My Current Life

Hi, I am a 25 years old male and going to be 26 in July, 2011. I started blogging because of its necessity in one of subjects I'm taking early this year. I find blogging to tedious & it takes commitment which I don't have for it. Why am I writing a blog again after a period of long time? It's because of the need inside me to express my feeling about my life now.

Let me begin, I'm a 25 years old student who is taking Diploma in Sport Study in one of the public universities in Malaysia and I'm now in my second year. Yes, I know, a 25 years old still in a diploma programme. I supposed to have a scroll by now and having a career somewhere. Maybe in the midst of preparing a wedding or even a family. Why you ask that I'm still studying? It's because of the past mistakes I made. I used to be in an engineering course, but I screwed up badly. During the 3rd semester of the engineering course, I failed almost all the subjects. Well, that spelled the end of my journey in my engineering course. Ya, I forgot to mention, I'm a former national athlete for my country in the sport of bowling. And yes, I concentrated too much on my bowling rather than my study. Luckily, my parents bailed me out of trouble & came to see the deputy vice chancellor of my university. I took a sabbatical from study for almost 3 years to concentrate on bowling. Fast forward, I changed my course to Diploma in Sport Study and here I am now.

Let's not talk about bowling, I'm happy with my current achievements, although I think I can achieve more. It's about my life now. As a 25 years old who is still far away from graduating, it's really depressing actually. I felt envious towards my friends around my age who finished studying and already began their careers while I'm stuck here. I always think what will happen to me in the future. Will I go through a terrible hardship because of starting late in my career of my choosing? What am I going to do? Can I even finish my study? Everyday, it's the same thing over and over again, only playing bowling in a competition will make me forget about these things. Well, the competitions are less now because I'm not in the national team anymore and that means more time for me to think about those depressing things. How about my classmates? Do I hang around with them? Well, the problem is, the age different between me and them is around 5 years. Different thinking & wavelength. You all understand, right? Friends around my age? They are busy with their own life and new career. It's better for me not to disturb them. One more thing that always make me more depressed, is when someone asks me when will I graduate. It used to be a simple answer of 'I don't know'. End of it. Right now, since I'm not a national athlete anymore, the answer is, '4 more years'. Almost every week, almost 2-3 times, I have to answer that depressing question.

How about relationship? No, I don't have one. The problem is, women around my age are getting ready to marry. I can't provide guarantee that I will marry the girl right now. They have to wait for me to finish my study and my career to be stable. I understand, most of them are not willing to wait that long. You must understand the Malaysian culture especially the Muslim. It's better for the women to get married before they hit the age of 28. The last relationship I had ended because I couldn't commit. I really loved her and I know she really loved me too. But I didn't treat her well. In the end, I'm alone for a long time now.

The happiest moment I had in the year of 2010 is during the I was in Chiang Mai recently. Not for holiday, but for the competition I had. Only playing bowling in a competition so far provided an avenue to escape from all the depression I had all year long. But the competitions I'll be having are very few in the future. Working out or jogging doesn't do the trick. In the end, I have to face this depression by myself. I don't know when will this end. After I graduate, perhaps?

Kayaking 3

Let us continue about kayaking. Today, I'll explain about PFD (Personal Floating Device). Before that, let us clear the confusion about life jacket or PFD or whatever the hell the thing is call by you common people. According to Lalizas (Lalizas Hellas SA, one of the leaders in manufacturing marine and safety equipment), 'buoyancy aid' is a garment or device with an inherently buoyant material that helps the wearer to remain afloat when in the water and 'life jacket' is a garment or a device that, when used in the water, will provide a specific amount of buoyancy so as to position and maintain an incapacitated wearer with his airways clear of the water, and increase the likelihood of his rescue.


Okay, let's go through the types of PFD

• Off-shore Jacket (Type I PFD)

Type I PFDs provide the most buoyancy, are designed for offshore and rough water conditions. They come in two sizes, adult and child. The child size is designed with at least 11 pounds of buoyancy while the adult size has at least 22. The main functional feature of the Type I PFD is that it is designed to float unconscious victims in the face-up position.

• Near-Shore Buoyant Test (Type II PFD)

Type II PFDs are intended for use in inland waters where there is a reasonable chance of a speedy rescue. These are your typical orange life jackets that are in the shape of a “U.” They fit over a person’s neck and come down on each side of the chest. Type II PFDs will usually turn some unconscious victims to a face-up position. These PFDs provide between 7 to 15.5 pounds of buoyancy, depending on infant to adult sizes.

• Flotation Aid (Type III PFD)

Type III PFDs are designed for inland conditions. These are usually the PFDs worn for specific activities such as fishing vests and kayaking life jackets. They are designed for comfort, continuous wear, and for maximum mobility. As such, they probably won’t turn the wearer to the face-up position in the water. Rather, they tend to float wearers in the vertical position. The definition of Type III PFDs usually contains the word “calm” to describe the water conditions they are meant for. This would be functionally incorrect as most whitewater PFDs, that is those worn by whitewater kayakers and whitewater canoeists, are Type III PFDs.

• Throwable Device (Type IV PFD)

Type IV PFDs are carried on boats as a device that can be thrown to a drowning person. These are either the circular rings found on commercial boats or around swimming pools. On recreational motor boats these take the form of seat cushion style devices. They are not meant to be worn.

• Special Use and Hybrid Devices (Type V PFD)

These are intended for specific activities and must be used in accordance with the specifications on their labels. Some of the features that may be included in these devices is hypothermia protection, inflatable portions, and work vests.

• Inflatable PFDs (Type I-III)

Inflatable PFDs are becoming more popular and prevalent. They are the most comfortable type of life jacket but they do have their downsides. Inflatable PFDs offer no flotation until they are inflated. They are not to be used where impact and high speeds are encountered as this can damage the inflation mechanism and in these conditions the person wearing the PFD may be knocked unconscious before they are able to deploy the inflation feature. These are also not recommended for use by children. Inflatable PFDs are great for use in recreational kayaking and kayak fishing. They come in Type I, Type II, and Type III PFD specifications and are intended for use following the same guidelines.

That's all. For the next blog, I'll probably write about my kayaking session.

33rd Canon Malaysian International Open (Conclusion)

Nope, I won't write about what happened during 17th and 18th of March. It was insignificant and has no bearing on what will happen for the final. Yep, the final. I qualified directly to the 2nd round final be virtually being in top 4 in Local Pool during qualifying round. I will keep it simple about what happened during the 2nd round final because I am too depressed to elaborate it. I bowled badly and ended up at 28th place. Wasted a lot of money and gain nothing in return. THE END!

33rd Canon Malaysian International Open (16th March)

Yep, another bad and good squad but the good squad was even better. I woke quite early thinking that I really need that damn magical 700 series. I came early so I can secure the squad at 10.30 a.m. I already secured the squad for 9 a.m yesterday. Luckily the bookings were released and I got 1 of the spot in the 10.30 a.m squad. Today also the day I finally got my Storm T-Road Solid ball so I can bowl the inside line. I got no more equipment to bowl on the inside line. The Morich N'sane LevRG doesn't perform the way I expected. I think I need to plug and re-map the ball again like the Storm T-Road Solid. Okay then, let's continue with squad report. As for the 9 a.m squad, it was the first squad after oiling, I decided to use the Brunswick Copperhead ball and 'Walter Ray's' line. I also experimented using the Storm T-Road Solid ball on the inside and also on the 'Walter Ray's' line. What is 'Walter Ray's' line? Read my previous blog. I was doing fine during the practice, hitting the pocket and getting strike but when the game started, on the left lane, I can still hit the pocket and getting strike but the right lane, my ball went into the nose. When I adjusted a little bit, the ball didn't hit the head pin at all. I was struggling and confused. I ended up with the score of 170-something. I tried to compose myself for the second game, it was the same story again. The first frame was on the right lane, the ball went through the nose again and I decided to change ball using the Storm T-Road Solid. It went well for the next 3 frames. I got a turkey but after that, both of the lanes react differently again. I kept hitting the nose or didn't get the head pin, sometimes getting wash-out. I was frustrated, really frustrated. Another low score: 160-something. The third game was all about playing inside using the Storm T-Road Solid. I can hit the pocket consistently but I couldn't get a string of strikes. The last 2 frames of the game, I played outside again and got 2 splits, 170-something in the end. Damn it! I said to myself. But there is one positive thing coming out from this, that Storm T-Road Solid can hit the pocket really consistent. So I decided for the 10.30 a.m squad that I will only use this ball and bowl on the inside line. As the 10.30 squad started, for the first game, the ball really reacted very very well, I was getting a string of strikes and all I need was try to keep the ball hitting the target without worrying much about my release. I shot 240-something for the first game. I was lucky also, the lanes didn't change much and my playing partners were playing the same line as me, so we basically opened up the lanes and make them easier to bowl. I was getting excited and I got 7 strikes in-a-row for the first 7 frames. The score for the 2nd game was 265. For the 3rd game, I was thinking of playing it safe but I was too excited. In the first 6 frames, I did manage to get 4 baggers but one of the strike was quite lucky to get when my ball hit the nose. The trouble began on the left lane, I missed the head twice. The 2nd miss was a costly mistake. It was on the ninth frame. A wash-out and I couldn't spare it. It was not the end of my mistakes though. On the last frame, I managed to get another wash-out. My release was horrible for the last 2 frames and I thought I blew it. Luckily, lady luck was smiling at me and I did spare the wash-out and ending up the score 0f 210-something. The total score for the 10.30 a.m squad was 728. 728 plus the next best squad, 678 for the total of 1406. Second in the local pool at the time this blog is written. I think I still need another 700 plus series to be safe and also, the National Elite bowlers just came back from Paris and they haven't bowl yet. So, understandably, my total score will be push down if I don't improve it soon. I'll bowl again tomorrow afternoon after my class. This time with full confidence!

Kayaking 2

Alright, I'll continue where I left. Today I will explain the size and the choosing of a kayak. It is quite important and you'll need to find a kayak that suit to your size and weight. You can refer to the kayak's catalogue for more information. I can't give any more information about the kayak's catalogue because I, myself is not an expert. For stability of a kayak, a kayak that is long and wide, the level of stability is high. Kayak's stability is divided into 2, Initial/Primary Stability and Final/Secondary Stability. Initial/Primary Stability describes how much a boat tips, or rocks back and forth when displaced from level by water movement or paddler weight shifts. Final/Secondary Stability describes how readily a boat capsizes. Initial/Primary stability is often a big concern to a beginner, while Final/Secondary matters more to experienced travellers who may frequent rougher waters. Initial/Primary stability increases as the boat's volume moves away from the centreline. Another thing to consider is Rocker. What is Rocker? Rocker is the amount the ends of the hull are curved upward in relation to the centre of the hull. The degree of curvature in the hull from the bow to the stern along the keel line defines the amount of rocker in a kayak. Longer kayaks usually have more rocker to help support the weight of the paddler when the kayak is halfway between wave crests. This improves the ability to manoeuvre the kayak, especially in rough water. While more rocker increases manoeuvrability, it also reduces the amount of waterline in the water, creating a less efficient hull. A kayak with little or no rocker will track very well, but can be more difficult to manoeuvre. We carefully control rocker to deliver the right combination of manoeuvrability, speed and seaworthiness appropriate for each kayak's purpose. You can watch this video to determine kayak rocker shape.

There are 3 types of kayak that I learned from my 'super-cool-and-calm-in-any-situation' lecturer, Encik Zainal : Mandesta, Ottersport and Slalom.

Mandesta

• V shaped
• Fast
• Hard to control
• Suitable for tournament
• Suitable for rivers and lakes that are wide and large

Ottersport

• U shaped/flat bottom hull
• Very stable
• Receive a lot of water resistance
• Suitable for long distance/expedition
• Suitable for rivers, lakes and sea
• Suitable for recreational

Slalom

• O shaped
• Curved hull
• Easy to control
• Fast but easy to capsize
• Suitable for training and exhibition
• Suitable for rivers and lakes
• Suitable for recreational

For the next part of kayaking subject, I'll show the different types of life jacket and buoyancy aid.

33rd Canon Malaysian International Open (14th March)

Today is the last day for local bowlers to slug it out to qualify for the final before the oversea bowlers arrive. The local bowlers still can play but usually the place will be reserved to the oversea bowlers. Alright, how did I bowl today? Bad and good, I guess. I bowled in 10 a.m and 11 a.m and I was quite surprise there was a lot of people bowled in the morning. Maybe they don't want to be in the waiting list when the oversea bowlers arrive. For the 10 a.m squad, I started out quite good with score of 220-something, as the squad progress, my score was getting worse. The lanes was reacting differently. I think because I was bowling on left side of the alley. To tell you the truth, there are 48 lanes in Pyramid Mega Lanes and you can divide them into 2 sides. The left side and the right side of the lanes does react differently. For the first 2 days of qualifying, I was bowling on the right side. So, you'll understand why I said the lanes was reacting differently. I bowled 190-something for the 2nd game and for the 3rd game, I was losing interest to bowl and shot 140-something. Another wasted MQ. Continuing for the 11 a.m squad, I was assigned to lane 47 and 48. Now this was another freak beast to handle again. You will always hear that in every bowling alley that the first pair and the last pair, the lanes are always different compare with the middle pairs. It is the same with Pyramid Mega Lanes. I was paired with my brother, I complained to him why the heck we are assigned to this pair. When the practice throw began, my brother threw on lane 48 while I threw on lane 47, I noticed that lane 47 was a bit oilier than other lanes but my brother said to me after he threw that lane 48 was freaking dry. Then I tried to bowl to see how dry was the lane. Yep, the lane was freaking DRY. Me and my brother discussed how to tackle lane 48. I decided to use Brunswick Fury, the straightest ball I have on the lanes and usually I use this ball for short pattern and spare shooting on lane 48. The first game was a challenge. I already said that lane 47 was a bit oilier than the rest of the lanes, I was using Brunswick Copperhead but the ball didn't react well enough, while for the lane 47, I was throwing harder so the ball doesn't jump early which did happened a few times and luckily, I shot 201 for the first game. The 2nd game was still a challenge to me, but I was striking on lane 48. Lane 47 was still a mystery to me because the ball just didn't want to react well. I gambled and move to what I called the 'Walter Ray's line'. I called it with that name because Walter Ray was bowling diagonally from outside when he was bowling in the long pattern for World Championship in Thailand. It paid off. Strike after strike starting from the middle of 2nd game and ending up with 249. The 3rd game, I was determined to get another high score, but lane 48 gave me another headache. I was leaving the 4 pin but luckily I kept striking on lane 47. I moved half a board but it still leaved the 4 pin. Another half board and the strike came. A double but I made a mistake on frame 7. A washout and an open frame, leaving the score at 135 on the 7th frame. I kept my composure and strike out for the rest of the game to give me score of 225. The total score was 675. So, the best 2 squads of mine are 678 and 675 for the total score of 1353 which still is not enough. I need to do better. Much better. I'll be bowling again on Tuesday morning. One complain though, I want to book for the Tuesday morning squads but they were full. I told of the person in charge to put me on the reserves list and I want to pass to squad sheet whenever there is a vacancy, he can immediately put my name with the squad sheet in. But he refused, saying that I need to pass it personally on that day which annoying. What if somebody on Monday jump the queue and because I am not there to pass my squad sheet, my place is given to another person? It is really troublesome to me. Never mind, I need to concentrate on my game. The battle continues Tuesday morning! Probably...

33rd Canon Malaysian International Open (12th and 13th March)

Alright, I didn't too well on for the first day of qualifying. I did have my confidence shot up when I shot 665 for my singles that I did at the 5 p.m. squad which is the 4th squad after oiling. When Jonathan Chung asked which is my straightest ball I brought on the lanes, I knew that the lanes will be a bit dry. It was quite favourable for me and the score I mentioned for singles justified it. I used my MoRich LevRG 'Nsane ball when I bowled for the 5 p.m. With the score I shot, I was thinking that maybe the lanes were not that tough at all. How wrong was I.... Then I bought myself 2 MQs for the 7.15 p.m and 8.30 p.m squad. As the 7.15 p.m squad ended, I bowled 622, which I think was not too bad because I bowled on the fresh condition which means that I bowled after the lane was re-oiled. The problem started during the 8.30 p.m squad. Feeling confident, I immediately used the MoRich LevRG 'Nsane ball, thinking the condition was suitable for the ball. I was wrong. I bowled 170-something for the first game and for the 2nd and 3rd game, I was constantly changing my balls to find which is suited for the condition. In the end, I bowled around 550-something. I learned my lessons and immediately noted to myself which ball to use whenever the lanes start to change.

For today, I bowled in the morning for 11 a.m and 12 p.m squad. I was quite cautious and not thinking about taking any risks. I started quite brightly the first 2 games of the 11 a.m squad when I bowled 244 twice but for the 3rd game, I only bowled 190. My brother was telling me that I lost my 'feel' during the 3rd game and I discovered the reason quite late. The reason was my wristguard was accidentally set the wrong way. I think it occurred when I hit my hand at chair or at the desk console. The total score for the 11 a.m squad was 678. For the 12.30 p.m squad, again, I was struggling a bit. I shot 220-something for the first game, but when the transition on the lanes began, I was having trouble and I shot 180 and for the last game, I rebounded and shot 220-something. The total score was 631. It was certainly better than yesterday but it was still not good enough. I need to hit 1420 and above to qualify for the final which mean for each squad, I need to hit a minimum of 710. Well, maybe if I can shoot 780 and above, I don't need to work hard for the other squad. I already spent RM560 and I don't want to continue to waste more money and time. Hopefully, I can qualify for the final as soon as possible. The battle continues tomorrow!

33rd Canon Malaysian International Open

Tomorrow, Friday, 12th March 2010, will be the first day of qualifying for Malaysian Open. This is the first time since 2004 that I'll be on my own. Since I'm no longer in national set-up, I'll have to use my own money, well to be exact, my parents' money. The format is the same as last year and the year before which almost the same like usual European Bowling Tour format except during for Master Qualifying, instead of 6 games straight, it is consist of 2 sets of 3 games which in my opinion does not reward consistency and also the finalists are divided into 3 groups, Local, Overseas and the Mixed Pool. I don't want to explain it further. Just come and see and you'll understand. Okay, the main problem for me is oiling pattern, the pattern is about 45 feet long (I think so) and I have to play inside and tight, the longer I play, the deeper I have to move inside. You have to understand that I'm a stroker with high speed and low revolution. It means that whenever the pattern dictate that I have to play inside, I will have a lot of problems. Here is the link for the Malaysian Open's oiling pattern (If you can understand it). The second problem is time. I have to attend classes and some classes are only held once a week. It is quite pain in the arse every time when I 'decided' to skip the-once-in-a-week class. Also, some of my lecturers said they will be conducting a test during the Malaysian Open (another pain in the arse). I already asked Encik Fisol, the deputy director of UiTM's Sport Centre, to write a letter that I'll be representing UiTM in the Malaysian Open so whenever I decide to skip class to play, I'll have a valid reason to do so but it still don't solve the problem that the Malaysian Open final is in Friday. You know why? My CTU151 (Islamic Thought and Civilization) lecturer said last week that a test will be held on the same time. DAMN! The third problem is the cost. My money is slowly draining. I'll have to ask my parents for more. Okay, since I'll be participating in Open category, the registration's fee will be RM160, the singles/MQ's fee is RM80, Master's final's fee is RM350 and if I'm playing in the Desperado squad (I really really hope not), the fee will be RM150. Let's count the probable total cost. Assuming that I will play 7 MQs, 1 MQ is RM80, so the total cost excluding Desperado squad will be RM1070. That is a LOT of money to be spend for a student like me with no income. Remember that I'll need to play minimum of 3 singles/MQs. I'm not sure also if I'll win some prize money to cover back all the cost. Yep, I'm ranting!!!

Kayaking

For today's subject in our Outdoor Recreation is about kayaking. What is kayaking? According to the ever reliable Wikipedia, kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving across the water. Well, what is a kayak then? A kayak is defined by the International Canoe Federation (the world sanctioning body) as a boat where the paddler faces forward, legs in front, using a double bladed paddle. My class was supposed to have a kayaking session at the Shah Alam Lake today, but due to 'technical' circumstances, which I really really don't want to elaborate, it was cancelled and most probably - I really really hope so - will be held next week. So, you will ask what did we do after the kayaking session was cancelled, we had a class in a class room of course! Our 'super-cool-and-calm-in-any-situation' lecturer, Encik Zainal taught us about kayak and kayaking in the class. I think he said something we hardly 'see' anything about what he taught us about kayak and kayaking unless we are out there in a kayak and of course, in the water.

Ok, ok. What did we learn today from our 'super-cool-and-calm-in-any-situation' lecturer, Encik Zainal? First we learn the history of kayak. The kayak was invented and first used by the native Ainu, Aleut, and Eskimo hunters in Sub-Arctic regions of north eastern Asia, North America and Greenland . The first kayak were constructed from stitched animal seal or other skins stretched over a wooden frame (made from driftwood, since many of their habitats were treeless).


John MacGregor a.k.a. the father of modern kayaking, is a British sailor of Scot descendants. Well, to make it easy, he is a Scottish. He invented the first modern kayak in 1865 and named it "Rob Roy". He then took Rob Roy to explore the Europe's rivers from 1865 to 1867. For information about John MacGregor, you can check out this page, http://www.paddleworld.com/mac-gregor.php.


The history of modern kayaking in Malaysia started in the 60-s by the British navy in Woodlands. The kayak activity was back in action in the 70-s especially around Penang and during the 80-s, the kayak activity was growing rapidly helped by the Malaysian Ministry of Youth and Sports.

Next subjects about kayak are about the size and how to choose a kayak, the stability of a kayak and types of kayak, which I'll write in my next blog.

P.S I'm still just a beginner about kayaking though! Better ask the experts for more information.

First Post of My Blog

It never occurs to me to simply write a blog. Well, I lied. I did think about it but in the end I shot down the idea myself because I'm afraid that I'll only vent my frustration in my own blog without any consideration about consequences. So, why am I suddenly writing a blog? It's because I have to. En. Zainal, my 'super-cool-and-calm-in-any-situation' lecturer for the Outdoor Recreation has pointed out that I must write a blog. This blog will be a cool 10 marks for the overall assessment of the subject. One big problem is, I only knew about this a week ago from the date this first ever blog I ever write. It is a big concern of mine, because I need to write a blog about anything that has something to do with the Outdoor Recreation once a week and I haven't 'blog' anything since the class started almost 2 months ago. DAMN!! Quite a lot to catch up. A LOT!!