Yeah, whatever, the title's random again.
You'd be glad to know that I have once again updated this dead blog (oh, the sarcasm...).
Anyway.
I had my 2.4km run today, and I'm pretty satisfied with my results, to say the least.
Yes, I know what I got is a fail at male standards. I mean, why the hell are their standards for Standing Board Jump and 2.4km Run so damned high anyway? I really have to give it to the guys who actually survived their NAPFA tests...
2.4km Run
15:15 (mm:ss)
Female Standard (15): C [15:11-16:10]
Male Standard (15): FAIL. [<14:40]
Man. I can't believe it. 5 seconds less and I would have gotten a B...darn. That aside, I shall chronicle my time along the track while 'running' the 2.4km run (which was not much of a run at all) and maybe some Ihours beforeI (modulus this, which would mean I might talk about my entire day. =)).
It was a bright and sunny day and the birds were chirping happily. The blue ones were huge and round and had small yellow beaks which produced high pitch tweets while the red ones were nice and slim with long black hooked beaks and their voices were shrill. Their piercing eyes were the first thing I noticed when I woke up, and they were also the last thing I noticed before I fell into a swirling abyss of ooblack and lightblubs...
NOOOOOOOOO! NOT THAT ONE! DON'T LOOK! THAT'S MY ESSAY FROM TWENTY YEARS BACK!
Wait...was I even alive 20 years ago? *sigh* This talk is confusing me so I shall just tell that what you just saw was highly classified and should not be redistributed/released in any form. Thank you a whole bunch. Of course, I'm not even entertaining the idea that anyone would like to redistribute this piece of...crap.
So my day begins here.
I woke up in bed at 05:45 with a cramp in the muscle on my left leg opposite of the calf (forgive my apparently lack of knowledge of human anatomy) and thought that I was going to DIE and FAIL my 2.4, which I obviously didn't but when you wake up you tend to let your thoughts run wild, though I never made it a point to reign them all in in the afternoons or evenings anyway.
The cramp was still present when I boarded the school bus where I fell asleep for an hour hoping very badly that the cramp will disappear by the time the 1 hour bus ride to school (and on the way picking up other students) was over. Turns out it was gone when I got off the bus.
Praise the Lord!
Okay, back to the story. Since PE was first block I was horrified and terrified and scared stiff that I would be half awake during the 2.4, which, of course, is as unlikely as clouds would turn into cotton candy and lemon gumdrops would fall like the monsoon rain from the sudden green sky, but yes, being quite sleepy does this to you.
Oh, I do need to mention something. On the supposed day of the 2.4km run it rained halfway through the run (of the first half of the class, of which I am not part of since I'm register 30 so yippee for me) hence the run was cancelled and we were all told to go home. Needless to say we were very, very happy. Well, I was, anyway. I'm pretty sure that the people who had ran halfway were rather pissed.
The 2.4km run was therefore postponed. We got intelligence (yes, you didn't read wrongly, it's intelligence, not information, since RGSS is secretly a spy school and all students are required to put to use basic spy vocabulary) that our 2.4km run (which is supposed to test our ability to keep up with the strict regime of the spy course) will be conducted during the next PE lesson.
Of course, being the secret spy school of the century that only the most elite assassins and stealth personels may gain entrance to, PE is just a code for 'Physical Endurance' which all students of the school have to take part in so the trainers (in layman's terms, teachers, or as we amateur spies say, spartan instructors) can decide who to kick out of the school should there be another economic downturn and the need to retrench recruits arises.
That being said, the juniors (year 3s) and seniors (year 4s) are less likely to be forced to leave due to the fact that the school doesn't want us disseminating valuable intelligence that we've accumulated in our time in the school due to personal grudges and such.
I have decided that, for the better good of the world, I have to tell others about what we learn in school.
Mathematics is a cover up for lessons teaching us how to document classified information, write in code and organise files in a way that makes no sense to outsiders. This seems rather pointless until your home gets raided for being connected to the school.
Language classes include sign language and lip-reading and learning of foreign languages. Useful things to learn, especially when spying on trainers to find out more about their personal lives (in other words, stalking, or, more nicely stated, practicing our stealth)
Physics teaches us how to accurately shoot projectiles and how to use illusions to fool our enemies. The trainers are being unfair by not letting us test our our newfound knowledge on them. They always seem to fool us first.
Chemistry brings us closer to the mechanics of various bombs and also poisons such as Arsenic which we find very useful in eliminating adversaries (especially really annoying trainers).
Biology is spent memorising the human anatomy and which parts are more prone to damage and hurt more (useful tip for women: a man's downstairs tends to hurt really badly if you kick it)
History lessons are filled with the history of spy techniques and also where we indulge in rusted shurikens and darts. We like to try to kill the trainer when he/she says: All shurikens to me. The trainer, of course, never dies. The most severe case was comatose but he'll probably recover...
Geography gives us basic information of enemy grounds and also helps us train our perception and observational skills in planning escape routes. Rather boring class but comes in handy when emergency escape needs to be employed.
Literature isn't of much use but it does come in handy when trying to forge letters with a convincing tone of voice...
Area Studies is exactly what it implies, study of the area and places where we can exploit (like jungles can be used as natural cover).
Philosophy deals not so much with useless ponderings but more with psychology so we can predict our enemy's movements, launch counter attacks and become the next L (from Death Note). Trainers are all Lights which we must eliminate without haste.
Research Studies is just an excuse for the trainers to slack off a little and make us look up on the target (areas) ourselves. Certain students use this time to test their 'research results' on the trainers. Those who get caught tend to end up being sent into unknown territories to test the waters.
Aesthetics translates into designing our own clothes that best fit our body type and allow greater flexibility, learning to fake artworks, trying out various combinations to see what would produce deadly foods etc. Everybody loves this class because we like to put these deadly concoctions into our trainer's food.
Our principle was an ex-student of the school, likely threatened by the previous principle into taking up the job because nobody wanted to due to the inevitable death threats and attempts on their lives.
HOLD YOUR HORSES. Let me make something clear. RGSS is NOT a spy school and lessons are normal, if not on the slightly advanced side. I don't know what strange spirit took over me but I shall continue from where I left off...now come to think of it, where did I leave off?
Ah well. Let's just start anywhere.
So because the 2.4km run was postponed to the next PE lesson (which, by the way, stands for Physical Education, not Physical Endurance) and that 'next PE lesson' was the first block today, I was scared quite stiff, which really isn't all that stiff but compared to my usual blob-of-jelly posture I'd say yeah, I was very stiff.
Then came PE. We each got partners to watch our for. I 'choped' ShuYing and Rachel (Sim) got Jana. Both ShuYing and Jana ran first while Rachel and I sat one a small plot of the track that was...how would you say...tangent to the running area? Ah whatever. It was the little strip of straight track bits that extened from the straight part of the track and totally 'sidetracked' from the curving track. It was the one near the Squash courts (or haunted toilets, if you prefer).
So I got really pumped up watching the first group run, and was utterly in awe of Celeste who, even after running a few rounds (we were supposed to run 5 2/3 rounds since the track had a weird length...) still had more than enough energy to give us, the 'bystanders', a smile and a wave effortlessly. How the hell does she do that? She completed the race in 11+ minutes and just walked off the track like she had been doing stretches instead of running 2.4km...
Anyway, ShuYing was quite a good runner. She also got C. =) I couldn't see the fatigue in her though when she passed. I'm thinking she must have quite good endurance.
Then, when everybody from the first group had finished running, it was my (well, our) turn to run. I could feel my legs trembling beneath me...><
First Round: 01:30+
It was quite okay, I felt like I was sprinting more than jogging and I wasn't that much out of breath. I was supposed to be running (read pacing) with Rachel but I somehow just got ahead of her. If I should hazard a guess it would probably be somewhere near the downward slope, and at the downward slope I kind of let myself fall as always and that's usually where I'm faster than usual. I like that part. It always (well, usuallly) makes me feel like I'm flying whenever I 'fall' down the slope. Nice feeling when I don't have to really propel myself forward or anything. I was rather glad with my timing. It wasn't too bad, I guess, for someone with stamina like mine and who completely hates running long distance. I love 10x4 Shuttle Run, see. I get very nice timings for that, completely surpassing A by what, almost a second?
Second Round: 03:40+
Getting out of breath, even though I know I can make it to 7 minutes of jogging non-stop without dying. Since I was wearing the nice sports shoes I got end of last year and wore it now for the 2.4 (since my usual school shoe's sole is kinda flat now) I think I was quite a bit brisker than I would be if I was just running normally without the shoes with tapered toes. I just checked it out though, if we're running long distance the taper shouldn't be too much...ah well. Nevermind. 308 was at the basketball courts and my frieds from there cheered me on. =) They kinda kept talking about useless things like everyday stuff but even so it made my heart lighter to know that there is someone (or somemany) there by my side to cheer for me as I go through hard times (but they aren't, though).
Third Round: 05:50+ (I think)
Dying. Don't know why even though I've only ran for 5+ minutes. Anyway, this was when I started entertaining thoughts of walking or slowly down a whole lot until I'm almost walking. I didn't, in the end, because I was thinking: If I slow down now, I can't slow down later! And since I know I just have to slow down at the end since my stamina drains really quickly, I ran the whole round. =) I'm really glad that the 308 people (mainly AnYan, Moira, Melissa, ChunHui, and perhaps some others whom I cannot rememeber) at the basketball court cheered me on 'cuz I really needed it to keep going and not break down like an unoiled machinery a few hundred years old.
Fourth Round: 08:10+ (I think)
I walked about the first third of the round. I tired myself out by running instead of jogging, see. I am just silly that way, and also silly now for chronicling such insignificant details. I started walking right after I completed the round so I was in full view of my classmates who were trying to get me to run instead of walk. I remember I only wanted to walk for a little bit before I ran again but I somehow only re-ran once I've almost gotten to the sheltered 'bridge' between J block and H block (or something). I only noticed the blue markers on the ground and started running again. Oh yeah, when I started running again I couldn't feel my legs, until a few seconds later when the pain comes back again. I apparently strained myself too much.
Fifth Round: 11:...something
This time I walked almost half the round (re-ran where the track bends round the corner around J block and enters the basketball court area). What can I say? An exhausted person is a person who needs to rest unless he/she would rather crumple to the floor in a little lump of lipids, carbohydrates, proteins etcetera. I was rather tempted to continue walking for a little more but I guess my desire to get at least a C was quite strong afterall, even through I tried to convince myself the getting a Gold this year isn't important as long as I survive (and as you can see, I failed to convince myself). It was about this round and the previous one that Moira reminded me about mo4 xie3, and I think it was this round that she recited 'lao3 ren2 yao2 le yao2 tou2...'...
Sixth Round: 15:15 END
Walked for almost two thirds of the round. Too fatigued to do much but walk in what I felt was a rather brisk manner. When you're exhausted, any manner of movement feels like its too much for your strained body to handle...I walked even until the basketball court, where 308 resided (playing basketball?). ChunHui tried to get me to run but I kinda felt like falling over when she pushed me behind my back because my legs are almost too weak to support me. Then Moira approached me and urged me on to run, reminding me that my glasses were falling off my nose (an insignificant detail unless you consider my eyesight's badness) and AY was telling me that I've always wanted an A so I should push myself (even though I never wanted an A for 2.4 but for 1.6...). With all those people trying to get me to run, how could I not? So I sprinted. Really sprinted. I surpassed Evangeline (resident Netball player) and her partner and 'fell' down the slope, running like hell to the finishing point where I heard my timing and was filled with joy and gladness that I had gotten my Gold.
Praise be to God.
Ah. The joys of being Christian. Everything just seems to turn out right. I got a nice grade for Biology, 33/39 (I think) when only a few people got 30+. I also got a rather nice grade for Social Studies A.A. (yesterday) with 13.5/16, though where the hell that 0.5 came from I don't know. You know, I'm actually really really pleased with myself for the SS AA because I made the most significant contribution to the entire powerpoint! MUAHAHAHAHA! DROWN IN MY EGO! Okay, I must also acknowledge ShuYing who did just about as much as me. Phoebe didn't contribute at all and I think she was not included as part of the group...if only she had just sent something she could have gotten the grade! Why didn't she do anything????
I actually feel that God is being a little too nice to me. My deskmate studied very hard for all her exams but she didn't do as well as I did in some. I didn't study much for my exams at all, so I'm really quite baffled as to why I got better grades. I mean, God isn't supposed to be biased like this, right? Well, that's the perks of being Christian for you. Though maybe, I'm just a natural genius! *literally sees readers going: 'Yeah, right' sarcastically*
Anyway, after PE was recess, in which I sweated all throughout and I imagine I have a very nice shiny sheen on my skin all over my body as I fell gratefully onto the canteen seat, trying to gulp as much water as possible in one go. After a very long (15min) rest on the seat I finally decided to get something to eat. Since I didn't have money with me I asked Jana for some to buy a banana. I've heard it replenishes energy quickly.
On the way to the store to buy the banana I felt dizzy and uncomfortable, like there was something wrong with my stomach. While standing in line to buy the banana there were many times I felt like keeling over and puking. What was worse was that the people in front of me took a very long time to purchase their food and get their change so by the time I got to the counter I probably looked like death reincarnate. I picked up a banana (tried to get the biggest one that didn't seem too rotten) and paid the nice lady, who returned me 10 cents so now I know that a banana costs 30 cents. Hm, I thought it cost 40 cents...
Anyway, on wobbly feet and hunched back, I made my way very tediously back to my seat and collapsed onto it, returning Jana the 10 cents, peeling open my banana and eyeing it like a stalker would its victim. I finished the banana in a few seconds and was still covered in a nice sheen of shiny sweat. After sitting and moping around for another few more minutes I went back up to class, where I fell onto my seat and sat like a statue, talking being the only exercise done.
I conversed a little with Rachel, who told me that after I left her in my 'dust' she followed what I did, so she stopped when I stopped and she ran when I ran. In the end she got a C too. She was always a certain distance away from me, not much more nor much less. I guess in a way I did help her pace...O.o
Before recess ended I changed into my blouse in the toilet and then sat in my seat again to try to dry off my sweat. Only when recess neared its end did I pull my pinafore (very painstakingly since my arms were sore as well) over my head, gathered my Chinese stuff and left the class for Express Chinese, walking very unsteadily and with a very light head.
I recovered most of my strength in Chinese class (oddly enough...) and I had great fun talking to AY and Moira during Chinese...even though I'm pretty sure we're not supposed to do that. Ah wall, rules are made to be broken...so says the person who follows school rules (other than hair) like I would a manga I love a lot, which is to say, quite closely.
Following Chinese was assembly, where there was a fairly interesting 'skit' by the Science RA students (year 4) which incorporated a few Sciences and concepts. Quite intersting, really, if only they didn't make King Argon look so ugly. King Argon was mine first before it was theirs! Argon should only wear simple cloaks and not ones with golden edges and looking like they were made of spun white gold! King Argon has red hair, not black! King Argon is cool, not lame!
They really ruined Argon this time...
After assembly was Social Studies where the rest of the groups who haven't presented their AAs presented their AAs. The AA has a time limit of 5 minutes, even though Mr. Lim (that is, my SS teacher) doesn't really know why since the groups will be graded on content not presentation and even if the group exceeded the time he would take a look at the slides which have yet to be shown and then grade accordingly.
Math was rather okay, but I felt that Ms. Tan was too fast. I could barely catch up, not that I could usually catch up anyway.
Then ShuYing and I had lunch. Well, ShuYing had a packet of Iced Lemon Tea while I ate the sandwhiches I was supposed to have eaten for recess but was too tired to go up, get them and come back down again to consume them as eating them in class would be 'illegal', so to speak.
We then boarded 105 and went home. ShuYing got off at Toa Payoh Station while I remained on the bus, doing my Math homework...
Lots of PTs this time and quite a bit of homework too. Cross your fingers and hope I don't stress myself out, unless you want me dead.
This has got to be the longest post in a really long time, but I hope it doesn't put you off. *"sweet" smile*
And so into the dark abyss he fell, losing all sense of direction and feeling a disturbing drowsiness overtake his consciousness. There was nothing to grab on to for comfort, just an unending darkness swirling, swirling.
