finally

FINALLY, A DAY WHICH I CAN SQUEEZE A LITTLE TIME TO BLOG
TONS TO SAY (: long & wordy post.

13april monday
guess who turned 18?! like duhhh, who else?! thanks to those who wished me a very happy birthday & presents (:(: yayy, i've found another april 13 babehh, bernice! well, school was AS USUAL with exceptions of 'happy birthday's everywhere i went & 'all the best for tomorrow's. it started with the juniors singing happy birthday when they were doing their drystrokes. luckily not many people were in school yet, can be embarassing tho! proceeded to give out the party bags to teammates & classmates the rest of the day. i didn't do much on this day cause the VERY NEXT DAY was NATIONALS. needed every bit of rest that i could get, didn't bother with homework at all. it was rest rest rest... yupp, so that was pretty much my birthday. i know BORINGG RIGHT? but i put my rest for nationals at a higher priority.

thank you team for the amazing volleyball. now i have to edit my wishlist. my very own volleyball, but a pity it's pink ): i seriously don't know when or how i'm gonna use cause it's covered in all you guys special messages. i think i'm just gonna like 'frame it up'. haha. thanks anyway.
thank you darling juniors for the sports bra. it's a tad toooo small but mummy says the thing will expand. thanks for the ULTRA REFLECTIVE BALLOOON. my friends were like, FIONA, don't bring the balloon too low, later will upskirt! hahah. thanks for the wellwishes! row & study hard.
thanks joash! i'm gonna die of sweetness. they know who to find then when they find my body.
thank you ruoning connie carmen jamie shuhui shareefa for the FOREVER 21 vouchers & markers. i promise to really study hard now & TRY MY BEST, to stop falling asleep during lessons. hey, i've improved a lot these past few days, don't cha think?
thanks carmen for the pillow. hahah, i think you need it now more than i do!
thank you joanna & stephanie for the cup & cookies. omg, best homemade cookies ever, HANDS DOWN. it's seriously as good as the famous amos cookies. MAKE MOREEEE! whhaaaa, why give me so little? haha.
thank you lien for the hairbands! ahh, confirm will use! handy dandy (:
thank you shaunauld & pooky for the whoopee cushion. seriously, i've always wanted those kind of 'play a joke on people' kind of presents. haven't actually used it yet, scared someone so heavy later sit on it & it just bursts. i received 4 joke cockroaches as my birthday present in secondary school.
thank you sherril for the perfume! LOVE IT.
thanks siti for the unique cup!
thanks edwin for homemade chocolates. it melted.
thank you meimei for the handmade popup card! until now, i still don't know how to correctly make those kind of pop-up cards. haha. but my art is still better than yours.
thanks natnat for the sweets. this is one of the first few times you acutally gave me something for my birthday. HAHAAH.

14 april tuesday
happy birthday mark ho!
happy birthday demetrius!
NATIONALS DAY 1
my 1000m k1 race was the 1st race of the day. i told myself that i couldn't be nervous if not i'll be like a nervous wreck like during NJCC, cannot race well. after warmups, got into my boat and left for the starting line. headwind quite strong, but cannot blame the wind(derwin). i felt comfortable using my sexy yellow raptor. i know it's heavy & like the rest of my competitors were using nelos & shanghais, but who cares, at least i do mroe efficient strokes on a raptor than that nelo-that-causes-abrasions-blisters-and-nothing-but-absolute-pain nelo. haha. came in 3rd & it was on to semi-finals. i know that i could have done better but i did what i was supposed to do.

next race was the c2s, nicholas & yaojie. GJWD! straight finals. we were proud of them. haha, juniors had to sit out in the sun, tent reserved for seniors. i wasn't really happy with the juniors attitude on this first day. they were either supposed to help out, study or watch the rest. this was supposed to a serious affair, not some 'yayy, i'm able to skip school' affair. you juniors were down because we wanted you to be motivated & also learn from the racers. i remember when i was a junior. i didn't even study at all. all i wanted to do was watch all the races & help out as much as i can, not let my seniors do much cause they were supposed to rest. times have totally changed.

k4 1000m, edwin guohui junyang & joseph. sigh, blame the bloody rudder. i know that you guys were acutally able to win but... could see that you guys were rowing as ONE. not 4 or 1,3, or 2,2 but 1. c1 1000m, james. i believe that if you had worked harder before, this nationals would have paid off for you. you still have one more year though. c2 1000m, holy divers. anyway, we were really proud of you & samng during NJCC & prolly had higher expectations for nationals. k2 1000m, yuping & jiehan. though direction was wayyyy bad, i believe that you guys gave it all you've got. your 2 years weren't exactly wasted. if you believe you fought a good race, then the case is closed. k1 1000m, mengkoon, GJWD! straight finals!

just as we were getting to go home, me & mengkoon were delievered some heavy blows. BECAUSE i didn't pass my maths retest (dammit), i was to be pulled out from nationals. when i heard that, i just broke down into tears. drama drama drama. means i couldn't even row my k1 semis and k2 heats w mengkoon. mk argued hard for me, reasoning out for me as i was in no state to talk at all. i just couldn't take it. 2 years of rowing & the school was going to do this to me?! when mr ang said that i should prolly get prepared to go to school the next day, i cried again. we cried alot, ALOT. okay, prolly me only. we didn't even change or have dinner with the guys, we went straight home. too upset. but talking to mk on the bus, i began to feel better. i wouldn't let this 'not being able to row' matter rest. once i got home, i broke down & told my mum. she wasn't happy too.

it will be okay with me if like they took me out a month before the competition, but ON THE FIRST DAY OF COMPETITION?! what's the point of taking me out at that point of time? i would even be too upset to study. no point at all. mummy was ready to go down to school with me the next day to talk to the p to let me row & i told mr ang. awhile later, he said that i could row my k2 already but not still not my k1 cause they could penalise me but not mengkoon. i was still upset, but slightly better. i fell asleep crying.

15 april wednesday
i tried to use my rage & anguish to row my k2 with mk for our 500m but i think we were much too affected. we could have done better, we knew it. 3rd for heats, going to semis. i was still sad the whole day cause i wasn't able to row for my k1 semis the next day. i asked, since i had k2 semis the next day, why can't the school still let my continue for my k1 semis at the same time too? they reasoned out, it's because i wasn't originally supposed to row k2 at all. i just broke down again & again & again. it hurt me really badly. we had to go to school to see ms usha kumar (stand-in vp). i learnt that what the school was trying to do was to let me learnt a SERIOUS LESSON. it wasn't a punishment, but a lesson to be learnt because i failed my maths retest. & because i failed, there were consequences for me. me & mk waited & waited & waited. when it was my turn, i cried again. when it was mk's turn, she cried again. & again, we were too upset to eat & went home. we were going to use this anguish to row and prove our worthiness.

anyway, c2 500m nicholas & yaojie. GJWD! straight finals again. C1 samng, if you felt that you rowed your best, then the case is closed. k4 500m, i am sooo proud of your guys. your determination could be seen 500m away. haha. seeing you guys row was really motivating. though no wins, the whole team pats you guys on the back for a great effort. one of the best sets! k2 500m yuping & jiehan, again, direction. well done, at least you guys didn't capsize, like our seniors did. clap clap.

when i got home, my mum really wanted to go & meet the p the next day early in the morning to help me fight back et me row k1 & i'm really thankful for nicholas for sort of mobilising the team in case i could row. upset. around 10plus, i received a call from nic saying that i could row my k1 again. i just cried again, still unsure whether was it true or not. i immediately called mk to tell her the good news! my ang called to tell me to double confirm with me. thank you so much. i went to sleep with a smile on my face. i felt like a humongous burden had lifted from my shoulders

16 april, thursday
SEMI-FINALS. only my k1 race & k2 race with mk. i'm thankful for the senior team that came down to support me. i rowed like i never rowed before. i used all the sadness & frustrations & thrashed it all out onto the water. hitting my best timing for 1km of 5.06mins, pb, though i didn't win.k2 500m, i thrashed out all my burdens & i think mk too. for our semis, we came in FIRST. the feeling was great. SMILES :D :D but it's only semis, cannot be too happy and complacent. but, YAYY!

17 april friday
FINALS. mk's 1ooom k1, me & mk's 500m k2, nicholas & yaojie's 1000m & 500m c2. mk's race first eventof the day & i was really happy for her though she got 4th. i think it's a really good feat accomplished. the c2 races were really exhilarating. for 1000m, everyone was like fighting over the 2 binoculars. mr ang seemed really anxious. the whole pj area was like shouting cheering like mad when we saw that our boat has a really good chance of winning. & the amazing duo crossed the finish line. they achieved 2nd! SILVER! AHHHH! the whole tent was super proud proud happy happy. & yaojie LOST HIS OAKLEY'S CAUSE NICHOLAS CAPSIZED after crossing the finish line. nicholas was like super prepared to save his o's but definitely not yaojie. HAHA. GOOD JOB WELL DONE. CLAP CLAP CLAP.

next was their 500m c2. the whole tent was extremely nervous as the race started. they were going against the same competitors. were they going to get the same result again? better? or worse? as the pj boat inched nearer and nearer the whole tent went bonkers. SIAO i tell you. everyone just looked at us. haha, we weren't doing united cheering but just shouting. they crossed the line. *insert mad screaming cheering and guys screaming like girls and everybody just going bonkers and plain madness here*. nicholas tan xingtai & shuy yaojie came in 1ST PLACE!! :D:D:D:D:D the whole pioneer team, especially the seniors & mr ang just screamed at the top of our lungs! till my throat went sore. 1st first FIRST FIRST! can you beat that!! GOLD GOLD GOLD! (:(:(:(: i'm am soooo proud of them. they, truly, deserved it. every one bit. their training, every bit of it, was not wasted.

next race was k2 5oom, me & mk. tho truly happy, we had to focus on our own race. the sun was seriously beating down on us as we waited for our race to take place. 'start within 10s, GO' first stroke, next stroke, left stroke again, next stroke, kicking hard. this was the last race of my canoeing life. i rowed for the k4 guys, for mengkoon, for my ang, for the c2 guys, for the winners, for the losers, for the people that have helped me so much. never did i want to slow down during any part of the 500m. even till the last 6 buoys, pick up, couldn't accelerate much, never mind, maintain stability, keep direction, kick harder. last 3 buoys, burst. cannot burst much, never mind, longer harder faster pulls. cross the finish line. saw that we came in THIRD. 3rd! :D YES! i just nearly died. most fufilling race, EVER. i was so tired that when i bent down in my boat & looked up, i just saw white. i became really dizzy and started crying. i was happy & at the same time didn't know what was going on. like those drunk feelings. people became worried, tons of hassle going on. i know i was offered a seat cause i couldn't stand. my legs felt total jelly. was given porcari sweat to drink. & then this lady came up, took the bottle from me & wanted to pour it over my head to cool me down. i put up my hands in retailation & to no avail, she just poured. like WTH, my hair's gonna attract ants! mr ang found out that it was porcari sweat & requested for water to wash my hair. HAHAHAHAHAH. this incident, upon looking back, was HILARIOUS! HAHAHAHHAHA.

as one by one people went up to collect their medals, this whole canoeing thing, is not a thing. it's our lives. this medals are what our lives have been spent on. this 2 years have been the best 2 years of my life. yes, though tough painful and tiring, it was worth it. this bronze medal that i received, i know i've pushed my limits.

now marks the start of breaking foodban :D
icecream! at island creamery. yayyy, mr ang treated us to 'one of everything' & out came a mountain of icecream. within 5 mins plus, it was ALL GONE. ALL GONE, we were monsters, MWHAHAH. next mad jacks, felt queasy eating the fries & fish. guess our stomachs weren't used to it.

edwin's house next. learnt a drinking game from mengyean. it was great that mr ang, kahtteng and the other super seniors could join us for this mini celebration. everyone was like too tired to actually go out & celebrate. tons of chips & drinking. jiehan & edwin looked really drunk & everyone just had to make him drunk. after the ss left, we senior team decided the sleep, too tired. edwin's bed was big enough for 4 people & mk & i already koped 2 places and the rest of the guys fought over the last 2 spots. haha. fun fun. sleepover! hahahah. we talked for like 30mins or so & then it was knockout for me as well. slept around 3plus :D an hour or so later, i know i heard somebody snoring but was too tired to figure out who. 11am macdonalds breakfast!

18 april saturday
went home to sleep before heading out for jacon's chalet. yupp, NSFCC. we had a blast. nat was totally slow at playing slapjack. dinner was AWESOME. i could finally eat everything at buffets again! the otahs were SPICY SPICY. jacon's cake was HUGE i tell you. best fruit cake i ever had. then everyone just started talking around the table. reminiscing about our secondary school days is never a boring thing. i was really happy to see shuyi yiling allicia & sihui again! too bad may couldn't come. sleeping was them was funfunfun, though squeezy. hahah. before that we had a little bowling, table hockey and some punching buttons disco game. FUN! we totally CMI lahh. i love those girls. the guys there were LOVED. I MISS THE FAIRSIANS <3 our clique has got to be the biggest clique in fairfield. around 12 plus, we watched the arsenal vs chelsea match & chelsea won!!! yayyy! love petr cech! arsenal's goalkeeper totally suck lahh, why does he always have to run out to catch the ball? so risky lah. dumb dumb. i used to support arsenal because of patrick vieria, but ever since he left, arsenal has just been going down down down. chelsea should just take alex out lahh. the whole match he only had the ball a few times. we played drinking games at the same time too. then the guys got so inspired after the match that they went out to play a little football of their own while the girls watched paris hilton's my new bff & took photos with the sexy paul franks! :D:D smile smile.

then we went up to sleep & talked for an hour or so. by the time we slept it was like 4 plus. yiling only fell asleep an hour later and at 6am shuyi & allicia left.

19 april, sunday
by the time i woke up which was 10am. most of the people had left. the people that checked out together were me yiling brian and jacon. went to see the new tampines mall & ate burger king. after not stepping in to burger king after a long long long time, i just glared at my burger and onion rings on my tray. they were soooo small. & it was a double mushroom swiss burger somemore. DOUBLE. so small. anyway, the trip home, we talked somemore & i thank God for now i had someone from fairfield & was in the clique that stayed near me. jacon & i talked more about out school life. went home, didn't go to church (i'm so sorry) and did homework and slept.

this is the end of 1 week of activties. photos up later & more wordy posts coming up. i've still yet to edit my profiles!