back to school!

so i realize that despite me hardly ever updating my blog, my blog counter still appears to register a small but steady rise in readership. i wonder why.... but nevertheless i would like to apologize to all my faithful readers out there for not having anything to add to my blog for God knows how long! of course, now that i'm back in school and free from all those distractions like Cable TV and sleeping and Cable TV, i should be reverting to more regular updates. hopefully :)

i went snowboarding yesterday on yuan jun's beseeching, and on a very thin layer of fresh snow. this being my first time boarding in almost a whole year, there was of course much falling over and tumbling and sliding, but the fact that i'm still typing is testimony of my amazing ability to stay alive against all odds. kelvin yap was there too, my fellow boarder, and it's always nice to see someone tumbling and rolling with you, especially when 10 year old kids were zipping past us with much finesse, not to mention belittling looks...

which brings me to the subject of falling. in JC, when Miss Poon (or Mr Poon depending on his/her mood) would spend one whole volleyball session teaching us how to fall and roll over (haha this is beginning to sound like dog training), it seemed to all of us that falling could actually be an art, to be mastered and conquered by only the most skillful exponents. of course, that did not deter us energetic 18 yr olds, and we diligently took to the task of tripping ourselves over and rolling across the gym, much to the delight (and bewilderment most likely) of passing schoolmates. we also did a lot of other laugh inducing exercises over the course of our training, but i will not go into details. basically, after the end of my career in high school volleyball, i considered myself to be pretty good at cushioning my body if at any time my legs were to lose contact with the ground, sending me into the uncompromising arms of gravity.

however, nobody told me about snow. when you are flying down a mountain at 30km/h (already not very fast) and suddenly your board catches a chunk of snow placed just so that it causes your board to suddenly alter its intended trajectory, you don't often realize the fact until your butt has made contact with the snow below you. and when that happens, the rolling instinct indeed starts to kick in, but is hampered by a few factors:

1. your feet are strapped to a flat board, shoulder length apart.
2. 30km/h
3. snow and ice are not exactly the perfect medium for rolling. skidding and sliding tend to be much more prevalent.
4. by the time your brain reacts, it's usually too late for it to have any say in the subsequent dynamics of your body.

meaning to say my butt hurts a lot now, and i won't be snowboarding till probably next week.