Eight Weeks in LTTS

So it's already my eighth week studying under Lufthansa Technical Training Singapore (LTTS). Many people including some of the parents from my swimming club thought that I was working in LTTS but it's not, it's supposed to be a 'professional' training course organised to train the Aerospace Engineering students in my polytechnic for the industry.

Workshop (practical) activities are tiring, and classroom (theory) lessons are boring. So far there's a bit more boredom than tiredness. I must admit that LTTS has sucked out some of my swimming training from my daily routine. My training attendance has been very shaky since my time in LTTS began. Unfortunately, it's gonna carry on like this until 11 October this year. By then I would only have a couple of weeks to prepare for the IVP Swimming Competition (assuming that it's gonna take place at the end of October like the past two years).

Through my time in LTTS, I have made new friends in my new class. I have also found out more about the engineering components in aerospace. Basically learning in LTTS has taught me how the various components combined together to make the aircraft work and safe for flight. The notes are adequate in preparing me for my 1st quiz of the semester tomorrow. We read the notes, and we summarise them in a log book and add value to it later. Writing in the log book has taught me more ways to break down large amounts of information into understandable and more important portions.

In the workshop, I have to admit that it is well-equipped, a bit small, but small enough to help us learn in a conducive place. The tools are well-organised and the place is clean, making it a safe place to work in. The TSOs who are in charge of the workshop's tool store are not. Those who have approached them to borrow tools would know what I mean.

I remember I was doing work when one of the TSOs was talking to the guy next to me who was working on the same workpiece as me. The TSO walked up to him and saw the workpiece and instead of giving some helpful tips in a gentle tone, said "AIYAH! SURE FAIL ALREADY LAH!" If it was my workpiece, I would tell him, "My dear sir, do you know that if our workpieces weren't so "FAIL", you wouldn't be approaching me anymore".

Really, I observed that no one single person in my cohort ever dares to approach the TSOs for advice. In fact, the TSOs like to keep to themselves all the time, not very friendly, I better stay as far away from them as possible. I don't think our instructors even notice this, but I find that they should be more observant and something must be done to ensure that the workplace is a more conducive environment to work in. Otherwise the next time me or any one of my classmates enter the workshop, they wouldn't dare to even open the door to go in when the TSOs are in sight.

Oh well, if they want to be Ah Beng and Ah Lians, let them be! I don't wanna be an Ah Beng. Okay, enough of the TSOs part.

Up to now, I am still glad and relieved that my Lifesaving crash course has ended (about 2 weeks ago). LTTS has brought me enough boredom and exhaustion, thank you very much. But despite all the pain, I still find that learning in LTTS has taught me a lot of new concepts about Aerospace Engineering. I like the hands-on activities in the workshop, and the notes are well-organised to help me study and enhance my learning about the components in the engineering part of the aerospace industry.

I am thankful to LTTS for giving us the privilege to visit the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) Open House 2011 on 27th May. I found the event to be very interesting and easy to navigate around (during the preview which we were attending), we even got the chance to watch the aerial display performed by some of the RSAF pilots.

So yeah, LTTS is a course that I cannot afford to skip in my daily routine. It puzzles me to know that there is a 90% attendance requirement, and the other 10% will go down regardless of whether we got valid reasons or not. So I always tell myself, "I cannot afford to fall sick until after IVP. If I ever fall sick during the LTTS course, my 100% attendance will evaporate. And it is not going to be easy trying to catch up on the lost progress, just like how time waits for no man. And if I fall sick after the LTTS course but before the IVP, I can kiss my IVP progress goodbye."

So yeah, it's going to be a busy period for me until 11 October when the course ends, and it will be a large amount of weight taken off my shoulders, if I can at least pass the course, or else...

I never thought of temporarily stepping down from my swimming to focus on LTTS. Because I got a big competition heating up after the course ends, and I will not go home without a fight this year.

There you go, another post to half-empty my mind before I proceed for my first quiz of the semester tomorrow. Lots to study but still informative.

Best,
Justin

Lifesaving (Crash Course) Reflection

It has been 2 packed months for me, until today. On 27th March, I decided that I should try out a bit of the CCA of Lifesaving. It required me to train in order to pass the Lifesaving 123, CPR and Bronze Medallion tests.

At first I was so reluctant to join, then I started to think if I would actually kick myself for saying "Yes, I'll join Lifesaving", or not. It really reminded me of the movie Tron: Legacy, like getting stuck in a virtual world and dying to get out. So I decided to give it a try anyway since I did my job well during the 42nd Singapore National Age Group (SNAG) Championships, and I thought I should take a 'break' from swimming for once.

The training was quite easy to follow, everything that was taught actually made sense. At first I was not happy at deciding to go through this crash course, I nearly kicked myself for deciding to do this. Because I thought that by doing so, I would lose progress and form in my swimming and it wouldn't be easy getting it back. Deep down I thought it was stupid of me to make that decision to go through this course. But that actually made my swimming coordinator quite happy, cos he's been trying to get me to try it out for once, during the past 2 years in Temasek Polytechnic.

I never thought managing 3 things in one week would be easy. It felt painful for a while, before I got used to it. By then I was starting to think I was losing my swimming form. And my timetable just kept getting busier and busier.

I am so glad that I passed all the tests that I had paid for. I am also glad that the certificates which I have achieved will appear in my portfolio when I graduate. I realised that managing between studies, swimming and lifesaving requires great sacrifice. But now that I have finally found my way out of a stressful lifestyle, it doesn't make any difference from spending longs hours out of the house, if you know what I mean. But my chilling time at home, especially at night will be extended after today, that's the good news!

Coming to the tests, I managed to get past the Lifesaving 123 tests with ease. I was very very lucky to pass the CPR test, screwed up quite badly at the last part: Unconscious Choking. And I finally kept my cool at the BM test. But this does not guarantee that I will want to take up the job as a lifeguard. I have my reasons and I am going to kick myself if I ever say "I WANNA JOIN LIFESAVING THIS TIME!" People around me will be scratching their heads wondering how I'm going to manage 3 activities in one week: Studies, Swimming and Lifesaving.

I must admit that all these require lots of commitment, hence lots of sacrifice. But there are plenty of lessons to learn from managing all these.

To end, I find that this crash course has taught me the basic concepts of saving lives and also what lifeguards must consider before entering water to save casualties. I found out that a lifeguard must keep his own life safe before saving others.

So that's it for my lifesaving reflection. Until the next time I write about new and eventful stuff that happened.

SNAG 2011 Reflection (Overdue)

Hello again. It appears that I have almost forgot about blogging ever since I got my Facebook account. I'll just reflect about my performance during the SNAG 2011, just to pass the time.

My progress in swimming before the SNAG 2011 has inspired me a lot to achieve fantastic results for my 1500m FR event, unfortunately I could've done a lot better with my 400m FR but I was to excited and impatient, hence missing out on my PB by 1.51 seconds. I still can't believe I shaved off 19.51 secs from my 1500m FR PB in just around four and a half months.

Ever since the IVP last year, I haven't been training at my hardest because of the disruptive weather and I had to deal with my exams in the February-March period. What's more, I didn't get a chance to go to Kunming like a few of the guys in my club, to train and speed up my swimming progress. But then again, I have observed that training after Kunming still requires consistent attendance back home in order to keep the fast motor running.

I never expected to shave off that much for my 1500m FR, I thought shaving off 2-4 seconds would be enough. In the end I did a 17:16.60, and came in first in my heat and age group. Many thought this was a massive achievement, even the experts said the same thing.

Before the IVP, it took me more than one year to shave off 19.37 seconds from my previous PB set during the SNAG 2009. And after the IVP in 2010, it took me just around four and a half months to shave off that much (19.51 seconds).

It is understood that it takes 12 months to produce the result I have just achieved in this competition. Oh well, I actually didn't think I would actually this sort of timing. I just kept my cool before diving into the freezing water for the race, and just plotted how I was going to survive throughout the 30 laps.

So there you go, that's the wrap of my reflection for the SNAG 2011. If I ever have something I want to spill out, I might come back. Cheers.

Post-2010 Reflections

We're not in 2010 anymore! Time does fly quickly, doesn't it? It has been another eventful year for me, I met a lot of new friends from other swimming clubs, and a few other school mates from other schools. I observed that there were many improvements in the swimming club and and in the TP swim team this year.

I feel like I still have improved in terms of swimming and academics. The previous year has taught me how to keep up the good work. I feel like I have shown more care and concern for my friends too. The improvement rate in my swimming has continued to maintain its tremendous rate. I feel like I have learned new things about myself, my swimming and academics.

However, I strongly feel that the year 2011 will be a better year for me to improve and also meet more friends. With that, I'll be entering my final year in Poly education. That will be closer to National Service but I'll be ready.

Alright then, that's all I can write about 2010. Let's hope for a happier year ahead.