The past 3 days..

I have no idea but suddenly, weird thoughts start popping into my mind and I'm feeling really confused and down for the past 3 days.. The only time I feel alive is when I train with my team mates from aquathlon. That is the ONLY time I feel alive. We did 5 x (200m swim, 1km run) transition training today. It sounds easy yah, but trust me, you need a lot of determination to finish the sets! =] It was really a very fun session today. However, the moment it ended, I was thrown back into reality, facing my problems again. Damn.

Thankfully, I sought help from mum (we had dinner together). I told her all my problems and her advices were pretty much relevant. I will stick to it now and see how things go from here. I hope I feel better, I really do.

On a side note, after training today, I realised that my left big toe is ready to be 'harvested'! It has been badly injured due to soccer and I have just been waiting for it to fall off. Today, I took things into my own hands! =] Maybe this can be something to be happy about...

I am not alone!

It is only human nature that we start to feel a little better when we realise that what we are going through now is being experienced by other people also. Yesterday, after cell group, I was talking to Ching Lu about her work and somehow we managed to drift into talking about our spiritual lives. This was where the conversation started to kick off. We both realised that the other person's spiritual life is not doing too well too!

It was such a connection..we then decided to keep one another in check and to also come up with a checklist that we have to adhere to strictly on a daily basis. I hope this works, for if it does not, I am really going to be even more lost... God, show me your hand in my life again...

Model day!

Today was the 1st time in medical school that I felt I was actually productive! Had practicals in the day, identifying the lower limb muscles was facilitated by watching Acland's the night before =] It was really good, and for once I felt quite confident.

After lunch I headed back for a quick nap and started my tutorial. Normally 7 questions will take around 14-21hrs to complete. However, I managed to complete it in less than 6hrs! I even went for a 16km run at 5pm, clocking 77mins. It was quite a good aerobic exercise I felt, but my legs are pretty tired.

This could be the start of something really exciting! At the start of this week, I decided to once again commit everything into His hands and let Him show me the way. For through the past 8 weeks I was treading the waters ALONE and was just short of drowning. He is going to show me how to walk on the water! This I am very sure... All praise be to God for today.

Happy like mad! Finally, an early night which I will cherish very very much.

This is just a quote that really impacted me a lot, hope you guys get to glean something out of it too. =]

I am careful not to confuse excellence with perfection. Excellence, I can reach for; perfection is God's business. - Michael J. Fox

Was it a set-up?

After training on Saturday, my mum came to pick us (Nicolas, Jonathan and I) up from NUS to the bike shop to get our stuffs. On the way down the AYE, we met an accident. Our car was happily travelling down lane 2 when suddenly from lane 1, a Mercedes swerved out and wanted to change lanes. Due to the amazingly fast reflexes from mummy, we did not hit that idiotic/retarded/should-get-his-license-suspended driver in his Mercedes. All of us were also not hurt during the accident, except for Jonathan who got a slight neck sprain.

That was not the end. 4-5secs later, we all felt a strong thud from behind. We were rammed into by a car from behind. The story begins now. Immediately (and I was pretty sure about the time frame), there was the EMAS recovery team. The man in the green vest immediately came up to control traffic and there was this car repair shop guy going around handing out namecards. My goodness! I was so appalled that the EMAS recovery came so quickly!

The car repair shop guy managed to talk his way into our car, and we drove off, headed for his garage (we were kind of rushing for time, maybe that's why he managed to persuade us). He said that he will settle everything for us. We left the scene, not without the license plate numbers of all the cars involved.

On the way there, I questioned him regarding the speed at which the EMAS recovery team and him managed to arrive that the accident scene. His reply left a lot to be questioned: 'We have cameras and we saw that an accident had happened'

My hypothesis:

1. Big brother is indeed watching, so much so that once an accident happens, EMAS recovery team is IMMEDIATELY activated and reaches the scene in minutes.

2. The car repair shop guy together with the Mercedes driver planned for such an accident. Firstly, they have nothing to lose if the Mercedes was hit by another car; in the eyes of the law, the driver of the car that hit the Mercedes have to pay for the repairs, and Mercedes repairs are not cheap. Secondly, any car that is hit will have to be repaired, there comes the business. Lastly, the timing combined with the weak explanation really pushes me to think that it was all a set-up.

You guys be the judge, what is your view? =]

So many things to buy!

The end of the week! A relief and yet more stress. Time is ticking down to my 1st CA! ...=[ Anyways, it's going to be a happy weekend for me! I'm going to buy stuffs! Whoots!

Things to be bought:

1. Cycling shoes and pedals (long, long overdue)
2. Finger paddles (it is supposed to improve your strokes)
3. Timex watch (I realised that my current Timex watch does not go well with clothes, so I'm selling it)

There are also so many things to do in these 2 days!

1. NUS aquathlon swim training on Saturday 9am-12pm
2. Problem-based learning assessment online (Saturday to Sunday)
3. Biochemistry revision for CA1
4. TRI21 bike training on Sunday 8am-10.30am
5. Soccer at VJC 5pm-7pm

This is my weekend almost every week. I wonder when I can ever have the privilege to just relax for a day...

Time is a gift from God, once it passes, it never returns. Make full use of it!

The past 1 month...

Sorry folks! This blog has been dead for another month. =[ Well, there are some good things and some not so good ones to share..hmm, where shall I start? The past 1 month seemed to just whizz past me in a flash. Time seriously flies in University.

Ok, the good stuff! I can see myself improving after training with the NUS aquathlon team for more than 2 months. Did a swim time-trial yesterday and clocked in at 30mins 03s. It is still not fast enough, but hey! I sliced off 2mins+ from my previous PB! Whoots. I hope to hit 28mins by the end of the year. =]

Studies so far has been ok. We've completed the upper limb and moving on to the lower limb. I'm still trying to figure out a way to study anatomy because I think I'm too much into details. Hope I find a way soon, lower limb is kind of killing me now! -_-`

In terms of plans for both my term breaks (3 weeks in December 2008 and 3 months in May-July 2008), I have already settled it. =] I will be going on a medical trip to called Project Lokun in December. We will basically be there to educate the village children in Cambdia on health issues and the prevention of certain diseases. We will also be doing health screening for the villagers and doing house-to-house education. I can hardly wait to embark on this trip! There will be so much to learn and experience!

For my one and only 3 month break next year, I will be going to Switzerland to take part in the Ironman Triathlon. After which, JJ, Jason, Melvin and I will tour Europe and have some fun! =] I made this decision because if I do not pursue my passion now, I might not have the opportunity to do it again in the future. Training has been pretty much good leading up to that event. Swimming is more or less settled by Zhiyun who 'tortures' us twice a week in the pool. Cycling training is done every Sunday with pals from TRI21. What is left is running, long long distance running..

I have already signed up for my virgin 70.3 Half-Ironman next year in March as a warm up for the Ironman Switzerland 3 months later. So much stuffs are coming my way. This is really exciting.

Ok, for the not so good stuff. Things have been a little better since the last post. Spiritually I am still not back on track yet, but I guess I'm making headway in this area. Slowly trying to claw my way back to the 'strait and narrow path that leads to righteousness'. The Christian life is likened to an endurance race I feel, when you're in it, it is a struggle. However, there is always a rainbow at the end of a storm, a light at the end of a tunnel, a finishing line at the end of a race. I must get there!

'I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.' - 2 Timothy 4:7

Oh, how I wish I can say that at the end of days. I must persevere!

A wake up call from within..

It has been easier said than done..So much for depending on God and drawing on His strength. I have been depending on my own for the past 3 weeks, and I'm feeling really tired. So many times have I tried to wake up early to spend at least an hour in the morning to fellowship with Him, but I fail to drag my weary body out of the bed.

So much time was wasted in doing things that are a complete waste of time, so undisciplined was my life. I always knew that things were not going in the right direction, but the motivation to steer back on track was always lacking. I think I'm definitely heading in the wrong direction now!

I thank God that He has always been there for me when I needed Him most. I thank Him for giving me this wake up call that I can change before it is too late. Now all I need is His strength to be with me as I embark on this journey through school, exercise and life with Him once again.