where i had left off..

ok, the continuation on the tkd ivp '07.


since it's been 2 months.. so, my memory and enthusiasm to write have kind of, diminished. but i'll try to complete the story where i had left it..


to cut it short:



the participants sat on a large mat; ee-jang teams in front, sa-jang teams behind. i remembered the ntu tkd coach giving his speech. oh, n he looks more like a netball coach than a tkd coach. -.-"
my team is TP team 2: me, yanning, zai yu and pei yong (reserve).

when TP team 1, consisting of gui wen, catherine, janice and shin rong (reserve), performed, i just couldnt lift up my eyes to see them. ntahlah, mungkin sbb takut nampak mereka buat mistake ke ape ke.... hmmm... i was simply afraid for them.

sementara menunggu tu, me ade jugak ah doa2 untuk tenangkan hati.. berbual2 dgn participants kat sebelah.. (TJC and SRJC, i think).. nervous tu still ada..


akhirnya,


when it was our turn, my mind was set. tak kisah sape2 yg lihat, i just wanted to concentrate. hmm... bila tgh buat pattern tu, in my head, and heart, i sensed that our movements werent the same. and there wasnt enough power. i had the feeling that i was the one who wasnt following the rest. i did try to increase my strength in movement, tapi takut2 dah tak synchronise dgn my team members.

ntahlah, ape nak jadi, jadilah. rasenye pattern tu selesai sekejap sekali. dlm hati, me rase quite puas. that we've done the best that we could, and that we couldnt possibly be the worst team. dalam mase yang sama, me tetap berdoa, that ape pon keputusannye, me tetap tabah and stay calm.

n so... my team failed to go to the next round.

alhamdulillah~ i was suprisingly calm. it was as though i did not care about us not going to the finals..

*ouh, side-track kejap: the first round is automatically called 'the semi finals'. the top 7 or 8 teams will then proceed to the 'final round'.*

sekali lagi, me bersyukur kepada Allah, kerana Dia telah berikan me ketenangan yang sgt2 me harapkan. rase sedih tu ade jugak, tapi pada tahap minimal. yang amat dirasakan time tu ialah rase gembira untuk TP team 1. yeah~ i was happy and proud of them. sbb selama ni, masa trainings, they were like the underdogs. the seniors, even coaches, were kind of pessimistic about them. my team were the so-called 'harapan' untuk menang the competition.

as for my teammates, they were unpleasantly suprised. couldnt quite believe why we got lots of deduction of marks... yang memburukkan keadaan, our instructor/coach pointed out that zai yu was the one who made the obvious, if not most, mistakes. kesian kawan me yang satu tu... kenape mesti diorang point out the mistake cepat2... tak boleh tunggu ke... dah lah time tu tgh sedih sbb tk dpt masuk final, ditambah lagi dgn rase guilty kerana diri sendiri yang menyebabkan kekalahan pasukan.

as for myself, i dont believe that the mistake zai yu made caused our defeat. in my eyes, the two of us (me and yanning) must have also done quite a number of mistakes. plus, i had already seen that some teams performed way better than us. me tak sampai hati ah... that zai yu yang kena blamed..

actually, our performance was recorded in videocam.. tapi sampai sekarang me belum tgk camne performance kite sebenarnye. hmm~

as for the sa-jang teams (both TP teams are guys), TP team 1 got into the finals.

the final result: ee-jang team didnt get any medals. sa-jang team got medals for 4th place. yey!

i dont remember who were the top 3 winners for the two categories. but i know NTU, NP were among them.

anyway, time for pictures!

my team (not in picture: pei yong)

TP team 1 (ee-jang): from left - shin rong, gui wen, janice and catherine

TP team 1 (sa-jang): from left - hafiq, nazrullah (reserve), khidir and thiha

TP team 2 (sa-jang): from left - daniel (reserve), darrel... the other two, i forgot their names *covers face in embarrassment!*

TP team 1. i dont know their pattern name. oh, n they got SILVER!!! woo-hoOo~ from left: si ting, tiffany, kit (reserve) and grace

our coaches: keng boon (pattern), michael ho (main coach) and bryan (sparring)

with michael sir; n pei yong too =) *we're soo short lahh..*

group photo. last day of competition, after prize giving ceremony. with the sparring participants. not all TP tkd people were present. TP got the second place for overall champion. first place? who else if not NTU..

with my parents. hehe.. mereka yang nak ambil gambar.. yelah, bukannye selalu dapat ambil gambar dgn me with my team temasek jacket. ho-ho =p i like this picture~~

for more pictures, go to http://picasaweb.google.com/summit.tptkd

the taekwondo ivp 2007 - my story

note: this piece of incomplete entry was written on 27 march 2007, aroung 12.57pm


i know, i know.. it's been weeks since i wrote 'stay tuned'.. and i apologise if i've kept you readers out there waiting..

the competition was held at NTU sports and recreation center. it was a 3-day event. 1st day - pattern competition. 2nd and 3rd day - sparring competition. the prize giving ceremony was on the last day.

i heard that it is the first time NTU organize this Taekwondo Open.. and i heard other stuff too. from my seniors.. hmm.. su'uz zhon ah... like, how there could've been bias-ness in the judging section. but you know what, i dont really care. maybe im naive of this tkd politics.. but i believe my group's mistakes are the real cause of our loss.

FIRST DAY

i started off the day quite badly. yeah. i was getting nervous by the minute. i asked my parents again and again to pray for me. not just for success, but for calmness, perseverence etc etc.. doa ibu bapa tu mustajab kan?

i was just soo afraid that i might mess things up. if not i, we. or go blank. n then, nak kena ikhlaskan hati.. but mostly, i was nervous coz of the pressure i put to myself. and i actually cried in 969 on the way to school. in broad daylight. *hope that none of the passengers noticed...embarrassing lah!*

even in the coach bus with my tkd friends, i didnt talk. partly because no one sat beside me. another was that i didnt feel like talking. i wanted to just keep quiet. pray. contemplate. think. hope. pray. and my eyes were brimming with tears.

tenangkan lah hati ini, ya Allah~

when we reached the center, straightaway we went to the changing room. fuh~ i like the room! spacious! then, we walked into the waiting area where we saw the teams from other schools - JCs, polys and unis. ade yang pakai school windbreaker.. i like NUS punye colour.. oren and biru.. so refreshing! n NTUnye slogan kt at the back of their windbreaker is 'NTU Spirit' fuyo~~ aku pon naik semangat! *klw gitu, kite pon nak join NTU coz of its sports team, can?*

selalunye, tkde JC yang masuk pattern competition.. but this year, we had TJC, PJC, JJC, SRJC, IJC. ade hwa chong institution jugak. poly - TP, SP, NP. universities - NUS, SMU, NTU, SIM.

n so, tpt waiting area tu crowded ah... available spaces were being used to rehearse the steps.. n occasionally, some institutions shouted their 'lets-put-our-hands-together' cheers.. very the enthusiastic! and loud.

i must say, i was a bit 'jakon' tengok ramai2 org nih... hehe... first time masuk tkd competition lah katekan...

the week before term test

latest update: the tkd pattern poomsae is not on june 17th *huge sigh of relief* it's on 17 july.


here's my term test schedule:

monday 4 june: fundamentals of pathology
tuesday 5 june: molecular genetics
wednesday 6 june: applied immunology
thursday 7 june: csas3
friday 8 june: histological technique



and, would you believe me if i say that some people only have 1 term test paper? yeah, you should. and some people have 6 papers.

it's quite relaxing, this week. coz some subjects got no lecture, no practical... so i can study peacefully. but so far, my progress is very slow..

i really want to do well, but seeing my quiz 1 results (fpath: 17.5/25, htech: 16/25, aimm: 26/30), hmmm... i must work super hard.. haiz~ penat betul bila pikir pasal pelajaran ni..

oh well..



let's talk about something lighter, shall we?

im happy to say that i now know how to use adobephotoshop. heh. =p

it's a big deal to me, ok? sebab dah berzaman me cuba nak fahamkan terms dan tools yang ade kat situ. leceh betul! alhamdulillah... sekarang ni, ade jugak skills.. before adobephotoshop, i used (still using, occasionally) the gimp, another picture-editing programme.

here are some of my 'works':

above is one of my earliest works.. cant remember whether it was from photoshop or the gimp. from the design, nampak sgt yang me ni beginner, ye tak? but i still like this picture..

this one is from the gimp. yep. actually, there's an original one: purple/dark pink background, golden yellow border and letters.

this was from the gimp too, i think. at that stage, dah tahu gunekan two colours for background, rather than one solid colour. and, main2 dgn aligning words..

this is one of my favourites.. from photoshop.

above is one of the two NI namecard samples that i've done so far. it's damn simple, which is not so... professional looking. hmm... got lots to improve. oh! did you notice the brush on the right side of the namecard? it's quite faint..

ok, i guess that's all for now.

i'll be writing another entry soon!

26 & 27 May 2007

typing this.

finished school early today. 2pm plus.. but too bad, cant go home, coz later have ELF meeting at 6pm. alahai~~

anyway, new academic year is here... so there was a recruitment drive (3 days) for all the CCA groups... tkd had to share a booth with the rock-climbers and track&field people... ish! ujian betul... rijal2 melayu.. ergh! at first, i was enthusiastic to 'jaga' our part of the booth ar.. but after the first day.. terus me tk jaga lagi.. tk selesa ah. jenguk2 occasionally je..

elf plak, we got one bench to ourselves.. whee~~ n we won the best booth award! (err.. actually, im not sure of the exact award name ah... i think we won because of best decoration)

the outcome?

tkd - ramai pelajar melayu yg sign up. lelaki lebih ramai... semua beginner. yang perempuan nye... mmm... satu brown black belt, lagi satu black belt (whoOOoo). yg black belt tu kecil je orangnye. sungguh deceiving. heh. the rest are beginners.

elf - ramai jugak budak applied science yang diterima masuk. several classmates and coursemates and ASmates... hmm.. no comment.

oh, n did i mention that i got to interview people?? it was during the last day of ELF interview sessions (3 days) for applicants. mcm best gitu.. see how people react, trying to assess them but at the same time analyse and understand why they react this or that way (yelah~ kite pun pernah diinterview per... takkan nak act bossy/know-it-all/intimidating kan..)

last but not least, i've signed up for tkd pattern poomsae (ntah, i dunno what it means, or how to spell it) in the single category. cheh~ mcm betul je aku nih! and it's on 17 june. LESS THAN A MONTH! wah, die! another friend also signed up. in the same category.. so i guess im not alone. hmmm... doakan ye?

ok, ok... enough of the cca updates!

now, let me brief you about my subjects for this semester:

1. fundamentals of pathology

pathology means the study of disease. this subject is via e-learning. maknenye, takde lecture, takde hands-on practical. only occasional online discussions (msn chat) and face-to-face tutorial. lecture notes are provided online.

but i like the subject. first, coz of the teacher (dr. khin mar mar - PhD you! jgn main2) and the contents =)

kat sini lah kite belajar the terms for diseases... why certain diseases/abnormalities/disorders come about, the mechanism, the morphology/appearance etc etc. the best part for me is when i understand how the infection/problem actually happens, then am able to link it with the hints of symptoms/diseases... interesting!!

2. histological techniques

histology means study of tissues. only +/- 50 students yang belajar subject ni. BMT students. the lecturer is the same dr. khin =) we learn how to fix body tissues so that it wont deteriorate... tapi bukan mummification tau! tu lain.. then, dip the fixed body tissues in alcohol, xylene, wax.. then do a tissue block (a small piece of tissue inside, in the middle of, a small rectangular block of hard wax. then, microtomy (cut the tissue block super thin!) then staining (at the end, the nucleus appears blue, the cytoplasm appears pink)

basically, kite belajar camne nak kekalkan shape and komposisi cell for a long time.. for example, klw orang tu sakit barah, kite check sel barahnye. camne? ambil a tissue sample, do all the above, then baru boleh tgk under the microscope. something like that ah..

3. applied immunology

we learn more in-depth about how our body protect itself. wow! subhanallah~~ mmg amazing ah bile pikir2... punyelah complicated processes yang ade dlm badan kite nih! yang kite tahu cume jatuh sakit, makan ubat, pulih. sekarang me dah boleh imagine ape sebenarnye yg tgh happening bila me sakit, or injured..

4. molecular genetics

ni lagi amazing! tak tahu ape nak cakap!

anyway, we learn about heredity, some principles, genes, DNA, RNA, chromosomes, replication/tanscription/translation, gene expression.... all in-depth! mmg belajar detail2 ni membuatkan kite bertambah faham dan appreciative, tapi bila masuk part exam... aiyo! banyak sgt lahhhh yg kena tahu. boleh jadi pening!

sebenarnye, i have a wishful thinking... to major in genetics one day... tapi tgk ah camne... if my interest still lives 4, 10, 15, 20 years later.

5. communication skills for applied science 3

we learn research skills... especially when it comes to getting the right resources... wah, boleh tahan TP ni! our library + database resources are... well, mcm more than enough gitu. (to me, lah...) then, the usual referencing, plagiarism... at the end of the semester nanti, nak kena buat research report.. but in groups.

6. cross disciplinary subject

my cds this semester is french language and culture.

needless to say,

im loving it! =)

---------------------------------------------

okay... i think that's all for my school updates.

my social life?

urgh, forget it.

takde update. basically, my life revolves around my school.

mMmMmMMmm...

oh, btw, my tutee failed her arabic exam. im saddened by it.. ntah eh... i need to work harder. find the right channel, mechanism, to impart my knowledge to her.

and i still would like to own a laptop. materialistic me!

je suis présente!

feels good to write here again. though i was a bit reluctant.

i went to fashihah's blog just now.

she withdrew from kuis???

wow.



i wonder where you're studying now, fashihah.... anti tulis kat blog anti yang sekolah anti tu jauuuuhhh nah... mmm jauh sangat ke..? klw gitu, kite tak dapat nak jumpe lagi 2, 3 tahun??


=(

walaupun kite tak rapat, ana sedih jugak ah tak dapat nak jumpe anti... sedangkn kawan2 kt malaysia pon ana tk dapat jumpe bila mereka sedang cuti.


hmmm.... what i've been up to?

nothing much. just go to school, learn something, back home, watch tv, print notes, cca, adobe photohoshop, meetings. yeah. quite mundane.

but, but!

yesterday i got to watch spiderman 3 avec mon frère et ma soeur (with my brother and my sister). wah, wah, wah!! two thumbs up. and tobey looks especially good-looking with his fringe - and black suit. (not the black spidey suit, ok... im talking about the suit he wore when he took gwen to the diner/bar) oops! hehe..

and....

there's an open house event at madrasah al-maarif this saturday... a friend of mine said there will be bazaar and tour around the school. nice!

concurrently, there's qiyamullail at alsagoff, n im happy to say that i'll be helping out. err... as a facilitator?? hmmm... whatever lah.. yang penting, me dapat jumpe ust sakinah and adilah. woo Hoo~~ sape2 lagi yang pegi eh..

btw, if you're wondering, the main picture in this layout: lyrics from the song Vois Sur Ton Chemin, one of the beautiful songs from the french movie Les Choristes (The Choir). i had been wanting to watch the movie ever since it was launched.... bertahun2 yang lalu ah... then, as i was flipping through my french workbook, i saw the 'movie screening' part... and i saw the word 'les choristes'. obviously lah kan, the dvd/vcd is in the school library.

punyelah sukeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr diri nie bila discover that the cd is within my reach! ape lagi...





and so, j'aime Les Choristes =)

afterwards, i borrowed the soundtrack. aiyo~ tak puas2 si liyana nih!

the soloist's voice is just so.. angelic, melodious.. bagai buluh perindu. betul! namanye Jean-Baptiste Maunier. physique nye pon.... subhanallah~ suara ade, wajah ade... *sentence left hanging* there's also one character 'pepinot'... budak yang lakonkan watak tu pon.. cute!

klw nak tahu cerite ni tentang ape, go and google, or yahoo, 'les choristes' yourself. thanks!






this is the real choir group behind Les Choristes. they are from Les Petits Chanteurs de Saint-Marc.

click here to listen to another song from the movie, n this time there's a solo part by jean-baptiste.