Today during team run something damn funny happened. We were running on the outermost lanes when...

Mohan: ‘操他奶奶的, 在这儿跑得多跑一千五百米。 真他妈的，都快累死了！'
Me: 'huh where got? its the same wad..'
Mohan: 'no you see, the horizontal distance between each lane is 1m, so a distance of 7 lanes is 7m. Taking the circumference of a circle to be 2 pie r, the total increase in distance is 14 pie * 12，which is...'
Me: '...'

I feel so noob now la pls to be around a true 'student athlete' lol. Made me laugh until I got stitch. But I also forgot the exact number which Mohan mentally calculated on the spot :p.

Labels: Hong Cheng

Updated@9:58 PM

Hey guys, juz wanna share with u'll some thoughts I have about this afternoon. I feel tht everybody did an awesome job today, not juz in terms of giving ur all but also encouraging your teammates in the process. Personally, although I wasn't fantastic, I believe that I've given my best, and tht would not have been possible without the encouragement I received today - be it Brian who was there helping me to count my pullups, Shenghao pushing me throughout my pushups (no pun intended :p), Maggie giving me the crunch I need for my situps, and most importantly all the people who've consoled and encouraged me after I completed an unfavourable 2.4 time trial. Frankly speaking, thts a station which means a lot to me, and having lost to Xingda and Eugene came as a shock and disappointment. But I realized tht although there are obstacles on the road to excellence, I'm not alone in my struggle, for we struggle together as a team. I thank all of you for making me realize tht, first hand. Losing has thus made me more aware of the areas I have to improve on, and more so the value of humility. To Xingda and Eugene: Well done! I am awed and humbled by your excellence.

Having been together as a team for almost 4 months, I'm really happy to see our team psyche maturing and taking shape, and I believe it is indeed this synergy which inspired us to give our best today - even under unfavourable conditions such as the hot sun, the late timing, the numerous stations and with a number of us nursing injuries. Rest well everybody, and although the team selection will still have to happen, party based on the results, lets take it in our stride, for when we have faith in ourselves, we'll inspire others around us and grow as team. And when a team outgrows individual performance and learns team confidence, excellence becomes a reality. As a young team we still have a long way to go, but I hope that we'll do it together, just like we did today.

Labels: Hong Cheng

Updated@11:27 PM

Here's my take on all the events which happened today. Honestly speaking, even with all the team talks, emphasis on team spirit etc...sometimes when self interest is at state its difficult to translate that into action. Its always easy to be brave from a safe distance, and although ya I find all this hype about helping one another all tht very encouraging (ya thts what we should continue doing), its a different matter when you emphatize with those who're not in the 18 now, and our teammates who are among the 18, but at the borderline. Everything tht has been said so far is good, but the reality remains tht when we're cheering for those not in the 18 to be able to join us quickly, its inevitably sending a sense of dread to those who're in danger of losing their places. Ideally Jiao Lian would let all of us in la...but everybody knows tht will probably not happen.

I know tht this is a very sensitive issue, and all the more we have to handle it with care. By not raising it and pretending tht nth's gonna happen and nth's gonna change and everybody's gonna be happy isn't gonna work. To those who have secure places: do continue to encourage all ur other teammates , but be extra sensitive. Saying 'its ok if u dun get into the 18 la, we're still a team rite?' to a distressed teammate who got displaced or failed to make it ISN'T gonna work. Everybody's experienced this before. When u feel like shit after a major disappointment and somebody pro comes and throws some sympathy at u, regardless of how noble the intention, u juz feel even worse. To those not among the 18, or who have insecure places: work hard, and let nature take its course. Since competition is a reality, we juz gotta take it the best we can, as it comes along.

All's well and good with team spirit, but passion is nothing without reason. Work hard together team, and as individuals lets do our very best also - not juz for ourselves or for our sch, but also for the teammate who might have to lose an opportunity becuz of you. There's nth u can do about it if the system is this way, but let it be worth it. Reality really bites, and there r stuff which we dun wish to think about. But as a team, I believe for us to really bond, to form deep, lasting friendships, we have to have the courage to address our problems, insecurities and work our way towards overcoming them. The internal competition and limited opportunities which we face now is merely the initial test of our team bonding.

Lets do it.

Labels: Hong Cheng

Updated@11:09 PM

Hey guys, I know that all of us must be feeling kinda sad now tht Chenwei's leaving. In any case, he has been with us through sweat and tears for 2 months, and I'm pretty certain that even though he has to leave RJ, we'll always remember him as a valuable member of our team and as a source of inspiration for all of us =).

Alright, now on to a bit more serious stuff haha. The creation of the blog is a good platform for us to destress and share our experiences during training, jokes (ok la Hong Cheng jokes included =p) to promote our team bonding etc, but for more serious issues such as fund raising, I feel that it is important for us to involve the teachers and the J2s as well in the brainstorming and decision making process, if we are ever going to submit a formal proposal for our intended fundraising project. Also, as the daily rate of posting is rather high now, it would be more appropriate if serious admin matters such as training schedules, 1 star canoeing course dates etc are given a formal platform where they can be viewed by everybody. To the best of my knowledge, not everybody reads the blog every day, and hence we cannot rely on it to disseminate important information.

Therefore, I have arranged with Kaiyang to invite us to the canoeing yahoo groups, which is rjcanoe@yahoogroups.com. Preferably it would include the girls as well (i'll try and get their contact list as well). When u receive the invitation, please join so that you can be included in important decision making and contribute your ideas to projects such as fund raising. Discussing stuff here is good la... but do bear in mind that we need the school's endorsement and a concrete plan sooner or later, should we wish for it to materialize in the future. Okies take care, rest well and see ya guys on Wednesday! ;)

Labels: Hong Cheng

Updated@9:16 PM

Hey guys, sorry for the delay. The canoeing contact list for J1 guys has been saved to the common gmail account which has the same username and password as our blogger account, so just access (click on drafts after you login) and download it. Also, please submit ur 1 star canoeing course forms to me ASAP thanks =)

Labels: Hong Cheng

Updated@9:11 PM

Wa today was really a rainy day, but we sure had fun in the underground tunnel la. Eh Luigi next time must join me for singing, then we can torture the other guys together lol. And Marcu we did find somewhere suitable to relieve ourselves eh? HAHA =p. Anyways though we didn't get to row the land trng was great! 172 pullups is no mean feat. Lets keep the spirit alive and train hard tmr too =).

Labels: Hong Cheng

Updated@11:01 PM

This short post is dedicated to Shenghao. It was really some display of determination and never say die attitude you've shown all of us today, and the entire team is very proud of you =D. When the going gets tough, the tough gets going mann. Rest well and hope the muscle pull near ur abs (if any) recovers soon! Lets all keep trying our best and continue to train hard guys ;)

Labels: Hong Cheng

Updated@9:14 PM

Okies since the whole world is so interested in what happened I shall confess! The narration is as follows:

After a 11km row on Wednesday, I was happily paddling back to the pontoon for a good break, when at the last 500m two hot bods from HCJC brushed past me (literally). I was already quite imba when they did tht, then one of them, while kindly trying not to get into my way, raised his paddle and it hit my head -.-. So cap la, what u expect? Lol. I was quite stunned la, so I took a while to flip the boat over. Then 2 gals came to save me, the boat was alr half full and I was quite scared after the cap, so after i got back onto the boat i capped almost immediately. Then 2 more gals came to save me, but at tht time my boat was sinking vertically into the haven below, so wa I was damn scared. I tried to balance the boat but er...my arms weren't long enough >p. But if the boat sink how? So I held on to the boat like a koala b.ear =p. Finally 2 damn zai guys in K1s came, and with immense strength and help from the other 2 gals they managed to empty my boat and I got back onto the pontoon safely. Quite an epic adventure and a... memorable experience la, except that I went from hero to zero -.-".

Moral of the story: hc is a nOob/wear a helmet during water trng/dun stare at hot bods when paddling =p.

Labels: Hong Cheng

Updated@9:38 PM

harlo ppl! i've deleted my own blog so that i can post on this blog :p. Everybody train hard ok! And do find time to contribute here... we should get our own table soon too so that we can meet in the mornings and inspire one another. After trainings we can share our experiences here too yay.

Labels: Hong Cheng

Updated@11:54 PM