East Coast Park.
It was my first time cycling in years; the last time I cycled was probably with Mag in like, Year 1 or Year 2 of law school (which is a few decades ago). At first I was wobbly and couldn't set the bike straight, almost as if it was my first time ever on a bicycle. It got better after a while.
We cycled so far that we could see Changi Airport. He said that it was his training route back in his NS days. When it seemed like we had crossed the halfway mark to Changi Airport, he said that we had to turn back because the route only ended when Changi Airport - the control tower - was far, far behind you.
The journey back was a lot more strenuous and tiring than the journey there. The novelty of seeing what laid ahead was gone and all I could think of was how much distance I had to cover to get back. But I made it...well, it wasn't like I had a choice. My legs were very wobbly after that.
He was damn cute though. He kept cycling close to me and saying, "Let's hold hands!" and grabbing my arm and that had me screaming away in fear. I was super freaked out everytime he came close to the point that I couldn't steady the stupid bicycle and threatened to veer into him. He told me to just cycle straight and not to worry because he wouldn't crash into me, but I was scared nevertheless.
My conclusion for Friday was that being in a car is way safer than being on a bicycle.
His conclusion for Friday was that I was a bully behind the steering wheel but a loser on a bicycle.
Boooo.
On the way home on Friday, a pair of DJs on Class 95 started talking about Roger when they reported that he won his 2nd round US Open match. The woman was all, "I'm a fan of Federer! He's so classy!"
I think I should be glad that my beloved Roger is so universally well-liked, but that really annoyed me. It annoys me when people that don't know tennis talk about tennis, especially when people that don't know tennis talk about how awesome Roger Federer is and how they're such huge fans of his. To be fair, maybe the woman DJ does follow tennis; but I automatically assumed she doesn't and that she's just a typical bandwagoner, because that's what so many Singaporeans are. They're fucking bandwagoners. They profess to be "fans" of whoever's at the top of a sport without even knowing anything about the athlete/team. Wei Chuen said, "That's why so many people in Singapore support Manchester United."
He also said, "People like Federer because they think he's good-looking."
To be sure, I started watching him because I thought he was the most beautiful man to have ever lived. But if my interest in him never got past beyond the superficial, I wouldn't be still watching not just him, but tennis, and definitely wouldn't be playing tennis at all. And that's why it annoys me when know-nothing tennis idiots proclaim to be "fans" of his - they can't possibly know the magnitude of what he's achieved and how difficult it was to achieve all that he's achieved. They can't possibly understand his greatness because they don't know anything about the sport in the first place, how awe-inspiring his 23 Grand Slam semi-final streak is, how incredible it is that he won everything in sight between 2004 and 2007. A neutral observer can look at those stats and say, "Wow, that's impressive"; but he wouldn't know what he's talking about unless he understands that Roger's achievements were unheard of before he came along.
I'm fiercely protective of my tennis god, both against haters and air-headed bandwagoners. I wish these teenyboppers would leave him alone. It's nice that he appeals to so many people and maybe draw people to the sport (like the way he's drawn me to the sport) but please don't talk about being his fan when you're not actually a tennis fan. It's just stupid.
Wei Chuen also said that I shouldn't be sad when Roger loses if I were a tennis fan. But the thing is, Roger losing is not good for tennis. On the contrary, Roger Federer is good for tennis. He plays tennis the way it should be played - all-court and beautiful. Okay, maybe the beauty bit is just him; but the modern game is so much about ball-bashing that it becomes really boring after a while. I wish the players would use their brains a bit more.
On another note, US Open has been pretty solid. No major major upsets as yet (I don't think Berdych losing in 1R was that huge an upset because he's a mug anyway. Yes, I'm off the Berych train. And Jankovic losing isn't surprising. Her getting past the QF would've been the surprising thing) and I'm still hoping Nadal and Murray both lose early bwahahaha.
Gonna watch Clijsters/Ivanovic now.
Totally NOT looking forward to work. Fuck.