I woke up to a very wet Christmas eve today... Cold air, warm bed & blanket... and snoozed in bed for another 10 minutes before getting to work... Shiok! It's been my best sleep so far this week. I like to think that it was due to having some exercise last night.
Last night was the 3rd time this year that I walked home from office. I took about 1.5 hrs to walk from Raffles Place to Geylang via Nicholl Highway. It feels good! I've been having big celebratory meals for the past weekend and think its only right to burn off some more calories before the next wave of heavy meals come... haha...
I recalled the first time I walked home from office. I was feeling lousy, but i can't remember over what... I just know I need to sweat it out and clear my mind. So I walked from Raffles Place to Victoria Concert Hall to Peninsula Plaza (stopover at 7-Eleven for water) to Raffles City Shopping Mall to Bugis Junction to Jalan Sultan to Lavendar MRT station to Kallang MRT station then eventually Geylang. This whole trip took me more than 2 hrs, 1 bottle of Ice Mountain and lotsa sweat! But it was a very refreshing experience. I got to see a few interesting places which I would usually pass in my daily life i.e. Arab Street, the fruit stalls along Geylang Road... Another comforting note is that my beloved Clare called me along the way to check that I'm ok. Clare also waited for me to return home then took me out for a late dinner. All in all, it's a not bad night :)
So I think I will continue to do this walking regime more regularly in future... since my only new year resolution for 2009 is to lose weight! hehe...
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Thank U, Justine Pt 2
It was 2001 when i started to notice Ms Justine Henin. Despite being in the Women's tennis tour for many years, she only burst into the limelight in 2001. She reached the women's singles semifinals of the French Open and the women's singles final of Wimbledon.
What really caught my eye was her relatively small form (she's 5 feet 5 tall) and big game. She's the only noticeable female tennis player who uses a single backhand. She's always referred to as the Federer of female tennis for having such a complete game & skills. Her western forehand is generally regarded as her most dangerous weapon, but its her single backhand that brought her international fame and admiration. Her signature single backhand is even more powerful than her compatriots' double backhand.
Now many people may think "What's the big deal with single or double backhand? Same same what." Let me tell you, it's not the same! Double backhand is a more steady shot. U can be off balanced and still hit a pretty ok double backhand. But with single backhand, u must always be ready and prepare your strokes early.
So after watching Justine on TV in 2001, i made the decision to change my backhand from double to single. As i mentioned earlier, since my double backhand has no impact/pace at all, i'm eager for a change and improvement. If a small lady like Justine can have such a big game, so can i! haha...
From then onwards, i hired a coach for one-to-one training to improve my new single backhand. Of course as with all sports, some days u play good, some days u play horrendously. I came to realize that no matter how bad your game is for any particular day, just commit yourself to your game and hit the game out regardless of the results.
My single backhand is now my main weapon in my tennis game. I love playing tennis and the sport had helped me grow alot. I believed i've learned to be more determined, more focus and enjoy every minute of the sport. I hope that our body can hold up well into its old age and still be playing tennis with my kakis.
This is how much Justine Henin had influenced my game. So thank u and Allez Justine!
What really caught my eye was her relatively small form (she's 5 feet 5 tall) and big game. She's the only noticeable female tennis player who uses a single backhand. She's always referred to as the Federer of female tennis for having such a complete game & skills. Her western forehand is generally regarded as her most dangerous weapon, but its her single backhand that brought her international fame and admiration. Her signature single backhand is even more powerful than her compatriots' double backhand.
Now many people may think "What's the big deal with single or double backhand? Same same what." Let me tell you, it's not the same! Double backhand is a more steady shot. U can be off balanced and still hit a pretty ok double backhand. But with single backhand, u must always be ready and prepare your strokes early.
So after watching Justine on TV in 2001, i made the decision to change my backhand from double to single. As i mentioned earlier, since my double backhand has no impact/pace at all, i'm eager for a change and improvement. If a small lady like Justine can have such a big game, so can i! haha...
From then onwards, i hired a coach for one-to-one training to improve my new single backhand. Of course as with all sports, some days u play good, some days u play horrendously. I came to realize that no matter how bad your game is for any particular day, just commit yourself to your game and hit the game out regardless of the results.
My single backhand is now my main weapon in my tennis game. I love playing tennis and the sport had helped me grow alot. I believed i've learned to be more determined, more focus and enjoy every minute of the sport. I hope that our body can hold up well into its old age and still be playing tennis with my kakis.
This is how much Justine Henin had influenced my game. So thank u and Allez Justine!
Monday, December 22, 2008
Thank U, Justine Pt 1
My favourite sport is tennis and it's been going on for a good 8 years now. Despite having a somewhat boring childhood (i was in the chinese orchestra for 6 years in school), i always know I'm an active person and i can excel in sports.
So when i got into my junior colleage, I've decided to do something beside chinese classical music. Upon finishing the freshie orientation program, I immediately sign up for the colleague's tennis club selection. Of course I wasn't selected... my years of watching tennis on TV totally did not translate into any real life skill... haha... what am i thinking?!?
Fast forward 5 years and I found myself in NUS. My urge to learn tennis emerged again. This time I am very determined. I went to sign up for a tennis class at the Spore Sports Council all by myself! So I went for my 10 tennis classes. They were really fun :) There were 3 guys and 9 ladies. I like to think that I'm somehow quite gifted in tennis... hehe... i was easily the best student in the class. With an awesome forehand and balls of confidence, i immediately signed up for an intermediate class. Now, the intermediate class was even more exciting. The students are definitely more skilfull and focus than those from the beginner's class. I totally enjoyed the class and made some really nice tennis kakis.
Despite having better strokes, i still find my backhand a major weakness. The 2000s period is an era of the double-backhanders (Marat Safin, Leyton Hewitt, Andy Roddick, Williams Sisters, Martina Hingis etc.). So most people learned and played tennis using two hands to hit a double backhand and I'm one of them. Somehow, my double backhand didn't seem to unlease like my fellow kakis, despite have good progression. I tried and tried many times on court to improve my movement, body rotation etc. but to no avail.
My tennis improvement reached a plateau... until I saw Justine...
So when i got into my junior colleage, I've decided to do something beside chinese classical music. Upon finishing the freshie orientation program, I immediately sign up for the colleague's tennis club selection. Of course I wasn't selected... my years of watching tennis on TV totally did not translate into any real life skill... haha... what am i thinking?!?
Fast forward 5 years and I found myself in NUS. My urge to learn tennis emerged again. This time I am very determined. I went to sign up for a tennis class at the Spore Sports Council all by myself! So I went for my 10 tennis classes. They were really fun :) There were 3 guys and 9 ladies. I like to think that I'm somehow quite gifted in tennis... hehe... i was easily the best student in the class. With an awesome forehand and balls of confidence, i immediately signed up for an intermediate class. Now, the intermediate class was even more exciting. The students are definitely more skilfull and focus than those from the beginner's class. I totally enjoyed the class and made some really nice tennis kakis.
Despite having better strokes, i still find my backhand a major weakness. The 2000s period is an era of the double-backhanders (Marat Safin, Leyton Hewitt, Andy Roddick, Williams Sisters, Martina Hingis etc.). So most people learned and played tennis using two hands to hit a double backhand and I'm one of them. Somehow, my double backhand didn't seem to unlease like my fellow kakis, despite have good progression. I tried and tried many times on court to improve my movement, body rotation etc. but to no avail.
My tennis improvement reached a plateau... until I saw Justine...
Sunday, December 21, 2008
My First !
Hello to Everyone who's reading this. After many months of procrastination and hesitation, I've finally started my very own blog. :)
My hesitation stemmed from how I should position this blog (hmm... this kinda sounded like a financial pitch...hehe). I always tell my friends that I would love to put my ideas/criticism in writing, but how should I write so that readers can "feel" my thoughts. I call that Writing with Impact. Then again, I thought "Fuck it, just Do it!" It's not if as I'm going to contribute any material worthy of a Nobel prize... hahah.
So here it is... My Virgin Post! Actually I have to thank my 2 new friends, Stevie & GND, for this post. After reading their respective blogs, I once again feel motivated to do up my blog. So, thank you cuties! Now, let me give you a lowdown on what you can expect from my blog:
My hesitation stemmed from how I should position this blog (hmm... this kinda sounded like a financial pitch...hehe). I always tell my friends that I would love to put my ideas/criticism in writing, but how should I write so that readers can "feel" my thoughts. I call that Writing with Impact. Then again, I thought "Fuck it, just Do it!" It's not if as I'm going to contribute any material worthy of a Nobel prize... hahah.
So here it is... My Virgin Post! Actually I have to thank my 2 new friends, Stevie & GND, for this post. After reading their respective blogs, I once again feel motivated to do up my blog. So, thank you cuties! Now, let me give you a lowdown on what you can expect from my blog:
- Movie/Music/Book Reviews
- Food Reviews
- Random Gossips
- Quirky Extracts/Stories
- Tennis Updates
- Travel (perhaps?)
- Other snippets of my Life...
Alright, that's all for my first post. I have 2 half-written posts sitting in my PC (since Nov 08). Let me go tidy them up and present to u :)
Merry Xmas!
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