Arrived at the gym at 6.00pm, just in time to jump into my gym clothes and grab my gloves, gatorade and towel and practically brisk-walk to the Energy Studio. Bumped into Alex on the way (he was grabbing those 10kg plates which I fondly view as "darn things which when I watch people lift, makes me feel excruciating pain and exhaustion although I only have 5kg on my barbell"), and he was like "You're late! No more plates already!" which made me shift from brisk-walk-mode to running-mode, haha. Managed to grab four 2.5kg plates and six 0.5kg plates which is a lil less than what I have been using to torment myself lately, but is sufficient. Hey, it's monday, I'm just warming up to the week. (Oh, the sheer joy of giving excuses =P)
BodyPump class was alright, somehow I felt tired kinda early in the class, but it's probably cuz of the un-gymmer-ish food I've been putting into my system over the weekend (tons of McD's, caffeine, and a substantial amount of Jepunese food at Sakae Sushi) and the fact that it's Monday, but despite the tiredness, I did increase some weights and it didn't hurt that much, so I wasn't dying yet or anything of that sort. I always expect so much out of myself, and somehow I feel I'm not pushing myself enough *sigh*
Anyway, today the gym started the first day ever of that "Registration is required for all Spinning Classes" policy, so I had to head right for the main counter right after BodyPump, to write my name down and to get some lil card thingy which apparently gives us a spot in the Spinning Studio. Then as I was walking towards the changing rooms, there was this guy smiling and I knew that I know this guy, I just couldn't put my finger to it, so I smiled back. And then after my poor lagging brain processed, it was Alan, my fave RPM instructor. And I just HAD TO interrupt his workout to strike up conversation, haha. It's pretty cool really, he was talking about his triathlon this weekend, and mentioned that there are different types of triathlons, there's some that even go up to 15-16 hours. And me, in my utter frustration and shock, asked "Don't they have breaks in between and stuff?" To which he said they didn't, and that taking a break could actually get you kicked-out cuz you need to finish the whole thingy in a certain amount of hours, i.e. that 16 hours and stuff. And he even said "there's many types of triathlons, you could try the mini-triathlon" which sounds really nice, but I warned him that he should be prepared to drag me along with a rope in the event of me not being able to carry-on after 10 minutes of da competition =P
He also asked if I knew what a triathlon was, and then asked if I could swim, to which I had to fess up and admit my usual "I can go forward, but I can't float." (And now that I think of it, sheesh, I should have asked more than just joked, cuz hey, this guy's a pro triathlon athlete, I should've taken the opportunity to listen more...oh well, I'll have my second chances)
Then this part (which was actually in the middle, we diverted from sports to work, then back to sports, haha) came, he mentioned about me not going to the gym much the past few weeks (cuz I was practically missing-in-action from his classes for like 3 weeks *guilt tortures me, sigh*)
And an excerpt from the conversation with Alan. In order to get the whole funny-ness of the conversation, it's important to note that in the past, I have never told him where I worked nor even mentioned before that I worked in Da-Field-Of-Computing or anything akin to that.
Alan : You haven't been coming to the gym for quite some time already. Why?
Me : Work lor. (with that tone and rolled-eyes that I inflict on innocent people who ask me about the unfortunate days that I do not get to head for the gym)
Alan : How come work till like that one?
Me : Yeah, sometimes I need to work from home as well. Working till late mar.Alan : How come need to work from home? What u working as? *and then he pauses a moment to think, and without waiting for my answer to the previous 2 questions, the next statement followed* You working in Dell is it?
ROTCGFLMGBOMH - Rolling On The Carpeted Gym Floor, Laughing My Gatorade Bottle Outta My Hands.
Oh well.
Monday, August 13, 2007
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
The PaintBall Ordeal...
Today is Paintball Day! =)
And for the unfamiliar… (words in parentheses by Yours Truly)
“Paintball is a sport in which participants eliminate opponents from play by hitting them with paintballs (da lil funky-lookin’ colorful balls filled with paint) shot from a compressed-gas-powered “marker” (this is The-Gun-Thingy). The first paintballs were created by the Nelson Paint Company in the 1950s for forestry service use in marking trees from a distance, and were also used by cattlemen to mark cows (don’t we all feel moo-ish at some point =P).
Arrived at PISA at around 11am and they did the registration and paperwork and blah-blah. There were altogether 9 of us. Then came Cardiac Arrest Numero Uno - we had to sign this paper with our name, IC number, cell number. Why, you might ask. "In case you die!", said James. Aptly and concisely put.
So before we actually started, we had a briefing by one of those ‘professional’ paintball players. And here’s what I got from the briefing…
After the briefing and the long wait, it was finally our turn. It was kinda fun suiting-up, we had a protective jacket thingy that looked a lil like those bulletproof vests, but thinner, of course. (It’s just paint, honey, it ain’t a bomb.) And then there’s this mask that looks like huge goggles with nose and mouth protection. And helmets that came in 2 different colors (black or camouflage-patches) to help us differentiate our teams. Uber-cool stuff.
Walking into the paintball area was even more uber-cool. The “whoa” feeling. That is, until I saw the “Masks-On Area” sign which reminded me of the whole “The Paintball will replace your Eyeball” phrase. That made me double-check my mask. HA.
The first round was not much for me cuz I was kinda clueless. But my team won and I survived. That was nice. Strangely I was a lil upset that I did NOT get shot. No, I’m not weird. It’s just that I do feel that I somehow would not get the whole paintball EXPERIENCE unless I got splattered all over with paint. And I verbalized my disappointment on not being shot, which made Clarence go “alright, the next round, we’ll all shoot Pauline” and we laughed. Somehow I did wish it would happen. All I can say is “Be careful what you wish for, cuz you just might get it.” And get it, I did.
The second round came. I fired more shots and was getting into the game. And then I decided to take shelter behind 2 cans/tins. Smartest decision I ever made in my life. The 2 cans had this tiny gap in between, and everybody was able to see me sheltering behind them. My pillarbox-red top wasn’t doing me any good either. The opposing team kept firing shots over in my direction and it’s plain traumatizing cuz everytime a bullet hits one of those cans, you hear an insanely loud *KeR-pLuNk!* which gets amplified a thousand times with the helmet on your head. Even though you don’t get hit, the *KeR-pLuNk!* is loud enough to make me jump out of your skin, and into one of those darn cans. And then I got spattered with paint, which was sooo oily. So this is what James’ meant when he said “it’s vegetable oil”. It was pretty awful to have the oily, fluorescent yellow goo all over my hand. And then Joe shouted from the other end, “Pauline’s out!”, and I heard James shouting back “PAULINE IS IN!”. After a shot and what seemed like forever, the round was over. And I came out so utterly frazzled and everyone was like “Pauline, are you alright?” (it must’ve shown in my eyes cuz I had my mask on then), and helped me to get my helmet and mask off. And yes, I got a bruise! Strangely it wasn’t as painful as I expected (hoped) for it to be. Some of them were saying the shots hurt, but then I was practically complaining that it “wasn’t painful enough”, to which James said “You’re such a sadist!” hahaha. I guess I kinda like to really get tormented, it’s like working out. No pain, no strain, no fun. It’s only when you feel the push, and the pain, that it feels great. Maybe I am quite a sadist. Haha =P
Third and fourth rounds were better though. I kinda warmed up after the two rounds, and was getting used to all this. And didn’t get shot at all *grins*. Plus I fired a lot. I’m starting to like this thing more and more =) Overall it was great fun. Messy but fun. And it’s cool stuff. It was nice to do something kinda active too, especially cuz I didn’t work-out the entire week, so it feels good to get all hyper again. I wasn’t that tired, so I guess it’s true that working-out regularly helps to increase your stamina. Hey, way back then I wouldn’t even run 100-metres without huffing (and grumbling, haha), but this time I didn’t feel tired. I could’ve gone for RPM after that. Okay, maybe not RPM. Hehe.
But it sure was fun. I thought I’d be chickened-out by all the combat-ish, hyper-ish stuff but I actually liked it. Loved it, to be honest. The bruise’s fading fast though. It hurts just a tiny-teensy-weensy bit if I pressed real hard on it with my finger, but besides that it wasn’t painful. Now, does anybody want to go again? *grins*
And for the unfamiliar… (words in parentheses by Yours Truly)
“Paintball is a sport in which participants eliminate opponents from play by hitting them with paintballs (da lil funky-lookin’ colorful balls filled with paint) shot from a compressed-gas-powered “marker” (this is The-Gun-Thingy). The first paintballs were created by the Nelson Paint Company in the 1950s for forestry service use in marking trees from a distance, and were also used by cattlemen to mark cows (don’t we all feel moo-ish at some point =P).
Arrived at PISA at around 11am and they did the registration and paperwork and blah-blah. There were altogether 9 of us. Then came Cardiac Arrest Numero Uno - we had to sign this paper with our name, IC number, cell number. Why, you might ask. "In case you die!", said James. Aptly and concisely put.
So before we actually started, we had a briefing by one of those ‘professional’ paintball players. And here’s what I got from the briefing…
- The-Gun-Thingy is called a Marker. Quoting the guy, "From now on, you will no longer call this a gun, you will call this a marker". (Sir, yes sir =P)
- The "paintball was initially used to mark cows and trees" thingy. (And I thought it was inspired by war or at least something more violent. Oh well.)
- The Paint is "one-hundred-percent-biodegradable and is even halal" (What a relief. Now I have the assurance that my Adidas ClimaCool Steffi-Graf-tribute tank-top will escape unharmed after the whole ordeal.)
- After the guy was done explaining about the Paint, he said "And now let’s talk about the PAIN. If you get hit, the pain lasts for 3 minutes, but the scar lasts for 3 weeks."
- Then comes Cardiac Arrest Numero Dos - "Always have your mask on. If you get shot in the eye, the paintball will REPLACE your EYEBALL." And yes, that was a word-by-word quotation from the briefing.
- And as our group was made up of 80% guys, questions about ‘da crotch-shot’ arose. For the curious, this is what the briefer says, "It’s painful, but still can use lah. That’s the most important thing right?". Oh well. Guys and their priorities. I rest my case.
After the briefing and the long wait, it was finally our turn. It was kinda fun suiting-up, we had a protective jacket thingy that looked a lil like those bulletproof vests, but thinner, of course. (It’s just paint, honey, it ain’t a bomb.) And then there’s this mask that looks like huge goggles with nose and mouth protection. And helmets that came in 2 different colors (black or camouflage-patches) to help us differentiate our teams. Uber-cool stuff.
Walking into the paintball area was even more uber-cool. The “whoa” feeling. That is, until I saw the “Masks-On Area” sign which reminded me of the whole “The Paintball will replace your Eyeball” phrase. That made me double-check my mask. HA.
The first round was not much for me cuz I was kinda clueless. But my team won and I survived. That was nice. Strangely I was a lil upset that I did NOT get shot. No, I’m not weird. It’s just that I do feel that I somehow would not get the whole paintball EXPERIENCE unless I got splattered all over with paint. And I verbalized my disappointment on not being shot, which made Clarence go “alright, the next round, we’ll all shoot Pauline” and we laughed. Somehow I did wish it would happen. All I can say is “Be careful what you wish for, cuz you just might get it.” And get it, I did.
The second round came. I fired more shots and was getting into the game. And then I decided to take shelter behind 2 cans/tins. Smartest decision I ever made in my life. The 2 cans had this tiny gap in between, and everybody was able to see me sheltering behind them. My pillarbox-red top wasn’t doing me any good either. The opposing team kept firing shots over in my direction and it’s plain traumatizing cuz everytime a bullet hits one of those cans, you hear an insanely loud *KeR-pLuNk!* which gets amplified a thousand times with the helmet on your head. Even though you don’t get hit, the *KeR-pLuNk!* is loud enough to make me jump out of your skin, and into one of those darn cans. And then I got spattered with paint, which was sooo oily. So this is what James’ meant when he said “it’s vegetable oil”. It was pretty awful to have the oily, fluorescent yellow goo all over my hand. And then Joe shouted from the other end, “Pauline’s out!”, and I heard James shouting back “PAULINE IS IN!”. After a shot and what seemed like forever, the round was over. And I came out so utterly frazzled and everyone was like “Pauline, are you alright?” (it must’ve shown in my eyes cuz I had my mask on then), and helped me to get my helmet and mask off. And yes, I got a bruise! Strangely it wasn’t as painful as I expected (hoped) for it to be. Some of them were saying the shots hurt, but then I was practically complaining that it “wasn’t painful enough”, to which James said “You’re such a sadist!” hahaha. I guess I kinda like to really get tormented, it’s like working out. No pain, no strain, no fun. It’s only when you feel the push, and the pain, that it feels great. Maybe I am quite a sadist. Haha =P
Third and fourth rounds were better though. I kinda warmed up after the two rounds, and was getting used to all this. And didn’t get shot at all *grins*. Plus I fired a lot. I’m starting to like this thing more and more =) Overall it was great fun. Messy but fun. And it’s cool stuff. It was nice to do something kinda active too, especially cuz I didn’t work-out the entire week, so it feels good to get all hyper again. I wasn’t that tired, so I guess it’s true that working-out regularly helps to increase your stamina. Hey, way back then I wouldn’t even run 100-metres without huffing (and grumbling, haha), but this time I didn’t feel tired. I could’ve gone for RPM after that. Okay, maybe not RPM. Hehe.
But it sure was fun. I thought I’d be chickened-out by all the combat-ish, hyper-ish stuff but I actually liked it. Loved it, to be honest. The bruise’s fading fast though. It hurts just a tiny-teensy-weensy bit if I pressed real hard on it with my finger, but besides that it wasn’t painful. Now, does anybody want to go again? *grins*
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