As the beginning of my first week comes to end and I reach the medial moment of truth I find the bureaucracy puzzling me. Different course materials are supposed to be available to the students through different means. I would have thought that centralising such a system would lead to greater continuity and less confusion. Now I need to find my lecture notes for one subject and my current set reading task for another. I was once told that "University is not meant to teach you anything but how to manage time and solve problems". I'm starting to believe this true.
I'm not bitter by any means I'm just concerned that this temporary delay may slow my progress and may lead to me falling behind. But then again, with my paranoid nature I'm sure I'll be on top of it in no time.
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Monday, July 24, 2006
First impressions
Initially I was excited and enthralled by the idea of beginning uni again. Now I am sitting in my first lecture theatre, not as the sole student of Introduction to philosophy but as the most punctual (for now) student. More paranoid and bewildered actually. I am now feeling a sense of nervousness, not fear for whether I will succeed but a fear of the unknown. I had always prided myself on lavishing the excitement of looking into this great abyss but now I feel some what intimidated.
I'm lost for words. A revelation mentioned by many came to me. One cannot live with forever increasing highs for the lows will approach quicker than one would imagine. In my case this can come on a daily or even hourly basis. I must learn or atleast try to reduce the contrast of my highs and lows. Mind you, most would suggest I am trivialising my concerns. They would be right.
So how does one try remove themselves from these, seemingly uncontrollable, emotional roller coaster rides. Only through time with much reflection and pride through ones..... What am I saying? I wouldn't know. Perhaps I can receive some quality advice and a stern kick in the bum.
"STOP THINKING INTERNALLY AND FOCUS ON THOSE EXTERNAL INPUTS YOU REQUIRE. TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE..." I already regret that last statement.
---------------
Ok so now I am out of my first lecture and frankly it was great. I spoke a couple of times and realised this brain does still work outside my consciousness. Philosophy is going to be a fascinating subject. Soon enough I will be pulling my hair out to conclude this semester successfully but I think things are atleast moving in the right direction.
I'm lost for words. A revelation mentioned by many came to me. One cannot live with forever increasing highs for the lows will approach quicker than one would imagine. In my case this can come on a daily or even hourly basis. I must learn or atleast try to reduce the contrast of my highs and lows. Mind you, most would suggest I am trivialising my concerns. They would be right.
So how does one try remove themselves from these, seemingly uncontrollable, emotional roller coaster rides. Only through time with much reflection and pride through ones..... What am I saying? I wouldn't know. Perhaps I can receive some quality advice and a stern kick in the bum.
"STOP THINKING INTERNALLY AND FOCUS ON THOSE EXTERNAL INPUTS YOU REQUIRE. TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE..." I already regret that last statement.
---------------
Ok so now I am out of my first lecture and frankly it was great. I spoke a couple of times and realised this brain does still work outside my consciousness. Philosophy is going to be a fascinating subject. Soon enough I will be pulling my hair out to conclude this semester successfully but I think things are atleast moving in the right direction.
Friday, July 21, 2006
Academia for the masses
I'm finally here. :o( I lost my car and have now to rely on my bike but I'm absolutely elated at my potential future. I have been waiting for this day for many years. The day where I can truely say I am committed to my cause. What passions and motivations would compel me to embark on such a journey? My commitment to the next 4 years of University is quite intimidating but I understand that it is for my ultimate benefit and I'm throroughly looking forward to the Challenge.
My departure from my ex employer was some what surreal as I had once anticipated my stay in the company to be more long standing than what prevailed. I'm so proud to finally say that I will not settle for the sake of income. I need to support a life style I find fascinating and inspiring.
I'll leave it short as I am in the Library now and must proof read my mates work. hehehehe It is already starting. My first lecture is next monday and I'm just giddy with excitment. Then again, maybe its just the lactic acid in my legs from all this riding.
"...It all starts here. This is the time when you make one of the most important commitments in your life. There is no turning back as that would be to give into the temptation of failure" - Nengi
My departure from my ex employer was some what surreal as I had once anticipated my stay in the company to be more long standing than what prevailed. I'm so proud to finally say that I will not settle for the sake of income. I need to support a life style I find fascinating and inspiring.
I'll leave it short as I am in the Library now and must proof read my mates work. hehehehe It is already starting. My first lecture is next monday and I'm just giddy with excitment. Then again, maybe its just the lactic acid in my legs from all this riding.
"...It all starts here. This is the time when you make one of the most important commitments in your life. There is no turning back as that would be to give into the temptation of failure" - Nengi
Friday, July 14, 2006
Thai stuff - Word of the day and the sixth letter of the alphabet
I hear the bells a ringing.
ฆ- Kor Rakang
ระฆัง
Rakang - Bell
Kor Khon is a Low class consonant and has a mid tone for Kor and a high followed by mid tone for Rakang.
Rakang is a 2 syllable word, therefore Ra is high and kang is mid.
ฆ- Kor Rakang
ระฆัง
Rakang - Bell
Kor Khon is a Low class consonant and has a mid tone for Kor and a high followed by mid tone for Rakang.
Rakang is a 2 syllable word, therefore Ra is high and kang is mid.
Phuad Lang Mak Mak (Very soar back)
AHHHHHHHH
The pain of it all. What to do? I slept the wrong way and now my back is aching like crazy. It doesn't make sense. I do all these crazy sports and it's sleeping in the wrong fashion that throws my back out. I can't think straight but I still have to work. Jee I wish I had extra staff here so I could just take 1 damn sick day.
Bugger it. I'm on slow mo today.
The pain of it all. What to do? I slept the wrong way and now my back is aching like crazy. It doesn't make sense. I do all these crazy sports and it's sleeping in the wrong fashion that throws my back out. I can't think straight but I still have to work. Jee I wish I had extra staff here so I could just take 1 damn sick day.
Bugger it. I'm on slow mo today.
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Adventure Racing: Not for the Lazy
I have experienced such an amazing and painful thing over the weekend. It's called Adventure Racing. This style of competition involves mountain biking, cross country running and canoeing. I'm sure other sports can be involved but for our event this was what we had served to us. Tentions were high, dirty looks flowing through the crowd from person to person and then there was us.
Tam had already planned to compete and had been training prior to the race with her team mate Cas - you may remember Cas climbing with us one fine Sunday afternoon. Marty and I decided we would head down to the Gold Coast with them to search for some untouched rock to climb. We brought our bikes and about 20 - 30 kilos of climbing gear. I could see in Marty's eyes, he was exceptionally jealous and was really quite eager to compete in the race. If only he had a team mate to compete with. This is where I came in. Ideas and questions were thrown around and before I knew it I was dragged into this pain staking journey of discovery, pain, exercise, adventure and of course pain.
I began my day with 2 pieces of toast. The winning formula for any adventure racing team. Followed by a couple of cigarettes. This was a bad start to any day, let alone a grueling race through the hills around Hyines Dam (spelling).
Marty and I had very little time to prepare so we urgently ran back to the cars to grab our bikes and headed back to the marshalling area. When asked for the name of our team I immediately thought of "Better late than never". Unfortunately this was taken so the most appropriate name I could think of was "Preparation is everything", nothing like lazy irony.
We scrambled to the start line while the safety presentation was going and tried to study the paperwork we had shoved in our faces 5 minutes prior to starting. Before we knew it the siren went and we were hurdling down the hill at the speed of, "Oh my god. This is crazy. Where is my breakfast and smokes?".
Our first leg was the canoeing. It has been many years since I have paddled my way across a lake and now I understand why. Paddling is grueling work. Much energy is used through the legs, shoulders, hands and back. To make it worse we had to, somehow, mount 2 bikes in the middle of the canoe. It was recommended that we use our bags to harness the bikes to the boat. Unfortunately we had poor excuses for bags so we just tried the balancing act. The handle bars were dragging in the water which made each paddle more arduous that desired. Approximately 2 kms later we reached the end of the leg and were launching into the water, trying not to drop our phone and camera laden bags in the water.
The mountain biking leg was great fun, absolutely exhausting but quite enjoyable. There were many checkpoints to make in this leg. Marty and I were ranking around the middle of the pack but atleast we were enjoying this up and down style of riding. I had never realised precisely how hard it was pushing a bike up a dirt track. My legs were aching, lungs burning and general exhaustion set in. I was seeing stars but luckily I had Marty on side. He was surely the driving force behind our team. The ride firstly took us through the narrow dirt and sand tracks. This, followed by some nice road riding towards the pumping station for the damn, checkpointing as we rode. To finish off this leg I struggled up a climb. This hill was probably about 500m long and by the top I was spent. Luckily as my worst leg was next in line. The run.
I was dreading the next leg as we approached the marshalling station. We dropped our bikes and consumed some gooey power sludge stuff. It is supposed to be full of energy goodness but honestly it simply reminded me of that caramel topping you get at Maccas. Once again we were off and running. This style of competition was a major undertaking on my part as I have always considered myself as a short distance racer - even that is somewhat of an exaggeration as I am not really that athletic anyway.
The run started ok but about 1km down the track I started to feel the lack of oxygen in my legs. My lungs were a flaming in pain like no other. To top it off I was hyper ventilating fairly badly. Martin saw me starting to slow down and responded by coaxing me into moving again. "Come on, remember to breath". It all seemed so obvious but so out of reach. I was breathing rapidly and was starting to get a little delirious but I pushed on. hehehe He even tried to gain my conformation that I wasn't becoming disgruntled with his coach like coaxing. I understood why he was doing it and, chances are, I would have walked most of the way if it weren't for his support. After lots of walking and running I was surely spent but I still had 2 legs to go before I could rest. The "Mystery Leg" (more mountain biking) and the last canoeing leg.
The "Mystery Leg" consisted of very narrow trails, mud and lots of little hills to ride up and down. The aim of this leg was to write down the 10 track names as we progressed through the course. Marty was flying along and I was generally trying not to have a serious accident. Mountain biking in such narrow quarters can be a harrowing experience and I was just trying to be as cautious as possible. It seemed as though this leg lasted forever, mainly because there were so many little hills. I often found myself having to dismount just to get up some of them. I felt a great sense of relief once we had finished this leg as I knew the final leg was due and then the finish line would be in sight.
Our final push for victory (finishing the race without passing out) was the canoeing. I was tired but I still had some energy left. One great aspect of this type of racing is that once a leg is finished the racer can move onto the next leg which involves different muscles and different styles of movement. This time round we didn't have to take the bikes along so we could paddle to our hearts content without the added drag. My hands were aching after a short time but we knew the finish line was close so we paddled and panted until we reached the other side of the Dam. From here Marty quickly jumped out of the boat and clipped our last checkpoint marker while I turned the canoe back around. As we headed back towards the other side of the Dam my hands, back and legs started to hurt. I stopped paddling for a moment. As I tried to open my hand a surge of pain went through my fingers. The pain was just bearable so I thought it best to continue. We weren't going to win the race but we atleast had the motivation to be competitive. The last half of the leg finished quickly and our excitement forced us to launch out of the boats feet first into the shallow water. We hauled the boat back onto land and could see the end in sight.
Our bikes were waiting for us where we left them. We mounted and started the last push for glory. I had a new burst of energy due to the excitement of completing this arduous event. Martin was complaining of cramps in his legs and I could only say "Ha, payback for the running". 2 opponents were in sight so I started pushing harder and faster. They didn't look all that competitive by that stage so Marty and I passed with ease. I felt an amazing sense of achievement because I had completed something I didn't expect to, and ofcourse due to the fact that I did it with my very good friend Marty. We ranked 21 out of 38 teams and I considered this a personal victory as this was Marty and my first adventure race.
As we waited for the girls to come in we treated ourselves to the complimentary lunch talked about the wonderful pain and suffering that is Adventure Racing. The girls came back though a little behind scheduale due to a navigational malfunction (hehe we will blame the event organisers to save face for the girls). Very unceremoniously we all sat on the ground eating while the winners were announced and prizes handed out. We didn't mind how we placed. It's all about being involved and stepping outside of your comfort zone.
So now I sit in front of my computer questioning the logic of this adventure. I will surely be back to compete again but the question is, why? Well it's because us humans can be hard to satisfy. We push through boundaries because we are curious to see what is behind them. Do we accomplish our goals, or do we fail and learn from these mistakes? There will always be a second chance and I will harness every chance I get. Who knows, maybe we will rank 10th instead of 21st next time.
Probably not.
My apologies for all the gramatical error. I'm too tired to stress about bad english on a public blog.
Tam had already planned to compete and had been training prior to the race with her team mate Cas - you may remember Cas climbing with us one fine Sunday afternoon. Marty and I decided we would head down to the Gold Coast with them to search for some untouched rock to climb. We brought our bikes and about 20 - 30 kilos of climbing gear. I could see in Marty's eyes, he was exceptionally jealous and was really quite eager to compete in the race. If only he had a team mate to compete with. This is where I came in. Ideas and questions were thrown around and before I knew it I was dragged into this pain staking journey of discovery, pain, exercise, adventure and of course pain.
I began my day with 2 pieces of toast. The winning formula for any adventure racing team. Followed by a couple of cigarettes. This was a bad start to any day, let alone a grueling race through the hills around Hyines Dam (spelling).
Marty and I had very little time to prepare so we urgently ran back to the cars to grab our bikes and headed back to the marshalling area. When asked for the name of our team I immediately thought of "Better late than never". Unfortunately this was taken so the most appropriate name I could think of was "Preparation is everything", nothing like lazy irony.
We scrambled to the start line while the safety presentation was going and tried to study the paperwork we had shoved in our faces 5 minutes prior to starting. Before we knew it the siren went and we were hurdling down the hill at the speed of, "Oh my god. This is crazy. Where is my breakfast and smokes?".
Our first leg was the canoeing. It has been many years since I have paddled my way across a lake and now I understand why. Paddling is grueling work. Much energy is used through the legs, shoulders, hands and back. To make it worse we had to, somehow, mount 2 bikes in the middle of the canoe. It was recommended that we use our bags to harness the bikes to the boat. Unfortunately we had poor excuses for bags so we just tried the balancing act. The handle bars were dragging in the water which made each paddle more arduous that desired. Approximately 2 kms later we reached the end of the leg and were launching into the water, trying not to drop our phone and camera laden bags in the water.
The mountain biking leg was great fun, absolutely exhausting but quite enjoyable. There were many checkpoints to make in this leg. Marty and I were ranking around the middle of the pack but atleast we were enjoying this up and down style of riding. I had never realised precisely how hard it was pushing a bike up a dirt track. My legs were aching, lungs burning and general exhaustion set in. I was seeing stars but luckily I had Marty on side. He was surely the driving force behind our team. The ride firstly took us through the narrow dirt and sand tracks. This, followed by some nice road riding towards the pumping station for the damn, checkpointing as we rode. To finish off this leg I struggled up a climb. This hill was probably about 500m long and by the top I was spent. Luckily as my worst leg was next in line. The run.
I was dreading the next leg as we approached the marshalling station. We dropped our bikes and consumed some gooey power sludge stuff. It is supposed to be full of energy goodness but honestly it simply reminded me of that caramel topping you get at Maccas. Once again we were off and running. This style of competition was a major undertaking on my part as I have always considered myself as a short distance racer - even that is somewhat of an exaggeration as I am not really that athletic anyway.
The run started ok but about 1km down the track I started to feel the lack of oxygen in my legs. My lungs were a flaming in pain like no other. To top it off I was hyper ventilating fairly badly. Martin saw me starting to slow down and responded by coaxing me into moving again. "Come on, remember to breath". It all seemed so obvious but so out of reach. I was breathing rapidly and was starting to get a little delirious but I pushed on. hehehe He even tried to gain my conformation that I wasn't becoming disgruntled with his coach like coaxing. I understood why he was doing it and, chances are, I would have walked most of the way if it weren't for his support. After lots of walking and running I was surely spent but I still had 2 legs to go before I could rest. The "Mystery Leg" (more mountain biking) and the last canoeing leg.
The "Mystery Leg" consisted of very narrow trails, mud and lots of little hills to ride up and down. The aim of this leg was to write down the 10 track names as we progressed through the course. Marty was flying along and I was generally trying not to have a serious accident. Mountain biking in such narrow quarters can be a harrowing experience and I was just trying to be as cautious as possible. It seemed as though this leg lasted forever, mainly because there were so many little hills. I often found myself having to dismount just to get up some of them. I felt a great sense of relief once we had finished this leg as I knew the final leg was due and then the finish line would be in sight.
Our final push for victory (finishing the race without passing out) was the canoeing. I was tired but I still had some energy left. One great aspect of this type of racing is that once a leg is finished the racer can move onto the next leg which involves different muscles and different styles of movement. This time round we didn't have to take the bikes along so we could paddle to our hearts content without the added drag. My hands were aching after a short time but we knew the finish line was close so we paddled and panted until we reached the other side of the Dam. From here Marty quickly jumped out of the boat and clipped our last checkpoint marker while I turned the canoe back around. As we headed back towards the other side of the Dam my hands, back and legs started to hurt. I stopped paddling for a moment. As I tried to open my hand a surge of pain went through my fingers. The pain was just bearable so I thought it best to continue. We weren't going to win the race but we atleast had the motivation to be competitive. The last half of the leg finished quickly and our excitement forced us to launch out of the boats feet first into the shallow water. We hauled the boat back onto land and could see the end in sight.
Our bikes were waiting for us where we left them. We mounted and started the last push for glory. I had a new burst of energy due to the excitement of completing this arduous event. Martin was complaining of cramps in his legs and I could only say "Ha, payback for the running". 2 opponents were in sight so I started pushing harder and faster. They didn't look all that competitive by that stage so Marty and I passed with ease. I felt an amazing sense of achievement because I had completed something I didn't expect to, and ofcourse due to the fact that I did it with my very good friend Marty. We ranked 21 out of 38 teams and I considered this a personal victory as this was Marty and my first adventure race.
As we waited for the girls to come in we treated ourselves to the complimentary lunch talked about the wonderful pain and suffering that is Adventure Racing. The girls came back though a little behind scheduale due to a navigational malfunction (hehe we will blame the event organisers to save face for the girls). Very unceremoniously we all sat on the ground eating while the winners were announced and prizes handed out. We didn't mind how we placed. It's all about being involved and stepping outside of your comfort zone.
So now I sit in front of my computer questioning the logic of this adventure. I will surely be back to compete again but the question is, why? Well it's because us humans can be hard to satisfy. We push through boundaries because we are curious to see what is behind them. Do we accomplish our goals, or do we fail and learn from these mistakes? There will always be a second chance and I will harness every chance I get. Who knows, maybe we will rank 10th instead of 21st next time.
Probably not.
My apologies for all the gramatical error. I'm too tired to stress about bad english on a public blog.
Thursday, July 06, 2006
Mountain Biking on Mt Cootha
I often delve too deep inside my thoughts and forget to document the normal, recreational happenings of my life. The below story is about a little adventure I had with some friends.
Last Sunday I was lucky enough to go mountain biking on Mt Cootha (pronounced "Mt Coota"). Marty wasn't too sure if he could get a bike so I decided to drive around to his place with my climbing gear and my bike on the back. We were going to do something, whether that be climbing or riding.
I reached Tam and Marty's at about 1445 and knew I was pushing it as we had an appointment at the Regatta to meet everyone at 1500, so we were late. Tam advised me that Marty had found a bike but it was all the way over in the Valley (Fortitude Valley to all the non-Brisbanites). What a ride. That poor guy picked up the bike and rode at the speed of sound to where we were.
Before we knew it we were a riding force. Joe Frog, Cas, Tam, Marty, Keith and I rode like a posse of trouble making bikies. We approached the mount and it was then that I suddenly realised that climbing a mountain involves both mountains and climbing. Duh Nengi. I understood this was the case before hand but I didn't realise that it was a non-stop climb from bottom to top. As a smoker this concept can be hard to fathom but I strived at peddled to my hearts content - actually my hear was probably struggling :oP. My lungs were burning but I kept going. As it turns out I didn't do to badly. Not once did I walk with the bike and I reached the top with the leading pack.
By the time I reached the top I was thoroughly looking forward to some downhill style, non-peddling motion. Cas knew of a good track so we all followed the "Captain" and headed towards the local 9 network station - this was where the track started.
I had never really done any downhill mountain biking before and I was suddenly fascinated by this new found sport I had stumbled across. What an amazing sensation. The track was dirt and gravel the whole way down and within the first 100 metres I was picking up speed, heading towards the first jumps.
These jumps are, technically, used for the reduction of erosion. Now I know that environmental controls are very important but I can imagine how these conveniently natural bike jumps came to be. Imagine this, an advisor is discussing different methods of reducing erosion through the length of the bike track with a committee of council and parks types. The advisor made sure to pack his riding gloves and helmet on his bike out front. He or she conveniently covers their lycra bike shirt with responsible attire. "Now I think the best way of preventing erosion would definitely be to build up 1 to 2 foot high mounds every 15 to 20 metres". Wise advisor, hehehe and we are all grateful for this inventive erosion prevention technique.
The adrenaline is flowing and my excitement is building. I have become used to the rush of adrenaline from my climbing experiences but downhill mountain biking offers a new and intense form of adrenaline rush to me. It is an amazing feeling to grind down a mountain with nothing but dirt and gravel underneath. The wheels slide, gradually losing and gaining traction. I'm sure that at any given moment I could slip and hurdle down the coarse surface face first.
An exceptionally scary moment found us at the top of a steep section of the track. It must have been a 45 degree decline and I was salivating for the chance to take it on. My brakes were engaged constantly as I learned how to prevent the wheels from locking and sending me at an uncontrollable pace down the hill. I quickly realised that the best method for going down such steep terrain was to hold the front brakes consistently hard while varying the pressure of the back brakes.
At the end of the day I reflected on our riding exploits. It took us about 30 minutes of intense, uphill riding to get to the top. Our downward leg took about 5 to 10 minutes but it was one of the most exciting 5 - 10 minutes of downhill thrashing I have ever experienced. I'll surely be back to tackle the mountain if I can build up the courage to ride up mighty Mt Cootha again.
What an amazing day. Thanks to those that organised the ride. I can't wait to head out with my fellow riders to some larger mountains and longer down hill tracks.
Last Sunday I was lucky enough to go mountain biking on Mt Cootha (pronounced "Mt Coota"). Marty wasn't too sure if he could get a bike so I decided to drive around to his place with my climbing gear and my bike on the back. We were going to do something, whether that be climbing or riding.
I reached Tam and Marty's at about 1445 and knew I was pushing it as we had an appointment at the Regatta to meet everyone at 1500, so we were late. Tam advised me that Marty had found a bike but it was all the way over in the Valley (Fortitude Valley to all the non-Brisbanites). What a ride. That poor guy picked up the bike and rode at the speed of sound to where we were.
Before we knew it we were a riding force. Joe Frog, Cas, Tam, Marty, Keith and I rode like a posse of trouble making bikies. We approached the mount and it was then that I suddenly realised that climbing a mountain involves both mountains and climbing. Duh Nengi. I understood this was the case before hand but I didn't realise that it was a non-stop climb from bottom to top. As a smoker this concept can be hard to fathom but I strived at peddled to my hearts content - actually my hear was probably struggling :oP. My lungs were burning but I kept going. As it turns out I didn't do to badly. Not once did I walk with the bike and I reached the top with the leading pack.
By the time I reached the top I was thoroughly looking forward to some downhill style, non-peddling motion. Cas knew of a good track so we all followed the "Captain" and headed towards the local 9 network station - this was where the track started.
I had never really done any downhill mountain biking before and I was suddenly fascinated by this new found sport I had stumbled across. What an amazing sensation. The track was dirt and gravel the whole way down and within the first 100 metres I was picking up speed, heading towards the first jumps.
These jumps are, technically, used for the reduction of erosion. Now I know that environmental controls are very important but I can imagine how these conveniently natural bike jumps came to be. Imagine this, an advisor is discussing different methods of reducing erosion through the length of the bike track with a committee of council and parks types. The advisor made sure to pack his riding gloves and helmet on his bike out front. He or she conveniently covers their lycra bike shirt with responsible attire. "Now I think the best way of preventing erosion would definitely be to build up 1 to 2 foot high mounds every 15 to 20 metres". Wise advisor, hehehe and we are all grateful for this inventive erosion prevention technique.
The adrenaline is flowing and my excitement is building. I have become used to the rush of adrenaline from my climbing experiences but downhill mountain biking offers a new and intense form of adrenaline rush to me. It is an amazing feeling to grind down a mountain with nothing but dirt and gravel underneath. The wheels slide, gradually losing and gaining traction. I'm sure that at any given moment I could slip and hurdle down the coarse surface face first.
An exceptionally scary moment found us at the top of a steep section of the track. It must have been a 45 degree decline and I was salivating for the chance to take it on. My brakes were engaged constantly as I learned how to prevent the wheels from locking and sending me at an uncontrollable pace down the hill. I quickly realised that the best method for going down such steep terrain was to hold the front brakes consistently hard while varying the pressure of the back brakes.
At the end of the day I reflected on our riding exploits. It took us about 30 minutes of intense, uphill riding to get to the top. Our downward leg took about 5 to 10 minutes but it was one of the most exciting 5 - 10 minutes of downhill thrashing I have ever experienced. I'll surely be back to tackle the mountain if I can build up the courage to ride up mighty Mt Cootha again.
What an amazing day. Thanks to those that organised the ride. I can't wait to head out with my fellow riders to some larger mountains and longer down hill tracks.
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
Have I failed to mention something
Hooray for me. I have finally stopped woking 13 hr days. Such an immense sense of joy for me. Thost hours were really trying my patience and I can happily say it is all behind me now.
I can look forward to school, Na and more climbing. Now that I think of it, I might climb tonight.
I can look forward to school, Na and more climbing. Now that I think of it, I might climb tonight.
Thai stuff - Word of the day and the Fifth letter of the alphabet
Is it peoples or things?
ฅ- Kor Khon
ฅน
Khon - Person
Kor Khon is a Low class consonant and has a mid tone for Kor and a mid tone for Khon.
When referring to things and people Thais will refer to them as one or the other. So if I were to say "3 students" I would say "nak rien sam khon" (student 3 person). It I were to say "3 bottles of beer" I would say "bia khuad sam khan" (beer bottle 3 things). Thais generally tend to speak in a broken Thai so whether I would speak the whole sentance is questionable. When ordering a beer I would more than likely say "Ao bia Leo khuad song krap" or "want beer Leo (great beer) bottle 2". Again I would love to have some corrections to my limited Thai or even some little tips and lessons .
ฅ- Kor Khon
ฅน
Khon - Person
Kor Khon is a Low class consonant and has a mid tone for Kor and a mid tone for Khon.
When referring to things and people Thais will refer to them as one or the other. So if I were to say "3 students" I would say "nak rien sam khon" (student 3 person). It I were to say "3 bottles of beer" I would say "bia khuad sam khan" (beer bottle 3 things). Thais generally tend to speak in a broken Thai so whether I would speak the whole sentance is questionable. When ordering a beer I would more than likely say "Ao bia Leo khuad song krap" or "want beer Leo (great beer) bottle 2". Again I would love to have some corrections to my limited Thai or even some little tips and lessons .
A fear worth striving for
My willingness to be a part of such a drastically risk based relationship has been a journey of major discovery. I have put all on the line for something I believe in and I'm not sure if it will be a wise or naive decision. My sacrifice has surely taught me many things and one thing I try to hold onto is that stereotypes should not be an ultimate source for the decision making process.
My concern is that maybe I should take note of some of these stereotypes. All being said, I really don't want to hear the advice of those around me, even though those councils are simply trying to help me. It seems arrogant of me but for what it is worth I'm still prepared to embark further down this seemingly self destructive path to find the fruits of my labour.
A cross roads has come to head and I am truly scared for what I might find, but as I see it I cannot fall back now and retreat. Na means more to me than anybody realises and it can be said that this is the most important relationship I have been in.
I'm so lost in my thoughts with no real, ultimate solution to the questions I ask myself. heheh maybe I can say that it has atleast been good inspiration for my writing. Not that that translates to more hits on my site.
My concern is that maybe I should take note of some of these stereotypes. All being said, I really don't want to hear the advice of those around me, even though those councils are simply trying to help me. It seems arrogant of me but for what it is worth I'm still prepared to embark further down this seemingly self destructive path to find the fruits of my labour.
A cross roads has come to head and I am truly scared for what I might find, but as I see it I cannot fall back now and retreat. Na means more to me than anybody realises and it can be said that this is the most important relationship I have been in.
I'm so lost in my thoughts with no real, ultimate solution to the questions I ask myself. heheh maybe I can say that it has atleast been good inspiration for my writing. Not that that translates to more hits on my site.
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