A brief look back at FES '04 for NP Njd

Met up the whole bunch of them for a short while on Sunday for perf preps. Had Mad Jacks for lunch yet again. Seems like whenever there is a significant number of Njd ppl, we will end up having food there! Time for a membership card to that place!!
Helped Mark Lim and Dawn source for materials and made their performance nunchuckus for their "NKK" :) routine for upcoming performance. The end results of the weapon was not too neat but we were short on time. Some touching up will be in order.
After everyone left, went to see Crazy Stone, a PRC movie, at PS. Nice show! Plenty of comedic moments, competent acting and a wackily interesting plot and pace, only bad thing is that it's abit heavy on the accent. Had to read from the subtitles 90% of the time even though I got used to conversing with Chinese nationals back in my wushu days.

Perf practise started. Can't be in a more dreadful form after 2 weeks of slacking, non-existence exercise and fatty food from the US trip. I will train hard to salvage whateva strength and stamina back. But judging from Monday and today, It will be a long curve again. But I'm extremely pleased today. Attendance was almost perfect. No one fly kite and everyone trained quite seriously esp Ryan with his non-stop practising of jumping kicks.
Compared to the previous 2 perf training, it's a godsend! And that might be an understatement. Now if only they can ESS perf training. Other wise known as Eat Sleep Shit. But for now juniors.....give yourselves a pat on the back for a good first time!

Hopefully the atmosphere and crowd will be as supporting as the first perf back in 2004 at Far East Square. But whateva the case, we will train to be as, if not more successful than the first one. A few pic from that night:



The then juniors of NUS wushu doing the Ji ti Ben bu tang lang (Group Praying Mantis)


NUS wushu seniors (Royston, Weiquan, Runzhou, Zuming, Shaoxiong, Guanghao and Peilei) makes a comeback.... Performed something they only like practised a few days before the actual day. Exponents of real substance.


Plenty of other wushu clubs and schools attended too. Including NYGS which like brought their entire team with them. Pictured here is their Ji ti Jian shu. (Group Sword play)


Wenqiang does a nice turning to the sugarcane.


Hanloon experiencing some airtime courtesy of Raymond.


Act seh pose of the century. hah... not used to seeing me in white are u?? Well I still prefer that Gi.


Final line up before bow and exit.



After performance group shot. Too bad not everyone was there though. We Njd ppl are the white group to the right.


And what's a perf without a good ol' celebration stack at the end?

Rushing through Katas

Felt really paiseh to fly kite on Wilson. Dun usually do such stuff when I gave my word. Sorry Wilson, for the transport matters and being unable to help in the SMU Environmental forum this weekend.

Not much choice since I was told last minute that I had to learn 3 SETS of Kata before Grandmaster Carter Wong arives in Singapore on Friday. And before that, all weekdays will be spent either coaching the juniors in the upcoming perf or in their physical reshaping after their exams weeks. Not to mention only Dickson will be free to train me on Wednesday. Which is very nice of him by the way.

Now the question is....How the hell am I going to learn 3 WHOLE sets of Katas in just one evening??? And since I'm no longer a junior colour belt, the scrutinization will be worse during the grading, which will cost me $200!! Was always poor in memory work. I'll just have to learn what ever I can. Maybe just memorising the steps and not perfecting the moves and stances but that is challenging enough already. This is bad. If not for the grandmaster's rare visit, I will confirm skip this grading. I always preach good stance in Kata, not to mention discouraging rushing through training. Now I'm doing it myself.

Not to mention other piorities and problems I have yet to deal with, if I know how to handle in the first place. This whole weekend will be totally burnt training and entertaining the grandmaster. Not that I do not like training. It takes my mind off things for a while. But for a while.

Sorry for the depressing post.
There are more chaotic times but this is not far off.
So much shame, dishonour and guilt in my actions of late. What is happening to me.
Can I say Help?
No I dun wish to. I cannot.

Addidas MA Shoes

Finally!! Got the Addidas Martial Arts shoes I always wanted after a year of procrastination and saving up.
Was deciding if I wanna go for the ordinary pattern one for $60+ or the $40 Johore imitation which I saw on Friday's trip or the Liang Seng's exclusive but super ex version.
In the end, my wallet hated me more, even with Jinzhou's 25% bdae discount!



Yeah Happy Bdae to our Lau "Baby" Yiehui! May you remain cute as ever!
You can refer to Cat's page for more refernce to Baby's day!!

Stepping Down

Tonight I finally made the momentus move.
I stepped down as EXCO and HR Dept Head of ECO.
It isn't totally official yet but I made it known to Wilson.
It really hurts to do it since it has been a part of me since 4 yrs ago when a small but significant group of poly student decided to gather and start an organisation. And what an organisation it turned out to be. With much thanks to Wilson himself.

Still. I got to go. My lack of commitment recently has been a bane to ECO's smooth running and growth. And I'm very sure that it's still in good hands with people in my Team HR. Namely: Minghui, Zhihao, Yinzi and Janelle. You guys and gals are the best comm I had in quite awhile. With so much energy and enthusiasm helping me out with the volunteers, you guys are great!
So ends a significant chapter in life.
This hasn't been too great a yr with things leaning on the depressing side but I will get over it. I always do.

Rewrapping of the Sword

Took down my Ninja Sword from the top of the book shelf on Saturday. It's time for it to swing out of aesthetic retirement for a while. Still a little bit undecided if I should do this. Awww. what the heck...Sword kata performance at JZ wedding it will be!

But first it looks like a little maintenance is in need:


The badminton racket handle tapes that previously sticked on to replace the original cloth ones seems to be corroding away. Makes a mess of the floor just by touching it.

After short trip to the nearby Queensway shopping centre for supplies:

And this was the results! So far badminton grips are the most suitable... spongy, grippy, not to mention nice colour and designs can be found too.
My current one is not done very well but I only need it to last till the end of the performance, after that, I shall find a better replacement and actually spend some time to perfectly wrap the handle.

Jet Lag killed a Sunday

Back!

Just in time for Zuming's (aka big fat whale)bdae.
Woke early on Saturday morning to see if I can get any ideas for Zuming and so many other ppl's present. Went Artfren, Ikea and other places for handycraft ideas. Might even do up a handmade one if appropriate.
Had a nice lunch at a chinese restaurant near funan centre with the Wushu seniors, Zuming, Junxiang, Yihan, Geoffrey. Kaoz. Since baby was not there, I'm the youngest of the lot! Good to see that their Masters or PhDs studies have not messed up their brains too much.... Still as wacky as ever.

Thought I would not be affected by Jet lag cos I dun sleep much anyway. For those who do not agree, please refer to the rather unsightly and sometimes psychotic looking eye bags of mine. How wrong was I on the jet lag part. Today I actually slept all the way till 6PM!!! And would have continued to do so if my parents did not wake me for dinner! Was more tired than I actually felt. Perhaps it's due to the drawn curtains and the air-conditioning, which I next to never use, my body thought it was still night time! Totally dark and cooling, I chose the totally light proofed curtains for this new flat for torch testing. Din know it will serve another purpose!

Apologies to the wushu family, Weixin and Derrick for the unexpected kite flying. Was so disappointed that I lost my sunday in such unproductive manner.
At least I got to meet Derrick for dinner and shared some plans for the performance at Jinzhou's wedding. Everything is good to go with most of the plans drawned up. For it to be a successful one, we only needs one more essential item: the heart of the performers. Not literally so since there wun be any organ removing ritual at JZ's wedding. I just hope everyone will be able to commit in it wholeheartedly after the exams to prevent some horrific historic events from repeating itself like:

Cineleisure performance 2005:









Notice that the picture seems abit underexposed? Well they are not!! They were in hell awaiting purgatory!! ARggh!!!
Ok maybe not, but the outcome of the performance in the end was nothing too far from that.






Moving on to lighter things....
Saw a couple of stuff in Toa Payoh:





C'mon...Steel? Aww man....

















Not a very auspicious way of decorating the front door....esp this month!

Cont..NJ/NY Rants

Ah...the luxuries of life! So far both Holiday Inn Hotels I checked into have free unlimited internet access! And the speed is quite decent too! "Not glacier molasses-speed dial up" as described on the room key card. At least something to keep me occupied while I spend half a day holed up in this hotel in Clinton NJ as it's damn remote from anywhere! Not the best way to spend the day before my training starts tomorrow for the next 3 days. Esp not when the director and co from Japan is also here in US!

Well there is quite a big wal-mart 15-20 mins walk from here which I visited earlier today. Finally saw the new generation of Maglites with the 3 watt LEDs. Was tempted to buy some really good quality trekking boots that was going for really dirt cheap prices but what the heck, dun feel like hauling them back to Singapore. They were well made but the weight is the tradeoff. Also tempted by the Kershaw knives and some archery equipment( hand guard, carbon arrows..) for my brother but since I believe he already got all the equipment he wanted. (esp when I already overspent by a hundred dollars in NY yesterday!). Ended up only purchase Kill Bill vol 1 DVD. Considered to be among the top ten of my list of most entertaining shows but too bad, it's banned in Singapore. Dunno why vol 2, which is just as violent, is not. Hopefully it's not confiscated. Owning Vol 2 without 1 just seem so incomplete!

Also notice no one in this entire area walks! There's practically no pavement. Everyone drives! All the drivers must have thought I was some illegal as I walked to and fro the supermarket. Must admit that I was damn lucky that the weather was VERY good for the past 2 days that I was here. Even the company rep that was sent to pick me up today said that they dun get such weather in August. Thank you whoever is upstairs then. I got enuf on my mind already, all this really helps to facilitate my first visit to US.

Visited like practically the entire lower half of Manhattan yesterday. On foot! Walked my b*lls off! Dun wanna spend too much on transport and wanted to see more anyway. Finally got to see all the famous buildings that I read so much about in Primary sch when I was collecting Spiderman comics. Tried not to spend too much but the shopoholic in me just went loose! But it's all worth it except maybe the Empire State Building. Felt too expensive just to get a view. Can't believe I actually paid more to go up to the higher level, just like Tokyo Towers last yr. The hassle of waiting/queuing was not really worth it too. Did not make it in time for the ferry to Statue of Liberty but it's ok, been to plenty others. Let's just hope I still can remember the details when I finally post the pics. Almost used all the capacity in the 128mb XD card borrowed from Cat. Thanks! NY is one hell of a tourist driven state on the weekends with gift shops at every corner and not to mention the makeshift ones along the streets. Bought a few things here and there but the major purchase comes from a certain shop just as I was about to return to my hotel for the evening. Ashamed to say, it's yet another Surefire flashlight! Heh...more on that later...

The Falconz's first flight to the US!

Ok.... arrived in Hotel after that super long 19 hours flight....Never stayed or sat in one place that long before. But then again, I'll not exactly in one place, I was moving over the pacific ocean. Fortunately there's lotsa in-flight on demand movies. Watched: MI:3, Over the Hedge, Ice Age II, Top Gun and Singapore Gaga. Wanted to see more like the classic Stephen Chow's fight back to school, one of my childhood favourites, but was too drowsy due to the food and continuous eye strain from staring at the LCD 20 inches from your face! Other stuff kept me occupied too like planning the details of the Dec performance too. Somehow, travelling alone is kinda therapeutic and less stressful too. Not to mention the comforts of SQ flights. Compared to the previous airlines I've taken in the past, there is a noticeable difference. No wonder the hefty price tag then. Also a good time to clear my head of certain stuff as Weixin said. You're almost right, but things ain't that that simple.
Will update with pictures when I get back!

A Visit to RP's wushu!

Still into the habit of gatecrashing various training grounds! Guess I'm not out of it yet huh? Well maybe more of a guess this time with Weixin as my tour guide around RP which I see has yet to be completed yet.

Went down Republic polytechnic (Woodlands campus) for the first time on Sunday to meet Weixin who is now part of the wushu club there. "A world of difference" will still be an understatement if the phrase was used to compare the old and new campus.
This reminds me, just met iskandar on sat night as Christine and I were slacking in Starbucks Cathay. Seem like he is now studying in RP too! Wah why the sudden influx! And doesn't he already have a biotech dip from NP already?

The main purpose of going there is to train together with the RP wushu ppl but ended up slacking and watching the talented kids from Wu Fang (some of which are former associates from JTCC) training for the upcoming National Competition under the guidance of the RP coach (former nationa team coach, and the one who performed the Guan Dao so inpressively at the National Wushu Display at the indoor stadium last yr). Friendly guy but never tok much to him. Coach Xingru was there too but guess she don't recognise me liao. Too bad her bro was not there but I dun expect him to be. Been quite awhile since I seen him do Martial Arts since NUS days. Must be Mediacorp draining him away!! Heheh....
They have their own frigging Di Tang!!! That $20K di tang!! Well at least we dun have to sweep up the fur after every traing.....But I still Want a Di Tang for training!!!

After that, helped Weixin's PRC fren to carry groceries back to the hostel there. Pretty brand new and breezy. Nice view too!



Also got to shoot a few hoops to relax at the new basket ball court. Haven touched a basket ball in like ..........12yrs! Suddenly gave me a feeling that I was back in Sec 1! Nostalgic stuff!

Ended the trip with dinner at Causeway pt where Weixing bought a deck of Jet Li pictured poker cards at Comics connections. Wah really wushu siao! He was expecting the cards to have some wushu poses of the man himself. Turned out all the cards are pictures of various versions of Jet Li's smiling faces!
"the Li Lian Jie poker cards makes me feel like a gay" was his comment. It's hard not to agree.

Donnie Yen's DTG

Met up with my Wushu pals Guanghao, Peilei and Weiling together with Ninjado juniors namely Derrick, Victor with his gf Kangling, and our dear Weixin (who has gone to RP to study Biomed since switching campus) to watch Long Hu Men at Plaza Sing, one of my fav gv branches and shopping malls since even before it was renovated. Actually I liked the old PS pre-facelifted days. But more on that another time.

The show is yet another one of the cliche, super predictable hong kong gongfu comic adaptation to screen. Not much of plot and heavy on ego and action. Still.....I enjoyed it!!! Why?:

1) I did not want to waste my $$ away so I set my expectations low so that it will not disappoint from a relative point of view.
2) It really helps when I'm a Donny Yen fan!! Haha!! And that's only the reason why I paid for the tix anyway!!

The whole show is chocked full of DY's act seh poses, which by the way never seems to change since the days of the Jing Wu Men serial! And as with his every show be it hollywood or Hong Kong, there must be a scene with him fighting with a long weapon, even though it's not that significant this time round. Good effort on the other two(Shawn Yue and Nicholas Tze) who manages to fight convincingly on screen but then again, movie magic can also make Yong Beng seem like Sammo Hung. Still did not like Nicholas Tze though, wished someone else was casted instead. Would make the show all the more watchable. But that's just me.

One more thing, I believe the bad guy in the show must have been ripped off pretty badly by his contractor who built his place. C'mon....the floors and walls crumbling under mere human weight? Even parquet look more sturdy!!

Mayday! Finepix is down!

Oh no!! My dear little digital camera is down!!
Dunno where to repair it, and the cost might not be justifiable.
But I more xing tong cos it's partly a bdae gift many years back(when 3.2 megapix is considered very good!) Anyone out there have lobang for a cheap 3 megapix camera to recommend?

Already spent like 4K+ over these 2 months for various repair and replacements..Chalk one up to the list!
Guess this blog will have to go without new pics for the time being!
But I always wanted to post old photos some even before this blog exist. This is the time!! Watch for it!!

9 days to NJ and NYC!!!