: Gwent Series X-Country in BatH:

Satu lagi hari minggu di perantauan. Another weekend spent without studying; at least got myself fitter though, i think! This was only the 2nd time ever where i competed under the uni's banner for a xcountry event. And i would say the experience is an eye-opener as to how much i lack in the fitness department! NOthing can be taken for granted man. You feel that you are fit enough
after doing the marathon, and you laid off serious running for 3 weeks..yet you still expect your body to perform in a tip-top condition as before. Well, it's all bullsh*t man. One can never sustain a previous level of competitiveness without actually keeping in continuous good shape. That's what i found out here....mem-paiseh-kan sahaja:

If im not mistaken, i completed this 10.2km undulating course in about 49 mins, a new personal best again, though my shoelaces got untied twice in all,which sort of disrupted my rhythm. The ang-mohs all outran and outpaced me like hunting dogs being let loose by their master! Seriously, we had to complete 4 rounds of the track, which by then i was literally lapped by the front-runners at lap 3 already, one after another! But it was still alrite, cos by then I managed to cheer on a fellow uni runner who eventually got 13th position overall in the men's open category ( i think yours truly was 279 out of 350 runners, thereby didn't contribute any points to Cardiff Uni , yet again...sighz*)
But it was good fun though! Met a fellow medic who i didnt know existed in class as well who did the London Marathon just last year, got to know this random Asian-origin fella who quitted smoking just 4 months back- and now he's running DAILY to prevent his addiction from kicking in again, another German who does triathlons, as in serious running-cycling-swimming! Makes you feel small with the sheer abundance of talent/level of achievements which sprinkles round the university commmunity!

Nevertheless, will definitely try to buck up with increased training hopefully, as the next run in the series will be in Bristol, just 2 weeks from now.... hopefully i won't be just anohter passenger on the car! Badminton-ing, sqaush-ing and swimming is not a substitute for running. Have to try brave the early sunsets



and sheer evening laziness (lead-legs) for the runs, esp the ones organised by the team. Later perceived as bit anti-social leh...which i think i am to a certain extent this year though.
-An attempt to remember-

: on learning to say NO! :

Somehow or another, I should learn how not to say yes to everything. Should say NO if certain favours demanded bugs me. Fact-I'm inherently an evil person living in a sheep's skin. Should'nt have a sense of guilt if i feel it's the right thing to do, such as in these instances:

1. Should have said NO to the warden who lives across the street comes by and asks you to cover his shift for 45 mins, but he then tells security that i'll (me) be on call for an hour instead...not that i have anything else important to do though: It's just the way he barges right in and expects you to fill in for him. Oh, and they say he seems quite dodgy. One doesn't need to agree to everything, don't have to do something unwillingly...later get old faster only -one wise lad- :

2. Should have said NO to the EuroLottery Lotto (eventhough its just 1$), eventhough my housemates pestered me like its the end of the world if i don't: Musn't succumb to peer-pressure, no matter how small an amount could be...as i've never been lucky, ever, in such circumstances. And with that money I can still buy loads of bourbon biscuits! The winning number:02 06 12 22 32 33 36; and my number was 04 06 10 12 19 21.... and i need-ed to match at least 3 digits from the pool. As hard as i try to keep my fingers crossed, them lady luck always seem to desert me in such instances. Nia seng:

3. Should have said NO when I was asked to lend my ricecooker... due to that, the beloved pui-thang (rice-pot literally..) got 6 bloody scratches...by some rat(s)* in this house.. The one item which has sustained me well throughout my 1st year here...2nd year going too. Still waiting for them to ask for permission to use my tefal-frying pan ( the baby of my spartan cooking armory):

4. Should have said NO to watching Grey's Anatomy, though not daily (they are really addictive)...but still religiously trying to complete the series with whatever free time i have. And the worst thing is that my own neuroanatomy project assignments are piling up by the week, and I've only completed 1 so far...with the last dissection scheduled for next week, and the finale-exam in the 1st week of January right after christmas break! Die liao- of lack of serious initiative and self-discipline:

5. Said NO to the rat* js now; yet again: The inhabitants here seem to think that i'm the person in charge of the upkeep/weelbeing of the house. Apparently the heater is not working, told me that the whole house has'nt showered today... the rat* even had the gall to ask me to contact security with my walkie-talkie to report the complain. Harlo, you think reporting faults in the house is within my scope of duty as well? It's a weekend man. The rat* previously even complained bout the 'unstable' internet connection, thus asked if I could most kindly connect a wire from the port through my window all the way outside, upstairs to his computer! I was like..wtf.. provide you connection already somore want to make my life difficult. Now, we sort of like reached a compromise to put the router just by the window-side, mouthwatering-ly tempting to passing thiefs. If only it goes missing, then we all know who to blame then.... feel like pissing on this rat*-like-Ah-Cha, a pain in the ar*s eversince we met:

But then again, I also have to learn how to accept NO too,



-NO + NO does not give one a YES!-

Owh well....

Well, we can't generalise this 'new-finding' aint we? Neither can we refute the discovery at times too rite? Wonder-ing when scientists will locate the yang of this element; pretty soon perhaps?

Women.
-You can't live with them, but you can't make do without them either-

Oh well...

:a random weekend trip to BaTH:

Really unlike me man this year. Me weekends have been preoccupied with random stuff ( mostly unplanned), work load though isn't that heavy, but still it's been pilling like never before. With the advent of nil courseworks (maybe 1/2..) and nil short assesments, there has'nt been any serious effort in completing my neverending task(s); warden duty-ing hasn't been that bad... I even managed to sneak time-off for sunday roast while on duty. Thankfully, ColumRoaders are all very non-trouble makers and understanding fellas! Nasib-nasib...

Caroline's cousin came over for a week, and boy, we were sort of like pity da fella cos he wasn't brought properly around Cardiff due to our studies commitments etc. A random trip suggestion to Bath was tossed, and i immediately jumped at the idea of joining day trip. The morning proceeded on a gloomy note as weather was pretty unspectacular...winds n drizzle were aplently. Nevertheless, we were set on another random round of exploration irregardless of the weather's emo-ing. The queer thing is that whenever anyone travels with me, it always rains. Go figure out why. Jinxed. Blek.

Reached Bath very excitedly. Was what I expected from the pictures; Roman archtecture, a breathe of fresh air compared to the dull british homes/structures of unspectacular bricks- pale pastel colours. The whole town seems so touristy, with bywalkers all lugging a backpack and a map at arms length. After the Amsterdam trip, me lost my interest in picture taking, but suddenly the camerawhore in me got resurrected! A bit the poyol in some pictures, but we were all very gung-ho in snapping away as much as possible with whatever limited time we had. After spending $8.50(bloody pounds!) , 2 hours& loads of snapshots in the Roman Bath, which supposedly showcased a journey through history of the day-to-day life of ancient Rome, we then took a hasty walk through the city centre, which was littered with numerous quaint trinklet shops and a mumble-jumble of interesting eateries; we paused awhile at the Cadbury shop to purchase some fudge (a famous product of Bath- as recommended by one Ms J), which i were to regret later as SanFransiscoFudgeFactory , just on the similar alley as SallyLunn's bun shop (which we later stopped for lunch) ,actually made even more mouthwatering delectables, at similar price too! So don't be too hasty like me alrite!

Managed a couple of interesting shots at the Circle, Royal Crescent, Pulteney Bridge, the statue outside the Bath City Church ( a good place to practise mouth-catching squirting water) and of course, which town does'nt have it's Central Market?

We finally adjourned for lunch with a sumptious serving of SallyLunn's famous buns (courtesy of Caroline), topped with special gently-buttererd clotted cream coupled with a generous scoop of Tiptree jam, which we guys (and Vincent) dabbed with our toasted sanwich snacks of gammon ham/smoked bacon with cheddar cheese.... the gluttony of rich cheese and jam made a wonderfully rewarding closure to a brief yet relaxing day-out.







Had to rush home for warden-ing duties and a badminton appointment later, but t'was a great weekend to boot! More updates on random weekend travels coming soon! So keep a lookout k :P