Goal!

I scored one for Hall 12 today during the water polo match against Hall 16.

We were leading and so LaoNa gave me a chance. It was really crazy to be putting on the cap for the very first time, and when I had the chance to get into the water I felt really energetic despite aching muscles which protested during the warm up. Training for polo yesterday and cheerleading got them really worked up.

Seeing Daniel and Kelvin together with me in the front provided a sense of familiarity. I've been great friends with them ever since FOC and it only strengthened my resolve to do well. I can't remember exactly what happened, except that my contacts shifted position the moment I got to my position and it caused my left eye to be temporarily blinded and I became rather panicky. Apparently I made another shot which missed. And being the first time I've ever been in a match, I forgot that I was supposed to swim back to my half of the pool until the referee pointed it out to me!

It all happened really fast. I realise that in polo things happen without you realising and with so much splashing happening it's really tough to see what's going on! The ball got passed to me. I wasn't consciously aware of where the opponent was (a bad point) and I wanted to pass the ball. I freak out whenever I get the ball, be it while playing soccer or basketball because I don't know what to do with it. But the training helped as I made the choice to dribble the ball in closer before trying to pass it.

Dan and Kel were switching positions and I didn't know who to pass it to, so I held on to the ball. Then I heard shouts asking me to take a chance and shoot.

So I did.

When it went into the top left corner of the goal, I was ecstatic. For that moment I was really overwhelmed with emotion as words of encouragement and cheers filled the air. I was a tad disoriented after that and I could've played better but I learned a lot from being in the match. The feeling was all too new to me and I was playing mostly by reflex, although I felt I should've been thinking a bit more! I guess with a bit more experience I'll become more comfortable playing. I've almost always been a mere benchwarmer during competitions so I've more or less gotten used to the feeling. But the feeling of playing and contributing to the game was something I've never experienced, so I'm thankful for the chance.

I'm aware of my limitations such as the fact that my endurance in water sucks. In fact I was only able to take about 35% of yesterday's training where we were doing things like attacking and defending before I was as useful as a floating cork in water. Of course I did encounter a few self-esteem issues, as with almost everytime I go for training but I realise that by training harder I'll probably be able to make it for next year's IH!

Daniel has been the most encouraging, despite the fact that I listen half-heartedly at times. I do remember him telling me that I shouldn't be afriad to try anything because he and Kelvin were there with me. And then there's his tag on the tagboard. I know there were plenty of times where I seemed like a hopeless case but he never gave up on telling me not to give up. It's been a long time since we've had a heart to heart talk but he's still one of the people who knows me best.

Kelvin, for showing a lot of determination. He got to play the most out of the three of us and it's like almost impossible to enter a game and know how to play right away but he's been improving steadily and making his presence felt in the water.

The seniors... who have been very supportive and vocal with their encouragement. They taught us and trained us hard without being overbearing and earned our respect. They were patient in explaining and demostrating the game to us. It's kind of weird but all of them showcased leadership without ever needing to fight to be the sole voice of the team, which could only be possible of people with that level of chemistry and maturity.

The supporters were really great too, and I really appreciate them coming down especially Liqi, Yiping and Sandar! It's great to feel that you guys were proud of us and we're proud to have you too!

Haha... I know it sounds like a long thank you speech for one mere goal (when Ratta scored about 6 today!) but it's not everyday that one scores, especially not me. Regardless of whether I get to play again during this IH I feel great and finally proud and at least slightly more deserving of the jersey with "Water Polo" emblazoned on its sleeve.

Sports and Games

Sports and Games is what I've been up to! It's a great way to enjoy the holidays, hanging out with people, enjoying their company and working towards a common goal.

Last week my school won a volleyball match, but today we lost one against NIE. It was a rather ok match. I enjoyed the rapport that I've developed with my team mates during such a short time. I knew I could've done slightly better. I guess I'll take next semester to train for it if I have the time! Ooh yeah and I also attended and supported quite a few IHG like soccer, badminton and table tennis. That's also partially because I had photography duty.

I also went for my first cheerleading session last week. That was really... well, it was challenging to do some of the stunts and I had to overcome my initial apprehension about it. The trainings are going to be constant and intense. We are preparing for a competition somewhere in January so there's only a month left to go. With all the sports that I've been taking part in, I've been aching so bad that everytime I lay down on the soft bed, I don't feel like getting up! Damn...

I don't know why I get myself involved in so many things! Ooh, and our school lost ISG badminton this morning. I played Men's Doubles with Tian Ping. It was tiring!

Also I've just finished a Dnd meeting this evening that went on for almost 3 hours! I'm happy to announce that the theme for Dnd '08 is The 12th Parallel - Heroes vs Villians. I was just a little bit sad that it wasn't Las Vegas, although it is indeed overused, it works! There were a lot more suggestions that popped up during this session, but I'm happy that I have a theme to work with. I've got to start work on getting a website done, the video... etc. etc. Sounds like a lot of work to do during the holudays.

And I'm broke.

And I played about 40-50 rounds of Asshole Daidi with Dan, YP, Liqi and Sandar. I spent about half the time being the slave! Rawr!

Snooker, Soccer, Badminton

Interhall Games

The journey so far...

Kayaking 1 Star

For this entry I'll adopt a different style, mostly because I'm exhausted from working today. It's really quite crazy how hard we work for a single event, but then it just makes me want to see it succeed even more. Dnd 08 is going to be the shizzle dammit!

The past two days I've been braving the elements down at Kallang taking the Kayaking 1 star course. As everyone knows, the weather has been crap, raining heavily one moment and having the sun shining heavily on us the next! The first day we were drenched by the sea water and the rain water; while on the second day, quite a few of us got sunburnt, despite it being cloudy most of the day.

I enjoyed the experience thoroughly. It was the feeling of learning something new (okay, not totally but still!), and working at picking up a skill. Of course, achieving completion with the company of friends is fantastic as well. It was great having them around, to share the laughter, joy and aching of muscles!

There were two events that were really memorable. One was the mass capsize where all of us got capsized and we tried to save each other. I think we worked with pretty good synergy. The second was the small expedition trip which I enjoyed tremendously. I got to be the expedition leader for the first part of the trip! Besides that I loved having my brain filled by the single purpose of rowing and at the same time enjoying the view of Singapore's city skyline by the river. (I think I've got a thing for endurance sports.)It was fantastic. Pity we couldn't bring a camera along to take a shot! I also saw great strength and determination in the girls who paddled alongside us. They never wanted to give up despite the exhaustion. My entire torso was aching like mad after the experience so I could imagine how it must have been for them!

Anyway, the photos:























Last of all I'd like to thank Nick (yeah, that's him in the photo above) for being the brains and brawn behind this Kayaking course and Paddlephilia '08, the biggest overseas adventure next year!

Angeline's Birthday

Yeah I know you guys are waiting for it! My update on Angeline's brithday at Settlers! It was my first trip to the place and I was impressed with the staff. They had great knowledge of the games and were really fun people. Anyway, Angeline's party was called Mad Hatters so everyone had to have headgear to enter the party! I have a hilarious video of everyone in their various hats and all!



It isn't just me. I guess everyone's not very comfortable with having something atop their head for the entire evening. We kicked off by playing some games followed by the buffet. I thought the food was fantastic. We all had seconds and thirds! The next game that we played was... oh dammit, I can't remember the name but it is something like Charades! We were going to play Taboo, but I think that works a little bit differently. Anyway, we enjoyed some of our most hilarious moments playing that game.

Exclusive: See Connie and Angeline working it!



Having the party at Settler's was ingenius because you don't have to worry about your guests having nothing to do or not enjoying themselves! There's so much fun and laughter in the place - in fact I felt really carefree and enjoyed myself a lot!

We continued playing other games like guessing what your friends would put their priority in... I don't really know how to explain the game but you'll be able to find it there. Also we played this game that was kind of like Uno except that there were animals on the cards and you had to make the specific animal sounds. With the wrong sounds you had to draw another two cards!



Okay, and that's us in our various hats! I got that cap a couple of years ago when Britney released Do Somethin' as the second single to her My Prerogative: Greatest Hits collection! The dice on the right was a tattoo on her wrist that she got together with Kevin Federline, although I haven't seen in it a long time. She might've gotten it removed.

This post is not about Britney.

After that Settler's gave out some VIP cards to Angeline and she came around to our table and only after a mere 2 seconds of hesitation, she thrusted the application form promptly in my face and said that I should have it because I was a "social butterfly".

Like, seriously?



And the birthday ritual that everyone is undoubtedly familiar with! She looked really glamorous in her get-up.

I'd like to add the cake was good too. Hmm... after the many birthday cakes I've eaten this year I think I've got an addiction to the chocolate ones especially. It won't be long before I start buying them because of overwhelming urges to satisfy my cravings...



A picture with all the current and alumni people of Hall 12!



This last photo was taken at the MRT station when I urged David to wear the vest that he borrowed to match that very tall hat! They came up with a couple of funny and natural poses and I thought this one was the coolest because David looks like the magician grabbing a cute bunny rabbit...

Okay you get the idea!

PS My hair sucked cos I thought we were going to have our hats on through the entire thing so I didn't get it done! Plus I actually wore the cap at a nice jaunty angle on my way to Clarke Quay! =P