Sports Day update

Weather: 32 degrees or something very hot

Overall house results:
1st - Leven
Last - Stirling, as usual

Personal aths results:
1st - CH triple jump - broke the school record by a good 15cm
1st - Div 1 high jump - also broke the school record by 9cm and achieved a personal best
3rd - CH 100m - as good as I could go, tough competition this year
3rd - CH long jump - totally screwed up this event, unfortunately, falling ~0.5 metres short of what I usually jump
3rd - 8 X 80m - good effort considering it was a team event
3rd - 4 X 100m - ditto for this
5th - Crossball - novelty race that I was pulled into last minute which no one's really good at

In short, a total haul of 2 blue ribbons, 4 green ribbons and two school records in what will probably be the last formal sports day ever. I'm pretty pleased with how I went, and the disappointment in long jump was compensated for in breaking two school records. Hehe, hopefully my name will last on the records for at least some years. I'm mildly sunburnt about the cheeks, slightly dehydrated since the second half of Sports Day, feeling a tad limp after a nap from 5pm to 7pm, missing dinner in the process, and generally, feeling highly doubtful about being able to walk tomorrow.

Hooray.

GSV Championship Carnival

We won we won we won we won!!! I'm so excited. I'm tempted to say for the first time ever, but I'm not really sure. But in a long while I think, we haven't won Athletics. And today, we did it! Beat 7 other schools to emerge as overall champions by just a hair's breadth.

Today was also the proudest, happiest, most fantastic day I've ever had in a long, long while. I was in 6 events, with the last one being triple jump. I have never done triple jump in my entire life but for want of a representative in that event, they put me in. Under reasoning that I was a long jumper and it's all jumping anyway. I didn't really expect to go very far with triple, having only learnt the proper steps to it this very morning.

But joy oh joy! I discovered I COULD do it, and well too. And proceeded to beat everyone else flat with a distance of 9.65m. It was really hyped up cause the field events were running late and triple was the last event on the list. Everyone else was packing up and bracing themselves for the announcement of the final tally. Even the team captains from each school were assembling on the track with respective school banners. (Ours said 'GO PLC!' and was kinda embarassing, but yeah.) So there was a lot of attention on us remaining athletes. It was really cool to have so many people cheering and watching you. And when the announcement came that the final event (meaning the triple jump) would be the determining factor in who wins the championship, it just added more drama to the whole thing.

I could hardly contain my excitment and joy every time I got my jump measured, three in total, cause it increased sorta exponentially. 8.23m, 8.97m and finally, my gloriest moment, 9.65m. I was so, so happy, oh my god. The PE staff were thrilled to bits as well and laughing gleefully.

Finally, they announced the standings, starting from 8th place. When this blared over the microphone, "In second place, St. Catherine's", we just screamed our lungs out and hugged and jumped and clapped and cheered, our unbridled joy erupting and reverberating off the stands, knowing that, there was only one school left for 1st place. And it was us.

What made it the most momentous occasion was that we were celebrating as a team, a huge team at that, and that happiness was simply magnified tens of times over among us. Victory tastes so much sweeter shared. The championship carnival marked the end of a fantastic athletics season, through which I've made so many new friends, and you just gotta admit, this was one heck of a finale.

the story goes on

My much treasured athletics involvement has been saved from a premature end. An end that was caused by the seemingly uneccessary construction of the CHS sports complex (I wonder how it's been progressing) and the consequent no-sports-day decision. Either way, I've been running and jumping my heart out more than ever on the track since I came, simply because there's been lots more opportunity to. But the parallels are there, and so they came to me as I was lounging about the Olympic Park stadium waiting for my next event in the GSV (GirlSport Victoria) Preliminary Track and Field Carnival.

I remember the blazing hot days in Stadium Kelana Jaya, where the plastic seats in the stands got so hot you couldn't sit on them without burning your bottom and you'd come home shades darker at the end of the day. There'd be those Indian guys on motorcycles selling ice-creams, cold drinks and stuff just outside the compound, and athletes, both guys and girls, stretching and warming up all over the place inside. Which reminds me, it was back in Form 2 then, my first MSSD competition. Word was getting round that some girl and some guy were french kissing on one of the less populated stairways, and I remember thinking, w-hoa. It was really alien, almost mysterious then, such blatant show of affection in a public place, but I was young and naive...I barely even knew what french kissing meant! *shakes head solemnly* (I wouldn't bat an eyelid now of course, heh heh, but we're going off topic. =)

Just yesterday, I was at Olympic Park Stadium, dressed in four layers of clothes and sporting a pair of gloves. Condensation was having a field time in front of my face everytime I opened my mouth. That cold. These days, I wonder what it's like to sweat, wonder how the sun feels on your body, wonder how it's like to not have stiff, icy fingers all the time. (But the sun came out later in the day, and from certain angles, you could actually feel some warmth. There was a huge screen on one corner giving the latest results and listing upcoming events. The stadium also came equipped with cameras mounted on the sides of the finishing line. Needless to say, I was impressed.

The people were obviously very different this time round. 8 girls' schools competed in the prelim carnival (equivalent of MSSD peringkat zon)...lets see. Lauriston, Sacre Coeur, Camberwell, Genezzano, St. Catherine's, Ruyton, Kilvington and PLC. I think that's it. Whole place swarming with girls, girls and more girls. Boring sial. (Until now, I will defend to death that single-sex schools serve no better purpose to entire humanity 'cept maybe encouraging homosexuality. Co-ed all the way!!) ANYway, it sounded so strange and unfamiliar to me after years of athleticspeak involving vocabulary like Taman Sea, Assunta, DJ, DU, Sri Aman, Juliana Johan, Elizabeth Tee et cetera.

I feel like I'm living in a slideshow. Two slides, poles apart, one of KJ and the people in it, one of Olympic Park and its people in it. And there I am, standing there in the one thing that hasn't changed. My faithful Ascics spikes I got so long ago. (Though it's now missing a stud and the left sole is on the verge of coming off, much to my heartbreak. But they're nothing a little superglue won't mend, both the heart and the sole =)

Thus the day meandered, with me trying to stay on top and ready for my five events, and other times, watching the slides switch back and forth in my mind. Everywhere I turn, everything I see, a similar scene reenacts itself in my memory, mirrored here on foreign soil. I'm glad it didn't have to end so soon. I'm glad I'm still running. And I'm glad the story goes on.

[To Chun Yiao, though you don't read this, happy birthday! ^^ ]

Sports DaY! =P

Here's a summary of my day and all that matters: 0=)

circa 9.15 am -
Initially I didn't have my name in long jump championship division, though I really wanted to. Didn't pursue the matter with the house captains as I thought, oh well, I already have four events. In the end, decided to go watch and support the Stirling girl that was supposed to be doing that event. Arrive at long jump area. What th-? No orange shirt in sight. A check with official, nope, no one for Stirling. Under my breath, f-. I'll take her place I say. Official took my name down cancelled hers, and there and then, off with the tracksuit and runners, on the spikes. It was such a hasty, impromptu decision but one that I will never regret. Cause 3 jumps later, I got the gold! =) And to make victory sweeter, I broke my own personal record with a 4.11m. No one else got a four. Woohoo! Thinking back on it, I realize how lucky I am to have got there just in the nick of time.

circa 10.10 am -
200m championship division up soon. Getting slightly nervous. Didn't do fantastically in this during my aths trials, and got pretty disappointing timings. 39 first run! My god. I'd never have lived it down. In fact, I didn't. Next day, I was on the field again for a second run. Managed to shave off 4 seconds, so not too bad. But not the best. That was trials. So back to the field, look around, no idea who all my competitors are, don't know what to expect. Makes it all the more exciting. My first year here will be like a recon mission, next year, I'll be BAck. Better. That's when I learnt two new words. Rachelle Harvey. Looks like potential threat. Quite pro also, spikes and what not lah. Gunshot, and 32 seconds later, both of us crossed the finish line, with her slightly in the lead. Blast. I need more stamina to mantain my speed. From now on, strict training regime for next year's athletics starts. But don't get me wrong. I've nothing against her. She's pretty cool. In sports, for me, the best man wins and I take that VERY seriously.

circa 11.30 am -
I've never participated in this before, 100m hurdles. *blush blush, was always intimidated by the hurdles. But aths trials and today proved it to be all in the mind. Came 3rd, with literally a fraction of a centimetre from the 2nd. I had some trouble coordinating my feet. For best results, left leg up first, followed by right, but a coupla times things got outta sync. Oh well. I'm pretty pleased with myself. No gripes there for a first-timer. =) Since I've got a taste of this, I'll make it my event and train for it. THat's one more to the list. =) Never had a chance in CHS, first, cause there was no hurdles event, two, max we were only allowed to participate in 3 individual events and 2 relays whereas here, we get one extra indiv.

circa 12.45 pm -
At last! My best event, the 100m sprint. All my hopes are cashed in here. Rachelle Harvey features again. Now, I'm more prepared. I know my competition, I know what to expect. (By the way, the grass on their field looks expensive man...so springy and lush and green, the former, unfortunately, not conducive for running.) But it wasn't so bad as they trimmed the grass before, but you could still depress it about 2 centimetres at least. No matter. My spikes will make up for it. =) Half expected to hear the usual 'ke garisan', but was snapped back into reality with the PE guy trainer shouting 'On your marks...', 'Get set...' crouched, I lifted my head, focusing on the only strip of green that matters. Since my eyes were fixed ahead, my ears waited. Heart thumping with the usual flow of adrenaline rushing to meet me...and then the gun fires and we're off! Led all the way, pumping, to the finish line. I think it was an upset victory because people knew R. Harvey, and were expecting her to win. Couldn't help but punch the air and give a whoop and cheer of absolute delight. Don't underestimate the newcomer, yearhh!!!!

circa 1 something -
Languishing on a bench staring into blank space, trying to rest every bit of me before my final event. Suddenly, house vice captain walks past and, "HUIYING!Canyoupleasejoincrossballwe'reshortofone!" Snaps into right state of mind and rushes to the scene, tracksuit and bag and all. This novelty game was held at the tennis court, involves 8 people (I think, from each house). Aim of game is to pass the ball as quickly as possible in a zig zag manner, then rotate until everyone has a turn at starting the ball, then final person runs a lap round the tennis court and brings the ball back to cheers on completion. I wanted to win this. At this point of time, I was vying (however unrealistically) for the senior individual championship award and was trying to collect as many points as possible. I wasn't signed up for cross ball, but in view of my plans, it came as a pretty convenient arrangement. Only, the bad thing about relays is, you just gotta depend on everyone else in the team. So yeah, we came back second last or something like that. So much for that. But it didn't matter, the whole thing wasn't tiring at all. It's more a test of teamwork anyway.

circa 2.15 pm -
Final event, 4 X 100m, my second relay. Teams again. Two of the team weren't even present today, so we had to get two subs. Which were not bad actually. All could run reasonably well. Pleased to have got my usual position, the fourth baton, but in a spirit of compromise, I agreed to receive it in my right then change to my left hand. 1st runner initially had no hope of winning at all. Got slightly ticked off, actually, more towards disappointment. How would you feel if one of your teamates didn't believe you could win? Hurgh. Nevertheless, after a lot of "We will win this." and "We can do this." things improved marginally. Really, all I want is for everyone to do their best and if their best is not good enough, well. You just gotta accept it. After all, the best man wins. If you don't win, you're not the best. You're not the best, you don't win. Simple. In the end, we were all wonderfully surprised when we came in second. Rosslyn led and once again I was looking at Rachelle's back. For our lag, and with me just about as fast as Rachelle, I couldn't do much but narrow up the distance. But whoa yea. Winning is good.

I'd say this was a pretty successful sports day for me. I've bigger plans for next year now that I'm a little more informed. They don't give out medals here, instead it's coloured ribbons you get to pin on your shirt. They're handed out immediately after the race. I felt really proud being able to parade around with two blue ribbons (1st for long jump and 100m), two red ribbons (2nd for 200m and 4X100m), and a green ribbon (3rd for hurdles) on my shirt. Not that I actually did parade around showing them off, because most of the time I was wearing a tracksuit cause I didn't want my body to cool down. It was pretty gripping having to be on the alert all the time cause I had events every hour or so, but I'm glad that my athletics days are not quite over yet, as would be the case if I had stayed in CHS. (But by no means that is to be taken as being able to participate in athletics is a motivation to come here.)

I still can't decide whether I like it here. Whether I'm happy here. To a certain extent I suppose. But not enough to make me count the days till I'll be back, which to date, lies at 5 more days 5 more days 5 MORE DAYS! I've survived =) three months here in this god forsaken land! Hahahah. Going home will be sweet. It's about time I get good Asian food. I need it. I need my guitar. I need my family. And I need my friends. I miss you Feebs, PK, ex0, HeY...and everyone...

Just think: FIVE MORE DAYS!

Random words...

Yep, I know it's been a long time since my last blog, but debate really eats up your time. Regardless prep time or not, I'm still there clicking/typing away at the computer researching, preparing my speech. Anyhow, after today, it'll all be over. Then it's time to clear up the backlog.

Aths trials went fairly well, but I'm clearly very rusty and creaky. Need some oiling. =) Must work out regularly, but easier said than done. I know, cause I've missed about 3 or 4 tennis 'training' at Wednesdays 7am just cause I'm too lazy to wake up. Plus, when the bed all warm and toasty and you're snuggled under this heavy (green :) doona, it's hardly inviting to step out into the chilly morning. Anyway, sukan tara is a lot kinder to the students, here you've got to finish minimum 6 events to get ONE point. The real day of aths trials was 22 degrees, and dressed in my loose PE uniform, it was tormenting. I shan't bore you with details of my timings etc, but I hope I'll qualify for certain events I have my eye on.

Next day woke up aching all over, another sign that my fitness level is down in the dumps. Stumbled and staggered all over school getting from class to class, ouch!

Ooo! I played guitar for chapel service the other day, Sunday after dinner I think. Strummed along with the piano, but after the first song my hands felt seriously limp. Cause the song was repeated 3 times and each time it got faster and faster. Worse still, there were two/three chords per bar so I had to change really quickly.

Right, better get ready for school. The music's playing already... LAter!