____T.H.E. .P.A.S.S.

01:49
Monday, January 30, 2006

____Okay, what's new?

Chinese New Year. What's new?

Ang Pao, mandarin oranges, Bak Kwa, goodies of all sorts, visiting, catching up with relatives that you only see once in a year. What's new?? Haven't we all been doing this since the sun shone on our backsides?

Ang Pao - what used to be the sole motivation for me as a kid to anticipate the arrival of CNY isn't that alluring anymore. I wonder if it's the realisation that the money is just a meagre amount as compared to the expenditure of a young adult. Or is it the case of realisation that this money is just the "come and go" type. I see it as a combination of both, plus the fact that receiving Ang Pao from older married cousins feels way weird...

Food galore! Food is a turnoff now. All the goodies and the sweet drinks make me feel lethargic. Feeling full for 24-hrs a day isn't really what I call enjoyable. Chances of falling ill is high in this period. But what I'm worried most is the fact that all these junk make my sporting performance off-par. Especially when I have the upcoming road relay race on the 4th of Feb.

Catching up with relatives can be a double-edged sword. I enjoy chats with cousins who were once so close to me. Playing with the young ones are fun too. But of course naggy and pokey relatives can often so invade much into your privacy.

Travelling around the island IS tiring - especially since I'm made the chaffeur now. Initially it feels great to drive my family around. But by late afternoon, it became really exhausting to do so. Hopefully my brother gets his license soon so that he can share my load the next time round.
Chinese New Year is rather boring - it is similar to someone telling you what he/she had for breakfast, lunch, dinner, supper, how stress it is to study, how life sucks, how the lousy the lecturer was....

And for those who are enjoying, have a wonderful year of the dog.

Happy Lunar New Year.

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23:33
Sunday, January 22, 2006

____Today

This used to be an important day. At least to me. Hall One were represented in the track finals, competing in the 4x100, 4x400 and 4x800 mixed events. We didn't do very well even though our guy runners are on par with the rest in NTU. Think it all boils down to the girls - we really need to pull in some quality female athletes. Jieshi alone cannot do miracles. For the guys, we cannot always rely on Arthur. Afterall, we're not running "Individual Men's Open" - we're running a team event.

Like I said it used to be an important day but since 3 years ago, it should have ceased to become important. The mind however refuses to accept harsh facts. The brain always plays tricks by telling you false lies. However determined I was then, I could forget the past.

I take the first step today. Or so I choose to believe that I will take the first step today. This will probably be the first time I forget today and hopefully it will lead to many other times when I will forget.

Because, firstly it's high time I move on. Secondly, I think I've found what I want...

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02:32
Sunday, January 15, 2006

____Lost The Drive

I'll be brief. I think I lost the drive in leading the stupid road relay team. Maybe I'm just not up to it. Lack of motivation of runners have slowly made me feel like not putting any effort in the team again.

The track team did well too (although I was dropped from the 4x400 mens relay). Don't really understand, but maybe I was showing the kind of lack of commitment to the training too. Haven't been running in 2 weeks too.

Man Utd lost 1-3 to Man City. Arsenal thrashed Middlesborough 7-0. Wow. Like I've said, I'm always impressed by the attacking qualities of Arsenal. But as for Man Utd? I've nothing to say.

Okay. Shall end here, gotta sleep for tomorrow's mini game. Why bother about the EPL when I can play my own football?

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22:29
Saturday, January 07, 2006

____Keep On Running

The human body is made to run.

So said the much-respected 1WO Lem during my training days at School of Physical Training. He went on to explain painstakingly about how the respiratory system of the human body works, how energy is supplied to our physical needs, what type of energy is used for different activities. I vaguely remember terms like ATP, glycolysis and the quote above is the one I remember most.

I don't know why but I feel myself slowly fitting my feet into my parents shoes. Football may be the most exciting sport around but it is not worth it for a non-professional to sacrifice so much of his body for the love of the game. Yes, I'm talking about myself but probably this will apply to many other people whom I term "heartland footballers". The physical torture a footballer goes through is mad.

Check out "Aren't Boots Supposed To Protect Feet?" by Rob Hughes on The Straits Times, Saturday Jan 7 2006 pg S24. Poor Micheal Owen is now out with a broken metatarsal. So were Gary Neville, Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard and David Beckham recently in their careers. I can name many other footballers who have incurred life-changing injuries over the course of their careers. Thomas Brolin, the Swedish World Cup star. Roy Keane, ex-Manchester United captain (hip). Henrik Larsson, ex-Barcelona striker (leg broken twice). Ronaldo, the phenomenon (torn knee ligaments).

Sure these people are paid millions to do their job and I would agree that it is really worth it. But what about the others? People playing for NTU IVP? Those in the IH team? They aren't paid, and they suffer injuries professionals suffer. Poor Qibin has a knee beyond repair now. I have come to realise that maybe I should focus on running more now.

Now this brings me back to the above quote. Of course the distinct feature of the human body is that we are far more intelligent than the other animals on Earth (although I don't really think this applies for some people) but we all do need to keep our bodies healthy. We have all sorts of exercises ranging from kickboxing to swimming but I have to agree that the most natural sport for a human is running. Our legs are biomechanically engineered to move us forward. Our arms are weaker meaning we do not climb trees. We do not have flippers - swimming doesn't come naturally. Bicycles are invented long after we came into existence. So we are made to run.

I hate the way people complain about being fat yet when I suggest running to them, they give all sorts of excuses. People seek fast and easy solutions and that is where we often make mistakes. The fat did not appear overnight. Naturally it takes time to wear the fat off! Seriously, that is as much an ex-PTI can do. I can try to talk about the benefits of running till the cows come home and at most accompany people to jog sometimes but that is the most I can do. It is up to yourself to implement a change in mindset.

Mindset is such that if I concede that I am lazy and a slacker and that I suck in studying, I will never get good results academically. Sometimes I am surprised at the number of people saying that they are slack, it is almost sad. Everyone should fight Slackingitis. Including me.

More importantly, humans should do what we do best. Use our brains. And run.

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