Sorry for the sporadic posts for those of you who even bother to check back here. All has been good in Ann Arbor so far, though the weather has been somewhat unpredictable and it's been raining more frequently than I'd like. The past few weeks has been a whirlwind of trying out my initial class schedule, dropping classes and selecting new ones, wondering what's the maximum number of credits I should elect this term without completely sacrificing my sanity. Dropped Econ 401 for Public Policy which seems to be panning out quite nicely- it's far more interesting, and decided against continuing with Russian Politics for a Polsci course on modeling political processes. So all is well, at least until the exams come.

Training for Chicago has been pretty awesome too. The marathon's exactly four weeks away- it'll be time to start tapering maybe after next week, or something. I've been clocking mileage like nobody's business- sometimes when I think about it, I figure I'd think I was completely insane if I had ever conjured up the thought that I'd be doing somewhere in the range of 50-60 miles a week. It's pretty crazy. Especially when I look back on how in secondary school I used to think 2.4 km was so damn bloody far and thankfully we only had to put ourselves through that unnecessary torture once a year. In JC I slowly got weaned onto running, with canal routes and all for canoeing, but it still wasn't something I enjoyed, because I was terribly prone to stitches (much less now, thankfully, but it still happens at the worst times). And I remember how I used to think Leqi and Shine (I'm sorry, but I really did think you were nuts!) were absolutely bonkers for signing up for StanChart and doing various other mad things like going for a run along the MRT route. But anyway back to the point. Now I can't live without running.

Today's training run organized by the Tortoise and Hare Running Store was a great run for me. It was more of a recovery run because I did 15 miles yesterday and so I thought I'd take the 10 miles easy today. Managed to settle into a really comfortable cadence at around 8:45min/ mile and it felt awesome despite the blustery wind and slopes at the end that I picked up my pace and finished in an hour and 24 minutes. What was surprising was that I wasn't even winded at the end and I was even contemplating doing 14 miles because it felt like I still had plenty of energy to spare. But I decided against the additional four because of the 15 miles yesterday and I didn't want to risk anything so near the marathon. Anyway my mileage this week was pretty substantial- 20 miles at an easy 9:30 pace last Sunday, hilly route Monday of about 7 miles (quite unwise considering the 20 miles the day before), 2 6-mile tempo runs on Wednesday, one in the morning and another in the afternoon, another 2 6-milers on Thursday (I don't know what's with the 6 miles, but I like that route), 15 miles on Saturday and the 10 miles today. That's 66 miles in total, I've realized... Oh well.

Anyway Dean Karnazes has finished 8 of his 50 marathons, 42 more to go... Amazing. I'm looking forward to joining him at Chicago!

Wow, I haven't blogged in about a month and a half. I keep putting it off somehow, it becomes a bit of a drag sometimes. It's mainly a tool to keep people back home in the loop with regards to how things are coming along in my life over at the other end of the world. I must say the first week of school has passed awfully slowly. Maybe it's because I'm maxing out on term credits- 18 credit hours, and it seems like there's a ton of work to be done. Which is terribly true. I can't even remember the courses I'm taking sometimes, because it's more than I'm accustomed to. I think it's probably because 3 of my courses are 3-credit classes with 4-credit workloads, and so that piles on the stress. Haha. I'm doing 3 political science courses in an attempt to attain my major as quickly as I can- Russian politics, Southeast Asian politics, and international political economy. In addition, I'm taking a German conversation course, a 1-credit course which looks to be great fun since I've been so lucky as to get perhaps the best German instructor ever for my weekly hour-long class. The remaining 8 credits go to Econ 401 (Intermediate Microeconomics), and Econ 404 (Statistics for Economists). I envision these two courses dealing me a slow death if I don't keep up with the work, because 401 is highly math-reliant and 404 is, well, all about statistics. Just yesterday I almost died doing basic differentiation for 401. Thankfully it all started coming back to me after a few frantic minutes of scribbling and jabbing calculator buttons. Hopefully it gets better. Screw math, I thought I'd never have to use it again... Oh well, I guess that's what you get for being an econ major in the US.

Elected not to continue with crew this year for a couple of reasons, especially since I don't think I'll particularly enjoy slogging away on the ergometer for the rest of my Michigan life. Because I don't think I'll ever see the interior of a boat again. Hunting desperately for another sport to altogether consume my life, it's a tough job. So far only triathlon makes the cut, except that the UM Tri Club's a fledgling organization run by 18-year-olds and doesn't particularly catch my fancy. I think I'll have to look to the Ann Arbor Tri Club to provide me with more semblance of proper training. I need some structure, now that I've left rowing.

The new apartment at Tappan is pretty good. I'm pleased with my own room and my flatmates are awesome, save for the fact that our fridge is kinda packed and we are having a wee bit of trouble finding what belongs to whom. At least we managed to get a decent cable/ internet deal from Comcast and hooked up the router yesterday night (no easy task, considering the tangle of cables and the fact that the previous occupants of our flat did strange things like drilling holes in the walls and passing cables through them), and so I've finally got internet access.

Life is generally good- well, at least until it's time to hand up the next econ problem set assignment.

What is Endurance?

This is endurance.



50 marathons, 50 states, 50 continuous days.
Dean Karnazes begins The North Face Endurance 50, the ultimate running expedition on September 17 in Missouri, and aims to finish 1,310 miles later on November 5th in New York City. Along the way, he will transcend preconceived notions of human endurance to inspire people to test their own personal limits.

Most of the time it all comes down to discipline and will.
Read more at his blog here.

Whether I'm right or wrong
There's no phrase that hits
Like an ocean needs the sand
Or a dirty old shoe that fits
And if all the world was perfect
I would only ever want to see your scars
You know they can have their universe
We'll be in the dirt designing stars

And, darling, you know
You make me feel so beautiful
Nowhere else in the world I wanna be
You make me feel so beautiful

Whether I'm up or down
There's no crowd to please
I'm like a faith without a clause to believe in it
And if all the world was smiling
I would only ever want to see your frown
You know they can sail away in sunsets
We'll be right here stranded on the ground
Just happy to be found

You make me feel so beautiful
Nowhere else in the world I wanna be
You make me feel so beautiful

I have lost my illusions
I have drowned in your words
I have left my confusion to a cynical world
I am throwing myself at things I don't understand
Discover enlightenment holding your hand

You are so beautiful

Yeah, darling, you know
That you make me feel so beautiful

Darren Hayes So Beautiful

Okay, got the Airborne wings in time for my birthday, perhaps one of the best presents ever! But we were issued the old dark-green badges and so now I've to hunt for the ones on olive-green backing. Honestly, the implementation of the new Army dress rules have proved to be quite a hassle, especially since no one in my formation seems to have any inkling whatsoever when it comes to the formation and arms badges. Which is not a good sign, because we're supposed to get everything altered by 1st July. And the alterations burn quite a hole in the pocket- I know I shouldn't be complaining, since there are probably others who have it far worse- but I'd have to say the Beach Road Army Market stallholders are probably making a killing right now by charging unprecedented prices for all the sewing they've been doing of late. So far life in the unit has been decent, just lie low and don't attract the wrong sort of attention and I think I should survive till the end of my attachment. Anyway training is at a lull now, excepting NDP (which is crazy busy) so my weekdays are not as packed as I'd imagined them to be, but I foresee all my Saturdays up till the end of NDP being entirely burnt by combined rehearsals, NE show, Preview and the like. Cookhouse food is surprisingly palatable and they're generous with fruit so I really can't ask for more. Endurance/ AHM training runs are mainly held at ECP which is just across the expressway from camp and it's nice to run there so that's pretty good. I've come up with a good 3km running circuit in camp so every morning I go at it at least twice or thrice (or maybe even four times, if I'm so inclined). Which brings to mind the fact that the 10-km Mizuno Wave Run is scheduled for the 23rd of July and I think I'll be entering for the heck of it since the start/end point (Kovan Hub) is barely ten minutes' walk from my place. So if anyone wants to join me just let me know. Come to think of it, will be leaving for Michigan in scarcely more than two months' time. I think I will have to make the most of the time I have left here! Four months seems like a lot, initially- but half of it's already gone and I have to do what I can to make the remaining two last!

Anyway the National Dragonboat Championships are this weekend, man, it brings back memories of JC paddling days! Only that now I'm rowing for SAFSA in this race which is quite a different experience altogether. But it will be good. Hope we will get something out of it! I've learnt to appreciate dragonboat rowing far more as compared to back in JC, where it was just a method of team bonding and a half-hearted attempt at winning more medals (we were denied in both our tries, being edged out by a split second in the first and a large wave in the subsequent year). Far more teams have sprung up, which makes the competition admittedly stronger, but my faith lies with the Commandos and the SAFSA girls! The motivation has definitely altered now but I know when it comes to the crunch some things just don't ever change- taking it one stroke at a time, all the way to the finish line!

"The Sky is the Limit, The World is my Dropzone."

After completing an intensive three weeks of ground training in my Basic Airborne Course, I made my first jump today, Tuesday! It was such a wonderful experience that I'd like to share it with you guys. I must say all the sweat and pain was worth it, every single bit. Ground training was gruelling- mastering parachute landing falls by hurling ourselves in every possible direction, from four-foot-high platforms and swing trainers, doing 5-storey tower jumps, aircraft drills, lugging bloody heavy parachutes about... Oh, and I was the only female in the course of 160 trainees so naturally people tended to take a more prurient interest in me and how I was coping. All was well and good though.

Third time lucky after having done 5-hour pre-jump preparations, gone down all the way to the airbase on both last Friday and Monday in anticipation of jumping, only to be thwarted by thunderstorm warnings both times. I was almost certain it'd be the same today because the skies were grey and overcast and didn't bode well for our chances of making our jumps. But thankfully enough no ill-weather advisories were issued and the green light was given for us to do our jumps. So we para-fitted (put on our harnesses and static-line parachute packs), went through the mandatory checks by two separate instructors, before we were cleared to board the CH-47 Chinook rotary-wing aircraft. Para-fitting is awfully uncomfortable, to say the least, because you basically have to be strapped in as tightly and as securely as humanly possible for safety reasons, and so I could barely breathe after being sandwiched between the main chute on my back and the reserve chute in front of my torso. Not to forget the life jacket which goes on under the main chute, the ankle braces for landing protection, and the padded helmet. We were also required to arrange ourselves within pass level (a pass consists of 8 jumpers who are dropped in intervals of one second over a designated drop zone before the aircraft circles back to start another drop) in order of weight, from heaviest to the lightest. The rate of descent is proportional to weight. And since I was the only female in my entire airborne course I was also naturally the smallest (I know you probably don't need
to be reminded of this fact, but just in case) and so I became the last jumper in the second pass of the first sortie (a sortie consists of 3 passes- one sortie boards the aircraft at any one time).

So we waddled in an ungainly fashion to the point where we were supposed to board the aircraft, and were promptly herded on board like a pack of lambs to the slaughter. By this time you could see it, people were excited yet apprehensive. It was practically impossible to hear anything over the noise of the engine and overhead rotors. Strangely enough, I wasn't as scared as I thought I would be, until we gained enough altitude (1000 ft) and the first pass got up to hook their static lines to the cable, do the necessary equipment once-overs and shuffle towards the open ramp door. All too soon it was our turn. The jumpmaster gave the following commands accompanied by handsigns- his voice was almost unheard over the din.

"STAND UP!" I stood up and almost immediately toppled into someone's lap due to the
instability of the moving aircraft.
"HOOK UP!" After regaining my balance (but unfortunately not so much my composure) I
hooked the clasp connecting my static line onto the cable running parallel along the
length of the aircraft, inserted the safety pin and bent it downwards.
"CHECK STATIC LINE!" We tugged at the clasps to ensure that they were securely clipped on to the cable. "EQUIPMENT CHECK!" We had rehearsed this so many times on the ground but somehow I still managed to spout some unintelligible gibberish. "Helmet, Capewell, Life Jacket, Chest Strap, Reserve Snap, Rip Cord, Pack Tie, Static Line, Clear and Hook Up!"
Only it didn't sound like that coming from me, more like "Mmmmffgghhhhhhhhh... Clear and Hook Up!"
"SOUND OFF FOR EQUIPMENT CHECK!" I was the last jumper so I shouted (not like anyone
could hear anything, anyway) "EIGHT OKAY!" and tapped the back of the guy in front of me, who in turn went "SEVEN OKAY!", all the way to the first guy who went "ONE OKAY, STICK OKAY!" (a stick is another name for a pass) "5 SECONDS, STAND IN THE DOOR!" We moved forward in sync, having adopted a right-left shuffle step movement, and the first jumper stood in the door. "GO!" Out went Jumper No. 1, and we shuffled forward. "GO!" Out went Jumper No. 2, and we shuffled forward. ...
"GO!" Out went Jumper No. 7, and as he fell I was left with a far too clear view of the thousand feet of air below me. Didn't have much time to think about it, though, because the next thing I knew I heard "GO!", I took a step out into nothingness, assisted by the jumpmaster's helpful push. This was a moment unlike any other I have ever experienced. It's plainly indescribable- I mean, how can you ever encapsulate the feeling of stepping out into thin air and the tumultuous thoughts that go on inside your head? I vaguely remember falling fast while uttering "one thousand, two thousand, three..." and I think by then my canopy deployed and I felt a gentle tug and my rate of descent slowed. I quickly breathed "Thank God!" and reached for my toggles to gain control of my drift and direction and also to ensure that I wouldn't land on the runway below. One thing I was struck by was how peaceful and serene it was up there. It was so unbelievably quiet after the din of the aircraft, and I felt like I was floating, suspended in the air, altogether surreal- it didn't even feel like a descent, the only clue that gave it away was how the objects on the ground were rapidly becoming larger. I quickly orientated myself to face into the wind so as to slow my forward drift, and looked around for a suitable landing spot unmarred by obstacles or other jumpers. All too soon I heard the safety officer shouting through his loudhailer "Jumper No. 8, prepare for landing... landing any moment
now!" Kept my feet, knees locked tight, toes pointed upwards, chin tucked towards chest, and prepped for landing. The ground rushed towards me and I landed on the flat of my feet (marvelous!) and promptly sat down with an "oof!". It was awesome. Quickly got to my feet and ran around like a headless chicken in glee for a while before remembering that I ought to fold my canopy and exit the drop zone. I was in the midst of gathering my canopy when I heard "LAND!" come from somewhere dangerously near to above my head and looked up to see one of the Gurkhas heading towards me from above. I quickly moved away only to see him land on my canopy and simultaneously kick my reserve chute a few feet away. Pretty close shave, it would have been perversely amusing but not the best thing if he had landed on me. I packed up my chute, slung it over my shoulder, and made the long trek back to the hangar area.

So there you go- a synopsis of my first jump! It was such a surreal experience which I enjoyed thoroughly. It's almost impossible to say everything in words, because I think it's something which can only be understood after going through the experience itself. I will be jumping at least once more on Thursday, this time from a Fokker-50 fixed-wing aircraft, and hopefully once after that on Thursday evening, from a C-130 Charlie fixed-wing aircraft.

Hopefully those two jumps go well, and I'll get my AIRBORNE wings!

Will be booking back in to Hendon Camp at 2300 hrs to await the start of a long week ahead. We've been prepped mentally by the instructors to be prepared for a tough time especially with all the parachute drills and all. And I'm not a big fan of heights so definitely it's not going to be exactly easy-going for me particularly when we get to the tower jump and of course the real plunge from the C-130. In the course I'm the only female as well so naturally I tend to be on the receiving end of more attention than I would actually care for, especially from the instructors. Always kena picked to answer questions or conveniently referred to in the process of their discourse. It's okay, lah- all that I can handle, and the guys in the course whom I've met so far have been nice as well. And Ruijie, Edwin and Tai Wei keep me pretty sane too so that's good. But cannot complain, we get to book out every night. Even though I have some doubts about whether I'd have the time or energy to make the arduous journey from Changi back home. We'll see how it goes. In the end I just hope I get my wings without injury.

cannot believe you're taking my heart


... to pieces

I've been posted to 3 Guards at Bedok Camp beginning next Monday, for my vacation attachment. Basic Airborne Course starts next Thursday, assuming I make it through the selection test which I think shouldn't be much of a factor, but of course there's never any room for complacency. God willing I'll get my wings as a timely birthday present. Even though I'm not a big fan of heights, but it's time to face my fears, and, quite literally, step out into the unknown. Hooyah!

Hopefully this vacation attachment will give me plentiful opportunities for dynamic learning and I won't be reduced to handling admin stuff, because that will be a bummer. Time to bid farewell to these 3 blissful weeks of working out thrice a day and wondering how else to spend my time otherwise. Looking forward to returning to military life, it's been quite a while. Need to touch base once again.

I think I much prefer blog-surfing to updating my own blog, which kind of explains the sporadic posts. Just read Philip's post about running and I'm inclined to agree with what he said. I never was a big fan of running in the past because it always gave me awful side stitches, and the weather here isn't very conducive to running especially in the afternoon heat. Even though we did a fair bit of running back in the canoeing days, those pre-SDBA intervals and canal runs, I still wasn't particularly fond of it. But after BMT and OCS and 5BX in the mornings which involved short runs, and endurance runs as well as interval training, I gradually came to appreciate how it was a pretty efficient method of exercise and perhaps one of the best cardio workouts. So I started running a lot more during and after military training last year. Running was also an excellent method of sightseeing- in Melbourne, Bangkok and Chicago I'd lace up my shoes and head out of the door for loping morning jaunts ranging from thirty minutes to slightly over an hour in duration, just taking in the sights the cities offered and relishing the relative peace and quiet the early hour provided. In Michigan I did a fair bit of running, especially in the fall and towards the tail end of winter. During the harshest period of winter, around November-January, I didn't get out as much as I'd have liked to, because of the heavy-duty erging sessions and the fact that the pavements were often cloaked in a thick layer of slippery ice. I did go for a couple runs in sub-zero weather, though- bundled up in UnderArmor, running spandex and beanie, but it wasn't easy having to gingerly pick my way around the icy spots, which often reduced my pace to something resembling a shuffle. And if you know me, I'd never run on the treadmill because that's a fate worse than death- I go absolutely balmy just plodding along for two minutes on the deck. As I grew more accustomed to running, my runs became longer, and I often spent between an hour to two hours on the road at any one time. The monthly 10-milers held by the Tortoise and Hare Running Store at Ann Arbor were a great way to inject an occasional dose of excitement into my long Sunday recovery runs. Back in Singapore right now I run alternate days, which is working out really great because I'll be less prone to get bored of it. I signed up for the Chicago Marathon to be held later this year, in October, and I think it'll be an unforgettable experience. Will probably be taking IPPT in the next few weeks- hopefully I manage to attain a respectable 2.4 timing in testament to my training. Haha.

Wah, this blog has been dormant for a very long time. When I come back to Singapore I hardly use the computer, whereas in Michigan if I'm not out and about, away from my room, I'm probably glued to my notebook monitor. So that helps to explain the pretty sporadic updates as well. Anyway so lately I've been quite free, my life predominantly revolves around home, the swimming pool, and Fitness First, and occasional ambling around town. Which isn't a bad existence in itself, in fact it's pretty nice, but not something I think I could do forever. Today I finally discovered the SAFSA Ladies' Dragonboat team which I've been hunting for forever, and it was good paddling in a 12-crew dragonboat again except that it feels deathly slow after the relative lightness of a rowing eight, or a K2 for that matter. I think dragonboating has become hugely popular especially of late- people even own their own paddles now! And they even use fiberglass paddles, which I felt was pretty sweet. Those SDBA-supplied ones are like bloody logs. Okay lah, I've been tagged twice and I think I should do something about it, but not now because it's bedtime. :)

Back in Singapore for four months! The flight back was pretty uneventful except that there was a delay due to engine problems which forced us to switch planes before takeoff from Detroit, and everyone missed their connecting flights. Spent a night in Japan, courtesy of Northwest Airlines, but it wasn't such a shabby deal after all despite reaching home about 15 hours after I was originally scheduled to. At least I didn't reach Singapore at such a godforsaken hour, and I can't really complain about a night's stay in Japan with breakfast and the works. My first entire day in Singapore has just about ended and I'm just getting reacquainted with the horribly humid weather here. Went running this morning, about 6 miles and I don't know if I was running really fast or something or just not getting acclimatized to the weather but my heart rate was pretty high, around 90% of max HR which was kind of weird. And when I returned I was positively dripping. This is crazy weather, I'm not sure I like it very much. Haha. Sometimes it's pretty much a toss-up between the heat and humidity of Singapore and the chilling wind of Michigan- I'm hard-pressed to pick one over the other. Oh well, can't complain now, can I? Signed up for a membership at Fitness First for the duration of my summer vacation, am pretty pleased because it seems like a good deal considering what a gym rat I am, and their clubs are kinda sweet. Especially the one at George Street which I shall have to check out. The Paragon one is pretty nice except that it's slightly small, but that personal trainer- what's his name- that hot one who appeared on the cover of Men's Health and who burnt up the sidewalks a couple years back with the pic of him in the buff for the smoking hot Virgin Mobile advert at bus stops and the like- works there, so that's also a treat. Haha. Met up with EC and went for a much-needed haircut, it was great talking to her and she has a sweet bike as well! Makes me feel like learning riding. Haha.

Ah, leaving for home in less than 24 hours' time.
Mixed feelings here, I know I'll miss Ann Arbor a great deal. It's strange, I was raring to go home like nothing else in December for winter break- but now... now, it's different. The elation is muted. Although I'm definitely looking forward to seeing everyone at home, there're just so many things here that I'll miss, and I can't even begin to list them all. But definitely a great part of what I'll dreadfully miss about Michigan is the people, the friends and teammates especially. Well, thankfully I'll be back in four months' time so it's not as though I'm leaving for good. Man, if I'm already feeling like that, could you possibly imagine how I'd feel after graduating from UMich? Nah, not the time to think about that right now. Anyway, on to happier things! Really looking forward to seeing you guys back in Singapore! Jio me out okay. Hahaha! Give me a call or text me at my usual SG no.!

And packing is a bloody bitch. Sian.

It's been a while, hasn't it?
***

Anyway life is pretty sweet now that I'm 3/4ths done with exams and only have World Politics left on Wednesday. After having gotten through today without much mishap I'm feeling much better about myself and the rest of the week. Two papers today- German and Great Books, with only an hour separating them both, so it was pretty hectic as you can possibly imagine. Somehow I've grown to appreciate the laid-back, casual attitude most people adopt here, which manifests itself in even the most unexpected forms. Like during the German exam today, the course coordinator (he's a great guy called Hartmut who has a penchant for the oddest T-shirts ever) brought along a huge box of snacks- Fig Newtons, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, cookies, etc, and passed them out during the exam itself. I think that was a gesture that was much appreciated by most of the students, and somehow, albeit in a small way, it's a demonstration of how much more flexible and accommodating the system here is as compared to back home. Somehow, I just don't see the professors in the local universities passing out Pocky sticks and Hello Panda biscuits to the students during examinations.

And on a totally unrelated note, I was climbing the stairs up to my room in South Quad (SQuad) and it suddenly struck me that I hadn't seen an escalator in a substantial amount of time. Which immediately brought to mind what Bill Bryson related in his book on small-town America- I can't remember exactly, but he narrated how he could buy postcards of backcountry farmers "grasping the handrails on moving walkways bravely", which were astutely captioned "I rode the escalator at the Town Mall!". Ah, the joys of (relatively) suburban America.

Home in a couple days! Does anyone want a workout partner? Only bother letting me know if you're willing to be as hardcore as me. Hahaha.

***
She said I don’t know if I’ve ever been good enough
I’m a little bit rusty, and I think my head is caving in
And I don’t know if I’ve ever really been loved
By the hand that’s touched me, well I feel like something gonna give
And I’m a little bit angry, well

This ain’t over, no not here, not while I still need you
Around
You don’t owe me, we might change
Yeah we just might feel good

I wanna push you around, I will, I will
I wanna push you down, I will, I will
I wanna take you for granted
I will

She said I don’t know why you ever would lie to me
Like I’m a little untrusting when I think that the truth is
Gonna hurt ya
And I don’t why you couldn’t just stay with me
You couldn’t stand to be near me
When my face don’t seem to want to shine cuz it’s a little bit dirty well

Don’t just stand there, say nice things to me
I’ve been cheated, I’ve been wronged, and you
You don’t know me, I can’t change
I won’t do anything at all

Oh but don’t bowl me over
Just wait a minute well it kinda fell apart, things get so
Crazy, crazy
Don’t rush this, baby
***
Matchbox Twenty :: Push

The sides of my shins have been scraped raw after water practice today, and my hands are torn apart. Practice was good even though the sun was in my eyes half the time and I couldn't see shit but I guess there's nothing much to be seen when you're involved in a sport where you're not supposed to be able to see where you're headed. If you can actually see where you're going it only means that you're rowing in the wrong direction and had better do something about it quickly. Today's training reinforced just exactly how much of an entire-body workout rowing is, because if you think about it you're basically doing an endless series of squats and crunches in a seated position over the course of 2,000 meters just so you can coax your twelve-foot-long wooden attachment into propeling you forward as quickly as possible. Of course at the same time you have to keep the boat "set" (or stabilised), if not half of the rowers will have their oars four feet above the water while the other half will be frantically trying to rescue their oars from the clutches of the lake. Sometimes this process repeats itself to no end which is positively unsettling (pun fully intended). But at least we're all so much better especially if you look at how much we've improved since last Fall when we first started out. I haven't yet popped out of my shoes which I'm eternally grateful for. The experience of popping out of your shoes is pretty nasty particularly because it always occurs when you're least expecting it. Like you'll be focusing so hard on your stroke and feathering the blade (turning the blade parallel to the water surface to minimize air resistance) and all of a sudden you dig the blade in too deep and whoosh you find yourself in the lap of the perplexed rower behind you. Thankfully for me I haven't ended up in anyone's lap outside my will yet but that's only because I'm always rowing starboard in the bow seat (that's the last seat in the boat), and so there's no one behind me. But that only means that when I pop out (which used to happen far too often for my liking) I am faced with a very immediate danger of flying out of the boat entirely, and to be truthful I'd much prefer being in someone's lap than watching the 7 rowers + 1 coxswain row past me (remember, they can't see where they're headed, they'll only know once they go past...) Okay I don't know why I'm blogging about this when I have a Comms exam tomorrow which would be in my best interest to study for.

It's not the best idea in the world to fling yourself wholeheartedly into a vigorous weights session after not having come within a couple meters of iron in a while. There's that odd quivering sensation that tells me that I am going to have a ton of fun attempting to get out of bed tomorrow morning. Since everyone is tapering for crew we've ceased doing weights- instead we do a 15-station circuit once a week- the way I see it, it's more of an injury-prevention workout. You know, with resistance bands and Bosu balls and newfangled core thingamajigs. But of course you shouldn't underestimate them, especially the resistance bands. Whew you'd never think an innocuous-looking, brightly-colored piece of elastic tubing could make you sink to your knees in submission but try doing band pull-aparts or striding across the room with the tubing wrapped around your ankles and see if you aren't drenched in perspiration when it's time to head to the next station. Anyway come to think of it I don't know why I disliked the gym at the IMSB (Intramural Sports Building) at first and preferred the one at the CCRB (Central Campus Recreational Building) because now I swear by the former and hardly ever go to the latter. And there are more meatheads at the CCRB to boot, I don't know why, maybe the IM building is too far for them and perhaps they're afraid that by trudging the extra distance it'll be too much cardio and that'll deplete precious nutrients which could be otherwise used for muscle growth. But the meatheads are really funny sometimes, there's this guy who's perpetually plugged into his iPod when he's working out and he'll start belting out off-key tunes in between sets, which really irks me but I don't want to say anything for fear of being thwacked by a stack of 45-pound plates. And there's this hairy Polish guy (well I don't know if he's really Polish but he was wearing a torn Polska singlet so maybe he is) and he makes a ton of noise while he's at the weights, you know, those typical rugger grunts and overexaggerated exhalations and all. Man, you really see all sorts at the gym. It's so funny, especially when they start preening and flexing in front of the mirror when they think no one is looking (come to think of it, it should be when they think people are looking) and I have to silently hold back my laughter. Okay tomorrow is going to be one hell of a sore day, I can just feel it right now, not good since there's morning erg to boot. Oh well.

The RJC Geography Students of 2004!
Good times, those...

Oh, irony of ironies. The invitation mailed out to me in recognition of "great scholastic achievements" has two spelling errors in the very first sentence.

***
Dear Michigan Student-Athlete,

In recognition of your great scholastic achievements, you have been
awarded the Univeristy of Michigan Athletic Academic Acheivement Award. To be recognized and receive your award, The University of Michigan
Department of Intercollegiate Athletics and the Academic Success Program
cordially invites you to the 2006 Academic Achievement Awards Reception
on Tuesday, April 11, 2006 in the Michigan Union Ballroom. Please plan
to arrive promptly at 7:15 p.m. Please email Ruquel McKinnie at
ruquelm@umich.edu if you are not able to attend. Thanks and
congratulations!

Maher Mark Salah
Director of Student-Athlete Development
Academic Advisor
University of Michigan Athletics

***

Well, I suppose I should be grateful for an Athletic Academic Acheivement Award bestowed on me by the Univeristy of Michigan, nonetheless.

***

So here's the classes I've registered to take in Fall 2006:
***
GERMAN 205 Conversation
POLSCI 354 Governments & Politics of Southeast Asia
POLSCI 369 International Economic Relations
ECON 401 Intermediate Microeconomic Theory
ECON 404 Statistics for Economists
***
and hopefully, since application for writing positions only open in Summer,
POLSCI 290 Practicum for the Michigan Journal of Political Science
***

Looks like I've got an interesting semester ahead! Finally I'm departing the realm of concentration prerequisites, which entail 100-level courses, and entering uncharted territory where the courses are all 300-level or higher. For the life of me I'm interested to see how I'll fare in Economics, having spent much of my second year in RJC either: 1. snoozing facedown in the crook of my arm during Mr S's riveting econ tutorials, 2. busying myself with last-minute homework during lectures in chilly LT4, or 3. occupying myself with alternative activities entirely unrelated to 1 and 2, (like going to Ghim Moh for tau huay and tang yuan), having applied the concepts of opportunity cost and cost-benefit analysis in deciding to do so. See, at least elementary concepts come in handy! Ha. Well at least I faithfully attended every (okay, perhaps I exaggerate, but more than I'd have cared to) Economics 'S' paper lecture, even though I had absolutely no inkling of what was been taught in class. Given my admirable track record, I'm pretty convinced next semester will be a blast, especially since Economics in the US is reputed to be heavy on the mathematics and less so on writing... Oh how I am going to enjoy myself.

Okay, enough with the tongue-in-cheek rambling. Truth be told, I'm looking forward to the two Political Science courses I'll be taking. It surprises me how much I'm enjoying Polsci, because although I knew I'd probably appreciate it, I didn't think I'd like it THAT much. And it'll be good to take the course in SEA politics since that's a topic which is close to home and therefore somewhat more applicable than other courses... like Comm 101 which I'm taking now, and gradually discovered through the course of the term that it focused exclusively on the American media, which happens to be somewhat removed from what I foresee as the nature of my job in future.

No time on my schedule for a full 4-credit second-year college level German course next semester, so I'll have to settle for a conversation course in the meantime. Perhaps it's a blessing in disguise, as my intention of learning German is mainly for communication and utilitarian purposes, rather than possessing a scholarly objective in mind. But I hope to take German 231 in the subsequent semester, if time allows.

10,000 miles from home and so I'm pretty detached from things occurring in Singapore. Like it dawned upon me when I was blog-surfing that it's no longer Singapore Idol which is the source of the idle starstruck chatter of kids back home- it's now Campus Superstar. And I'm pretty certain that it's been so for the longest time now, just that I've only just realized. It's not something particularly crucial which I need to know, so that's fine. I'm just unable to comprehend society's fascination with reality TV. Especially in Singapore, where there's a serious dearth of true talent compared to places like the US.


"Reality shows are hybridized programs which appeal to postmodern sensitivities, causing viewers’ eyes to glaze over at the hypnotically tempting prospect of instant gratification."
-- an excerpt from my communications studies research paper on the impact of reality TV on society today.

Don't people have better things to do? Well, perhaps not.

Midwest Festival 2006 was hosted by UMich yesterday! It's a yearly event where the SSAs from various colleges in midwest America congregate at the host university for a day of sports, games and basically just catching up with people you haven't seen in a while. And of course there's the everpresent opportunity to get to know other Singaporeans from these schools as well. The turnout was pretty decent, with Singaporeans from UIUC, Carnegie Mellon, Wisconsin-Madison, Indiana-Bloomington, Michigan State (ha!), Purdue, Northwestern, and Minnesota visiting Ann Arbor. We congregated at Trotter House for an evening of entertainment following a day of games at Pioneer High School and Fuller Field. There was karaoke, a spectacular dance performance by some UMich people (including dearest Wilson Liu, lol), and I was glad I managed to meet Tracy and Joanne after such an incredibly long time! It was great catching up with them. Although I definitely wish we had had more time to spend, because the length of the travel time somewhat shortened their stays here. It was nice, nonetheless.

Argh I'm kind of sick of dorm food. I think I'll have Subway tonight instead.