeee, joo, totally agree "To acquire boasting rights (swagger [or rather stagger around] with the finisher shirt)"

been staggering around house

anw next year's your chance to join the 1% of the Singapore population that went for standard chartered, or the ~0.3% that ran the marathon. besides, the t-shirt is nice, been wearing it since evening (:

yep, no more crazy things for awhile

finisher

i'm alive (:

woke up at 3.25am, came down to watch spongebob at 3.30am. had breakfast, washup change, then out of the house.

today's marathon was a very special experience. Firstly it was extremely humbling. Watching the imba kenyan runners dash past, but mostly being overtaken by aunties and ah peks was... wow. Let's see, the first 24km was beautiful, just running and running, think i made it in slightly over 3 hours, which was on track for a 5hour + run. About 10km+ out, heard s band playing a very very familiar tune (: We are ready! The ncc song. Felt super good and powerful (: So kept running all the way to east coast park, then my left foot started hurting, tried to continue running till like 26km when i felt something twitch. Limped for 6km or so until my left foot didn't hurt (cos it's numb), then right foot gave way too. Today i sat on the kerb like 6 times and hoped that my leg would stop hurting.

After that was walking, which was extremely trying, slogging through the next 10km. Today i must have ran my slowest ever 2.4, and the last 1.2km (3 rounds around the track) took me 16 minutes. Kept repeating to myself, 3 rounds round the track, t3 rounds round the track...Yep, 3h+ for the first 26km, and 5h for the next 16km.

One word to describe today: painful

From about 18km i was running with this uncle from Ipoh, malaysia. He has completed 20 full marathons and he's 68. He kept saying the 35km mark onwards would be extremely painful and boy was he right. 35 to 36km must have been the longest km ever.

After i ggxx, with about 8 km left to go, i walked with this 34 yr old guy who's a team leader at hsbc and challenged his younger team mates to the marathon. first time also. haha, when friends ask he said he told them 5 hours.

total i crossed when the clock read 7h 50min. far from 6h or anything but i finally understood what it means to run your own race. Towards the end it was really really painful, none of my previous runs or mega walking sessions prepared me for this. haha, i got cheated, i thought it would be exhausting on the heart, but it turned out to be the legs.

Have you ever ran till your both feet hurt and twitched and spasm with every step? Have you ever walked till you could barely walk, taking 20cm strides? Have you ever ran till your fingers get swollen (this was damn scary)? If your answer is no, then it's time to run a marathon!

and i rejected all kind offers of deep heat cos i figured if i actually tore something, i would want to know, rather than get a shock tmr. So yea, make that doubly painful. but the drinks along the way helped alot, a big thank you to all the volunteers and organisers (:

Btw you know what? At east coast park i LIMPED past a bunch of ntu canoeists. tall macho tan guys. haha, proves the chicken legs point which i had, too much upper body weight. and the pple who ggxx were mostly young people like me (spotted a couple of J2s-after-a-levels) and those flying ahead in front were the older people. interesting huh

p.s. thanks to all those who encouraged me, joo, xinmiao (who came to have lunch with us!), jav, hannah, van, looloo, crosser peishan and friend, jerryca, kelly, comrade, yufang, meera, jasmine, the nj canoeists + debbie, wenwei junbo and some senior and debbie's friend the ntu canoeist, the uncle, and the guy + all other strangers (:

you know i was quite surprised when the nj canoeist+ debbie told me to push on. On water we were fierce competitors, on land we are friends (: haha, but thanks really (: This canoeing camaraderie is amazing, esp to the canoeists i know at hc and pj, one common dream (:

You couldn't guess how many times i've asked myself what on earth am i doing here? esp at 5.30am in the morning. At some parts the pain was unbearable, but interestingly the thought of giving up never occurred. Heard some guy flagged a taxi home. ahh and towards the last km marker, there was a camera man, the guy i was walking with ran a little to look nice for the photo, i couldn't cos my feet were gone. Then towards the last 250m, i suddenly saw xinmiao (who has been waiting there thanks (: ), she said something like "go muddy" and i found strength to sprint to the finish line... how scary. At the end of the race, it finally struck me what i've just done. From a TAF club kid to marathon finisher (:

then went to baggage area, OMG THE STUPID ESCALATOR BROKE DOWN. climbing up i don't mind, got strong arms to pull me up. but going down was real man ggxx.

great job everyone who made it to the finish line. it was painful but worth it. YAY NOW I GET THE FINISHER OF 42.195KM SHIRT! WHEEEEEEEEEE

before i got home i limped around raffles city taking 20cm strides again. after i got home the trek up to my room was too manly, so i crashed on the sofa. Eventually made it up to my room to shower and change into The Shirt! Bro's in taiwan now, parents took me for dinner, minimal walking (: happy hour

btw, my dad says he wants to run a marathon too (:

ok gtg fix jigsaw, i'm re-fixing it since i've got time. anyone knows where to get cheap big jigsaws? ~5000 pieces

this day we run

wheeeeeeeee

i'm going to sleep at 9.30, wake up slightly before 3.30, watch spongebob, eat breakfast, washup, change, leave the house at 4.30, reach at 4.50 walk to deposit baggage, go to the start line at 5.15, relax, wait till 5.30 and run!

check these cool messages out:

1. 14: I am 61. You can do better than me
2. 39: To prove that pain is fun
3. 57: Ask Yourself,"Who am I not to be.."
4. 63: If I can go through 3 days of labour pains, I can run the marathon!
5. 72: To be fitter than my dog
6. 90: My friends think Im mad. My colleagues think Im crazy. Im just glad that there are 40000 people like me
7. 114: Ive gotta finish this race, buy breakfast and get home before my wife wakes up.... Please help me
8. 117: The start is like a dream. This moment is like a nightmare. The end is like heaven.
9. 164: Show me what you got on your back!
10. 180: If auntie here can do it, can can U!!!
11. 201: Never too late to start : Age 71, my 1st marathon race. Now 75, 9th marathon race
12. 209: Im chasing the cute runner in front!
13. 250: I was 89kg. Now I am 60kg. Want to know how I did it? Run with me and I will tell you.
14. 306: In forever remembrance of our dragon boat heroes who died in Cambodia.
15. 319: For honor and glory!
16. 323: If u really want to complete this race, the whole UNIVERSE will conspire to help u achieve so!
17. 334: This is Spartaaaaaaaa!
18. 335: Dragon Boater Never say Die! For our 5 Brothers, we Stay Strong & Run on..
19. 396: All I want for christmas is the finisher Tee.
20. 438: Lets go KICK some ASS-phalt!!!
21. 458: SO THAT MY FUTURE GRAND CHILDREN ARE PROUD TO SAY "MY GRANDPA IS A MARATHONER"
22. 475: My Last 9 Marathons Were Just Warm Ups.... This Is The Real Thing!
23. 501: CATCH A DREAM AND RUN WITH IT.. N THEN NOTHING HURTS...
24. 512: Whats 42.195km compared to the life journey each of us embarks on?
25. 533: Grandma Infront of You

Go read for yourself, all the messages were great (: some couldn't load though, don't worry i'll see them tomorrow!

A day may come when we stop running, but it is not this day! THIS DAY WE RUN!

42 (:

wheeeeeee

these few days were super happening

wednesday pia a full day at my dad's office, then happy hour, haha, chionged to elisa's house after that. thursday went prom shopping. i tell you shopping is real man. so hannah=real man (: went to a first shop, one of them was not too bad, then we walked for like THREE hours, before deciding that the first shop one was the best.

and the walking was not over! after vivo went to bugis, another real man walking trip. super tiring, i feel ultra prepared for marathon (: haha, i feel like writing 'I'll rather run 42.195km than do 3 hours of shopping" on my reason to run

yep, 5.15pm went marina bay for steamboat with the class. quite fun spamming prawns and food, then arcade, watched the guys race dota (and sau/pingni owning them) then lots of screaming by lemin and sau + shrieks from xiumz and comrade as they battles time crisis and house of the dead. before we left, watched patrick play tennis (on the arcade machine) and mr kok! and an aeroplane game.

wheeeeee, bowling alley= my childhood days. used to go there every weekend, watch my dad and mum own everyone at bowling. haha, quite cool they used to win singles and doubles (: had my first roll (not drop) of the bowling ball when i was P2? or even younger i think. dad guided me, think we hit 7 pins (:

after that we went to play pool! yay (: looks like i've still got the shot, haha (: was playing with patrick, maz, james, mr kok and jerryca, all quite pro yo (: after 4 games or so, had a showdown with sau. haha, i learnt pool from my dad when i was P4, Sau's dad taught her when she was 10= P4 also! determinism ftw! anw evenly matched (:

yay, how exciting!

yesterday was some rehearsal thing, but we ended up leaving after waiting for 1.5h. onward to 4 december!

but first, tomorrow awaits (: go read the straits times article on S20 Marathoners: Pain crazy or plain crazy? I'm going to keep that article, a third beautifully written piece by the same author (Rohjit Bri-something). btw he wrote the phelps article "because there is no such thing as a perfect race, man can only go faster"

hm.. so my reason to run, either that or something like "I'm faster than you!" haha, no lah, more like "42.195 sounds like a good way to start the day"

magic number 42 (:

well, today we went to school to surprise siaurui (: happy belated birthday! was great chilling out and talking over prata. wow, time flies...

just read the newspaper report, blackie was an engineer, 1 year into his job he decided to switch to teaching. he took charge of the nj squash and track team though that wasn't his core sport, but read up and took an interest in them...

ahh i don't know what else to say

it's blackie...

rest in peace

ahhhh the dragonboat incident...

(http://dragonboatplk.blogspot.com/)

deepest condolences to the families of:

20-year-old Chee Wei Cheng
24-year-old Jeremy Goh Tze Xiong
31-year-old Stephen Loh Soon Ann
23-year-old Reuben Kee En Rui
27-year-old Poh Boon San

"Those Who Live In The Hearts Of Others......Never Die"

I hope that's not blackie.

8393

wheeeeeee

adidas says there's an athlete inside everyone

how true. yesterday while queuing, was looking around the the people beside me. As usual, there were the big, black and manly guys, a couple of expats and the weekend warrior types. Then guess what? there were some ladies who look like they're in their 50s, some older people (who look like they're going to own me upside down during the marathon) and office workers (think shenton way executives).

quite exciting huh (: It's like some superman thing, where Clarke Kent hides in a telephone booth and 0.00001s later Superman appears. Everyone is powerful (:

ahhh i can't get past Baal in Diablo, i'm sure level 40 paladin still tio own.

wheeeeeeeee

i've waited 4 months, 1 more week won't kill. exciting!

mental toughness

wheeeeeeeee

today was race pack collection day, but overall i declare it orienteering day. champion orienteerer yo.

so it started at 7.30, where i got a lift from my dad to bus stop, took bus 14 to search for tower 5 of the old hdb hub in bukit merah. found it after some walking, talked to a nice grandma and the coffee shop auntie for directions, paid for the cpr course, then walk to tiong bahru mrt.

then to orchard wisma for dental, quite a cool dentist and assistant.

then to kallang. this is where the real adventure began. trekked around the place till i found stadium boulevard (thanks to a road sweeper aunties). SSC office was some weird thing lah, they just shifted into a new office, the receptionist directed me to a couch (huh?) then i met this guy who was the contractor of the new building (this is weird rite) and he took me straight into the office; we barged through (open lah) the glass doors and charged into the spots development group. the coordinator for NCAP was out! ggxx. but his colleagues managed to help me settle, then i casually asked her "so er... the public gets to come in like this?"

"No, not suppose to."

oops. anw the place quite cool, got pool tables and table soccer. looks more like a google-ish IT place. but one things that's quite sad, instead of a name tag on their tables, they have numbers. like sports development and management is SDM01, 02 and so on for their respective staff numbers. kinda weird rite.

ok, yay, then on to suntec. decided to chuck the street directory dad gave me into my bag, and walked towards the towering suntec buildings. then i realised it was a little tricky to cross all that expanse of kallang river, so went to find nicoll highway. piang, was imba hot, and imba far, so i decided to jog. in jeans and all. hahahahhaha

reached the marathon expo, wheeeeeeee, the queue was spilling OUT of the doors! how exciting! the helpers said min 2h wait. so i went for lunch (: read the ncap mental skills manual. interesting (: i can't wait for the course. tonight my bro hosting bbq at our house, i shall stay upstairs and read the main ncap manual.

the ncap course material is interesting.

"The mind cannot distinguish between an actual performance of a sport skill and one that is clearly imagined"

wheeeeeeeee

wheeeeeeee

another day at the office. got to do fun stuff... like more costing, write cheques and labour costs. cheques super fun, gives importance to the primary 1/2 lessons where you learn how to spell forty and ninety, and thousand! haha, got owned for that on the first surprise spelling in p2.

anw my nephew ( i sound old) did quite well for psle, he might just join the raffles family! haha, exciting (: and his 2 twin bros, who are 12 years younger than me, are starting primary one only next year. wow, primary school seems like a long long time ago.

yep, now that i'm free, (did i mention how much i love this 'it's my life' thing?), i shall go visit my teachers (:

tomorrow is a busy day, going to bukit merah, wisma, suntec, national stadium, maybe bukit timah and new balance warehouse.

right, mum showed me my phone bill, 20.2 minutes and 176 sms out of a free 150 minutes and 360 sms. wheeeeeee, shows i've been mugging hard (: hahahahhaha

1.5 weeks

wheeeeeeee

today was major chill out day (: played diablo, watched nickelodeon (: haha, luckily i went with dad to office, so the day turned out quite productive. actually i think working is fun (though probably 70% of the world would disagree). Yep, but there must a purpose, if not it does become boring. Usually i don't like doing the admin work, but this time it's different, cos we're chionging for a deadline, audit in 1.5 weeks.

1.5 weeks to marathon.. and 2 to prom! ahhhhhh

tomorrow is the start of mega intensive get fit(ter) plan, which goes against all expert's recommendations and professional advice. fun and exciting!

anyone up for some lifesaving (as in the course lah)

wheeeeee, i prefer writing out my application forms, handwriting ftw (:

hi friends, if you're interested to sign up for the heartsaver course (CPR certification) i can provide you the details. for a start it's $53.50 at Life Support Training Centre (part of SGH but nowhere near there). I'm attending the 6 Dec course, 3 more vacancies. But there are courses in January too.

Still about 75 vacancies left for NCAP level 1 (theory) course, go check out the SSC website if interested.

and rmb collect race pack this weekend (:

wheeeeeeeeee



woohoo watching the applet tracing the marathon route http://www.singaporemarathon.com/en/route/?sec=204&ssec=553

Will RGS be relocated to Bishan, nearer RJC?
Not in the forseeable future

exciting

wheeeeeeeee

this is super fun

i'm re-learning excel from the step by step book. Once i get through the next 300 pages, time to work something out for my dad (:

wheeeeeeeeee

sau said something super funny that day. "If you want to study physics mcq, just pia 24 hours, can do 24 years of tys!" haha, exciting

yay third floor is looking clean and nice. time to buy paint. the last time dad and me painted the house, we ran out of paint (and stopped somewhere before 3rd floor)

went for happy run today, 50 minutes! that's 9 minutes (15% improvement) off my record.

wheeeeeeee, i'm really enjoying this own time own target thing. hope everyone's having fun (:

back to more packing (:

today was exciting (:

btw yesterday i heard some strange noises in the kitchen, went to check it out, guess what? I saw a giant rat. exciting! we're trying to catch it but apparently it's too big to fit into the mouse trap.

got tired of diablo, in act 3 now, so did some spring cleaning. yep, spent the day rearranging plus cleaning third floor. woohoo i finally got down to cleaning my lego cabinet. 8 years++ of mould and dust. tried all sort of things to get it off, water, detergent, blutack... and guess what? hail the nail polish remover! it's super powerful (hm.. wonder what it does to your nails huh)

btw tip of the day: if you're storing your charts/posters, do not use rubber bands. When they melt=ggxx

yep, the last time i did a thorough spring cleaning was after a major exam. like psle. haha (:

going to crank up the gears on sunday afternoon (:

wheeeee, when my dad gets back from malaysia, happy hour time!

so after our 'last' paper today i stayed in school to do something very important. decided to be brave and just go to the pe dept and ask. yep, apparently no vacancies now, but i'm waiting for news (:

anw like what comrade says, thankfully geog is in the morning, another 3-4 hours of chionging wouldn't have helped much. haha, i like (:

life starts after A s? life continues (: i finished act 1 of diablo in around 3 hours, at valley of kings for act 2. wheeeeee, btw, my dad's really sporting, he played Command and Conquer that day, reflexes a bit slower than before, but his strategy was good (:

today doesn't feel real. haha, last econs paper forever! took the mrt back, the train was creepily empty. and the seats were cool, rafflesian green (: this morning was some mega too-much-time-to-kill, watched spongebob, fairly odd parents, and jimmy neutron. Spongebob was my favouritest episode! the lost episode of spongebob: the sponge who could fly (:

econs was nice, quite amazed that hwachong and anderson (i think) actually spotted the supermarket question. enjoyed writing my script (:

and guess what? tomorrow is our (almost) last paper, human geog. glad it's a morning paper. after that it's time for some real jogging (:

and also time to think about the future (: exciting!

wheeeeeeeeee

econs paper 2 is over! first 2 questions were mega weird, luckily it's a 6 choose 3 thing. exciting (: can't wait

3rd WC germany

physics today was a little weird, but it was still a good paper (:

just finished watching the germany championships races, quite sad, they broke up the janics-kovacs pairing, now they're rowing k1 (which they won all 3 races anw) Hungarians lost the K4 races, K2 they won one i think. The pairings/groupings for the hungarians all super different from their first world championship. The water strangely reminded me of bedok...

China and Japan put up a very strong showing, especially china, they got 2nd for some k2 race. South Korea was there too, how exciting (: more countries this time in the finals, there was venezuela, russia and ukraine just to mention a few.

yep, ok, few more days (:

favourite route

wheeeeeeeee

yesterday's run was so fun and exciting, i went for another one today! nice weather (: and guess what? I found the exit! prince george's park ftw (: thanks (: ran up that stretch of slope, yep, so this is officially my favourite route, took me 59 minutes

wheeeeeee, i've got big plans after As wrt running so won't get owned during marathon

turns out yesterday's route was only 7.5km, today's 7km (plus minus .5km), nice pace, so marathon in 6 hours= no sweat (: google earth (on my bro's com) is useful and i'll say much better at distance estimation than sg street directory. measured the distance manually on the street directory, it's closer to the google earth's estimate.

now to find a favourite 20km route. today was quite fun my bro went running too, he did 10 1km laps around our neighbourhood.

happy run (:

I saw a rainbow today (:

had a nice run ~10km in slightly over an hour, completed a loop from house to haw par villa, to the other side of NUS (near the nasi lemak/ cheese prata side), towards NUH, then back down the winding road. still couldn't find the exit from nus campus to kent ridge hall, shall make another attempt soon.

last few days of hardcore studying, come to think of it, physical geog owns all. Somehow the econs knowledge seems easier to absorb plus still can afford time to do practice questions for econs and human geog. btw i think study break/leave is a brilliant idea, i'm discovering alot of new stuff. what's that cheng yu, wen gu zhi xin is it?

wheeeee, few more days to go (:

the sky's no limit

The sky's no limit (:

wheeeeee, thanks pingni (: the article was really good. it's from some women's magazine but they have interviews with cool people. how exciting, this air force major used to take apart the radio, cassette player, and anything she could get her hands on when she was younger. wanted to be a pe teacher but signed on with saf. and guess what? you know whose photograph is on her table? her teddy bear! exciting!

went for a short run to celebrate maths, just 3 rounds to get the heart pumping. you know something is wrong when you feel breathless after 5 flights of stairs. haha, yea, something is really wrong, most people don't take the stairs anyway (: wheeeeeeee, studying=good for your heart, cos several weeks ago 2min 20s per round killed me, but today i easily ran 3 rounds under 6! then to the playground for a light 10! amazing how the human body works

fitness is an addiction. confirmed.

btw the huayu cool tagline this year "are you game?". and on another note, mr k tan is featured in the NSman magazine.

and the subaru champion lasted 77 hours, respect. (btw after the last guy fell out, 3 ladies were still standing)

anw the november national geog is especially interesting, there's an article about memory. how this woman can remember exactly what happened since she was 11, and how this guy can't remember anything at all. The memory storage parts of his brain got destroyed, so he only lives in the present, every day is really a brand new day to him. btw the human brain apparently has enough neurons to make sufficient connections to store all the written information in the world.

personal computer: 100billion bytes (that's 9 zeros)
library of congress print collection: 32 trillion bytes (12)
brain: up to 1000 trillion synapses

yep, and if you need to space out, try recalling your earliest memory. most people have/had childhood amnesia, so there's no memory before the age of 3 or 4.

hm.. when do babies start crawling? my earliest memory was watching my ah ma tend to my brother when he was still in some cot or something.

btw, saw the j1 guys' goals on the canoe board. all the best guys (:

yea, and on saturday my dad sent me a happy birthday sms with a cake, super happening. and my mum thinks i should go sign up for the subaru challenge, haha (this year too young, it started on 3rd!)

woohoo, nurture ftw!

let's see what happens after A levels, lots of exciting things to do. oh yarh, sau says i'm finally old enough to do fun stuff.... like run marathon! hahahahha

yep, i'm more or less (more lah) decided to take a year off next year. Going to make the best out of the time (it's almost 2 years come to think of it) and enjoy my independence. For starters, will be signing up for the cpr/first aid/lifesaving/kayaking courses, and the more exciting ncap level 1 (theory) coaching course. technical level 1 might be a bit tricky, since according to scf i have to be part of the national team, or an 'active school canoeist for 2 years'. there's always sea kayaking to start with plus the ASCA strength and conditioning course. we'll see how things go from there. like mrs deborah tan used to say, akan datang (wait and see)

hope to talk to people who will help me confirm my interest. but first, onward to maths paper 2!

wheeee

geog paper was good. really nice of ms law, mr lee and mr kamal to come and encourage us before the paper (: yep, first time i've mugged so hard for a paper (more than higher chinese)

went for a short run to celebrate, really short, 6 rounds. still can easily do 10, haha (:

clouds today were especially beautiful. must be the monsoon rains. looks like it's going to rain again soon

now time seems to be passing slowly (: savour the moment

an interesting comment from the GEP debate, 'nature sets the upper limit, nurture sets the lower limit'


hm.. how about nature sets the lower limit, nurture sets the upper? slight difference, but it's interesting to see it as a spectrum.

geog-ing time! this week's worth of exercise= physical geog

happy birthday (:

yay, i got 3 soft toys today, all pass (:

brother got me one orange and one red lobster toy, highly portable (: mum got me this big yellow smiley thingy, quite cool. dad bought dinner, and said 'go with your heart' interesting

luckily my brother forgot to get the cake. haha, don't like my birthday to be too formal (cake present card etc)

yep, geog is going well, never knew i had the capacity to remember all those facts. exciting! yep, been a great year, many more to come! yep, thanks for all the well wishes (:

now i'm officially 18, waiting for that big trip to temasek lagaar with dad. hahahah, happy hour yo!

wheeeeeeee

guess what day it is tomorrow?

wheeeeeeee

saturday lah

anw, today's maths paper was mostly doable, except the last question didn't really click. but it was a good paper overall, though like physics, they seem to focus on the 'smaller' stuff and give simpler questions for the big topics.

but who knows, the coming papers might be killers. then again, exciting!

wheeeeeee, thanks for the cake (: the cake didn't stand a chance, 2.5minutes (:

Is Singapore in a Golden Age?

Is Singapore in a Golden Age?

"A golden age is a period in a field of endeavour where great tasks were accomplished." -Wikipedia

According to the World Economic Forum, Singapore is now ranked 7th globally for competitiveness. The corporate tax rate will be reduced to 18% in 2008, just above Hong Kong's 16.5%. The Economist has hailed its education system, which consistently produce world-beaters in the Mathematics and Science rankings. Several weeks ago, US based Foreign Policy named Singapore as the most globalised country in the world, ahead of US, Switzerland and many others. That gave the comment, "Singapore is a developed country growing at a developing country's rate" GDP growth will be a sizzling 7-8 percent this year. Inflation hit an all time high of 2.7%, spurred by the property market boom, rising oil prices topping US$94 a barrel and worldwide increase in the prices of staples such as wheat and sugar.

It might be unusual for a small country to appear in the headlines, but that is precisely what Singapore is doing. Apart from the Singapore Airlines clearly stamping its mark as the industry leader with the first Airbus A380 flight, the largest plane ever to take to the skies, Singapore is also the world's leader in offshore marine engineering. The oil rig building sector is booming, with a US$0.6billion oil rig sold last year, followed by another recent S$1.7 billion sale to Petrobras, a Brazil-based company. Fueled by the 'hot' property market and the construction of the integrated resorts cum casino slated to open in 2009, the construction industry is at its peak. Salaries across the board have risen, and it is reported that crane operators can earn up to $8000, a fat paycheck, considering the average fresh graduate's pay is $2500. Not to be left behind by private sector pay rises is the civil service, which has also increased the salaries and pay packages to attract top talent.

1 in 5 residents in Singapore is a foreigner and this proportion is set to rise as Singapore continues to welcome foreign talent, both in part to tap on their expertise, and also to sustain a sizeable workforce as the ageing population problem, exacerbated by the low total fertility rate of 1.3children per woman, is tackled. With 4.5 million people on a small 700 square kilometres of land, working out to a population density of over 6000 people per square kilometre, one might think that this would perhaps be the limit of population size. Nonetheless, city planning for 2020 projects a population of 7-8million people.

It would be logical to assume that as the income gap, measured by the Gini coefficient, widens, the poor would inevitably be left behind. This is perhaps true as surveys reveal the bottom 30% of households actually saw their real income drop despite the favourable economic climate. Hence, in an attempt to reverse the downward trend, measures such as the Workfare bonus and the Goods and Services Tax offset package which will alone cost the government $5billion over 5 years, are implemented. Nonetheless, the pragmatism of the Singapore government dissuades any welfare system, instead encouraging the less well off citizens to work to improve their standard of living. Instead, various retraining schemes by the Workforce Development Agency and skills upgrading such as the recent courses introduced to develop the precision engineering sector are offered. For workers facing structural unemployment, computer courses at the local community centres and vocational training at the Institute of Technical Education are subsidised by the government.

Still, employment is flourishingly in Singapore, as the country makes a full comeback from the 1997 Asian economic crisis. Confirming this is the announcement that Singapore is officially at full employment. The jobless rate was a mere 1.7%, below the 2% figure benchmarked as the full employment level. The services sector contributed most to the job creation, as Singapore seeks to diversify its economy from the electronics industry, which was revealed as one of the most vulnerable sectors during the US sub-prime mortgage problem. This momentum will be sustained by new jobs in the tourism industry and the growing biomedical and pharmaceutical sectors, which recently received a US$1 billion boost from Novartis, a pharmaceutical company and other grants from the government, such as a recent S$6million to fund local entrepreneurship and innovation in the field. Biomedical research in Singapore is concentrated in the Biopolis, Science Parks I, II and III and One-north in the Buona Vista rea.

As Singapore explores new areas of specialisation, investment from foreign companies is set to help these infant industries take-off. Norwegian Renewable Energy Corporation picked Singapore out of 200 other locations for its US$6.3billion solar cell manufacturing plant. This ties in with Singapore's push to develop alternative energy sources. Households have not bore the full brunt of rising crude oil prices as most of the power plants are fired by natural gas from Indonesia. Maintaining diplomatic ties with its neighbours and other countries from afar is crucial to the survival of this island state. Singapore is an open economy, hence as more countries liberalise trade, it would largely be to Singapore's benefits. Hence, Singapore has signed 13 free trade agreements and other pacts with numerous countries in a bid to boost trade and relations. Most recent is the push for an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) charter to formalise the group.

The city is brimming with excitement as a slew of new developments take place. Apart from the renowned Esplanade Arts and Cultural centre, the Singapore Flyer will take its first ride in early 2008. Adding to the hype around the Marina Bay area is the staging of the Formula One grand prix night race next year. Other happenings surrounding the central city area include the construction of the Sports Hub to be ready in 2011, which will encompass an indoor Olympic size swimming pool, a new National Stadium, an Indoor Stadium, a multi-purpose sporting arena and a water sports centre.

On to other sporting events, Singapore currently plays host to the city leg of the Greatest Race on Earth, a series of 4 marathons. Just only in September, the Aviva Ironman 70.3, the first of its kind in Asia, was held here. Furthermore, the country has entered its bid for the 2010 Youth Olympics, if successful would place Singapore prominently on the sporting world map, and will be hosting the 27th Southeast Asian Games in 2013.

Indeed, Singapore at this stage looks exactly like what it set out to be in its National Day 2007 slogan, 'city of possibilities'. However, one must not forget the lesser mentioned obstacles its people overcame. What Singapore has today is not by luck or sheer coincidence; its people have sought to push the frontiers. It might be archaic to mention, but the endeavours of our forefathers in building this nation have clearly formed the solid foundation for the country's continual progress. It is thus up to the present generation of Singaporeans and soon-to-be Singaporeans from abroad to share a common vision and take the city, all 7-8 million inhabitants, towards a better future....

therefore, it is up to all of us to do our part and study hard for A levels! hahhahahaha

if you're reading this, please tag/leave a comment, whether i've gotten the facts and figures jumbled, or if you think the phrasing and paragraphing could be improved (: GP's over btw, just doing this for fun

maths tomorrow (: like what spongebob would say, "I'm ready!"

gp paper

GP today was super exciting

practically the whole world wrote the same question.

felt quite good after the papers, even went to the playground to celebrate (: yep, i felt it was a nicely written response (both the compre answers and essay)

anw i think it must be intimidating/daunting! for the external invigilators to come to rj. Everyone look super serious, all wear green black white windbreakers/pullovers. today's chief invigilator for the mph was super hilarious, 'don't make so much crowdy noise', ' ahhh, just now forgot to wish you all good luck, but anw i don't think you all need it' and all his weird commentary as people left to go for the toilets in row. 'all those who are really really really urgent, please go" half the hall stood up! haha jerryca says our class damn zai, everyone just sit there.

the most exciting part about A levels is the questions itself (or rather your answers). Most questions look strange, some familiar, but just chiong, no turning back. compared to past year papers or even the humongously thick 30 year series for physics, this new syllabus is super fun.

wheeeee, few more days to another exciting day (:

go Raffles! few more weeks then we'll celebrate!

One may walk over the highest mountain one step at a time.

interesting (:

yesterday spend several hours spacing out, thinking of random stuff, like round island (: wheeeee

physics paper 3 today. seat C 13. haha, sounds like C 130. exciting start for my first major exam since psle. lots of explanation questions, that's the new syllabus for us.

gp tomorrow, then it's 8 more papers (:

yep, anw physics was exciting cos one of the invigilators was wearing finisher of 42.195 shirt!

wheeeee

i'm feeling calm and ready for tomorrow (:

all the best everyone

checklist before the exam

wheeeee

checklist before the exam:
1. Entry proof (waterproof)
2. Ezlink/ IC (last i hear need to bring)
3. physics people bring long ruler!
4. pencil case/ ziplock bag for stationary

yep, report half an hour before the paper.

Race 72 5.35pm Under 19 K2 500m Final Lane 1
2pm Physics paper 3, row ___ seat ___

exciting (:

tmr pia finish the very last 6 pages of hydro (: practise physics paper 3, read some GP-ish stuff (:

wheeeee

so hydro isn't that hard after all (: almost done with it. feeling very pleased with myself, all the vadose zone (zone of aeration) and phreatic zone, between them is the intermittent zone of saturation (: wheeee
yay my bro just gave me a voucher for heart rate monitor, haven't decided if i should get one. expires on 18 nov. will be free after human geog and before physics mcq. and a new balance voucher, which is nice and smooth and plastic-ky, (i tried to tear it)

exciting (:

wheeeee

finally i understand the whole soil moisture withdrawal, field capacity, gravitation water, hygroscopic water and the whole chunk. This is my first time hard core studying my hydro notes, and surprisingly, it isn't as hard as i thought (:

Yep, enjoying this whole process (: "the trend has always been positive" exciting!

wheeeeeeee

i've finished geomo, for real this time. Nice proper explanations for all possible ways they can whack the questions! Quite exciting being the first batch to take the new syllabus since tys questions don't cover hazards... at all. and they make up ~1/3 of the syllabus, geomo at least, haven't scrutinised the rest yet.

btw, yay, i managed to walk to the kitchen this morning! Yep, anw no damage done, still in once piece, just aching. alot. wheee, elisa and me did pullups yesterday, still can do! hahahahha

for raffles (:

home to home and back (:

wheeee

i just brought out my blanket, going to sleep on the sofa tonight cos i think i'll stumble down the stairs tmr.

I finally went on that 30km journey (: trying to measure it with the online singapore street directory but with little success. hand measured from the street directory anw. ran about 15, the longest undisrupted stretch was 12km. jogged (too slow to call running) 10, and walked around 5. I'm very thankful something made me embark on this, if not i'll get totally owned on marathon day. The sun's going to be a big challenge, but it won't stop me from finishing. Yep, but the race starts bright and early at 5.30am.

home=home
School= 2nd home
so i travelled by foot from home to home, then back to home (: haha, interesting. bus 11 ftw!

lesson learnt: bring water. didn't carry water so had to choice but to make it home, motivation if not ggxx. yep, read somewhere besides maintaining blood circulation and all, water helps lubricate the joints too. I'm going to stop at the water points (: and no cars! wheeee, road closures are a brilliant idea (wait till i start driving)

ahhh, i'm going to pay for this tomorrow. Yep, for now i shall refrain from doing weird things till irrationality takes over. which i expect to be somewhere after the main papers and before the physics mcq.

and yea, in geog we read about people living in the poor parts of SSA, who have to walk for 2 hours to get water. life must be really really tough. My walk/jog/run was by choice, theirs is not.

I like noticing the smallest, most unnoticeable things. Did you know Economist was "first published in September 1843 to take part in 'a severe contest between intelligence, which presses forward, and an unworthy, timid ignorance obstructing our progress.'"? it's in a < 2 by 4 on the bottom left corner of the contents.

Wrt A levels i'm taking some time to enjoy reading the syllabus from cover to cover, like geog talks about being able to appreciate the challenges we're facing at the local, regional and global level, and physics is about learning physics knowledge beyond the A levels, amongst many other points.

last night i couldn't sleep, lay there thinking about gp-ish questions. had a rather fruitful brainstorming + argument construction on 2 globalisation topics and one on sports, the meaning of sports i like that (: It's great reading the newspapers (straits times and today for me) plus economist, TIME and national geog. (reader's digest got cancelled cos it was getting boring) the point is, it gives you many perspectives on the "big" topics. but for news, i tend to skip those reporting on specific crimes or lawsuits, too technical and the info keeps getting repeated in the follow up articles.

btw singapore topped the US-based Foreign Policy ranking of the most globalised nation. and there's world wide food prices inflation. Asian economies would have heated up even more if not for the weakening US dollar.

wheeeee, sometimes i think i surprise myself (:

few more days

not a sheet, not a pillow, but a blanket of snow! wheeeeee, spongebob ftw (:

i can't wait for A levels (: The feeling of having to do something you've prepared for, but with that degree of uncertainty in the result, is exciting! "So go all out and give it your best shot, don't give chance, row your own race, row your best"

and i think i'm starting to enjoy econs. A levels should come before that happens (:

I've made a list of things to do before i start uni, which will be in 2009, not if, but in time to come when i take a gap year. and i thought of a brilliant plan just for fun, you can sign in my nan hua A5 notebook if your were one of them who made it happen, cool rite (:

wheeeeeeee

wheeeeeee

i'm quite sure the caffeine content in milo is quite high. Yep, don't drink too much if not can't sleep.

Thursday seems like a good day to run to school (:

today the wind was super strong, felt like some imba resistance training

yay, crabby patty ftw! (: wrote 3 essay plans in 30minutes, going to see if it's possible to finish the writing in 105 minutes.

on track, under control. A levels, bring it on!

all right (:

spongebob in ~1minute (:

wheeeeeee

chief mechanic

anytime now (:

sports school is going to announce 4 new academies. (cool, i didn't know they use the word academy)

just browsing their website, saw a page on sports science, and the various academies offer jobs too. most of the people working there are accomplished athletes, while some were represented their secondary schools back then and "succumbed" to their passion for coaching, and there are other jobs like chief mechanic for the bowling academy.

interesting

bought the H2 econs prelims paper. it's one huge stack and i'm determined to go thru it, like the physics TYS

almost mission accomplished for that, left the thermo/ideal gases section

then i'm done with TYS (:

yep, J1s it's always good to do tys, couple of ct questions come from there

this mugging business is intense. haha, was re-reading the meaning of sports (the excerpts i typed out), sports induce that anxiety dream feeling... and so does mugging. random weird dreams (the most common being unable to find the exam venue) have started, but yea, must be part of the overall package of taking a major national exam.

wheeeee, last night i just had to visit the michigan team rowing website. haha, and that settles it (: was too cold to go home today, so went to the gym to keep warm (: yay, i think my muscle memory is strong (: yep, it's always about gymming for your sport, not gymming alone. (and if i'm going to apply for michigan and apply as a recruit for their rowing team, better start chionging, the average physique there is whoa)

1 extra year to buff up (the application form lah!), to submit a solid application

p.s. according to TODAY, the 4 sports are most likely to be Olympic sports. and 'identified to be suitable for the Asian physique' wheeee, China and Japan's doing quite well for canoeing, if they have rowing/canoeing... exciting! (:

btw anyone wants to go watch beijing olympics? haha, i'll be free to go (: the most ex tickets cost around $200 for canoeing/rowing grandstand seats, though i haven't quite figured how to buy them.

cleans and flexes

wheeee

i like my new toothbrush

it "cleans and flexes"

hahahahaha

studying is good, on track (: hope it's going great for everyone

firers, own time own target. carry on

muddy's gym

wheeeee

just came back from ntu gym.

one day i'll run my own gym (:

Nice lighting, a row of rowing machines, another row of kayaking machines. Super cool cable row machine + bench press + pullup bars with nice grips and easy to get up and down + omg punching bag! X 45748573732480

it'll be called the _____ academy. water sports academy (:

and it'll be open from 5am, so people can get in a good workout before sch/work. and it'll close at 11pm. wheeeeeee, and there will be a big poster saying olympics 20xx

wheeeeeeee

back to physics (: feeling quite good about physics and maths (:

exciting!

wondering what the new exciting thing is?

studying for As!

wheeeee

whole new experience thanks to the thru train (: never studied so much, so hard before.

wheeeeee

Spartathlon

Spartathlon is a 246 kilometre (152.85 miles) ultramarathon race held in Greece since 1983 between Athens and Sparta.

For twenty four consecutive years, the Spartathlon athletes have followed the route John Foden and his team defined in 1982 when they experimented in running from Athens to Sparta. It is based on Herodotus’ description of the Athenian ‘Imerodromou’ or messenger who arrived in Sparta the day after he departed from Athens and also on well known historical events of that time. It has, therefore, been considered the nearest route to that which Pheidippides must have followed.

Briefly, Miltiades’ messenger started out of Athens on the ancient Iera Odos, or “sacred road,” up to Elefsis. From there he followed Skyronia Odos, a military road on the slopes of the Gerania mountains, and traveled through Isthmia, Examilia and Ancient Corinth. He went on to Ancient Nemea, thus avoiding the Epicratea of Argos, as it wasn’t in alliance with Athens, and he continued along the mountains between Argolida and Arcadia. He climbed the Parthenio mountain (1200 meters), where he encountered the God Pan. Descending the mountain, he continued in the direction of historical Tegea, one of the locations mentioned by Herodotus in his account about Pheidippides. He proceeded south toward Sparta. Upon his arrival in Sparta, he completed 1140 “stadia,” which equaled 246 kilometers.

In order to run in this race an individual must meet at least one of the following requirements:

1. The individual has finished a race of at least 100 km in less than 10 hours, 30 minutes.
2. The individual has already competed in Spartathlon and has reached the checkpoint "Nestani" ( 172 km ) in less than 24 hours, 30 minutes.
3. The individual has already competed in Spartathlon and reached the finish line.
4. The individual has competed in an event of more than 200 kilometers and has finished the race regardless of the time.

One day muddy, one day (:

farewell assembly 2007

Jason spoke well for the vote of thanks today, haha, time to join ORA. RJC farewell assembly for the batch of 2007. Yep, Mr koh is right, i'll probably miss this place too much and i can't stay away (:

To my fellow plaque award winners, great job (: Been a good year since our leadership camp at bintan in 2006.

Didn't feel like farewell since we'll be going back to school for revision and As. Mr kok asked our class, so how was the last 2 years? Great (: but anothe time for that, need to chiong As first.

Thought i'll say it here too (something i've been thinking about for 2 weeks) : This plaque award wouldn't have been possible without the support of my team, especially my 11 teammates of the 0607 girls team: xinmiao, amanda, elisa, jolene, joohui, hannah, yang, shawna, siaurui, javine, vanessa.

so that was it, farewell assembly 2007. As i watched the list of merit and appreciation awards run on the screen, couldn't help but think that each of us, as individuals, were certainly more deserving than some. For canoeing, only the exco+laos ics got the certs, which i feel doesn't justify the hard work, contributions and sacrifices that we have made in the past 1.5 years.

Another variant of the lesson in life we got from Nationals; life's not fair. This is perhaps scant consolation, after all who wouldn't welcome an award, be it any award. Perhaps no one will ever recognise the challenges we faced and overcame within our short time at RJC, always juggling the roles of a team mate, canoeist, student, classmate, friend, sister, daughter and all our other responsibilities. But does that matter?

Of course it matters. And we mattered where it counts most. How many J2s out there can say they have truly been part of a team? Or along the way inspired others by means of their actions? I don't like to use the word 'inspire' loosely, since i take it to mean... good question, what does it mean? What does 'inspire' mean to you?

"Love the game. Love the game for the pure joy of accomplishment. Love the game for everything it can teach you about yourself. Love the game for the feeling of belonging to a group endeavouring to do its best. Love the game for being involved in a team whose members can't wait to see you do your best. Love the game for the challenge of working harder than you ever have at something and then harder than that. Love the game because it takes all team members to give it life. Love the game because at its best, the game tradition will include your contributions. Love the game because you belong to a long line of fine athletes who have loved it. It is now your legacy. Love the game so much that you will pass on your love of the game to another athlete who has seen your dedication, your work, your challenges, your triumphs... and then that athlete will, because of you, love the game." Unknown

We made a difference, no matter how small or big, on the people around us, especially our J1s. We taught them the ropes, and encouraged them to live their dreams. I bet our parents never knew their daughters had this in them... and our classmates, esp the guys, jaw drops when we say things like "training? 1019 push ups, 501 sit ups, 501 crunches, 250 IPUs/50 pull ups, 2.8km team run "

As they played the farewell video (the very first one), when our team photo flashed on the screen, I knew, and i hope you did too, that it beat every other accolade on display today. Despite what happened at Nationals, that photo captured us at our best; one last photo of the team of 2007 and it evoked one feeling: Raffles

Team spirit, perseverance, tough times, dedication, discipline, respect, belief, strength, victory, character, mental toughness and sportsmanship, just to mention some of the invaluable lessons that canoeing taught us. No matter what our chosen paths may be, there will be great things coming our way.

and i must say this, I didn't win the plaque award.

We won the plaque award.

I guess one of the spoils of being a leader is you get to be in front and receive all the commendation, and people looking in tend to think it's just about you. But it isn't. No team=no leader. It wouldn't have been possible without all 11 of you, xinmiao, amanda, elisa, jolene, joohui, hannah, yang, shawna, siaurui, javine, vanessa + bear, mr whale and others (: We, the team of 0607, have won not one, but two plaque awards today.

Help me spread the word? My team won the plaque award (:




food for thought:

“A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of others. He does not set out to be a leader, but becomes one by the quality of his actions and the integrity of his intent.”

"If anything goes bad, I did it.
If anything goes semigood, then we did it.
If anything goes really good, then you did it.
Bear Bryant

yea, my dad says i'm far sighted when i told him i'm considering gap year. glad he supports it, that is the plan for now. Uni's a 4 years commitment and i won't want to sink in only to pull out halfway. So 1 more year to get some work experience, hopefully at RJ and some other place like sports school, do up my lifesaving and coaching certs, probably retake sats, decide if this is really my interest, join my first triathlon, go on long runs and bike rides, do more pullups (:, explore the world! Will be good to learn some money management and independence during the next year, in prep for studying overseas. haha, and i might just go catch beijing olympics (:

wheeeeee

did both mock papers today (: didn't go school for mock after all cos i figured the travelling time wasn't worth it. doing physics, on track

went for a run today! very good (:

yay, i'm wearing my favourite shirt now and it's super soft

mugging might not be the most fun and exciting thing, but well, love the life you live, live the life you love (:

sports school

Yesterday i was again searching for the unis i want to apply to. Probably the 4th time i searched, and it's super draining cos first i have to figure out which unis offer the course, and then how to apply and stuff.

Yea, so there's michigan and western ontario now. Michigan has a great sporting culture plus its rowing team is one of the best there is. Western ontario is home to the canadian national rowing team (: probably can pick up some pointers there, not just on rowing, but the whole training thing (read on). Future career? 2 days i ago i had this brilliant brainwave, work at Adidas! The inspirational websites and now their monthly women's run is about sports development, and that's something i'm interested in.

Then yesterday, another brainwave: Singapore Sports School

I figured i won't mind starting from the basics, like some assistant trainer for strength training or something, then work my way up. SSC offers a good scholarship, but the bond is 6 years and mostly office job, not hands on. anw, sports school sounds like a feasible career option since (in my opinion), it combines sports with the rigours of military discipline and teaching. haha, i always had a thing for teaching. And i'm superbly fascinated with the idea of a sports school. PE teacher would be nice but the job seems a bit too temporal, like batches of students just come and go. who knows i might just change my mind couple months down the road. (which i hope i don't)

wheee, so i went to sleep.

this morning i woke up, picked up the papers, AND GUESS WHAT I READ?

mrs deborah tan is taking over as general director for singapore sports school (:

so that settles it, i can and will chiong these last few weeks cos the goal is just in sight (:

“If the whole world followed you, would you be pleased with where you took it?”

Neale Donald Walsch

exciting! i slept from 6-6 yesterday, 12 hours!

anw check this out http://www.adidas.com.sg/marathon2007/index.html

nice inspirational stories (: thanks kenneth!

sports news

lots of sports news recently...

1) Vladimir Dyatchin from Russia just won the Fina 10km swimming race (open waters), held in Singapore. His time was 1:57:36, next guy was 1:57:37, and the 3rd guys was 1:57:38. I wonder what went through their minds as they chionged that last few meters, bearing in mind it's a 10km race, that's 10,000m, or 200 laps in the pool. Anw, the Russian, he's 25, retired from the sport 3 years back, suffered a car crash in 2 years back, and now he's in the running for the Olympics.

2) Marion Jones is convicted of doping charges. Her 5 medals, including 3 gold (1 was the 100m sprint title), will be stripped. One word: disgust. To think she wrote her autobiography with a one page bold text refuting these charges.

3) New Zealand's All Blacks rugby team crashed out at the quarter finals, losing to France. Undefeated since the first tournament after the 2003 rugby world cup, they lost at "the big one". Come next world cup, it will be their 24th year of waiting for the title, after claiming the first trophy when the tournament began in 1976.

So there, from The Meaning of Sports- Simon Barnes

65 The deepest and most elusive process within ourselves is, roughly speaking, sport. But it’s normally called dreaming. I’m not talking about the it’s-always-been-my-dream-to-win-an-Olympic-gold-medal sort of dream. Those are daydreams, fantasies, that some people are able to force upon reality. But that is a quite different process to the one I am talking about here- the real nightdream experience of the spectator. Sport is such stuff as daydreams are made of, for sure; but it’s also the stuff of real dreams: the dreams that happen to us when we are asleep, the dreams that thrill, alarm, concern and baffle every one of us.

When we enter the dream state, the aroused state of rapid eye movement sleep, we take all sorts of odd things and weave them together into some kind of story. A dream is a narrative of heightened reality, in which we take extraordinary things for granted:... the ability to fly

What is sport but a narrative of hyper-reality? A place where the normal rules do not apply, where the usual sort of reality has been temporarily suspended? Like dreams, sport can bring us the most ecstatic and profoundly felt pleasures, and can also bring us matters so complex and confusing that we don’t know how to react to them. Sport can deliver those moments we thought only possible in fiction or daydream, but with a visceral intensity that no amount of private musing can rival.

But perhaps the dream state that sport brings us most frequently is the anxiety-dream. That is to say, the dream in which you have an important exam to take, but you can’t find the room where it’s taking place, and as you search with increasing desperation, it gradually becomes clear that you haven’t read the books you are to be examined on...

But sport brings us anxiety-dreams on a regular basis, and many of us actively seek sport all the time, as something that enhances our lives...

Sport brings us these anxieties again and again...

...the taste of triumph is so wonderful? Or is there an addictive quality in the anxiety itself? Either way, the sporting experience is a way of engaging with hyper-reality, and that is a necessary part of the human condition. Dreams end in waking...Likewise, sport ends: the whistle blows, the umpire announces game, set and match...and we, we who watch, we who have the dreamer’s experience, why, we get on with our waking lives. Unencumbered. Why should we not? We know, all of us, that the confusion of the dream and the waking state is stepbrother to madness.

Mr Kadir is right, since you've got no choice anw, just enjoy the studying (:

btw, s'pore life expectancy is 4th highest in the world at 81.8, IMR is the lowest at 2.3. In Tokyo, the Jonan Vocational Skills Development Centre helps to reskill workers. and Payatas garbage dump, on the outskirts of Manila, is being plugged with 22 drills to extract methane gas and earn Philippines carbon credits, which can be sold on the $20billion carbon credits trading market.

wheeeee, it's beginning to grow on me

don't do weird things!

wheee

just finished the cj prelims maths paper 2 and pouring water over my answer script (: it's to test how soluble the G1 ink is, yep. conclusion: unless the paper tears, the ink won't come off (: yay

had the exam briefing by mr leong yesterday, first slide had sleeping, studying and eating habits. feels like a race, the old adage: don't do weird things!

last day of school

thought it was quite memorable that the maths hod said "these 2 years we've been on opposite sides of the line. but this time it's different. We're on the same side, facing a common enemy!"

exciting

going to spam books, got 6 with me, just finished economics of life.

pullups>running

all right comrade! "this is the finale whereby the weak ones will stumble while you cruise by them."

you know what i realised about the maths paper? it's super liberating. strange to see maths and liberation together but, yea, it's possible. all time favourite:

Use what talent you possess:
the woods would be very silent
if no birds sang
except those that sang best.
Henry Van Dyke

was in the art room that day, saw a johnnie walker advert "I walk slowly, but i never walk backward." Abraham Lincoln

28 days to go, keep walking (or better still, burst!)

talking about burst, jo and me ran 10 rounds today! 6 "warmup" laps, or more like we ggxx after that, then 4 more to finish up. super shiok (: i think we took like 15 minutes for 6 rounds.

but when i went playground later, still could do 10 perfect form! wheeeee (:

therefore, conclusion is, pullups are easier than running! yay

(did you know foreign students will pay $1200 A MONTH in RJC from 2008 onwards) not too sure about now though

burst!

cool blogger doesn't timeout

i'm going to leave my com screen permanently at the nexus site so i can always check for new maths paper (:

got out my battle plan, i'm going to chiong. strongly believe i can do it (straight As), don't see why i can't.

My teachers Mr Kok and Mr Kadir make A levels sound like a race. Mr Kok used the analogy of an 800m race, something about you need to run 2 good laps to get a good timing. Let's take it as a 2km timing (: Remember all the starting bursts, pacing strategies, hardcore maintenance though lactic is coursing through your body, the adrenaline rush when you know it's going to be a good timing... and that mad euphoria when jiaolian says you hit a super good timing (sub 10 for K2s (: )? So if you did managed to get straight As, continue chionging don't let the rest creep up on you, if you didn't get the results you want, then just pia, the race is not over!!

mindless eating

Brian Wansink is a marketing professor who runs Cornell University's food lab. He wrote a book "Mindless Eating", on the lack of conscious decision making that goes into how much, and what, we eat.

yep, some stuff from the TIME article on him:

1. It's the size of the bowl that counts: People ate 35% more of stale popcorn when given a bigger tub.

2. Multiple choices: More options make us eat more, so does the semblance of variety. M & Ms for instance, apparently you'll eat more if they came in 1- colours instead of 7.

3. Phony math: If you eat at somewhere healthy like Subway (versus Macs), you tend to compensate for it later by eating more junk food.

(read somewhere about depriving yourself of comfort food like chocolates produces the same effect; you tend to binge later)

4. Tall glasses, small drinks: even professional bartenders pour more into a short, wide glass, than a tall- skinny glass

cool stuff. so if you're mugging real hard (read sedentary lifestyle), might want to make some adjustments around the kitchen/fridge. on the other hand, if you're some canoeist, reverse it, better start eating more! happy end of promos j1s (: