The First Dragon Boat Experience

I've been dying to try out dragon boating for sometime now and finally, I've come to experience it for the first time. The call time is 1 o'clock and I ran a bit late but we got there just fine. It felt funny that the place is just in Kallang and it was around the area where I used to live and yet I only got around to trying the sport now.

When I got there, I started to prepare. I put some sunblock cream on my face, put on a baseball cap, gloves and life vest. I was then given a wooden paddle, the length of which should be the height of my chest or armpits. We proceeded on the riverbanks where the senior dragon boaters briefed us and gave instructions.

As dragon boating is a serious sport, we did some stretching before proceeding to the boat where they will give instructions simultaneously as we paddle. There may be a lot of dragon boat techniques out there and I've read most of them but I listened and watched intently as the instructors shed them out.

The first command of the captain which sits at the bow or in front of the boat facing the rest of the crew and is usually the "drummer" is STAND-BY. This is where we hold the paddle with both hands, one hand holding the TEE (handle) of the paddle and the other hand holding the shaft three inches away from the blade. We position the paddle in front of us and lean half of the body forward. The captain then shouts PADDLES-UP, where we position the paddle 45 degrees away from the body at the side of the boat. Then we start paddling as the captain instructs and we submerge the blade of the paddle in the water to CATCH and PULL water, then EXIT from the side of the hip forming a "J" and repeat the process until the captain shouts EASY where we stop paddling altogether.

We did the entire paddling process counting by tens as the captain instructs for a fifty, forty or thirty strokes. We also did it by pairs, all the while coaching and instructing us with the correct positions and posture. When we reach the other part of the shore, we got out of the boat and the seniors taught us the techniques one on one. Then we start paddling again until we reach back the docks.


Personally, I find the sport quite enticing. The training is rigorous and a good workout for the body. My entire body will probably ache yet I have no regrets. I will definitely be back for more.

Another Beginning

Kicking off another start in blogging with pessimism is not entirely to my taste, yet here I am, tangled in my thoughts and emotions that I somehow realized that I had to recreate my blog. It only dawned on me that everything seemed wrong, starting from my blog title.

And so with a little bit of thinking and tinkering, I came up with this- The Barren Walls. What exactly do I mean by this? Well, it's just it- bare. As always, writing has been my most effective means of communication, not only with others, but to myself as well. Perhaps this might be a little confusing but with somebody like me, whose thoughts always run as quick as lightning, they all get messed up that the only way I can straighten things out is through expressing them in words.

I may not be in my high spirits lately, and I've definitely been better. But expressing myself once again made me realize how much I missed it. I came to like the new me, so bubbly and friendly, not my usual brooding self. But there are really some things that can wear you down. And as my usual solace, I return here. It's just like a prodigal son, or a reformed drug abuser, or a stray husband coming home to his wife, knowing that after all that's been said and done, he still has to come home.

There are things in my life for the past couple of years that I should really be thankful for, and I am really grateful. Even for the pain, the sorrow, or the loneliness, when all has passed, I came to look back and learn from them. I rushed and I fell. I picked myself up. I learned. And now I am careful. I can honestly say that I have become a better person. And this is only the beginning.

Secrets

Remembering "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" with this song. But even before the movie I already like this song and several other songs from One Republic.

Audio Books

I've been listening to audio books for several years now. They take my mind off stress at working and they just keep me going. I don't notice the time ticking by that I don't glance at the time to check whether it's already lunchtime or the most awaited time to go home. Recently, I got hold of copies with different genres, from romance to suspense to supernatural. Listening to audio books is really great but I don't recommend it to people who are not so multi-tasking or people who needs every bit of concentration to work other than listen to audio books.

Waking Up

I just woke up from a terrying nightmare. Not so frightening maybe but is so for me. I always feel that a presence of a snake in my dream always signifies something bad. I just hope it won't.

Can't go back to sleep and might just stay awake and get ready for another day. I'm having this anxiety attack again just when everything seems perfect. And maybe there is really nothing perfect that's why when everything runs smoothly something jumps in your way.

I hope and I know I'll get over it somehow. And it will all come to pass once again. It happens all the time. Especially now that everything seems to come to light I am more determined. And yes, I will wake up from a nightmare and into a glorious morning.

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Incomplete

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One Thing

Restless tonight
Cause I wasted the light
Between both these times
I drew a really thin line
It’s nothing I planned
And not that I can
But you should be mine
Across that line

[Chorus:]
If I traded it all
If I gave it all away for one thing
Just for one thing
If I sorted it out
If I knew all about this one thing
Wouldn’t that be something

I promise I might
Not walk on by
Maybe next time
But not this time

Even though I know
I don’t want to know
Yeah I guess I know
I just hate how it sounds

[Chorus x2]

Even though I know
I don’t want to know
Yeah I guess I know
I just hate how it sounds

Even though I know
I don’t want to know
Yeah I guess I know
I just hate how it sounds

[Chorus x3]

Flat Tire

A newbie on the road, I carefully drove. All tires were new, and there were a lot of roads ahead to choose where to try them on. Everything was a learning experience, everything was new. Then a new and shiny road appeared out of nowhere, it was too inviting and there were no second thoughts, I just veered off toward it.

The road was too wide, too smooth, a highway? Maybe. So I didn't notice that I was speeding off at a rate that I would have thought of at first. I didn't notice that I wasn't thinking anymore, that I didn't care anymore. I was enjoying the satisfaction that adrenaline rush gave me. I was enjoying the speed more than ever. I never thought to stop, or to look left or right. The wheels were spinning so fast that I hardly noticed anything at all. I just simply enjoyed the speed.

With the wheels running at wild speed, I never noticed the sharp object that I hit. I was still running at such speed when I noticed that I was suddenly slowing down because the wheels were deflating. The sharp object that I didn't see has punctured my tire and now it has completely put me to a halt. I got a flat tire.

I was stranded in the middle of nowhere. But deep in my thoughts, I know that somewhere, sometime, I would be able to find a spare tire. I would learn how to use the tools and change the flat tire. And when that time comes, I will try to drive more slowly and carefully. I will try to see signs and stops and bumps on the road. And I will be careful to notice sharp objects.

When my tire gets repaired or changed, I will be smart enough to think so I will never have flat tires again.

Rapunzel: Tangled

The Chair

There he sat again. At the same time everyday, he slowly makes his way towards that seat. He just sits there for what seemed like hours. He doesn't seem like he was waiting for something or someone. He doesn't seem like he was watching the stream or the people passing by or the trees and birds and other animals. He seems to be just sitting there without a care in the world. It seems like he is transported into another world. And maybe he is.

As he sit there, he looks so peaceful. In his solitude, it's as if he is another man. And maybe in his thoughts he is. Maybe he thinks he is somebody else, a billionaire, a powerful man, a famous celebrity. Perhaps he thinks he is with his family in a better place, with all the people he loves. Maybe he dreams that he has traveled the world, seen places and met people. Maybe he thinks he has no illness or that his wife and children are all safe and healthy and happy. Maybe he imagines that he is in a world with no war or hunger or poverty and sickness. Perhaps he dreams he is a better man.

In that chair he becomes everything he has ever wanted. In that seat he has everything he longs for. And if that chair gives him peace and happiness and contentment, then perhaps everyone should have a seat of their own.