School is getting busy - there's no other reason why I'm up blogging now at this unearthly hour. I'm only blogging to indulge in a little act of defiant time-wasting, like I did a few years back in NUS watching the entire Matrix movie on my laptop 2 hours before my 9am final exam paper. Work dries up my brain juice and it didn't even cross my mind that I should periodically record the trivial blog-worthy thoughts that flashes and disappears a few times each day.
I'm now trying to write a paper for my NIE literature module, trying to argue that the promotion of transactional theory of literary comprehension is a thinly-veiled ideological cause which should be decried and has been shamelessly and unnecessarily advocated by the education industry. I haven't got much time because my weekend is bloody packed, and I walked around everyday tossing around and considering associated literary keywords in my mind. And the funny thing is, I'm just out to make a point here - the essay isn't and shouldn't be that hard to write, and after all I don't give a damn for the grade I'll get so long as it is a passing one. That says all about me - passion sometimes drives me too far.
Adulthood seems to be all about time management and priority-setting. I hope for excellence in different areas of my life and wish I can try out many other things, but so many things are impossible because time is a limited resource. Those management gurus who days that time is an abstract/artificial/flexible concept and that what you can do in a day is only limited by your imagination and desire, they're all liars. There is only so much time and energy I have.
When you enjoy so many things that life has to offer, how do you prioritise them?
Friday, September 29, 2006
Friday, September 15, 2006
Round - Island Cycling!
Round Island Challenge 2006
Organised by Terra Outdoors, this event is a 120km route that allows you to take an overnight tour of our island with vehicle support and of course, lots of cycling kakis! Get your friends along too!
Thursday, September 14, 2006
Sports psychology
Reading for my silly 25% CA Sports psychology test made me reflect and came to some conclusions with regards to my own psychological profile when engaging in sports...
- When state (situational) anxiety hits me, my field of attention really gets drastically reduced. When I hold the polo ball in a big match, my peripheral vision just disappears. On any ordinary training day, I can easily survey my options and make considered decisions.
- I also experience a loss of muscular coordination in such a state - hand-to-hand passes are hard to perform.
- The multi-dimensional module of arousal and performance applies very well to me - state arousal can improve my performance only so long as I do not experience cognitive anxiety. I play to a high standard against better opponents so long as I do not feel very inferior to them.
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Geometry
I have had a new-found interest in geometry recently...bike geometry that is.
With the gradual upgrades to my bike, the way I seat myself and pedal on it has undergone minor adjustments (we're talking about centimeters of differences), but what profound effect they elicited! First I changed my pedals and shifted my new cleats forward. Intuitively, I discovered that I have to move my saddle forward too to continue to pedal efficiently. But that left my chin sticking over the stem center, so out goes my 110mm stem and in comes a 130mm stem, which did wonders to my positioning! Never did I felt so comfortable on the saddle, comfortably stretched out in a good aerodynamic posture (as far as my body is comfortable with at this moment).
It's not just about comfort; you can adjust the geometry to perform better too. Want a more aggressive streamlined position? Move the saddle even more forward and higher, and both lengthen and lower the stem, and get narrower handlebars. Just make sure your back can get used to the torture :p
For now, I just dream of cycling on and on...
With the gradual upgrades to my bike, the way I seat myself and pedal on it has undergone minor adjustments (we're talking about centimeters of differences), but what profound effect they elicited! First I changed my pedals and shifted my new cleats forward. Intuitively, I discovered that I have to move my saddle forward too to continue to pedal efficiently. But that left my chin sticking over the stem center, so out goes my 110mm stem and in comes a 130mm stem, which did wonders to my positioning! Never did I felt so comfortable on the saddle, comfortably stretched out in a good aerodynamic posture (as far as my body is comfortable with at this moment).
It's not just about comfort; you can adjust the geometry to perform better too. Want a more aggressive streamlined position? Move the saddle even more forward and higher, and both lengthen and lower the stem, and get narrower handlebars. Just make sure your back can get used to the torture :p
For now, I just dream of cycling on and on...
Monday, September 11, 2006
Less updates...
For some strange reason I've been struck by a productive streak, or perhaps a sort of mania. I wrote down a long list of school work pending my attention, and think daily of how I can make that list shorter. I long to show you guys my sikkim photos, tell you about my Bintan trip last weekend, and of the recently concluded Pesta Sukan polo competition, but it looks like I only have time here to tell you all that I ruined my waterproof camera with water on the trip and probably not have time to blog properly in a long while.
Monday, September 04, 2006
Actionasia Adventure Race
Yesterday I went down to help out at the Actionasia adventure race as technical crew. I had to wake up at 5am, took the first bus to Marina, and walked to the Promenade park. No one was there still, and I napped. When I woke up a while later, this was what Shenton way looked like then -
As with the race in year 2004, the organisation of the race was in a mess. We waited a long while to get any word from the technical director, and finally (after much decisions and revisions) I was assigned to man the fixed lines across the Sheares bridge pillar to the park. A safety boat transported us across the water to the pillar, how cool! Out comes my handphone to snap pictures from the place -
It was a busy day at the river - there were the usual dragonboats and duck tours going in and out past the bridge, but also lots of leisure crafts and sail boats! One had a mast that almost touches the bottom of the bridge. I have no idea what made them turned up there, but it sure made the river really crowded.
The other crews are here looking at the setup of the lines. A tyrolean traverse is usually done to connect to high points, with the user pulling themselves across the line with the aid of pulleys. Here the racers have their back on the water when they pull themselves over, anchored to the line with their safety slings.
It isn't very clear, but the picture below was meant to show the ziplines anchored to the water from the bridge. On the other side of the bridge is the abseil station, where racers abseil down to the end of the rope, which ends a few meters above the water. It is endlessly fascinating for me to watch them make their way down the rope, pause before the end, and suddenly you hear a snap as the end is fed through the device, the racer pauses in midair for a split second, before they make a splash into the water below.
All in all, an interesting day lah. One female racer was yelping out in delight constantly during the swim after the abseil drop, and said to us "I feel so sad that you're not doing this!" But well, I love to stay dry and see others enjoy themselves like this ha. Haven't been doing technical rope work for so long already, want to jump onto any opportunities to do so.
As with the race in year 2004, the organisation of the race was in a mess. We waited a long while to get any word from the technical director, and finally (after much decisions and revisions) I was assigned to man the fixed lines across the Sheares bridge pillar to the park. A safety boat transported us across the water to the pillar, how cool! Out comes my handphone to snap pictures from the place -
It was a busy day at the river - there were the usual dragonboats and duck tours going in and out past the bridge, but also lots of leisure crafts and sail boats! One had a mast that almost touches the bottom of the bridge. I have no idea what made them turned up there, but it sure made the river really crowded.
The other crews are here looking at the setup of the lines. A tyrolean traverse is usually done to connect to high points, with the user pulling themselves across the line with the aid of pulleys. Here the racers have their back on the water when they pull themselves over, anchored to the line with their safety slings.
It isn't very clear, but the picture below was meant to show the ziplines anchored to the water from the bridge. On the other side of the bridge is the abseil station, where racers abseil down to the end of the rope, which ends a few meters above the water. It is endlessly fascinating for me to watch them make their way down the rope, pause before the end, and suddenly you hear a snap as the end is fed through the device, the racer pauses in midair for a split second, before they make a splash into the water below.
All in all, an interesting day lah. One female racer was yelping out in delight constantly during the swim after the abseil drop, and said to us "I feel so sad that you're not doing this!" But well, I love to stay dry and see others enjoy themselves like this ha. Haven't been doing technical rope work for so long already, want to jump onto any opportunities to do so.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)