Wednesday Training:

LAND TRAINING

6.30 at Sports Complex

Bring Shoes, Running attire, as per normal.

By the way, Coach has been seen returning to the reservoir to row today...

Marathon season is coming again.

Training

And what better way to ease off those Sunburns you all got than with a dip in the nice cool swimming pool at night? =D

Monday Training:

6.30pm, Swimming Pool

Bring goggles, Matric card, the usual.

Oh and a $600 ang pow for Kok Wei. He need to go honeymoon.

=D

Freshies who haven't pay me for the Team Temasek Shirt, you better pay up quick. Otherwise I will order without your name. =D

Seniors. Sh.

Happy Birthday to KOK WEI

Everybody's friendly neighbourhood vice cap and Kok Kok Mee.

Don't worry. No matter how old you get, we know you'll always be young at heart.

(Just like that.)

Oh man... babies just look so... irresistably tasty... filleted and breaded and served alongside some corn chowder, garlic bread and red wine.

=D

For those taking Star 1 Tomorrow

Here's some important points to take note that Yi Hsiang has kindly put up on the tag board.

1. Wear only Covered shoes(no Slippers allowed) it will be from 10 am till 5 pm on both Sat and Sun.
2. You can take bus 2/59/89/109 to Changi interchange.
3. For those who wants meet up first befre going down to Changi. Meet at Pasir Ris by 9am. those who want to have breakfast meet at 8.30am at Pasir Ris MRT

Remember, covered shoes/sandals but preferably covered shoes, or you no need take your Star 1, I think they're pretty strict about that. And your Sunblock, very important, it's like 1 full day thing so you're gonna get burnt if you don't have your sunblock.

Friday

VERY IMPORTANT!!!

In a dramatic last minute change of plans,the venue has been miraculously swapped to the sports complex.

So, be there at 6.30. With Running shoes.

And still, don't forget..

NINE BUCKS.

For your Team Temasek Shirt.

remember.... $9, $9, $9, just keep telling yourself that, because I don't like to be a Loan Shark...

Team, some money issues to be settled by this saturday.

Seniors/Juniors: Those who owe me $15 bucks. Pay me during Sat training please. I need it to survive.

Entire team: Those who have not paid $5 canoe fund for last month, Own up and pay up! To either Josh, Kok Wei, Bryan or me.

Also shirt money $9. You want your team shirt, you pay.

Thank you and see you all officially in 6 weeks time. Count down with me won't you?

Sam.

Tomorrow's lovely holiday plans....

Freshies, Juniors and Seniors...

Meet at the pool tomorrow at 6.30pm , with your running shoes, swimwear and of course, clothes to change. I mean, shower. Or you will smell like socks, and you wouldn't want that. :D

I understand that some of you might end classes later, but do try your best to be on time. Like Coke said, better late than never.

Oh do remember your matric cards and GOGGLES. No heroes please because even the lifeguards bring goggles. Just so you know, the eye isn't a muscle that you can 'train' to be chlorine-resistant, and prolonged exposure will only damage them. What you're training is only your pain threshold.

Oh my, i sound like a mother.

But we're all going to have fun tomorrow, aren't we? ^_^

(Oh, and if you're wondering why its suddenly at the pool, its because the entire sports complex is closed tomorrow and on the 29th due to AYG. That includes the showers. Bummer D:)

For all freshies, these are the training days that will be fixed for the month of July. Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday.

Monday: Swimming
Wednesday: Land Training
Friday: Water (4pm onwards)
Saturday: Water (morning/afternoon)

Mondays and Wednesdays are till 9 30pm. Friday till 8pm and Saturdays...well it'll be best if you could avail yourself all the way till 4pm.

Seniors please note of the amendments and follow strictly to these training days while planning for freshies. There shouldnt be any reason to change the days especially mondays and wednesdays since its a fixed timetable.

If theres any queries sms me.

P.S. This week there will be no water training for freshies as coach is away on honeymoon. The schedule will start from next week onwards, 29 June. Seniors, water training as per usual on saturday.

Sam

Land Training
This coming wed will be the land training for ALL. 6.30 at Sports Complex.
Bring the usual stuffs.

As for coke.
I know the training days are not fixed and it is hard to come for somedays. But you must think. There is alot of adminwork to do before organising a training. For land training, we have to plan and make sure that there is enough seniors to look after you guys. Swimming training, we have to book the pool and we have to make sure that coach can come and coach you guys as you are all at the beginning stage. Lastly kayak training have to be planned in a way that is does not clash with other SAJC team training as we are borrowing their boats. And we also have to book a timing with coach always at the last min because he got 2 other schools to coach. Its not that easy to organise stuffs.
For the issue on lateness, I think its everybody's responsibility to come for training on time. It is one of our team values. Even the senior team, they will be punished if they are late.

kokwei

Hi team, great job in the NCCs, we know you guys have put in your utmost effort and you did your team proud. Our next goal is the Invitationals so lets put the pedal to the metal and get ourselves some medals!

There will be no swimming training tomorrow, however, prepare for training on Tuesday. The time will be put up so check back. By the way, the blog will be updated pretty late sometimes, so if you wanna sleep, go ahead, just check back the next morning before you go to school about the specific timings. Otherwise the training days will remain the same.

First time here,

Zhi Kai a.k.a ZK

Stuffs to bring.
Josh- regatte singlet to lend the girls, H20
Bryan-regatte singlet to lend the girls, H20, Power gel and salt
Junice-H20
Lydia-H20
Yanling-H20
Xiuting-H20
TO ALL- Bring your courage and your will power to race tmr.

We Are together in this. Train together, Race together, Win together
Remember, Don't think of the outcome of the race(whether you will win or not), Instead, think of the process. The amount of time, sweat and determination during training. Think of how you are going to give it all, Pull each stroke with your full power during the race.
Don't race to regret. All OUT!

Kokwei

Reminder to bring shoes as well for warm up run.

3 more days team. Its boiling down to these last few days where you start warming up at competition ground once again and showing others what you're made of. You're at the level where getting into finals should be the norm right now and I do not expect less of that.

Full concentration on your race day and I would like all those racing to arrive at the race venue at 7 30am on saturday @ MR. Please note, 7 30am not at the bus stop, its 7 30am together as a team gathered together ready to race, ready to fight till the last bouy.

Freshies, report at 8am sharp at MR. If you're not sure how to get there, do your homework. As 17 and 18 year olds, I should think that all of you are responsible enough to make your own way down. From Bishan MRT take bus 156, drop off at Mt Alvernia and cross the bridge. Please don't call any of the racers on that day to find your way as we won't be so free to entertain your calls. If you're not sure how to get there, ASK IN ADVANCE. You're part of the team now and its at such competitions where you can get to bond with your team mates and soak in the competition air. Wear either a Red or White shirt or any Team Temasek Shirts if you've got it.

I dont want to have to encounter any problems or hitches in the running of the competition. Everyone is expected to be on their best behaviour and represent our school with pride. Seniors you know that time is very tight on Sunday after the race. Please don't waste any time, pack and settle the movement of boats with SA before you rush off for the wedding. Try to be at the wedding at 6pm.

Team, all I want from all of you is your best. Do your best and thats enough. Medals right now is secondary. Mindset, physical fitness,team spirit. Just your BEST.

Remember our final goal. Poly Invites. Not NCC. We're gonna pwn the others for Invites yea.

Sleep early on friday.

P.S. Competition attire will be white team singlet. If you want to wear rashguard, wear the singlet over. For changing out after your race, Team Temasek Shirt is to be worn.

Sam.
You can't just beat a team, you have to leave a lasting impression in their minds so they never want to see you again.

Tmr which is wed will be the shifting of boats down to MR. I need Seniors , the four girls and ZK batch to come down. Meet at the club at7.30 I should see everyone unless you have a valid reason, call me. You can test water at MR tmr.

New intake , there will be no training. HOwever, for those who are free and don't mind helping and looking at the other teams at MR. You may also come at the same timing as the seniors.

Thats it. Come on team. Its time to race.
kokwei

k4 girls 8. k4 guys 1. the rest also 1. New intake tmr no training.

TEAM KAYAK BBQ
People invited, seniors, junice, lydia, yanling, xiuting, janice, zk, tim and yi chao
location is at sam house.
Can contact me or josh to bring you there.
It will start at 5
Just bring 5 bucks for all the food. (Damien bring 50 bucks cos you will eat alot)

K4 guys 8.30 sharp at club
k4 girls and the rest 12 sharp at club
New intake 11.30 reach complex. by 12 all ready outside club with paddle and lifejack.

Tomorrow's training schedule will be as follows...

k4 Girls- 8.30am

EVERYBODY ELSE - 12 noon.

Freshies, please bring your running shoes, along with your wet shoes.

Its stamina grinding time, people.

As for seniors... only about a week left.

You know what to do.

Getting to Know TPKRT [Season 2]

Episode 12- Season Finale : Janice Tan

(a.k.a Dustbin.....)

Last but not least is this Volleyballer girl who Randomly popped in to join our land training one day because she wanted to become tan. Its pretty funny to me. Because she's already tan! She's Janice Tan!! Wahahaha!!

..........

Ok Kok Wei, I know your laugh button spoil, no need to tell me... (Yi Chao should donate laugh button to Kok Wei.)

Back to topic, that's pretty much Janice's history. Initially, I thought she wasn't serious. I mean, she already had another CCA in Volleyball (that's why she's got the traitor shirt... mufufu..) so it was pretty funny that she popped up into Kayak Racing all of a sudden. But the great surprise is that Janice stayed. And only did she stay, she was also really strong. As a gauge, she can probably row the T-1 faster than some of you guys at the moment. But fret not, she was also faster in the T-1 than some of the junior guys for a time..

Anyway, it is our job to make sure that your batch surpasses us. So get ready. =D

The reason why she can be so strong, despite being the only girl left from her batch (yes, she is.) is because of her passion. I daresay not everybody has the passion for this sport right from the get go (But at least I'm happy that you guys are not in it to use the CCA as a stepping stone, unlike some wannabe dragonboaters..........right? =/) but once you build it up as you go along, this passion is what determines whether you become a useful person on the team, or just a dead weight. Promising as your batch is, I hope you will keep pushing yourselves, because even if you become the best Kayaker in TPKRT, it is by no means an assurance of a medal in the canoeing world, because medals...are only available to the best 3 racers. Remember that.

Especially in the presence of certain monsters....

Anyway, you should know that to stay on and be the only girl in her batch is really, NOT EASY.

Just ask Sam.

Janice can probably answer you too. The reason being there is nobody of your level to push you on, and you can hardly gauge your speed properly if you're rowing against yourself every day. The girls in our team really are superhumans, when you come to think about it.

I remember this memorable occasion during one of their earlier trainings, when they suddenly got 8.6km dumped on them for the first time. Janice was definitely not fit to run that distance. She kept having to stop. But she pushed herself on to finish it despite having to stop again and again. I know because I was running beside her. And i tell you this seriously - there is less shame in trying your hardest but end up failing, than having the skill but failing to use it because of a variety of reasons. Hubris, misjudging the opposition, negative self-talk etc.

I screwed up a race due to these reasons before. Trust me, I know.

But sigh. Janice's passions can be too overwhelming sometimes.

Heh.

And at others... she will slap you as long as your name is not Choon Teck.

Like how she was resisting the urge to slap me with her slipper when i was trying to get a cool picture of her warming up for her race.

Hmph.

Anyway, Janice is always striving to get even stronger. One day she hopes to become a man. We all know that she's jealous of Randall's biceps.

Poor Janice gets bullied by Charles on a regular basis too,

but not to worry...its not as if its irreversible. Anyway, I'm sure being a dustbin is rather peaceful. I mean, sure....Apart from the fact that people throw crap in your mouth at regular intervals..... on the bright side, at least you don't have assignments to contend with, and old aunties and uncles love shoving their arms down your throat to get to drink cans. Isn't life grand! =)

.......

................

Hold on.

I've got to stop Janice before she does the karate chop of doom on my son. Cheerios.

Getting to know TPKRT [Season 2]

Episode 11 - Law Te Kai

Introducing Mr Te Kai, your friendly neighbourhood....

Paddle thief? o_O

zOmg. Damien, you should know where to find your paddle now. =D

(there are paddles in the background, but it wasn't me ok!!)

Naw I'm kidding. Te Kai doesn't use such a short paddle, he likes to use the really long ones. Because he is tall. Yes, he is tall.

The term I would use to describe Te Kai is 'helpful', because he is. I just realised, while looking for pictures of him to put up, that there aren't very many of him. The reason being, he was the photographer for those competitions because i couldn't very well lug my camera around the whole day. Although he does take retarded pictures sometimes.... (There's one of a H20 can, and somebody's foot.) He doesn't mind that he doesn't show up in the pictures, just to help us capture the best moments in the competitions. And of course, a hundred unglam pictures of Janice.

Helpful also in that when you're coming up from the club's side, and you see Te Kai, you can happily dump all your paddles on him while you're bringing up your boat.

....I'm kidding. But really, it should be an automatic reaction to go down to help your teammates in any way you can if your hands are free. Especially if they're carrying a T-1. Not exactly the lightest of boats, but i guess you don't me to tell you that.

Like some other people we know, there are also pictures of Te Kai getting into compromising situations. Lets look at this one again. I guess the focus wasn't on him since it was Charles' feature, so lets take a closer look....

Hah. Ok. As you can see, the relationship between them runs deep-

...........

Te Kai. Stop seducing my son, please.

Which brings us to Te Kai's second hobby. Te Kai enjoys seducing people...

.......Well. That's Qing Ling actually. But you know what i mean.

And of course, dressing himself immaculately.

I guess all is right and fine, but I realised from looking at the pictures that somebody was a little more interested in throwing rocks than watching our races, hmmm? =O

Getting to know TPKRT [Season 2]

Episode 10: Tan Zhi Kai

(a.k.a Zedkae. Or Ducky. Or Peter. Or ducky peter)

Meet Zhi Kai the Glam, who is all about taking good care of his hair.

Zhi kai was our resident T-2 rower, before they moved on the K-1, which brought us this picture which i like so much.

....Even if its completely wrong, it looks good if its an 'X'.

In his spare time, Zhi kai enjoys doing retarded things with his T-2 partner, Charles. =D

Ok. I was kidding.

Zhi Kai's real story is a lot less funny than that. See, when he first joined the team, Zhi Kai was not exactly the most fit in the bunch. In fact, because he was my coursemate, and I assure you that sportsmen are a rare commodity in this particular course, I naturally assumed he would be just like the rest of them. And none of us really expected him to stay, frankly. Especially after there was this brief misunderstanding with Bryan at the start... well, suffice it to say that i can be rather evil if i want to, using this blog.

But to Zhi Kai, i would attribute this - he is thick-skinned, and willing to learn. He knew he wasn't the most fit out the batch, but worked the hardest to prove that he deserved his place.

The results, well, they speak for themselves. I remember that their october intake was large enough that we were able to have a 'rugby' match at the orientation. To his credit.... only 4 remain, now.

And I can tell you..... the reasons for leaving were...

Frankly, when you DO leave, I'd far rather you give me a frank 'I lost interest, sorry' rather than some wild stupid excuse. It'd leave us with a far better impression of you, honestly...

Anyway, I'm sure those who have been coming for training can probably see.... on the first day of your holiday training, just how many people showed up.

You may be able to outrun, say, Zhi Kai, but if you can't display the perseverance that he has shown to date, you're not going to survive...

And mind you, he's a survivor from LAST term break.

Yup, that means daily double trainings.

Don't say chicken feet till' you've really experienced it.

Right. Now, like most CMMers, Zhi Kai tends to say retarded things at the worst times.... for example, making Yi Chao laugh when he's struggling to finish one tiny piece of chicken, which then sets of a chain reaction..

Or...

.........

"You- go in and out and in and out and in and out"

xD Sorry, private joke.

But in his serious moments, he can be seen to be very absorbed in his own thoughts. He's the only person so far who can visualize and go completely still, like a rock.

Nothing really significant, except that you know when he is getting serious, but its rather interesting to see.

Anyway, like the rest of his batch, ZhiKai has progressed to the K-1 smoothly...

And is now able to row the NELO, coach's pride and joy. The shiny white boats.

Today, the guy who we thought would be the first one to leave has stayed on, strong, and can probably out-pullup you at any time. o_O

Did I also mention that he's the fastest K-1 rower among the juniors?

...Guess I didn't. Well, now you know.

Now here's one last secret about Zhi Kai.

He's actually a HERO.

Want to know why?

Ask him about this picture.

It was the day when he performed a heroic act of.....

...tune in next time.

Oh, by the way, can you guess from this pic why Zhi Kai is a ducky?

TRAINING TOMORROW

K4 girls: 8 30am
EVERYONE ELSE REPORT TO SHED BY 12PM SHARP. Freshies, Juniors, Seniors. Shoes and wet boots.

Sam.

There's some changes for tml training. Sorry about that.

Freshies come at 11 20 (Water Training and Running)
Meet at sport complex first to put your bags in the cupboard and don't forget to lock it. Reach the CLUB by 11 30. Bring along the usual stuff.

Seniors/Juniors except K4 guys come at 830(Water Training)
K4 Guys 11 30
Meet at club

Drink lots of water and sleep early today for optimal performance tml.
C u guys tml (:
Bryan

Training

And thus starts the holidays trainings we were harping on and on about.

Seniors - Report at 8.30am, at the club. The usual.

Juniors/Freshies - Report at 11.30am. If all goes as per Saturday, we can all save a lot of time. Really.

=D

Getting to know TPKRT [Season 2]

Episode 9: Charles Timothy Tan

*Drumroll*

 Presenting to you....

The cheerful creature.

.... o_O 

The Butt shall be introduced in the next episode.

Meet Charles. A.k.a Timothy. Or Charles Timothy. Or Tim. Or Timo. Its fun that he has two names, you can pretty much call him anything you like. =D

It gave me great pleasure to write from episode 9 onwards. Because from today onwards we will feature the juniors in the team. And i can say this (I think the grand seniors will understand it better than us) There is nothing quite like watching your freshies grow up. *sniff*

Uh. I mean...

Timothy was part of the october intake in 2008, meaning that they joined 6 months later than our current senior batch. May not seem like very long, but trust me, its a really big difference. Come back to read this 6 months later and you will understand.

And, it sucks to admit it, but the fact is we did not have very much time to spare for the october intake last year, as it was smack in the middle of our season. (Which never seems to end one it starts...) Their batch was not as fortunate as yours to have the seniors' errr...... 'undivided attention' in the form of swimming training and such. They did not even have land trainings, either, come to think of it. Which is why the handful of them who managed to stay on, and reach the level that they have, are truly praiseworthy. 

Well, Tim's been a sportsman since before he joined the team.... you should ask him to tell you his story one day. He was 'picked up' from the gym by Weijie. Very randomly. Lol. (But do you believe in fate? =O)

But I know for a fact that Tim was doing self training very regularly in the form of pull ups and running after joining the team. I saw him sometimes, but he didn't see me because i have l33t ninja skillz. =D

I recall during one of the land trainings, i pointed out a couple of guys to the rest of you. I don't know if you remember. Tim was one of them. That was for his initiative, while the other were sitting and waiting for instructions , Tim was one of those who'd pull his group on to the next station... and the next station....

Technically, there's nothing wrong with sitting and waiting for the next set of instructions. Eventually the guys are all going have to do that in the (ugh.) Army. At this point, you probably have some idea of how i feel about lovely Singapore's compulsory conscription policy, but, moving on....

Initiative. That's what seperates the average from the exemplary. 

And here's your prime example right he- 

What are you doing with that paddle, Charles? o_O

That's one funny thing about Tim. lol. He tends to get himself into many potentially photoshoppable pictures. Its in his nature. Such as this one.

And this one.

I don't know how many will get the 2nd one, but its funny as hell to me. x)

Anyway, counting the days, it looks like we're going to be able to refer to them as 'juniors' for much longer, guys. 

Inititally, I was going to post about Tim, the crazy 'junior' who managed to run the 42km Sundown Marathon along with 3 of the crazier seniors...

Which he did. And he ran faster than me. T_T and STILL has strength left to pose.

But then i realised that they are drawing ever closer to becoming seniors as well, in their own right. They've been with the team for more than 7 months, now, and entered a couple of competitions of their own, too... like this one. Oh look! They're winning!

There's something very funny and.... fishy about this pic. But... you can ask them about it if you wanna find out. =)

Anyway, Tim lives a secret double life as a -get this- Wizard.

And Charles Timothy Potter loves nothing more than disturbing Janice.

(Wingardium leviosa!)

And...

Turning her into a dustbin.

And so in conclusion.... Tim would like to ask you to aid in the fight against Child molestation today =D

....I fear my randomness is getting worse by the day. -.=

Training is BACK!!
Alright team listen up! there will be training this coming sat. (Which is tmr!) Im sure everyone finished their tests! So, sleep early tonight and get ready for water training tmr. =)

First Group 8 am (meet at club. NO EXCUSE FOR BEING LATE)
This group includes myself, josh, randall, damien, weijie, bryan, junice, lydia, XiuTiNG,
LIM YAN LING and yi chao
We will be doing lots of sprints so eat more pasta today!

Second Group 10.30 am Sharp (You can be late, but don't even bother to come)
This includes tim, janice, zhi kai, te kai and all the New intake.
Janice take charge of them tmr. Make use of this chance to lead. Get the guys to help you but remember that you are running the show, not them. =)

Bring running shoes, wet shoes and change of clothes to BATHE PLEASE!
H1N1 ALERT!

kokwei

Getting to know TPKRT [Season 2]

Episode 8: Zion Poh

Now here's a face you guys may not have seen very often. But then, all the more introductions are in order, right? =D

(Why you feature me? D: I punch you arh...)

Well, i think many of you may not have seen Zion before, because as i recall, she was only present for one of your training sessions due to her being busy with.... well, i don't know really o_O She's the secret character of our team. You know, the kind where you move out of the character selection screen and suddenly there's this extra square with a- wait, why am i talking about this. -.=

Anyway, one meeting shouldn't have been able to give you much impression of here, and therefore, this is what this feature is all about.

I will reveal Zion's true identity- Truth is.... she was not from our batch! =O 

She kind of joined halfway through the year, but don't get any ideas... it was only on account of her background. 

See, Zion is actually the former captain of our school's Canoe-polo girls' team. 

(wake me up when its over..)

......yes, we do seem to draw many appointment holders, don't we...

She left because of some issues, and its not my nature to pry, so i didn't. But what we do know is that her title wasn't for nothing, because she mastered the T-boat in one day (her first try) and went on to begin learning the Junior K-1 on the same day.

Shortly after joining us, she bravely entered the round ubin race with us as well, a staggering (well, staggering if its your virgin attempt.) 22km 'cruise' across the channel to Pulau Ubin, from Changi, with crazy waves buffeting you from both sides and.... well, its open sea. Go figure. She came in 5th. 

Then, she joined the T-1 category in the november IVPs even though she was so small sized. Which...probably explains her face up there.

And then in January... Singapore Canoe Marathon with a round hull boat. 

The waves in kallang are just as bad as Ubin, if you factor in the backwash generated from everybody. And a boat with a rounder hull has a higher difficulty factor in terms of balancing. So naturally, she capsized quite a few times. But she didn't even consider withdrawing from the race, she just paddled on and completed the 20+ km. (Strangely, i can't remember the women's K-1 junior distance... either 22 or 27km, but its a feat either way. o_O)

Come March, MR500, where she paired up with Yan Ling on a K-2, even though it was their first pairing. 

Well, it got us this picture of the impossible angle of tilting....

Randall: "Its a high level kayaking skill called srifting aka drifting" 

(thanks ah Randall.) 

lol.

What's more to say about Zion? Well, it really is up to you to find out. But what else i can tell you is that she certainly isn't afraid of Unglam....... unlike some*coughkokcough* people..... 

=D

.....actually on second thought. Make that. *CoughTPKRTminusDamienandZioncough*

o_O We iz very glam canoeing team.

And lastly, something that all you guys can learn from...

She's less afraid to get her hands dirty that most of us are.

Like the Kitty in the previous episode. She was the one who saved it, by crawling under a really low grille, and retrieving the poor, starving thing.

And Randall became his papa, but that's a different story.

But beware, though.... while Zion can be so caring and gentle....

There are times when....she.... can be...

downright ebil. o_O

And yes, if you haven't realised it by now, Birthdays on this team are....relatively dangerous affairs. So you'd better not tell us your birthday unless you like bondage!!!

..............RANDOM O_o

(I'm just being horribly random today. That really wasn't any hint of what we're going to do on Kok Wei's birthday. Really. Now go away. The episode is over. No, really.)

Getting to know TPKRT [Season 2]

Episode 7: Damien Koh

In this corner, we have the INCREDIBLE....

Bulk? o_O

Or just our own incredible Hulk.

(DAMIEN ANGRY. DAMIEN SMASH)

(yes, its the table on the 8th floor of the library.. you're not dreaming.)

The third of the Grand-seniors, aka the pervy sage. Damien's field of expertise is... um. A secret.

Like all the other seniors on the team, Damien has his own inspirational story. You see, Damien used to look like this.

(typical ah beng... blah blah..)

Don't ask me where i got this. I'm good at stalking.

And now....?

Of course, he has his own personal story and motivation for the transformation, but it is not up to me to tell you that. Get to know him more and you will find out.

What I CAN tell you is his story AFTER he entered the team.

Damien's story is one that's carved into history (because he was the first one to do it) and shares surprising similarity with Bryan's story. See, Damien was the absolute last one to move from a T-1 to a K-1, simply because he could not balance. I bet the feeling must have sucked, because, i his own words, he was expecting to do fairly well in the sport because of his above-average fitness.

In Weijie's words: "I saw an uncle come down to run that day (trials), then suddenly the uncle run so fast until i cannot see him"

( I laughed so hard when i heard that. Really. You ought to ... um... see how Damien dresses at home. xD )

Anyway, to be alone on a T-1 when the rest of your team moves to the K-1 is not a pretty feeling. You know its because of your own inaptitude, but it doesn't change the fact that you're being left behind. But Damien didn't do the incredible sulk because of that, oh no. He went on to compete in a T-1.... and brought back a medal. A silver cookie. Not the bronze one.

If life gives you lemons, you've got two options - make lemonade, or throw it back in its face and ask for watermelons.

Damien did both - he made his lemonade on the T-1, and THEN moved to the K-1 and proceeded to become the fastest rower on the team. His fastest 500m timing was 1:57, after 2 years of training, whereas many people cannot seem to break 2 minutes in spite of years of training.

he's kind of... pretty famous among the other polys team. Haha.

There's also a little backstory to the picture of Damien being a bangla gardener. (scroll up) 

You see, a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...........

We....

............

...............

...........................

...... got punished.

The end. 

Punishment? Sweep up ALL the the leaves that were on the ground in the club. 

Yeah, i can almost hear you guys going 'WT%^&@???' as you read that. Well, do what must be done, Damien says, and proceeds to volunteer to do double everybody's job because he was a senior. 

Hilariously enough.... well, hilarious now, but it wasn't funny then, after we were more or less done (3 hours of pointless, backbreaking work, i tell you...) It started to rain. And the wind started to blow. And.....more leaves came down from the nearby trees and covered the club again. If it were an anime, we would have had really hilarious faces at that moment. In fact, i quite think our faces then were 'ROFL-worthy' enough.

I have sidetracked. I was trying to point out Damien's lack of hesitation in taking up responsibility. He's got this thing about him which can best be described as a 'Normally i won't do it, but if i have to, i'll do it good' attitude going. (I know its not a 'best' description, but i couldn't find a suitable word o_O)

You know, it is that very trait which led Damien to surpass his the fellow seniors in his batch, all of whom progressed to K-1 faster than him. Why join a team, if you're only going to waste your time and lag behind, right? With that in mind, he was spurred on to go down to the club every day by himself, brought out a boat, and trained. 

Bryan and Damien will be awesome examples to follow, for some of you soon. See, kayaking is not a sport meant for everybody. It so happens that we have the fortune to join this sport thanks to the Poly. However, I doubt most of you have tried anything beyond a slalom or a sit on top kayak, and will find racing kayaks to be a totally different level. Who knows, maybe you'll downright suck. (If you excuse my language)

But so what? These two didn't give up just because they were moving slower than the others at the get-go. And now... well... you can eat their backwash.

Despite looking like a dragonboater, though, Damien's a really gentle guy. That's why he's not a dragonboater. The same hands which can do this.... 

Can also do this.

(aww. Kitty.)

And oh ya, Damien in case you would like to know... Randall's still taking really good care of that cat. No worries. =D

Anyway, even though Damien knows how to take good care of his million-dollar face by going for regular eyebrow-plucking sessions... 

he doesn't mind the occasional unglam =D Neither does he mind letting his hair down (figuratively) every once in a while, because everyone knows that playing cool perpetually makes you into.... snoopy. (ok, randomness.)

(Rare shot of your VC behaving like a complete toot! =D)

Even though he may fall off his wagon every once in a while........ 

(This picture wasn't faked!)

He still does whatever he needs to do, when he has to do it, and that's why we can call him our senior.