Workout

Last night's training was one I will not forget easily. Hit with Ernest. Him being the better one, I was running all over chasing down his shots. Made me look like a mad dog. But I was hitting quite well thats why I didn't want to stop. My apparel was all wet and soaked up. Legs felt like I just went for a marathon, but still I continued.

I learnt something while hitting last night. Its simply "mind over body". I'm not referring to my fitness or anything of that sort. It has been awhile since I performed well. During those off times, I was always frustrated with my strokes, shots and whatever. Last night I managed to maintained a positive mindset on court, even if I made an error or hit a bad shot. I kept my cool. It really pays off because the moment I started to leave my mistakes behind and concentrate on the "present", I started making less errors and hitting more confidently.

What a workout it was. I pushed myself near the limits. Felt like vomiting after training. Lost too much water as well. Weighed myself when I got home. I lost 3kg!!! OH GREAT....
It wasn't easy for me to gain weight to reach 65kg and now I just lost three within a night.

Hope to gain back that 3kg i lost. Other than feeling bad about my weight lost, I feel better now. Got enough rest. Fit and ready to go once again.

Emo-ing

I need a long break.
A break from everything.
I need a holiday.
A holiday to a far away place.

I need to find a way,
I think I am mentally weak.

Never once fitted well...

Cant Seem to get this particular song outta my head.

James Morrison
The Pieces Don't Fit Anymore

I've been twisting and turning
in a space that's too small
I've been drawing the line
and watching it fall
You've been closing me in
closing the space in my heart
Watching us fading
and watching us fall apart

Well I can't explain why it's not enough
Coz I gave it all to you
And if you leave me now
Oh just leave me now
It's the better thing to do

It's time to surrender
It's been too long pretending
There's no use in trying
When the pieces don't fit anymore

You pulled me under
so I had to give in
Such a beautiful mess
that's breaking my skin
Well I'll hide all the bruises
I'll hide all the damage that's done
But I show how I'm feeling
until all the feeling has gone

Well I can't explain why it's not enough
Coz I gave it all to you
And if you leave me now
Oh just leave me now
It's the better thing to do

It's time to surrender
It's been too long pretending
There's no use in trying
When the pieces don't fit anymore
The pieces don't fit anymore

Oh, don't misunderstand how I feel
Coz I've tried, yes I've tried
Still I don't know why
No I don't know why

Why I can't explain why it's not enough
Coz I gave it all to you
And if you leave me now
Oh just leave me now
It's the better thing to do

It's time to surrender
It's been too long pretending
There's no use in trying
When the pieces don't fit anymore
The pieces don't fit anymore

Only just a Dream

Can anyone ever imagine I played with the great Pete Sampras? Well I did. Only in my dreams.

Last night, I had a dream of being in the same side of the draw with Pete Sampras. I can't remember which tournament it was. But I'm sure it was a grandslam, either Wimbledon or US open. It was 1st round and I already had to play with him. I only remember myself on the same coach bus as him, making our way down to the stadium. We had a small chat. He was rather quiet, I guess prolly getting mentally prepared for the match. I did some preparation as well. I was extremely nervous. I was shaking. Couldn't help myself from thinking about Pete's huge serves and his game style of "serve and volley". "How on earth am I gonna return his serves? Block it?" "His gonna make a fool out of me." "How do I play with a guy who serves and volleys so well?" "I must find a way to play well" Those were the thoughts running through my head at that time, when I was in the bus.

It didn't seem long before we arrived at the stadium. All I remember now was that very image of myself getting off the bus after Sampras. I was at the bus's door, I looked out and it was so bright. I had to squint my eyes as I came out. There was a crowd cheering on too. Feels as though I was taking my steps to heaven. All ended when suddenly for some reason I woke up....

Soccer days

Moved on to wiping my model planes, trophies, medals and other stuff. My oldest and 1st ever trophy broke, its arm simply just came off while I was wiping. But I'll still keep it. It brings back memories; this little boy running around the field kicking a ball the size larger than his head. :)

Tidying my closet also brought back memories of those soccer days. Was pulling out all the clothes that I can't fit anymore. Found most of my soccer jerseys. Orange, yellow, purple, black, blue, red.....no. 5, 8, 10, 12, 18. My personal favourite is the SGS orange jersey, no.8. It ain't the prettiest, but it was the jersey I wore in my first ever competitive game which I played in the "first eleven" (starting line-up). I remember I was known as the neatest kid on the field. Before match I'll have my jersey tucked in, socks pulled up and nicely folded. After final whistle, my jersey would still be tucked in, socks would still be up. I had a habit of tucking my jersey back in even after some idiots pull it out while challenging for the ball.

Those were the days. Could have gone much further to play for clubs. But oh well, now my passion have been diverted to tennis. It's time to play my best, once again for my school.

Feel Good

Here's another one I came across while cleaning up. It was my testimonial for my leaving cert. Remarks by my favourite form teacher:

Joel had shown a lot of self-discipline and was highly motivated to perform well in both sports and studies. He represented the school in soccer and participated in many tournaments. As a member of the Boys' Brigade, Joel took up many challenges such as rockclimbing, repelling and kayaking courses. Definitely an all-rounder, he was also determined and possessed leadership qualities. He attended the Sports Excellence Workshop and also received the School's Outstanding CCA Award.

WOOOOOOOOOO!!! Feel so good after reading it...

Notes

I was cleaning up my room and I came across this small note book. It was this note book my sec3 and 4 form teacher gave to us. She wanted us to write our reflections after every term, our targets for academic results and our goals and aims in any other areas. She wanted to understand how we feel as she wanted to help all of us. It was the book which we could write about anything to her and she would sorta "reply".

I was flipping through the pages looking at all my reflections and my targets and finally came to the this last written page. It was a note left by my best form teacher ever during our O' levels period . I'm afraid I might lose this book someday, so I thought I would be nice to type it down. It was one of those special notes that motivates you to push and do well. So it goes like this :

Hi Joel,
Thank you for being my student these two years.
You are indeed one of those few who can do many things well-draw, play soccer/games, etc but above all, you possess this hidden zeal to excel n the goals you set and to pursue your dream. You topped it up also with qualities of self-motivation and perseverance and they are indeed admirable. Your positive outlook and attitude towards life will bring you far and I believe strongly and confidently you will have great achievements.
Enjoy as you move on and All the Best. Take Care
Mdm Loh LC
Oct 2005