Inter-School TKD Competition

Zaky signed up for the inter-school competition while he was training for the Koko Krunch championship. Since February this year, we had  been busy ferrying the kids for extra training in prep for their various competitions. It is sheer hard work and a total mess to our routine. I cant wait for this last one to be over.

It was however, a good excuse to remind Zaky to keep to his diet. In fact, we had some leeway; the weight limit was 36kg, 1kg higher than the earlier competition. But I played dumb; Zaky had way too much reserve and it would do him good to maintain his weight. He still had his occasional ice cream and chocolates and was 34.8kg at weigh-in with his gears. Nice...

The competition was on a Wednesday morning. It would stretch into the afternoon if he wins. He didnt have to report to school and was super thrilled at that, more than the competition. As he was the only one from his school partaking in the competition, we had to bring him to the competition on our own. We were told to report at Toa Payoh Sports Hall at 8.30am.

Remembering how much waiting there was at the last competition, we had asked his Master for the realistic lastest possible time to report. We took a Grab at 8.15am and panicked when there was a heavy jam on PIE.

The weather was so good.

We arrived on the dot at 9am.

It was a lot more organised this time. His Masters (and many more of them this time) were already at the Sports Hall bcos the girls' competition took place earlier in the morning.

Then, it was a lot of waiting.

His 1st game was scheduled to start at 10am.

But the games overran and we waited and waited and waited. Zzzzzz. It was warmed up and cool down and warm up and cool down again.

Even I got bored, let alone the active boy. At one point, I was taking a call and he almost dozed off waiting, until his Master called him to proceed to the contestants waiting area. Finally!

Then, there was more waiting at the waiting area but at least there were activities like collecting their tags/ foot guard.

After like forever, it was finally Zaky's turn. Time check - 12.10pm! We waited for like 3 hrs. Zzzzz. At that point, I didnt know if I should wish for him to win, which meant more waiting or lose and we can go home. Haha. Zaky was obvious lethargic; he told his Master that he wanted to lose so that he can go home.

It was obvious that he wasnt using what he had learnt. The 1st set ended with a 2-2 score. His opponent kicked him and his 2 points were earned when his opponent was penalised for kicking too low (I think).

The 2nd set started and ended in less than 10s. His opponent tried to kick him and accidentally brushed against his face mask. For that, his opponent was disqualified and Zaky won the 1st round. Hahaha. The win was non of his efforts but the boy was pumped up for more. At that, I was glad that he had won; 3 hours' wait for that slightly over 1 min on the arena was too painful. Zaky said that he did feel bad for his opponent for being disqualified but couldnt hide his winning smile. I feel so bad for whoever that has brought the boy to the sports hall and waited with the boy.

The wait for the 2nd round was much shorter. Within half hour, he was asked to proceed to the waiting area. This time, his opponent looked bigger and stronger than him.

After 2 sets of 1-minute each, his fate was sealed. He lost the game at 10-2. His opponent was obviously stronger and we were subsequently told that he was 11. Then again, Zaky was again not listening or using what he had learnt. Why like that?

The boy was less upset as compared to losing at the last competition bcos he had at least won once. He even thought that he won the 2nd place bcos he lost and got bronze the last competition. Sorry young man, life isnt so simple.

With that, we headed home and this should be the last competition for a while..I think... his Masters told him that there is national TKD sparring competition in September. What??!!! Anyway, I have told Zaky that he has to show me that he is using whatever he has learnt in whichever 3rd competition that he is participating. If he doesnt listen or learn, then he can bid farewell to competitions.

Mummy Lim

WWF Level Up

Daddy Lim and I joined the WWF in February 2018. The rides on Saturday morning 6.30am work perfectly for our busy weekend schedule. Riding in a group is also so much more enjoyable than braving the wind alone. As such, Daddy Lim and I had been regular faces during the Saturday rides. Over time, we have also built up bonds with the other cyclists, often over the bfast breaks. It is so rewarding to ride for delicious food even if the bfast cancelled out the calories burnt. Lol.

The WWF is under the Pioneer CSC and managed by a few like-minded persons. There are hard work that goes into the Saturday rides that Daddy Lim and I so fortunately enjoyed. Then, there are bigger events that require more communication and organisation.

In March, Daddy Lim and I both received a whatsapp invite to join the WWF committee. We are very honored. We were told that the criteria = regular riders plus responsible people. I think the 2nd criteria is a nicer way to mean that they want old people who are too busy/ slow/ cant be bother to spout nonsense on the common chat. Hahaha. While the bigger and more noble purpose is to serve the Jurong West Community, I am more keen towards serving the WWF cyclists, the same people who brought us so much joy every Sat morning.

So tadah! We made it to committee. I have willingly volunteered to help with the administration side of things bcos leading rides isnt my kind of things. I think I will get lost faster than the cyclist I am supposed to lead and my bike handling sucks; I need 2 hands on my handlebar and dont have a 3rd hand to signal to drivers or to indicate turns and holes on the floor. Haha.

Things have worked out fairly well. Posting weekly rides on fb and watsapp dont take up too much time. I dont know for sure what is Daddy Lim role (he will eventually lead some rides) but he has started helping to report the attendance. Ha! The committee role has suddenly made us more responsible. I feel like a class monitress. Hehe.

Mummy Lim

Ice Skating 159 & 160: New Chapter

It has been more than 2 weeks since Lil Shauna's National competition. With "No Big Deal" behind us, it is now back to learning new things. It also mean that this tuition teacher can now take a break. I think I should allow Lil Shauna more space to learn how to push herself.

The last lesson, Coach Raymond made her do camel, altitude and broken leg spin. There are so many interesting names to ice skating elements, isnt it? While they sound so funny, each one is so difficult. Zzzz..

None of the pictures looked like she did a decent spin, right? Haha, she has a lot more hard work to do, to figure out the gist to get those spins. Thankfully, her sit and back spins are so much better now after the competition drill.

The same night, she joined a footwork workshop organised by her skating club.

The instructor, which is also a coach but for the national and/ or development team (I think), is so good. I signed Lil Shauna up for the lower level class only to realise that her peers went for the higher level workshop. For a while, I was worried that it was a wrong choice. Bcos she knew most of the footwork, she had the opportunity to try to do better. Right choice, right choice. Unlike the 1st workshop, where she was blindly trying to catch up with the rest, she had better appreciation this time. She even shared with me her learning on good postures after the workshop. I reminded her that she needed to practice keeping her hands "less busy", the "busyness" frequently offset her balance and made her look messy.

Yday's class was interesting bcos Lil Shauna learnt new jumps! She was taught lutz jump but couldnt get the entire revolution and unable to land on one foot. Coach Raymond also made her do axle jump! I am so excited, much more than her. Lol.

Of course she didnt get her axle jump but Coach Raymond said that it isnt too bad for a 2nd time on ice.

We went back for extra ice time this afternoon. Lil Shauna worked on her spins but gave up soon after. She practiced her lutz jumps hard and was eventually occasionally able to land on one foot with almost a full round. She said something about edge or the jump wouldnt be considered a lutz jump and asked me if she did it properly. Huh? Simi edge? The tuition teacher 功力不够, she will have to go ask Coach Raymond the next lesson.

Towards the end of the ice time, she went on to practice her axle jump. It was obvious that she was worried about falling but unfortunately it was impossible to master an axle jump without falling on the ice. She of course fell, several times some more. Hahaha. Coach Raymond gave her some pointers along the way, reminding her to cross her leg. He said that she has a little bit more to go to complete the 1.5 round required for an axle. Yeah, sounded so near but I think a lot of hard work for that little bit more.

Competitions push skaters towards improving. Lil Shauna was pressured to work really hard to master her sit and back spins and flip jump needed for the competition. With the competition over, she now able to move to new elements. I am so proud and in anticipation of what she could do in the next competition!

Mummy Lim

Beauty Above All

Lil Shauna had her ears pierced when she was 4. At that times, the 2 older Fs were flashing earrings and the little girl was lured. It was an "interesting" experience; we left the shop with only 1 ear pierced bcos she realised that it hurts and was no fun. Lol. It was after a lot of coaxing that we managed to get the other ear pierced and ended up with a lot of tears.

Then, she had an incident the following year. Her left ear stud was stuck in the ear lobe. Dont ask me how that happened. Weird things always happen to kids. We only managed to get the ear stud out after a visit to NUH children A&E bcos the GP couldnt do anything. How exciting... since then, Lil Shauna has been without earrings and the piercing healed over time.

In the past few years, she had occasionally mentioned about getting her ears pierced again but was never serious enough. I wasnt in a hurry too. I know that there will be a point of time that she would ask for it. I got my ear piercing done only in secondary 4 and didnt stop until I had 7 piercings. It will come and it did. Hoho.

Recently, Lil Shauna had been talking frequently about ear piercing. However, she would back out after imagining how painful it would be. We even checked out the pricing at a 77th street alike shop - $5 per ear, so affordable. Then it was nearing her competition and then her camp, which isnt any good time for ear piercing.

It dragged on for few months, even I got bored of hearing her arguing with herself over the ear piercing. Yawn. Then, an atas ear piercing shop opened in JP. The advertisement claimed that it was painless! Lil Shauna has hopes! But painless comes with an atas price - lowest at $55 for both ears piercing.

One evening, the little girl finally made up her mind and dragged us to JP after dinner for her atas painless ear piercing. The sales claimed that it was painless bcos of the numbing lotion that they used.

Everything happened quickly. We chose the studs, paid for the piercing. The staff moved quickly to identify the spot to pierce and sprayed on the numbing lotion. Fast was good so that Lil Shauna has no chance to back out.

She started panicking when the ladies moved in to pierce her ears. It was done simultaneously, one lady to one ear and so quick that she didnt have much time to really panic. Her parents were happily taking pictures to register the moment. Lol.

Tadah!

Lil Shauna said that it wasnt really painless. I guess speed was the key here. From the point that they started identifying the piercing spots to completion took less than a minute. We paid for manpower leh.

The girl is super happy with her new additions. She was so eager to go show off to her class mates. She didnt complain much about the pain bcos 美 is everything. Hahaha.

Mummy Lim

Not Too Old for Barugu?

Daddy Lim and I were both busy with work. Popo agreed to help us pick the kids from phonics class yday evening. 

I saw 2 missed calls from LC when my discussions ended. I didnt bother calling back, thinking that the kids had called me bcos Popo was late in fetching them or something of the effect.

It was only when I met up with the kids that I realised why LC was trying to reach me - Zaky hurt himself during class. Zzzzzz. He had this big bump on his forehead. What? Isnt he too old for barugu on forehead? I thought only toddlers get those?

The story goes - the boy couldnt sit still and was rocking forward and backward in his chair. The chair gave way, he slipped and bang his forehead on the edge of the table. I can imagine the impact to be huge, along with his body weight. Ouch! I can also imagine what kind of panic and chaos that he got the center into. He said that he cried a little bcos it was so painful and he got iced and all. I actually found the choatic scene that I imagined in my head so funny. Lol. 

The bump was big. He said that it hurt alot and refused to let us touch it, let alone rub. Popo said that the swell had gone down significantly after the icing. So it must be a lot bigger earlier. He looks fine otherwise, eating 3 slices of pizza for dinner, quarreling with jiejie, playing chess, doing homework, practice sparring with me. 

I couldnt help but had to take a picture of his barugu for keepsakes. The barugu was bigger in real life. See, he is still all giggly about it. Faint. 

Of course I was reminded of the humongous barugu that he got when he was a toddler. I was told that he literally bang his head on the playground metal bar then. Wah lau, same side somemore. Win already.

This picture kept coming back. Maybe I should put them side by side and post them on fb so that fb will prompt me regularly as memories. Hahaha. 

He is Bruise Lim... 遍体鳞伤.. my heart must have grew so much stronger since he came into my world. Lol.

Mummy Lim

P5 Camp

Finally it is Lil Shauna's turn. Unlike the little boy who is so fearful of having to sleep without his soft toys and mummy, Lil Shauna had been looking forward to the camp for a long time.

It was a 3D2N camp; the 1st time ever that Lil Shauna would be on her own without family. We got her bag all packed up 2 days before the trip. The school provided a comprehensive pack list and they nicely fit into a big backpack.

On Wednesday morning, we sent the kids to school like usual. The only difference was that jiejie would not come back for the next 2 nights.

Lil Shauna's absence was very much felt in the next 3 days. For one, I had a lot more time to coach Zaky's in his atrocious chinese. I will save that story for another day.

It was delightful to have Lil Shauna back on Friday. The camp had been brilliant. She had plenty of stories to share; her unpleasant camping night, the cheering, the exciting activities, the camp fire, etc. The only down is the loss of the tolietries bag and her slippers. I thought that only happen to Zaky. Zzzzz.

The P5 camp is not the only event that the young lady is looking forward to. This is also the year that certain students get to go for the overseas trip. They have a choice of Beijing, China and Brunei. The kids submitted their top 2 choices and there were even interviews, especially for the popular Beijing and HKG. Lil Shauna had submitted her request for Beijing and Brunei largely bcos Beijing and HKG will be in June and may clash with our upcoming Brisbane holiday, while Brunei will be in November.

She was disappointed when she wasnt selected for Beijing and was happy when told that she had been selected for Brunei, even when she isnt truly particularly looking forward to Brunei. Haha. I miss her already simply by thinking about the upcoming trip. Haha.

Mummy Lim

This is No Big Deal 2!

Finally, this is the 1.5 min after months and months of training and hard work.

Our last class was on Saturday morning on 1/3 ice. The ice was crowded with skaters doing last minute practice for their upcoming competition.

Lil Shauna tried to practice after class, which resulted in a lot of heart ache and fustration bcos the ice was crowded and the girl cannot do much when it is the case. She is a woodhead; she spent all her time skating into crowds and then stopped right when she needed to execute her jumps/ spins bcos there are people. Then repeat 258x. Arrggghhh.. change lah.

The judges stand was being set up.

o

The public ice is usually out of bound to jumps and certain spins for the public crowd safety. They had to allow this time bcos the upcoming competition has participants from other countries and had limited time to get used to the ice. I see little kids who execute their difficult spins and axle jumps in the sea of people who cant skate well and then look at Lil Shauna who cant jump/ spin in the area specific for advance skarers. Rolled eyes..

There were practice time slots allocated on early Sunday morning. Our slot was at 6.50am and we have to be at the rink 30 mins before. Yes, we were up at 5ish and left the house at 6am. The parens worked as hard as the kid.

There was a fair bit of waiting. In the Prelimerary competition that Lil Shauna took place in, the groups were categorised by age - 9 and below, 10 and above. Of her group, there were 10 participants, divided into 2 sub-groups. Based on the draw results, she was the 10th (and last) skater and in the 2nd group. The last competition, she was the 1st the whined so much about it. Now, we have the extreme. Lol.

It was only when we arrived that I found out that the practice time was allocated by group. Lil Shauna was only supposed to hit the ice at 7.15am. We could have slept more. As Coach Raymond didnt have many students competing that day, we were on our own for the practice. Tuition teacher mummy stood in. So it was waiting and waiting and waiting. Warm up and more warm up.

The small group worked out really well for Lil Shauna bcos she had so much space. The skaters get to practice once with their music according to the competition sequence. That was when we get to see all her competitors perform.

My jaw dropped bcos many of her competitors were really good. Some of them were doing axle in their program; Lil Shauna barely started learning that. We knew that it would be impossible to get a medal this time. No wonder Coach Raymond told her to work on improving her scores from the last Preliminary competition bcos a medal would be too far fetched. Lol.

The practice time was very well utilised. Lil Shauna did her program fairly decently. She also practiced the elements that she wasnt too confident about, which were mainly the various spins.

We had about 3 hours before we needed to be back on the ice. It was fortunate that we live so close to the rink and headed home to rest. Many of the skaters had to linger on. I even managed to squeeze in a treadmill run.

The preparation work started at 9ish. Time was tight. Change, hair and makeup. I shaved some of her eyebrow to her dismay. Haha.

We were back in the rink at 10.20am, 1 hour before her program, as instructed by Coach Raymond. The rink was a sea of skaters and filled with parents, families and supporters. It was a little confusing.

We saw her competitors, whom we always see at the rink and found some comfort in finding familiar faces. All blue.. pink had lost favor with the teenagers.

The other skaters tend to stick with friends but Lil Shauna is always so shy and ended up without many skater friends. Adding on anxiousness, throughout the wait, she was sticking to me. Aiyo.

She started warming up again. We had the knee guard on for in case.

Then we heard the officials asking the Group 2 Preliminary to get ready and rushed to put on her skates only to realise that it was the Group 2 for below 9 YO. Zzzz. As such, a lot of time was wasted waiting in her skates instead of more warm up.

At some point, she was sittting quietly beside Coach Raymond at the waiting area while I entertained Zaky who was super bored even with the phone. Bite him.

It was finally the time for her group warm up at about 11.40am. While it was only 6 mins, there were only the same 5 of them. She worked on part of the programs, her jumps and spins.

Then it was back to the bench to wait for her turn. The wait wasnt too long since there were only the 5 of them. Usually, they would announce the result right after the performance but it was strangely not done for this group. I was just hoping that she wouldnt turn in last bcos the rest were so good.

Lil Shauna did well; she remembered to showcase all the months of training, the details that I had reminded her again and again and she had worked hard on. She didnt landed one of the jumps properly, almost slipped at some point and didnt smile and "perform" but it was decent enough to reflect all the hard work that we had put in. Yay! Afterall, all hard work comes to nil if she is unable to perform during that 1.5 min on ice.

Pictures with Coach Raymond before he left and asked us to send him the results.

Last July, she was slightly shorter than Coach Raymond and now she is almost the same height. Coach Raymond obviously does the "no big deal" better than her. Haha.

One of her school mates turned up to support her. I was so 感动 .

The results took a while to release, just nice for lunch. Zaky was very hungry and grouchy. We were back to crowds around the result boards and anxiously joined the crowd.. drumroll...

Lil Shauna was the 7th out of the 10 skaters! The 4th Singaporean out of 7. Yay, yay, yay. More importantly, she she scored 16.13, an improvement from her last competition of 14.35.

We didnt wait for the results the last competition. There's actually a breakdown by elements, which is really good to see what to work harder on. She realised that she lost 0.5 points (which is a lot) on performance and now know how important to smile and perform during her program. She has a lot of work on that.

She was exactly placed in between the 2 girls whom she took picture with earlier this morning. Their scores were very, very close.

We were all glad that the competition is all over; we can finally take take a breather. Woohoo! Lil Shauna definitely enjoyed this competition better than the last ones. I guessed it all voiced down to experience. She even told me that she wanted to partake in more competitions. Hahaha.

It was actually very encouraging to see so many young skaters skating so well. The overseas participants particularly were very impressive. Many of them were below 9 (even 6!) and competing in levels higher than Lil Shauna. The results for the competition had just been released and the below 9 Preliminary skaters mostly had scores much higher than the 10 and old skaters!

I hope Lil Shauna is as motivated as I am to work harder after the competition. I compared the video of her last and this competition and didnt see huge improvements actually, which means we have a huge opportunity to grow. See, I am so positive. Haha. Next to conquer - camel spins and axle! Go, go, go!

Mummy Lim