Just back from BIG trip (6-12Jul) today & it has been an AWESOMEEEEE trip.. :)
Basically it was my first overseas competition - although it is not exactly very competitive because BIG is only between 5 universities; which this time HKU was not even competiting, only Macau, Indonesia & Malaysia. Well, I was actually excited about this, as well as really nervous, because I trained hard for this & I would think that people would also have a certain expectation of me.
I was also quite excited because of a certain someone - though later I would say that my hopes were kinda dashed :' ( oh wells..
Was glad to be off from work (DREADS) for a week & actually enjoy myself before the school term starts once again. But boy, I had a quite a few events happening to me before the trip. I was initially supposed to go for my Tioman trip but because I went to A&E (my first time too) for an eye infection :(( , I missed my trip & was even very afraid that I would have to forego this as well. But really thank God my eye recovered before going there (although I was also afraid of it relapsing due to the common notion that Jarkarta's air sucks) & also thank Him for watching over me when I was there. I ended work on Thursday late & still went on for training that day before rushing home to pack my stuff & download BIG - a korean drama to watch on the way :O Ended up sleeping very little. The irritating thing about packing is the tiny fear that creeps up telling you that you might have forgotten something..and that kind of made me late the next day and I spent $15 on a cab to rush to the airport (because I took the wrong bus & panicked..what a klutz right?)
But once I reached the airport, things seemed different :) I think it's the magic of being in an airport, the thought of going away from Singapore and experiencing something else, which chased all the bad vibes away. Well, for this trip, I had Anne, Jia Rong & Yan Rui (a track girl), together with our NUS liaison officer, Jing Da. Just was a little sad that Anne had to leave early..
Let you hear a little secret, I was actually stealing glances at him & hoping that perhaps we would end up sitting together or something but alas, that only happens in korean dramas & not anytime soon, so I figured I probably have to be zhidongyidian & go over to say hi :/
Us on the plane (JR, Anne, JD, Yan Rui)
For Day 1, it was much filled with getting to know each other and also the surroundings. BY THE WAY, I was happy that we were allocated to the same bus as the soccer guys & Arasu :D but at that point in time, no one actually knew anything about my relationship with soccer, maybe except Arasu? hahas..but I guess I seem to have an affinity with soccer (which can be GOOD & BAD) sighs..The place we were staying was Wisma Makara, a student hostel located within the campus of Universitas Indonesia; with a countryside vibe to it. Reached there around 4plus after experiencing our first jam in Jarkarta. Well, I'm not that picky, as long as the toilets are clean (which they were!) so I was kinda satisfied. We went for really easy jog to explore the place before dinner :)
Morning view from my room at Wisma Makara
In the evening, there was a welcome ceremony & dinner for all the overseas participants, it was ok, the food was fine with interesting dessert...hehes. But I guess we were very much in our own cliques & comfortzones so it was rather awkward. Oh yes, I forgot to mention our Indonesian liaison officer, Mayfree Syari, who's really really friendly :) We were lucky to have her! hahas.. And after the dinner, we went over to Vincent's room where we all had sports massage by Vincent, the soccer physio. I thought it was nice of him to help us (especially Jiarong) although he was not in charge of us. Kristian & Anh was there too..Apparently, they are closer to Vincent so that kinda became their hangout spot..hahas. :) Honestly, though I know it's good to get a massage, I'm terribly afraid of pain; also because my calves are really tight -__- but yea, it's free and was worth the pain (ouch).
Next day, we all had to get up early for the opening ceremony at the basketball hall, somewhere near the heart of the university. It was overlooking a lake & it was actually quite a beautiful view, just that I felt it would be nicer without all the haze >.< hahas.. We took the bus with soccer (once again!) & I sat beside Anh (Alan). Was quite surprised to hear T-ara's latest hit "Day by Day" blasting from his headphones! And that there were some soccer guys who liked Kpop as well (up the coolness factor..LOLS)
It was a long wait for the opening ceremony to start (sighs) but it was quite cool the way we walked in :D
After the ceremony was the bball guys' first match & we were supposed to watch. Well, it was okayy. Still prefer a soccer match over anything else hahahas..probably because I actually understand what was going on & could predict moves. Jiarong, on the other hand, was fixated. Not that I bother much anymore, he's just getting weirder ever since I've known him. We went back at around 1pm for the track technical meeting & I kinda wished maybe I shouldn't be the captain so that I don't have to "fight for our rights", especially when the officials' Engrish was utterly incomprehensible & that we had so many requests, but it was still rather interesting to have everyone look & listen to you. After the meeting I was actually in a rather bad mood. I had wanted to go to the track with the Malaysians (even though Jia Rong said it wasn't worth the time) but they didn't want to & the second thing was about Anne (it's always a love-hate relationship with her but she's still one of my bffs), that she seemed so nonchalent about her flight when everyone was like panicking for her. Luckily I was only pissed off for a while. That day, Jing Da's friend in Indonesia, Charles, sent over a car to bring us for R&R. I was damn nervous about the race so I think perhaps thats why I didn't enjoy so much (oh please, who goes R&R before a race??)
But then again, it was kinda fun seeing the city of Jarkarta (minus the jams -__-). We went to a mall to walk around & have dinner before heading back to the hostel. Oh yea, forgot to mention that it was then that Mr Tee Jia Rong dropped the bomb & said he knew about Kristian.:O And thereafter, it spread (through that guy's mouth) to the entire BIG organising committee. Oh well, it could happen both ways - something good or something bad. :O But the thing was I wasn't in control of the situation at all.
Day 3 = COMPETITION DAY. Like WTH, they made us wake up at 5am for breakfast but when we went down at 5.30am, they made us wait till 5.45am for breakfast. Thereafter, we had to wait for the bus (driver was late) which arrived at 6.15am. We only managed to reach the stadium at 7.15am. I almost had a panic attack - kept telling myself; "Ok, everyone's late with you so don't worry.." Warmed up for only 8-10min (inclusive of stretching) & started the race.
Me warming up
Luckily, it wasn't too painful before the race. Apparently, it was a boom & go thing. Round 1 I went slow & trailed Sarah Choong; who went at around 1:38 - wasn't slow actually. Round 2 I went even slower, widening the gap between me & Sarah but still close enough - 1:41. However, halfway through Round 3, I realised that both of us were slowing down - too much - that was when I decided to overtake Sarah; cautiously. Yet, I still feared that people would overtake me, after all there was still like 7.5 rounds. But my fears were unfounded & with God's help, I managed to keep the lead & got 1st :) Honestly, it was one of my happiest moment (although my timing was way off - 21:44, which they mistook as 22:39). The best thing is that IT WAS OVER!!!!!!! We can have fun already. Which we did. Yan Rui clinched 2nd for long jump & we went shopping at a shopping mall near the stadium after the morning competition.
Me running with Sarah Choong
I bought a pair of PUMA racers (which essentially wiped out half of my rupiahs, although it was kinda cheap) but I guess I should reward myself a little ;) After the little R&R, we went back to meet Anne & Jia Rong before their event. It was lucky that my event was in the morning or else the pre-race jitters would really drag.LOLS.. Sarah Choong came in 1st for 1500m while Anne came in 3rd. Then we were whisked to the airport so Anne could catch her flight. I really wanted to watch the other races though :( But apparently, Jia Rong did well & came in 3rd. As a captain, I was quite happy with all our results. And my responsibilities were kinda done. Yays :DWhile Mayfree & I went back from the airport, Jia Rong, Jing Da & Yan Rui went to Grand Indo to eat. I didn't feel that lousy though - probably would binge-eat if I'm there & then again, I got to eat with Kristian & Vincent :) And that night, I went over quite late with JR for another massage ^^ Only Kris was there though.
Day 4: Went for morning run myself followed by swim. Jia Rong didnt want to run but I was glad I did because the POOL SUCKS. And it was nice seeing the guys train in the morning & have some me-time. After that, we kinda slacked the morning away bcos there wasn't much time to travel out before watching the soccer match. Basically, it was only our team comprising of me, JR, JD, Yan Rui supporting the soccer guys..hahas. But a small team is also a loud team, thanks to JD & Zhong Xian & the NUS sports officers.. :D Because of that people do actually know me & I got to borrow his iPad to watch shows.hehes.. At night after the game which they disappointedly lost :( we went out for some spicy seafood dinner with JD's godmum. It was ok only because maybe I was like binging D: drank avocado with chocolate & it was really not bad! Returned back after that to bring murtabak for Vincent & Kris, which I think they shared with the rest, including Eng Ping. Charis is so lucky to have such a nice & motivated bf ..sighhs. But it was nice talking to Kris. Reminded me of that day..
Arasu's team 1 singing national anthem
Day 5: Went for morning run as usual, this time further & that I realised the university is HUGE..After that we went to support Table Tennis (which was awfully boring & also I felt bad when Carmen actually thanked us for supporting :/ ) Was upset because we couldnt support the soccer match and was actually thinking about it most of the time when we went out. Although it was interesting to see stuff like the artist village & the kelong lunch & drink beer, it was okayyy only because it wasn't as interesting to keep my thoughts away. Oh well..But yea they did well. And they probably went out celebrating because it was the only day that I didn't see any of the soccer guys at all. 
Beer Jug!!
Nice Seafood kelong view..good for a romantic date
Well..we did had some bumper-car fun at night. We went to some hari-raya expo fair which we had to pay for the entrance and walked around..Nothing much interesting happened except we re-lived our childhood days of bumper-car. $3 for 5min! What a rip-off. But then again, we did had 5min of fun..
Day 6: Went for a short run once again. After breakfast, it was like mass R&R. We went to Taman Mini, which was quite a disappointment. There was like nothing much there and it was rather hot & run-down. Actually it could have been fun if everyone was enthusiastic enough to take photos (like the Malaysian team) but like all pampered Singaporeans, they want to sit, eat, and adequate aircon. So it kinda made everyone quite depressing. I joined the BIG comm for 'lunch' (which was so gross that I didn't bother to sit & eat with them) & we played another round of bumper-cars. This time, 10min of pure fun. Sat with JD & it was not bad..Really preferred guys being in charge.hahas.
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| Mayfree and I |
After that we were supposed to have lunch at the Museum of Indonesia. I made a smart move by getting down the depressing bus & went in. Saw the soccer guys there :) And decided to go into the museum with Anh :) Through our little conversation, I did know him a little better. Which was a good thing. I'm kinda suffocated by our small group of JD, JR & Yan Rui. Not that they were that boring but it was getting boring seeing them like every day. Went to some mall after the musuem to shop for some snacks to bring home. JD was actually super sweet but offering to wait & push the trolley that I felt quite bad.
In the evening, we had the closing ceremony where we had to perform some lame Singapore Town song for our item. Was rather happy that the soccer guys were there too.. Then it was the prize giving ceremony. Honestly I was elated with my award :) And for the photos that were taken. With Anh & Kris especially..hahahs. But what totally changed my mood was that Kris started sticking with Sarah Choong. Really made my self-esteem DROP & affected the night :(
I don't know if he could tell I was seeking solace but he did treat me really well that night and it really made me feel a lot a lot better.
Day 7: Didn't run today because I was damn tired from sleeping at 4am.. But woke up feeling rather bittersweet. Seemed like a dream that I woke up from. Everything's back to normal though. No one was acting different (maybe the guys were kind of friendly & more helpful?) Anh was normal too..Kinda expected a little more from him. Kris was back to talking to Sarah :/ (that was the only thing that changed) So..I felt quite disappointed actually. Should I have expected something more? A nudge, a wink, a smile would suffice. I'm not even expecting something huge like sitting beside me on the bus or plane or a hand over the shoulder? I'm not too sure but I kinda felt him looking but nothing more... I'm feeling quite hurt because it felt like my heart's been played. But I still got to wait and see..
This trip's memories would forever be etched deep down in my heart :)
Video link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5aqSl4YzXo
