Whenever i fall sick, i try to recall the last time that i was unwell. thankfully, i fall sick so infrequently that i usually can only remember that it happened about a few months ago. this particular bout of illness started manifesting symptoms about 2 days ago, and got worse last night/this morning. oddly, i didn't really feel it during SJC training, but it hit me when i got home. think it's because i haven't been eating and drinking all that well recently, not to mention the all-nighter in lab last friday. add that to the recent heatwave, and i guess that me falling sick doesn't come as much of a surprise. right now it's a semi-blocked nose, cough, and the beginnings of a sore throat...usual stuff, plus (i suspect) a bit of dehydration. with any luck, i'll recover in time for the referee seminar on saturday.
last you heard, i was going to meet up with my friend who had came back from the US. well, we met up on saturday, and watched x-men: days of future past. i liked the movie well enough, and the effects were nice.
*SPOILERS*
i just don't get how shadowcat gained the ability to send people into the past. and there was this website i saw that pointed out that mystique should not have been able to drop an article of clothing since she shapeshifts to make the appearance of clothes. hard to imagine professor x as a mutant druggie, too. not forgetting their insinuation the JFK was a mutant! other than that, i liked the fight scenes (blink was super cool!), though i wish they gave more screentime to older magneto. and since when was bolivar trask a little person!?? all in all, despite some inaccuracy, i think it was a great way to retcon and reconcile all the movies so far. can't wait for the next instalment in the series.
*END SPOILERS*
don't recall doing much on sunday, just that i went down to SJC to get approval for the kata performance. it was greenlighted, and we had our first practice session yesterday. even though the kata only consists of 5 techniques, it's pretty difficult to execute. i'm the uke, so i'm the one taking the falls and all that. the first and second techniques require special breakfalls, which are taking me a while to get used to. the second technique isn't that bad, since it's kind of like a poorly-executed rolling breakfall. the problem lies in the first technique, which requires a standing back breakfall done with a totally straight body. normally, we (i) tend to roll with a breakfall to help disperse the impact. but the image that has to be conveyed over here is "dead tree", so none of that rolling stuff. i'm actually feeling sore from the breakfalls yesterday. figure that it'll take a few more practice sessions to get it right (or at least passable).
i also saw the BPS brothers (new nickname!) for more nage no kata. they managed to get the sequence down, which is good. we focused more on the first set (hand techniques), and my partner and i tried to explain the principles to them. not sure if they were overloaded or not. i thought it was manageable. then again, i've known the key points for significantly a longer time than they have. well, i shouldn't have my expectations too high. they're new to kata, after all. at this point, any progress at all is good enough. as a reminder to myself, i have to work on: getting their form right (including details at a later stage), stopping the uke from jumping, their footwork/stepping, general confidence and smoothness, and synchronization. seems like a lot of stuff (and it probably is), but we have the luxury of time, so i'm not too worried yet.
on a slightly related note, i think that i shouldn't rush into anything with them. clarification: i mean that in the sense of a coaching relationship. every now and then, i'll get odd coaching urges. so far, it's happened once previously (that didn't end well), and now. odd because these guys aren't even from SJI/CJC. hopefully they'll go to CJC after secondary school, but that's still some distance away. right now, i think seeing them for kata sessions and getting to know them better is enough. one step at a time. my preliminary assessment/evaluation is positive, though, which is good. as much as i hope that we can build up trust quickly, some things just cannot be rushed.
have i mentioned that it's been baking hot these past few days? well, it has. funny, because it was still nice and cool-ish on saturday. after that, it's just been hot hot hot. humid, too! and no wind. killer combination. to be fair, it rained for a bit yesterday, but that didn't really do much. still had trouble getting to sleep...though that might also have been because of my nose. hope sleep comes easier tonight.
my laptop seems to be dying. 2 of the 3 USB ports have already died, and the touchpad just decided to join them on the lorry yesterday. i called the lenovo service centre, but got their automated thing which tried to connect me to a customer support person. i was on hold for 10 minutes. twice. and i still didn't get through! bugger. i'm fairly sure that my laptop is still covered by warranty (i remember getting the 3-year extended package). and i just found out that the service centre is located at bukit timah shopping centre, which is not too far from school. maybe i can drop by and get it fixed someday.
since i'm sick and all, i've contemplated taking the rest of the week off. that plan won't work, because there's a fire safety pre-inspection tomorrow, and the actual inspection on friday. guess who's the safety lead and thus has to be around? bugger X a million. well, i suppose it's good. forces me to work through the sickness. still have to get a few more syntheses done, and email a guy about a microwave reactor. on the bright side, i see pink skies on the horizon. maybe it'll rain a bit and relieve some of this damned heat.
last you heard, i was going to meet up with my friend who had came back from the US. well, we met up on saturday, and watched x-men: days of future past. i liked the movie well enough, and the effects were nice.
*SPOILERS*
i just don't get how shadowcat gained the ability to send people into the past. and there was this website i saw that pointed out that mystique should not have been able to drop an article of clothing since she shapeshifts to make the appearance of clothes. hard to imagine professor x as a mutant druggie, too. not forgetting their insinuation the JFK was a mutant! other than that, i liked the fight scenes (blink was super cool!), though i wish they gave more screentime to older magneto. and since when was bolivar trask a little person!?? all in all, despite some inaccuracy, i think it was a great way to retcon and reconcile all the movies so far. can't wait for the next instalment in the series.
*END SPOILERS*
don't recall doing much on sunday, just that i went down to SJC to get approval for the kata performance. it was greenlighted, and we had our first practice session yesterday. even though the kata only consists of 5 techniques, it's pretty difficult to execute. i'm the uke, so i'm the one taking the falls and all that. the first and second techniques require special breakfalls, which are taking me a while to get used to. the second technique isn't that bad, since it's kind of like a poorly-executed rolling breakfall. the problem lies in the first technique, which requires a standing back breakfall done with a totally straight body. normally, we (i) tend to roll with a breakfall to help disperse the impact. but the image that has to be conveyed over here is "dead tree", so none of that rolling stuff. i'm actually feeling sore from the breakfalls yesterday. figure that it'll take a few more practice sessions to get it right (or at least passable).
i also saw the BPS brothers (new nickname!) for more nage no kata. they managed to get the sequence down, which is good. we focused more on the first set (hand techniques), and my partner and i tried to explain the principles to them. not sure if they were overloaded or not. i thought it was manageable. then again, i've known the key points for significantly a longer time than they have. well, i shouldn't have my expectations too high. they're new to kata, after all. at this point, any progress at all is good enough. as a reminder to myself, i have to work on: getting their form right (including details at a later stage), stopping the uke from jumping, their footwork/stepping, general confidence and smoothness, and synchronization. seems like a lot of stuff (and it probably is), but we have the luxury of time, so i'm not too worried yet.
on a slightly related note, i think that i shouldn't rush into anything with them. clarification: i mean that in the sense of a coaching relationship. every now and then, i'll get odd coaching urges. so far, it's happened once previously (that didn't end well), and now. odd because these guys aren't even from SJI/CJC. hopefully they'll go to CJC after secondary school, but that's still some distance away. right now, i think seeing them for kata sessions and getting to know them better is enough. one step at a time. my preliminary assessment/evaluation is positive, though, which is good. as much as i hope that we can build up trust quickly, some things just cannot be rushed.
have i mentioned that it's been baking hot these past few days? well, it has. funny, because it was still nice and cool-ish on saturday. after that, it's just been hot hot hot. humid, too! and no wind. killer combination. to be fair, it rained for a bit yesterday, but that didn't really do much. still had trouble getting to sleep...though that might also have been because of my nose. hope sleep comes easier tonight.
my laptop seems to be dying. 2 of the 3 USB ports have already died, and the touchpad just decided to join them on the lorry yesterday. i called the lenovo service centre, but got their automated thing which tried to connect me to a customer support person. i was on hold for 10 minutes. twice. and i still didn't get through! bugger. i'm fairly sure that my laptop is still covered by warranty (i remember getting the 3-year extended package). and i just found out that the service centre is located at bukit timah shopping centre, which is not too far from school. maybe i can drop by and get it fixed someday.
since i'm sick and all, i've contemplated taking the rest of the week off. that plan won't work, because there's a fire safety pre-inspection tomorrow, and the actual inspection on friday. guess who's the safety lead and thus has to be around? bugger X a million. well, i suppose it's good. forces me to work through the sickness. still have to get a few more syntheses done, and email a guy about a microwave reactor. on the bright side, i see pink skies on the horizon. maybe it'll rain a bit and relieve some of this damned heat.
-random thought of the day: Still need to check my tyres.-
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