Its been a long time since this page has been updated, but some things are worth mentioning here so that it can be remembered. :)

p.s. the prizes are quite decent! Haha. Yay!

everyones on the topic of new years resolution.

havent really thought clearly about mine.
maybe i should try to send an 8a on lead this year. hahaha.
i remember my past years' was to do like 15 pullups or smth. very lame stuff. lol.

oh, and i did finally get a bike.. after waiting for like maybe 6 months. haha.
its not the best baby that i can imagine. hope it grows up fly soon. haha.

i dont really need to resolve to quit drinking or smoking or anything.
nothing too philosophical or abstract either.

although, i think my new years resolution shall be this:
to buy a birthday present for my family this year.
christmas was already a success.. so now its time to do it for their birthdays! :)

over the new year weekend, believe it or not, i spent it climbing from 9-4pm.
almost a full day save for lunch break in between.
we had a mini mock comp on the routes set by the routesetters, in a "World Cup" style..
with big volumes and different moves. plus very very very dificult.
when i say difficult, it really means difficult.

the first day, i got 2 bonuses out of 4 routes.
as i look around me, i see climbers dropping off the walls like flies.
dropping of the 2nd or 3th hold, not the top of the route.
we hardly see that of Open climbers and we really got spanked and owned really badly. haha.
kudos to the routesetters for setting hard shit man. it was really fun climbing those routes.
got to try out whats it like to start ifsc format, with the taping system and stuff, 4 points of contact, etc.
it was abit confusing at first.. but i got the hang of t after awhile.
on the second day, with almost zero skin left, we were at it again, climbing even more difficult routes.
this time i got zero bonuses. haha. hard to think of a time when i got that kinda

there are a few differences between these routes and the ones we usually do.
right from the start, the route is just not easy man.. haha.
starting the route already requires problem solving. and its not as simple as getting up on the starting jug and moving off.
you either have to heel hook or tension or psyche up just to start.
and it gets even harder after that.. haha
theres no more left right left right kinda movements. alot of adjustment and shifting. and definitely as much pull and locking.

over all, i learned alot in those 2 days, more so especially afer being an OW for so long.
got a few take home points that tonde and florian taught us.
thought i'd write it down here so i'll remember.

1) breathe
dont only do this during the crux, but constantly throughout the whole route.

2) focus
age old advice, but sometimes it matters to just put in abit more effort to block out unneccessary things, especially when competing

3) try (really) hard
this is something that had an impact on me. tonde and florian would be always asking us to "never give up" when we're on the route. because that 1 try really matters. that single attempt could get you a final or a podium. so dont ever give up when you're on the route already. ESPECIALLY once youve passed the hard parts. its gonna be a bitch to go thru all that again, so just stay on the wall. keep calm and carry on climbing.
come to think of it, we always tell people to "come on" and "allez" but "never give up" seems different and more compelling. when we say that, we know that we have to make the effort to give our 100% so that success comes eventually. no such thing as sighing and exclaming and just step off the route, but fight through and really DO the route.

4) find new solutions
the routes are always different and especially world cup routes, different from our style of routes bac home. so try to pull out as many beta and solutions that you can think of and use it to work through the route. if one doesnt work and you fall off, use that little bit of info, grasp it in your thoughts and use it to find a new solution.

5) be confident
this brings me to somethings that jensen taught us once... about knowing yourself and ur strength and weaknesses.. plays a part in knowing how well you can climb the route. eg. span or moves or holds.

6) fight until the end
this is for whe after you've gotten the bonus, or simply pass the hard struggling section of the route. same as previous points, dont just leave it as that! stay focus, breathe and COMPLETE the route.

7) climb well
enuff said.

8) have fun
agreed. right now, im trying to take things easy, and not be so intense and all... im climbing only when i feel like it and when i want to, not forcing myself to work on things when im tired or do routes because others are doing and i'll feel like im losing out. just trying to take things as it comes and enjoy the process. i had fun even when i clocked in zero bonuses and couldnt start one route. it didnt bother me that others could and i couldnt... i just let it passed and focused on other things. yea. i kinda like this feeling right now. haha. being a little carefree right now until the situation demands of me to perform, like when im actually doing a route, not the whole notion of competing. if you get what i mean? haha.

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went to nus for their mock comp with TP today and tried to apply what i learnt.
well, its not 100% that i practiced what i learned... but i took home some things.
breathed when i had to, took a break and focused when i needed to. and planned and executed a route withe 100% effort and great success. but then, i also lost focus and let tiredness get to me. i shortcut my planning and didnt think on the route. i made many mistakes, like slips and wrong moves and bad decisions.

but still, im psyched to keep trying to perfect this whole mental process.. as well as physical when i can. i know i lack the power and perfect footwork and strategy. will try to push the standards up when i can too.. haha. we'll see we'll see.

#5: travelling to school instead of staying in hall.

so this being my last sem and due to financial constraints, i left dearest ost alone and moved out of OKR. aww... i'll always miss the convenience ofgoing back to room after trng, or snuggling into my purple covers when it pours crazily in nus. or the random food throwing session into the birthday dude's room. or the late night movie shows we watch on bigscreen in the guys rooms. even the little hthts we have in the room. haha. staying in a double room is the next best thing that happens in nus other than joining climbing. hahha.

anyways, there are times when i totally loathe standing in crowded spaces. so tired, no seat, just dying right there. plus holding on to those white hand holds in the train somehow kills my fingers. maybe i overgrip. lol. plus the need to wake up earlier. urgh.
but somehow, all these small things kinda fade away... i like the times when im just plugged in, stoning or reading my book and keeping to myself. this small part of silence on the train, being in my own world - i like. more time to reflect, talk to God and just be alone. :)

going to school from the east to west is not always as bad as it seems.

#4: studied sociology of deviance in my last sem of school

this is probably the best? module ive taken. or one that i really like, other than psych stats. lol.
really opened my eyes and helped me understand the people and society around me. gave me additional insights as to how things came to be and what influences and moulds the society to be what it is.

really cool mod, with a cool, old-school prof who uses the OHP. hahaha.
didnt get an A for it. but i think i got a B+? haha.
makes me wanna go into behavioral and conduct studies and do research.. but alas no honours. :p oh well..

#2 last IVP season, perhaps the last school netball game i'll play.

this year, IVP didnt seem as awesome as the first time i played.
maybe coz half my mind was in climbing and managing the climbing team.
but still... i enjoyed the trngs and the little team talks and gossips. haha.
and am forever grateful to ms chng who always kept me in mind and put me down to play as the main team.
she gave me the confidence in knowing that i still have what it takes to play competitive.
we got 4th in the end.. :p disappointing lost. so maybe i wouldnt say that this season made my 2011..
(i was disappointed when no one came by RP to watch me play despite the "jio" on blogs and facebook. awww.. it was something that i was proud to be part of and sort of wanted people to recognise my efforts. but.. oh well. haha. its over!)
but its definitely something i'll remember and miss dearly in time to come.

its the first of december!
thought i'd do something different and list 31 things that made my 2011 before 2011 is over. haha.
maybe i'll try to do it as chronological as i can too. so that it flows nice and easy.
plus add some pictures to make it colourful :)

now then, the start of the year always heralds a boulder season,
so what better way to start to then start with:

#1 gravical OW finals
it made my year because: i had really nice photos of it! lol.
it was the beginning of my hopefully permanent "entrance" into open woman finals. haha.
it used to be a dream to be in the finals.
and when im hitting this target every comp, i know im there!
ok, competitive streak aside..haha. tsk. endless leh!