Today, I was promoted from self-driver to chauffeur! Hehe :) I think my driving skills have improved no? :)
Cheers to happy J days ahead!
I LOVE JI WEN :)
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S-T-I-N-K-Y!
Yes, right after this!
So I chugged all over Singapore this afternoon before ending up at Jiwen's house.
Feeling VERY sick now. The curry. It's the curry.
Too muchhhhhhh..............
GIVE ME MY 500 BUCKS NTU!
Alright, time to do.......
Some stuffs!
I've been in a very foul mood.
Very.
Very.
Foul.
All guys suck.
Come on. It's only one freaking level!
I got in the lift at B5, they came in at B4, and took up to B3. And I was going up to B1. FAL see.
And so I'm currently the only one sitting in a rather cold FAL.
Not sure what I'm doing either.
I'm just pure moodless.
And hating everything!
I hate the house I live in.
I hate the people I live with.
I hate my life.
I hate EVERYTHING.
And I'm just tired of thinking of this and that.
Did I mention I'm very moodless.
You know I'm moodless when I'm travelling at 50kph.
It's like that dull chug chug chug.
And taking forever to get here cuz I took wrong stupid route with many lights.
And had to make big rounds to get out of JE anw.
And don't ask me what did that 5mins of seeing you accomplished.
Because I don't know either.
And so, it was a very drizzly morning when we headed to National Championships at Fernvale to catch the guys race.
Race Day once again. Haven't had it in a bit! Haven't watched races in a bit too! Hmmm. More like in 4 weeks haha. Okay I admit I'm a little burnt and red.
Everybody raced well and hard I should think.
And particular YAY goes to the SISTER! (YAY!) For her amazing morning ITT which gave her the ugly black Singapore jersey.
But the other Jambion's title changed hands :( And I won't get to say I rode with the Male National Jambion anymore! Hmmm... At least I did so yesterday! Haha.. Ah well..... I do very much hope there is a next year. Will there be?
I HAVE been having very VERY weird, random, strange, and disturbing dreams these days. VERY disturbing :( It's all about the people I mix with, the things I normally do, the places I usually go. Pretty freaky because it seems so real.
Sure reminds me of the maccheroni we had the other day! When you suck from both ends, it really goes.... FLAT! How you know you ask? Well..... we tried it hehe :)
HELLO! :)
On Thursday, Jiwen was kind enough to accompany me to a piano concert which turned out, not too good! I didn't like how she went so fast for moderately fast songs and sooo slow for slow songs! It made a lot of the songs lose their meaning when it went so fast. And was it me or did she hit a few wrong notes? Hmmmm. But I did like some of the pieces. Her light touch is pretty amazingly sweet at times. And the build up for Bolero was actually done very nicely! Liked it! But didn't enjoy the Chopin at all, until the encore....... Chopin Nocturne in C# minor. It was.......... so good. Too bad, it wasn't till the last song! Today's concert review in the papers was an echo of my exact same sentiments! Hehe :) Looks like my ears aren't THAT rusty!
On Friday, I had a uber yummy lunch! THen, we made choux pastry. First time Jiwen made it! And his hard work of stirring that thing didn't go to waste because they were good! Well, at least I thought they were! They looked so cool! Like the real puffs you buy outside! We cracked 14 eggs though. Twas very fun! We bought chocolate ice cream and in they go! Movie attempt failed though :(
And today I had the company of the Male National Jambion for my morning ride. He is the most awesomely sweetest boyfriend one can ever have! I am so touched.
Have a great weekend everyone! I'm excited about tmr! YAY YAY! Cycle faster folks! :)
Heyho merryoh! Sister is back! Hehe. It's actually pretty good to see her again! Yay! And I got yummy chocolates! Fat-inducing stuffs! MUST ride tmr! Please don't rain!
Yet another long day today! Pretty good day. Except I didn't do any workout. But I ate the yummiest hotdog ever at Superdog! People must be wondering how come we ate so much! But $20 voucher.... Spend away! It's really good tho. Looks like I'll be using the 20% voucher sometime soon as well.....
I AM DONE with the prepare-for-work shopping thing. Bought 4 work tops today and a pair of shoes most nice for oNLY $20! Pretty satisfied here. And most grateful to Jiwen for his assistance and company!
We went Tecman to get 2 books cuz of their 1 for 1 thingy. And then I came home and drove to the airport. Over 200+km mileage of driving I did over the past 3 days! My my...... (With about 140km done on Monday actually...)
A good and productive day today! Except that it could be happier.. But all's chilly! :)
It's time for random bits of talk!
Melting ice caps?
Song, the song!
Video is irrelevant
I've been wanting to eat this for really, a few months already! There was popcorn n candy floss and all in church yesterday! So happening hehe.
And so, it'll be nice if I had some support you know. Instead of just demanding questions which hints at DON'T GET MARRIED! Sigh.
And so to all who gave their vote of confidence, hehe, thank you! It makes me feel a lot better. Of course there's so much more, and I really can't wait for when boyfriend gets back TOMORROW! Annie, where are you? Do I hear you singing?
SO many things to talk about! :)
There,
I broke the most important rule.
I went against the most important promise I made to myself.
Sorry?
Oh? What a useless word.
If I truly am, shouldn't I not have said it or done it in the first place right?
Turn back time then!
Well, sad to say the clock only ticks backwards when something inside is............. SPOILT!
Why wouldn't what you want matter to me?
Oh. Right. My brain didn't quite register that.
A simple question but it's so hard to digest and comprehend.
I don't know why it wouldn't matter,
because it does.
Yes, the sad truth is I've been having all these self-talk conversations pretty frequently recently.
Why do I feel so far away?
Well, that's because we're 857 miles apart.
One moment it's pink gum, the next it's hello tooth! Hehe :)
So it looks like I might possibly not get to shake those pompoms next Sunday :( A little disappointed I must say......... :(
And, I'm very annoyed already with all the questions. I DON'T KNOW MYSELF OKAY. Grrrrrr. And it's just been 2 days!
It's a whole month left before work starts. That means 4 weeks. Sighhh. I don't want my life to end so soon sobs. I think I'm gonna hate working.
So moodless.............
Oh come on, be more positive!
Alright there, snap out of it!
I think yours truly has had enough recuperation already! Time to hit the streets as of tomorrow!
Now, stop wallowing around......................
My legs still itch pretty bad. It's irritating me. Is there anything I can do to get rid of it! I feel like having a go at applying one cream at a time of all that I have and see which works.............
Oh, I just reserved a book at the library which has 6 copies and 22 other ppl on the reservation list. Hmmmm..
So.... What do you think of the colour orange for graffiti?
I think I should stop watching all those shows. They kinda make me emo. And these past few days hasn't been very productive. Actually, I haven't done ANYTHING at all. Not good, not good.
I just miss you.
That's your favourite no? :)
I know YOU like em!
But anyway, my thighs are currently quite like that, with reddish poppy dots. All the reaction to the dirt and grime and mud and strange waters I wadded in yesterday at Adventure Trail Challenge round 2! But mostly, I think it's the grass part. But we had much fun! This time without Sam, but with Wilson. Boy was it long. 2hr49mins we took! But we actually had 15mins of slack ahead of the next team. This year was wayyyyy better. Meaning, I didn't had to run THAT hard hehe :) Prizes are pretty cool too! It's like Christmas! So many little gifts, prizes, vouchers and all! Hehehhe :)
NatalieDee's cartoons are always so cute! Now, doesn't this sound like the sound YOU always make? Hehehhehehhe :) :) :) <3
And so I can't wait to get to the airport again! And then another 2 days and the sister will be back too yoohoooo! I feel like a wife really, sending him to and from the airport teehee :)
Now, our to-do list for the next 2 weeks is starting to grow again! How fun!!
I've suddenly come to this amazing realisation that has left me very stunned and reeling from a million thoughts in my head.
My entire world seems very different suddenly.
And truthfully, I feel a little lost. How does it feel like to have something you've always believed in for the past 21 years suddenly thrown out the window with just a line like that?
I wanted to post this yesterday!
Anyway he really is very cool! Especially when he's playing the drums. And how he knows EVERYTHING about food. You know me..... Always asking "What's this" on the menu although am almost always to be greeted with a "I don't know". But with him, I see THE LIGHT. And how he whips up a VERY uber deliciously yummy meal for lunch in just 20mins.
And although I don't know very much about bike racing and will never understand what he goes through out there, from what little I gain from seeing all pics or reports from wherever and everywhere I can get my hands on, it is really, true respect. *with the salute thing
I am most blessed aren't I? :)
Our first zi pai attempt. The most basic of levels and I can't catch it right! I need lessons from Josh hehe.
I miss you already!
Now, 21 June 1815, where are you?
So me sister thinks I have disappeared! It has been 4 amazing J days :) and I am a happy girl. 10 days will go by fast right? In the meantime I have Florida to look forward to! Oh how exciting!! :)
Now don't ask me what am I doing up at this time. I have very bad eyebags as it is already :( And everything's going haywire! Sleeping time, trainings, eating, everything!
I don't think I have jetlag cuz I can still sleep at the proper time. It's just, I just feel like I've a lot to say suddenly! Must be all the talking we did today! Thank you though! I think it made you very hyper too! Hehehe :)
I don't quite miss Chinese food actually. In fact, I miss the food I had there! Oh reason being anyway, I finished my race report. It was really fun writing and it actually ended up 3 pages long! Now, give me my $500!!
Okay, I feel the tiredness kicking in.
Goodnight friends!
3 June
We went for a 3hr bike tour around the city at 11am. It was pretty fun riding around in that sort of bike. A girl's bike they say. I felt so.......... girly! All that's needed to complete the act was a straw hat, and a long flowing skirt! But the riding was pretty freaky in that crowded road conditions. Many people, many cars. After a good lunch at this place called QuQu (recommended by Sarah) we headed to Parc Guell. Lovely place. You can see all around Barce from the top! Including the strange place we were lost at the day before. I did have a lot of fun with Josh's photo-taking. Subjects are a must and all our zi pai! In different forms. Highly skilled he is I must say!
Came back in the evening and went to the supermarket where I got my 0.49euros worth of a loooonnnnng baguette and my VERY SUPER DUPER YUMMY BREADSTICKS. On my introduction to breadsticks, I went in search of them after that in every bakery we passed.
4 June
We left early in the morning at 8am for the train ride back to Valencia, a very happy me! The train was bigger, cleaner, newer, much nicer, and emptier, than the one on the way here. On reaching Valencia we had a long walk in to find our hostel which turns out to be really nice! Each room is really cute and have some sort of theme. Ash's and Ben's was a Safari room where the bed covers were LEOPARD PRINTS! There were voodoo masks and little pitchforks as decorations! Josh's and my room was a California theme. It was so big, bright and colourful! ANd Queen size beds!!! Lovely!!
We spent the rest of the day at the Science Centre! We had discount, being a student! Yay! We stayed there for over 3hrs and we didn't finsih all the exhibits. It was pretty fun and interesting though I must say! Although my legs were really dying by then. We took the bus around. An experience I must say.
We then found nice bakeries where I got breadsticks. 1.60euros Magnum was not meant to be. So we camped in this little restaurant and sat there and talked about stuffs till really late at night. It's really not that strange and bad after all to have the 3 guys for company. I mean, I could actually talk to them all happily! Except Zhiyun and Josh seems to think I'm very much like my sister...... Hmmmmm......... really? The cigarette smoke drove us back to our rooms.
5 June
I'm not a party pooper! I'm just Jiwen-sick okay? Hehe. So a very happy me ate 4 pieces of toast for breakfast! Free flow of breakfast! I think, very important at a hostel! And you can kope the packet cupcakes and cakes too for future supplement!
We walked around at the market at Valencia before heading to rest a while. After which we had like an hour's walk to the University at the outskirts. Our bikes all safe and sound. Had to take 3 taxis. The last one with Josh and me was really nice! He bothered to squeeze 2 bike boxes into a normal sized taxi! How'd he do that you ask.......... Well, one poor little girl just have to sit squashed on the floor. Even the cab driver laughed. But I liked how he was so chillax about letting me do that! I like how in every other country except Singapore, it always seems so........ chillaxing! Not so to-the-books sort of thing.
We were early and so went to eat yummy BK for lunch. Ben became my bank, exchanging euros. And thankfully the lady did not bother weighing our bike boxes at all! heheheh! Thank goodness I stuffed all my stuff in! :)
It was really nice to take off from Valencia and Josh spotted Port Saplaya from the airplane! Really nice! :) So pretty! The plane was a little empty too. We had the whole 6 seats to ourselves. So we all spreaded out! I then slept. It's pretty boring on that 2 hour flight.
We touched down at Paris early and from prior experience, everything settled fast and smooth and we were in Paris centre in no time at all. Efficiency then dropped while waiting for Ash's friends. Much better when we split up. Thanks to Claire and Joanna and other friend for bringing us around! THey were nice people! So we had 2 hours in Paris! Before getting lost in the metro cuz the lines were so unclear and we thought it stopped at this station which it didn't. But we plotted our way back and got back all safe and sound, with 35mins to spare before our plane was scheduled to take off. Some running was then involved.
The plane ride back was NOT FUN at all. All 4 of us were in a row. First there was the baggage issue. Then, the food was sooooooo disappointing! NOT NICE AT ALL! Jiwen pointed out that food coming out of Spore's always good but not going back! After watching Valentine's Day, and eating, and trying to watch a few random movies, I gave up and listened to Rach's 2 and fell asleep for an hour to 2. When I woke up, my screen refused to work. It all started with Ash's screen not working right from the start! So he got out his lappie and was watching 2009's World CHampionships cycling. Oh me oh my that was UBER COOL! I was spying (quite obviously) from my seat haha. I did tell the ppl who restarted it to no avail. So then out of total boredom I kept going to the back to get food. Or walking around. Or getting water. Just any excuse to walk around really. How boring! The guys were all sleeping for many many many hours! They then woke up very much later to join me for Haagen Daaz ice cream. The only good thing on the flight. Apparently Ben's screen was affected too. So only Josh watched shows in peace. Ratatouille! Cartoons! I was left, to day-dream all about Jiwen hehe :)
Oh, the landing was worse than Lao airlines. It was like a theme park ride. ROCKY! To the left, to the right.
Oh, I discovered how uber unhealthy croissants are! Oh my goodness! The number I ate in Spain!!
I enjoyed myself alot and many thanks to the guys for taking care of me. To Ashley for organising so many stuffs. To Ben for lending me money. To Josh for all the added fun hehe! And to all the others for taking care of me! Angie is so like a mum hehehe.
Happy memories! :)
31 May
I was gonna wake up to see the sun rise. But, I woke up a little later so couldn't catch the pitch-blackness. But I saw the whole dawn thing. Plus the sun then peeping out over the horizon. Most lovely awesome. I love it so much.
WEnt down to the beach to pick some pretty colourful pebbles before breakfast!
Mok's bike box is amazing. Everything else went in, and it's still only half filled!
I gave Sissel my white Spore jacket and she gave me her running shorts with Virgin Islands!
:)
We left at 11am for a car ride to the train station where we had a 3hr train ride from 1pm to Barcelona with Ash Josh and Ben. We reached and found our way to our hostel which is pretty cosy. Took a walk around and had dinner.
The traffic lights here change very fast when it starts to blink. So when they blink, DONT CROSS! The drivers here are pretty violent and they have cycling paths. Cyclists ride by in suits. VERY FAST they go! They don't stay in their seats!
The buildings are really pretty! All the architecture! I like to just people watch, building watch, and just walk around experiencing the place!
1 June
We walked to Orbea! Then to the main town centre. A lot of shopping on the way! By the time we reached the seaside it was pretty late. 2+pm, in time for a very heavy lunch! Such that no dinner was needed after. Really expensive in Europe!
We went to visit the aquarium! Largest aquarium in Europe they say! Pretty nice! :) I liked! Fish and PENGUINS! Got to see sharks too, and moonfish? Dory! Neemo! And jellyfish! But I think big fishes are meant to be eaten! OOooooo tasty hehe :)
A whole day of walking, really tired! WE ended up with ice cream for "dinner"! I had this chocolate cookie thingy with hot chocolate and a scoop of vanilla ice cream! It was, AWESOME!
2 June
We visited La Sagrada Familia! And "joined" English-speaking tour teams to listen to what they had to say! Pretty interesting! Then came back to have this very yummy Jap buffet for lunch/dinner. Cheap too! 9.50euros only! Visited the stadium for FC Barcelona. But didn't go in. Came back. That's all!
WHY ARE THE DAYS PASSING BY SO SLOWLY!
I'm dreaming soooooooo very much of the airport. Come quicker please!
Now, I was emo-ing listening to Disney songs.... Turns out Josh is like a Marcus! He knows like all the disney songs pLUS THE LYRICS! Oh my!! We disneyed some (with the singing) before we went for our "1hr run". Which turned out to be like 1hr45min cuz we got................ Lost.
But we ended up at the museum! After alot of stair and hill climbing. Mind you, that SUCKS! BUT it was pretty nice up there! You could see like the whole Barce city spread out! Where is the camera! I was pretty sad tho. Thought we ended up at the Port Olympic. 1992 Olympic venue. But no, we were at the other side :(
Made it back only at 10pm! After the entire false flat throughout the main city centre. But it was a good run, altho too many traffic light stops! Nice pace.
I'm having fun but Jiwen, I miss you so much :(
That's my boyfriend, up on stage, NOT hugging the girls HEHE :)
I forgot to mention, there were fireworks just outside our eating area! On the first night. Amazingly lovely! I LOVE FIREWORKS! And it's like, right in front of you! RIGHT IN FRONT! Not somewhere far away across the Spore River or something..... I was all smiles :)
Oh, and on the day before, during the opening ceremony, they always use Pirates of the Carribean. And, other music. Which was REALLY nice! THE HORNS! Oh my...... I'm sure Lols will go crazy over that with me! It was most Wowwwwwwwww (then I'll go floating ard in my band world filled with luscious sounds)
And the night before, Zhiyun came over to join Angie and me. And we had a nice talk :) It's so nice to have them to talk to. Like, girls like me. Not, girly girl talk which I don't get.
30 May -- Race Day
Breakfast was half a loaf of bread and cereal. Then off we went on the bus to the race site. Had to get our cap and chip and settle the tatoos which they gave up and just used marker to draw in the end. To the toilet! By the time all tt was done, it was 0725 and I only had a 5min warm up before having to start struggling into the wet suit and head down to the sea. Didn't get to dip whole body when they started blowing whistle to chase us out. It was all such a great big rush! And then so much waiting around in the hot sun just so they can call us out individually. Dots.
It was supposed to announce on race day at 0700 whether wet suits would be allowed or not. So water temperature was 18 for the day! Wet suits, ON!
Pretty cool though. Our start line was a long line and each had a box of their own so it's fair, everyone starts lined in a straight line! And all of a sudden, we started. I was immediately right at the back. Retarded running see. And the beach was sooooo shallow! So many of them were doing the jumping thingy, throwing yourself out into the water in butterfly style thingy again and again! It was pretty much a monkey see monkey do. When they did that, so did I! And I couldnt' see anything! The first buoy was directly in the
line of the sun! So I just followed everyone. Seriously, blindly. Hoping I wouldn't die. As usual, the swim being the start of the race, I always think, about, why am I doing this. WHy torture myself to drown in the sea!
To my surprise, I wasn't actually left behind all alone! That was my greatest fear looking at last year's timings. And I was with Sissel cuz I recognise her having sleeveless wetsuit. Second loop was much better, cuz I tried not to just follow blindly but look for the yellow buoys and aim STRAIGHT there! Turns out my swim pack was actually with Angie and Sumiko too! Realised that only at the transition area. All bikes gone. The run from the sea to the transition was long and never ending. I took a little long cuz of the wet suit! SO hard to come off. By then, Sissel was far ahead and so was Angie. It took me about half a lap to find my cycling legs and get into the rhythm. It was windy. Caught up with Angie and Sissel and we 3 rode together taking turns drafting. It was really fun! And nice, to be able to draft. The effect of drafting is soooo immediate! Nice to hide behind, rest awhile, drink water, then ALL OUT! I've never all out so much on the bike leg of a tri before!
Probably cuz I was able to have the "rest" behind. Angie was dropped after a bit and left Sissel and me. We worked hard together. I was soooo thankful for her! But she slows down alot at the turns. Me? Not so! Took some risky turns as usual hehe. But more confident on the wheels than previously. So it was all good! It was pretty cool to see the girls peleton zoom by!
But on the 3rd lap they were getting too close for comfort and boy, did I NOT want them to lap me! Altho it was a only out if u're lapped twice thing, I still didn't want to be lapped! So, VROoooooomm engine on! All out! Till I entered my 4th lap then I relaxed and felt real happy! Eat gel! Somewhere at the vroom part Sissel was dropped :( :( :( I was hoping she'll catch :( Which she didnt... So I rode a windy 4th lap on my own. Real slow!
Not too sure where to take out shoes but I did all right :) T2 a little longer cuz you know, socks... The first run loop was bad! It was a little hot then. Most exciting cuz all the others were still running. It was soooo amazing, to be racing beside such pro athletes!
They're good! The USA girl, has amazing legs! Oh my, just look at them! I was happy to have them run bY me! Such an honour! Hard to find that in Spore. By my 2nd loop, the winners were in... 3rd loop was quieter, and 4th loop hardly anyone left. I overtook some ppl tho! Not THAT loserfied hehe :) So I did a 2:22:17! Praise the Lord! Last I did, it was a 2:35:04! Had cold water and isotonic drink immediately after.
All us girls came in under 2:30! Well done man! :)
Hung around with the girls, stealing alot more water. Took pics with the interesting stilt man! And cheered for the guys from the swim to bike transition. Ash's wound split open from the swim :(
Went for massage and ate the packet fruits they were giving out. The butt! I always request for the butt haha. Ate another packet fruits. Then went to watch the guys race. Oh boy I saw the coolest thing ever. The guys first pack came in like about 40? It was SO amazing!
How at such a fast speed, they can dismount and not fall all over the place considering they're so close. And then run to their transition, hook their bikes, slip into their shoes, and out running. SERIOUSLY IT WAS AMAZING!
It's like one big pack, moving thru transition. THEY DIDNT EVEN STOP AT ALL! It's like the pack moved in, then out. I am still, so in awe. It happened again, for the second pack. WOW. After that I went to stand on the stands to watch the guys run their 4 loops. Just look at them! 10km sprint it was! After the first 3 came in Angie and me went to this corner and cheered for everybody. The empty agua bottle came in useful as a clapping / cheering tool.
It was a really hot hot hot day. 30degrees it became! Thank goodness our race ended earlier! It's dry heat! Makes your skin burn without sweating. We were there the whole way till 12+ 1pm cheering for everybody. Saw all the other female athletes change into their bikinis and go sun tanning! Crazy...... Skin cancer......
As we experienced, it got a little quiet towards the end, cuz most ppl left to watch the guy's race for us. And during the guys race, they gave out the prizes before the race even finished for everyone! So, knowing how it felt, we just stood there n cheered for everyone. Tried to do so in all their languages! Chinese for Taipei and Macau, Jap for the Jap, and for our guys too of course! :) We cheered all the way, till the last man finished. Because of that, we made some "friends". They nodded to us / smiled after the race when we saw them ard the apartments or at the closing ceremony :)
They are kinda biased towards Asians. They dont cheer for us. Most. Except for this very nice lady at one of the bends. She's a volunteer also and she never fails to cheer us on EVERYTIME we pass there. We were positioned just at the barrier where she was. And she spoke to us after. Saying how, ALL are the same. Asians / Westerners, First/Last. Everyone's the same. We all swam, biked, ran the SAME distance. Everyone deserves to be cheered on for and encouraged. She was sooo nice! And this old couple joined us. Spainish. She runs marathons / halfs at the age of 50++. She's really nice! She felt that not enough ppl bothered to cheer for the last few so she joined us!
To see Ashley run, was really heartache, and so inspiring. With an open wound, he still biked that 40km, and ran. You should see his face. Ouch. It was so, so, so, very inspiring. On the last lap he even overtook the others! With all the pain and the limp. Zhiyun pointed out, if it was any of us with that wound, we all know, personally, we'll still do the race, till we finish. So no point telling him not to race before that, but just cheer.
Everyone of us finished, with a timing to our name :) It was really bad for the guys cuz the bike was windier, sun was hotter during the run, and and and, THEY RAN OUT OF WATER! :(
After the race, Lemin was feeling cold, Ash was at the medical tent for his foot, and coach actually sprained his ankle! Thank goodness it was POST race! So it was a very injured Team Singapore.
By the time we reached back via the bus and showered and all and ate late lunch, I was soooo hungry. Thank goodness I had a bar in my bag before that. After lunch at 3+ we wanted to visit the supermarket again! So we tromped over, save for the SMU guys. All the little shops were open! Only on a sunday? Hmmm... they were all shut on other days! But...... OH NO! Supermarket was closed! So, we camped at Macs instead. THANK YOU ZHIYUN FOR TREATING US! :) Hearts! :) Got this chocolate cake thingy with melted ice cream on top. (Ice cream machine spoilt) And they serve beer in Macs! Sat there and talked about love and life issues. I like talking to them so much. I love all our conversations over lunch and dinner. Learnt so much. Had so many insights. Also those shared by coach. All about life, sports, love, work etc. It's so nice really :) I haven't had such talks in a group in a longgggg time. Such were the days in tkgs and less so in tj.
Got back and packed the bike with some help from Lemin. Thank goodness for ppl like him! But I did it! Yay! By then, it was wash up and 8pm, report to the bus which took us to Umbrega isit? The Science Centre place. So pretty! It was some sort of bar / outdoor kinda thingy. Some athletes were dressed up. So pretty! Free flow of drinks. So is this how clubbing is like? Found out Angie also hasn't clubbed before! Spoke to some ppl here and there. Made some friends! Caught the first bus back at 2330!
Thank goodness I went out into the balcony at night. The sea was pitch black! The sky was pitch black. And the never ending darkness out there, made me feel so small, and in awe.. In Spore, you see lights across the sea, but not here! Just, black.
I want the real thing
This is an intial update, up till race day for now! :) No pictures, YET! Really beautiful place. Long and boring update. Just my thoughts and how everything went. It's for YOU :)
26 May
Airport: Me alone :( Jiwen called! I feel like I was going Laos all over again! With my faithful addidas sling bag and a bomb bag with all my barang barang.
Plane: Rearranged. Sat beside coach and Angie! Watched Le concert. Interesting show. Hard to hear good music cuz of airplane earphones. Alot of focus on violins anw. Squeak squeak? Nah not my cup of tea... But French! Nice to hear all the French in the airplane! Food was awesome! FISH! GREEN BEANS! MASH POTATOES! BAGUETTE! Baguette was awesome awesome awesome! Really good! Then I went to sleep at 1+am and woke up in and out until 6+ and then took some ice cream and sandwich from the back. Leg stretch! Refused to sit down. Angie woke up and we joined Coach behind talking to this French lady outside the toilets. Pretty interesting conversation on life and work. Live life for the moment, while you're still young.
27 May
Yummy breakfast! Bread bread! Hot chocolate! OOooooo! Orange juice!
Surprisingly our transit allowed us to step OUT of the airport! PARIS AIR! We bought train tix to Paris city centre but only had like 20-30mins of gallivanting around Paris before having to sit the 30+mins train ride back to the aeroport. But it was interesting cuz we got to see the city in the train, and the ppl weren't tourists but normal everyday ppl taking the train to work. People watch! Graffiti is really everywhere! But it's like a work of art! Really nice stuff actually!
We were so worried we were gonna be LATE! Boarding time was 0920 and plane takes off at 1005. We got off the train around 0935? And we did a run/sprint to the terminal. It was REALLY funny! Cuz we were all wearing our track pants n top, carrying TYR bags, and running for our lives. Funny too, cuz we're all "sports" ppl so everyone was able to run for that pretty long stretch without dying. We reached and had difficulty getting in cuz we couldnt find the correct gate and language barrier! In the end, they let us thru another way, and the funniest thing was, flight was delayed for an hr! Found out reason was cuz there was a strike by the air controllers or something. But we all agreed we had fun on our mini run! And Angie's bright pink bike box was so outstanding we could easily spot all our bike boxes loading onto the plane hehe.
Food is so expensive here! Reached Spain. Pretty hot weather! Waited awhile before heading to the university for accreditation. Used Ash's handsome face to get AGUA! MORE! 6 pack! We were only able to reach our accomodation area for lunch at 3+++++pm. Time is 6hrs behind, and if you do the math...... that's a really long time without food. Port Saplaya. It's LOVELY! Words won't do it justice. I took pictures. Will upload. Our balcony overlooks the Mediterranean Sea. LOVELY really.
The girls took one apartment with the guys opposite us. We had 3 rooms with 2 beds each. I roomed with Angie. Kitchen with fridge, washing machine, oven, microwave etc! TV, balcony....
It was sooooo windy and cold on the first day! Food was good tho! Salad boxes with every meal. You must be proud of me, I ate tomatoes! Hehe. And Angie's love for olives! Olive donation box.
After lunch and bike unpacking (for the very first time), we went for a run. It was really cold and windy and took some time to warm up. Fun though! The others must think I'm mad because I was so happy! The area's such a quaint little town. Really surreal! Air is lovely. You don't sweat! And most of all, it was really awesome to be able to run with a group of ppl who're ur speed. HOW FUN CAN THAT GET :) By the time all that was done and dusted, it was 8+ and we had dinner at 9+. The sun only sets at...... i dunno.. 10? at 9+ it looks like it's 7+ and 8+ it's BRIGHT! It rained though and so it was cold....... Bed was immediately after!
28 May
Woke up to see dawn on the horizon of the never-ending sea at 6+. It's bright already! Angie is like a mummy! She scolds and sweeps bread crumbs out the balcony. Oh, we like to kope food from the canteen. Especially the bread! Angie's Bakery. So, got into the wet suit (not bad, with some help from Angie and Zhiyun) and out into the water. COLD, OH SO COLD! It's like when your head goes down, it's so hard to breathe! Toes and fingers and numb! After awhile you get a little more used to it. It was really fun swimming with everyone! So easy to float in the wet suit! And the beach is so shallow for so long. You still can stand even so far away. Wet suit is sooo useful. Keeps the body really warm and nice :)
After the swim, we showered and washed the wetsuits and had breakfast. It's really cool cuz everyone has late breakfast too after the morning workouts! It's really nice cuz when you look out, you either see ppl swimming in wetsuits in the water, going out for a bike ride, or run! REALLY cool :)
After breakfast, we changed, pumped tires and went on our bike ride! The guys brought us out into the streets. Pretty fun though slow going cuz of the cars and the bumpy roads. 1hr into the ride we were gonna head back cuz coach needed our passports n matric cards before the next meeting for more verifications. So strict. We were all very sad cuz it was so short and we wanted to go another loop. But....... guess what?
WE GOT LOST!
So the ride was extended, much much hehe. Round and round all the roundabouts, each one looking the same! Till Commando Liang amazingly led us back! So it was close to 2hrs of riding. Practised transition for sometime and watched how Lemin taught Zhiyun what I learnt just a few days before! Pretty cool to see how the things I learnt can be taught in the step-by-step way, compared to the jump-many-steps way of the sister! (Which I certainly didn't mind the least bit actually) It was late by then. (Getting used to the late lunch and dinner times of Spain)
There're SOOOOooo many dogs in Valencia. All sorts! Big, small, tall, short, skinny, fat, hairy, woolly, long body, short legs... ALL SORTS! And there's dog poo EVERYWHERE! They don't clean them up! It's EVERYWHERE!
After lunch, we went to the supermarket to get our AGUA supplies! Important, most important! I love the company of the team hehe :) We were suppose to rest for 1hr to run at 530. But Angie and me ended up talking. And the guys came over to use our TV. So we went out to watch Giro, but the ads were on the big screen for like 10mins+! From 20km left to 10km........ We thought it'll never end.. the ads that is.
Just as the race ended, and we were suppose to run, Coach came back from meeting and gave us our briefing and race pack stuffs. #35 it will be! By the time it was over, it was pretty late and i was clearly dead beat so I gave the run a miss. Showered, packed my stuffs and did laundry instead. It drizzled again and got really cold and windy.
Everyone was getting nicknames! I like to call Zhiyun as Srene. Pronounced as Zhiyun, said very quickly that's all. As for Sumiko, she became Sums, courtesy of Angie haha! At least it's not Miko or Koko, she says. Angie's full of funniness! And she's like a mummy, so naggy, taking care of me! HAHA. And Sumiko too took care of us, and so did Lemin! Nice ppl :)
29 May
Watched the sunrise today. It was dark reddish orangeish! Really pretty! Went for a run with Angie and she brought me to where she ran with Josh and Ben yesterday, away from the boring looping around the apartments. But cuz of wet puddles from the previous day, we took a different turn. Passed by all the farmland. Vegetable patches. Lettuce! Artichokes? Watermelon patches! Ooooo. Morning glorys dotted the surrounding grass bank leading into the river where we saw many ducks! Familes too! Mummy Daddy and baby ducklings! Sooooo cute! I could just run on forever!
After breakfast it was rest time. We had early lunch. Then brought the bikes down for bike check. Which took only a few seconds. Then headed back up to lie ard a little before meeting at 230pm downstairs for our bike recee route. To the race site we went, and all of us were left guessing where was bike in/out run in/out cuz there was no one to tell us anything and no signs! Point here, point there.... Hmmmmm.... Met Sissel who's from the Virgin Islands and is the only one here! SHe rode with us! THe pace was pretty fast. And after the police ride, the others wanted to go another loop so off everyone went before we could figure out what was happening. Our spore grp was a little broken up so in the end we turned back and followed the car bringing us back. The car was sooooo inconsiderate. They were going SO fast! When we went up this bridge thingy the wind was SOOOOOooooo strong I reALLY felt like I was blown backwards. Hardly moving at all! The winds were really strong most of the way. Seems like that every afternoon/evening! Sailing oh sailing!
Back at about 4+. After showering, it was time to report downstairs at 6pm for opening ceremony. Really nice and amazing! Ppl walking on stilts. Juggler. Dancers were amazing! Dinner was late tho! Thank goodness we, being KS singaporeans, hurried to the dinner area and were among the first, so we could eat earlier (8pm), and get back up to pack for tmr. Only slept at 10!
I was so worried I'll get my thing today. But I've been praying and so have my friends and I kept telling myself to trust in Him! Don't keep going to the toilet to check! Just, TRUST!
God's love never fails. Because come race day morning, no, nothing! :)