Nico

After nearly a year of frustration and animosity towards cyclists who pedal on public roads, I finally became one myself. Yup, I actually went for night cycling, after being “persuaded” by Yujun and Yuexuan, neither of whom eventually turned up for the Rovers-organised event. Ironic, isn’t it? Jude was pushing me to go too, and he didn’t appear either. But at least he’s doing well in his windsurfing championship, which is commendable, especially since he’s only recently recovered from a bout of food poisoning.

So there I was, in East Coast Park with Nikki, Vincent, Charlene, Lye Meng and Cheryl, considering the odds of getting hit by a car and evading all my mid-term tests and examinations, which didn’t happen. I did, however, get hit by another bike. Xin Han (did I get his name right? Hahaha…) was trying to touch my handlebars with his, and I braked in an attempt to get out of the his way. We clipped, and fell onto the track. Or at least I did, as his bike got tangled in mine and he sorta jumped off. I felt kinda bad about it, because if I hadn’t braked, we wouldn’t have struck each other. It wasn’t a big deal though. He didn’t suffer any wounds (I think), and I only had a couple of puny little ones on me. My skin was apparently very tough (according to Nikki, I’m very “thick-skinned”), and dying while riding a bike was a lot more difficult than I had anticipated, but it was all in good fun. We later agreed that it was fortunate that I was the one who fell instead of Nikki, as he had tried to do the same with her earlier on.

Another notable mention was Cheryl, who made the effort to come down and join us despite not being entirely confident on 2 wheels. And then there was Vincent, who amused Charlene and I with his inability to change gears when going up steep slopes. All in all, it was a pretty fun night.

I’m never gonna do this again. Ever.

(Photo: Marianne) 

The Rally on Sunday was phenomenal. I made quite a few seriously glaring mistakes at the beginning, but by the end of it, I think I was pretty much in the groove, letting go, and enjoying the whole experience. Thankfully, my flu held back for a couple of days before attacking on Monday, or I would have missed thanking and praising God with all of you.

And if there’s one thing I’ve gotta thank Him for, it’s the opportunity to be part of this extraordinary team of musicians and singers. So here’s a big thank you to Desmond, Clarence, Ewen, Jeremy, Michelle, Melvin, Cecily, Daniel, Michael, Marianne and Gerg. I enjoyed every bit of it, from the very first practice, right up to that roti john I had with you guys after the tear-down (although it didn’t really taste that good…). I might not have enjoyed sleeping only 2 hours after that and then waking up to brave an entire day with a cold, but it was all worth it. In fact, I miss practicing with you guys already!

Wouldn’t it be something if we could all get together and do this again for the upcoming FOC? OK, I can almost hear Ewen shouting “NOOOOO!!!” from his side of the computer screen. Anyway, it’s been a wonderful 4 weeks. I’m not sure if I’ll have the chance to be part of something as great as this ever again, but I do think I have a better memory than Cecily, so this Rally is definitely something I’ll remember for as long as I live.

It’s early morning on Sunday. But this isn’t just any ordinary Sunday - it’s Rally Day! All those hours of gruelling work and dedication are finally going to pay off at this evening’s Hearts On Fire Rally.

Oh, who am I kidding – it was fun!

Especially when you’re playing with a bunch of incredibly talented people. I thought the exam rally team was great, but the CAW Rally Team is so wonderful, I’m actually typing the name with the first alphabet of each word in upper-case. Unfortunately, they’re also a pretty sick bunch of people. Literally. Everyone’s coming down with “rallisitis” or something, and symptoms include fever, sore throat, and other flu-like symptoms. Melvin’s the worst off so far. He had high-fever and his tonsils were swelling up on Friday, but his condition has improved a little bit as of earlier this afternoon, though he still has a temperature.

I’m having a sore throat as well, and it seems to be worsening as the day progressed. I still felt pretty good in the morning, but by dinner-time, I could feel all the phlegm gathering in my throat, and right now, it just feels like crap. I’m probably gonna drop by my church tomorrow before going to the PAC for soundcheck and warm-ups, in addition to taking the necessary medication.

But if that doesn’t help, then at least nobody will be able to hear me when I curse and swear after doing something stupid at the drums…