I just took my learning profile and I realised that I am best at kinestatic and logic. I think that it is quite accurate that my learning peek at both of these methods especially for logic. I enjoy doing puzzles and solving riddles. I prefer something which has a logic behind it and I like to experience things for myself. For being a kinestatic learner, I think that this is somewhat true because I am quite active and I cannot sit still to study or revise for more that 15 minutes. I need to walk around; I think I am hyperactive. This is a good way for me to revise my work and I have been revising my work in this way all the while. I just cannot be in a fixed position and study with materials in front of me.

I am the weakest at visual and musical. I am not surprised that I am weak at being a visual learner because I do not like to read with so many graph and chart representations, they just make things more complicated. I prefer large chunks of word documents where there is just words on it so there are no distractions. However, I am rather surprised that I am weak in being a musical learner becuase I actually took piano when I was young. I think that I am quite straightforward and I do not like to compose some music to aid in my learning. Or maybe I think that using music to teach is too distracting for me.

So there you have it, I am a hyperactive and a no-nonsense learner.

It seems to me that the CNY frenzy was on a smaller scale this year. This may not be so for you but it certainly is for me. It could partly be because I do not visit Chinatown at the stroke of midnight before CNY but the publicity for this year's CNY just did not get inside of me. Maybe its because people feel that CNY is more of a time for us to spend time with family and relatives. Or maybe its because we are still weary of the recent economic downturn. Whatever it is, I prefer to think of the former. CNY is more about continuing to forge that relationship with your closed ones, to keep in contact with people you care about. As a view from a student, I definitely looked forward to collecting the ang pow and eating loads of tidbits but on a serious note, it was a time to show respect to my elders and to bond with my cousins. Within all the shopping craze for preparations for CNY, I hope that the time we spend visiting our relatives will be treasured and a way to continue our Chinese tradition.

What is CNY to you?

My jumping wasn't that good today. I did not even jump over 11.5m. At least there is still 1+ more months to train before the big day. How can I even get a chance to be in the top 5 if I don't even jump over 11.5m? Makes me sound a little like Philip Malloy in Nothing but the Truth. Just that there isn't a Miss Narwin ruining my practice. At least I don't jump just to get a good athletic image.

Anyway, just to elaborate a little on my jumps today. It was drizzling a little, but the competition went on. I felt a little nervous because it was the first time I was in a triple jump competition. I was doing fine in training so I sort of expected myself to do quite well. However, I have learnt that this is not so. The first sign of my inexperience was when I measured my stepping. I kept on faulting until I got really fed up. I thought that it was just not my day. But it did not just stop there. When I did a practice jump, my legs were so stiff that I could not even jump up or run quickly. I panicked. Actually, I panicked throughout the competition so it will be something that I will take note of in the future. Honestly, I was not in my best form and my footsteps were always very heavy and it felt as if a 100kg weight was tied to my legs. The feeling was miserable. I cannot always have this kind of feeling during a competition. How can Usain Bolt run quickly even if pressure was pounding on him every second? How can Michael Phelps win 8 olympic gold medals when he knows that a slip up would make him fail. I wish I could have their calmness. I realised that confidence and calmness is key to winning but unfortunately it is not so easy to attain that kind of balance between over confidence and lacking confidence. I would rate myself 6 out of 10 today so it is essential that I be put under more stressful conditions (not to say I want more tests and homework) Anyway, I think that I have learnt much from today and I choose to take the bright side of today's time at Gombak stadium. Hope to jump better the next time :))