Showing posts with label sports. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sports. Show all posts

Adventure Time!

No, this post has nothing to do with Finn and Jake, besides the fact that their picture is gloriously posted below.


This post however, has more to do with my past weekend, amidst the heavy rain and glum. The adventure began on Saturday morning, where for my work training, I was sent, together with my colleague, to an indoor rock climbing centre in Wangsa Maju called Mad Monkeyz. It's a pretty small shop lot, but packed to the brim with walls you can climb on. After six hours there, I am now a certified Level One Sport Climber, and am allowed to belay for top-rope climbers. 


The walls there are only about 4m high, but don't let it's short stature fool you into thinking that it is easy! Compensating for what they lack in height, they excel in challenge, both mentally and physically. There are many excruciating paths you can choose to traverse across the walls, and even ceilings! Definitely a fun place to visit if you're looking for both a mental and physical challenge.


Scaling walls is a hungry business, and so for dinner, I was at the Overseas Restaurant to celebrate the 50th birthday anniversary* of a dear family friend. 50 years and she doesn't look much different from when I first met her about 20 years ago. One thing I really admired was that at the dinner, her father made good use of the opportunity to share the gospel with the guests. Very, very brave of him!


At the dinner, I met up with the birthday girl's sister and brother, who are my old fishing 'kakis'. It goes without saying that somebody casually mentioned the word 'fish', and we ended up going for a all-night fishing expedition to this Natural Exotic Fish Fishing Pond in Rawang. For RM100, you can fish for three hours, or you could pay RM100 for two hours and try reel in a jackpot catch. They said that there were giant fish to be caught, and they were absolutely serious about it. Here's me with my 8kg catch - the biggest I have ever gotten. Ever. Amongst the four of us, we managed to reel in another three more giant Redtail Catfish (Hemibagrus wyckioides) by 5am. Unable to stay awake any longer, we left quite reluctantly. So there ended my adventure.

*I say birthday anniversary because you technically have only one birthday. No prizes for guessing when that was. The ones you celebrate every year, would then naturally be your birthday anniversaries.
**Farshid, if you're reading this, no worries. The fish were not killed, but allowed to recuperate, then were subsequently returned into the pond.

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Back to Life, Back to Reality

And thus my term break draws to a close. I leave for KL after lunch, and it's back to ready myself for the return to the grinding stone. In retrospect, I think I've done quite a bit this break. I didn't do what I wanted to (like building a longbow), but I did get other things done.


I painted the doors in the house -  all 8 of them. By the time I got to the sixth door, I felt like I could just collapse and sleep. If it wasn't for my grandma's encouragement (my parents think she spoils me), and my dad's coffee, I'd have left the doors half painted and went to sleep. Totally changed my perception of painting. I have to say, I've now got a new-found respect for painters.


I also finally decided to write a nice letter to both my host mom and teacher in Japan. It's been quite a while they've heard from me. Also included some curry paste and bak kut teh sachets which they quite seem to enjoy. I quite suck at keeping in touch, and if it wasn't for the incessant nagging reminders from my mother, I'd never have gotten around to it.


Last break, I joined this group of old folks at a nearby park for Taiji - just curious as to how tough this whole slo-mo old people's exercise actually is.

I got my feisty ass whooped in slo-mo. This thing is no joke, I tell you.

Can you do a front kick? Yes? Good. Now try doing it reeeeaaaaally slowly, like at 46 bpm (click here for a metronome).

The style I picked up is called Chen style (陈式), and is the parent form for Yang (杨), Wu(武), Wu(吴), and Sun(孙) style taiji. This style of taiji, although given it's prestige as a parent form, is one of the least practised style of all five schools. Unlike the other four schools, the Chen style alternates in rhythm - vigorous at some points, gentle at some points. Unique to this style is also fajin (发劲) - a quick power burst action, which is, I think, never seen in other styles.

Well, I never finished learning the set last break, so I rejoined them the moment I got back. I still haven't finished learning the set, having only learnt 24 out of the 83 moves, but I've made pretty decent progress.

Yeah. *Pats self on the back* Time to take my last nap before the term starts. Ciao.

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My Schedule Doth Overflow

I think I'm filling my schedule up a little too tight. Tuesday and Thursday evenings are for Judo training, while Wednesday means choir practice. Friday nights are bible study, leaving only Monday, Saturday, and Sunday free. Wednesdays in particular are a killer since I leave the house at a quarter to 10, and don't get back till 10 in the night. Midterms and assignment deadlines coming along are not making things any easier.

On a side note, I'm supposed to be doing a Personal Development Assignment (PDA) for my LLS101 class. In this assignment, I am supposed to pick an aspect of my behaviour and attempt to alter it within the time frame given. After thinking, I decided to correct my bad habit of sleeping late. The irony of the entire situation is that due to this assignment (and other factors, of course) I find myself sleeping in the wee hours of the morning. Ha.

Did I also mention that there will be a Halloween party in October, organised by the BPsych Student Council? *SinisterGrin*

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HELP Sports Carnival 2009

Yesterday was the annual Sports Carnival which was held in the grounds of the Malayan University. I only went there at around 12 with a couple of friends to cheer JM and MJ on for their tug of war game.


It was a really hot afternoon though we braved the UV and IR rays and stood out of the canopy to cheer our department's players on. Our volleyball team did very well, I should say, finishing second after being unceremoniously thrashed by another department with a national player in it. Way to go, Teh O! 

I am glad to report that our sore throats and lost voices did not go to waste. BPsych's Basketball team managed to battle all the way up to the finals, securing a silver. Football also managed to score us a bronze. I'm not too sure about the other events.

Then came the event my friends and I came to watch: Tug of War.

We did very well for the first three pulls, dragging the opposition on their faces. Unfortunately, by the fourth pull, JM hurt his back and consequently could not participate. He was substituted, but a few more other players hurt themselves including the team captain. At the eleventh hour, many people who did not plan on doing anything other than cheering found themselves tugging at a rope with eight people on the other end who were tugging as hard. I can say with pride that I was one of those people joining in the effort to stop us from losing our last hope of a medal. I really thank the Lord for His strength when we were all exhausted, allowing us to climb back up again for a bronze. 

With that, our department managed to tie with HMC, making us the champions for the day. However, due to the stubborn fact that there could only be one champion, we were knocked down to runner ups since we didn't have a single gold medal. Still, I'm glad we tied. This means we still get out celebration meal!

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Two thumbs up! (owww...)


Smart huh...
2 days before I go to Uni
I sprain my thumbs.
Both of them.
I suppose this qualifies me for the OKU card... hehe

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Spare time

Now with all the time in the world to spend, what does a professional loafer like me do? Loads of stuff...

I went to the Berjaya Culinary Unversity College and the Lupeichun Japanese Academy on Monday with the intent of deciding on the next step. The highlight of the trip was the Berjaya Culinary University College in Berjaya Time Square. Their facilities were the state of the art: a lecturer just for coffee-making, and even an oenology lab.
This leaves me torn between two choices... do I stay and learn how to cook, or do I leave again? sigh... decisions...decisions...

Spent Monday night in Melaka. Tuesday morning, I followed my bro to the Melaka Palace to learn kung fu. Hohoho... now I know the 2nd part of the White Crane Fists.


Just like how I suck at dancing, I kinda suck at kung fu too. Must be the memorising part...

After coming back from the Kung Fu lesson, we packed up and headed off to Ipoh to visit Jessica and her family. After a wrong turn which led us on a 13 km ride, we checked into Clearwater Sanctuary Golf Resort. Out went the luggage, on came the beachwear.

The chalet we stayed in
The view from the balcony...just ignore the sleeping lump (^^)

Outside the balcony

First stop was archery. The nice Indian lady was more of a live target than an assistant, since she kinda loved hanging around the target board while we had our bows nocked and drawn. By the time we got the hang of it, it was timesup.

Next on the list was kayaking, but since it was drizzling, we went swimming instead. Splashed around until the weather cleared, then it was off to the mining pool. Switched between the single kayak and the double seater. Paddling with my sis is such a bore... She complains too much and rows too little.





As it started to rain, we moved on to fishing in the mining pool with bread. Ended up feeding the fishes.

Feeding fishes with a hook, line and sinker is fun!


Later in the evening, Jessica and family came over to visit us. Dinner was quick, and we dissapeared off to the tennis courts while the adults chatted. We started off with 15 balls, but by 9pm, we had shot 10 of them out into the darkness. (^^)



Uh-oh...
Wednesday morning started off with a buffet which wasn't. Have you ever heard of a buffet where there is no food laid out and you have to order from a menu? It can only be found here at the Clearwater Sanctuary. One of a kind I tell you! The softboiled eggs were raw... and the "fresh" orange juice was just orange cordial. Baked beans were less than a ladleful. All that for RM15...
Since my parents and sis had gone off somewhere, my bro and I headed off to the mining pool again. Without our liability, we rowed to the obsecure end of the lake and farther out. Getting tired, we rowed back to shore and headed to the in-house cybercafe. We barely had 5 rounds of Counterstrike before we had to check out.

Headed straight to Ipoh for lunch, stopping by Kellie's Castle ( RM4 per person...no way we were paying to see a dilapidated building) on the way to Old Town, but since we couldn't find out way there, lunch was at some random coffee shop. Next destination was the Lee residence.




Round and round the garden, like a teddy bear...

Dad: I'm sure it's this way...

Bro: This way la...

15mins later

Dad: I'm sure it was around here somewhere...


Now I'm here blogging my afternoon away... Can't wait for tomorrow night!

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