The moment it gave way, I knew that's the end of the game for me.
Reaching for a ball, done thousands of times previously, led to the injury that left me struggling to walk.
I berated myself. I slowly realised that this pain wasn't going to leave so easily.
I berated myself for being so foolish. To play a game, so enthusiastically, just after a half-marathon. Should have rested more.
I don't know.
Don't have the bloody answers.
It's a miracle (or beyond reason, whichever way one looks at it) that I continued to stay in school till the late afternoon, for God knows what reasons. Isn't it supposed to be like that - work pales in importance to health?
And when I finally extricated myself from school, I finally did the thing that made all the sense in the world - and checked myself into the A & E ward.
I only got to see the doctor 2 and a half hours later. I was mumbling to my wife that next time, I'll fork out a little more, do myself a favour and go to a private hospital next time - and save myself from wasting all those frustrating hours of waiting.
Thanks for the painkillers, doctor. Taking it on the first night helped numb the pain in my back. Thank God I could still sleep in peace.
I realised that every single move I made caused the pain to shoot from my back. Is my back that important? Unfortunately it is.
I wonder what this injury means for the future?
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Sunday, August 26, 2007
About the longest Sunday in a long long while
Feeling quite worn out now, even as I type, but otherwise, I'm doing quite well.
Not bad, for someone who has just completed the 21km Army Half-Marathon this morning. And man, I feel great!
I have to say that running and playing sports makes me feel really good. The other leisure activity that would come close is reading a really good book.
It's quite a miracle really (and for this I have to thank God), that I completed the race without a single tinge of cramp in my leg muscles. This is amazing, as my training for this endurance event has been patchy, at best. The longest run I'd done, prior to this morning, was only an 8 km run - hardly sufficient at all!
Undoubtedly, for December's full marathon, I am determined to set aside time each week to clock in the mileage. I may have breezed through this race today, but the 42km run in December is on another level (physically and mentally) altogether.
My wife ran in this event too and I must say she did a brilliant job today. Her hard training in London and New York has no doubt helped her. To the friends who ran today - congratulations on a job well done!
Finally, as usual, for such marathons, inspirational quotes are ubiquitously placed along the running route. One quote which particularly caught my attention was, "You will never know the impossible until you push beyond the limits of the possible."
Quite right there, I must say.
Not bad, for someone who has just completed the 21km Army Half-Marathon this morning. And man, I feel great!
I have to say that running and playing sports makes me feel really good. The other leisure activity that would come close is reading a really good book.
It's quite a miracle really (and for this I have to thank God), that I completed the race without a single tinge of cramp in my leg muscles. This is amazing, as my training for this endurance event has been patchy, at best. The longest run I'd done, prior to this morning, was only an 8 km run - hardly sufficient at all!
Undoubtedly, for December's full marathon, I am determined to set aside time each week to clock in the mileage. I may have breezed through this race today, but the 42km run in December is on another level (physically and mentally) altogether.
My wife ran in this event too and I must say she did a brilliant job today. Her hard training in London and New York has no doubt helped her. To the friends who ran today - congratulations on a job well done!
Finally, as usual, for such marathons, inspirational quotes are ubiquitously placed along the running route. One quote which particularly caught my attention was, "You will never know the impossible until you push beyond the limits of the possible."
Quite right there, I must say.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
About self-fulfilling prophecies and the power of your word
Today, I had an invigorating English lesson with 4e5.
The English Oral examinations, for them, is merely days away. Needless to say, I was more than ready to make sure that every single one of them is properly trained and given sufficient practice in class.
It is particularly heartwarming to have students coming up (in spite of their hesitancy, fear of making mistakes in front of others, watching and waiting for others to go first) to have authentic practice in front of me and my lovely fellow 'examiner', Janelle (yesterday it was elegant Izzianie who was my partner).
During moments when everyone seemed hesitant to sit in front of Janelle and I for the exam practice, I remember bellowing my voice at them saying, "For Heaven's sake, if I were you, I'd be thinking to myself that I should get myself seated on that chair, in front of Mr Ng, and get myself some useful practice!"
The class concurred that the picture discussion section of the oral examination was the most difficult for them.
Swiftly, I told them this, "Drop this attitude. Stop thinking that the picture is difficult. If you go into the exam room with the thinking that you won't do well, you most probably won't. If you think that you will be defeated even before the battle starts, you'll most probably lose."
My point to them is, positive thinking - even under impossible or challenging situations - can actually give you victory from the jaws of defeat.
What you say is what you get.
Confession IS possession.
Proclaim good things over situations in your life (even in the most dire of circumstances) and you will find that life will be easier on you.
I have given you a secret in living a victorious life, 4e5.
Applying this big idea to the picture discussion component, you will need to go into this exam with self-confidence.
I have given you tips. You have gone through the practice. You even know what the examiners are looking out for.
You are fully equipped to take on this exam.
I say to you: go into this exam, expecting to do well, with ALL your effort.
You can do well!
As a final word, your MT results, on the whole, hasn't been very flattering.
For those who have had that smug air about them, thinking that you would bag that A1 or A2, I hope reality has bitten you real hard.
There is no such thing as a free lunch. If you put in minimal results and put in sub-standard effort in your daily work, then do not say to yourself that you will score distinctions. It won't happen.
For those who are disappointed in your results, I say to you: move on, and get used to the fact that you need to study for your MT again.
It's important to reflect on your attitude in your studies. Sometimes, if you think real hard about it, there are changes that need to be made in the way you think towards studies, revision and exams.
Don't expect to get different results with the same old methods of revision. Improvise. Make sure the time spent on revision is effective and productive.
Switch off that mobile phone. Shut down the computer. Be alone if you need to. Just study!
You have less than 20 days before you start the Fajar exams. This will be the last school exams you will take.
You don't have much time.
Use the remaining days wisely, 4e5.
And you have my assurance that the 4e5 teachers will be here to help you in your quest for success, as you draw near to the big O.
The English Oral examinations, for them, is merely days away. Needless to say, I was more than ready to make sure that every single one of them is properly trained and given sufficient practice in class.
It is particularly heartwarming to have students coming up (in spite of their hesitancy, fear of making mistakes in front of others, watching and waiting for others to go first) to have authentic practice in front of me and my lovely fellow 'examiner', Janelle (yesterday it was elegant Izzianie who was my partner).
During moments when everyone seemed hesitant to sit in front of Janelle and I for the exam practice, I remember bellowing my voice at them saying, "For Heaven's sake, if I were you, I'd be thinking to myself that I should get myself seated on that chair, in front of Mr Ng, and get myself some useful practice!"
The class concurred that the picture discussion section of the oral examination was the most difficult for them.
Swiftly, I told them this, "Drop this attitude. Stop thinking that the picture is difficult. If you go into the exam room with the thinking that you won't do well, you most probably won't. If you think that you will be defeated even before the battle starts, you'll most probably lose."
My point to them is, positive thinking - even under impossible or challenging situations - can actually give you victory from the jaws of defeat.
What you say is what you get.
Confession IS possession.
Proclaim good things over situations in your life (even in the most dire of circumstances) and you will find that life will be easier on you.
I have given you a secret in living a victorious life, 4e5.
Applying this big idea to the picture discussion component, you will need to go into this exam with self-confidence.
I have given you tips. You have gone through the practice. You even know what the examiners are looking out for.
You are fully equipped to take on this exam.
I say to you: go into this exam, expecting to do well, with ALL your effort.
You can do well!
As a final word, your MT results, on the whole, hasn't been very flattering.
For those who have had that smug air about them, thinking that you would bag that A1 or A2, I hope reality has bitten you real hard.
There is no such thing as a free lunch. If you put in minimal results and put in sub-standard effort in your daily work, then do not say to yourself that you will score distinctions. It won't happen.
For those who are disappointed in your results, I say to you: move on, and get used to the fact that you need to study for your MT again.
It's important to reflect on your attitude in your studies. Sometimes, if you think real hard about it, there are changes that need to be made in the way you think towards studies, revision and exams.
Don't expect to get different results with the same old methods of revision. Improvise. Make sure the time spent on revision is effective and productive.
Switch off that mobile phone. Shut down the computer. Be alone if you need to. Just study!
You have less than 20 days before you start the Fajar exams. This will be the last school exams you will take.
You don't have much time.
Use the remaining days wisely, 4e5.
And you have my assurance that the 4e5 teachers will be here to help you in your quest for success, as you draw near to the big O.
Friday, August 10, 2007
About our nation
Mr Yong's and Mr Ong's outstanding sharing about their NS experiences stood out from a packed programme for our school's National Day celebration.
Their sentiments resonated with me.
We serve NS, not because we have to. It's because this island nation has given me opportunities that no other country can. This country is a safe and secure haven for my family and I.
I have travelled widely and I can say this with absolute certainty that there is no other place I'd rather be, than to be in Singapore.
And I will sing that Anthem and recite the Pledge. Patriotic? I'm proud of it.
Singapore is worth defending and it is this generation of students (who are tomorrow's leaders) who will have to strive to bring Singapore to greater heights of success, prosperity and ensure her continued security, even in this volatile world that we live in.
And underpinning our continued prosperity is the fact that we have a very capable armed forces that is technologically one of the most advanced in Asia. Operated by a well-trained and well-educated citizen army, it is no wonder that the SAF is highly regarded by nations all around the world.
Of course, state-of-the-art technology can be rendered completely useless, if the youths of today lack a strong sense of loyalty and responsibility to our nation.
All it takes is to have one generation of young people to feel nothing (or even a little) and it can undo all the hard work that the pioneers of our nation have sacrificed so much to build up.
National Service is a key pillar in our continued security. No one will defend this island for us. We will need to do this on our own. The boys who will be serving NS in the near future - look forward to it. With a positive attitude, NS can be one of the best times of your lives .
Their sentiments resonated with me.
We serve NS, not because we have to. It's because this island nation has given me opportunities that no other country can. This country is a safe and secure haven for my family and I.
I have travelled widely and I can say this with absolute certainty that there is no other place I'd rather be, than to be in Singapore.
And I will sing that Anthem and recite the Pledge. Patriotic? I'm proud of it.
Singapore is worth defending and it is this generation of students (who are tomorrow's leaders) who will have to strive to bring Singapore to greater heights of success, prosperity and ensure her continued security, even in this volatile world that we live in.
And underpinning our continued prosperity is the fact that we have a very capable armed forces that is technologically one of the most advanced in Asia. Operated by a well-trained and well-educated citizen army, it is no wonder that the SAF is highly regarded by nations all around the world.
Of course, state-of-the-art technology can be rendered completely useless, if the youths of today lack a strong sense of loyalty and responsibility to our nation.
All it takes is to have one generation of young people to feel nothing (or even a little) and it can undo all the hard work that the pioneers of our nation have sacrificed so much to build up.
National Service is a key pillar in our continued security. No one will defend this island for us. We will need to do this on our own. The boys who will be serving NS in the near future - look forward to it. With a positive attitude, NS can be one of the best times of your lives .
Saturday, August 04, 2007
About the denouement of a great adventure
It is only appropriate that I end off my series of posts with one final flurry of pictures of my last full day in Copenhagen.
It had been a tremendous experience so far. Bergen exceeded all expectations. Oslo proved to be a slight disppointment, but I still admire its First World standards in civility and transport system. Copenhagen is much more cosmopolitan.
We realised that we had only one full day in Copenhagen left, as we were due to catch the late morning flight back to Singapore on the next day.
So once we reached dry land again, after the overnight ferry ride from Oslo, we immediately went to the central train station in Copenhagen and left our backpacks in the luggage lockers.
The central train station is a massive building, and acts like a nerve centre, where one can be connected to local cities and other destinations in Europe from this station.
While roaming along the streets of central Copenhagen, we decided to take the path less trodden and head away from the main shopping street, into the minor sidewalks. We were richly rewarded, when we stumbled upon, by accident, this shop called Friis and Company. My missus loves the bags, shoes, belts and accessories from this boutique. Its hallmark is that of a crown found on all its items. I have to say that their products are really quite pretty. It's a pity then, that Friis and Company has not yet found its way into our shores yet.
We spent a lot of time in there, as my wife nearly wanted to get everything she saw. I didn't help - I actually stirred her up even more, by encouraging her!
She was trying to decide which bag to buy, as it came in two colours - pink and grey.
In the end, I recommended the pink one, and she got it! Here's her making her payment at the counter. She was certainly one very happy customer.
And here she stands, right outside the shop, with her glorious buys.
Along the way, we saw some interesting sights:
All that walking made us very hungry, so we chanced upon this Chinese joint, and decided to have our lunch there.
The food was quite palatable, sometimes awful, but it did its job in filling our stomachs.
In the late afternoon, we stopped by this cafe for a drink, so we ordered 2 hot chocolates and watched the world go by.
We agreed that the waitress was quite pretty so we asked her if she could have a picture with my wife. Here you go - a blonde Norwegian beauty and a gorgeous Singaporean babe - a lethal combination.
After a satisfying dinner at our favourite Thai joint, we made our way back to the central train station to collect our backpacks, and took a bus back to our hostel after that. We lost no time in heading back to the comfort of the hostel room to rest our overworked legs.
The next day, the bus ride to the Kastrup Airport went without any hitches. It was good to be on that plane, back to Singapore.
In the airport, however, I came across this large advertisement:
In Shakespeare's Hamlet, I remember how one of the soldiers, after an encounter with the ghost of Hamlet's murdered father, chillingly remarked to his spooked colleague that, "There is something rotten in the state of Denmark." This advertisement resonated with me, having studied Hamlet in my A Levels some years back. It is a terrific book, I must say.
It's now early August, and sometimes my mind starts flirting with thoughts of my next holiday destination. It might be Shanghai, Moscow, Barcelona, Tokyo, Christchurch... who knows? But wherever we may go, we will surely have a great and memorable time. Being away, in a strange and foreign land, is one of the best things you can do.
Finally, a big part of why this trip was magnificent is because I have the perfect travelling partner - my beautiful wife.
It had been a tremendous experience so far. Bergen exceeded all expectations. Oslo proved to be a slight disppointment, but I still admire its First World standards in civility and transport system. Copenhagen is much more cosmopolitan.
We realised that we had only one full day in Copenhagen left, as we were due to catch the late morning flight back to Singapore on the next day.
So once we reached dry land again, after the overnight ferry ride from Oslo, we immediately went to the central train station in Copenhagen and left our backpacks in the luggage lockers.
The central train station is a massive building, and acts like a nerve centre, where one can be connected to local cities and other destinations in Europe from this station.
While roaming along the streets of central Copenhagen, we decided to take the path less trodden and head away from the main shopping street, into the minor sidewalks. We were richly rewarded, when we stumbled upon, by accident, this shop called Friis and Company. My missus loves the bags, shoes, belts and accessories from this boutique. Its hallmark is that of a crown found on all its items. I have to say that their products are really quite pretty. It's a pity then, that Friis and Company has not yet found its way into our shores yet.
We spent a lot of time in there, as my wife nearly wanted to get everything she saw. I didn't help - I actually stirred her up even more, by encouraging her!
She was trying to decide which bag to buy, as it came in two colours - pink and grey.
In the end, I recommended the pink one, and she got it! Here's her making her payment at the counter. She was certainly one very happy customer.
And here she stands, right outside the shop, with her glorious buys.
Along the way, we saw some interesting sights:
All that walking made us very hungry, so we chanced upon this Chinese joint, and decided to have our lunch there.
The food was quite palatable, sometimes awful, but it did its job in filling our stomachs.
In the late afternoon, we stopped by this cafe for a drink, so we ordered 2 hot chocolates and watched the world go by.
We agreed that the waitress was quite pretty so we asked her if she could have a picture with my wife. Here you go - a blonde Norwegian beauty and a gorgeous Singaporean babe - a lethal combination.
After a satisfying dinner at our favourite Thai joint, we made our way back to the central train station to collect our backpacks, and took a bus back to our hostel after that. We lost no time in heading back to the comfort of the hostel room to rest our overworked legs.
The next day, the bus ride to the Kastrup Airport went without any hitches. It was good to be on that plane, back to Singapore.
In the airport, however, I came across this large advertisement:
In Shakespeare's Hamlet, I remember how one of the soldiers, after an encounter with the ghost of Hamlet's murdered father, chillingly remarked to his spooked colleague that, "There is something rotten in the state of Denmark." This advertisement resonated with me, having studied Hamlet in my A Levels some years back. It is a terrific book, I must say.
It's now early August, and sometimes my mind starts flirting with thoughts of my next holiday destination. It might be Shanghai, Moscow, Barcelona, Tokyo, Christchurch... who knows? But wherever we may go, we will surely have a great and memorable time. Being away, in a strange and foreign land, is one of the best things you can do.
Finally, a big part of why this trip was magnificent is because I have the perfect travelling partner - my beautiful wife.
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