Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Catching a falling lesson

I posting this here because I do not know where else to vent my frustration and excess grief, for right now I am carrying a feeling I hate to deal with the most, remorse.

Knocking the sides of my cast, I think at times how long it would take for me to be able to take it off and walk normally like I used to. Thinking how wonderful it would be if I actually get to participate in the Hall Olympiad tomorrow. Of how silly i used to think that I actually wished I get injured during practises when it get tough. It really didn't matter to me initially, but my heart swells up in my chest when I saw my peers in the cheer uniform which I often mock. I guess deep down I actually cared quite a bit.

A few hours ago, I was there to look at the final set-up and routine. It certainly was not the best, but the tinkling desire to be standing on the mats and manifesting jealousy that I am not, crossed my mind. It kind of brings me back to my life these two days, struggling to get to school, panting whenever I encounter staircase, feeling relieved every time I reached my destination. When I saw people jogging on my way back hall, it brings a depressing sink to my heart. I realised how much I had taken the simple privileges of my life for grunted.

Given another chance, I would probably train harder during my practices, focus harder while doing group stunts with my teammates. I was well aware when I saw her falling, I saw her body slant to my side, I just did not pay enough attention to catch her properly, allowing my body to slide down to the floor with her, not resisting the impact. Perhaps this is the price to pay for the enlightenment to take everything I do with greater zeal and seriousness.

I might sulk, I might grumble in my private time but I will be fine. I hope that this little lesson of mine would perhaps also help appreciate slightly better about the things around and what you are doing. It might not matters now, but do not wait until it is gone to realise how important it is. Sometimes, some things are closer to your heart than one could imagine.

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Last Christmas! It has been a year!

Hey Last Christmas polar bears! I'm not sure who are the ones who are going to see this...
But... it has been a year since last christmas was formed during last christmas! Let's wish Kimphong and Xue Fen all the best in their song signing performance. Since we couldn't make it cuz some of us like me are still struggling for exams. Let's give our moral support!

Though Bulgaria statistics shown that Last Christmas is the most annoying song ever, we shall continue our journey!

Looking forward to Polar-O-Seas and all the best to those still having exams...

Merry X'mas in advance!!!

xmm.

Friday, October 8, 2010

life in nie =)

hello all!! =)

how's everyone?? it's so nice tt i get to see some of u ard in ntu still =p althou i miss ntu badly, i count myself lucky tt at least nie is just next door to ntu..ha! if i came frm nus, i will be in super duper depression! haha!

why do i make life in nie sound so bad? erm, maybe i was too accustomed to a slacking life in ntu..haha. can pon lessons, can haf freedom (coz u get to plan which mods to take and what times u wanna take them at) =p althou nie is an instituition, it wld probably be better to think of it as a workplace=) haha!

i think it's impt to know ur sources of motivation and to remain positive =) although i haf 3 hr breaks almost everyday (mon-thu), it's ok coz at least i can plan my breaks and meet up wif frens and do things i wanna do (so tt i look fwd to the breaks) =) althou i wasnt too used to the stifling culture and restrictions in nie, i got used to it...coz i found my sources of motivation and found meaning in the lessons i'm currently taking =)

no matter how busy life is, cherish life and all e pple u hold dear =) breathe and be grateful tt at least, u are still alive =D pple say, gd and bad things will all pass, this will pass too!

i found this quote meaningful too:
Let the people live in your heart. There's no limits on the numbers. (quoted from "Children full of Life" -- super tear-inducing!!)

jiayou everyone, in whatever u do yar? =)

Sunday, May 30, 2010

the not-so-faraway bear

Greetings to all bears! I just crawled back home from Taiwan. It was a pretty nomadic trip, having to travel from one county to another. Tiring as it may be, but I'm glad to have achieved my aim of going for the first backpacking trip overseas.

台北 / 淡水渔人码头, 淡水老街, 饶河夜市

Bought a Taipei MRT concession and 'hop-stop' at some attractions along the line. I must say that it's really worth it, since almost every attraction has a station next to it.



Set off next morning via train to 花莲..



花莲 / 太鲁阁国家公园 aka Taroko Gorge



Trekked on the Shakadang Trail which runs along the river cutting through the gorge. However, the river seems barren and dry at some parts, perhaps due to the weather. But it was still enjoyable, especially when we climbed down into the river and soak in its cool water. The water is literally blue in colour!

Along the way, we passed by the home grounds of the aboriginals, or 原住民. We got to know that most of them have already left the mountains, and set up shops just outside the hotel. It was interesting to see the pets and crops that they left behind, such as pineapple plants, roosters, rabbits.. but we had to cut short our trek when a pack of dogs suddenly appeared and blocked our advancement.

Next day..

I have to say that the hotel owner is particularly friendly. We had a good long chat throughout the night before, from talking about the park attractions to the history of Taiwan. He even whipped up our breakfast on his own!



The sun there surely rises damn early. The top left pic shows what it was like at 5am. Went for a ride (hotel provides free bicycle rental service) round the quiet neighbourhood.

Took a bus to 天祥 where we were supposed to backtrack 20km from there (the attractions are along the bus route). It was a little disappointing that the trail to 白杨瀑布 was closed, as it was the most popular attraction around there. The other main attraction was 九曲洞 (九 means 'many'). It is the site where rockfalls are quite common, so we had to wear helmets throughout. Sadly, there wasn't any incident. Darn, I was expecting some action.

It is advisbale to rent a cab so that you could visit the more inaccessible places and save time as well. I think we were the only ones there walking the entire route as we did not pass anybody along the way lol. In the end to save time and trouble, we hitched ride on a lorry all the way back.

高雄 / 高雄市



Nothing much to do since we were only spending a night there. Yes, polar bear is a brand in Taiwan lol.

瑞蘴夜市 is one amazing night market. Apart for its food, there are also numerous game stalls with some of them reminding me of a 1960s style amusement park.

澎湖 / 马公市, 跨海大桥



Headed to 澎湖 by ferry the next day. 澎湖 is an island by itself, known for its fine beaches. So, how could we forget to indulge in some water activities? Got a good deal that enabled us to try out different rides as many times as possible, like the banana boat, jet ski and some other floats which I forgot what their names were. I also had a first try at snorkelling, but I was unable to see much since I could not wear my specs. All I could make out were the corals?

Actually the main reason we wanted to go 澎湖 was for the annual 澎湖烟火节. It was absolutely fabulous!

嘉义 / 奋起湖

I think we were fortunate enough coz heavy rains came the moment we were about to leave for 嘉义. But the sea was damn choppy due to strong winds. Can you imagine sitting right at the front for a one hour plus journey? The ferry was practically bobbing up and down throughout, akin to that of an airplane when its alttitude drops drastically. You can really hear people screaming or vomitting on board. I saw the uncles beside me sleeping so soundly, so I copied their way of sitting. Push your feet against the wall in front of you. Indeed, it works.

Bad news came later, that a typhoon caused cave-ins along the road up to 阿里山 (it is the same road up to 奋起湖). Luckily, the hotel staff confirmed that the cave-ins actually occurred farther up the road, so it would not affect our uphill journey. By then, it was nightfall and no taxi driver was willing to drive us as it was dangerous. Eventually, we found an uncle who was willing to. For someone his age, he could actually drive on such a road. Cool. It was a relatively smooth journey, save for some bumps caused by fallen rocks and twigs.

Next day..

We had a free tour guide arranged by the hotel to bring us around. The region used to be an active logging industry, which explains for the presence of the many logging tracks. 阿里山 trains were used to transport the logs. (For your info, these trains are no longer running as the tracks were ruined by the 八八水灾 last year.) Trees of the bamboo species are also in abundance, so it was not uncommon to see many food stalls selling bamboo as a delicacy.



At nightfall, we were brought to view fireflies. It was such a beautiful sight, but a pity that they are difficult to be photographed. Fireflies will not appear during wet or foggy weather, so we were lucky enough. The ones you see flying around are mostly males, as females have to carry their eggs with them (too heavy to fly). Try to catch them, and you will notice that their light will flicker rapidly (as a sign of danger).

Nobody will believe when I say that you need to be up by 3am to catch the sunrise in full view. Actually it was because we had to climb up the mountain first, which would take an hour, depending on stamina. Armed with torchlights, we began our ascent. It felt a little eerie at first, for you would not know what would be lurking around you in that pitch black darkness. But after getting the 'momentum', excitement overcame everything else. Imagine hiking under the countless stars, while the next moment you will be looking at the sun instead.

The sight that greeted us at the viewing platform was truly breathtaking. Much better than the ones at Taroko, probably because this is at a higher level. We were wondering when the sun would rise as it was difficult to judge due to the huge clouds. Then, came the majestic moment when the sun ray shot through the grey clouds (like we always say, a ray of hope shone through the darkness) and grew in size..


Alright, it's back to reality for now. =)

deric

Saturday, May 22, 2010

The faraway bear~

Hey guys!

Its been nearly two weeks since i came here, kinda miss you guys. It is really nice to see most of you guys before I go and thks once agn!

Life is very different here, more than what i had expected and prepared for. Temperature dropping to as low as 6C in the night, evading elks and deers, repeating "hi how are you, im fine and thank you" a thousand times a day. Basically, things I never expect I will do myself. My work is 8 hours/5 days a week on the feet, laundry bag that seems full the very next day i done it (thanks to the amount of clothes i had to wear to keep warm) and walking about 2-3km a day as the shuttle bus route is insanely stupid for me to take. Sounds kinda depressing and boring right?...

But...

This is one of the best times in my life in fact, there are so many things for me to do here that i could hardly feel bored since i arrived. The canyon is always here, for me to view, admire and soon to be explored. The people, full of smiles, enjoying their vacation is always emitting a pleasant vibe that shines as beautifully as the sunset. Husbands taking a $200 bracelet whom their wifes put back, only to pay secretly and to be given as a present later. Such things are really gentle sights which behold equal strength that shaped this very canyon (at least to me). It is really a calm and slow feeling, i am the master of my time and the maker of my own decisions.

I wish you guys are doing really great back in singapore! Meanwhile i will try to take as many photos as i could to share the majestic view of the canyon through the inadequate camera of mine. Love you guys!

Sunday, May 9, 2010

simplicity is beautiful

Nice to see almost everyone turning up today. A simple meal no doubt, but it still brought us a wonderful moment together.

To hua dong: if u earn extra money from your trip, rmb to treat us (which u're supposed to just now). haha jk. bon voyage!

all the best to kp too, hope u'll have fun in your new job! =)

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

LET's Wish KIMPHONG a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY today!
May all your dreams and wishes come true!

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

mugging ahead

Let 'life' be a function of time from today to 7 may.







One more month. All the best ppl!

- deric

Monday, March 15, 2010

Low key

i guess most of the peeps are busy now.. din see u guys for sparkz dry run=( it started off well, but the rain came after our lunch.. then i became sleepy (yawnz, spotted by our coordinator) was quite quiet the whole day partly becos i was overwhelmed by the large number of farrago ppl =S my centre got 1 came. zy n ls were busy. ls u v man loh, walked in the rain wif kian boon. and u need a haircut!! hahaha.
hope got u guys in my grp leh.i promise ur safety n enjoyment as ur GL!!
cya guys soon... to u guys who r mugging hard, health is the most impt =D

Saturday, February 27, 2010

How is everybody doing?

Hai. Same sentiments I had with Deric. And like what I told my Mum, I don't seem to have enjoyed much during CNY, due to the heavy hectic studying schedule I have. Though I know that there are still many people around worse than me. With tight timings to rush to meet the dateline of FYP, projects and assignments.

Frankly, I don't feel at all good since the start of 2010. Maybe perhaps I am easily tensed when I see piling work and difficult content to deal with this sem 2. Friendships wise, I always think that there is a change around me. Change is constant and inevitable right? I feel that I'm getting apart and apart from people around me. But, I have gotten over this feeling already. People do change right? Just that drastic changes are scary, real scary til I don't recognise people anymore. Relationships wise, I have to get used to the life after the change of my traffic light colour from amber back to green again. Evergreen. Thinking of there is nobody who will be of that concern to you when you are tired, sad, happy, or whatever, or sending you back home late at nights, accompanying you for dinner before you go to BS classes. There is a change between us, for the reason that I don't really figure out or not sure of, too. Perhaps a break in the tension of the kite's string will be better for the time being. Sometimes I do get very sad when I got reminded of the fond memories I spent with my amber, til I cried for don't know how many days and weeks. I want my real self back. These are changes that I have to deal with, crossing obstacles every now and then.

I am seriously of a study-minded mood now. I need to get my results right. Sometimes thinking of departing for Genting tomorrow is bored because I want to hibernate after 7 weeks of tiredness - physcially, mentally, psychologically. Perhaps I could take this 3 days of to enjoy myself before I can run for the full marathon all the way til exams. Hmm... I dislike the journey of travelling all the way up and all the way down. (Because everytime the driver don't stop for toilet breaks, my bladder not very strong leh? HAHAHAHAHAHA.... )

I hope the fireworks tomorrow night at Genting will cheer me up. Yuan xiao jie kuai le!

By the way, looking at Deric's photo tempts me about mahjong! Can we play it one day? After exams? Who knows how to play mahjong?

this christmas

slow down global warming less hunters more food

greeting cards

The Polar Bears

Papas & Mamas
Hua Dong
Xin Ying
Xue Fen
Yi Hua
Little Polar Bears
Deric
Eunice
Jia Xin
Joanna
Kim Phong
Liang Sheng
Simon
Wan Lin
Zhen Yun

last christmas

visitors

DLH-folio