Saturday, April 07, 2007

It's time I headed back

It's been two years. Now's the time for me to grab my stuff and head back. Life without it is boring... stiff... and kinda unhealthy.

The past few months of 2007 didn't go according to how I hoped it would be and I picked up many bad habits along the way. I know my folks are disappointed and I certainly do not want the young one to follow my footsteps, so I guess it's for the best.

My sis, although five years younger, already has a passion. She's all about rock-climbing. She's so obssessed with it, she talks about it ALMOST EVERYDAY! It drives me nuts sometimes (in fact, all the time!) to hear about how this person reached the finals of some competition or how her coach's wife is the rockclimbing coach at some Junior College and she wants to attend that particular JC... my gawd~!

All this coming from a 14 year old!

My cousin, Brian, is a dancer. He dances Salsa, hip-hop, funk, disco, locking... Another cousin, Teri, is one hell of a hockey player. I haven't actually seen her play, but hearing her talk about it and reading her blog about her trainings and stuff.. it kinda made me wonder; what's my passion? What makes this ordinary life of mine worth living?

Singing? Harharhar... how long has it been since I last sang? I can't even reach the high notes that Nick Carter was able to in one of his songs. Funny how one's voice changes in just a period of 7 years eh? Until now, I can't believe I was one of the backup singers during my Junior Church years along with Rachel and Wei Ru.

Looking back, I pretty much gave up on everything I once took up as either a hobby or a CCA.

Mum let me take piano lessons when I was 3 (I think) but I backed out because I was too lazy to memorise which key is which note and my fingers could not coordinate.

Was in Chinese Dance in 1997 but quit a year later because I fell out with the instructor (who was very scary) and I couldn't click well with the rest of the girls. No, there were no arguments or fights, they were just too cina fr me lah. 24/7 speaking in Mandarin... Though I enjoyed dancing with them, I figured I was dancing with the wrong group of people. Left a year later and subsequently lost my touch at doing the split, back flip and a whole other lot of stunts. The only one I can still do would be the somersault. heehee!

Then there was SWIMMING! This is the only CCA that I managed to get a Gold Certificate for. And there's nothing for me to be happy about; I mean, how hard is it for a person to learn how to swim? And how many different styles of swimming are there? Bravo to this (rather boring) sport but it's not my calling.

Joined volleyball in 1999 with Sabrina and Natasha. I think we attended a total of two sessions and we gave up because firstly, we had to wake up very early in the morning to attend trainings and secondly, the ball is so hard, our hands always felt raw and sore (rhyme wasn't intended) after a two hour session. Oh my, I can still recall how my elbows used to hurt.

At the end of 1999, I took up roller-blading from Vanessa. It took me a while to learn how to balance but I managed to in the end. Was able to blade down the slope near my place and jump over the curb in just a matter of months. I still roller-blade quite abit, but not as often as in the past because one jackass STOLE MY SKATES! *roar*

In 2001, I chose SJAB as my CCA during the CCA Fair. Holy shit... I've said it before and I'll say it again; IT WAS ONE OF THE WORST DECISIONS I EVER MADE IN MY ENTIRE LIFE! No disrespect towards SJAB, but it was a frickin' waste of time and transport money. I had to wake up at 6am on a Saturday morning, travel to school in my P.E. attire and march under the sun for more than an hour?! Huh?!?! They (St. John cadets) claim that marching inculcates discipline and mental strength. I beg to differ. Marching makes freshmen look like monkeys preparing for the circus and it gives me uneven tan-lines. So there, case closed!

You wanna know what "inculcates discipline and mental strength"? I tell you what; Judo does! Judo, the gentle art, it teaches one about discipline, respect, self-confidence, strategy. This is the art (and the only CCA ever) to teach me about believing in one's self. It doesn't matter if your opponent is one grade higher than you or 20 pounds heavier.

I once lost to a senior in 2002 during a friendly. It could've been because I entered the mats thinking that I would lose because she's an orange belt whereas I was only a yellow or it could be due to my knee injury which I sustained just a week before the tournament. Whatever the reason may be, I lost after just 30 seconds and had to be carried off the mats. But the following year, I whacked the living daylights outta her. Revenge is sweet, baby *licks lips*. Got into the finals and I had to fight against my training partner, Sharks. Lost to her, but never mind. I beat the person whom I lost to previously and a silver trophy isn't all that bad.

Like, I said at the beginning of the post, now's the time for me to head back. The road seems tough and my joints are stiff... but I'm determined to go back. This is my form of rehab. I don't care if I end up injuring my other knee, it doesn't matter if my shoulders grow larger, I'm alright with all the bruises and abrasions and burns... I just wanna be like how I was in the past. There was something for me to look forward to, something for me to excel in (considering I never excelled academically) and something I could call my passion.

For two years, I've been hearing my friends talk about how much they love dancing, playing the drums, ice-skating, rock-climbing (i'm really sick of hearing about this sport), jamming, skate-boarding, wake-boarding... and then when they ask me what do I enjoy doing, I say, "I'm either in school or at work, so what else can I do?".

Well, come this semester, everything's about to change.