Nightmares

Woke up in cold sweat just now around 6am in the morning because I was having a really bad nightmare. It felt so real that I can still remember every detail. It scares me to think that my subconscious could imagine these situations. The worst part is that when I finally fall back asleep, the nightmare comes again, this time in a different situation. I don't want to sleep any more even though I'm still tired. My body feels so wrecked from yesterday's climbing yet I didn't even train fully. I feel heavier now and campusing feels more difficult. I think I've gained some weight from the trip which is a good thing. Just that it's going to take some time for me to convert that weight into muscle. I plan to start training my endurance again and slowly progress from there. But right now my fingers feel so raw that idk if I can climb properly later on. 

Going for two driving lessons later in a day. It's going to be a long and tiring day. 

Life reflections

So my Toronto trip has come to an end. Now all that's left is for me to get my driving license before uni starts, and that means driving lessons almost everyday till my test date on 6 August. Uni is going to start soon too, I don't really know how to feel about it. I'm both excited and apprehensive to start school again. 

Missed boulderactive because of my trip but it's fine. I think I would have gotten rekted if I joined inter anyway, seeing how the routes set were so hard and I didn't train enough for it. However, some of the routes look really interesting and it would have made me happy to try them even if I know I can't complete them. 

Registered for bouldermania and Rockmaster which is happening on the weekend at the start and end of September respectively. I really want to start training for these two comps, but I don't know if I'll be able to cope when uni starts :( came up with a revise training program myself and I'm determined to try it out. Climbing training for me starts tmr, time to get back in shape. 

It's been such an amazing trip in Toronto that I didn't feel like coming back at all. I couldn't imagine how much Sab didn't want to return back, and how much she misses her parents. Sometimes it feels like I'm the one holding her back from all this even though I know that's not true, but she's made a choice and I'm going to do my best to make her decision worthwhile. Anyway, Sab's parents treated me very well and I hope I've left a good impression on them. Meeting her family has given me a better insight on her life and I can finally comprehend what she's going through. 

I don't know how the next 4 years are going to be like, but I know that I'll want to go through it all with her. I'll have to set my priorities right once uni starts and stay focused. On a side note, I think that I would want to learn how to ride a motorcycle during my first uni holidays. But I may not have time since there's reservist -.- I'm interested to learn how to ride even though I don't have a bike. Yet. 

Going to pack my room now. Can't wait to climb real soon :) let the training begin. 

Toronto Times

Haven't updated in a while because the trip has been so eventful with something to do everyday!

9th July, Thursday 

Took part in the summer sweatfest and came in second place for the friendly format! It was carnival style so there were 30 routes with different points tagged to each route, so the higher the route number, the higher the points it is worth. To put it simply, route 30 is the hardest route with the most points and route 1 was the easiest route with the least points. The more attempts you take, the less points the route will be worth. At the end, they will pick the top 6 routes you completed as your score. 

10th July, Friday

Went shopping at one of the outlet malls with her family. Bought a climbing pants, a pair of nice sneakers that Sab helped me pick and long pants. It's quite hard to find pants my waist size which is 28 because people over there are bigger sized. 

11th July, Saturday 

Went for dinner at one of her family friend's house. 

12th July, Sunday 

Went downtown to University of Toronto to explore as her eldest brother was also going there to play a frisbee match so the rest of us tagged along. Can't remember what else we did :(

13th July, Monday 

Went to Canada's Wonderland with Sab and her two brothers :D it was so thrilling to ride the roller coasters! 

Ended that day by running 3.2km with Sab at night around the neighbourhood. It's so nice to run when the weather is so cool!

14th July, Tuesday 

All of us went to Niagra Falls that day. Didn't get to see much because it was raining :( after that we went to the outlet mall nearby to shop. I bought a useful backpack for school and another climbing pants :D ended the day with a fancy dinner at a restaurant :) 

15th July, Wednesday 

Sent her elder brother off to the airport, then took the train with Sab from the airport to downtown cause the other climbing gym that we wanted to visit was there and it wasn't convenient to drive there cause of the congested traffic. The climbing gym we went to is called Joe's RockHeads, and it's apparently the largest climbing gym in Ontario and I think probably the oldest as well. Reminds me of CA a little, whereas the other climbing gym we went to, True North, reminded me a lot of CC. anyway, the top rope routes at Joe's RockHeads are not very well set cause I find them too inconsistent and a little overgraded. Also, a lot of the footholds are slimy and smooth so many times my feet just slip off easily and I'm quite sure it's not cause of poor footwork. However, the Boulder routes there are quite well set cause I think they maintain it regularly. Managed to finish a few V6-7s :D Sab really liked that climbing gym though.  She even bought a cute T shirt from there :)

16th July, Thursday 

We went downtown for shopping! I didn't buy anything cause my money was running short. Had both of our lunch and dinner at a Japanese restaurant which was so cool because all the staff were extremely enthusiastic and the food was delicious!

17th July, Friday 

Went to climb at True North again with Sab. It was a relaxed day of climbing, we ended up doing only top rope and lazing around for the remainder of our time. Then we went home earlier for a nice dinner and a fun poker game!

18th July, Saturday and 19th July, Sunday

Sent her eldest brother off to the airport on Saturday, then we all headed straight for the cottage which we were staying at for two days. It's like a wooden cabin house beside a lake that is owned by one of her family's friend. It was so nice of them to invite us to stay for a night. The scenery was amazing and it's just a very pleasant place. They have a dog too that was so playful and cute! Sab and I went canoeing, took boat rides, played with the dog in the lake, stargazed at night and just chilled out together. The food that they prepared for us was also good, especially the steak which I felt was the best steak I've ever eaten. 

20th July, Monday 

Sab and I went to climb today for the last time at True North. We climbed more this time and I finished up the 5.11+ (7A equivalent) on top rope and then tried some of the Boulder routes that I didn't complete during sweat fest. Overall it was a good climbing session. Can't wait to go back to Singapore to start training properly again though. 

It's been a meaningful and enjoyable trip over here. I'll probably type out a long reflection when I leave or when I return to

Singapore. I am glad that I got a chance to meet her parents and bond with her family. I can't thank them enough for accommodating me and treating me so nicely. And through this whole trip I am also grateful that I've grown closer to her and our relationship got better and stronger. 

I don't usually type out such stuff but this is something that I really feel strongly about. And before I sleep, I just want to say, if she's reading this, then thanks for bringing happiness into my life Sab, I love you :) 

Climbing in Toronto!

So Sab and I went to climb today at this climbing gym called True North which is quite far away from home but it's the nearest climbing gym available. We bought a one month season pass cause it seemed quite worth it if we went at least 4 times within our time here in Canada as compared to just paying for the normal entry rate. The climbing gym is about the same size as Onsight, just that it's air conditioned heh. We were quite disappointed that we couldn't rent rope to lead. Apparently none of the climbing gyms here actually rent rope; you have to bring/buy your own. So we ended up top roping the whole day which wasn't that bad because there were so many lanes to choose from. The routes were more balancy and technical as compared to Singapore's but they weren't as span biased as I thought they would be. Was quite confused by the gradings at first but after a while I could roughly guess the equivalent gradings to that of Singapore's. It was a really enjoyable climb with Sab and I can't wait to climb again tmr at some competition in the same gym :D shall end off here and let the photos do the talking.