June

2nd time bringing the trophy back.


many months of training, 4 competitions, 4 medals for myself, all in the month of June.

in the last 2 weekends, the whole team managed to grab a whole bunch of medals. for myself, i got 1 silver from SIWF, 1 gold from POL-ITE 2009, 1 silver for the Tertiary Mixed team and 1 bronze for the National Championship Men's, both from SDBF.

SIWF was my first and last with RP. the silver medal was in fact a gold and we know damn well why.

POL-ITE 2009 was my final one, and i'm glad i could defend the title with my team. it was RPDB's third consecutive win in the POL-ITE games since snatching it from TP. i paddled in 2 of the 3 POL-ITE races.

for SDBF, we swept the POL-ITE category races in Men's, Women's and Mixed last year. unfortunately, SDBA took that category off this year; in fact, 2008 was the only year the POL-ITE category was featured. but in 2009, RPDB made history. the bronze medal from the National Championship Men's was the first, since we started in 2005. that was the best bronze medal i've ever gotten in my life. in that event itself, it was also one of the best ever. the Tertiary Mixed silver medal was one of my very few Mixed team medals, and i'm glad to have paddled.

all the 3 competitions mentioned above are all my last with RPDB. the feeling in those competitions were great; almost replicable to SRR 2008. thanks to everyone who made it possible; my coach, my teammates, GOD.

King of Pop

ladies and gentlemen, the King of Pop has left us. yes, it's Michael Jackson, and no, it's not a prank.

the 50-year-old died after suffering from cardiac arrest. CPR was performed, but it wasn't enough to keep him alive. more news here.

on a personal note, if i'm not wrong, i was introduced to MJ by my brother. he has a few albums of MJ at home. i've watched MJ's MTV of a few songs, and i really liked them. MJ has gone through controversies; child molestation, plastic surgery and even lifting his child outside the window. but despite what he did, i still love him for his music. he revolutionised what music is today. he, indeed, changed the world. the only thing he did wrong was to leave us this early, when nobody was ready for it.

thank you MJ, thanks for the great songs, the great music you've presented over the years, since your Jackson 5 days. thanks for everything.

Prick?

Singapore International Water Festival

we, RPDB, went for our most recent competition just yesterday at Marina Barrage. it was the Singapore International Water Festival, jointly organised by Singapore Polytechnic and PUB, and we competed in the Inter-POL-ITE Dragon Boat race.

due to delays in earlier races, we were rushed at the starting point to align our boats. the officials were impatient, they didn't want to delay further and they just started the race without bothering whether the boats were aligned or not. our boat, particularly, started off veering towards lane 6; we were in lane 5. that probably took away 2-3seconds, or more, from our race.

despite that, our coxwain was able to steer us back into our lane quickly enough and we won the set/ heat, beating SP by only 1sec, clocking 2:28min.

NP won by a clear margin amongst the other teams in their set/ heat, clocking a 2:27min to win the Inter-POL-ITE Men's category. we got 2nd and SP got 3rd.

our girls did really well, capturing Gold for the Inter-POL-ITE Women's category.

oh yes, i'm proud of my juniors. despite their resut, i want to applaud them for their efforts. they seemed calm and compose throughout most of their race. a good job to you guys and please remember what i said to you. continue working hard!

as a preview to the POL-ITE games, coming up on Friday (26/06/2009), we now know where we stand. i'm looking forward to compete side by side with the other Polytechnic and ITE teams, and vie for the Championship. pressure's on us, but we'll not succumb to it.

Life

his name is Andy Toh Jiahe. born 24th June 1985, left the world on the 28th day of August, the same year he was born.

yes, he is related to me, he is my 2nd brother.

the boy died just slightly over 2months after he entered the world, something no parents want to see their kid go through. it's exactly like the Chinese saying, when directly translated, "white hair sends the black hair away".

but then i think back, if Andy boy, as my mum calls him, didn't pass away, would i even be here? would my parents have even wanted a third child in the family?

Andy boy wasn't able to enjoy his 2months on earth, i assume. being a 2month old baby, what was there for him to do? i'm already 20 years old, and i asked myself this question, am i enjoying my life?

what's "enjoyment"? what's "living your life to the fullest"? is it to live a healthy lifestyle, eating only healthy food to help us live longer, to be fit for most of our lives? or is it to do whatever you like, eat whatever you like, even if it leads to a shorter lifespan? but then again, can there be a combination of the two?

well, the main point of the whole post is that since we've got the opportunity to live, why not live it to the fullest, live it the way you want, but of course being morally right. Andy boy didn't, but i now do.

thanks Andy boy.

Sexy Golf

i would love to be THAT instructor. *2 thumbs up!*

Kobe Bryant

i hate to say this, but this man, #24 of the LA Lakers, is one of the best players the NBA has ever had. he shoots from anywhere, even with a hand, or a thousand hands in his face. he doesn't even need to look at the basket to shoot, Kobe's got the shooting feel/ touch everywhere.

i'm no Lakers fan, no Kobe fan, but i have to say, Bryant is looking like the legendary #23 of Chicago Bulls.

Glitz 2009, AGAIN

i never wanted bad relationships between the Floorball team and RPDB.

i never had bad intentions in my first post on Glitz 2009.

i accept your apology Ahmad, whom i assume is the captain of Floorball. i agree that there was a miscommunication between your other teammates and my post. i respect that you've stepped up to clear the air. i hope this doesn't affect our teams too much, and preferably, it will be ignored ASAP. i also apologise for unintentionally starting this flame.

Wan, i didn't want this to happen, and it's not going to affect our friendship, at least i'm not going to let it.

why would i want to get myself into trouble with another IG? it's my final year and i got better things to worry about. if you, AHMAD KAMIL, wants to find trouble, then i think you knocked on the wrong door. because me, and my team, are going to ignore such things and focus on our own team, our upcoming competitions. and if there's anything wrong with my post, i once again say, i am willing to talk about this face to face, in gentlemanly style. don't smear my reputation, don't smear my team's reputation and lastly, don't smear YOUR team's reputation. if you wish to continue this war of words, you go on yourself alright? i'm not going to entertain this anymore on my blog. AHMAD AFZAL has stepped up to apologise for your team, and i'm done with this crap.

Stomp Fail!

i was looking through the stomp website, and bumped upon this post.

note: it's a Mitsubishi, not a Subaru.

To the shallowest of champions

well, that AHMAD KAMIL fella said he and some of his floorball mates think i can't take the loss of the Team of the Year.

say what you guys want alright? i stay firm, and still say my conscience is clear, i am NOT a sore loser. i did not insult the floorball team, i did not say anything to criticise the team.

lastly, please just get some English lessons, and work on your comprehension skills. after that, re-read my Glitz 2009 post again, and tell me which part of it shows my lack of sportsmanship.

oh yes, i'll ignore such accusations, because i know myself better than you shallow people. you dare comment on how champions should act? take a look at yourselves. i'm not afraid to say this.

p.s. i'm only targetting this to those who shallowly think i am a sore loser, not the whole floorball team.

Respond to Glitz 2009 comment

AHMAD, you see, i'm not being a sore loser. i did mention in the earlier post, i applaud your team's winning. i even physically went to the edge of the stage to congratulate the Floorballers i know. i continued to do so when you guys came out. and as i said, you guys had an excellent season.

now, don't get me wrong if i said i don't know if you guys were well deserved winners. i can't judge whether you guys are because i don't know how it's going within your team. as mentioned, you guys did well last season, and i really respect the fact that your team clinched gold in both POL-ITE and IVP.

i stay on my stand, i am NOT sore about not winning Team of the Year. if we deserved it, we would have got it. since we didn't, then we got nothing. there are winners, then there are losers. in this case, we're the latter. and as you said, we'll continue to fight another day, to get back the title, the award, the recognition.

anyway, my conscience is clear, and will not bother to find trouble from you, or anyone else that thinks the same as you. i wouldn't mind if you're willing to clear the air with me personally. i'm a gentleman and will pull no punches, won't even think about it.

Driving

hello everyone.

on this faithful day, 03/06/2009, the probation (or triangle) plates in my car have been removed! it's been a year since i got my license, and i am very, VERY happy to be driving without those "triangles".

let me tell you what those things do to you as a driver.
- people bully you. they think you're a newbie, and take advantage of you.
- people treat you as you're non-existent.
- you have only 13 pathetic points.
alright, basically people don't respect you on the roads, they cut you off your lanes, tailgate you and whatever. but i haven't backed off such situations. i usually fight back, but keep myself and the car as safe as possible.

but anyway, those of you that have been through it, you know how it feels. those who haven't, good luck to you guys, and stay strong against those road bullies!

Alcohol

after last night's experience, i hereby vow to abstain from all forms of alcoholic drinks. which means no beer or liquor, but alcoholic chocolates are still allowed.

seriously, being drunk makes one look ugly and all. and i was probably ranting about you last night.

Glitz 2009

right, so we didn't clinch the Team of the Year award for the 3rd consecutive year, but we were nominees for the past 3 years. when the results were announced, i thought i was dreaming, and definitely hoped it was a dream. but the Floorball male team took it from us. say all you want whether the results were biased or not, the winners are the team whose adviser is the Deputy Head of OSG and there is nothing we can do, but to fight for it again, starting from now.

i won't say that the Floorball team are well deserved winners, because i don't know about their attendance and discipline matters, though they have made an excellent season winning gold in the IVP and POL-ITE games. but you know, i don't think RPDB deserve the title, if we were to look into discipline and attendance.

yes we've made a heck load of history throughout our previous season. we made history in SRR 2008, winning 4 golds. we made history by winning POL-ITE 2 years in a row. we clinched gold for all the POL-ITE category events at SDBF 2008. but apparently, in OSG's eyes, it's not enough for us to win the Team of the Year.

really looked forward to winning the Team of the Year for the 3rd time to complete a 3-peat, but it didn't happen. i applaud RP's Floorball team for clinching the award, and trust me, we'll be back to take it back next year. may the best team win.

on a brighter note, i got a Certificate of Merit, only 2 Dragon Boaters got it this year, Rone and myself. Christo got Meritorious Silver along with Shawn and Hakin. Alvin got the Sports Development Grant, which Christo has too - that's 2 for the vice-capt. Hakin was also awarded Female Captain of the year.