Yes, I know, the title's misleading. I can't drive yet, seeing that I am below the legal driving age. So, why this title???
The answer's simple. Remember the previous post? I said that we went go-karting. That was the ''driving'' I was referring to.
It was the third or fourth day of our trip. We headed to a location where there were horse-rides(not fun, but horse sometimes go fast:D) and go-karting tracks. There was even some off road All-Terrain vechicle(ATV) rides!!!
First, we went for the horse ride.( Not fast enough to be fun, but no choice as it was part of package):) After about five minutes, my turn was over. As we had a large tour group, we spent about twenty minutes there. In Singapore, everyone is looking for the nearest air-conditioned room. In Korea, it was the exact opposite!!! Everywhere we went, we were on the lookout for the nearest heater to warm our hands!!!
Finally, it was time for our go-kart race. However, it did not go as I expected. Firstly, we had to wear camo pants resembling army pants. Luckily, unlike ATV rides, the camo top was optional. Then, it was finally crunch time!
I was second on the grid, so the uncle from my tour group, who was sitting in front of me, had roughly a 20 second headstart. It does not seem much, until you realise how much ground this beast can swallow up in 20 seconds!(The top speed is about 60-70KM/H).
The way to gun the engine, according to handlers at the track, is to step the accelerater, release, and step again. To cut an extremely long story short, I accelerated flat-out. I was one of the more aggressive(read:random and dangerous) drivers on the track. Within my first lap, I had already spun out TWICE!!!!!
I recovered fast and had overtaken lots of people by my third lap. Then, I spun out. This time, instedad of steering my way out, I plowed headfirst into the snow at the side of the track and got stuck instantly. One of the employee's ran over and pulled me out, after shouting at me in Korean(I only understood the part where he implied, ''stop accelerating at top speed!'')
After like ten minutes, I got out of my car and went to return the camo pants. I went to talk with some of those in our tour group who had not had their turn. While waiting for those who were on the second group driving around the track, we went in to check out our photos. Then, my cousins and I went to the field in the back of the main office and started to pelt each other with snowballs. Then I spied a lone pole standing forlornly in the middle of the yard. I told the other cousins to start throwing snowballs at it to see who is the most accurate.
Ten minutes later, we went to wash our hands and also get ready to leave as the second half of the group had returned. Within the next few minutes, we left for our next location, bringing with us happy memories of the drive.
Well, it's kinda late, and I am still to revise my work!!! Got to go! Bye, ciao, whatever.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
My skiing experience...
(That's my younger sister, playing in the'snow')
(LESSON TIME!!!!!!)
Ok, I know that this might be a little late, seeing that it happened about a month ago. However, I still remember it very clearly, seeing that it came, amazingly, pretty naturally to me.
It was the second day of my family’s holiday trip to Korea. We had woken up at 6.30 in the morning. After a hearty buffet breakfast at the resort, we went out to the ski rental shop to rent our skiing gear. After getting our equipment, we were introduced to our lady instructor who spoke to us in a mixture of broken English and Korean language. Within minutes, she brought us out to the cold and we found an empty spot big enough for our group of 17.
After what felt like an hour, she told us to fall down, on purpose. This was to see if we could get up on our own in the event we fell down with the cumbersome skis on. I learnt that if you didn't want to try getting up (an arduous task), than don't even fall down!!!
My mother had probably the funniest skiing session of the lot without even getting up the slope, seeing that she could not even get up after the practice fall. Later on, when she finally (with the instructor’s help) got up, my mother set off up the slope. Finally reaching the hundred meter mark, she tried to ski down the slope and failed badly. While attempting to negotiate past a group of skiing students, my mother fell down. Looking to her left she saw this guy fall, after trying to avoid her. Looking to her right she saw this lady fall, also while trying to avoid her.
Still, I feel that my cousin takes the cake for the most dangerous skiing experience. He had two close shaves. Well, it was more of one than two close shaves. Firstly, a snowboarder slammed into him, knocking him off balance. Within moments, he fell to the ground. As he lay there, he suddenly sat up, not a moment too soon. Another snowboarder just whizzed past where his head was moments before. Luckily for him, he wasn’t decapitated…
However, other than my two failed attempts at getting up after falling on purpose, I had a relatively perfect day. On the five trips I made up the slope by walking, I did not fall down at all, skiing or otherwise. To quote another person on our tour group, “The skiing down part is exhilarating, but the climb up is damn tiring!!!” The instructor did not teach us how to turn, but I, without any prior training, turned quite effortlessly! (Later I realized that those who could rollerblade usually could also ski. XD)
The only sad thing about that day was the fact that the 'snow' at skiing slope were man-made! It was basically shaved ice!!!(Imagine ice-kachang, with only ice and nothing else). Sigh... Therefore, to our immense delight, we found REAL SNOW when we went go-karting two or three days later!!!
I couldn’t help but laugh as I think about these events. I guess that if I did that in public I would look like a raving lunatic to an unknowing bystander.
It's pretty late, so I gotta get ready to sleep. So, G'nite, folks!
Sunday, January 24, 2010
A reckless drunkard
I just realised just how dangerous it is to be inebriated, especially when you are an unprotected, highly intoxicated and agitated pedestrian.
On Saturday, I was in Bugis, across the road from Bugis Junction. I had taken the train there as I had to stay at home to wait for my father to get home from the airport while my younger sister was brought to her Chinese dance class by my mother.
At seven, we had walked to the MRT station near my home. Before long, we were sitting in the air-conditioned train carriage. At Bugis station, we alighted and walked towards the NAFA academy of young talents. We stopped to wait for my mother who decided to meet us halfway there. We were just outside iLuma, a new mall in the Bugis area.
Then, this Malay guy dashed past us, closely followed by a hysterically shrieking young Malay female whom I presume to be his girlfriend. The man is staggering as he run and his shoes laces are undone. I am half waiting, and praying not, for an accident to occur. There was this small lane in front of the Malay guy and a car in the midst of turning into the lane. For a moment, I thought the guy would trip and fall in front of the car.
Fortunately, my prediction did not come through. He just slammed into the flank of the car, ran round the back, and continued running. Reaching the other side, he removed his shoes and continued running, closely followed by the lady, who stopped only to pick up his shoes. It was quite crowded there and people stopped to look at the scene with shocked expressions. If I had to choose a song for this scene to play in the background, it would be “stop and Stare”!
I heaved a sigh, asking my dad whether he thought the guy was under the influence of alcohol. He just shrugged and gave me his two cents worth of the guy and why we should not get ourselves drunk, and the risks we face if we do. I practically just let the words wash over me, barely listening. My mind was preoccupied with imagination of what might have happened between the couple before and after this incident. Dad gave me a shove and brought me back to reality. Mum was in the car ten meters ahead of us and we have to go.
It’s getting late, and I need to pack my bag for tomorrow. Adieu.
On Saturday, I was in Bugis, across the road from Bugis Junction. I had taken the train there as I had to stay at home to wait for my father to get home from the airport while my younger sister was brought to her Chinese dance class by my mother.
At seven, we had walked to the MRT station near my home. Before long, we were sitting in the air-conditioned train carriage. At Bugis station, we alighted and walked towards the NAFA academy of young talents. We stopped to wait for my mother who decided to meet us halfway there. We were just outside iLuma, a new mall in the Bugis area.
Then, this Malay guy dashed past us, closely followed by a hysterically shrieking young Malay female whom I presume to be his girlfriend. The man is staggering as he run and his shoes laces are undone. I am half waiting, and praying not, for an accident to occur. There was this small lane in front of the Malay guy and a car in the midst of turning into the lane. For a moment, I thought the guy would trip and fall in front of the car.
Fortunately, my prediction did not come through. He just slammed into the flank of the car, ran round the back, and continued running. Reaching the other side, he removed his shoes and continued running, closely followed by the lady, who stopped only to pick up his shoes. It was quite crowded there and people stopped to look at the scene with shocked expressions. If I had to choose a song for this scene to play in the background, it would be “stop and Stare”!
I heaved a sigh, asking my dad whether he thought the guy was under the influence of alcohol. He just shrugged and gave me his two cents worth of the guy and why we should not get ourselves drunk, and the risks we face if we do. I practically just let the words wash over me, barely listening. My mind was preoccupied with imagination of what might have happened between the couple before and after this incident. Dad gave me a shove and brought me back to reality. Mum was in the car ten meters ahead of us and we have to go.
It’s getting late, and I need to pack my bag for tomorrow. Adieu.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
A positive change in attitude - hope it will last!
Today was promising to be like your usual mundane school day, which is about as interesting as watching paint dry or toenails grow. At least, it would be like that for those wish to be somewhere beyond the school fence. However, for those truly interested, time would fly by, with the bell ringing like an alarm clock that jolts you out of your reverie, and you realize, with surprise, the lesson has ended.
Today was one of those occasions for me, which is an extremely rare occurrence. Usually, my mind would be drifting and when the bell rang, it would signify a salvation of sorts. However, for today’s lessons, time just flew right by, and soon the end of the day was staring at me in the face. For me, it was a pleasant surprise, seeing that I was more accustomed to the day crawling by, only to speed up during recess and after school. Add that to the fact that I was suddenly proactive in school, as compared to the ‘slacking’ and inactive figure usually cut by me. Can I say that this is part of growing up, part of the maturity process?
However, I learned that just because the schedule for the day seems boring, I could always count on unexpected surprises being sprung. For example, instead of discussing the base plan of our project during OPW, we got to start doing a minor spring-cleaning to precede the putting up of class decorations. Then again, it was probably foreseeable that we haven’t even started the course for Google sketch-up.
I have this strange feeling of change in the air for me and even my grandma and my extremely strict dad is telling me that they see a change in me. It may be slow but I think this is pretty positive.
Hmm, it’s pretty late, and I still need to revise my work and pack my bag. I guess it’s time for me to sign off. See ya!!!
Today was one of those occasions for me, which is an extremely rare occurrence. Usually, my mind would be drifting and when the bell rang, it would signify a salvation of sorts. However, for today’s lessons, time just flew right by, and soon the end of the day was staring at me in the face. For me, it was a pleasant surprise, seeing that I was more accustomed to the day crawling by, only to speed up during recess and after school. Add that to the fact that I was suddenly proactive in school, as compared to the ‘slacking’ and inactive figure usually cut by me. Can I say that this is part of growing up, part of the maturity process?
However, I learned that just because the schedule for the day seems boring, I could always count on unexpected surprises being sprung. For example, instead of discussing the base plan of our project during OPW, we got to start doing a minor spring-cleaning to precede the putting up of class decorations. Then again, it was probably foreseeable that we haven’t even started the course for Google sketch-up.
I have this strange feeling of change in the air for me and even my grandma and my extremely strict dad is telling me that they see a change in me. It may be slow but I think this is pretty positive.
Hmm, it’s pretty late, and I still need to revise my work and pack my bag. I guess it’s time for me to sign off. See ya!!!
Sorry people!!! My Chatbox got problem!!!!
I apologize for e technical error. I cannot see any chatbox posts at this time. Very sorry.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
BB Day @ School!!!!!
Today was BB (Boy Brigade) day in school. I would most likely cheer if not for the fact that I had to keep the uniform on for the whole day... besides having to stay back yesterday to rehearse our drills and reach school by 6.30am this morning. :((((( Luckily, I did not forget anything from the previous day's rehearsal.
The otherwise error-free drill stuff that we did was marred by only three things: Technical malfunctions with the microphone, someone stomping at the end of the silent drill, and the people standing at the front of the drill squad. The last error could have been avoided if the people at the front had been replaced by those who had attended the rehearsal yesterday and walked off stage row by row. Instead, we had to spend the entire duration of the video presentation blocking from view at the backstage.
To cap it off, my boots were in a horrendous condition due to the last minute polishing work I have done. Instead of the usual mirror-like surface, my boots looked as though someone had smudged shoe polish liberally over it. Plus, the spread of the shoe polish was not even, with melted shoe polish dried to the bottom edge of the shoe. It is fortunate that I wasn’t placed in the front… If not it will be disgraceful.As if to add insult to injury, I forgot to bring my school shoes this morning to change into after the parade, so I was stuck in my boots the whole day... Sigh... Oh well, no use regretting that now... Well, seeing that my boots are already ruined, I would probably just live with it for today and try to cover the damage by polishing the boots (again).
Speaking of school, we had Chinese, Mathematics, History, Science Practical and English lessons today, with all Company members in full uniform. Every lesson except Science Practical turned out good, although the uniform cause us to sweat quite easily as it retained heat pretty well. For science practical, we got a group homework assignment of testing for the pH value of various items. I got "balloted" to test for the pH values of the following items:
1) Body soap
2) Bleach
3) Detergent
4) Urine (Of all things possible on the list!?!)
I am fine with all the items except number four. I wonder how I was so “lucky” to get to test urine… Hmm…Never mind, I just have to get it over and done with... Whoops, I forgot. I still need to find two of the items! Got to go! Ciao!
The otherwise error-free drill stuff that we did was marred by only three things: Technical malfunctions with the microphone, someone stomping at the end of the silent drill, and the people standing at the front of the drill squad. The last error could have been avoided if the people at the front had been replaced by those who had attended the rehearsal yesterday and walked off stage row by row. Instead, we had to spend the entire duration of the video presentation blocking from view at the backstage.
To cap it off, my boots were in a horrendous condition due to the last minute polishing work I have done. Instead of the usual mirror-like surface, my boots looked as though someone had smudged shoe polish liberally over it. Plus, the spread of the shoe polish was not even, with melted shoe polish dried to the bottom edge of the shoe. It is fortunate that I wasn’t placed in the front… If not it will be disgraceful.As if to add insult to injury, I forgot to bring my school shoes this morning to change into after the parade, so I was stuck in my boots the whole day... Sigh... Oh well, no use regretting that now... Well, seeing that my boots are already ruined, I would probably just live with it for today and try to cover the damage by polishing the boots (again).
Speaking of school, we had Chinese, Mathematics, History, Science Practical and English lessons today, with all Company members in full uniform. Every lesson except Science Practical turned out good, although the uniform cause us to sweat quite easily as it retained heat pretty well. For science practical, we got a group homework assignment of testing for the pH value of various items. I got "balloted" to test for the pH values of the following items:
1) Body soap
2) Bleach
3) Detergent
4) Urine (Of all things possible on the list!?!)
I am fine with all the items except number four. I wonder how I was so “lucky” to get to test urine… Hmm…Never mind, I just have to get it over and done with... Whoops, I forgot. I still need to find two of the items! Got to go! Ciao!
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