I'm wrapping up 2011...with a bout of cold, sorethroat and cough - the very things I've managed to avoid the entire year caught me just before the year end - no running away! I'm on medical leave this entire week to cough my lungs out and hopefully they'll be clean as a whistle to welcome the new year! A very important birthday (yes, yesterday was my birthday) lesson: Health is wealth!
Anyway, it feels surreal that the 2012 I have been waiting for (because of the London Paralympics of course!) will be here in 2 days! Looking back on 2011, I could have tried to make the run up to 2012 a bit more... eventful?
The first half of 2011 was focused more on my "weekday" job. I needed to show that I am committed to both my work and sports. So to make up for the times I had to be away in 2010 for boccia competitions, I tried to put in even more effort at work this year. It seemed that my efforts were recognised and I was humbly relieved to be promoted. And so with the promotion comes bigger expectations of me, no? Ah... juggling this and boccia will definitely be a challenge.
I bought a new motorised wheelchair with an improved headrest... after 8 years? It was about time. I may have mentioned before, my wheels are my legs. So getting a new wheelchair meant that I had to accustom myself to my new legs. Part of this also involved designing a new and better ramp for boccia. Since my new wheelchair is higher and a little longer in length, I needed to re-adjust my playing style to ensure that everything remains within the playing space of of 1m x 2.5m.
2011 also presented many opportunities for me to promote disability sports and boccia in particular through newspapers, radio (my first radio interview - sitting in the studio with the headsets was fun!) and roadshows. The easiest was definitely the roadshows where I can physically show how boccia is played and onlookers could also give boccia a try. Describing boccia in words for print and radio is definitely not easy.
Talking about words, I may not have mentioned this before - I have been taking weekly Korean lessons. I started about 2 years ago - all in preparation for my plans to train with the best in boccia, i.e. the Korean team. Time looks to be running short but I'm confident this plan will materialise before the Paralympics next year. Meanwhile, I have my Beginner's Certificate in the 'Test of Proficiency in Korean' (TOPIK) to show I'm trying hard to learn the language.
These are just some of my non-boccia training recollections for 2011. 2012 will definitely require continued hard work. I'll be starting the year by getting certified as a public accountant. Then it'll be full steam ahead as we train for the Paralympics!