like sitting outside the principal's office.

i had a most topsy turvy wednesday, one moment i was enjoying match racing, the next i was unexpectedly called up to return to camp, feeling all dreadful and fearing further punishment, and really unhappy with the person who was not picking up my repeated calls. who got me into this mess.

the worst part is that because of this i missed seeing u-bolt break the 200m record which i had been looking forward to. seeing a replay never quite feels the same as seeing awesomeness live.

the episode is over and i've learnt my lesson, in future i shall make it official. and the future is thursday. that sounds funny.

sigh i've done like 5 duties in 5 weeks and it's not like i'm signing extra or anything. 5 X 16hrs is pretty much 80 hours that have just slipped away like that.

. . .

well beijing 08 is over and london 012 is in the sidelines and that means i'm gonna have to think a bit more about what i want to do.

everybody's waiting for the hero
but the hero is in everyone.

no one remembered to tell victor that the bass is meant to anchor the band. not go off on your own tangent and leave everyone else in the background. the other videos are amazing.

thank you ahm for letting me see the singapore team back this afternoon.

mindblowing stuff.

man these last few days have so many awesome stories.

but before all that i gotta state my new resolution which is, wait for it:
never to let another unproductive afternoon slip away like today.

it won't be easy because of the stagnant atmosphere. ok now on to greater things.

. . .

let me see. i've got 3 or 4 stories. it's almost as if Singapore's medal tale is the least captivating of the lot.

usain bolt strolled through the last 20 or so metres in the 100m race (that's the last fifth of the race to put it in perspective) and had time to strike a picture-perfect pose for the world to see as he came across the finish line in 9.69s. i'm still awestruck. the craziest image was the freeze frame photo showing everyone else leaning their head forward for the line, with bolt 2m ahead of everyone leaning backwards with arms outstretched in celebration.



on to sailing. our good friend seng leong rounded the top mark in race 8 in first place! i gotta go ask him about that one. he eventually finished that one in 3rd. manyi did not want to be outdone and went ahead to post a 3rd in her 9th and final race as well. something to be cheerful about!

most spectacular, incredible, (insert superlative here) story of the day is of the 49er medal race. first, read this. then read the resulting protest decision here. nice to hear that on a day with capsizes, equipment failure and everything at stake, the great danes didn't give up, and common sense ultimately prevailed.

well, those were the highlights. i got to see my good friend play o'clock senses, play matchbox twenty's unwell and switchfoot's on fire, and met many other people.

oh, and by the way, singapore does have a silver to her name now.

people can hide behind a mask,

long hair,
make-up,
sunglasses.

people can also hide behind many meaningless words,

headphones,
a psp,
a revolving rubik's cube,
silence,

and lies.

some hide unconsciously,
and needlessly.

08

the 470s start racing today, the lasers, tomorrow. here.

yesterday tao li clocked a time of 57.54s to qualify for the final, to be the 8th fastest swimmer for the 100m butterfly of all time. today she finished 5th in the final with a time of 57.99s.

long overdue pictures from qingdao. my favourite is the last one.

i dare you to move.

transport really is a headache. rush here rush there. skive here. skive there.

and in the end. procrastinate everywhere.

'move!'

. . .

i have four friends. one is getting married in january.

one just broke up.

one just turned 21.

one is already married and has a son named travis.

maybe redemption has stories to tell.
maybe forgiveness is right where you fell.
where can you run to escape from yourself.
where are you gonna go.
where are you gonna go.

salvation is here.

shearwater's 'home life' is epic, john mayer's 'slow dancing in a burning room' is catchy but the rest of continuum is fantastically disappointing.