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Saturday, December 31, 2005
Fencing camp's over, as mentioned a post earlier. Forgive me Sihui, but I need to write about this for a while... Haha...
3 pm on the 27th Dec to 3 pm on 28th Dec. I got my new blade! Its fantastic.... so light and flexible but yet very strong (and it did take a lot of pressure during the course of the camp). Well, it is made in Sheffield, England, where all the coal and steel comes from heheh...
Yup... we had theory talks, we had two tournaments (one of which was from 10 pm to 4 am). I lost in both quite badly... both to CJ people... One was Jaimes, a Year 2 guy, and the other was Jeraldine, the Year 2 girl (who had a 5-point handicap, is the 2005 Novices Champion, and a left-hander to boot). But yea we made a lot of friends... and yay I think all of us benefitted... The camp was especially to train the psychological part of our fencing, and it went off quite well!
Yesterday we had a friendly team event against CJ and SMU (Me, Maurice and Daniel). We managed to beat both teams, CJ comfortably at 45-38, but very narrowly to SMU (45-43). But still, its nothing to be complacent about cos its not the actual event, and we, especially me conceded some easy points. Daniel saved our necks though, by remaining calm throughout... whoa... haha... n Maurice can really soak up pressure as the last fencer.
Well, we video-ed the bouts then Maurice and I came to my house to review them. We spent over an hour watching, rewatching, slow motion, normal motions, analysing our mistakes and our hits until at the end of it both of us had severe headaches, I think because we were just tired.
Today also, go back to AHS so tired and my eyes were watering like mad, n my running nose was really bad... Anyway, pictures of the team event....
Against CJC, Daniel vs Cephas, the CJ captain. This is his signature move, the stop hit on the retreat... Virture of his long arm... haha... oh... for identification purposes... CJ people wear blue, VJ people wear yellow... And with the exception of the writer, VJ people are taller
Myself, tangling with Cephas during close quarters.. funny that only foilists do this move... its very useful to know. I must admit that Cephas is the person of lowest volume I've done CQC on.
Maurice. His long lunge against Lewis. His is scary... its virtually a split lar... By the way, thats Jeraldine in the background, who knocked me out of the tournament.
Against SMU. My fleche against Yong Hui... He's also a leftie.... heh... Short fleche though, I didn't need to fly through the air. My blade is also bent in the wrong direction =/
Daniel, hitting ChuanYao who's in a particularly unglam position... Not to worry, the hit was on the thigh, not on *that* part =D
Maurice, foothit against ChuahYao. Perfectly timed... my goodness... haha...
Oh well, well played, well played... haha... its the first time we've won any team event, but as I said, nothing to be complacent about. And well done to CJC's girls team too... beat SMU twice...
Oh and my goodness I like the design of the SMU jackets! The blue and yellow embroidery is visible on ChuanYao's right upper arm in the pics... haha...
____________________________________________________________________________________
I was surfing around last night (or rather this morning at 1++) when i chanced across LiLing's blog. I think her poem that's there is really meaningful, and a good value to bring into the new year. It was about trusting in God and not worrying because he had plans for us which we may or may not understand, but which would be meant for good.
Indeed, this thing about not worrying has helped me through a lot this year, especially after entering into a much faster-paced education level compared to AHS. Especially with fencing and all that. I think the nights which I would lie awake thinking about CCA problems, for instance, has decreased significantly since St. John days. Although sometimes I think wonder how Novices will go, but I also know at the back of my mind God will lead me to a medal if he means it to be so, or if not, then its also in his plan.
Actually, the priority should be on my own member's motivation too, as well as to ensure I don't wind up with the blade through my suit either. And those I can trust to God as well...
Truly, if one has God, you can be comforted from your problems the same way a child runs to his parents when he's in trouble. Its just a nice feeling... haha..
Nice poem, Liling =)
3 pm on the 27th Dec to 3 pm on 28th Dec. I got my new blade! Its fantastic.... so light and flexible but yet very strong (and it did take a lot of pressure during the course of the camp). Well, it is made in Sheffield, England, where all the coal and steel comes from heheh...
Yup... we had theory talks, we had two tournaments (one of which was from 10 pm to 4 am). I lost in both quite badly... both to CJ people... One was Jaimes, a Year 2 guy, and the other was Jeraldine, the Year 2 girl (who had a 5-point handicap, is the 2005 Novices Champion, and a left-hander to boot). But yea we made a lot of friends... and yay I think all of us benefitted... The camp was especially to train the psychological part of our fencing, and it went off quite well!
Yesterday we had a friendly team event against CJ and SMU (Me, Maurice and Daniel). We managed to beat both teams, CJ comfortably at 45-38, but very narrowly to SMU (45-43). But still, its nothing to be complacent about cos its not the actual event, and we, especially me conceded some easy points. Daniel saved our necks though, by remaining calm throughout... whoa... haha... n Maurice can really soak up pressure as the last fencer.
Well, we video-ed the bouts then Maurice and I came to my house to review them. We spent over an hour watching, rewatching, slow motion, normal motions, analysing our mistakes and our hits until at the end of it both of us had severe headaches, I think because we were just tired.
Today also, go back to AHS so tired and my eyes were watering like mad, n my running nose was really bad... Anyway, pictures of the team event....
Against CJC, Daniel vs Cephas, the CJ captain. This is his signature move, the stop hit on the retreat... Virture of his long arm... haha... oh... for identification purposes... CJ people wear blue, VJ people wear yellow... And with the exception of the writer, VJ people are taller
Myself, tangling with Cephas during close quarters.. funny that only foilists do this move... its very useful to know. I must admit that Cephas is the person of lowest volume I've done CQC on.
Maurice. His long lunge against Lewis. His is scary... its virtually a split lar... By the way, thats Jeraldine in the background, who knocked me out of the tournament.
Against SMU. My fleche against Yong Hui... He's also a leftie.... heh... Short fleche though, I didn't need to fly through the air. My blade is also bent in the wrong direction =/
Daniel, hitting ChuanYao who's in a particularly unglam position... Not to worry, the hit was on the thigh, not on *that* part =D
Maurice, foothit against ChuahYao. Perfectly timed... my goodness... haha...
Oh well, well played, well played... haha... its the first time we've won any team event, but as I said, nothing to be complacent about. And well done to CJC's girls team too... beat SMU twice...
Oh and my goodness I like the design of the SMU jackets! The blue and yellow embroidery is visible on ChuanYao's right upper arm in the pics... haha...
____________________________________________________________________________________
I was surfing around last night (or rather this morning at 1++) when i chanced across LiLing's blog. I think her poem that's there is really meaningful, and a good value to bring into the new year. It was about trusting in God and not worrying because he had plans for us which we may or may not understand, but which would be meant for good.
Indeed, this thing about not worrying has helped me through a lot this year, especially after entering into a much faster-paced education level compared to AHS. Especially with fencing and all that. I think the nights which I would lie awake thinking about CCA problems, for instance, has decreased significantly since St. John days. Although sometimes I think wonder how Novices will go, but I also know at the back of my mind God will lead me to a medal if he means it to be so, or if not, then its also in his plan.
Actually, the priority should be on my own member's motivation too, as well as to ensure I don't wind up with the blade through my suit either. And those I can trust to God as well...
Truly, if one has God, you can be comforted from your problems the same way a child runs to his parents when he's in trouble. Its just a nice feeling... haha..
Nice poem, Liling =)
~JcZw~ at 4:14 pm
Friday, December 30, 2005
The reason why I'm updating at 2:49 am (thereabouts) is due to the 24 hour fencing camp yesterday and the day before... Came back and slept from 8 till now... now can't sleep, shall update, do some maths and sleep again.
So what better topic to update on then an end-of-year post for fencing. N yea, sihui is gonna complain to me again that I'm gonna write a post no one will understand... but oh well
Its only slightly more than a year ago that I started out as a foilist, losing 15-6 to Sean of FM through a woeful lack of bladework (but not enthusiasm heheh). Fencing opened up a whole new world for me... But to me, competitions and such were so far away. I never knew it would eventually turn out to be as much of a time committment as St. John was.
So it was on the 16th of Decemberlast year, descending Mount Kinabalu amidst the rain and the mud, when my old Nokia 2100 buzzed with a message from my father stating "Congrats! You've got a place in "VJ Science"!" for PAE was just over and postings were out. And the added incentive was that through Coach Jeff I knew that VJ had a new and upcoming fencing club which held a number of talented fencers.
Albeit they only did epee, that (I used to think) "heavy, highly inelegant and boring weapon" compared to foil... heheh. Watching their demos during open house and subsequently during orientation did not allay my fears, since no one lunged or fleched... bleah... haha...
Although the temptations to follow other friends was strong, to join other sports (I was especially interested to join hockey or air rifle, the latter of which was my little-known temporary ECA, [not CCA] in AHS), I still decided to give it a shot.
Of the fencing club, my feelings were mixed... For many of us it was a novelty in this new sport, but it wasn't a happy club, since no one was feeling particularly loved by the school. When the application for exco came through, I decided to give it a shot. I was shocked when I got a post though, given that Maurice and Daniel seemed like much more impressive characters to me. I was also shocked when the Vice-Captain, Victoria, was also from AHS... its funny how students of such a cheena school as AHS were leading an ang-moh sport.
They asked during the interview "What do you aim to do with the club in the next year?" In the last year, I think we brought fencing out into the open. Cultural Fiesta and the Kebab Incident, Open House this year, and of course, Daniel winning his U-17 medal, the only one of us three to take out his ITE counterpart, while Maurice and I fell to their blades.
But most importantly, it was of the people and the friends made in the course of Fencing.
Coach Jeff Lopez is a tall and friendly person with a great sense of humour and more, often than not, a sarcastic wit.. haha.. He's ambidextrous, and so able to give lessons on both right and left handers... Scary... He also can do all 3 weapons, and has competed in all 3 in the SEA games before! But at the end of the day, he's patient and willing to repair blades, replacing shattered blades (cos it pays his rent) etcetc as well as to tell us bits of history of fencing, or give techniques on everything from binding an opponent's blade to chasing a girl or getting a job =D
Maurice and Daniel are the other 2 teammates of the 'A' Team which will go for the team event during Novices. Both skilled fencers (and since all 3 of us take private lessons) and both are down-to-earth characters, and never have anything to hide, criticizing or praising fencing, or leadership as they see it, which I appreciate. Both tower over me at 179 and 181 cm respectively, and they have a lot of fun about that at my expense... heheh... all 3 of us know each other's fencing skills intimately well, and if we fence each other on an on-form day then whooo....
Victoria, Charlene and Eileen Yap make up the 'A' Team for the Ladies' Event. They're decent fencers I suppose, although they give a lot of priority to their studies, which I understand too... Its what makes people get more than AADE. But if not in fencing, then in support in club matters, they can be relied on to organize things like Cultural Fiesta, farewell etc. Oh, did I mention that Victoria's mum is a great cook n baker!! =)
Mark Ortega and Jonathan Boon, the smartest Year 1 and the only guy IP respectively, also started private lessons recently, maybe not so much to show up much in the coming novices, but they both learn and are willing to. They ask us many questions, and they also care to observe other's fencing. Especially mine, since, like me, they are not from VS and are not tall either... haha... Its really encouraging to see them learn.
Jomaine, Shakura, Eileen Soon and Dhevy are the remaining IPs. They're really busy and so cannot come down at night to fence that much, but they also help out, not the least being their production of our fencing shirt that has been the envy of many a rival club.. heheh... Given their 3 more years in fencing, I think by Year 2, the Novices should be theirs.
Hong Mun, Eldon and Jun Rong, our 3 most enthu seniors, who set up the club, kept it alive for one year and also coming to support us during our comps.
So just to name these few for now. But yes, through all the oft-complained about lack of support from the school, it is these people who make life livable as a VJ fencer.
Of course, there are many other friends from elsewhere that have given advice or help, or more simply, friendship...
From FM: Su San, Brenda, Kuhara, Matt Lopez etc
CJC: Cephas, Cynthia, Cheryl, Gaya, Jeraldine, JunJie etc
RJC: Jonathan Tay, Wei Yang, Yong Liang, Candice, Maryann etc
ITE: Sun, Zixian, JunQing, MengShyan, Kimie etc
Amazing how your social circle increases in fencing life. But then again, for a CCA, this should be how it is.
Its been a great year for us all, although it may have not been easy, but we've definitely progressed since we first started, not only as epeeists and foilists, but as friends, and we've learnt so much more about ourselves and each other, performaing under intense stress, and through aiming for the highest goals. For, as Mark Ortega said, "fencing is like looking into someone's soul as he moves". Maybe not during the bout, but through the competitons and camp, etc, yes this is true. This chess with muscles, this impromptuly choreographed dance. It really has given us much and will do so in the next year.
Hopefully, it brings a gold medal or two with it!
Quote of the year:
Situation: against the national team at pesta sukan
Me: Ok lets play this calmly. Aim for a double digit number for our score. Just fence your best.
Maurice:Aiyar! Who cares! We can win! Come, who supports me?
We lost 45-7 =) but yes, all of us, especially Maurice, gave them a fight to remember
So what better topic to update on then an end-of-year post for fencing. N yea, sihui is gonna complain to me again that I'm gonna write a post no one will understand... but oh well
Its only slightly more than a year ago that I started out as a foilist, losing 15-6 to Sean of FM through a woeful lack of bladework (but not enthusiasm heheh). Fencing opened up a whole new world for me... But to me, competitions and such were so far away. I never knew it would eventually turn out to be as much of a time committment as St. John was.
So it was on the 16th of Decemberlast year, descending Mount Kinabalu amidst the rain and the mud, when my old Nokia 2100 buzzed with a message from my father stating "Congrats! You've got a place in "VJ Science"!" for PAE was just over and postings were out. And the added incentive was that through Coach Jeff I knew that VJ had a new and upcoming fencing club which held a number of talented fencers.
Albeit they only did epee, that (I used to think) "heavy, highly inelegant and boring weapon" compared to foil... heheh. Watching their demos during open house and subsequently during orientation did not allay my fears, since no one lunged or fleched... bleah... haha...
Although the temptations to follow other friends was strong, to join other sports (I was especially interested to join hockey or air rifle, the latter of which was my little-known temporary ECA, [not CCA] in AHS), I still decided to give it a shot.
Of the fencing club, my feelings were mixed... For many of us it was a novelty in this new sport, but it wasn't a happy club, since no one was feeling particularly loved by the school. When the application for exco came through, I decided to give it a shot. I was shocked when I got a post though, given that Maurice and Daniel seemed like much more impressive characters to me. I was also shocked when the Vice-Captain, Victoria, was also from AHS... its funny how students of such a cheena school as AHS were leading an ang-moh sport.
They asked during the interview "What do you aim to do with the club in the next year?" In the last year, I think we brought fencing out into the open. Cultural Fiesta and the Kebab Incident, Open House this year, and of course, Daniel winning his U-17 medal, the only one of us three to take out his ITE counterpart, while Maurice and I fell to their blades.
But most importantly, it was of the people and the friends made in the course of Fencing.
Coach Jeff Lopez is a tall and friendly person with a great sense of humour and more, often than not, a sarcastic wit.. haha.. He's ambidextrous, and so able to give lessons on both right and left handers... Scary... He also can do all 3 weapons, and has competed in all 3 in the SEA games before! But at the end of the day, he's patient and willing to repair blades, replacing shattered blades (cos it pays his rent) etcetc as well as to tell us bits of history of fencing, or give techniques on everything from binding an opponent's blade to chasing a girl or getting a job =D
Maurice and Daniel are the other 2 teammates of the 'A' Team which will go for the team event during Novices. Both skilled fencers (and since all 3 of us take private lessons) and both are down-to-earth characters, and never have anything to hide, criticizing or praising fencing, or leadership as they see it, which I appreciate. Both tower over me at 179 and 181 cm respectively, and they have a lot of fun about that at my expense... heheh... all 3 of us know each other's fencing skills intimately well, and if we fence each other on an on-form day then whooo....
Victoria, Charlene and Eileen Yap make up the 'A' Team for the Ladies' Event. They're decent fencers I suppose, although they give a lot of priority to their studies, which I understand too... Its what makes people get more than AADE. But if not in fencing, then in support in club matters, they can be relied on to organize things like Cultural Fiesta, farewell etc. Oh, did I mention that Victoria's mum is a great cook n baker!! =)
Mark Ortega and Jonathan Boon, the smartest Year 1 and the only guy IP respectively, also started private lessons recently, maybe not so much to show up much in the coming novices, but they both learn and are willing to. They ask us many questions, and they also care to observe other's fencing. Especially mine, since, like me, they are not from VS and are not tall either... haha... Its really encouraging to see them learn.
Jomaine, Shakura, Eileen Soon and Dhevy are the remaining IPs. They're really busy and so cannot come down at night to fence that much, but they also help out, not the least being their production of our fencing shirt that has been the envy of many a rival club.. heheh... Given their 3 more years in fencing, I think by Year 2, the Novices should be theirs.
Hong Mun, Eldon and Jun Rong, our 3 most enthu seniors, who set up the club, kept it alive for one year and also coming to support us during our comps.
So just to name these few for now. But yes, through all the oft-complained about lack of support from the school, it is these people who make life livable as a VJ fencer.
Of course, there are many other friends from elsewhere that have given advice or help, or more simply, friendship...
From FM: Su San, Brenda, Kuhara, Matt Lopez etc
CJC: Cephas, Cynthia, Cheryl, Gaya, Jeraldine, JunJie etc
RJC: Jonathan Tay, Wei Yang, Yong Liang, Candice, Maryann etc
ITE: Sun, Zixian, JunQing, MengShyan, Kimie etc
Amazing how your social circle increases in fencing life. But then again, for a CCA, this should be how it is.
Its been a great year for us all, although it may have not been easy, but we've definitely progressed since we first started, not only as epeeists and foilists, but as friends, and we've learnt so much more about ourselves and each other, performaing under intense stress, and through aiming for the highest goals. For, as Mark Ortega said, "fencing is like looking into someone's soul as he moves". Maybe not during the bout, but through the competitons and camp, etc, yes this is true. This chess with muscles, this impromptuly choreographed dance. It really has given us much and will do so in the next year.
Hopefully, it brings a gold medal or two with it!
Quote of the year:
Situation: against the national team at pesta sukan
Me: Ok lets play this calmly. Aim for a double digit number for our score. Just fence your best.
Maurice:Aiyar! Who cares! We can win! Come, who supports me?
We lost 45-7 =) but yes, all of us, especially Maurice, gave them a fight to remember
~JcZw~ at 2:47 am
Wednesday, December 28, 2005
There's always a special post to write at the end of the year. Actually, I do have a few different aspects of my life which deserve mention this year... so I shall just write on one portion of it tonight since its really late and I have camp tml.
Let's start with St. John then...
St. John was the thing that occupied my mind the most on the 3rd of January. Whether it was queuing up to register, eating lunch, or walking to catch 13 with Xuan Ming, the images and emotions of St. John seared into memory were what was predominant.
It was a relief to be able to return to AHS for orientation on friday, despite having been soaked in seawater earlier that day... not to say that friends made during orientation were bad... but well.... 4 years of friendship held dearer than 5 days at that time.
It was the average life for a senior non-comm... coming back for CCA on fridays... observing cadets and NCOs, and thank God the times when I had to step in weren't many... I think for the first time in a long while, our batch embodied the "observing passive" role of a SNCO as opposed to the "intervening active" SNCOs of my time.
The significant event of the year does not stand out in my memory, but it was a different step to take... Promotion to sergeant with Jiayan and Sihui on 20th August was something which I thought wouldn't happen... after all, rare is the NCO that gets promoted above corporal (for the Anglican Corps anyway, we thought life ended as corporal). Not that rank worried us or anything (not while an Anglican private could perform better footdrill than other schools) but it was a novel step.
Of course, much more exciting was the incident on the road after the promotion, and to a lesser extent, AGI in September... haha...
To sum up the year... being a senior was different indeed... This time you were sort of caught up in the politics of St. John? You must be sensitive when scolding this cadet or counseling that person. You cannot scold this squad or you'll be insulting that squad. To be held back like that can be quite frustrating sometimes... Like being prevented from executing your best attack in fencing...
I got to interact with seniors whom I didn't think I would ever just a year back... I got to know some of my squadmates better too... Sometimes in the sea of cadets, NCOs and seniors, the only people whom you can vent things to are your squadmates... Especially after 4 years, going back to St. John and talking nonsense with Sihui, Jiayan, Wei lun, Wei Quan, Xuanming etc or working with them if need be, is quite fun... haha... although its a long time since I got to play soccer with them, given all the rushing off to fencing after SJ.
Recall the flying plastic stars with Wei Lun
Or the magnetic penguins with him and sihui
Dangling from the structure during campfire (and tangling with the wires too)
Trying to blow out candles during farewell
Trying to sling Wei Quan into the pond (and him, me) after farewell =D
Scouts training with Soo Yee
I somehow don't care as much what happens to the division now, cos as various cadets have enlightened me, us, to the fact that "things are different" nowadays... which is funny considering we're all still made of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen and many other atoms. But what I do care about is that the next batches learn from the mistakes, some fatal (to the division, not to a casualty), that my squad has made during our term.
So yup... from the St. John point of view, its been a whole new experience yea... I have one year left to be active as a student, and as a qualified first aider (my certification expires on the 30th of August).. hopefully it'll be fruitful too..
By the way... I'm feeling really old now... just finished my NS registration... sighhhhhhh....
Let's start with St. John then...
St. John was the thing that occupied my mind the most on the 3rd of January. Whether it was queuing up to register, eating lunch, or walking to catch 13 with Xuan Ming, the images and emotions of St. John seared into memory were what was predominant.
It was a relief to be able to return to AHS for orientation on friday, despite having been soaked in seawater earlier that day... not to say that friends made during orientation were bad... but well.... 4 years of friendship held dearer than 5 days at that time.
It was the average life for a senior non-comm... coming back for CCA on fridays... observing cadets and NCOs, and thank God the times when I had to step in weren't many... I think for the first time in a long while, our batch embodied the "observing passive" role of a SNCO as opposed to the "intervening active" SNCOs of my time.
The significant event of the year does not stand out in my memory, but it was a different step to take... Promotion to sergeant with Jiayan and Sihui on 20th August was something which I thought wouldn't happen... after all, rare is the NCO that gets promoted above corporal (for the Anglican Corps anyway, we thought life ended as corporal). Not that rank worried us or anything (not while an Anglican private could perform better footdrill than other schools) but it was a novel step.
Of course, much more exciting was the incident on the road after the promotion, and to a lesser extent, AGI in September... haha...
To sum up the year... being a senior was different indeed... This time you were sort of caught up in the politics of St. John? You must be sensitive when scolding this cadet or counseling that person. You cannot scold this squad or you'll be insulting that squad. To be held back like that can be quite frustrating sometimes... Like being prevented from executing your best attack in fencing...
I got to interact with seniors whom I didn't think I would ever just a year back... I got to know some of my squadmates better too... Sometimes in the sea of cadets, NCOs and seniors, the only people whom you can vent things to are your squadmates... Especially after 4 years, going back to St. John and talking nonsense with Sihui, Jiayan, Wei lun, Wei Quan, Xuanming etc or working with them if need be, is quite fun... haha... although its a long time since I got to play soccer with them, given all the rushing off to fencing after SJ.
Recall the flying plastic stars with Wei Lun
Or the magnetic penguins with him and sihui
Dangling from the structure during campfire (and tangling with the wires too)
Trying to blow out candles during farewell
Trying to sling Wei Quan into the pond (and him, me) after farewell =D
Scouts training with Soo Yee
I somehow don't care as much what happens to the division now, cos as various cadets have enlightened me, us, to the fact that "things are different" nowadays... which is funny considering we're all still made of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen and many other atoms. But what I do care about is that the next batches learn from the mistakes, some fatal (to the division, not to a casualty), that my squad has made during our term.
So yup... from the St. John point of view, its been a whole new experience yea... I have one year left to be active as a student, and as a qualified first aider (my certification expires on the 30th of August).. hopefully it'll be fruitful too..
By the way... I'm feeling really old now... just finished my NS registration... sighhhhhhh....
~JcZw~ at 12:16 am
Sunday, December 25, 2005
Christmas again. This weekend has been spent quite fruitfully, relative to others actually... church activities on both saturday and sunday.
Youth group on saturday consisted of us splitting into a few groups, buying little gifts, wrapping them then going to give them to people on the streets. My group had me, Chee Keen, Shirley, Felicia and her friend, and Eng Keat... Bought pockeys n sweets from Funan then went Citylink.
There's something about my face or my clothes which the public didn't like. While my group mates all gave out their presents on their first attempts, I took 8 attempts before my gift was accepted!!! Gave to this really cute little girl with big scary eyes (not unlike soo yee's cousin). Yup... relief relief.
The message shared by Auntie Hwee Kiaw could be summed up in a song we used to sing in our old church. The theme: Giving.
The Father gave the Son
God sent Jesus to us 2000++ years ago
The Son gave the Spirit
When Jesus died and rose, he left us the Holy Spirit with us
The Spirit gives us life
Similarly the Holy Spirit is what enables us to live a Christian life (since its not possible to do it on our own, given that we are human). This is done through the power, presence and passion given by the Sprit.
So we can give this gift of love
Our own task is to spread this love to other people, and more importantly, to love God with everything we have... Giving him Place in our life, Priority and to Praise him with our all.
And the gift goes on
And the gift goes on
And the gift goes on
And the gift goes on and on and on
Auntie Hwee Kiaw then concluded with the statement "When this happens, giving to others will become natural!"
Don't you love to get a present
Wrapped up in a Christmas bow
God gave each of us a present
On that night so long ago
It's a Gift that keeps on giving
If our spirits can receive
It's the secret joy of living
If our hearts can just believe
Behind all the commercial business of Christmas, there really is a deeper meaning to that... When the TV people interviewed passers-by on the street, not many, if any at all, mentioned God. As Dr Khoo, my pastor, said, although its all well and good to exchange presents, to get together with the family, at the end of the day, Christmas is for God.
And the gift goes on (and the Father gave the Son)
And the gift goes on (the Son gave the Spirit)
And the gift goes on (the Spirit gives us life)
And the gift goes on and on and on / so we can give this gift of love
When your life is full of Christmas
Then your life is full of love
You can give away the present
That began with God above
Just like ripples in the water
The circles of our love extend
What was started with the Father
Is a Gift that has no end
Can I add on that, that is only applicable for when your life is full of the true meaning of Christmas. And so giving sincerely, and only sincerely, will also be a form of love.
And the gift goes on (and the Father gave the Son)
And the gift goes on (the Son gave the Spirit)
And the gift goes on (the Spirit gives us life)
And the gift goes on and on and on / so we can give this gift of love
-The Gift Goes On
Nice simple song... Actually I was intending to put it on my blog, but couldn't find a nice midi for it...
Yup, that kinda sums up the Christmas services... After service had lunch in church... talked a lot to other people etcetc... learned just a little bit more about goalkeeping =Pp Talking to Larry makes me feel like a really inadaequate goalkeeper... But then again, he was in a professional school team and I'm purely PURELY recreational =D Fencing and soccer are feng ma niu bu xiang ji =DD
Okay... one more thing... for all the times I've referred to on my blog about "my" DSTA jacket, its actually my sister's which she earned with her blood tears and sweat during her attachment when she was in VJ... yup... so its actually "hers-which-was-borrowed-by-me" DSTA jacket. Anyway I'm not using it anymore cos I've got a really thick furry one now... haha... So, just for clarification yeah..
Merry Christmas then!
Youth group on saturday consisted of us splitting into a few groups, buying little gifts, wrapping them then going to give them to people on the streets. My group had me, Chee Keen, Shirley, Felicia and her friend, and Eng Keat... Bought pockeys n sweets from Funan then went Citylink.
There's something about my face or my clothes which the public didn't like. While my group mates all gave out their presents on their first attempts, I took 8 attempts before my gift was accepted!!! Gave to this really cute little girl with big scary eyes (not unlike soo yee's cousin). Yup... relief relief.
The message shared by Auntie Hwee Kiaw could be summed up in a song we used to sing in our old church. The theme: Giving.
The Father gave the Son
God sent Jesus to us 2000++ years ago
The Son gave the Spirit
When Jesus died and rose, he left us the Holy Spirit with us
The Spirit gives us life
Similarly the Holy Spirit is what enables us to live a Christian life (since its not possible to do it on our own, given that we are human). This is done through the power, presence and passion given by the Sprit.
So we can give this gift of love
Our own task is to spread this love to other people, and more importantly, to love God with everything we have... Giving him Place in our life, Priority and to Praise him with our all.
And the gift goes on
And the gift goes on
And the gift goes on
And the gift goes on and on and on
Auntie Hwee Kiaw then concluded with the statement "When this happens, giving to others will become natural!"
Don't you love to get a present
Wrapped up in a Christmas bow
God gave each of us a present
On that night so long ago
It's a Gift that keeps on giving
If our spirits can receive
It's the secret joy of living
If our hearts can just believe
Behind all the commercial business of Christmas, there really is a deeper meaning to that... When the TV people interviewed passers-by on the street, not many, if any at all, mentioned God. As Dr Khoo, my pastor, said, although its all well and good to exchange presents, to get together with the family, at the end of the day, Christmas is for God.
And the gift goes on (and the Father gave the Son)
And the gift goes on (the Son gave the Spirit)
And the gift goes on (the Spirit gives us life)
And the gift goes on and on and on / so we can give this gift of love
When your life is full of Christmas
Then your life is full of love
You can give away the present
That began with God above
Just like ripples in the water
The circles of our love extend
What was started with the Father
Is a Gift that has no end
Can I add on that, that is only applicable for when your life is full of the true meaning of Christmas. And so giving sincerely, and only sincerely, will also be a form of love.
And the gift goes on (and the Father gave the Son)
And the gift goes on (the Son gave the Spirit)
And the gift goes on (the Spirit gives us life)
And the gift goes on and on and on / so we can give this gift of love
-The Gift Goes On
Nice simple song... Actually I was intending to put it on my blog, but couldn't find a nice midi for it...
Yup, that kinda sums up the Christmas services... After service had lunch in church... talked a lot to other people etcetc... learned just a little bit more about goalkeeping =Pp Talking to Larry makes me feel like a really inadaequate goalkeeper... But then again, he was in a professional school team and I'm purely PURELY recreational =D Fencing and soccer are feng ma niu bu xiang ji =DD
Okay... one more thing... for all the times I've referred to on my blog about "my" DSTA jacket, its actually my sister's which she earned with her blood tears and sweat during her attachment when she was in VJ... yup... so its actually "hers-which-was-borrowed-by-me" DSTA jacket. Anyway I'm not using it anymore cos I've got a really thick furry one now... haha... So, just for clarification yeah..
Merry Christmas then!
~JcZw~ at 4:43 pm
Friday, December 23, 2005
Alright! I'm back! I made it safely... haha....
Well, despite all my worrying, the trip was qutie pleasant... ate a lot (of sweets especially), slept a lot, acted generally unhealthy... and the odd exciting thing happened too... heh...
Won't bother my readers with blow by blow accounts.. but heres some of them... with the odd picture =)
Day 1 (Saturday):
Aiport. Flight. Bumpy. As described in the above post... Turbulence during the flight but my stomach stayed in place...
We went to the wholesale market with my sister's friend's family to buy a lot of cheap fruits... Apples, peaches and avocados... There was also a really cool chalk drawing of a mushroom, advertising the presence of the said fruit.
<
To the port town of Fremantle in the afternoon, where we sniffed around the market place there too... The sweet shop was sevent heaven for those with sweet teeth! All sorts of unhealthy things... uncluding liquorice allsorts and spearmint leaves. Also second hand books etc
The port itself... My brother and I took a picture on the seawall by the side of the port.
Day 2 (Sunday):
Church with our host family... The population was predominantly chinese... They expressed their admiration at the speaker's comments with the word "Wah". Definitely chinese... haha...
The church in question.
Next was the long drive down to Dunsborough, stopping at the occasional beach to take a looksee, before winding up at The Geographbayview Resort, where we had a little villa to our own. Had a full dinner at the cafe there... heh...
Bunbury beach, on the way down to the villa.
Day 3 (Monday):
The day of the beaches.
To Cape Naturaliste, one of the headlands in South-West Australia. The summer flies plagued us incessantly, prompting desperate measures.
From left to right: Fly Protection Level One, Level Two and Level Three
We proceeded to the whale lookout, where we didn't see whales =Pp Wrong season, the locals said. Incidentally, it was while we were here that my brother took it upon himself to drop a metal tumbler of water on my foot. Heh. Even if I don't look for trouble it finds me =Pp
Next were the clear waters of Meelup
And the surfer-friendly breakers of Yalingup. Everything was just so and beautiful! There wasn't even much pollution or anything..
The sun sparkling off the water at Yalingup was a magnificient site... Like something out of "Voyage of the Dawntreader". The mint ice cream was nice too =)
Day 4 (Tuesday):
Margeret River is South of Perth and produces many a very palatable eatable.
Visiting the chocolate factory... It had the best brownie I had ever eaten! Also saw these giant softball bats... Which turned out to be bottles of chocolate sauce. Bought a lot more unhealthy products.. heh
Visited the headlands at Prevally. It was cold and windy at the top of the cliffs, but then again, near the coast it always is...
My father proceeded to lock the car keys in the car accidentally together with our food and water.... It resisted our efforts to pop open, or the lock to be picked.. In the end a gentleman from the RAC (as mentioned previously) came and helped us open it with something that looked like a sphygnomanometer and a long hook =) Thanks also to the Swiss couple who talked to us and gave us some chips to eat while passing away the time.
Sunset over the beach at our resort... Such ethereal beauty... I'm impressed by my phone... Picking up the individual suns rays like that...
Day 5 (Wednesday):
No pictures I'm afraid. We took a long drive back into Perth, picking up a bay tree on the way from a nursery run by a former Singaporean... It'll take me too long to elaborate on how relaxing the life in Australia is! Went back to Fremantle to eat fish and chips, then it was back to our friend's home.
Day 6 (Thursday):
Into the city centre of Perth itself! Bought a soccer ball (since ours have all burst already)
Hay Street, the centre of the shopping in Perth.
King's Park, and the memorials to the soldiers of Western Australia who died in the World Wars. The thing on the right is a torch in the centre of a pool of water.. Beautiful design. Although I feel Kranji is nicer... but still, its an awe-inspiring place...
Day 7 (Today):
The sun was very bright at 5.40 in the morning as shown above, thanks to the Australian summer... Also, it was the summer solstice, with the longest hours of daylight (according to the core geo TB anyway)...
The flight back was uneventful.. But the descent was scary... With heavy cloud cover over Singapore, the plane was shuddering as it descended, and was rising and falling with the air pressure. Giving the impression of riding a sine wave. With every jerk, I peered out of the window to check that the wings were still there... Saw AHS on the way down too...
Taxi back to Lorong Melayu, then immediately rushed off the AHS for St. John... haha... whoo
So ended our trip! I really appreciate my parents for planning the trip for us =) And don't worry, I did bring back some edibles haha....
Well, despite all my worrying, the trip was qutie pleasant... ate a lot (of sweets especially), slept a lot, acted generally unhealthy... and the odd exciting thing happened too... heh...
Won't bother my readers with blow by blow accounts.. but heres some of them... with the odd picture =)
Day 1 (Saturday):
Aiport. Flight. Bumpy. As described in the above post... Turbulence during the flight but my stomach stayed in place...
We went to the wholesale market with my sister's friend's family to buy a lot of cheap fruits... Apples, peaches and avocados... There was also a really cool chalk drawing of a mushroom, advertising the presence of the said fruit.
<To the port town of Fremantle in the afternoon, where we sniffed around the market place there too... The sweet shop was sevent heaven for those with sweet teeth! All sorts of unhealthy things... uncluding liquorice allsorts and spearmint leaves. Also second hand books etc
The port itself... My brother and I took a picture on the seawall by the side of the port.
Day 2 (Sunday):
Church with our host family... The population was predominantly chinese... They expressed their admiration at the speaker's comments with the word "Wah". Definitely chinese... haha...
The church in question.
Next was the long drive down to Dunsborough, stopping at the occasional beach to take a looksee, before winding up at The Geographbayview Resort, where we had a little villa to our own. Had a full dinner at the cafe there... heh...
Bunbury beach, on the way down to the villa.
Day 3 (Monday):
The day of the beaches.
To Cape Naturaliste, one of the headlands in South-West Australia. The summer flies plagued us incessantly, prompting desperate measures.
From left to right: Fly Protection Level One, Level Two and Level Three
We proceeded to the whale lookout, where we didn't see whales =Pp Wrong season, the locals said. Incidentally, it was while we were here that my brother took it upon himself to drop a metal tumbler of water on my foot. Heh. Even if I don't look for trouble it finds me =Pp
Next were the clear waters of Meelup
And the surfer-friendly breakers of Yalingup. Everything was just so and beautiful! There wasn't even much pollution or anything..
The sun sparkling off the water at Yalingup was a magnificient site... Like something out of "Voyage of the Dawntreader". The mint ice cream was nice too =)
Day 4 (Tuesday):
Margeret River is South of Perth and produces many a very palatable eatable.
Visiting the chocolate factory... It had the best brownie I had ever eaten! Also saw these giant softball bats... Which turned out to be bottles of chocolate sauce. Bought a lot more unhealthy products.. heh
Visited the headlands at Prevally. It was cold and windy at the top of the cliffs, but then again, near the coast it always is...
My father proceeded to lock the car keys in the car accidentally together with our food and water.... It resisted our efforts to pop open, or the lock to be picked.. In the end a gentleman from the RAC (as mentioned previously) came and helped us open it with something that looked like a sphygnomanometer and a long hook =) Thanks also to the Swiss couple who talked to us and gave us some chips to eat while passing away the time.
Sunset over the beach at our resort... Such ethereal beauty... I'm impressed by my phone... Picking up the individual suns rays like that...
Day 5 (Wednesday):
No pictures I'm afraid. We took a long drive back into Perth, picking up a bay tree on the way from a nursery run by a former Singaporean... It'll take me too long to elaborate on how relaxing the life in Australia is! Went back to Fremantle to eat fish and chips, then it was back to our friend's home.
Day 6 (Thursday):
Into the city centre of Perth itself! Bought a soccer ball (since ours have all burst already)
Hay Street, the centre of the shopping in Perth.
King's Park, and the memorials to the soldiers of Western Australia who died in the World Wars. The thing on the right is a torch in the centre of a pool of water.. Beautiful design. Although I feel Kranji is nicer... but still, its an awe-inspiring place...
Day 7 (Today):
The sun was very bright at 5.40 in the morning as shown above, thanks to the Australian summer... Also, it was the summer solstice, with the longest hours of daylight (according to the core geo TB anyway)...
The flight back was uneventful.. But the descent was scary... With heavy cloud cover over Singapore, the plane was shuddering as it descended, and was rising and falling with the air pressure. Giving the impression of riding a sine wave. With every jerk, I peered out of the window to check that the wings were still there... Saw AHS on the way down too...
Taxi back to Lorong Melayu, then immediately rushed off the AHS for St. John... haha... whoo
So ended our trip! I really appreciate my parents for planning the trip for us =) And don't worry, I did bring back some edibles haha....
~JcZw~ at 10:50 pm
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
This is interesting. Such is Internet Technology that I can update my blog while in Australia... heh... I'm in my sister's friend's house (who migrated to Perth). The family has just gone to Singapore for THEIR holiday so we're kinda trading houses for a while... heh...
This will be a quick one cos my brother wants to use the computer too... but well..
So far everything has gone well... The plane journey was smooth, albeit with quite a lot of turbulence... No assaults by any giant snakes, sharks, funnel webs, tarantulas, redbacks or any other archnid =)
The scenery in the country's really beautiful.. They should organise geog field trips here... its really like what you see in your textbooks. Oh yesterday there was a little drama when my father locked us out of the car accidentally, on one of the lookout spots along the coast. hehehh.. Waited 45 minutes till this guy from the Royal Automobile Club came to prise the door open.
Oh well... I have loads of pics which I shall upload when I get home at maybe 1++ pm on friday.. Also have a lot of edibles... Who's "annoymous" on the tagboard? Anyway... the region of Perth I'm visiting (The Margeret River) produces mainly edibles, and not many souvenirs... so I won't be able to bring back a lot of long lasting stuff =/
Really miss being back in Singapore somehow though... Especially talking to friends (online and off) and going fencing... Every night in bed I'm lying there thinking about SJ, the parry octave manouver and classmates and the feeling of missing others is like a physical thing that keeps your awake... ah well... haha...
Shall push off now then... Goodnight all!
This will be a quick one cos my brother wants to use the computer too... but well..
So far everything has gone well... The plane journey was smooth, albeit with quite a lot of turbulence... No assaults by any giant snakes, sharks, funnel webs, tarantulas, redbacks or any other archnid =)
The scenery in the country's really beautiful.. They should organise geog field trips here... its really like what you see in your textbooks. Oh yesterday there was a little drama when my father locked us out of the car accidentally, on one of the lookout spots along the coast. hehehh.. Waited 45 minutes till this guy from the Royal Automobile Club came to prise the door open.
Oh well... I have loads of pics which I shall upload when I get home at maybe 1++ pm on friday.. Also have a lot of edibles... Who's "annoymous" on the tagboard? Anyway... the region of Perth I'm visiting (The Margeret River) produces mainly edibles, and not many souvenirs... so I won't be able to bring back a lot of long lasting stuff =/
Really miss being back in Singapore somehow though... Especially talking to friends (online and off) and going fencing... Every night in bed I'm lying there thinking about SJ, the parry octave manouver and classmates and the feeling of missing others is like a physical thing that keeps your awake... ah well... haha...
Shall push off now then... Goodnight all!
~JcZw~ at 11:48 pm
Thursday, December 15, 2005
Wow. I just updated 2 blogs in a row. Well, not exactly, cos in between I went to dig out all my cold weather stuff. Its supposed to be summer in Perth, but should still find my mount-k attire... in case... heh...
I was watching Star Wars III with my brother yesterday (really had nothing to do man... first time I watched so much TV).
Obi Wan COULD have spared us the spectacular lightsabre duel at the end if he had just stuck out his ARM and let Anakin somersault into it...
My brother had watched the DVD through a few times already before I had (this was my first time) and so was predicting all the lines before they came out. Much to my consternation.
(Scene: Padme is about to die after giving birth)
My brother: "There is good in him". Wait. "There is STILL good in him"
Padme (on TV): There is good in him
Me: HAH! You got it wrong!
My brother: No i didn't! I already got it before
Me: Doesn't count! Your final attack missed!
Here all the fencing terms came in
My brother: If my first attack hit, then the second one is unecessary! (Epee term: Gunfighter Theory)
Me: If you attack, break attack, renew attack, it doesn't count! (Foil term: Attaque, null, contrattque, remise, touche)
Distinctly, my brother and I are epeeist and foilist respectively. Heh. And possibly of all the readers, only Maurice would understand the above dialogue.
I reckon instead of Obi Wan going for Anakin and Yoda going for the Emperor, they should have BOTH gone for the Emperor first or something. Thats the principle the Royal Air Force used in the Western Desert, which ultimately led to the destruction of the Germsn Luftwaffe, by using their airforce as a "Single bolt of lightning" instead of spacing them out piecemeal like the Germans. Oh well.
On the other hand, as my brother says, "Then you won't have another 3 shows at the back".
___________________________________________________________________
I'm done fencing for the next week or so... so tired... But today Maurice and I sawed, filed and pounded my new grip to fit my hand nicely... When I come back next week I can refit it for an English V-blade already! Yayness! N compared to every other blade I've used, the V-blade is supposed to be stronger and yet lighter... offers more vibration, but as a foilist, I should find it ok... haha... good for flicking too! =)
Yup... that should be that for now then... Hey fencers... all the best for the FM Open tournament on sunday!
If all else fails, we just show our Victorian Spirit
- Daniel Tan, 05S46, U-17 bronze medallist, 12th July 2005
I was watching Star Wars III with my brother yesterday (really had nothing to do man... first time I watched so much TV).
Obi Wan COULD have spared us the spectacular lightsabre duel at the end if he had just stuck out his ARM and let Anakin somersault into it...
My brother had watched the DVD through a few times already before I had (this was my first time) and so was predicting all the lines before they came out. Much to my consternation.
(Scene: Padme is about to die after giving birth)
My brother: "There is good in him". Wait. "There is STILL good in him"
Padme (on TV): There is good in him
Me: HAH! You got it wrong!
My brother: No i didn't! I already got it before
Me: Doesn't count! Your final attack missed!
Here all the fencing terms came in
My brother: If my first attack hit, then the second one is unecessary! (Epee term: Gunfighter Theory)
Me: If you attack, break attack, renew attack, it doesn't count! (Foil term: Attaque, null, contrattque, remise, touche)
Distinctly, my brother and I are epeeist and foilist respectively. Heh. And possibly of all the readers, only Maurice would understand the above dialogue.
I reckon instead of Obi Wan going for Anakin and Yoda going for the Emperor, they should have BOTH gone for the Emperor first or something. Thats the principle the Royal Air Force used in the Western Desert, which ultimately led to the destruction of the Germsn Luftwaffe, by using their airforce as a "Single bolt of lightning" instead of spacing them out piecemeal like the Germans. Oh well.
On the other hand, as my brother says, "Then you won't have another 3 shows at the back".
___________________________________________________________________
I'm done fencing for the next week or so... so tired... But today Maurice and I sawed, filed and pounded my new grip to fit my hand nicely... When I come back next week I can refit it for an English V-blade already! Yayness! N compared to every other blade I've used, the V-blade is supposed to be stronger and yet lighter... offers more vibration, but as a foilist, I should find it ok... haha... good for flicking too! =)
Yup... that should be that for now then... Hey fencers... all the best for the FM Open tournament on sunday!
If all else fails, we just show our Victorian Spirit
- Daniel Tan, 05S46, U-17 bronze medallist, 12th July 2005
~JcZw~ at 10:10 pm
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
14th December. Exactly one year ago at this time we were travelling on a long, lonely and lightless road on a bus heading up to Mount Kinabalu base camp.
Just like I treasure and respect my classmates in one way, and do the same for my St. John squad in another, so I did for the other Mount K-ers in a third way. Friends that travel overseas with you, toil up a 1095m mountain with you (perpendicular to sea level. The trail was considerably longer) are unique indeed. Let me commemerate today by relating a few of the most memorable points of the trip.
1. The bus journey as mentioned above. I really appreciate the fact that Singapore has street lamps by now. When we came out of the bus, everyone's breath was sparkling in the night and the badminton girls who were all wearing shorts were freezing. Those of us few who had braved the hot weather in Singapore and wore long pants were better of indeed =)
2. The climb to the peak at 1 am in the morning. I never thought I could walk so far also. Watching the stars was fantastic. Dangling on a sheer slope in the darkness (where you can't see the bottom of the drop) was bad enough. Being burdened by a first aid kit was an added challenge. It got interesting when my first aid kit got tangled with my rope. Heh.
3. Decending the plateau at 9 am. The mist was steadily closing in, wetting the rocks, and when I turned around to check that everyone was still alive I slipped and fell and slid 5 m down the side of the mountain. Kinda stupid... heh...
Ah well... How do you say... we learnt a lot about cooperation, helping each other and so on... One of the kindest gestures shown during the trip was halfway up the peak in the gloom of the rest hut at 2 am in the morning. I had lost my water bottle (by leaving it with wei quan) and had climbed for almost an hour without water. Amanda and Natalia (the girls from the sports groups) insisted that I drank some of their's before continuing the ascend. As it was I was dehydrated by the time I reached the top. Think those few mouthfuls of water made a lot of diff yeah =)
So by the time the trip ended (the last official activity I had in AHS) we all had new-found friendships and respect for each other.
Haiyar... I kinda miss it.. and this is adding to my general melancholy mood.
I'm feeling very burnt out over fencing... Like I just don't want to drag myself to FM anymore, although I keep thinking about it. Breaking my blue BF blade was the coup de grace... Now I don't dare to fleche or to go all out to fence at all. Lost 15-1 to Jaimes, a Year 2 CJ whom usually I can beat routinely.
I think Coach isn't happy with me or anything. Thoroughly fouled up foil training yesterday. Keep doing double and triple parries. Maurice reckons that I should jsut focus on one weapon then my foil and epee styles won't keep interfering with each other... But I'm only doing it just o increase VJ's chances in the tournament! Look at RJ, they have 6 categories to have chances in. VJ only has 2 categories. I'm simply trying to provide them, provide US, with a third category.
Also I've don't feel good about the trip. I've got sort of a bad feeling... Like something's gonna happen... I duno.... People have told me don't worry don't worry... but I can't shake of this feeling. I wasn't happy about the trip to begin with... I mean usually the thought of an overseas trip will make me super hyper for at least 1 week before hand and I'll be counting down to the departure time. But this time I just feel... nothing.
But my parents want the trip... So I guess I'll just go along with it and pray that nothing happens. I dunno lar. No doubt, the high probability is that I'll come back and be able to tell you that I had a fun time, but I can't see it now. Think my mood is just lousy or something.
Haiyo. Ok enough for one night then... We'll see... Hopefully after a rest tonight and a break for the next week I'll be restored to full power...
Just like I treasure and respect my classmates in one way, and do the same for my St. John squad in another, so I did for the other Mount K-ers in a third way. Friends that travel overseas with you, toil up a 1095m mountain with you (perpendicular to sea level. The trail was considerably longer) are unique indeed. Let me commemerate today by relating a few of the most memorable points of the trip.
1. The bus journey as mentioned above. I really appreciate the fact that Singapore has street lamps by now. When we came out of the bus, everyone's breath was sparkling in the night and the badminton girls who were all wearing shorts were freezing. Those of us few who had braved the hot weather in Singapore and wore long pants were better of indeed =)
2. The climb to the peak at 1 am in the morning. I never thought I could walk so far also. Watching the stars was fantastic. Dangling on a sheer slope in the darkness (where you can't see the bottom of the drop) was bad enough. Being burdened by a first aid kit was an added challenge. It got interesting when my first aid kit got tangled with my rope. Heh.
3. Decending the plateau at 9 am. The mist was steadily closing in, wetting the rocks, and when I turned around to check that everyone was still alive I slipped and fell and slid 5 m down the side of the mountain. Kinda stupid... heh...
Ah well... How do you say... we learnt a lot about cooperation, helping each other and so on... One of the kindest gestures shown during the trip was halfway up the peak in the gloom of the rest hut at 2 am in the morning. I had lost my water bottle (by leaving it with wei quan) and had climbed for almost an hour without water. Amanda and Natalia (the girls from the sports groups) insisted that I drank some of their's before continuing the ascend. As it was I was dehydrated by the time I reached the top. Think those few mouthfuls of water made a lot of diff yeah =)
So by the time the trip ended (the last official activity I had in AHS) we all had new-found friendships and respect for each other.
Haiyar... I kinda miss it.. and this is adding to my general melancholy mood.
I'm feeling very burnt out over fencing... Like I just don't want to drag myself to FM anymore, although I keep thinking about it. Breaking my blue BF blade was the coup de grace... Now I don't dare to fleche or to go all out to fence at all. Lost 15-1 to Jaimes, a Year 2 CJ whom usually I can beat routinely.
I think Coach isn't happy with me or anything. Thoroughly fouled up foil training yesterday. Keep doing double and triple parries. Maurice reckons that I should jsut focus on one weapon then my foil and epee styles won't keep interfering with each other... But I'm only doing it just o increase VJ's chances in the tournament! Look at RJ, they have 6 categories to have chances in. VJ only has 2 categories. I'm simply trying to provide them, provide US, with a third category.
Also I've don't feel good about the trip. I've got sort of a bad feeling... Like something's gonna happen... I duno.... People have told me don't worry don't worry... but I can't shake of this feeling. I wasn't happy about the trip to begin with... I mean usually the thought of an overseas trip will make me super hyper for at least 1 week before hand and I'll be counting down to the departure time. But this time I just feel... nothing.
But my parents want the trip... So I guess I'll just go along with it and pray that nothing happens. I dunno lar. No doubt, the high probability is that I'll come back and be able to tell you that I had a fun time, but I can't see it now. Think my mood is just lousy or something.
Haiyo. Ok enough for one night then... We'll see... Hopefully after a rest tonight and a break for the next week I'll be restored to full power...
~JcZw~ at 11:40 pm
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
There are some things that cannot be expressed in words. The friendship and the experiences, the feelings and emotions that I've felt since walking into V44, which only seems like yesterday, is one of them. If ever I loved a class, it would be this one. Thinking about these things is to laugh and grin because of the fond memories, but to also sigh that they may happen only once... Thank you, S15 =)
I'm going to Perth this saturday... heh... I hope it'll be fun too... Oh yar, my aunt got me an early christmas present... A new jacket to replace my DSTA one which I've worn for many a lecture in LT5, and which was getting quite small... Its a treat to have a jacket that can reach below my wrists... heh... its furry, so its warmer, but not waterproof... and like the DSTA jacket, it lacks a hood, so my ears will still be cold... But I like it anyway... heh... Nice inobtrusive colour =).
Was talking to a number of people online in the afternoon... SJers, classmates and fencers... By the end of it... I was
1) beginning another 3 hour download of our class video from Alon... The last time I tried, it loaded for 2.5 hours before the connection broke. Both of us were so aghast... This time it finished in 3 hours 3 min though... haha...
2) guilted into beginning some of my chem homeowork... I can't remember so many reactions... And I had as much luck kickstarting my brain into Aromatic Hyrdrocarbons mode, as I do kicking my cat out of my house.... For those that haven't been told the stories of my cat, it simply means that it didn't work. Anyway.. completed the mind-map and a little bit of the structured questions...
3) feeling under pressure for novices. Especially for the foil event. Oh well.
Oh yes... Back to the class video... As Stella said, it brought back many memories. The orientation... The JAE... what a sensory rush.. haha... I can still remember many of the first things I said to my classmates... Most were on the lines of "Whats your name".
The exception, of course, is Gerald Phoon. The first thing I said to him ever was "Good afternoon judges and members of the Proposition" during the inter-class debate... heh.
And there were also particularly unglam first lines like
"Oh YOU are Nelson! I knew a Nelson existed but I didn't know who"
and simple ones like "Uh, Hello" (to ChuaH, on the stands of the stadium during the first House Meeting)
Looking at the first ever class photo we took I remember what it felt like when I (and nelson) stepped into the class for the first time, feeling the cool blast of the aircon, and beholding a riot of colours from the girls, who were clad from white to grey, blue to green, while virtually all the guys were wearing white of some sort. ("Why don't you guys trade uniforms?" "Cos we're all white and no one wants the AHS buttons anyway").
I remember the intense trepidation as Mr Wong went down the class list and I listened to names like "Derek" and "Dorinda" and "Xun-Ai" and having this unreal feeling of "so this is who I'm going to be with for the next 2 years". Of course, trepidation turned to relaxation for a short while when I discovered I shared the class with another Jonathan.. heh...
There was this sense of having a completely new start. The slate had been completely wiped clean and it was time to make new friends, to begin a new stage of one's life. Everything looked fresh and clear-cut. Life looked simple. I don't know how to express this feeling. And I remember I said this many times when I was blogging during that period too... For the first time, I truly loved coming to school.
Then the three months of pure fun.
Then the JAE. How many days of jubilation, sadness, trauma, reassurance. From the dinner at Marche to the start of O2.
Then we slowly shook down to the new routine as we fought to keep up with a fast paced education. JCTs, then Promos. It was all super fast.
We had our fun... we had our relaxation, our scandals (thanks to the 6230 people, among others... I myself was particularly excited at the prospect of having a camera phone... heh). Our outings, chalet, BBQ. STJ, JTS. Sports day, friendship day
We also had our work, our conflicts and incidents which I'd much rather forget. Stress, problems. We had Project Work. Complaints, grumbles.
But we had friends which we could survive all this with. The same that were shown in the video. And, everything else equal, I think that's what makes JC fun for some and not so much for others.
I've had my doubts and I've had periods of withdrawal, but given a clear space to think, I'm pretty sure that, at least in terms of classes, S15 is as good as it could ever get.
Haha... i should be wrapping up now... its way past 1... And I realised I haven't typed such a long entry for so long... since the first 3 months or so... heh..
Good night all!
I'm going to Perth this saturday... heh... I hope it'll be fun too... Oh yar, my aunt got me an early christmas present... A new jacket to replace my DSTA one which I've worn for many a lecture in LT5, and which was getting quite small... Its a treat to have a jacket that can reach below my wrists... heh... its furry, so its warmer, but not waterproof... and like the DSTA jacket, it lacks a hood, so my ears will still be cold... But I like it anyway... heh... Nice inobtrusive colour =).
Was talking to a number of people online in the afternoon... SJers, classmates and fencers... By the end of it... I was
1) beginning another 3 hour download of our class video from Alon... The last time I tried, it loaded for 2.5 hours before the connection broke. Both of us were so aghast... This time it finished in 3 hours 3 min though... haha...
2) guilted into beginning some of my chem homeowork... I can't remember so many reactions... And I had as much luck kickstarting my brain into Aromatic Hyrdrocarbons mode, as I do kicking my cat out of my house.... For those that haven't been told the stories of my cat, it simply means that it didn't work. Anyway.. completed the mind-map and a little bit of the structured questions...
3) feeling under pressure for novices. Especially for the foil event. Oh well.
Oh yes... Back to the class video... As Stella said, it brought back many memories. The orientation... The JAE... what a sensory rush.. haha... I can still remember many of the first things I said to my classmates... Most were on the lines of "Whats your name".
The exception, of course, is Gerald Phoon. The first thing I said to him ever was "Good afternoon judges and members of the Proposition" during the inter-class debate... heh.
And there were also particularly unglam first lines like
"Oh YOU are Nelson! I knew a Nelson existed but I didn't know who"
and simple ones like "Uh, Hello" (to ChuaH, on the stands of the stadium during the first House Meeting)
Looking at the first ever class photo we took I remember what it felt like when I (and nelson) stepped into the class for the first time, feeling the cool blast of the aircon, and beholding a riot of colours from the girls, who were clad from white to grey, blue to green, while virtually all the guys were wearing white of some sort. ("Why don't you guys trade uniforms?" "Cos we're all white and no one wants the AHS buttons anyway").
I remember the intense trepidation as Mr Wong went down the class list and I listened to names like "Derek" and "Dorinda" and "Xun-Ai" and having this unreal feeling of "so this is who I'm going to be with for the next 2 years". Of course, trepidation turned to relaxation for a short while when I discovered I shared the class with another Jonathan.. heh...
There was this sense of having a completely new start. The slate had been completely wiped clean and it was time to make new friends, to begin a new stage of one's life. Everything looked fresh and clear-cut. Life looked simple. I don't know how to express this feeling. And I remember I said this many times when I was blogging during that period too... For the first time, I truly loved coming to school.
Then the three months of pure fun.
Then the JAE. How many days of jubilation, sadness, trauma, reassurance. From the dinner at Marche to the start of O2.
Then we slowly shook down to the new routine as we fought to keep up with a fast paced education. JCTs, then Promos. It was all super fast.
We had our fun... we had our relaxation, our scandals (thanks to the 6230 people, among others... I myself was particularly excited at the prospect of having a camera phone... heh). Our outings, chalet, BBQ. STJ, JTS. Sports day, friendship day
We also had our work, our conflicts and incidents which I'd much rather forget. Stress, problems. We had Project Work. Complaints, grumbles.
But we had friends which we could survive all this with. The same that were shown in the video. And, everything else equal, I think that's what makes JC fun for some and not so much for others.
I've had my doubts and I've had periods of withdrawal, but given a clear space to think, I'm pretty sure that, at least in terms of classes, S15 is as good as it could ever get.
Haha... i should be wrapping up now... its way past 1... And I realised I haven't typed such a long entry for so long... since the first 3 months or so... heh..
Good night all!
~JcZw~ at 12:41 am
Sunday, December 11, 2005
I'm using up my second hundred posts quite fast yeah... Don't have anything eventful to write about... but I need something that I can express myself to... since I rarely meet up with outside friends or anything... So here's for some frivalous stuff...
Foil competition today... 9 guys and girls dueling with each other already took 2.5 hours... The FM open next sunday is gonna be super long... Quite sad lar... can't come next sunday =/ Cos we're going off to Perth... Supposedly the last overseas trip our family will make... My sister cannot make it for anymore trips cos of her tight medicine schedule... As for me, the next time I leave the island will probably be to go to Pulau Tekong.
Jonathan Tay and Matt Lopez weren't there today... there were 9 of us though...
Me, VJC
Nicklaus, FM
Michael, FM (Both were Asians studying in Australia... They picked up fencing there)
JunJie, CJC
Su San, FM
Mika, FM
Jun, FM
Kevin, Bishan Park Sec.
Linda, Cres. Girls' School
I think I fenced really poorly... So worn out from the hospital attachment and all... A lot of misgudgements and I gave a lot of points away very easily. Somehow I made it through round robin with 2 victories (Jun and Linda... easy kills) and 2 losses (su san and nicklaus... should have killed them, but I didn't). Seeded 4th
In direct elimination I faced Nicklaus first... he's new, inexperienced, but so unorthodox I didn't know how to fence him =/ Used a lot of close quarters and simple attacks though... We fenced so fast the score was already past 10 within 3 minutes.
The second segment was crazy... A few stop hits put me 14-11, then he chiong-ed until 14-13!! I won 15-13 but it was enough to give me a big scare.
I fenced Junjie in the second round of Direct Elimination. He was the top seed, 3 victories, no losses, and a point diff of 11!! (compared to my 6) Not surprising though... He IS a 6-year fencer... one of the privileged few who've fenced from sec. 1 to now, SJI to CJC (no doubt with a supportive teacher, but enough of that).
So I was with my back to the proverbial wall... and human instinct kicked in. Somehow under pressure my form rose and I fought back like a cornered rat like they say. It was 9 minutes of marching attacks, parries, ripostes, fleche, close quarter... I pulled out every coupe, disengage and counter-parry I had in the bag... But dropped too many points.. Lost 15-12 =/
Oh well.. Su San won the tournament, beating JunJie 15-14 (think I injured him). I was probably 3rd or 4th, depending on whether I could have beaten Mika (there was no 3rd place play off).
Anyway we're gonna have these little tournaments until Novices comes... It should help...
I watched Candice, the RJ girl, fence on thursday. It was really demoralizing... Don't get me wrong... she's a nice person, n she does try very hard to improve her fencing, not the type of arrogant fencer that coach talks about... But she improved so much in her epee style. Should she meet our members in the Novices, the VJ side is going to get killed... In fact at the moment I think that only Maurice and I, of the present year 1s have a good chance in the competition, and even then the chance is not that good.
I mean, she was fencing an ITE girl, and when her opponent fleched her, she did a good circular six that flowed into a close quarter attack. Sure, it was still a doublt hit, but not many fencers even know how to do close quarters! It simply proves how much free fencing can do for your standard.
Sometimes I feel like I'm captaining a sinking vessel, and that my duty is to "go down with the ship". Think something's wrong with my body too.. My skin of my face feels sensitive and seems tight around the eyes when I open and close them... Hope I didn't pick up anything from the hospital!
Oh well we'll see... Farewell for the fencing seniors is tml! Going ECP for BBQ... haha... no money to go anywhere else... ANyway some of them will be around for Novices next year yar... hope we can do well... Then at least it would have been worth it not signing up for OGL...
Yup... so long then, guten nacht
Foil competition today... 9 guys and girls dueling with each other already took 2.5 hours... The FM open next sunday is gonna be super long... Quite sad lar... can't come next sunday =/ Cos we're going off to Perth... Supposedly the last overseas trip our family will make... My sister cannot make it for anymore trips cos of her tight medicine schedule... As for me, the next time I leave the island will probably be to go to Pulau Tekong.
Jonathan Tay and Matt Lopez weren't there today... there were 9 of us though...
Me, VJC
Nicklaus, FM
Michael, FM (Both were Asians studying in Australia... They picked up fencing there)
JunJie, CJC
Su San, FM
Mika, FM
Jun, FM
Kevin, Bishan Park Sec.
Linda, Cres. Girls' School
I think I fenced really poorly... So worn out from the hospital attachment and all... A lot of misgudgements and I gave a lot of points away very easily. Somehow I made it through round robin with 2 victories (Jun and Linda... easy kills) and 2 losses (su san and nicklaus... should have killed them, but I didn't). Seeded 4th
In direct elimination I faced Nicklaus first... he's new, inexperienced, but so unorthodox I didn't know how to fence him =/ Used a lot of close quarters and simple attacks though... We fenced so fast the score was already past 10 within 3 minutes.
The second segment was crazy... A few stop hits put me 14-11, then he chiong-ed until 14-13!! I won 15-13 but it was enough to give me a big scare.
I fenced Junjie in the second round of Direct Elimination. He was the top seed, 3 victories, no losses, and a point diff of 11!! (compared to my 6) Not surprising though... He IS a 6-year fencer... one of the privileged few who've fenced from sec. 1 to now, SJI to CJC (no doubt with a supportive teacher, but enough of that).
So I was with my back to the proverbial wall... and human instinct kicked in. Somehow under pressure my form rose and I fought back like a cornered rat like they say. It was 9 minutes of marching attacks, parries, ripostes, fleche, close quarter... I pulled out every coupe, disengage and counter-parry I had in the bag... But dropped too many points.. Lost 15-12 =/
Oh well.. Su San won the tournament, beating JunJie 15-14 (think I injured him). I was probably 3rd or 4th, depending on whether I could have beaten Mika (there was no 3rd place play off).
Anyway we're gonna have these little tournaments until Novices comes... It should help...
I watched Candice, the RJ girl, fence on thursday. It was really demoralizing... Don't get me wrong... she's a nice person, n she does try very hard to improve her fencing, not the type of arrogant fencer that coach talks about... But she improved so much in her epee style. Should she meet our members in the Novices, the VJ side is going to get killed... In fact at the moment I think that only Maurice and I, of the present year 1s have a good chance in the competition, and even then the chance is not that good.
I mean, she was fencing an ITE girl, and when her opponent fleched her, she did a good circular six that flowed into a close quarter attack. Sure, it was still a doublt hit, but not many fencers even know how to do close quarters! It simply proves how much free fencing can do for your standard.
Sometimes I feel like I'm captaining a sinking vessel, and that my duty is to "go down with the ship". Think something's wrong with my body too.. My skin of my face feels sensitive and seems tight around the eyes when I open and close them... Hope I didn't pick up anything from the hospital!
Oh well we'll see... Farewell for the fencing seniors is tml! Going ECP for BBQ... haha... no money to go anywhere else... ANyway some of them will be around for Novices next year yar... hope we can do well... Then at least it would have been worth it not signing up for OGL...
Yup... so long then, guten nacht
~JcZw~ at 1:40 am
Saturday, December 10, 2005
The end of attachment was much more sobering than I thought it would be. Although I only stayed one week... i kinda miss it... the various doctors, nurses, even the st. john members whom I'd seen come and go for a week (It was always the same 6 people). Weird that I should miss it, even though I was really sian at the start of the week.
But I think it was also sobering cos I saw some really horrific injuries... to me, even more shocking than amputations and all... while they didn't make me throw up or anything, they made me flinch and realise just how thin a line it was between life and death that doctors had to struggle to bring their patients across... Had this convo with Dr Ler in the doctors' room:
Dr Ler: Have you ever seen a patient collapse?
Me: Collapse? You mean, die
Dr Ler: Well, yeah
Me: Err... no. Not yet. Have you?
Dr Ler: Yes... maybe about twice
It seemed unreal how death was treated as a constant thing that had to be endured, that continually overshadowed your occupation. I must consider if I could stand to see a patient collapse on my hands should I get into medicine... I dunno...
Nevertheless, its been an enriching experience... N I owe a lot of people for this...
Thanks to:
Dr Helen Oh, whom we originally wrote to, and who organized the attachments for us students
Drs KC Chong, Dave Chua, Vincent, the orthopedic surgeons I was attached to, for arranging everything, bending rules to help me get more exposure, treating me to breakfast, explaining diagnosis, etc
Dr Edwin, MO, letting me follow his rounds, n helping him treat patients
Dr Roland, MO, sharing his past experiences as an ex-VJ guy (S14) and making me feel at ease
Dr Rowena Ng, Ward Registra, explaining entry criteria, telling me how to get the best out of my attachment
Drs Aaron, Zi Xin (I think), Audrey, Teck Siang, Kai Ling, Patsy, Raffi, Jimmy, the housemen, who let me eat with them during lunch, treating me to the odd drink, and more importantly, letting me tag along for almost the whole day!
and of course,
Belle, Julian, Meifen, Wanling, Nagar, and the rest of the Year-3 NUS Medical students that I met during the attachment, who explained procedures, acronyms and gave a lot of advice..
Thanks to everyone yeah =)
____________________________________________________________________
Just a random quiz....
On the contrary, I do not really have an obscure name. If there's a name in my phone contacts thats repeated the most, its different Jonathans. I have a Jon ChuaH, Tay, Boon, and another Chan... Just that my name is really difficult to spell it seems. I wonder if people spell his name "Qui-Gon Jin"...
I also do not do yoga or pilates, but like him, I like to use blades to hit people =D
____________________________________________________________________
Anyway I'm off to FM now... There's a mini-foil tournament today! Hope I can do well =)
But I think it was also sobering cos I saw some really horrific injuries... to me, even more shocking than amputations and all... while they didn't make me throw up or anything, they made me flinch and realise just how thin a line it was between life and death that doctors had to struggle to bring their patients across... Had this convo with Dr Ler in the doctors' room:
Dr Ler: Have you ever seen a patient collapse?
Me: Collapse? You mean, die
Dr Ler: Well, yeah
Me: Err... no. Not yet. Have you?
Dr Ler: Yes... maybe about twice
It seemed unreal how death was treated as a constant thing that had to be endured, that continually overshadowed your occupation. I must consider if I could stand to see a patient collapse on my hands should I get into medicine... I dunno...
Nevertheless, its been an enriching experience... N I owe a lot of people for this...
Thanks to:
Dr Helen Oh, whom we originally wrote to, and who organized the attachments for us students
Drs KC Chong, Dave Chua, Vincent, the orthopedic surgeons I was attached to, for arranging everything, bending rules to help me get more exposure, treating me to breakfast, explaining diagnosis, etc
Dr Edwin, MO, letting me follow his rounds, n helping him treat patients
Dr Roland, MO, sharing his past experiences as an ex-VJ guy (S14) and making me feel at ease
Dr Rowena Ng, Ward Registra, explaining entry criteria, telling me how to get the best out of my attachment
Drs Aaron, Zi Xin (I think), Audrey, Teck Siang, Kai Ling, Patsy, Raffi, Jimmy, the housemen, who let me eat with them during lunch, treating me to the odd drink, and more importantly, letting me tag along for almost the whole day!
and of course,
Belle, Julian, Meifen, Wanling, Nagar, and the rest of the Year-3 NUS Medical students that I met during the attachment, who explained procedures, acronyms and gave a lot of advice..
Thanks to everyone yeah =)
____________________________________________________________________
Just a random quiz....
On the contrary, I do not really have an obscure name. If there's a name in my phone contacts thats repeated the most, its different Jonathans. I have a Jon ChuaH, Tay, Boon, and another Chan... Just that my name is really difficult to spell it seems. I wonder if people spell his name "Qui-Gon Jin"...
I also do not do yoga or pilates, but like him, I like to use blades to hit people =D
____________________________________________________________________
Anyway I'm off to FM now... There's a mini-foil tournament today! Hope I can do well =)
~JcZw~ at 8:55 am
Friday, December 09, 2005
Nothing remarkable that I can remember happened yesterday.. I think it was because I was in a state of semi-conscious stupor. As I write this, I've had 23 hours sleep over 5 days. Not good.
But well... yesterday the ward registra and another Medical Officer talked to me a lot during the ward round.. telling me about admission to medicine n all that... they bought me a cup of water chestnut drink for breakfast too =D Yesterday's the last time I saw Doctor Ho, the female houseman who's been bringing me around (together with Dr Aaron Chia), so I thanked her before I left... She said all the best for my A-levels...heh... oh yeah... I need to start studying =/
My nerves were shot by the time I came to fencing. Its true (and I knew it) that lack of sleep does not detract from physical strength (thats how people survive in NS probably), but fencing requires thinking as well bleha.... When I came they were settling farewell / jts, and doing the attack / defend training, which basically consists of two people fencing each other, with the score at 9-12. The one with 9 has to attack like mad and the one with 12 must hold his / her lead. The bout concludes in 2 minutes.
I managed to win 15-12 after coming from 9 on Victoria. She's not a bad fencer and her movement has improved... but she's still predictable. Next was Charlene... although her standard is probably just marginally worst than vic, I started the bout by running into her point twice to make the score 14-9... lack of conc man... But I won 15-14 in the end... Went for the hand "like free" as Maurice or other VS guys would say.
Free fencing that night was crazy... fenced 7 bouts. I've never fenced more than 5 matches in one day. If I hadn't gone for dinner at 8 I probably would have done more... haha... I lost 15-14 to ZiXian!! Aiyo! But improvement lar... he eliminated me 15-3 from the Under-17... talk about massacre...
Did an epic match with Maurice. We've trained since about March or saw, seen him develop from a total-defender to a mobile, extremely long and deadly fencer, seen me develop from a flech-er to knowing how to lock blade and go in. We know each other's styles intimately well.
If you can follow, that means something like, when he attacks, I know he'll fake up, when I parry up he'll move down and he knows I know that he'll move down so when I sweep my blade down he'll go back up but I know that he'll go back up so I bring my blade in a up-down-up motion.... that kinda thing... heh. Did a lot of fleches, close quarter.... and I won by a very narrow margin.... heh...
Oh well... Last day of attachment today... Gonna visit the rehab centre... See y'all yar =)
But well... yesterday the ward registra and another Medical Officer talked to me a lot during the ward round.. telling me about admission to medicine n all that... they bought me a cup of water chestnut drink for breakfast too =D Yesterday's the last time I saw Doctor Ho, the female houseman who's been bringing me around (together with Dr Aaron Chia), so I thanked her before I left... She said all the best for my A-levels...heh... oh yeah... I need to start studying =/
My nerves were shot by the time I came to fencing. Its true (and I knew it) that lack of sleep does not detract from physical strength (thats how people survive in NS probably), but fencing requires thinking as well bleha.... When I came they were settling farewell / jts, and doing the attack / defend training, which basically consists of two people fencing each other, with the score at 9-12. The one with 9 has to attack like mad and the one with 12 must hold his / her lead. The bout concludes in 2 minutes.
I managed to win 15-12 after coming from 9 on Victoria. She's not a bad fencer and her movement has improved... but she's still predictable. Next was Charlene... although her standard is probably just marginally worst than vic, I started the bout by running into her point twice to make the score 14-9... lack of conc man... But I won 15-14 in the end... Went for the hand "like free" as Maurice or other VS guys would say.
Free fencing that night was crazy... fenced 7 bouts. I've never fenced more than 5 matches in one day. If I hadn't gone for dinner at 8 I probably would have done more... haha... I lost 15-14 to ZiXian!! Aiyo! But improvement lar... he eliminated me 15-3 from the Under-17... talk about massacre...
Did an epic match with Maurice. We've trained since about March or saw, seen him develop from a total-defender to a mobile, extremely long and deadly fencer, seen me develop from a flech-er to knowing how to lock blade and go in. We know each other's styles intimately well.
If you can follow, that means something like, when he attacks, I know he'll fake up, when I parry up he'll move down and he knows I know that he'll move down so when I sweep my blade down he'll go back up but I know that he'll go back up so I bring my blade in a up-down-up motion.... that kinda thing... heh. Did a lot of fleches, close quarter.... and I won by a very narrow margin.... heh...
Oh well... Last day of attachment today... Gonna visit the rehab centre... See y'all yar =)
~JcZw~ at 6:13 am
Wednesday, December 07, 2005
This is the first time I've posted 3 times in a day. 1 before attachment, 1 between attachment and fencing, one after fencing.
I guess I'll do this now cos I dunno when I'll next have time to update? Its not like there's anyone that comes online at 5.20 in the morning when I wake up anyway... First time I take time to do this kinda thing... But since Sabrina was kind enough to... "arrow"... me, I'll do it..
You get one wish of anything, what would you ask for?
That people, especially my friends, would be peaceful and happy.. The Bible provides a lot of info on this...
What animal would you be?
This is a question you needn't ask. Cat.
Something you want to do in your life:
Well... invite someone to church successfully maybe? Be a national fencer is a close second x) pretty frivalous...
One time there were these Ninjas... (complete this sentence)-
who kept 4 cats
One song you could listen to over and over again:
"There Is A Redeemer"... I've sent it to some friends alr =)
A close second would be "Sweet Sweet Smile" by the Carpenters (any country song usually fits the bill)
Coke or Pepsi?
I don't take Literature! I take science! Why do I have to answer this arty question? Scienctifically.. Pepsi... It can't be any more damaging than coke.
Something you currently desire
Higher EQ... then maybe I'd be a better friend
What's a "mastoid"? (Take a guess no peeking in a Dictionary):
A bone. Things that end with -oid usually are medical related. Combine I'm attached to orthopedics and I accessed wikipedia to confirm before I saw "take a guess" n my answer's correct
One good deed you've done lately:
Answering this question seems so wrong... But for the sake of answering, I spent 40++ SMSs on my fencing guys alone to tell them there was training in the past month (Phobia of communication breakdown from St. John). Whether thats good or not....
A funny moment in your life:
When I was a squad 1 in St. John I once was talking to my Sq. IC... after I finished, I turned and walked into the pillar I was leaning on.
Yup thats it.... 4 people I shall arrow? I won't put them here... haha... but well...
Anyway.... fencing is reaching an all time low... haiyo.. Thanks to the people who let me talk to them though...
I guess I'll do this now cos I dunno when I'll next have time to update? Its not like there's anyone that comes online at 5.20 in the morning when I wake up anyway... First time I take time to do this kinda thing... But since Sabrina was kind enough to... "arrow"... me, I'll do it..
You get one wish of anything, what would you ask for?
That people, especially my friends, would be peaceful and happy.. The Bible provides a lot of info on this...
What animal would you be?
This is a question you needn't ask. Cat.
Something you want to do in your life:
Well... invite someone to church successfully maybe? Be a national fencer is a close second x) pretty frivalous...
One time there were these Ninjas... (complete this sentence)-
who kept 4 cats
One song you could listen to over and over again:
"There Is A Redeemer"... I've sent it to some friends alr =)
A close second would be "Sweet Sweet Smile" by the Carpenters (any country song usually fits the bill)
Coke or Pepsi?
I don't take Literature! I take science! Why do I have to answer this arty question? Scienctifically.. Pepsi... It can't be any more damaging than coke.
Something you currently desire
Higher EQ... then maybe I'd be a better friend
What's a "mastoid"? (Take a guess no peeking in a Dictionary):
A bone. Things that end with -oid usually are medical related. Combine I'm attached to orthopedics and I accessed wikipedia to confirm before I saw "take a guess" n my answer's correct
One good deed you've done lately:
Answering this question seems so wrong... But for the sake of answering, I spent 40++ SMSs on my fencing guys alone to tell them there was training in the past month (Phobia of communication breakdown from St. John). Whether thats good or not....
A funny moment in your life:
When I was a squad 1 in St. John I once was talking to my Sq. IC... after I finished, I turned and walked into the pillar I was leaning on.
Yup thats it.... 4 people I shall arrow? I won't put them here... haha... but well...
Anyway.... fencing is reaching an all time low... haiyo.. Thanks to the people who let me talk to them though...
~JcZw~ at 10:15 pm
Attachment Day 3. Just a short one before I have to rush off for fencing.
I've realised just not everyone can be a good doctor. It takes a special someone to be one. I was enlightened over the past few days as I watched the housemen, nurses and medical students work.
I've seen things that I didn't think I'd see as a student. Gangrene, amputation, closed fractures, open fractures, infections, inflammations.
Simply put, the medical profession, unlike what the average taxi drivers say, is not as great as its made out to be. I mean, it can't be all that great, because when your job gets exciting, it simply means someone else is hurting or dying. And I've realised that in the hospital, the risk of death is in fact very real.
On the other hand, I don't know a better place if I wanted to help people....
ok, so long for now then
I've realised just not everyone can be a good doctor. It takes a special someone to be one. I was enlightened over the past few days as I watched the housemen, nurses and medical students work.
I've seen things that I didn't think I'd see as a student. Gangrene, amputation, closed fractures, open fractures, infections, inflammations.
Simply put, the medical profession, unlike what the average taxi drivers say, is not as great as its made out to be. I mean, it can't be all that great, because when your job gets exciting, it simply means someone else is hurting or dying. And I've realised that in the hospital, the risk of death is in fact very real.
On the other hand, I don't know a better place if I wanted to help people....
ok, so long for now then
~JcZw~ at 6:30 pm
Alright, yesterday my mother defined clearly to me what was to be confidential and what was not, so I can write about more things.
Attachment yesterday was more eventful... there were more things to do in the afternoon yeah?
Followed the doctors around the wards in the early morning, then to Dr Chong's clinic till lunch. Had lunch with the housemen then followed them in the ward till 6 when I left. Darn tiring.
Yesterday at least I felt more useful... Although I can't conduct treatment (and probably don't know how if I tried), I could help to support patients (St. John), unwrap dressings (St. John) and help to hold the files and x-rays for the doctors. I haven't seen so many x-rays in such a short time before... its amazing how they can tell a shadow from a fracture...
What did I learn?
One. The human body has hundreds of bones.. Is it 203? 206? Can't remember from Pr school. To break ONE of these bones is to cause yourself severe inconvinience and pain, not to mention6-9 months of rehab and a hefty hospital fee.
Two. Don't get diabetes. Of all the injuries in the wards, the most gruesome ones were those that were diabetes related... Amputations, gangrene, so on. I've seen such things in movies, books, but first time I've seen them in real life. I didn't swoon or anything when I saw, but its not something I would gaze longingly at either.
Three. There is a very large team behind the doctors... The nurses of various ranks, the technicians, the people who do blood testing... its the job of the doctor to give orders to these people and to keep track of what has or has not been done. The job of the average houseman is probably like having a career as a team No. 1 (until he/she is promoted)
Four. Bring a friend with you on attachment next time. Although the attachment is educational, and the various personnel more or less friendly and willing to explain things to you, it is still very lonely when there are no cases and you're just playing minesweeper on the unused computer in the doctor's office. Also during lunch there is no one to talk to and you just sit there listening to the doctors joking about various acronyms which you don't understand.... heh...
Anyway thats about it for attachment day 2. Didn't take any pictures for confidentiality's sake...
____________________________________________________________________________________
Foil night yesterday was invaded by a bunch of epeeists.... heh including Maurice... Fenced like dunno what yesterday lar...sighz.... darn tired, blister on hand, new blister on foot from wear formal shoes, blade not working, wire not working... by the end of the long bout in which I lost 15-3 to Wei Yang I was so frustrated and sian-ed already... Think I'm starting to burn out at last.
It can't be that I'm affected by epee. My foil style is NEVER affected by epee... Unless you're talking about in terms of fatigue.
And yesterday I was testing my blade which coach repaired... Connected the wire and the white light went off, meaning a good connection. Then I swung the blade through the air to make sure the connection was secure. Then I flicked it against my foot, to check that the wire wasn't broken in the blade.
Unfortunately my shoe was not on (I had taken it off to give my blister a break). Now I've got a cane mark there in addition to a blister.
Haiyo... burn out lar... sian..
____________________________________________________________________________________
Maybe I just dream too much... A dream is but a dream anyway... But when one comes back night after night, you can't stop thinking about it... Or the people involved.
Attachment yesterday was more eventful... there were more things to do in the afternoon yeah?
Followed the doctors around the wards in the early morning, then to Dr Chong's clinic till lunch. Had lunch with the housemen then followed them in the ward till 6 when I left. Darn tiring.
Yesterday at least I felt more useful... Although I can't conduct treatment (and probably don't know how if I tried), I could help to support patients (St. John), unwrap dressings (St. John) and help to hold the files and x-rays for the doctors. I haven't seen so many x-rays in such a short time before... its amazing how they can tell a shadow from a fracture...
What did I learn?
One. The human body has hundreds of bones.. Is it 203? 206? Can't remember from Pr school. To break ONE of these bones is to cause yourself severe inconvinience and pain, not to mention6-9 months of rehab and a hefty hospital fee.
Two. Don't get diabetes. Of all the injuries in the wards, the most gruesome ones were those that were diabetes related... Amputations, gangrene, so on. I've seen such things in movies, books, but first time I've seen them in real life. I didn't swoon or anything when I saw, but its not something I would gaze longingly at either.
Three. There is a very large team behind the doctors... The nurses of various ranks, the technicians, the people who do blood testing... its the job of the doctor to give orders to these people and to keep track of what has or has not been done. The job of the average houseman is probably like having a career as a team No. 1 (until he/she is promoted)
Four. Bring a friend with you on attachment next time. Although the attachment is educational, and the various personnel more or less friendly and willing to explain things to you, it is still very lonely when there are no cases and you're just playing minesweeper on the unused computer in the doctor's office. Also during lunch there is no one to talk to and you just sit there listening to the doctors joking about various acronyms which you don't understand.... heh...
Anyway thats about it for attachment day 2. Didn't take any pictures for confidentiality's sake...
____________________________________________________________________________________
Foil night yesterday was invaded by a bunch of epeeists.... heh including Maurice... Fenced like dunno what yesterday lar...sighz.... darn tired, blister on hand, new blister on foot from wear formal shoes, blade not working, wire not working... by the end of the long bout in which I lost 15-3 to Wei Yang I was so frustrated and sian-ed already... Think I'm starting to burn out at last.
It can't be that I'm affected by epee. My foil style is NEVER affected by epee... Unless you're talking about in terms of fatigue.
And yesterday I was testing my blade which coach repaired... Connected the wire and the white light went off, meaning a good connection. Then I swung the blade through the air to make sure the connection was secure. Then I flicked it against my foot, to check that the wire wasn't broken in the blade.
Unfortunately my shoe was not on (I had taken it off to give my blister a break). Now I've got a cane mark there in addition to a blister.
Haiyo... burn out lar... sian..
____________________________________________________________________________________
Maybe I just dream too much... A dream is but a dream anyway... But when one comes back night after night, you can't stop thinking about it... Or the people involved.
~JcZw~ at 5:58 am
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
Attachment.... I guess its different... Also can't write too much about it cos I'm not sure whats bounded by confidentiality and what is not?
I guess I was excited but scared of the attachment. Excited, cos although I've treated about 3 people who've ended up in hospital as an SJer (and countless others in training situations), I never got to really see how it was like on the other side. Scared cos... Well, I'm not the least clumsiest of people, as Jonathan ChuaH would be happy to tell you... If I knocked over something, they would kick me so far I'd probably hit the MRT line or AHS.
8.15 found me at the Clinical Staff Office of CGH, right above the training centre where our first aid people had our briefing. There were three of us...
Me, Jonathan, Year 1, VJC, Fencing, attached to ORTHOPEDICS
Derek, Year 2, RJC, Fencing, attached to ENT (I was shocked and very happy when I discovered he was also an epeeist!)
Hanjie, Year 2, HCI, Canoeing, attached to SURGERY (so cool lar!)
THEY were shocked when they found out I was year 1. Apparently most people do these attachments when they're Year 2! Funny, I thought it was always the opposite case, while the year 2 hols were for dying hair and training for NS. Not surprising they were both from either RJ or HCI
We found a Miss Kamisah at the Associate Dean's Office, where she issued us the stuff shown above. One nametag, card key for access to restricted places and a locker key. The locker quite zhai. By zhai I mean narrow. But my bag could still fit
My mentor, attachee, whatever you called it, was an Orthopedics Surgeon, Dr KC Chong... He's friendly and does a lot of explanation on the various X-rays, body mechanisms etcetc... Had a lot of interesting posters on his walls too... But I think I was too tense and awkward to fully take advantage of this =/ Combined with my lack of sleep yesterday bleah. Saw a few patients at his clinic first... Haha as expected, his EQ is high n he interacts well all that!
AND after listening to the cases I was convinced I was NOT the clumsiest person in the world anyway =)
Had lunch (The ban mian at the houseman's canteen is nice) then went to the wards to find a Dr Aaron Chia, the houseman on call or something... means he has to stay overnight in case something happens. He said "If you're the kinda person that needs a lot of sleep, reconsider your choice" Uhh oh.
Saw a lot of people taking blood... Takes a certain skill to find the vein n all eh? Saw one case of taking blood from the artery too... n hey there really is a distinct diff between the colours. Of course, the warning of the infection control dinned in my head "Stay away from used needles unless you want Hep B or HIV". Anyway, non-med students are not allowed to touch anything or go into the operating theatres.. My usefulness was limited to helping the housemen carry files.
And my goodness!! They speak so many languages! Malay, Chinese, Hokkien, Indian, Teochew, Cantonese... As in, they're really multi-lingual lor.
On the more sobering side... I've seen hundreds of fractures, bleedings blahblah... But almost 90% of them were of plasticine and food colouring. Yesterday was the first time I had seen so many genuine injuries in one go. Its just scary how the human body can be bent, twisted, contorted by various incidents. If there's something which would cause me not to be a doctor, it would be that inevitably I would have to hurt the patient... Either while checking for injury (when the patient suddenly goes 'ow') or while treating. Blood... I'm still ok with blood, so long as it doesn't get INTO me.
Met 2 Year 3 Med students there... One of them knew my sister... Both were very nice... The guy from ACJC and the girl from RJC.... Kept me informed of what was going on, e.g. translating all the medical terms and all that... I admit FA knowledge did help, but only to a certain extent.
How many cadets can tell me what a "Distal radius" fracture is anyway? I can't
Anyway thats all for now... There's still much more to write, but I've 4 more days to go to write it in... And I have to meet Dr Chong at 7.30 to walk around the ward with him (super early... even more so than VJ).. Take care all!
_____________________________________________________________________________________
I had that dream again. The same place, the same people. Of people and painful memories and beautiful memories.
~JcZw~ at 5:53 am
Saturday, December 03, 2005
About half a year or so back, my brother had a dream that I lost my arm while fencing foil and so converted to sabre. I mean what? Shouldn't it be the other way round?
It is a most cruel twist of fate that the most painful weapon (epee) has the least protective layers compared to the other two (3 layers for epee compared to 4 layers for foil and sabre)
Today I realised that foils are in fact capable to causing painful slash injuries on people. Actually I don't recall being bashed about so much in ONE WEEK despite going fencing only TWICE instead of five times. Bleah. But tangling with an overenthusiastic beginner often results like that... Pity he hit below the plastron
On the happier side though, I've done my best foil and epee matches today and yesterday respectively (I lost the former to a 6-year fencer by 2 points!!! I won the other by 3). So gratified that now I can more or less switch between foil and epee modes when I like to =) Its also nice that the other fencers in VJ are improving too! N this time for once the girls are doing the demo during CCA walkabout next year! Hopefully then people won't think its so much of a guy thing.
Oh yeah, thanks to the people who've been expressing concern and giving advice on my various body parts that are falling off, have fallen off, (or seem to be about to fall off)! Rest assured that fencing is a safe sport compared to many others though... so long as your don't turn your head.
Anyway to cope with blisters and all I'm gonna change my grip to the bigger one that maurice uses. I've seen my pet blister change colours like a hand undergoing frostbite.. Hopefully this stops it before novices..
N yeah I know I should be slowing down, but honestly, the competition is so near already! Anyway... guess I shouldn't be worried too much but just concentrate now on training... Let the result be in God's hands.
Oh yar! Anyway next week I'll probably be doing considerably less fencing due to the attachment at CGH... I hope its not scary or anything... I get intimidated when I have to wear formal clothing... heh...
____________________________________________________________________
My cat is really good at camouflage. Observe
Zoom
Zoom
Yup... I should be off now anyway... Take care all =)
It is a most cruel twist of fate that the most painful weapon (epee) has the least protective layers compared to the other two (3 layers for epee compared to 4 layers for foil and sabre)
Today I realised that foils are in fact capable to causing painful slash injuries on people. Actually I don't recall being bashed about so much in ONE WEEK despite going fencing only TWICE instead of five times. Bleah. But tangling with an overenthusiastic beginner often results like that... Pity he hit below the plastron
On the happier side though, I've done my best foil and epee matches today and yesterday respectively (I lost the former to a 6-year fencer by 2 points!!! I won the other by 3). So gratified that now I can more or less switch between foil and epee modes when I like to =) Its also nice that the other fencers in VJ are improving too! N this time for once the girls are doing the demo during CCA walkabout next year! Hopefully then people won't think its so much of a guy thing.
Oh yeah, thanks to the people who've been expressing concern and giving advice on my various body parts that are falling off, have fallen off, (or seem to be about to fall off)! Rest assured that fencing is a safe sport compared to many others though... so long as your don't turn your head.
Anyway to cope with blisters and all I'm gonna change my grip to the bigger one that maurice uses. I've seen my pet blister change colours like a hand undergoing frostbite.. Hopefully this stops it before novices..
N yeah I know I should be slowing down, but honestly, the competition is so near already! Anyway... guess I shouldn't be worried too much but just concentrate now on training... Let the result be in God's hands.
Oh yar! Anyway next week I'll probably be doing considerably less fencing due to the attachment at CGH... I hope its not scary or anything... I get intimidated when I have to wear formal clothing... heh...
____________________________________________________________________
My cat is really good at camouflage. Observe
Zoom
Zoom
Yup... I should be off now anyway... Take care all =)
~JcZw~ at 9:54 pm
Friday, December 02, 2005
I thank God that I'm still alive. Seriously.
Fencing today was as well as it could have been I suppose... Coach went through the theory of dueling, n the psychology of the match. After that we suited up n got some free fencing in. Coach also gave us a pep talk about our attitude towards the novices which we'd do well to heed. Another immortal line to add to his quotes... heh
I was fencing with Clarissa of S28.. Dunno why, but she holds her epee angled upwards a la foil instead of straight to the ground. If anything, very unorthodox. I had already clawed back a 2 point deficit and had to go in for the 4th point to make it 4-4.
Half lunge, then I beat her blade. The German blade screamed on its China counterpart as I knocked her blade down and began my fleche, sprinting forward to try and hit on the first step. I hit first n the green light came on... Very nice. But then her blade which I had forced down started coming up as I ran past.
Try this if you don't understand this... Stand up, balance on the right foot and lean to the right, stretching your right arm up above your head. Your shirt most prob will be pulled up by the elevation of your arms.
So as I fleched, my protective suit, supposedly able to withstand 800 N, was pulled higher, leaving the side of my abdomen exposed (though covered by my shirt, which offers minimal resistance). Clarissa's blade, on its upward climb, went under my suit and plastron (the inner protective layer) and lacerated the right side of my stomach.. got a pretty scar there now.. Lucky negligible amount of blood...
THANK GOD it was not a direct hit. My mother is firmly convinced (as am I) that if the hit had been direct it mayhave done something to my liver... Not penetrated probably, but yeah it would have been damaging. Given her knowledge and my own first aider info, I'm inclined to believer her.
Maybe next time I should wear my breeches instead of trackpants eh? But barely 1/6th of the club wear their breeches to training... they are soo... constricting..
N i'm fencing poorly now... bleah... too predictable, no creativity... sighz..
___________________________________________________________________
Do you have memories that are so precious... yet they are so beautiful that it hurts to think of them?
Cos they kept me awake last night, replaying in my mind over and over again.
There are a lot of things that I'm wishing for now...
that I wouldn't hurt myself, nor hurt my friends.
that I could help myself and some people with some things.
Upon reflection... I tried to help, I tried to reassure.. But I have duties to myself, my parents and to my future too... So in fact it has backfired. I thought I could sacrifice cos I've sacrificed a lot in various situations in the past 4 years.
But there are some things that cannot be sacrificed.
I think I should just pray more.
AND! for the few of you who get a kick out of speculating... I'm not in love. Won't be for some time yet =)
Fencing today was as well as it could have been I suppose... Coach went through the theory of dueling, n the psychology of the match. After that we suited up n got some free fencing in. Coach also gave us a pep talk about our attitude towards the novices which we'd do well to heed. Another immortal line to add to his quotes... heh
I was fencing with Clarissa of S28.. Dunno why, but she holds her epee angled upwards a la foil instead of straight to the ground. If anything, very unorthodox. I had already clawed back a 2 point deficit and had to go in for the 4th point to make it 4-4.
Half lunge, then I beat her blade. The German blade screamed on its China counterpart as I knocked her blade down and began my fleche, sprinting forward to try and hit on the first step. I hit first n the green light came on... Very nice. But then her blade which I had forced down started coming up as I ran past.
Try this if you don't understand this... Stand up, balance on the right foot and lean to the right, stretching your right arm up above your head. Your shirt most prob will be pulled up by the elevation of your arms.
So as I fleched, my protective suit, supposedly able to withstand 800 N, was pulled higher, leaving the side of my abdomen exposed (though covered by my shirt, which offers minimal resistance). Clarissa's blade, on its upward climb, went under my suit and plastron (the inner protective layer) and lacerated the right side of my stomach.. got a pretty scar there now.. Lucky negligible amount of blood...
THANK GOD it was not a direct hit. My mother is firmly convinced (as am I) that if the hit had been direct it mayhave done something to my liver... Not penetrated probably, but yeah it would have been damaging. Given her knowledge and my own first aider info, I'm inclined to believer her.
Maybe next time I should wear my breeches instead of trackpants eh? But barely 1/6th of the club wear their breeches to training... they are soo... constricting..
N i'm fencing poorly now... bleah... too predictable, no creativity... sighz..
___________________________________________________________________
Do you have memories that are so precious... yet they are so beautiful that it hurts to think of them?
Cos they kept me awake last night, replaying in my mind over and over again.
There are a lot of things that I'm wishing for now...
that I wouldn't hurt myself, nor hurt my friends.
that I could help myself and some people with some things.
Upon reflection... I tried to help, I tried to reassure.. But I have duties to myself, my parents and to my future too... So in fact it has backfired. I thought I could sacrifice cos I've sacrificed a lot in various situations in the past 4 years.
But there are some things that cannot be sacrificed.
I think I should just pray more.
AND! for the few of you who get a kick out of speculating... I'm not in love. Won't be for some time yet =)
~JcZw~ at 12:32 am