Tatsuya's Bento Sets..

Tatsuya Revisited: I started with the Omakase which killed me cause it costs $120 for 8 pieces of Aburi sushi. It is sushi that is broiled over a flame.. and added with sauces and garnishing that includes exquisite items like Foie Gras and sauces.

Its served with the signature Tatsuya Tamago which is sweet, also with radish and sweet potato. The line-up: Otoro (Tuna Belly), Salmon, Scallop and Shrimp! Amazingly, the shrimp stuck the greatest impression of the four!
BENTO SETS:

First up is the Unajyu Sashimi Bento ($30++).
It comes with slices of grilled unagi on a bed of rice with seaweed. Accompanied by assorted tempura and 6 thick slices of Sashimi, chawanmushi and miso soup. The tempura was well-battered and fried, resulting in a light tempura.

The Sashimi is fresh, no doubt. Coming from Tsukiji, one can expect the standards to be high. And it doesnt disappoint, the tuna, yellowtail and salmon were indeed fresh.

Ladies Lunch ($28)

This set consists of Fried Kakiage, Assorted Sushi selection, potato salad, and handmade cold noodles served with quail egg.

The cold noodles were exquisite. They were smooth and downed with the sauce that was thickened by the quail egg. Special mention for the california maki. The roe was so fresh that it just burst in the mouth with each bite!

The Kakiage was novel and crunchy. and the sushi was light enough. This is the perfect lunch for office ladies. Just enough and not too much so that they wont fall asleep after lunch!

The Sashimi Bento ($30)

The key difference in this is that the rice here is vinegared and is certainly one of the best sushi rice I have tasted. With a generous amount of Sashimi, this bento set is certainly worth it!

Buta Kakuni ($18)

This dish is quite a dampener! It didnt live up to what I had expected. But then again, its also not one of the specials! It was rather tough and I felt it wasnt well braised and simmered enough..

All in all, Tatsuya is a class above all Japanese restaurants in S'pore and understandably charges a premium for its food. Its been a real privilege to have savoured the food here.

Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2009

This is my 100th blog post ! And it coincides with the post on my 4th marathon: The Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2009. Affectionately known as Stanchart, this race holds good memories for me given that last year, I was organising an Adventure Race the day before then i went to run in the race.

Characterised by a relatively flat route, this year's edition is no different and the weather was absolutely perfect for a long run. In fact, it was so cool that it helped in the evaporation of sweat. I completed the race with a time of 4h35mins . Though its 8 minutes slower than my time last year, I was glad and proud that I completed because my legs refused to listen to me anymore after 36km.

I had made a tactical error at the 12km mark as I followed the 4.15hr pacers and felt comfortable when I should have restrained. As a result, my tank went flat and I paid the price for a tactical mistake. Wiser head belongs to the wise old man. Haha.. young man should have followed Old man.

Nonetheless, it was a good race with the exception of the merging with the half-marathon and 10k runners.

No disrespect to them, but I feel the organisers should create lanes to avoid having the massive blockages that we saw today. And we wouldnt have to zip around avoiding them and waste our energy.


With Mentor and Chin Seng

We had matching DS-Trainers from Asics. Old man really no joke, did his PB with a time of 4h25mins! Really commendable and he's going to do more marathons next year! Haha.. Im going to rest now.. Legs are jellied and abrasions to armpits and nipples. Super jialat..

Okay, its chillout from now on!

Foodie Aspect

Tatsuya

The highly-famed Tatsuya, holy-grail of local sushi, certainly lived up to its name. Hosting a stable of Japanese Chefs, seating at the sushi counter can be a stressful experience, well.. at least for me. Furthermore, this place is certainly one that has great potential to damage your wallet and burn a large hole.

I had the chirashi rice bowl which cost a bomb of $55 ! Thankfully, my Citibank card saved me with a 10% discount. This rice bowl came with a bowl of miso soup that was splendid as well. The sweet-vinegared rice was accompanied with shredded seaweed and I really took to the rice. The key word to the fish here is FRESH. No doubt about that. The toppings were the star of the show and I shall go through each one individually:


Salmon Roe: Generous and they burst in your mouth. Interesing

Salmon: Firm to the bite and had a fresh flavour

Tuna: Nothing much

Tamago: Sweet and cold, with Tatsuya's chinese characters on it.

Hotate (Scallop): Sweet and fresh..

Shrimp (Ebi): Gosh, this was so fresh that I think it even twitched in the bowl.. Sweet

Crab Stick: Normal

Grilled Saba: Nicely done with the sauce and soft.

Chu-toro: Semi-fat Tuna Belly! This rocks man! Really rich in flavour and soft like cotton candy!No wonder such a delicacy..

Verdict: Tatsuya is an institution in itself and every trip is an education. So it is holistic for a foodie to make its pilgrimage there. =)

Big D's Grill (T-Bone Steak)

Had something different, tried the T-Bone steak which was quite a moutful, the meat was tender and all, given that it was Black Angus. But the done-ness wasnt really well spread, due to the bone causing some parts to be rarer.. Anyway, cant see myself ordering this anytime soon..

Blessed

Thank God for Year 2 Semester 1.

What a semester it has been! The tough timetable, not being able to attend Ultimate trainings, physically demanding as well as mentally stimulating.

Studies:

PE modules this time around have been quite good, especially M&E. It has been relatively light compared to other modules and its really direct and straighforward. The heavy one is Psych and Motor Learning. No joke studying for this two and then being collapsed into one module. Its really kinda unfair given the amount of time and preparation to only culiminate in a grade for one module only. Futhermore, with so many components, chances of scoring have become super tough. Sports-wise, Soccer and Rugby have been good. Soccer could have been better if we had more games rather than drills, oh well.. and Rugby, dont even mention it.. its not worth the air time..

Bio Modules have been quite good also. I particularly enjoyed the ones where we had field trips to Bukit Timah, MacRitchie and Botanic Gardens. Seeing things live and first-hand really helped. Doing the transect thing at the Wallace Lab was cool.. Maybe thats why im into experiential learning coz im more kinesthetic.. Thanks to him that we really could go out if not staying on campus would be dead boring. Other mod was okay as well but plants killed me as usual.. i prefer animals so much MORE..

General Mods like 201 was good. Our presentation I felt went really well and got commended by the prof.. alk was sad though.. couldnt ace it.. well i did my best!

Sports:

Did SuniG and GrabHuckScore and was disappointed on both accounts as I didnt play well..Ditto for soccer games and running. This sem really not fit! Ate too much I guess.. Ultimate Training clashed with timetable was really unfortunate.. But i couldnt do much about it though..

Races:
Olive Run, TNF100, REal Run..

Friends: Oh.. Ms Goblin reminded me that I got to mention my friends! Oh yes, how can I forget?! From PESS, thanks to my retards kleb and aloy, then eliza. and of course TiffTan. Bio: Thanks to Kelvin and Yiting! These people made my NIE left meaningful as they stand by me as I would do for them. Kleb, was good doing AED 201 with him, soccer madness. Aloy: Ever-present with me this sem, in bio we were together in everything, soccer and rugby also. Eliza: Thanks for all the walks to school and back. Makan sessions and studying together! Dont worry! I will CHILL.. Next Sem la..

Haha this is like my report card for the semester..
Thank God!

The North Face 100 2009

This is officially one of the most painful running races that I have done!
It felt as though I was doing an adventure race.. I signed up for the 25km with Gerald. As usual,
didnt really train much this semester.. Was rather confident with the route as I have trained there almost my whole life doing x-country runs and also training for AR.

We flagged off at 10am, which probably didnt help our thermoregulation as we sweat buckets. Route was expectedly tough because of the terrain and PLENTY of uphills and slopes.
The climax was when we even had to climb to the summit of Bukit Timah and that was no joke!
One thing commendable is that the race organisation was good, the food was generous and they gave bananas, gels (Which I took 5), mars bars and lots of other stuff. At the end of the race, we even had Subway sandwhiches and cookies for lunch. Free! Super good man.

Spoke to Shawn Lum today and he said we were destroying the natural habitat.. oh wells, another conservationist.. haha.. But the run was shiok la, if i had trained harder, then i wouldnt be in such pain...
Me and Mentor Me and Race team mate: Gerald

My race mantra: TRAIN HARD, RACE EASY

Recess Week!

Well Well! Its the recess week!

Started it with a bang last saturday! went for Paintball at Bottletree Yishun with retards + yujun. Had a blast shooting people and getting shot. Then followed by movie called whiteout and then dinner at Changi Village and watching soccer at Aloy's place. That's what I call a shiok weekend! Non-stop fun..

The recess week began quite badly, I was down with rashes and had to be jabbed twice, couldnt go for training also. But this week's good for clearing my work and reading up on the notes that I have not touched.

And for the boomz! We had the mad class chalet just last night! Im sure they are talking about me being the mad policeman and all.. But hey! I knew what I was saying okay..not drunk.. just a little tipsy.. I think everyone in the class expects me to put on my best behaviour and when I get abit crazy they are kinda shocked though.. Food was awesome, lamb cutlets and wagyu beef! Shiok man!

Today, still abit hangover from last night, and im going to review this restaurant called Capricci later! Hopefully the food is good!

This semester has been crazy. Committment to training has dropped drastically because lessons end daily at 830pm. I havent been able to do my regular runs either. Work-wise have been managing well except for the postponement of psych test really didnt rub me the right way. Social context was a great success! It showed that with consistency and diligence, you have a shot at doing well!

Now is the half-time before I sprint for the finish.. Im anticipating Alberta, but also apprehensive. I think its pre-trip jitters! I just got my winter wear from Shaan and she gave a hell-load of clothes! Settled flight and accomodation, so now its just my own mental and emotional prep left, and also leaving the ultimate team behind and my close friends.

Shall spare myself the emotional road-trip.. will chill for this break, and work hard! I want to also thank God for sustaining me up till this point and also for his providence!

OLive Run 2009

Today's OLive Run was held at ECP. Quite a good turnout, saw teachers from KCP, SRJC and also WRS. I met alot of people, it almost felt like a networking session. Me, Eliza and Kumar ran for NIE but we couldnt group together as a team. Kumar got 7th for 5km, Eliza 5th for 5km and I got 10th for 10km.. with a time of 46mins.. Not too shabby. My only gripe was that there was no plain water throughout the route.. only h20.. that's not good... Made me thirstier..Dr Bala say 10km dont need to drink.. (Sigh) and looked at my timing with disgust.. HAHA..


Getting medal from MOS of Education.

All the 10km male runners.

With the classmates.. After the run went for breakfast!

To the mentor: If you ran, im sure it would have been fun for you also!

Anyway, school's been bad for me because of the timetable.. But i'll look at the positives!

Enjoy the weekend =)

2nd Week Sch Exp + OEA Symposium

School Experience@ WRS 2009
My time at WRS this week can be summarised with one word: Fantabulastic!
The school has been really supportive in that the management truly believed that they wanted us to experience the school through oberving the diverse levels and even different subjects.

The school bases itself on one word and one word alone: VALUES!
Governed by 3 simple values: Respect, Responsibility and Resilience. From School Leaders to teachers and right down to every student. They all sing to the same tune. Such consistency is rarely, or never, seen in any school usually.I have nothing but praise for the way the school is run and every trainee agreed the school was orderly,efficient and students were disciplined.The PE dept: Physical Education here is still taking steps to establish itself as an integral part of the school's curriculum. They adapted the Sports Ed Prog from Zhenghua and to see it in the flesh was a really humbling experience. They tied it in with Character Education and each student has a booklet for the events, programmes and most importantly, REFLECTIONS! They review their activities and students are guided to find their learning points.


Discipline Dept (Student Behaviour Management): Its refreshing to find that they approach it with a values-based discpline other than rules-based discipline. The 3 "Rs" are always their point of reference and parents would usually find it hard to refute the fact that they dont want their children to have values. The HOD also makes an effort to ensure the school's surroundings are free of any punks/hooligans that will harrass the kids so that it gives them a conducive environment to study so they dont have to fear that thos gangsters area waiting for them outside of school. The HOD knows his stuff, he asks us: What does the word Discipline mean? Well.. for the uninitiated, it means to make a disciple of somebody. So the key issue here is: Are you a teacher worth making a disciple out of? You must embody the values before somebody wants to make you their master. So it was truly insightful. And he does the restorative practices in the SEL component so as to mend and heal relations between students.


The Character Education Dept: Another pillar of the school. In fact, the dept is so strong that most of its progs are done in-house and only few of it are subcon out to vendors. What it does is to infuse its CE progs into a lesson each week. On top of that, they try to integrate with PE (Like the SEP) and also ART. The HOD is also a learned person who is into child behaviour studies and reads lots about writer like Thomas Lickona who writes about ed pyschology too.

People that I meet (Fellow NIE Trainees): Above was with Abang Rizal Hida, the girl that really clicked from day one. I gave her HELL everyday. Disturbing her to the maximum. I think i gave her a week to remember =pThe 3 MOE Scholars: Eunice from Shanghai University. Hazi and Wee Keong from NUS. Both going on exchange. Hazi going for a whole year! how cool is that.. Wee keong going to Toronto.

All the trainees! I think this bunch of people are really nice and could click with Sasi, Rizal, Hida.

The contact time was no joke. A whopping 3 and half hours. We had to read the handouts, discuss and then present on our points! But the session was good and i think i really learnt alot!

So the one week stint was really eventful and enriching. I thank God for this opportunity. When i first saw the posting i was like what?! I havent heard about the school before and I thought i was just another school in the neighbourhood. So this really changed my perception of the school.

OEA Symposium

I went in feeling really sleepy. But the keynote speech was not bad. The icebreakers were fun and I even bought a book about propless games which I think it was useful in future!

Had a good catch-up with yong hui. Learnt quite a fair bit from him. Think his circle of contacts damn big. He knows most people at the conference itself. I got to know new people as well, such as the christchurch teachers who climbed EBC, TPJC teachers. Then I also met Jeremy and Veron from campHA, as well as the CCAB peeps who I met at the outdoor camp.

Chat with Cindy today, and we were recounting the times in the camp. Think she really found us a fun-loving group.

In essence, the sessions werent really informative, me and YH felt that we didnt really get much out of it and were kinda disappointed. But the horte park walk was not bad, got to see plants and pluck fruits to eat. By the way the meals were good. We KEPT eating and eating.. Dinner was romantic.. we ate at the globe, with tribal lights and tables with groundsheets. Presentation of EBC was done whilst dinner.. It was truly a humbling experience to see what they had gone thru. Its really no joke seeing 15-16 yr olds climbing such a high altitude in those conditions.

In short, the symposium was good but hoped to have better sessions in future!

Going to Cameron Highlands plus KL tmr! Cant wait!

1st Week of School Experience

So the first week of school experience just flew by with the blink of an eye. In fact, it wasnt even a full week. It was merely four days and it did open my eyes to the difference in culture that a mega school has. I was posted to C primary school, a prestigous school that has strong culture and a good environment.

I went in with a rather nonchalant attitude, knowing that eventually I would be teaching in a secondary school instead. I set the tone of just going there to have fun and enjoy myself. I think I went one step further. I even networked while having fun. Seeing the other trainees stressing themselves out, I felt a tad guilty for being slack and having fun.


I taught right from the first day, first period. Not really a shock though, it invoked many beautiful memories of my time at E primary and I just loved to see the smiles on the kids' face. To really see them enjoy the lesson and learning something out of it made my day. On top of that, C primary has an awesome spanking new indoor sports hall which I went there many times during my short 4 days.


I want to thank God for posting me here to really appreciate what I had at E primary. Though it was small, I really was able to carry out the activities that I loved. In fact, I think i would dread C primary coz they were really pro-academic over sports. And as E primary is small, it was more cosy and I got to know almost all the staff with a relative degree of familiarity.



It was great to hear my friends rave about their experiences, this being their firsthand interaction with students. Many are full of aspirations, fully charged by this experience to want to change the world and do their best to make a difference in the kids' lives. Well that is GREAT, really! But my word of caution is four days is too short a period to judge. I suggest after a longer duration then they get a fairer picture of what is going on in the schools.


Passion and calling are two words that are severely overused and cheapened by alot of people. Especially so in the education industry where young aspiring people mouth them as part of their slogans. With the best intentions of their hearts, most if not all people do have those two feelings in them, but it probably eroded over the years due to many different circumstances.


For me, I think the word is purpose. Purpose encompasses both passion and calling. But beyond that, it is the knowing of why that individual is in that profession when times are tough. It is when passion is waning and calling seems doubtful that purpose will be able to transcend all these negative thoughts that lingers in the head. It is really tough in this line these days because you do not just give of your academic brain and knowledge. You give your heart and soul to it because you sincerely want to involve your life with those under your charge. I truly hope my friends are able to see the purpose in the job and know what they are in for.

To the subject of being a PE teacher: Well I feel we are like the Swiss-Army knife. We are usually used by the school to fix multiple issues and activities. We are like gym trainers and event managers and also life-skills coach all rolled into one.

The things that PE teachers handle this days are really appalling:

1. Day-to-day PE lessons

2. NAPFA Tests

3. Events Manager (Cross-Country, Sports Day)

4. Outdoor Camps (Level camps, OBS)

5. Discipline

6. Character Development

7. CCA overall in charge (Ususally sports or UG)

8. TAF programme (now called HHF)

9. Cherish Award

I think the perception of PE teachers as slackers amongst the teaching profession is as old as any other myth or urban legend out there. We are often perceived as a bunch of jocks that do not do anything else. But nothing could really be further from the truth. We get out in the sun, we set up courses for our PE lessons. We deal with discipline. We send kids for competitions, we train the kids, we organise camps and sports day and cross country.

So I really dont see why we are SLACKERS. Seriously, to all the detractors of the PE profession, if you are envious of us, dont beat us, come join us! But if you're still cynical, then why not come try and do it for a few weeks and see if shouting in open space, sweating it out, keeping and setting equipment is as easy as you make it out to be.

A firm believer of PE, it really teaches the kids the motor skills, coordination and really social skills of working and playing in a team setting. I really envy Seng Kang Primary, they have PE every day! How cool is that?

Well, I hope I would have more insights next week on my experience at W secondary school. Its not that I dont show my excitement, rather its that I know why im doing there and what im doing there. There's a calm knowing of thats my purpose. And I hope all teachers find theirs too.

NTU ODAC ATC 09

My long-awaited comeback!

This post is rather overdue as well.. Just got the pictures from of our ATC race that we did on 7th June. We did rather well.. and got interviewed by Jade Seah too! At first the race was supposed to be featured on Channel 5's Sports@sg. Well, it did. But they cut off the sections where we got interviewed! DARN!

Race -wise, this was a rather easy race but terrain was good and the sections were fun too! We adopted a rather slow-and-steady approach and by virtue of being in detail one, we lead all the way from the starting horn right to the finish line. It was good pacing and navigation. One regret was the climbing section which i didnt complete coz it was really tough due to the insufficient amount of tiles and i was smearing all over the place.

Running and kayaking was easy for us. Managed to build a healthy lead, the bike section was short too.. Albeit irritating coz of the sandy terrain.. had to push quite alot.. Then abit of river-crossing here and there.. quite fun..

This is the horrible wall which i didnt expect to flop it! I was already at the top but super no strength coz I had to take a clue that wasnt mean for me.. I was virtually crimping every grip.. No TILES!!

Thank God for the race! It was a true blessing I would say! Most importantly i enjoyed this race more.. Being in control was damn shiok! Kudos to Eve for being such a strong teammate and one who really pushed and encouraged me as well! Many more races together!

X-Physique 2009

Its been eons since I blogged and what way to return and blog about the blast that I had today!
We joined the X-physique race inter-varsity category and emerged Champions! It was a great team effort by the entire team!

Stage 1: (2nd Detail) Run and Kayak

Start point was Marina Square and we ran to Oasis at Kallang for kayaking. 4km loop kallang basin. The run was okay, slightly fast and then we picked up our boats.. Somehow we couldnt do our normal strokes.. intensity was there but the efficiency wasnt coz we didnt dip our blades fully. Nonetheless we whacked and maintained good position. At this point in time, the 2nd team (ferrari) was hot on our heels and the mind games began. After which we ran to the bike point opposite the cage and I was lagging behind due to stitches.. Felt horrible to pull the team down. upon reaching bike point we could rest as the bike leg was not counted.

Stage 2: Biking

The bike leg was really redundant but it gave us good time to recover.. then CP4 was to do with some ninja-warrior like station. we had to climb this cargo net over a frame constructed by poles. After which we headed to SOTA.. we took a longer loop, then ferrari reached earlier than us.. we were shocked.. But we knew where we heading and they set off upon seeing us leave immediately. So we head to kampong glam park. This was the most shagged part man. They really followed us so closely.. it was a battle of mental strength. At CP 5 where we did the balance pole with rope. That was damn shiok! We did so fast with teamwork and coordination that we overtook ferrari. At the same time, team ironman(Bekky) just arrived. and they are from detail one.. so we knew we were first...

Stage 3: Mt Emily and Chinatown Abseil

After the park we headed for Mt Emily with the shortest route. Our topo was superb! Going up the hill was no joke.. every step was a torture. and we reached CP6 and had to use ropes to transport a barrel out of a zone.. then the next treacherous phase.. From Mt Emily to Chinatown.. We ran non-stop through dhoby ghaut and clemenceau ave.. it was really crazy.. I was hoping the traffic lights would turn red so i could rest. BUT NO! it was green all the way.. Really died.. Reached block 531 abseil. That one did quite fast! But cramp.. as usual.. coz must climb railings and all..

End point at Marina Square:

From Chinatown, it was cramp-fest all the way through clarke quay, supreme court, I couldnt control my legs.. they were cramping involuntarily.. even with deep heat...I reached Adelphi and there was this step that was quite high and I fell coz my leg cramped! There were cisco guards asking if i need help.. Chengwei helped to stretch abit.. and I got up to keep going coz i knew we were finishing. we cut through padang, esplanade and Viola! back at Marina Square.. the last flight of stairs were crazy.. but as we reached.. it was damn high!!! Shiok ah!

We congratulated each other.. thank each other for the teamwork! But at the prize presentation there was a slight glitch. The prizes were given out to the wrong team due to mis-calculation. Luckily we appealed and manage to sort it out. Nonetheless.. like to give a little tribute to my classmates..

Kumar: Great job pushing us with one heck of a pace!

Eliza: Thanks for the encouragements!

Chengwei: You kept the faith in the team! And all the clue-solving abilities!

Team Terror.
X-Physique 2009 Inter-Varsity Champions

Silly things with the King

Part 1: We went biking.. No we didnt go to Caesars ! Haha.. Stopped over at Bugis for desserts

Part 2: This was after service on sunday.. We saw a funny little clamp that looks like a toy.. But it could really be used to clamp a bike!

We fled immediately after taking as we were afraid later the owner run out!

Going for PESS outdoor residential camp! More updates when I am back!

"Taken"

Just caught the movie "Taken" and man! I was quite happy with this action-filled thriller! Its about an ex-intel officer whose daughter has been kidnapped and he goes on a mission to save her. The resourcefulness of agents/spies are really amazing and I was left with a sudden urge to be an agent for the force!

I know it sounds absurd.. Considering my vehement protests when I got my posting 2 years back.. But looking back at my time in spf, it was really fun and though I didnt do things as exciting as what secret agents do, I did get to interact with some of them and it was really cool to catch a glimpse of the lifestyle they have. Not one that I yearn for though, being young and brash I really thought having a high-octane, criminal-chasing life was really fun. But the regulars often brought me back to earth. Singapore's so safe.. nothing much to catch or do as well.. (im not complaining)

Anyway, this week has been filled with revelations. Im discovering more and more about myself! And I think the holidays are the best time for self-discovery when we are not buried in a myriad of activities during term time.

This week had lots of cycling, ultimate, dinners and movies. Quite the usual suspects on the schedule but through some pockets of time I am discovering at this phase of my life, what do I really want to do about it? The question brings about a staggering amount of thought into what is worth doing and what should actually be done.

I think I need to start my coaching. I miss the interaction with kids. I want to be able to teach something, value-add something and get involved in people's lives'. I have been reading some Outdoor Education books to seek some strategies and pedagogical tools to teach the various skills needed for AR.

Anyway, I have woken from my state of melancholy. I think there are more important issues to address. Being at this age, how do I see myself? How can I improve? How can I reach that certain level of hardcore-ness to be the best in my field? Now those are the questions worth pondering about. I want to work towards it. Not just building up knowledge. I want to experience, learn and pick things up off the book. How to think in a different way and approach issues with different angles? That's really crucial. I believe outdoor educators are not just about brawn, its instinct coupled with sound knowledge and experience that makes you trulty an asset and you value-add the kids.

I know I am not there yet, but its definitely worth a shot.

Curtain Call

Well well well.. the semester is over!

With the voice "pens down" being projected into the hall and "you may leave" following that... Choruses of "Yay"! were heard in the exam hall. So my papers have ended, so have the semester and the academic year. The year has been good. I have learnt alot, seen alot and grown too. Thank God for placing me where I am for I cant imagine being anywhere else. Im grateful for the events that happened for the entire AY. Though Im really injury prone this semester.

But somehow I feel a sense of loss. I dont know what I am going to do for the holidays. Quite un-like me I must say. Usually Im ultra-organised and my holiday schedule will be out even before the exams. This time round, I am really living day to day.

The usuals like attending courses like : 2 star kayaking, climbing instructor, sailing . Attending camps like the OGL and PESS outdoor camps.. Meeting up with friends to catch up.

Sigh.. somehow I feel that I am still where I was last year and though I've grown as a person, certain aspects of my life remain status quo. I still cant answer certain questions, still cant figure out some stuff and still thinking really hard about it.

Anyway I hate threes. They say two's a couple and three's a crowd. How very true!
And I can safely say that Im in more threes than most people man.. About 6 or 7?
The loner in me says I can deal with it.. Suck it up andhandle it in my usual "Mr Congeniality" way. But I guess its getting the better of me and I dont know how to deal with it.

Sometimes I think hey so what if I can really study? So what if I really get my honours (though I would love to) So what if I get all the outdoor certs in the world? So what If im the best Adventure Racer or Ultimate player? End of the day I feel that Ive gotten nothing. And by the way, we cant choose where we were born at, so look around you and count your blessings. If things arent going well domestically..just your luck.. we just got to work around it, ask me.. I know full well..

Nothing man! Really. . Suddenly to know is to know that you dont know.
So that you want to find out more and know. Then you finally know. I think its not just got to do with contentment, its got to do with fulfilment as well. With the kids, I can see how they pick up skills, learn about values and new things. Im happy about that. But this days in school, its all just about this and that of self-improvement.

Maybe there's more to it out there that I can ever find.
Hey who knows?! Maybe my destiny is to be the hardcore maverick/enigma PE teacher that is just meant to do the hardcore stuff as a loner..

Only time will tell...

Tiff's 21st Birthday

So yes.. it was the birthday of the semester. Big chalet? Check. Multiple guests? Check. Lots of presents and food? Check. Haha. Yup, it was tiffany's 21st birthday. but the make-up was woeful.. Please spare her and us the agony.. Haha.

Good that she had lots of nice presents and I enjoyed playing taboo there!

Completed my 2 star kayaking course! Well.. at the expense of my ankle. I twisted it on the first day but persisted on finishing the course. Just want to thank God for sustainance and good buddies who were on standby for activation. Thanks alot!

Going for physio soon.. Sigh.. very accident prone this sem...

Updates on Alberta

This is Bear Tracks - the equivalent of NIE portal where all the updates are being posted!

This is my application status. The application date was only 3rd April. I know the picture is very

blur. Its just using print screen to crop it, so cant expect much.

Anyway Im happy! Alberta here I come!

IVP Ultimate (Part 2)

TEAM NTU ULTIMATE FRISBEE !

Its been a great journey being part of this team. From a bunch of newbies this team has grown tremendously and to defy the odds at this IVP has been nothing short of amazing! Thank God for that!

We finished this tournament in joint 3rd position which is extremely good given that we were seeded last at the beginning of the competition.

My objective of joining the team was to enjoy the fellowship and also experience teamwork once again after feeling lonely being a long-distance runner during my JC days.

Im glad to have found this team and it was really emotional as the competition came to an end and it signalled the curtain call for this team. Well.. I hope that it only gets better from here. And I intend to improve greatly by picking up Ultimate at U of A.

Closure of Semester:

Year 1 is coming to an end. In fact only the exams are left of this semester. The assignments, presentations and tests sucked the life outta me. But im more seasoned this time round and coped slightly better.

Closure is a word I feel strongly for a couple of things:

1. Closure of semester

2. Closure of Ultimate Training

3. Closure of Hall Life (yeah I gotta shift out by 30th April)

4.Closure of relationships

As the exams draw near, Im praying for strength, wisdom as well as good memory to aid in my revision. Friends please keep me in prayer.

U of A also just sent me an email to give my campus computing ID! Yay! Which means Im officially a U of A student! Haha.. no more NTU..

My email is akang@ualberta.ca Do drop me emails there!

Prospective Student of University of Alberta

Ultimate IVP part 1

No commentaries for this post.. too busy with work. So just uploading some pictures of IVP frisbee that happened over the weekend at Sengkang.