wimblelympics.

2005-11-17T08:55:00.000-08:00

hello all, i'm here to make this blog ALIVE! revive this stagnant blog! ahahaha, new skin! TENNIS! :) however, i'm currently nursing a torn ligament! isn't it GREAT? sigh. ANYHOWS, hahaha, JEAN! you better start updating too okay! remember, mass catching, thursday, friday! hahaha, OKAY SET! STEADY POM PEE PEE! x)

much tennis love!
siyi! :)

yipee

2005-06-10T01:42:00.000-07:00

okay! i changed the layout! eh! i like it! its so nicee! (:

i want first, don't you know?

2005-04-03T06:28:00.000-07:00

cross country puts things in different perspective when you look back and reflect.

cross country is a race, yes, its a race thats very different from shortdistance running. it involves stamina, perseverance, speed, and most importantly, proper preparation. the race is a long distance run of over 3.2km, mostly involving stamina and perseverance and endurance. but the speed? it comes in at the last part. if youve ever watched professional races(olympics, grand prix), and the runners are about 200m from the finish line, they pick up their speed and open up their steps, leading them into a stride. they stride for a good 100m before pumping every last bit of their strength into that last 100m and then sprint to the finish line. thats where speed comes in. i think i was lucky enough to have caught sarah and lydia soo cross the finish line. for those who didnt catch it, lydia was really really close behind sarah. maybe just about 20cm behind her? the difference in their timings would have been 0.1second. sarah won, yes. lydia came in 2nd. twins that come in 1st and 2nd. doesnt it amuse you? i dont know, but i want to point out some things about this set of twins.

1) anyone would see the disappointment on lydia's face when the race finished. and it was amazing to see both of them sprint their hearts out as they crossed the finish line. though not tgt, it was an amazing effort. that kind of determination in their eyes really really motivated me. they just ran past the finish line, record time, i hope. it kind of shows me tht without that kind of determation and attitude they would have never ever finished tht race. it was an amazing race for them, definitely. bcos they got the top two, and bcos they ran tgt, two people whom are so close to each other. im going to suspect tht they werent among the top in the beginning, but picked up and eventually won. maybe theyre not like vishnu, she can remain in the top few from beginning to end. without any perseverance they might have lessened their strength, their speed, and their determination, maybe shrinking down to a 3rd or 4th place. but they chose not to! nope, you could see the happiness in their eyes for coming in first, although they were fighting for 1st place.

2) they are what i would truly call the underdogs. netballers, but no one expected them to come in first and 2nd. who were the few i really thought would win? sharmila, jesslyn, camille, cheryl. never did the slightest thought of sarah and lydia winning cross my mind. amazing isn't it? when they crossed the finish line, i immediately assumed it was jesslyn and camille or something. but it wasn't! that's what shocked me. and i just gaped in literal awe at them. secret training, maybe. but they trained, nonetheless. and they won! jesslyn and camille trained too. i trained too. cheryl trained too. but in the end we didnt get 1st. proves we didnt train enough. jesslyn is our... almost determined all the time victorious long distance runner. so is vishnu. and camille. these sorts of people. but it proves that sometimes underestimating who you're running against will crush you. i never thought it would have been sarah and lydia.

3) when i ran at macritchie for trng the other saturday, i was overjoyed. i finished the route, and even though it was just trng, i finished it first. and thats what pisses me off so much. knowing i could finish the race, but i didnt. knowing i could have come it first. but i didnt. its the pain of knowing that what could have been yours just isn't. and i owe it all to one thing. cos i just noticed it. when i ran the first part of the route during xcountry, there wasnt any pain in my knee at all. my shoes were coming loose, they were coming off, seriously. no one is going to wait for you to tie your shoe lace, why try asking? (right, vanessa? ahaha.) i stopped the first time, giving up my first position for a while. bent down to tie my shoelace, cldnt stay for too long. strided until i was up beside patricia and adela, cos vanessa just sprinted quite a bit up alrdy. knwing i was capable of catching up with her later on, i decided to pace pattie and adela. LATER ON, my shoe threatened to come off again. so having no choice, i had to bend down again. thats when i heard it. the crack. that bloody crack in my knee. thinking it was nothing, i stood up and continued running. (thanks, juls, for coming to my aid! (: ) about 10m later my knee collapsed. my knee didnt even hurt before that. but then suddenly it just crumbled. and it hurt like mad. i was on the floor and i cldnt even stand up and walk properly. and you knw what? no proper preparation. why didnt i check my laces before the race? if my laces were tied tightly, i wldnt have knelt down, my knee wldnt have cracked, i cld have gotten SMTH. but no, i didnt prepare. at that time, i was so tempted to pull of my shoes and run. who gave a shit abt my shoes, i just wanted to finish the race and finish it first. i really was. i think my hands were about to reach down to pull them off when my knee gave way. i COULDNT continue, no matter how much i wanted to. and then to go back to the tent, race unfinished, seeing the disappointed faces of SO MANY PEOPLE, i really had no idea that people thought i would win that much. it just added to MY disappointment. but it made me realise that its only cos i didnt prepare properly. something as small as my shoelaces destroyed my whole run. cos i didnt check. i didnt make sure. i didnt persevere, i didnt endure, and to my GREAT GREAT DISAPPOINTMENT, i didnt get to do what would have been my most favourite and the part that i excel in the most. i didnt get to sprint.

but in the end, i learnt that it was due to my carelessness, my unwillingness to care abt wht caused my failure. in the future i will have to be more careful. and i will make up for this race. and last years. next year and the year after that's cross country are MY years and MY races. dont touch them, ill be winning them.

bravery

2005-03-29T03:09:00.000-08:00

Helloo people! (: okok! im inspired today! so i shall write about...

What makes a champion

smss tennis gals! we're playing mgs on thurs! mind you thats only 2 days away(: how do you feel? I know I'm scared. I know. I play like crap whenever I'm scared. And yes, I have been playing like crap. And with every stroke that sucks, I just got even more and more upset. I started feeling soars all over my body and everything. So stupid right? But its true. Pressure and fear can do all these weird and insane things to you.

It was not until after training. That I sort out my thoughts. I knew I couldn't walk onto the court playing like this on thurs. It was roadkill and I'm not ready to let my team down. So, I decided that I really needed to do something about it. So, when training ended, I told rachel, grace and hannah to go home first. I wanted to stay back to play some more. My shoulder was really killing me and I think I hurt my wrist, but I didn't care. All of that wasn't important. I was only thinking about my match against mgs. How I was going to play.

Strangely, I played fine. Better than fine. I played rather well. Heitung, who admitted that she hadn't been performing well during training, played great as well! I found it extremely nerve-wracking. I was thinking about the same thing: the match against mgs. what was so different about how I felt about it just now and how I feel about it now?

Nothing. I wanted to win. That was it. I knew I had to do this for my team. It wasn't how I felt about mgs. The problem was how I felt about myself.

There are two ways people can handle this problem:

1) They can pressurize themselves into playing super well on that day. they can pray they make no mistake on that day.

2) They can be determined to do nothing but their best. To have lots of fun. And just go out there and play.

Which do you pick. i pick the second.

Go out onto the court. Be great. Be yourself. Because its the best thing in the world. Come out without any regret. Just go and have fun. And do your best.

my heart won't crumble

2005-03-24T02:42:00.000-08:00

No matter what happens...
When the sun shines down on me...
Or when the rain is beating my back...
My dream won't stumble...
My heart won't crumble...
It'll take more than a loss to bring me down...
Try harder...
Cause I'm only going one way...
And that's up...

c div don't give up! we'll try harder next time! we'll get a trophy this year you guys (:

2005-03-20T04:50:00.000-08:00

something that happened just TWO SECONDS AGO.

i saw the door open and i looked up. i didn't care, my brother's friends, who gave a shit? but then i looked again, just to double check. i don't know it sounded like you. and yes, it looked like you. and then suddenly my heart started beating faster, i think i started blushing. i think i might have fainted. after all, it has been around 2 months since i've last seen you. don't know if you've changed. then you came closer to the door, same hair, same style, same clothes. closer, and closer. then dammnit, you came into the light, only it wasn't you. it was just someone who looked like you. then my heart sank. i really thought it was you. but it wasn't. just another one of his friends. bleh. but i thought i didnt like you anymore. maybe it turns out that i still do.

2005-03-20T03:31:00.000-08:00

maybe it's never occured to me that criticism does play a part in one's life. That is, only if you listen. Yes, maybe sometimes you think it's not really that big of a deal, but if you think about it, when someone says "you suck" or "you can't play la, just give up." That sense of complete dejection and demoralisation sinks in you and you can't play properly. That or you just feel more motivated to trash that insensitive asshole. I realised, that for me, it took two times to understand. See, my brother laughs really loudly when he wins a point, and that is REALLY loudly. And it really pisses me off. But even so, when i win a point i don't do anything. And then everytime he laughs, i just want to smack that ball in his face so bad, his eyeballs drop out of his sockets and his nose bone breaks into two, and his teeth fall out and he swallows them, chokes and dies. However i know that's never going to happen. Because my brother is better. I don't deny! It's the truth. But the thing is when i get motivated instead of dejected and defeated, I play better. The strokes become more and more consistent, and soon enough, you're winning the game. and then your brother can't laugh anymore and you don't wanna disfigure his face. Your just really proud of yourself, for not listening to his criticism and just focusing. Focusing, and then winning. Your really proud that you didn't listen to him, and let him completely destroy your game. Your really proud that you didn't listen to him, and know that you won't listen to him anymore. Then you can laugh at him and say, "you stupid bugger. Laugh your head la." (That might not be what you would say, but it is what i would to mine. x) ) And then cackle like a mad scientist.

Never shift your focus. Focus and determination come hand in hand. You must focus on your aim, your goal, and then be determined to make it happen. Effort and perseverance fall under determination. Determination means you will do anything to get what you want. If your determined to eat ice cream, you'll walk away from the computer right now and walk to 711 for some. If your determined to do your homework now, you'll walk away from the computer and do your homework. IF your determined to beat your opponent, you'll do ANYTHING and EVERYTHING just to do so. You'll train from 6am- 10pm(highly unlikely though.i would. but ive never done it. but i would.), you'll research your opponents, you'll watch their games, you'll go to the gym, you'll run 10km, you'll practice with the wall when you can't find a partner, you'll do just about ANYTHING just as long as you can defeat your opponent. That's what determination is. If you're not determined, you're nothing.

I'm damn determined, i don't know if you are.
But i sure am. And when you're determined, sure as hell, NOTHING, is going to stand in your way.

2 important factors

2005-03-15T20:29:00.000-08:00

My loss today, has given me a spark of inspiration to write about Passion:

Okay, if you have visited my blog, you would have known that I had lost my match. It was because I was frustrated and upset, I wasn't happy when I played, I was just eager to kill off my opponent. What's the difference between loving tennis and loving to attack? There is a big gap.

Win or lose. Tennis is Tennis. If we lose a point and because of it, get irritable, we will not play well. Irritability is a block between us and happiness, and without happiness, we will not be able to excel and do our best.

If we love tennis for the joy it brings, we will always love tennis. Bear the above quote in mind the next part you take part in a competition. To love something with all your heart, that is true passion. Just when everything is going wrong, your shots are not coming through and you're down 5-0, calm down.

Look around you and appreciate the wonders of life. You might no longer feel so stressed.

My senior told me this phrase. I feel sad that most of us don't look into it, when it really makes a lot of sense. Sometimes, in fits of angers, we no longer love what we have. We no longer love tennis. With true passion, comes true happiness. I play tennis because it gives me that sense of achievement, that adrenaline rush, that belief that anything is possible as long as we're happy. But half way through the match, I forgot that. You can't blame tennis when you lose. You can't think : This sport is stupid because I can't hit the ball properly. Tennis is eternal. It will never leave your side. Love the game whether you win or lose. That's all I'm trying to say. Blame no one. Because no one will blame you.

I love tennis. I love God for giving me the potential to play tennis. I love winning cause its fun(: I love losing cause heck, at least I got to play in the tournament(: Tennis to me, is beautiful. Life is getting so insane with backstabbers and terrorists and corrupted governments, but tennis is still pure. Don't play the sport because its fun to just vent all your anger on the sad sad ball. Play the sport because its full of life. Tennis signifies hope.joy.love. Its whether the player believes that that is what it truly signifies.

God gave us each something to love, even if its not tennis, it could be basketball, reading, writing poetry, anything (: Appreciate whatever he gives you, even if you do badly once or twice or maybe even more than that, don't give up on your passion. God is fair. He gave us each, only one thing to love. Those who have found what they love doing, good for you. Those who haven't, keep searching. I'm sure you'll find it(: And when you do, love it with all your heart and never give up on it. It just might be the only thing that will stick by you forever.

I love tennis, what about you? (:

Lots and lots of passion for tennis,
Jean

P.S. Don't say I didn't blog siyi, this was the best post in a long time and you know it! (:

2005-03-09T04:59:00.000-08:00

haiyahh.
im so boredd! and this blog is dying!!! so i'm here to revive it.
i am a lifesaver!
okayokay! i wna announce that i DESPISE AND ABHORE the chinese language!
hahahahahaha! thats how bored i am. and JEAN WONG, CAN YOU BLOG TOO?!
so lame la!
ANYWAY, I SHANT DO THE DIRTY WORK ALL BY MYSELF!
YOU GTA BLOG TOO!
:D

siyi

2005-02-14T04:33:00.000-08:00

heyhey. (:
happy valentines day.
takec. (:
its a special day yeh?
maybe youll get a rose(or maybe godknowswhat), if yr lucky.
from the notorious boy across from you. =p
happy valentines day to jean, juls, tessa, hannah, hornberg, netz, nattay, mai, esther, and all of yous.
tc.
God bless ya'll !

siyi

Willing To Learn

2005-01-16T04:55:00.000-08:00

yes, but different students also have different views.

the coach says, 'HARDER! your shuttle is flying only half-court! come on! HAAARDER!'

and the student thinks, 'AIYAH, SHUT UP LA. stupid coach. only know how to talk. ARGH!'

or, 'okay! i'm trying. harder... harder.. harder..'

and then the coach says, 'good! that service was good. nice one!'

and the student thinks, 'YEAH, I'M GOOOD. im the best. no one can stop me! HAHAHAHAHAH!'

or, 'i didn't really think so. yeahh. it didn't seem that good. nvm, i'll work on it. voice my opinions, maybe.'

and then the coach says, 'hmmm. your lobbing is really weak. need more strength. jump and stretch instead of pulling in.'

and the student thinks, 'STUPID BOY! THAT WAS THE BEST LOB IVE SEEN IN YEARS!'

or, 'okay. jump and stretch. dont pull in. jump and stretch. -silently remembers over and over.
and then you get it. you scream, 'AHHH! OMG! MY LOB WAS SO GOOD! and then you think, 'hey. THANKS COACH! definitely cldn't have done this on my own.'

it pays to listen. especially advise from pro's. cos when you listen, you improve, and when you improve, you win. when you win, you're happy. sure, winning isn't everything. to become a true sportsman is not an overnight thing. it requires patience, a lot of determination and focus, and a lot of effort and self-sacrifice. being proud and arrogant will leave you at the same place. same standard. you refuse to listen. you either become neutral or deprove. well, you choose. sure, sometimes they can be a bit irritating. a bit annoying. coaches are like that. they were meant to be. it's how you choose to respond to what they say. a true sportsman never gives up.

i'll jump over the hurdle, instead of running away.

Back To The Basics

2005-01-14T20:13:00.000-08:00

Different coaches have different views on different things.

"Hit HARDER!!! COME ON!!! WHACK THE BALL!!!!"
Oh man..this coach is weird..but so obviously a typical coach..I'll pass on him

"Thats a good shot!"
Wow, you must think ur pretty good...but what's he really thinking...
"Geez, what is that shot? I MEAN REALLY! Bahh. whatever. Its not like Im training her to be a pro or anything.."
-stab stab- YOU MIGHT NOT WANT ME TO BE PRO!!! But I DO NOT want to waste my money paying for compliments...I'll pass on him too

"Hmm...your forehand is really weak..step into the ball and fall forward"
WHAT?! MY forehand? WEAK?! why u..-lifts up knife- wait..-puts it down- lol.ur right.

So its true. My forehand is weak. And its definitely more demoralizing compared to the other 2. But really, I wanna be better. And better I'll be. Im not afraid to be brought back to relearn the basics properly. I'll downgrade. I dont care. Cause all I really want...is to get better...

I wont go round the wall..I'll break it.

Jean

2005-01-12T01:28:00.000-08:00

HEY YOU KNOW WHAT.
yahh.
go to the heritage gallery one day, look at the cupboard thing.
GOODNESS WE HAD SO MANY BADMINTON CHAMPIONSHIP TROPHIES LAST TIME.
but now i dont know. -grins.
maybe. maybe not. i dont know.
i was staring at the trophies.
and then i found a blog of a cresent badminton girl.

extracted-
i just realised we are so dead for nationals! we're playing against RGS, CEDAR, STMARGS AND STC!

yehh. you actually how highly regarded stmargs badminton still is in ppl's eyes.
sighh.
i just want to be the one that pushes to the limit.
stmargs badminton will return strongly. they're going to fear stmargs badminton again okayy.
YESSS.
they are. cos stmargs badminton is going to be fearless.
must watch out.
if not stmargs badminton will crushhhh you one day.
yess, crussshhh you. x)))

2004-12-31T02:36:00.000-08:00

today i was at jean's house.
rachel, hannah yang, jean and i played catching.
it was fun.
and you know why i enjoyed it?
cos i exercised.
and you know what?
jean and i have a weird habit of staring at ice cream.
and today it rubbed off on rachel and hannah. =\
but it was kinda cool. -grins.
and we played basketball.
jean gets greedy when we play bball. -snickers.
don't ask me why. it's just HER! -BEAMS.

anyway!
we had tons of fun, but the most impt is, WE GOT EXERCISE!
and trained our stamina.
a lot.
hahahah.
although jean was slacking quite a bit. hahah.
hannah yang is good. her stamina is good. (:
yayys, hannah!
jules cldnt make it. -SOBS.
tessa has become fairly absorbed into tennis. =\
something tht both jean and i find fairly weird.
so if anyone is interested in playing a game of catching in a SUPER HUGE ESTATE, please contact us.
i'm sure we don't mind another game. :D
just don't expect to win okay.
it isn't likely. -BEAMS

*oh! and if you're interested in staring at ice-cream, contact us too! -grins.

yours till i stop liking milo,
siyi

2004-12-27T21:58:00.000-08:00

You know how good it feels to dream, to strive to achieve, to compete with heart, and ultimately, excel gracefully. i will run the race and fight till the end, i will persevere and be strong, to come out on top, a winner, a victor, a champion. Impossible is nothing. Only if you are small, undaring, and unwilling to step out of where you are, impossible seems big. But to those who are willing, brave, daring, impossible is nothing to them. If you are going to let the word "impossible" hold you down, if you are going to let the word "impossible" become a barricade or a hinder in your life, might as well not run the race. Only those who take the word "impossible" out of their vocabulary, out of their mind will finish the race. It's not impossible to jump over hurdles, it's not impossible to overcome obstacles.

You can't always tell what your opponent is thinking, but you know what YOU are thinking. Is it, "It's impossible to beat her." or is it, "I'm going to win"? Your mental strength is what you are actually depending on, no one cares if you are the fastest, the best, the strongest. If you lack mental self-confidence, your game is over. You've lost before you even started. So the word "impossible" might only be a word, but NOTHING is impossible, if you believe in yourself, you have trained hard, the game is yours. You control the game and YOU can smash every high shot, you can lob every shuttle that comes your way, your defense improves, and you attack aggressively, your footwork becomes better and better, and your reaction becomes quicker, you can take every drop-shot and return any smash, your shuttle will never go out, your service will go higher, your opponent is confused and the determination in your eyes will put out the determination in her.

two people. one trophy. one champion. impossible is nothing. let that champion be you.

siyi

Mental power

2004-12-25T03:38:00.000-08:00

Two people work hard every day to perfect their skill, to do their school proud. Both want to come out the champion. However, truth be told, you can tell who the winner is...the second she takes position on the court.

Your opponent is standing on the other side. She's bouncing the tennis ball on the court. Once, twice, thrice. She stops bouncing and brings the ball to her racket. She takes one look at you and then focuses her attention on where she wants to serve. This is the first point and the pressure is already so intense. At this point, what is running through your mind?

"Oh shit, she looks strong. What am I going to do? Shit. Am I prepared?"

The answer is: no. You are obviously not prepared. Of course, your opponent will probably be good. I mean, she worked hard to get a spot on the team, she must have. But so did you. You proved to be good too. Why do you want to throw all that hard work away?

Nervousness. You have it. She has it. Who doesn't? This is it! The tournament. It's important to everyone. And the second nervousness gets into your brain, it poisons it and you no longer control your thoughts or your movements. Nervousness is a powerful enemy, but it is not undefeatable. There is one and I mean only one who can defeat it. Yourself. If you can snap out of the spell its put on you and build a wall between you and it, all is not lost. Your opponent could be better than you, that is an obvious possibility. But you can be stronger. Mentally, not physically. Because once you've got the mental part of your game down, there is no shot you cannot hit. No ball you cannot return.

And this piece of advice can used anytime in your game:
1) When you're winning but your opponent is catching up. She's getting back her confidence. So you have to keep yours, in order to have the courage and the skill to make her lose her confidence again.
2) When you're down and your opponent is brimming with confidence. You need to be able to pick yourself up and play your game. That's when your opponent will feel threatened.
3) When you've injured yourself but you know you have to fight on. Everyone knows you're in pain, you know you're in pain. Well, pull yourself together and quit whining. Focus on your game and less on your pain. Cause when you do, your confidence will creep back into your heart too.

And so remember: Half your game is physical and skill, the other half is purely mental strength. And its the second half, that will really determine the winner of the game.

Do your best and never give up. Be a true sportsman.

-Jean

2004-12-07T06:32:00.000-08:00

whens jean coming back. i forgot. hehe.

hmm. yeah, i never thought abt even your friends competing with you for a win.a lot. a victory. hmmm. i guess i'll be competing with my friends one day, for something... i really want. wait, i already am competing. im in competition with myself. and you. i guess we all better watch our backs... an athlete never underestimates his opponent... im not underestimating you. so you better not underestimate me. cause when you least expect it im going to pounce on you and youre going to lose... cause its not fair that i shld always work so hard, only to lose... so you just better watch out. expect something when its the least expected. thts always how it is with sports. so many suprises, i might be one of them.

siyi

2004-12-02T21:15:00.000-08:00

The thing about being an athlete, is that you have to work so hard for what you want. But even when you do work so hard, and seem so suitable for the slot, you get thrown off, cause you seem more suitable for another slot. In the end, its all for the coach to decide. Sadly, people, even your own friend, will fight with you for that slot. Too bad, it doesn't always work out in the end. But try anyway, cause thats what matters...

2004-11-20T04:08:00.000-08:00

hello. jean&i are back from camp. you missed us right? tessa, you did right? hmmm. it was fun. we'd just like all of you to know that the people who are tagging on the tagboard abt our superior tennis and badminton skills REALLY ARENT US. really! haha. okk. bye.

2004-11-15T21:24:00.000-08:00

Hihi! haha! Today we had to go for the founders day thing. Funnie cookie didn't go...she was sick. *sobs for siyi* haha! anywayz, it wasn't that great...the journey there was longer than the service itself. Training was cancelled because of this service! CAN U BELIEVE IT?! Pfft. Lol! Haiz, its ok, we're having training tomorrow! YAYYYYY!!! Haha! Well, thats all for now. Byez!!!!

You're too small to bring us down. We're going for the GOLD!

2004-11-14T22:54:00.000-08:00

hey. welcome to jean&siyi's blog. :D dont expect it to be updated often. we ARE busy people. with tennis, and badminton and all. HAH. okk. well. thats it. enjoy! oh. i think ill be updating more than that loopy pig, anyway. (:

RACKETS SMASH YOU!