Reincarnate. NOW >>>
"Give up! Give up!""NO...! NO...!"
"What's happening?? What's happening??? You used to be able to do only 4 laps at most!"
"I don't know! Maybe it's the gym work-outs; Maybe it's my new state of mind. Maybe it's the afternoon nap and that delicious bowl of meekia I had before it..."
"OK..ONE MORE LAP. THAT'S IT! It's your sixth! It's good enough! You can rest!"
"NO! I'm going for 10. And there's nothing you can do, to stop me."
I rose to the surface briefly for air, and felt it: the weight was gone. He was no longer clinging on to me.
He lost. He gave up. He - The old me.
I've never swam more than 4 laps consecutively in a 100m pool before (maybe I'm just a lousy swimmer). But earlier this evening, on a whim, I decided to push my limits.
At the 5th lap, I thought to myself, "Wow, pretty good. Maybe we can stop at six." But then a voice surfaced, and he said, "Ten! Y0u can go for ten!"
My inner couch-potato was of course, alarmed by this alien source of encouragement, "WHAT???? TEN LAPS?? Xiao ah? Nabeh..."
(oh, wait, maybe that was my Inner Ah-Beng)
"No, listen. Listen to me. You can do it. Leave your old self behind. Reincarnate now!"
"Wa...xiao liao. You have been brain-washed by that Nike ad! Ok, 5 laps liao hor. 6 in Hokkien is pronounced 'Luck.' So swim until the 6th lap can liao, ok?"
"But I feel good! My shoulders aren't aching...my legs feel loose! I think I've really gained some serious strength from the more regular and intense gym workouts in the past month! Though I banged my knee on Sunday playing basketball...I feel great! I want to keep going!"
"Yes! That's the spirit! Ignore him. He's just going to grow fat and become useless. You have what it takes! Keep going!"
And I believed him. The one who was wearing white and had inspiring, encouraging words for me. I kept going, and going...
Nine...
TEN!!
TEN LAPS!!!! TEN LAPS!!!
TEN LAPS!!!! TEN LAPS!!!
TEN LAPS!!!! TEN LAPS!!!
For the 1st time in my life!!
I did it!!!!
(ok, it's not like I won an Olympic Gold medal and got PEANUTS as my reward...but still, i really felt that rush after completing the 10th lap. Shiokness!)
The last 2 weeks have been filled with milestones and epiphanies. In some ways, I feel brand new. Haha..Brand new..Indeed!
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