Randomity

So I officially become a student of NUS tomorrow. Tomorrow I am one step further away from Cambridge. And when I sign the scholarship papers next month, I might as well wave goodbye to undergraduate studies in the UK. My lit teachers find it a little strange that I would settle with lit in NUS (other lit potentials went straight for law if they didn't get UK). I thought of Law, but I decided my interest wouldn't last four years, even though law would be more useful. I know what it was like studying disinterestedly (got a B), so won't risk it. I shall be content to know I have done perhaps 10% of the reading required for my course already, since I have read so many books by dead white writers. I'll have to get round to reading the live, unwhite writers too, but their writing tends to be more political than artistic. I dislike art that is enmeshed in political motives. The most dominant tone is one of anger, or barely suppressed cynicism; there is no subtlety and often a great deal of angstiness about sexuality (think God Of Small Things, and all the gay lit Singaporean writers come up with). I like the old stuff because the characters had identities which clashed with interesting results. The newer stuff is all about determining identity--sexual, racial, etc. Sheesh.

Life so far is very unhappening. I play tennis every other day. Yesterday I was on gym duty since it was girl's night. The gym is brand new and loaded with equipment. It has a whole series of Nautical and Freemotion machines to work out every muscle group possible. I used the treadmill for a while. Though it is less strenuous on the knees than pounding on concrete, I still don't really like the feel of it. For one, intensive running makes me breath more quickly, and the air-conditioning makes my throat dry. Then, when I get off the treadmill, I get motion sickness! I like the ab machines and the leg press. I try not to work out my arms as they seem to balloon at an alarming rate. I only gym once a week and play max 6 hours of tennis a week, but I have developed a bit of bicep. Eew....afterds I start looking 'man,' then how? haha. but that's not going to stop me. I realise I like running around playing games and making myself tired. I feel a lot better and don't get depressed so easily. Not like last year, I was constantly tired. I think I shall try to go for more morning jogs.

I bought new shoes (Nike Slat trainers) and, being the geek that I am, googled them. They have a new design for ultimate breathability (good for ppl with stinky feet problems) and good support for sideways movement, supposedly. Well, after a few wears, I find that it's quite true. It's my first Nike. I usually go for Reebok, but I thought I'd try something new. I hope it lasts. Most of my friends's Nike and Adidas shoes fell apart very quickly last year. Perhaps something to do with the glue they use. It's always the tip of the rubber sole that comes off first.

In the process, I found a few cool new geek words, like overpronation and underpronation. To pronate is to rotate towards a centre (medial) line. For instance, one may pronate one's hand by turning the palm inward and down. Overpronation in the feet is when you walk and rotate inwards too much on your heel-to-toe movement, so that your wieght is not distributed evenly. Instead, the ball of your foot takes the strain. This can cause injuries like microtears in the tissue of your sole. To underpronate is the exact opposite: you rotate outwards and the weight is distributed more heavily on the outside of your sole (i.e in line with the little toe). (Source: Merriam-Webster medical dictionary)