BA Time to top up the psyche =)

Finally managed to find some time to write this post!!!

BA has always been an exciting time of the year for me, getting to see strong climbers crush on routes that look ridiculous!! Furthermore as NUS climbers we can relate to the sickness of the routes even better as we have been climbing on these tiles ourselves.

I can never forget the memories and experiences we had during BA. For example in 2009 we actually stayed over at the venue to take care of our stuff as it was outdoors at Velocity (Guard Duty style). The epic moment when it stormed and the scaffolding came crashing down and landed 2 metres in front of HH but all he could think of was his EE design project -.-|||. Also we were all worried whether the comp could carry on as it rained epically and the ground was literally flooded. The wind howled with such a force that judith almost flew backwards as she was trying to hold down the canvas in the picture she posted!! BA 2009 was also the comp where the term "don't do a Khairul Hafiz" was coined when in his joy he forgot to match hands to seal the deal....

Here are some videos of the open men finals cat from way back!



Khairul Hafiz trying hard on a undercling madness route. Sick shit



Homeboy Haroz crushing!

BA 2010 was another exciting BA in a sense that for a while it seemed like it might have not happened. With all the budget constraints that year it was amazing that HH managed to pull this rabbit outta the hat. After that BA I think we all agreed that Orchard Central is a less than ideal place to hold a climbing comp. Nevertheless our very own Jansen shows of his middle finger power ;) with the crowd roaring at the back.



On to BA 2011!! This BA was the first one we had to serve as Banglahs. Though it wasn't suppose to happen, it was an experience nonetheless as walking around the scaffold carrying up those heavy ass pipes really were a workout. From what I can remember it is also the first BA we had a professional climber come down to route set. Despite the tsunami incident back at home Mr Obi still came down and showed us how sick climbers could perform at the world stage. After seeing so many world cup videos, getting to see him in action was definately a treat. I doubt any of us could forget the excitement we felt when we knew Marina Sq was our venue, as it was a sure sign that BA was going somewhere and the sport was progressing =)

Personally BA is simply a great time to have fun and have your mind blown at what climbers can do. Long live BA and the psyched crew that powers each and every event!!!

Next up can we have CASS!!!! Our resident booby grabber!!

i love boulderactive season!

Yixiong asked us seniors and graduated climbers to post a little something about boulderactive during this period, leading up to our 2012 boulderactive. A little something on how organising and being part of this event is what I feel makes me an NUS climber, bringing us all together to work on something spectacular.

Also to revive this little blog here, especially after everythings turned to facebook. I guess coming here already brings some sort of little floating memories and of course I get to type more words here too.
So heres about 5 things about boulderactive that me (as a graduated nus climber) reminisce about:

1) That big lorry that we always load our mattresses and tiles and whatnots onto. Since I came in, it’s the big container truck and not the usual lorry that previous batches take by squeezing in between the mattresses. I mean sure, I never really loaded up a huge ass mother big lorry.. but doing all that saikang with your fellow teammates, actually finding out how much stuff is jam packed into that smelly gym or ours and knowing every little effort counts. That’s team work isn’t it? And that’s the difference between NUS climbers and the other school teams out there.



2) My first BA was in 2009. My first official climbing competition too. It was a novena and that period, it rained. And that little makeshift shovel we made from the board that packaged the new green sloper metolius holds. It was ridiculous but it worked alright. I remember we had 2 climbing towers? And that Sandra got into the open women finals and there were like 2 dyno moves in one single route; which Beatrix both managed to catch and then finished the route like how alex puccio crushes. But no matter how wet the whole event ended, Nigel (who was the organiser then), bought us all haagen dazs ice cream at the end. Even though Gerry and Reg were strict no-saliva-sharing people, it was nice to see all those who were part of this nus event sit down and share that many tubs of ice cream (which melted and finished really quickly).





3) How I started inching my way towards being part of the legendary F1 crew of boulderactive. Haha. Maybe by helping in just taking out the footholds at the bottom, or the starting holds, tearing off the boundary tapes. Helping out in small things like these makes work lighter for the F1 crew, keeps things moving fast. No doubt its scary being at the top of the walls, barefooted, sweaty palms, heavy tile and an allen key trying to find the t-nut hole to screw in the ending tile. Somehow this gets on my nerves more than lead falling.. haha. But I still do it anyways. But when I stop to look, I like how everyone knows what they’re supposed to do, or at least try, and theres this sense of achievement when u see those new routes go up almost instantly the walls are available. You know that no other local school competitions can do it as fast as us, using true blue school helpers. ;)





4) Now, who can forget the pride of clinching champions for the team event, especially when that event is boulderactive ;) no matter how tired each one of us were, we all still fight it out and compete against all other competitors the same way. And when we grab those podiums from each category? Awesome. Dominating the scene, yo. Like a boss, like how a powerhouse school team should be. And I think every nus climber should be proud of that.

You know that orange white polo tees we have from the SRC. I like how we all stand out in the crowd, really identifying ourselves as a school team and being there to support each other during each other’s category. The moment an nus climber comes out to climb, this mass of orange and white starts to stand or hover around, cameras whipped out, voices raised. And people will know that that’s who they’re supporting. Look at the numbers we have in our team, far more than any other school. Yet we were so bonded, we knew each others favourite food at least! HAHA. Yu pian tang (with extra bowl of rice)? Or Indonesian panggang.



5) Being an nus climber is not just about being there to help out during the event. It was about meeting up for lunch and TALKING, psyching each other up many weeks before the actual event. It was contagious! Especially when you’ve got bert, hh, des, yixiang and jw on one table. And then theres doris and yixiong, jansen on the other. And then the people from rvr join in one by one. And then suddenly we have like 4 tables full of climbers eating (the same thing?) and talking about what we love best. We talk about how training has been going for us, who has what injury, whos gonna be competing in opens, etc. we discuss on the perfect, power team to own everyone in the team event. We wonder about what the isolation is like. We discuss competition tactics. Its not just a seasonal thing. Its almost every day! That I think that’s what I miss the most now. :p haha.



So theres my 5 things. That’s not all to my nus climber life.. but its enough to keep me wanting to turn back time to experience it all over again.  I cant wait for this next boulderactive. I heard its gonna be legendary, just like how the previous comps are. And how everyone always looks forward to it. Like how it’s the competition of the season. And I cant wait for it to come, so that I can once again be part of it, even though ive graduated. But maybe I want to stick my busybody head into it and revel in how its like being part of the team again. Aww.

Im good at arrowing people. But this time I really must. So jiawei, can you do the next write up? XD

NUS - THE NORTH FACE BOULDERACTIVE 2012

More details at: www.nusclimb.com

Miraculous Elixir for Fingers!

Hi guys, this is slightly random and a lengthy post ahead. For those who are starting to feel pain in their joints, I would like to introduce the miraculous elixir.................

ZHENG GU SHUI! (available at any Chinese medical shop)



Although my fingers are very screwed, I am still able to push hard with it the past few years. You could follow my personal regime after every climbing session:

1) Bathe in cold water; Cools down overall body temp to reduce frequency of blood flow to forearms and fingers which would slow down inflammation.

2) Apply lots of ZGS on the fingers experiencing pain. Adriel applies it and bandages his fingers to keep it in. But if you're bandaging it, don't bandage for >20hrs because ZGS is a dehydrant and your skin will flake off. After applying, don't wash your hands for at least 1 - 2hrs otherwise it'll be wasted.

3) 1000mg Fish Oil - Helps with anti inflammation

4) I learnt this from Crimp Maestro Winfred: Ice with bowl / tupperware with 7 ice cubes. Soak hand in it continuously for about 2 - 3min. It should be numb but not biting pain. Change hand. Repeat 2 -3 sets.

5) Before sleeping, apply ZGS again. And don't rub your eyes in the middle of your sleep!

6) Massage fingers regularly with thumb on the top of the swollen joint, and massage down towards top side of palm. You want to bring blood away from the fingers which is carrying the waste materials.

7) Next part depends on what's wrong with your fingers:
i) Inflammation - Spam Fish Oil, Ice treatment. ZGS good but optional
ii) Weird dull pain in joints - Just spam ZGS. At least twice a day. And do the massage


Healthy fingers are the most important when breaking boundaries in late game! Aaron Tan, Winfred, Dennis, Hazlee, Ron, Haroz are examples of people who have perfectly healthy fingers. So there's a strong correlation seen here!

Five Things

Hi, this is Si Hui! (unfortunately i'm the one on the right, the one on the left is my friend Jocelyne who is also a climber (: )

Couldn't really find any photos of myself individually, so this is the best I could get I guess!?

this is me in my PGP room. Yes, CUI haha I don't take individual photos!

I'm generally not a very interesting person so, well. And it took me ages to blog this because I thought it wasn't important (which is right! right?).

Anyway, here's the 5 things..

1) I have a twin sister.

Nope, she's not in NUS. Yup, she used to climb too haha. Nope, we don't take photos together so there isn't really any comparison about whether or not we look alike haha. But here's one of when we were small, when we looked more alike.

upon closer inspection: nah, we don't look alike at all hahaha.

wait... this one looks quite alike???

as can be seen from this photo, our parents used to dress us in either exactly the same clothes or clothes differentiated solely by colour. Confuse all the relatives hahaha!

2) Like Juanmin, I started climbing in Secondary school purely by accident as well. ODAC was my first choice, but back then I was kind of dumb and thought that ODAC was a misspelling of Oratorical And Debate Society and I didn't realise until I joined it.

But it was fun nevertheless! :D I loved my time in ODAC.

3)

If you haven't really talked to me yet, maybe you haven't realised... I'm not the brightest spark around. I get distracted reaaaaaaallyyyyyyy easily. It makes studying a very huge chore sometimes. Or rather, most of the time :/ It's also probably the reason why I can't remember routes even after they've been pointed out twice, oops.

4) I don't really like to eat meat.
It's not about being environmentally friendly or kind to animals, its just that I like stuff like veggies and rice and noodles better? It's like I'll order chicken rice, eat all the rice and leave the chicken haha :D I still eat meat though, because it makes me full faster and occasionally it seems quite nice haha. I eat seafood avidly and rather regularly though!

5) I acted in a play recently, for charity. I had to wear a purple wig and devil horns because I was playing one of Hell's minions. It was An Experience? Eventually it was quite fun but I don't think we raised much for charity oops hehe.

That aside, I highly doubt I'll ever do it again, cause I can't act for nuts hahaha. I like watching better!! I want to watch A Midsummer Night's Dream next but I think it's right smack in the middle of all our final exams. boo. ):

okay now I am done with my very boring 5 things :D

p.s. sorry about the photo sizes :/ I have no idea how to regulate them.

next..... uhhh.... who else? wenshu?

Shirt Designs so far

HI EVERYONE!

The following are the current shirt designs (thanks to aaron tan who drew them) that we're thinking of printing, do give us your honest feedback and suggestions on how we can improve them. Also, it'll be great if you guys can come up with a cool slogan that encapsulates the spirit of our climbing team. :)

1.

2.

3.

4.

Let me/aaron tan know if you have any ideas for the shirts or a cool slogan to contribute please! Thanks alot and in the meantime share your opinions on the designs!

Five things about Paul

Hello. I don't blog so I'm not really sure what to write. But here goes.

1. SA
I've been in St Andrews for my whole schooling life (not including now of course). Yup that's right. The whole way from kindergarten thru to JC. Weird right. Normally people would want a change in environment and all. But I guess I'm not really a true Saint cuz I didn't play rugby. Haha.
Oh here's something interesting: my secondary school principal was my aunt.

2. Anyway, it was in JC that I started climbing. But my interest really took off after going to the US at the end of J1. Here's why:

My addition to one of the many 'postcard' views of Yosemite valley. El capitan & Half dome.

After reading about the historic ascends made by all the big names, it's really inspiring when you see the magnificent rock faces for yourself. Well actually, Yosemite itself is already inspiring even if you weren't into climbing. That was what actually made me go back there.

The Royal arches, north dome, the Washington Column.

I'm no Ansel Adams so please pardon the bad photos. I was using a point and shoot cam.

Sentinel Rock

When I was near Yosemite falls, I remembing seeing 2 guys walking with lots of quickdraws. It was weird because it was winter (0-2degC)! I didn't think anyone would climb in that temperature.

Yosemite is one place everyone should visit at least once! :)

After Yosemite, I visited an aunt in Arizona.

Pinnacle Peak Park

Sports and trad climbing here. Anyone interested? Got free accom. Haha

3. Food
I love gourmet food. To me, it's one of the finer pleasures in life. But it's too expensive to eat out, so I just look forward to the weekends when my cousins cook (sometimes my sis too). Like just last night I had oxtail stew *slurp* :) Occasionally, we have a rich dessert - like my cousin's wife made an almond dacquoise (a kind of french cake) for his birthday. But I don't really have any pictures so I shall not elaborate.

Instead, since we're going to HK I thought it would be appropriate to whet your appetite with some food I had there.

This is from Butao Ramen. The chef, Ikuta Satoshi, is from Fukuoka so he serves the Tonkotsu style. Only 200 bowls a day. I'm not so much of a connoisseur on Japanese food, but I know enough to know that it is really good stuff.

It has been featured in the media many times like nytimes, etc... Here's the cnn one: http://www.cnngo.com/hong-kong/eat/hong-kong-hottest-hole-wall-ramen-shop-974723

I think I queued for 45min. Haha


This is from Tim Ho Wan. It's a one Michelin starred restaurant. Apparently, it's the cheapest Michelin starred restaurant in the world. And I won't be surprise. The dim sum here is priced similarly to any mid range restaurant here. Like $1.50 - $2.50 a plate?
Anyway, look at that char siew! The texture is just right. Also, notice how their bao is more of a cake consistency.

4. Ok so enough about food. Now say hello to Kate :)

She's a Shetland sheepdog.

*I love my bone*

5. Music

"Music is one of the most beautiful treasures of our life. It is the language of our soul, our heart. It is our spiritual nourishment."

Mariss Jansons

(It's said more eloquently in German but posting it in German would defeat the purpose since not everyone undersetands.)

In my iPod you'll find many genres of music. I've got music ranging from OneRepublic & Toni Braxton to John Coltrane & Ella Fitzgerald. I've also have everything from Beethoven to Rodgers & Hammerstein.

I play the piano too albeit very poorly. So normally I just leave it to the people who are more proficient to provide the music.

Alright, I think I've written enough(too much? haha). Hope it was an interesting read for ya'll.

Now, over to Si Hui.

The long-awaited 5 things

Hi everyone! Sorry this came rather delayed but I was kinda caught up with work. But better late than never right. :) Okay in case people don't know who I am:

Alright for the 5 things I've picked things that I don't think people in the climbing team know about me yet, except maybe Si Hui but she doesn't count cos I see her every school day. Here goes:

1. I started climbing by accident.

I started climbing in secondary school with my school's ODAC but ODAC was certainly not my first choice. Photographic Society was my first choice but they rejected me so I ended up in ODAC, but I believe that's all part of fate, because I've never looked back ever since. I was never really under a climbing club till I came into NUS so initially I was afraid that training will kill the fun of climbing, but I've been proven severely wrong. NUS climbing has made me love climbing more and that's why I've been sulky for a few weeks now following my injury. :(

2. I need a lot of sleep.

I'm not too sure why too, but I cannot really function properly if I don't get enough sleep. Which is why I don't know how I'm going to survive working right after I graduate (or how I'll survive in Med school, for that matter), but I guess only time will tell. That's why during camps when activities end I'll probably be the first to head to sleep, and I'll always miss out on the HTHT's through the night. :/ But I'd rather do that than be grumpy/grouchy in the mornings. Which also leads me to add that I am NOT a morning person. So if you see me at 8am in the morning and I don't wave to you, I apologise in advance!

3. I consider myself to be a jack of many trades (yes, and master of none).

You could blame my mum for this, because since young she signed me up for countless things. I've dabbled in these things before: ballet, piano, swimming (I'm a certified lifeguard!)...I can do most sports (except tennis, I can't seem to get it) and am trying to get more involved in things like dance, music and theatre, which brings me to...

4. I enjoy literature and the arts.

Hi gwen, that makes the 2 of us. Although I don't read very much, when I do I really enjoy myself because there are a lot of techniques that go into writing a good poem/novel/play. Good novels are those that do not have a fixed interpretation, with words that evoke different feelings for different people, much like boulder routes I must say. I haven't got the opportunity to do much in the area of the arts since secondary school though, so I'm hoping to take classes in music and dance, and hopefully get to be involved in a school theatre production. Fingers crossed I'll find the time!

Finally,
5. I love going on service trips.

I've been to Cambodia 3 times now, all of which were for service. I feel that these trips help me to stay grounded as a person and they also give me an opportunity to relax and recharge before returning to hectic, crazy Singapore. I've done things from teaching English lessons to building a village house from scratch to painting a school mural in Cambodia. It's really very fun, and I intend to keep doing these trips even after I start working. :) I'll let pictures speak for themselves!

First time in Siem Reap in June this year. The kids were so fascinated with pipe cleaners! :) 

All from my trip in 08, where we built a village house and gave out handmade soap

The mural my team and I painted in 07

Okay by now you guys should know enough about me. You will have to know more by interacting with me because words don't really mean everything. :) See you guys around and always have fun climbing!!

PAUL, I hope you have your 5 things ready!

6 mins of entertainment by Quest Crew

They're the guys who choreographed LMFAO's Party Rock Anthem...

5 things about tan

1) i didnt used to always have such a nice hairstyle.

but i appeared in the famous anime Naruto as rock lee.. oh the springtime of youth! T.T

my life motto: we're only young once, climb hard now work harder next time :)



2) i call jensen seah boss and not ah pa not just becuz i dont have a vertical taco but becuz he IS my boss.. i'm one of climbasia's bangla boys.

i have been working in climbasia since JC 1 and thru my army days... yes i was moonlighting but it paid better than army, who can blame me?

3) i used to coach the vjc climbing team back when i was lobo-ing after ORD.

i think i look as young as them! the secret of staying young is through hanging out with xiao mei meis :)

4)i hate insects

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5)this fact will affect the way u look at me. so i'm not gonna tell u. but here's a clue: its gotta do with my family background ;)

next up.... juan min i choose you!

solar light bulb!

5 things about gwen

Hey guys! I know I took really long to write this, but its because, um haha I didn't even know the address of the blog, and I do not understand google/yahoo groups. You laugh now, but my lack of computer skills ensures that I never get addicted to the computer.

SO, here goes! (this feels like a college application essay)

1. I have one double eyelid and one single eyelid.

Yes, I know its very spastic. As you can see in this picture, I have to be extremely meticulous when I draw eyeliner because one eyelid is double and the other is not. My eyes look normal here right???

BUT!! This is NOT a sign of a birth defect! Its merely the last stage of puberty that hasn't occurred yet. According to my mum (whose eyes used to be like mine) the other double eyelid only appeared when she was 20?

2. As embarrassing as this is, I have a lot of unglam pictures. So many in fact that my friend Kristal decided to create a collage and upload it on Facebook.

For your viewing pleasure:

Actually, I'm so used to having unglam pictures that it doesn't bother me much anymore! It's called embracing your inner Demon Child. As you can see, the wink face repeats itself frequently.

I blame this on the F.R.I.E.N.D.S series, because my best friends and I would impersonate Joey saying "How you doin' ?" followed by the wink. Hence, the bad habit.

Still doesn't explain why I have so many unglam pictures though.

3. I used to have normal colored hair

However, just before school started, I felt that since I was only 18, I should take advantage of my youth and do something unexpected to my hair before I turn the dreaded 19years old. But, as we all know, what happens in reality usually doesn't meet our expectations.

Expectations:

Reality:

It's fine though, Jesus loves me regardless of my hair color.

4. I think I may have OCD. or at least, a very mild case of it.

When I was young, I used to group EVERYTHING into groups of five, and I had a huge obsession with the number 5. No, 5 isn't the name of my childhood crush, it's a number that I was worryingly obsessed with. Actually, just thinking about it now makes me worry that this obsession is going to start all over again.

Also, im a clean freak with a capital C. My friends came over to my room in Sheares Hall the other day, and when they left, I ended up cleaning my table, floor and changing my bedsheets.

This doesn't mean that I don't want you to stay over anymore Ash <3

5. I intend to major in Literature and go on to become a journalist because social convention dictates that I have to find a proper job. Alternatively, I would't mind having a rich (old men may not apply) husband to support me while I while my life away writing and reading. Ultimately, I hope to finish writing my first novel by the age of 25! (for personal satisfaction, not monetary gains)

For the next blog post,

I CHOOSE YOU AARON TAN!