High Mountain Deep Water
E-Fung was the first senior I got to know when I was in Eusoff Hall. Sensing that we were clueless newbies about hall life, he invited a friend and I to his room for a prep talk. The first thing I noticed in his room was a Malaysian flag draping near his window. Oh, he is a Malaysian, I thought to myself and that very instance I had this inexplicable affinity towards him.
He was very athletic looking and had this ruggard look with bristly leftover hair stubs on his chin. He told us that he loves climbing and showed us some of his climbing gears.
He had graduated for two years now, but according to someone, he had given up his job to train for climbing expeditions.
He had trained very hard for this one. The first-ever attempt of an NUS team to conquer Mount Everest. And now he is at several thousands feet altitude of Mount Everest combating cold and reigning heights.
As I was reading their journals, the two years of intensive canoeing training become salient once more.Those were the the crazy times. 4 times of training a week, even on Sundays. On the days with land trainings a huge stone of dread would weigh me down even as I was attending class during the day. I kept looking out the sky and prayed hard to summon all the great natural forces of the universe combine so that it would rain, haha. " Class, today's discussion will be on Euthanasia." Please rain. " ..it's whether to allow those terminally ill with no hope of recovery to die using deliberate means..." Yes! I can see dark clouds! Come on... * Drip . Drip.* Bingo!!! I must have looked way too happy to the teacher to be discussing about dying people.
Rain=wet tracks=no running. Of all things i hated running. A 2.4km run after circuit training at the gym was gruelling, whenever i finished the 6th round, i felt that all my bones were crumbling and my internal organs all jumbled up. As soon as i opened my room door, i collapsed on the floor in the fashion of the Vitruvian Man, all spread out dogged tired.
But water trainings were better. Canoeing , like any other races, is more of a solo sport (unless u and a partner row a double ). The team part is that u need to accumulate points from all the events (500m, 1000m etc) to win the overall championship. I rowed a single for short distance (500m). So during the course of the training it was mostly a solo experience. Whenever the momentum of the canoe gathers and as it picks up its speed, it glides through the water in a streamline and wind greets u in the face. I always felt a rush exhilaration on the boat. As I was rowing, I had to dispel other thoughts completely and keep an internal count with every stroke of the paddle, twisting of body and kicking. At the time,consciousness and the body merge into one sychronised coordination and u feel like a spearhead piercing through the wind. It is a million-dollared feeling.
These days as I sit in the room chewing on bland and stale notes and boiling in oppresive afternoon heat , my mind keeps going back to the stillwater of Kallang Basin, where i used to ride on wind once upon a time.