♥||that you would always be mine||♥

2010-11-18T22:38:00.001+08:00

I'm back from europe and not loving it. it's too hot here. but i'm gonna blog about it anyway. the trip, not the heat.

we left on the 26th of October for frankfurt. 11 hours and 50 minutes on a plane. i originally had three seats to myself, then meagan came over to take the window seat. then, halfway through my sleep, the stupid airstewardess came AGAIN to ask if a man could take the seat inbetween us because his krisflyer spoilt, when kenneth had three whole seats to himself. she came at the beginning of the flight to ask if another guy could take my aisle seat. so i only slept like four hours on that flight cause that one seat was too cramped up. think i watched two movies but i can't remember what they were. but i missed SQ flights. haven't taken them in 3 or 4 years. they had so many movies, even the old ones, like all three twilight movies and toy story.

we reached frankfurt airport just in time to watch the sunrise while waiting for our connecting flight to berlin. ate a pretzel and i discovered that their pretzels and our pretzels are totally different. their pretzels are closer to biscuits like the ones they give on planes, rather than bread. the flight was only one and a half hours or so, so it wasn't that bad.

we reached berlin on 27th October, and headed straight to the hotel. we had a little mix up with the hotels cause aunty kwan and linda thought we were supposed to be at another hotel. but it was the right one so we drove back and it was the largest boutique hotel in berlin and it was like four stars. it was way more than that i think. meagan and i got the suite and the biggest room in the team cause kenneth and lukas's suite wasn't as big as ours. but it was a really long walk from our room to the lift. meagan'd count the steps everytime. but on the plus side, our room was really close to the spa that the hotel had provided and the jacuzzi and sauna bit was free so kenneth went to the jacuzzi almost everyday. i'm sure it wasn't because it was a naked jacuzzi though. meagan and i only went twice and i have seen stuff that have scarred my memory forever.

the pool was underground, which was super cool. we had to go through the subway everyday to walk there. it was a nice pool too. we had two more free days before the meet started so we did nothing much. just rested in the hotel and ate our meals and went for swims. we went out a little on the 28th though. we took the s-bahn to alexanderplatz and the u-bahn to ku'damm, berlin's shopping district, but we didn't really have time to walk around much so we headed back. but we ate like two hot dogs. the sausages there are so good. i eat like five for breakfast everyday. we went grocery shopping too. they sold 1.5 litre bottles of water for about 19 cents in euro i think. and you can recycle the bottles in this machine and it'll pay you 25 cents for every bottle. so you kinda earn money which is super cool.

the meet was on the 30th and 31st. i did around the same time for my 100 as in singapore, but the 50 and 200 were horrendous. but i saw thomas's parents and they were really nice. they bought me two packs of haribo and really nice chocolates. and stupid me forgot to ask them what they wanted from singapore before i left so i felt so embarrassed. the finals were quite exciting. cause there were a few close fights and the crowds were super enthusiastic, unlike singapore ones.

we didn't get to celebrate halloween but we went out before the finals on the 31st, and we went to visit the ritter sport museum where we bought loads of chocolate before we went to see the brandenburger tor and the charlie checkpoint. it was really fun. we met these two guys who were dressed like soldiers and we wanted to take a picture with them. then after that, they started saying thank you in different languages and aunty kwan taught them kanasai. so they started going round saying that and playing around. really funny. after we left, we met this guy who had a circular bike so we asked if he could let us cycle all the way to the charlie checkpoint and we went crazy on that bike. we waved to random people who waved back and took pictures of us. i'm in the pictures of random people's photo albums now. hahah. we high fived random people and we were shouting different stuff like we're from china or malaysia! and just basically laughing like maniacs really loudly. aunty kwan took a video of the whole thing, but i don't know if it'll be up on fb or not. lol. so we took pictures then headed back to watch the finals.

we left for moscow the next day. i ended up talking to a german guy who worked in the ministry of defence while we were boarding the plane. lol. we had to wake up at 6.30 to catch the bus to the airport. meagan and i were trying to open bottles of ice lemon tea on the bus but we couldn't so the US team coach laughed and told us to pass it over. then HE couldn't open it too. but he knocked it a few times and it magically opened! cheat. we flew to munich for our connecting flight to moscow. it was really tight, when we reached munich, we only had 45 minutes to our next flight, so we rushed out of the plane like mad people, only to find two people waiting to take us to our next flight and the us team already waiting. laughable. we got to moscow at around four thirty-ish so we thought we could still make it to the pool. but we got stuck on the bus for like more than 2 hours so we just went straight for dinner and slept early.

our meet started the next day on the 2nd of november and the 3rd. we got owned by the russians, but surprisingly, i did better than berlin, even without any proper warm down from my flights and all. made friends with some of the americans. they were just a club who came to experience. traded a shirt with a girl called kristine. she was vietnamese but moved to america i guess. they had this fourteen year old boy who is MASSIVE on their team, whom we thought was at least 18. yeah, so we talked and traded shirts and they were all pretty nice.

we went out for a little while on the fourth before our flight, and went to the red square. it was closed off for an event though so we could only walk around it. meagan and i were trying to get the officers and people in uniforms to wave back at us cause they all looked so fierce and all that, so we'd smile and wave like retards. only some smiled back but none of them did wave back. mission failed. we walked around in an underground shopping mall for awhile but didn't see much so in the end we just headed back to prepare for our flight to stockholm.

we had a little overweight problem at the airport because of the chocolates we bought in berlin. but we cleared that up and reached stockholm at night. meagan and i took the magazine from the airplane cause it had this huge ass sexy picture of ryan reynolds on the cover page. hahah. oh wait, i think i left mine with kenneth. -.- it was about an hour ride on the bus to the hotel, and stockholm was really nice. we met bill there though, who was with the spanish team. we had a free day the next day so i went out to H&M after our morning swim and got two tshirts. then i went back to the free wifi they had at the hotel.

the meet was on the 6th and 7th and the pool was really nice. they had blocks that were the same model as beijing's. i think i died there because i felt so tired in the water. my times weren't that good, better than berlin but slower than moscow. kenneth and i traded a few shirts. i got spain, france and sweden. i wanted brazil, but there weren't any girls there and i didn't trade in berlin, sadly. they had really nice shirts. saw a few stars there. surprisingly, alain bernard didn't make it into the finals of the 100 free and only got 7th for 50 free. kenneth, lukas and i went to play on this ginormous water slide they had at the pool and i saw steffan deibler on the slide. amusing for such a grown up guy to still do stuff like that. they even had an outdoor pool which had a whirlpool in it. it made your face numb but your body warm. hahah. oh. and the kids at sweden are so creative. they tied strings around their pens and books and anything they want people to sign and just hang it down from the stands so people can sign it. genius.

kenneth, lukas, aunty kwan and i went out for awhile after the heats on the 7th and walked around for awhile while meagan stayed back at the hotel to rest for her 200 fly finals. it was really cold out. i could walk to the pool which is just next door to the hotel and my face would go numb so it made me sound weird talking so imagine how cold i was walking around. we even went to the pier where it was FREEZING. and i'm a person who doesn't feel cold easily. kenneth was feeling nice that day, so he carried my bag for me. (: we went straight back to the pool to watch the finals where aunty kwan just randomly started talking to an australian swimmer and even found out his salary. like who on earth finds out about people's salaries just from their first conversation?! she and lukas are like super social people. they just randomly chat up anybody and bam, they become like lifelong friends. lukas talked to people like matt abood and thiago. but kenneth and i just traded stuff then headed back to the hotel where we watched the EMAs and played taitee.

we went out the next day before we were due at the airport and went to old town. i had 5 pancakes, 2 sausages, 2 bacon and 2 meatballs. the meatballs are awesome. and the maple syrup for the pancakes are just...words cannot describe. i pour so much over it it's like soup. it was really cold that day. it was about -8 in the morning, but it went up to about 0 to 1 in the afternoon so you can imagine how cold we were being out for about 4 hours or so. i bought a few tshirts. i got one that said i heart swedish boys. hahah. we took loads and loads of pictures and did loads of funny stuff. but mainly we were just trying to keep warm even when we couldn't even feel our fingers and faces anymore.

we left the hotel at 4 for the airport and took a flight back to frankfurt before heading back to singapore. full flight on the way back so i could only stay in one seat. i watched inception and despicable me. got mindblown by inception. it was a good movie, if a little deep. was the last part actually a dream? we reached the airport at 5.30 or so. so 7 flights, 2 weeks, 1 helluva fun trip later, i'm back. i'm sad to be back actually. not much for me here. i could've stayed in europe forever and ever. maybe one day. now, it's time to post my 399 pictures. of course, i'm not posting everything. just most of it.

we started at changi ariport:

group photos! introducing the team: jia jiaolian, linda, meagan, me, kenneth and lukas.

just us swimmers. and there you see my new glasses. (:

we stop for a break from flying in frankfurt:

buying pretzels from a shop. i bought a sausage croissant as well and it was fantastic.

a self-taken shot at the boarding gate while we waited for our plane to be ready. they had free hot chocolate! you can see the machine right behind. they served all kinds of coffee too.

the sunrise in frankfurt.

a few pictures with it because we just couldn't resist. could anyone? stupid question. look at those colours!

still waiting for the plane. for only four hours of sleep i'm looking pretty cheerful.

in the minibus that came to pick us up to take us to the hotel.

meagan and i camwhoring in the window of the bus while the adults are busy checking different hotels to see if it was the right one. :D

hahah. jia jiaolian made me do this!

and this, dear friends, is where you should stay in berlin. andel's. best hotel i've ever stayed in for any meet.

the reception of hotel andel's.

another group shot in the reception hall.

how room 239, the suite, looks like.

the sitting area of the suite.

the beds.

the toilet.

just found this lamp so cool. hahah. the whole table just lights up!

the closet/fridge/safe.

the view outside the hotel. i love the colours of the leaves.

on the way to the grocery store to buy stuff.

the carpark of the grocery store.

looking at the chocolate selection. hahah. everyone needs chocolate.

walking back from the grocery store.

distributing our goods in the lift lobby before walking the 160-168 steps to our suite.

hahah. just found this amusing. the smaller white pillow was super comfy. but i hugged both the small white one and the black one to sleep. my own pillow got abandoned.

on the way to the pool before we realised we could actually go through the subway.

the pool's hall of fame, the list of people who set world records in this pool.

the pool.

being the subject of the adults' amusement. first me, in my suit, with my boots on.

then me in my suit, boots, and beanie standing.

then finally, me in my suit, boots, beanie sitting down. the japanese team were so amused by us taking so many pictures. like we were there for fun instead of to compete. but hey, we can have fun at meets. (:

stretching with meagan.

ah. the infamous, unconscious butt picture that linda, jia jiaolian and aunty kwan took of me....

that led to THIS butt picture when i found out. lol.

preparing for the swim down.

doing my thing in the pool.

i should totally frame this up. you never EVER get a picture of me doing backstroke because i don't do backstroke. ever. so this is a rarity.

sculling.

and then it's time for picture taking!

lukas, meagan, me and kenneth. i look like a little girl. :/

i was trying to get my hair dry asap before i went out so i did the towel turban. lol.

lol.

damn, we look good. hahah.

the long long corridor to the lift. we just started out from our room. that's not the whole thing. you still have to turn right, the left then walk down another long corridor.

group shot at the pool on day two. it rhymes!

walking back through the subway after practice.

that's the s-bahn station we were at.

group photo in front of the station.

on the s-bahn across the road from the hotel. i think the other one was a different line. meagan's face is epic.

group shot in front of the s-bahn tram.

me, aunty kwan and meagan at alexanderplatz.

a guy selling hot dogs. i think that's so cool. we bought hot dogs from him when we came back later on.

another group shot at alexanderplatz.

in the u-bahn.

that's the station we had to get off at to get to ku'damm. long ride.

hahah. you can tell how bored we were. guess whose shoes are whose!

group shot on the train!

off the train.

entrance of the u-bahn.

picture in front of it.

some random fountain.

whacky pictures in front of the random fountain.

me chasing this ginormous flock of birds. yeah i get amused doing that. you should see kenneth in stockholm.

me, in front of random building under construction. but you have to admit it still looks kinda nice.

this cute golden retriever i saw at the mall. they allow dogs EVERYWHERE in europe. in malls, in hotels, on the trains, in dining places. and they're all completely obedient. this one was guarding that bag.

us eating hotdogs in ku'damm. we got another on in alexanderplatz.

at the grocery store again recycling the bottles we finished. on like the first day of the meet, i drank 5 litres straight in the morning. from the time i woke up till lunch at 12. lol.

it's fun to put the bottles in and earn money yknow.

a look at how it works. the rollers roll the bottle around to see if it isn't too damaged and to find the barcode to show that it's recyclable. if it is, it's scanned and then it'll slide in. if not, you have to take it out.

how the machine looks like.

38 bottles for 9.50 euros. hahah.

this is what we do to kill time.

taitee.

getting ready for my race. 50 i think.

peter marshall.

think that's a church.

ta dah! the ritter sport chocolate museum!

happy to be there. me being the kid, museum being the candy store.

in front of a building, not sure what it is.

inside the chocolate museum. that's the part where they create the chocolates you want. but it takes half an hour so i didn't do it. ): but one day.

tower of chocolate!

look at the chocolates! omg. that's just the first shelf.

walking to the brandenburger tor.

the leaves that fell from the trees. never walked in them like that before.

another group shot.

the really long, tree walkway to the tor. no leaves though. would've been nicer if there were.

horse carriage! we wanted to sit in one.

the brandenburger tor from far away.

jump shots! kenneth's pose in the second picture is so starfish like. hahah.

park bench shot!

never knew there was a madame tussauds in berlin.

have i mentioned how gigantic the dogs in europe are? i saw a dog in stockholm that was up to my waist.

the tor.

that's nike. god/goddess of victory i think. i can't remember if it was a he or she. looks more she though.

me in front of the gate.

swimmers' group shot!

the uniform guys who made us laugh so hard our abs hurt.

this was the guy who gave us the discount. 1 euro per person instead of 2. he was highfiving all of us, saying kanasai.

this was the guy who started doing all the funny kanasai things.

another group shot before we left for charlie checkpoint.

if i'm not wrong, that's the building where the nazis had their meetings and stuff.

the infamous bike that made us all go loco. seats seven including the driver, so meagan got the seat in the centre.

me, already on the bike.

that's the driver.

me and the driver.

cycled past this. nice huh.

i think that's the war memorial.

spotted this kid all dressed up for halloween. i've never celebrated halloween before. ):

the snow slide! we cycled past it. wanted to go back to it but didn't have time. :/

random statue.

museum. the guys were looking at us. they waved back!

meagan and i on the bike.

at the berlin wall.

information about it.

the driver pushing the bike up the hill.

all of us on the bike.

hot air balloon.

a picture with the bike.

hahah. mine and meagan's cunning plan. she'll pretend to stand there for a picture while in actual fact, i'll be taking the picture of the cute guy standing behind. hahah. well, it's kind of an unglam shot of him. but it was the only clear one i got. cause he was moving around on his bike.

the charlie checkpoint.

some nazi guy.

the charlie checkpoint museum.

alexander dale oen.

paul biedermann.

some swiss guy that i thought was kinda cute. he looked like torres when he didn't smile! but his team and coach made us laugh before the picture. and apparently, he went to yog. and i didn't notice him there.

then we moved on to moscow:

the sunset outside the airport.

meagan and i waiting for the bus.

at the hotel, holiday inn, waiting for our rooms.

this is how room 1708 looked like. thank god for mtv, which was the uk version. saved our lives. listened to alot of the wanted's heart vacancy and mike posner's cooler than me and plan b and will.i.am. it was the only english channel. same for berlin and stockholm. well, there were other channels there. just that there wasn't alot of nice shows playing all the time.

the toilet. i swear i have too many pictures of toilets.

getting ready for my 100. the only good lane i ever got. lane 5. won the heat.

me in the white cap.

darian townsend.

the pool. we thought that was all the spectators there was.

until i looked up. wished singapore was like that.

the fallen traffic light.

i liked the poster they had.

arkady vyatchanin. he was our "ye ren" this meet. cause he always owned everyone in the 200 back because of his underwater.

the americans that we talked to. in the top row: kenneth, julia, meagan, lukas, andrew. in the bottom row: celina, me, kristine, byron. i swam with both celina and kristine.

nick silverthorn, the 14 year old who's just monstrously huge. i couldn't believe he was 14 when i heard.

byron.

julia.

kristine.

nine lanes in the final cause they pulled julia smit out of the wrong event.

gulliver koch. the swedish guy i thought was cute. hahah. somehow, they all look cuter when they don't smile for pictures.

the long long escalator down to the metro.

beware, the ghost dog! it's just a stray that went on the escalator with us.

the stray roaming in the metro. it was still there when we came back from the red square. so i gave it what was left of my pancake.

group shot in the metro.

the theatre, where all the performances are held.

me in front of the theatre.

karl marx.

i think this is a theatre too.

the huge chanel billboard with the hot model.

behind the red square.

group shot!

clock tower.

st. basil's church.

that's actually the roof of an underground shopping mall.

kenneth, meagan and me on the steps.

lukas, me, kenneth and meagan.

how the roof looks like from underneath.

heehee.

russian pancake!

us and the tour guide outside the hotel.

so we flew on over to stockholm the next day:

and i met bill at the hotel! thought i saw wrongly at first, and it was just a guy who looked like him, then i said, bill, really quietly and he turned around. hahah. i'm always scared of calling people i recognise in a foreign countries cause it might not be them.

how room 5031 looks like. our rooms get smaller and smaller. but the bed was nice and bouncy. although it was only one bed with two blankets.

another toilet picture.

the park next to the hotel, we have to walk past it walking down the slope to the pool every morning. it's really nice in the sunrise. the house like stuff down there are for people who wish to have a garden but don't have the space to. they rent it and plant their own stuff to sate their gardening needs.

walking down to the pool.

that's an outdoor pool. guess they drained it for winter.

slush! i slide down it every morning. even steffan deibler does it. funny.

the name of the pool.

the pool.

you have to admit, they're nice pictures. they treat their national swimmers like heroes. in berlin too.

the 2008 beijing blocks. it makes it hard to climb up though cause you have to climb over the wedge.

how the whole thing looks like.

swimmers' group shot.

and a few others.

a few with bill.

walking back up the stairs to the slope after training.

the view of our hotel from the pool.

the entrance of the park.

look at all the candy in the supermarket! they have everything there. candy, dvds, books, and all. you can recycle bottles there too. the cashier's really cool. they only take notes so you have to put the coins into this metal box.

just liked the trees. the second one's opposite our hotel.

in ahlens looking around and i saw this woman with her dog. see, you can bring them anywhere and everywhere.

getting ready for the 100.

aschwin wildeboer. spanish backstroker.

the little place where they sprayed water to form ice. it's not really smooth so you can't really iceskate though.

kenneth and lukas had a mock snow fight.

lukas, me and kenneth at the ice place when we went out after the heats.

christmas tree!

taken by aunty kwan from across the road. we're at the door.

waiting to cross.

walking around.

the place we went to. not too sure where this was though.

random old building i think.

picture of us again.

that's the view from the marina.

me sitting on the little wall where people stick posters.

hahah. aunty kwan was so surprised to see me like that. i was cold! i couldn't feel my face and my mouth anymore. sounded funny when i talked.

hahah. i spotted these guys across the road when we were heading back to the pool. and then they stopped to take a picture with us before walking into the mall like nobody's business. kingkong, donkey and the mask.

thiago pereira. met him on the way to the pool. he's friendly.

randall bal. at the dining area.

group shot on the "ice".

walked along here to get to old town. must've gone into all the souvenir shops they had.

hahah. random lion statue. we were waiting for everyone to get out of the shop.

the gate thingum you have to go through to get into old town.

nice building.

it had a nice background of buildings.

that's a bit of old town and a bit of other old buildings.

the gate thing.

looks pretty huh.

liked the water effect.

and we have reached old town! it's a really nice place.

giant moose!

in a small alley.

tunnel. it's kinda short so it made me look really tall at the end.

my classmates would go crazy at all the giant stuffed animals here.

ben & jerry's! i didn't have an ice cream challenge. ): it was too cold. but it's the best time to eat ice cream! it won't ever melt.

that's a church. they have really nice churches in europe. unlike ours.

we stood there looking like beggars cause there was hot air coming out from the top of the doorway and we were trying to warm our hands. hahah.

not too sure who this guy is.

heading to the royal palace.

quick picture while crossing the street, we were headed the other direction so i was walking backwards while jiaolian was taking the picture.

the pier.

looks really nice huh.

hahah. playing around with the life buoy.

i can never do cool scenic shots. i just look like a retard.

i like this picture. (:

making the multi-armed creature. muahahah. actually we look like an oversized insect. it was me, megan, jiaolian and kenneth.

it made my legs look long. hahah. the only time you'll ever see long legs on me.

jiaolian made us pose like this, kenneth was chasing and i was running away. lol.

waiting while aunty kwan was asking directions to the palace.

another church i think.

finally, the palace.

queen! my crown's slightly crooked though.

hahah. i like this picture. we're still at the palace.

back at the hotel. doesn't the reflection of the building look nice?

and that's all that i'm posting. took me a week to finish this, and it involved deleting my old pictures. oh well. i couldn't NOT post this up. seeya. one day, i'll go back. and when i do, there'll be more pictures.

I hear your heart cry for love

Then you act like there's no room

Room for me, or anyone

'Don't Disturb' is all I see

Close the door, turn the key

On everything that we could be

If loneliness would move out

I'd fill the vacancy

In your heart, in you heart, in your heart.

2010-08-31T21:33:00.002+08:00

i think it's time to blog about YOG. overall, i'd say fun-wise, it was relatively okay. performance-wise...it was a little too extreme.

so we checked in on the 12th and got the nearest block to the dining hall (lucky us). even so, you'd have to walk at least 15 minutes to get to the dining hall and at least 10 from the dining hall to the transport hall. so you can imagine how much we'd have to walk in one day. throw in all the stairs we have to climb and you really can't blame me for having aching calves and thighs on the fifth day. more on that later.

we just basically spent that day and the next getting used to the village, the pools, the food and stuff. on the day of the opening ceremony, well, i can't say much about it since i didn't stay for the whole thing but the show was okay, if a little meaningless, and the welcoming of the athletes was a little weird since they only made us enter the side of the platform and go straight up to our seats instead of marching. we left early since our meet started the next day.

the ride to sports school was actually quite eventful. we were already late as it was when we got to the middle of the KJE where there was this massive traffic jam. yknow how when you merge lanes after you get on the highway? our bus just cut through that painted white part and then swerved back across onto the road shoulder, escorted by a police car. it was so cool. turned out there was an accident. but i made it to the pool all in good time. i started the meet off with my 50 breast. it was a good race, i think. i PBed in the morning in the heats with a 33.82. got in unexpectedly into the semifinals later that night. i was seriously shocked. my worst event and i got into the semifinals. but to be honest, the easiest to make past the heats are the 50s. went back to the village to rest up and came back in the afternoon to swim the semifinals. i was really touched that people actually bought tickets and came down to watch the semis when i got into the semis. like huiyu, josh, shaun and kevin. even my grandfather came down, so shaun told me. i did a 33.65, another new PB and finished 15th overall. i'm kinda pleased with that, since it's not last. but the day ended quite badly with the transport issue.

i was trying to get back to the village and stupidly enough, there was only one bus waiting. so the volunteers attempted to get everyone in order and wrote down their countries so they could call them to board the bus. which is NOT effective at all. suddenly, while i was talking to them to let me out to meet jiaolian, the whole group of people wanting to go back to the village came storming out of the waiting area and they started pushing and shoving and eventually even all the volunteers and policemen couldn't stop them. so we all ran out to the bus stop. when the bus came, it was the definition of chaos. no joke. people ran for the bus and everyone just swarmed to the bus. people got pushed up against the bus and someone elbowed me on the chin and it was so tight that you couldn't even breathe. so i squeezed through the crowd and ducked under the guy who was blocking the bus door. it was exactly like a stampede. the volunteers looked like they were about to cry. it was just bad organising on their part.

the 16th was the 4x100 medley for girls. i did horrid in that. a 1:15 i think. i felt so guilty, because the extra three seconds between us and 8th place came from me. we could've gotten into the finals but because of me, we didn't. so i had that on my conscience all day. and that was the day which my legs and shoulders hurt like holy crap. the 3rd day of racing was i think one of the worst i've ever had. my calves were still hurting but like half of the pain as compared to the previous day. i was still quite worried about it, and i guess that contributed to the race. i did a really good warm up, a 15.0 for my 25 dive. so it stood to reason that i could've done a really good time. but nooo, i did a 1:14.38, a second off my PB and FAR off my target. went out quite okay, according to plan. a 34.56, but came back a 40 cause i panicked at why the girl next to me was going so fast and why people were catching up with me and started messing up my strokes. i should seriously get goggles that block my peripheral view.

the fourth day was my free day, so i worked on my technique. and it was GOOD. so therefore, the day before shouldn't have happened. if i swam my 100 on that day, i'm pretty sure i'd have hit that target spot on. had the 4x100 free medley girls the next day. i PBed in the morning and did a 1:02.32. but the big shocker/joke? i was the ANCHOR. seriously. my first ever time being on a 4x100 free relay in a big meet and i get anchor position. cause it was fastest to slowest. i was so scared i couldn't get us in the finals. but we did. so we came back at night to swim and finished last but last in the final means eighth in the world. there's a positive perspective.

the fifth and last day was the day that i was really nervous about. and it was the day i really did shit. i had two events on that day. 200 breast and 4x100 mixed medley relay. so i started off with the 200 breast. i couldn't get psyched up before the race even though i ate like two packs of caffeine filled powergel. did a 2:40.23. 6 whole seconds off my PB. seriously? 6 seconds? i couldn't even feel anything after that. at least my relay team mates got me cheered up a little for the relay. the mixed relay was kinda fun actually. it consisted of two boys and two girls and you can arrange them in anyway. so guys could race against the girls. rainer swam the back, i the breast, shengjun the fly and adeline the free. rainer got in 2nd. and i was up against the australian guy breaststroker, nick schaffer, i think he was called. he's FAST. i like his strokes though. did a crappy time again. a 1:14.94 if i'm not wrong. put us in 5th. pfft. but the meet was over for me and i was kinda glad i could get this over with. if i could redo my events, i would. but since i can't, all i can do is put it behind me. we went back to eat macs for lunch after that. i think i'm not used to junk food anymore, cause i felt queasy both times i ate at macs.

we went back to the pool for the finals. and i had half an hour of pure bliss on the bus ride cause a certain canadian sat next to me. hahah. didn't talk to him though cause he was listening to his ipod. /: nurul, joey and sakeenah bought tickets to come visit me that night. they got me a teddy bear and made me a card! (: think they had a nice time sightseeing. but i felt kinda bad that they spent thirty bucks to see me swim and i didn't even get into any finals. i was kinda annoyed though. we had to meet the DPM and the PM and then arren, amanda and i had to go for an interview for Today At The Games so i pretty much missed the whole final. and it was the 200 breaststroke girls which i really wanted to see. the australian won in 2:27! holy shit man.

the three of us went to do our interview. i learnt that even though sometimes the tv says it's live, it's not really. it was all pre-recorded. hahah. then the next day, we had a clinic with alex popov. i really do think he looks just like the guy who plays mr bean. after that, we just went for training everyday at the club. i traded shirts with slovenia, argentina and south africa girls. and a pair of south africa shorts and cap too. and loads of pins. could've gotten more but i had to leave early for the interview. i really wanted a canada shirt though. there was a red one with the word canada in the front that i really liked. but they left the next day so i couldn't trade for it. i took pictures with cute guys though. tom daley! (: jealous? he's a nice guy.

the day before the closing ceremony, we had to greet the PM in the village. we waited for THREE hours! gosh. in the end most of us just went back to our rooms to watch movies before coming back out again. at night, cause i showed shufang that i could touch my elbow to my toes, she made me show the gymnast and challenge them. it was quite amsuing. i could do two things they couldn't do. which made them ask why i was in swimming. hahah. on the 26th, we went out for lunch at chilis in tanglin mall. ate half a rack and felt so unbelievably full. before that, clement, amanda and i were running around trying to complete the cep thing and get our prizes. so we resorted to cheating. rainer passed clement all the stickers he needed. then after clement got his prizes, he scratched off the marker strikes and passed it to me. then after i got my prizes i passed them to amanda. it was quite hilarious. only singaporeans think this way. the closing ceremony was just plain chaotic. no one told us what to do or where to go. people started throwing water bottles and those light up hearts in the bags given. a few hit people on the head and this group of argentinians and africans started fighting.then they randomly told us to run out on stage and sit out there the whole time. i think it was really bad organising yet again. in the end, when the thing finished, caroline (the horse rider) and i got lost and ended up being the only singaporeans on the bus. when we got back to the village, i crashed at 12.30. i didn't even have any dinner except for a miserable chewy bar.

checked out on the 27th and drove to the meritus mandarin for the singtel luncheon. it was kinda boring and everyone was just riding on a few hours of sleep. after that, we waited for one hour for our luggages cause the vans got lost. -.- then i went home and unpacked then, an hour later, it was back to the pool for training. straight after training, we went to the 98.7 studio for an interview with shan and rozz. it was quite a short one. and so, that ended my yog experience.

pictures?

the girls.

the swim team.

the room. my bed's the one next to the curtain.

the pool with the stands. it sucked. we had only two hundred seats reserved for athletes and officials and over two hundred athletes and officials. nice.

the past olympic torches. i only took the ones that were nice.

having our pictures taken in the olympic gallery. our photo's the highest one on the wall.

arren camwhoring with my camera.

the cep tents.

caroline on the way to the opening ceremony. she was the one taking the athlete oath.

us three and the sailor. i think she won bronze.

us and the botswana swimmers? idk where they're from but they're cute and everyone was taking pictures with them so why not?

the opening ceremony. i think the monster's cute. might've overdone it on the fireworks though.

me getting ready for my semifinal.

man, i'm REALLY behind for a 50m.

jeremy bagshaw! (:

kelvin! hahah. idk how this picture was taken but it's funny.

waiting for rainer to swim i think.

getting ready and swimming the free relay final.

taking a picture with the volunteer on the bus. it's the last day!

finally, we get to eat junk food. macs!

hahah. even the cleaners know rainer. he's quite nice to pass around his medal to anybody who wants to take a photo with him. if i got a medal that meant something to me, i wouldn't let anyone touch it with a ten-foot pole unless i knew them. i'm sorry but that's how it is.

waiting for amanda to swim her final on the last day.

the DPM came to visit.

the set of today at the games.

us lazing around.

getting our makeup done.

getting prepped and being recorded.

us and the hosts. i can't remember their names. or i can't spell it.

alex popov! he looks like mr bean. XD

me, thomas and jiaolian.

me and thomas. who knows when i get to see him again. /:

arren and clement's room's so...yknow.

courtesy of shane's lousy phototaking skills.

there's the man himself camwhoring.

and again.

us waiting for the PM. we started watching disgusting and funny videos on clement's iphone. the biggest pimple! urgh!

the guys running up the hill instead of taking the stairs. i think it's the easier route since the stairs are sloping upwards too. amanda and i tried running down. it's scary and exhilarating cause i kept thinking i was gonna end up tripping on a root and rolling down the hill.

our blocks. we were with serbia and australia and italy and vietnam and brunei and south africa and slovakia and others i can't remember.

shengjun watching the timer while we were playing taboo.

jumpshots at the marina barrage!

group shot with another volunteer.

random picture from arren.

playing kick and catch the bottle.

group with the cep people manning the cambodia booth.

i'm sure you all know who this is. for those who live under a rock, this is TOM DALEY! he's nice. (: i asked him for a picture and he went "sure, no problem" with a smile and then put his arm around me and said, "you can take me and my ice cream" [cheeky smile].

amanda and tom.

at chilis.

group shot!

my half rack of ribs. are you full just looking at it?

shyeah, it was a good half rack.

chad le clos from south africa. he's going for the commonwealth games i think.

the olympic flame. it was cool the way they put it out. it looks like a fire tornado.

some random peru guy who i thought was cute. we were taking this picture while trying to avoid flying objects. and getting wet. well, we were already wet. trying not to get wetter.

shane! during the singtel luncheon. yes, i'm really red. i already know that.

at the 98.7 studio.

group shot with shan and rozz.

the end. (:

I've got the magic in me

Everytime I touch that track it turns into gold

Everybody knows I've got the magic in me

When I hit the flow the girls come snappin' at me

Now everybody wants a burst of magic

2010-08-09T15:06:00.000+08:00

i'm not really sure how to feel now. i'm all nervous and everything, but i don't really have any reason to be.it's not like i'd have a shot at a final, much less a medal. all i really want out of this meet is to hit my targets. but with a)my knee unexpectedly hurting now and b)my training sessions in the past two months being really crappy, i can't really expect to do very well. but that's all i'm asking for: to do well by my standards. not anybody else's, just mine, because my standards for myself are probably higher than what anyone can set me. and you just can't help hoping that things would go well, even though you know they won't.

I know that I'm not perfect, but I keep trying

Cause that's what I said I would do from the start.

I'm not alive if I'm lonely, so please don't leave

Was it something I said or just my personality?

2010-07-08T21:58:00.000+08:00

woohoo! spain won germany in the semi-finals! next up: spain vs holland. god i hope to hell they win. i'm gonna wake up at 2.30 to watch them! they'd better! i bought their away long sleeve jersey and i hope kevin and richard make good their promises to buy me the other two short sleeves for my birthday. hahah. ANYWAY, i haven't been here in so long, my blog's prehistorical. i guess my life isn't really that interesting. well, i'll probably update during yog if i can connect to a wireless there. i hope i can, if not, i'll be mighty bored. sigh. still totally bummed i can't go to hawaii. ):

2010-06-23T20:27:00.000+08:00

FINALLY. no more agony from waiting. no more anxiety. now, i think i wanna go to commonwealth games more than asian games. the team's definitely more fun than the asian games one, even if it's in india and the venues aren't even finished yet. and the australian team'll be there. hahah.

California girls, we're unforgettable

Daisy Dukes, bikinis on top

Sun-kissed skin so hot will melt your popsicle

Ooh, oh, ooh

2010-06-06T21:06:00.000+08:00

photos from the 3D filming on saturday. wish i had pictures of the swimming parts, it looked quite cool.

yeah i know i look like a small chubby kid. but whatever.

There is so much a man can tell you

So much he can say

You remain my power, my pleasure, my pain, baby

To me, you're like a growing addiction that I can't deny

Won't you tell me is it healthy, babe?

2010-05-24T21:16:00.000+08:00

great. i'm on antibiotics, just two weeks before the biggest meet of the year. of all times, i had to get sick before a meet. why couldn't i get sick after, or way before the meet? and i feel horrible in the water, which is why i hate taking antibiotics. don't you just love it when you try so hard to make sure everything goes perfectly but it ends up going all wrong? it's just a waste of my efforts.

And I am here still waiting

Though I still have my doubts

I am damaged at best

Like you've already figured out

2010-05-20T19:50:00.000+08:00

CSC Awards Night

table photo! front row: kevin, lionel, jingwen, chriselle. back row: douglas, brandon, jonathan, arren, me, tiffany.

group photo!

jingwen!

jeremy! normal and smiling.

jeremy and his favourite jizz face. he has loads of practice.

jonathan!

lionel!

douglas!

tiffany!

arren!

tingting!

group photo! lionel, jonathan, jingwen, jeremy, chriselle, kevin, tiffany, me, arren.

me, chriselle, jingwen.

jingwen trying to make her eyes look bigger. hahahah.

kevin!

School Nationals

hahah. you can see my socks.

charmaine!

i look like a tard here.

i have the body of a man! ):

prize presentation.

charmaine! again.

i'm thinking this is melissa.

gerald! hahah.

jingwen!

tiffany!

arren, jerryl and me.

table photo!

lionel!

picture with the guys, with a kid crashing the picture. idk who that is. nick ho, kevin, jerryl, wanloong, me.

2010-05-14T22:13:00.000+08:00

have you ever felt how it was like to be unable to breathe when you swim? let me explain this to you. you swim. you breathe in. but no matter how deeply you breath, it feels like no air's going to your lungs; your lungs don't even feel like they're inflating. and it's not getting better because you're already putting in as much effort as you can into the set and normally, you'd already be tired and breathless. this just makes it even worse. you get even more tired, cause it feels like you're getting no oxygen. you feel like you're drowning, because even though you're breathing, it feels like you're trapped underwater. have you ever felt like that before? bet you haven't right? so don't effing accuse me of not putting the effort. i already told you i couldn't breathe and you should know, after 5 years, that i get affected by hazes, especially hazes as bad as these. i'm trying my damned hardest to do your times and you're not making it easier by yelling at me and accusing me of slacking off. screw you.

2010-05-05T21:01:00.000+08:00

if you're so sick of me doing what i want to, why didn't you just get rid of me in the first place? cause i'm bound to not do what you want. just leave me alone.

I could only sing you sad songs
And you could sing along
And you could see the melody
That's been calling out your wrongs

2010-04-21T23:19:00.000+08:00

Brunei Asean Cup 2010

group photo at changi airport.

lunch at some random hotel in brunei. they had nice desserts.

jingwen's retarded face.

the pool.

the room. it's quite nice, isn't it?

candids!

golly gee! i'm fat!

jeremy's retarded face.

"i love my new speakers cheryl picked out for me." yeah i know, i have great taste.

i love candid shots of me when i swim.

this is what we do at the pool. retardedness as displayed by jed and cards.

squeeze that face!

you got it bub.

L-R me, haili, kevin, christie, huiyu, joshua, daniel

me in huiyu's shades.

whacky pictures on the bus because we wanted to capture the orangey light. we saw a double rainbow!

charmaine!

dinner before the match between manutd and chelsea.

haili and joshua doing weird stuff with my cap.

team photo at the pool.

jiaolian and i got dunked. well, jiaolian jumped in herself.

me, jolene, charmaine and huiyu.

jingwen displaying her whackiness.

kevin and huiyu.

camwhores!

haili crashing the picture.

L-R: jingwen, huiyu, jolene, me, charmaine, haili, daniel and samuel

haili, huiyu, me, charmaine, jeremy, joshua.

huiyu, me and charmaine.

charmaine!

kevin!

jeremy!

people bombing a picture of me and joshua.

joshua!

jed!

daniel!

arren!

the guys goofing around.

huiyu the giant.

lionel!

squeeze that face like a pimple!

jolene with that jacket on.

jolene with that jacket off.

jingwen!

the guys crashing my picture with dylan.

dylan! isn't he cute?

huiyu with jolene's weird face behind.

samuel!

again with the weird horny stuff.

aww. young love!

got best performer for my age group. hahah. i was the only one there!

kenneth!

haili and his desired teacup boobs.

sarah and jingwen

haili!

chubby bunny! i dropped out after only 8, but jolene got 17 and haili got 21! crazy people. they can go be chipmunks.

haili's marshmallows. you can go count for yourselves.

dylan!

poking uncle matthew's tummy. hahah.

daniel's jizz face.

team photo at the brunei airport.

mass jizz face!

not funny.

how big can you smile?

2010-04-20T20:17:00.000+08:00

gah. i can't do my math reflection because my group didn't send me the project. ugh. and my swim sucked today. even though it's heats. i need my confidence to do well in finals!even if i didn't taper, i still wanna see if i can pb, although that's highly unlikely because we haven't been training because of all the storming that's been going on. gah. this is stressing me out.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALY! <3

You appear just like a dream to me

Just like kaleidoscope colours that cover me

All I need, every breath that I breathe

Don't you know you're beautiful

2010-04-18T20:29:00.000+08:00

okay. i figured i should at least blog a little. i meant to blog about asean cup, but i've kinda forgotten some details, other than it was my funnest asean cup and i really enjoyed it. hahah. i did shit for the meet though, but who cares. the hotel was quite nice, although my trip started off crap cause my pure sport packs had holes in them and the powder exploded all over everything in my luggage. so i had to beat off everything and live in fear of insects being attracted to me.but it was fun anyway. the last night too, when joshua bought a chocolate fudge cake and we watched liverpool lose and we played chubby bunny, where you have to stuff as many marshmallows into your mouth as you can, and murderer in the dark. and then jiaolian busted us while we pretended to sleep. hahah. i'll try to post pictures another time when i have more time cause i hate posting pictures on blogger since they changed the thing.

we had our csc awards dinner again yesterday too. it was quite funny, with the entertainer crossdressing and sitting on kevin's lap and then saying, is that a chopstick in your pocket? hahah. again, i'll post pictures another time.

I HAVE FINISHED ALL MY EXAMS FOR THE TERM! now, i can focus more on my meets. okay, think that's all. seeya. i know it's a lousy post, but whatever.

I see your blue eyes, everytime I close mine

You make it hard to see

Where I belong to, when I'm not around you

It's like I'm not with me

2010-03-17T13:28:00.000+08:00

[hyperventilates] it starts today. i have two more days. TWO MORE DAYS. that's 48 hours. that's 2880 minutes. holy crap. [hyperventilates more] i can't think about it. it drives me nuts. i'm 7th for my 200 and the people who're in front of me are all japanese. nice.

but one thing to be relatively happy about, is that i got new suits! i actually got two, one koz and one aquaforce. but both were in the wrong sizes. so today, my mum went to get the right sizes. and yknow what? they gave me four suits instead! hahahahah. so not only did they not take the wrong sizes back, they gave me four extra suits. but they're still not the right size cause i wear an xs and they're all s, so hopefully it fits okay cause kevin wears an s. so i definitely can't wear an s. and i'm kinda worried about my LZR elite. like water just gushes in like a waterfall from the top of my suit. and then it gets pulled out and i get dragged back. kinda like when you wear a loose costume to swim and it feels like drags. so idk about it. is it a wrong size or is there something wrong? cause my illegal LZRs were 24s as well and it didn't have any problems. sigh.

i'm drowning under all my homework. next wednesday, i have chinese, math and social studies exams. yep, all in one day. so i'm trying to figure out how to finish all my studying and homework by today. cause i can't do it once the meet starts. gah.

And count the stars to form in lines

And find the words we'll sing in time

I want to keep her dreaming

It's my one wish, I won't forget this

2010-03-13T20:36:00.000+08:00

gee, why don't you just lock me up under house arrest as well?

And I hear the reverberating footsteps, sinking up to the beating of my heart.

And I was positive that unless I got myself together, I would watch me fall apart.

And I can't let that happen again

Cause then you'll see my heart in the saddest state it's ever been.

2010-03-07T14:12:00.000+08:00

okay. my knee's back in the bandage for the third time these two weeks. hopefully it'll just get better and be done with it, i've had just about enough with its bloody moods [yes, my body parts have moods]. wish i could just literally select a knee off a shelf and get people to implant it in me. one day, they will invent something like that and all the stupid malfunctioning body parts will get it.

anyway, i'm ATTEMPTING my history fa now. it's so gah. how can i remember so much for history! it's too much info! and the most of the sources are like irrelevant to the question. DIE, ESSAY.

But I never told you everything

I'm losing hope and fading dreams

And every single memory along the way

2010-03-03T21:43:00.000+08:00

hahah. went to sports council today and i was told by dr cormac that i was double-jointed at my knees by about 10 degrees. whatever, it's still cool that i'm double-jointed. (: i have random pains in my body now. my right shoulder and a bone in my thigh hurts. apparently it's cause of my back. my knee's still not fully recovered yet. so. idk how'm gonna make it through this meet, but hopefully i make it through okay.

oh yeah, i'm the only girl in my cat going for asean cup. how nice. just cause we have to pay, everybody's dropping out. this is why singaporeans are famous. it's not like they can't afford it.

When everything is going wrong

And things are just a little strange

It's been so long now

You've forgotten how to smile.

2010-02-20T21:06:00.000+08:00

great. real great. my life's all great. my knee hurts, right after my back got better. fantastic. bye targets.

Are we an item?

Girl, quit playin'

We're just friends

What are you saying?

Said there's another, look right in my eyes

My first love broke my heart for the first time

2010-02-12T22:29:00.000+08:00

have i told you i have a back injury? well, now you know. and you know how i got it? by doing an effing bridge. and the thing is, it was getting better on wednesday! until jiaolian made me do the 3(10x50) in main and didn't let me do free pull for the second one. after that session, my back muscle swelled. and now, i can't even do freaking freestyle. why do i always have something happen to me before big meets? and why is it ALWAYS snag? when everything depends on it? i just can't get a break! for god's sake, there're only three weeks left for me to train! fuck my life.

I'm bruised and scarred

Save me from this broken heart

All my love will slowly fade and fall apart

Someone please sing this lovesick melody

Call on me if you're afraid

I'm just a kiss away

2010-02-04T21:35:00.000+08:00

so i shall blog about my day, because it just has to be one of the weirdest and in the top five worst days of my life. it's one of the worst days because a) i got to school and moments after i stepped through the gate, i got booked three times in a single minute, in the same category, by the same person, for short pinafore, no nametag and no school badge. well, can't say i didn't deserve the last two; i left both of them in the car. as for the short pinafore, it's so totally unjustified. the rules say pinafores must not be 6cm above the knees. mine was only 3cm! and dyou know how i know that? because i got the prefect in my class (not the one that booked me) to measure it for me. and she said it was perfectly okay! and i got my nametag one cancelled cause i found an extra nametag in my bag. but ugh. i wanted to get the short pinafore one cancelled but the stupid indian prefect talked to gen and she said that it looked really short. and [cough] the other prefect in my class (i shan't mention her name here) said that it was borderline and that the prefect had the right to book me. wtf. how's 3cm borderline? there are ALOT of people whose pinafores are much shorter than mine and they don't ever get booked. and i just found out that they combine sec three and four bookings, so if they do, i have three bookings already, which means i have to go for dc. i am NOT wasting my time doing an hour of reflection. that's just pointless. so book me all you want, you're not making me go for dc.

b) i got told that i wasn't allowed to drop physics after i've missed like 5 weeks of physics classes already. like what? you're telling me this now? i thought it was already confirmed! and then the teacher tells me that i wasn't to drop it. wtf. if they make me continue physics after this, i am not gonna fill in any single paper they give me regarding physics. i'll just leave it all blank. will THAT be enough for you to see that i'm not coping with that subject?

c) i got hit in the head with a rubber bastketball! gah.

and today was weird because after all this, i wasn't pissed or annoyed or anything. i was still...normal. laughing and stuff. how..abnormal. usually i'd turn moody and glare at any prefect walking past me or just not answer anybody. but today was just...weird. hmm.

anyway, i'm totally excited. 9 more days till cny eve! and getting to watch valentine's day with my school mates. that is one thing i have not done yet in four years. i know right! how antisocial can i get? good gracious. can't wait for chinese new year. it's my favourite holiday ever. (: bring on the angpaos! but it's always slightly marred by the fact that i can't eat oranges and too much snacks cause i have to watch my weight and my health. and i think i'm like close to falling sick but i'm JUST warding it off. but i'm getting alot of phlegm now. ugh. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE DON'T GET SICK! if you wanna get sick, do it AFTER nag. pleasepleaseplease.

Every time I fall asleep, my dreams are haunted

And every time i close my eyes, I'm not alone

Every time I cry, I'm right back where you wanted

I try to drown you out, so down goes another one.

2010-01-23T22:49:00.000+08:00

yayy!! i got my lzr elite! haven't tried it hough, i'll do that tomorrow. it looks exactly like the us fspro.

yog's so complicated. they'll be selecting eight from each gender first, then they'll narrow it down to four each based on medal/ final chances. like if you have a higher FINA score than the other person, but he or she has a better chance at winning, then that person'll get to go. and you know what? they're giving away samsung omnia phones to every single athlete and official! like wtf, i want that! but my chances are...slim. since it's not like i have a hope in hell of making it into the finals.

and i just finished my dinner like 15 minutes ago. ugh. 3 hours just to eat a meal! kevin, jingwen's brother, jingwen and i were so bored, we played a scramble competition on jingwen's brother's iphone. hahah.

i'm addicted to mcfly songs again! woohoo. i need more new songs.

okay, i'm pretty much done. i haven't felt like blogging but just decided to for the sake of it. i don't want my blog to be so dead.

Fly away

Watch the night turn into day

Dance on the milky way

Melt me with your eyes

My star girl rules the skies.

2010-01-10T15:22:00.000+08:00

what the pong man. my japanese fspro kneeskin got banned and i don't have any more kneeskins to wear. so i have to buy the lzr elite which costs like almost 500 bucks. the time where i get free suits is over. like, i don't get what's the problem with the fspro. the us version got accepted, but mine has a huge hole in it. i didn't even get to wear it. and the jammer and classic one for the japanese version got approved, so why isn't the kneeskin? it makes no sense. there's a lzr racer pro too. idk if it's old or new, but i've never seen it before. it's cheaper than the elite too. but i can't get anything out from the speedo site. it doesn't even give us any hints of what's coming out or any other information. ugh.

And they say that a hero can save us

I'm not gonna stand here and wait

I'll hold on to the wings of the eagles

Watch as we all fly away

2009-12-31T23:02:00.000+08:00

it's the last one and a half hours of 2009 and looking back, i think it was a good year. here're some of the good and bad things of this year.

The Highlights

i think this year was a good year swimming-wise. i was a 2.40.12 when i first started this year, and i've cut that down by 5.39 seconds to a 2.34.73. for my 100, i've gone from a 1.16.2 to a 1.13.60, a 2.6 seconds difference. not that bad if you ask me, considering i've hardly improved in the last two years. so, really, even though i didn't hit my targets for seag, i'm quite happy with the times i've done.

my training was better than last time too. i did a 1.17.1 one week during a 8x100 main set with the last one being a dive, and then lowering that training PB to a 1.16.2. and in phuket, i did a 2.49 on a push off. so it's quite good for training.

school-wise, i'm just glad i passed my sec 3 year. hopefully, next year it'll be better.

The Lowlights

academically, i was really struggling because of all the school i missed. there was a period where i missed school for almost a month. so it was one tough job to catch up with everybody else since we were speeding through everything. but at least i managed to pass. that's all i care about anyway. i was failing up until the end-years.

another thing was me getting sick during ayg. that was one of the most horrible times of my life. well, at least there wasn't any asthma attacks interfering. only had my asthma once this year, if i'm not wrong. before snag.

this year was also filled with injuries. like my back, which i think is making a reappearance. and my wrist, my never-ending pain-filled wrist.

and the number one most major lowlight of the year? someone's giving up and not doing it anymore.

all in all, not a bad year in swimming with only one huge thing stopping it from becoming a great year. my studies? well, let's just say i'm working on that. [hopefully] and at least i was healthier than previous years. surely that's a plus.

so, it's been a good year y'all, and i'll see ya next year. have a great year ahead. 2010 FTW.

Take everything that I know you'll break.

And I give my life away, so far for you.

But can you hear me say?

Don't throw me away.

And there's no way out,

I gotta hold you somehow.

2009-12-29T20:59:00.000+08:00

i've thought alot about this question for a really long time: what am i going to do if this happens? i still don't have the answer to that question.

Can somebody save me? 'Cause I'm thinkin' maybe

That you can take me piece by piece

Then you got your reasons but I didn't need them

And either way I'm on my knees, yeah

2009-12-28T22:08:00.000+08:00

gah. me and my swimsuit fetish. i keep looking at nice swimsuits that i can't afford. what is up with that man. ugh. and i need new songs.

You take, take

Everything that wasn't even yours

Wait, wait

You don't got a hold of me anymore

2009-12-27T22:35:00.003+08:00

okay! so i'm back already and i have loads of things to post about. but i can't really remember all of em. so i'll start with the games first.

phuket was cool. we stayed in British International School, and holy cow man. i think our schools should totally be like that. it's so nice but it's in a really isolated place, like right between mountains. but it was scenic and all. the rooms were nice. AIRCON. but it was kinda boring. until the second half of the week, when i found out that the tv had great english channels with awesome shows. they showed shows like troy, the proposal, district 9, high school musical 3, eragon. so we were fairly entertained. a few of us would just camp downstairs where there were nice sofas and three aircons and the best part was that it was right next to the kitchen. hahah. training was still doubles though. even though we were close to tapering. and at 6 in the morning! so yeah, that was the part i didn't like. but the school was so cool. they had this extremely large field, three indoor basketball courts, one outdoor, a pool, a gym and other stuff.

then for laos, it was better than i expected actually. the rooms were quite okay, our room was super cooling cause the sun was never shining into our room. so when we first moved in, it was like we had a hidden aircon. the beds were a little hard though. and there were huge ass mozzies everytime, no matter how many we killed. there'll always be at least two in the toilet. the food was okay, though it got a little boring. and the best part? it was quite cold at the beginning and the end of the day.

the pools were alright, though the grasshoppers and flying beetles and bugs and whatnots were plenty. like seriously, the pool outside had like no bugs, and the indoor pool? loads of em. at night especially, you look up and you see bugs flying everywhere. left right centre. and the grasshoppers. omg. you should see them. they're huge ass and small ones as well. and they jump really far. it keeps flying and jumping so everytime we'd have to duck to avoid them crashing into us. the pool outside was really cold. like holy-shit-i'm-in-antartica cold to me. even if you sprint through your whole session, once you stop you start shaking. and your ears hurt alot.

our rookie initiation was...okay. it was pretty basic. do whatever the seniors tell you to do. clear their plates for them, get them food. stuff like that. but in phuket, we had charades one night and it was funnay. you should see how zach did vertigo. hahah. it was so funny. in laos, we had to shout from one end of the dining hall to the other. and they had to hear you, if not, you have to keep repeating. then another night, we had to wear our swim caps and goggles to eat.

we ate at the recovery house during the meet though. it's this huge ass bungalow the singapore team rented and they filled it with ice baths and massage tables and hydration and recovery drinks. and they had wii! but it was 400m away from the village. the food was nice though. better than the dining hall. the chef from novotel cooked for us. he's singaporean.

our last day of the meet was cool though. we had to wear our shirts and shorts over our track suit and put on socks. then when the seniors said go, we had to drink half a pack of spaghetti sauce [which was actually sardine sauce] with bits of prawns and meat and carrots and stuff, spin around 5 times then swim two laps in the diving pool. then climb up, drink again and then swim. it was hard shit. then after that, we had to climb all the way to the 10m diving platform, and the seniors will line up and all of us rookies will have to kneel in front of them and beg them to initiate us into the team. they can make you repeat as many times as they want or do anything they want you to. then after that, you'll have to jump off the 10 and you're done. hahah. the jumping part was fun. danny stayed up there for like 10 minutes.

i came back on the 16th, then i went out with sakeenah to watch new moon the next day. cheers for taylor lautner's bod! packed all my stuff and then flew to perth the next morning. when i reached, i went straight to the pool to see the guys. and boy, were they fat. hahah. went to the apartment after that and it was so messy. shared a unit with arren jed and kevin. shopped almost everyday for more than 5 hours each day. good way to lose all the weight i gained. i bought LOADSA stuff. and i'm really happy about it. my first holiday in two years. went to the pool to swim still. good excuse to check out the guys too. (: i really do miss perth. it's been so long since i went to oz. the last time i went to perth was jan 07. and now i'm back, and it's christmas and there's only one week to go before i go back to a hellish place called school.

here're some pictures.

SEA GAMES

this is the room at Novotel, the airport hotel in bangkok. nice huh. we stayed there everytime we had a transit, which was everytime we moved.

the view from my room. that's the hotel lobby.

the huge ass bathroom.

ting, roanne and lyn's room in BIS.

huiyu and my room. look at the size difference! theirs is twice as large as ours!

the pool from our room.

the main building of BIS.

the soccer field. it's never-ending.

our dormitories in laos.

the warm up/down pool. it's absolutely freezing. hence, there aren't any bugs in there.

the competition pool.

the diving pool.

our room.

the toilet. it's puny compared to the Novotel one.

me in the hyperbaric chamber. it's really nice and comfy in there. they laid a phiten mattress inside. they fill it up with oxygen and you hafta sleep inside it for one hour but as you can see, i wasn't sleeping. but it was my first time. i slept the other two times i was inside.

this was how much i sweat inside. it was fun though. i could write messages to people. hahah.

waiting for transport to the pool. mark, roanne, sam, me jeff and jiahao.

lynette.

this is what russell does to roanne's foot when he's bored.

the day of my 200m breaststroke finals.

i never knew i dived with my hands like that.

awesome. i love candid pictures like these.

the medal ceremony, courtesy of cheryl tan.

this was on the team singapore site.

what nick ho did to my champi.

jeff and danny.

zach, jeff, lynette, danny, me and shengjun.

worms and grasshoppers.

crickets! we had to eat them.

people on the 10m.

charles walker jumping off it.

team photo!

erika.

charles walker.

don't we look sexy. huiyu, roanne, tingting and me.

the rookies, ready for the initiation swim. shengjun, roanne, clement, nick ho, me, huiyu and sam.

dinner at the embassy. nick, tingting, roanne and me.

this reporter gal that the guys were crazy about. especially jiahao. but you gotta admit, she is quite pretty.

a group photo with her.

dan. he's in charge of the ice baths.

idk who this is.

ting.

a group photo with wei ling.

russell, marcus, me, josh [my senior] and zach.

sam, rainer, tingting, me, shengjun and jiahao.

jiahao, rainer, ting, me, jeff and russell. the rafflesians.

tiffany and the girl whose name i don't know. they were both scared to jump off the 10m. hahah.

the dining hall. i was sitting in the middle, so you see how loud we had to shout.

russell sleeping next to the unknown person's smelly china branded underwear that someone placed on his pillow.

shu fang.

doctor cormac. apparently, he thinks i didn't weigh a thing when he had to carry me during ayg. i think he's lying.

kelvin, my physio.

that's all for seag.

PERTH

this is how messy the room was when my mum and i arrived.

jed and arren.

the toilet. idk why i take pictures of toilets. i just do.

jed in his trunks in the middle of the really messy living room.

the cupboard in my room. they only left ONE cubby hole, the one on top, for me.

kevin and arren's room.

uncle matthew cooking dinner for us.

this is what the guys do to decide who washes what, jenga[uno stacko] or tai tee. or however you spell it. lucky for me, i didn't lose any rounds.(:

kevin, one of my housemates.

jed, another one of my housemates.

yes i take pictures of clouds.

the beach in fremantle from the train. didn't manage to go there. :/

a really huge ass park.

what the guys did at the beach when i wasn't there yet. arren buried with boobs, balls and a 'snake'.

the things they get up to, really.

jeremy, jed, kevin, douglas, arren.

their jizz face. hahah.

i like their beach pictures. they crack me up everytime.

jeremy. a nice picture.

jeremy and his jizz face. hahah.

group photos in front of challenge stadium. idk if that's arren's pajama pants or why he's wearing them.

meet jed, closet gay.

meet kevin, jed's partner.

group photo with some of the aussies.

glenn gerber

mel tantrum. she's the coach.

ben tapley, with jeremy crashing the picture.

jed showing off his retardedness.

whatcha lookin' at?

man, i could eat a bloody horse.

got poked by a fork.

arren got it bad.

whatcha doin'?

a formal picture before we leave.

and then we have this. i really don't know what kevin is doing.

the amount of stuff i got.

check out my new havaianas and gladiator wedge.

the pile of new clothes i got.

got seven new pairs of socks! plus another pair of over the knee socks. love those.

the new togs i got. two two-pieces and five one-pieces.

the rock candy i got. sadly, i'm not keeping em. ): might just decide to keep one though. can't help myself.

the two bracelets my mum got for me. aren't they pretty. (:

the three blouses i got that says everything. hahah.

okay, that's about all. i've got loads more but i doubt i have enough sanity left to put them all up. seeya. this took me three days.

Tonight I'm weak, it's just another day without you

I can't sleep, I gave away the world for you to

Hear me say, don't throw me away

And there's no way out, I gotta hold you somehow

2009-11-28T22:22:00.000+08:00

fuck lah. i'm damn pissed now. i'm on the flight back on the seventeenth and my flight to perth is in the morning the next day. i told them how many freaking times i have to come back earlier but noooo, they said "we have to come back as a team". that's bullshit. if we had to, we wouldn't be split into eight freaking groups. by the time i get home, it'll be around 9 at night. and i have to unpack and pack for the next day? what do they want me to do? not sleep? people like the sports school people and ting and sam and zach and carol can come back on the sixteenth and we have to come back on the seventeenth? even my jiaolian's coming back earlier than me. wtf lah. ssa's screwed up. should they have booked tickets much earlier and not made it last minute? how dumb is that?

2009-11-26T22:36:00.000+08:00

change of plans. we'll be leaving on sunday night at 9 instead of on monday. and i had to learn that from the newspaper. how nice. there'll be no aircon in phuket, and it'll be four to a room. oh, how will i live without aircon?! i should sleep in a tub of water or something.

i wonder why we still have centralised training. should we be more focused on our own training now? idk. i don't really like them. i have to swim fast for everything and the warm up itself is like our pre main set. we're gonna have a luncheon tomorrow too. we're gonna get those long coats. cool huh, although the colour's like an orangey red. O_O. and phiten compression suits and personalised caps. i love those caps. they look nice.

i'm not sure whether i should bring my pillow. i'm tempted to, but wouldn't it be nicer to bring my bolster instead? sometimes i end up sleeping on it and hugging my pillow instead. hahah. my reluctance to go for such a long time in such a place is between wanting to get hit by a bus and getting torn from limb to limb by sharks. yep, i'm that reluctant to go. but i have to. so i'll sign off now to get all my stuff done. seeya.

2009-11-22T22:46:00.001+08:00

gah. i give up. my previous post is so.. ugh. messy. i can't fix it! ):< stupid uploading of pics.