YSaturday, June 24, 2006
Tribute to T2-2: The Bitch. (Adventures with Raymond)
I can still remember the first time I went down for water training at Macritchie. Tried to take a T1 but capped not far off from the pontoon. So Miss Lim sent me to take T2 with Ashraff who was kinda sad 'cause he was having fun in another T1. Throughout that whole training session we slacked and chatted, and that was the first and the last, because after that, Raymond came along.
Thinking back, it wasn't all that long ago when we first paddled together. Hmmm, 3-4 months? I remember it was right after road race, which I had to come in top 30 in order to sign up for canoeing. And at that race I actually came in 29th position! Anyway, after that we had mileage and seperate paddling training, and I still remember the times we shouted at one another. And of course, our first competition: MR500.
Haha, it now seems rather hilarious, how newbish we were at that time and yet we were able to whoop the polys, Raymond and I. clocking a time of 2:49 min if I remember correctly. If we ever got close to that timing nowadays, we'd probably be reliving those quarrels we had those days. But I must say, we really did come a long way into progressing today. If we now went back in time and entered MR500, I'd say we'd be able to pace those NUS & NTU buggers. LOL. Sadly, time does not permit so, and now we only have nationals to look forward to.
I still remember how each and every training our morale was quite low, as we never did manage to get close to the Fat Whore (Ivan & CZ). We gave in all we had, but it was never quite enough; we were always 3 strokes behind, if not more. But things started to change. Suddenly, we are able to keep up with them, but still we can't get complacent, as we still have one more target before we chiong for nationals: catch dharma wang~!!! hahahaha trying hard, trying sososo hard.
Remember that time we were happily drinking water from the reservoir, at the 1k mark, and we were talking about the future? How we said that maybe 20 years down the road we'd be in 2 T2s sitting with our sons, telling them our story, about how we strived to win the nationals... "to think back then, me and uncle raymond sat in the Bitch, and..." I wasn't kidding. Hell, I'd like that day to come. Too bad they aren't gonna have T2s anymore in the near future, or so they said. I still remember joking with dharma about how I would raise my first son. At his 4th birthday, I'd give him the Book of Muscles. When he turned 5, I'd buy him his first Brasca 1 paddle. Turning 6, his first K1~!!! wahahahhahaas! While other kids his age at school will be talking about the new episode of Hi-5, he'll be grinning to himself how he owned a national K1-ner 10 years older. LMAO. as if that could actually happen. Maybe I'd ask him to go learn C1, then can learn from my Dragon-Bro wk, or my favourite betting partner Benjamin.
Through canoeing my running improved tremendously too (or is it the other way round??) LOL. not sure, but it doesn't matter. At least now I'm quite confident I won't be 29th in school anymore, at least not in MJ. But i can still never quite catch zehou in long d, wk & vasin in short & mid-d. haiz.. so what's the point..? LOL. And I've since then given up on running as a sport. God damn it, I'd choose a slow 5k jog over a 4-2-1-1 fart-leg.
All of a sudden, our lives have been thrust to revolve around canoeing, and its not like I'm harbouring any regrets whatsoever. I simply love it! WOOOOHOOO~! Raymond & Fat Whore, let's get that 1-2 placing for MJC KAYAKING TEAM~!!!
From your friendly-but-psycho kayaking buddy,
The Bitch Back-man: Lai Laiguang.
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