just got back from china last night, after a 2-week trip to beijing to visit relatives. it was a fun and meaningful stay, as i managed to catch up with quite a lot of pple. haven't been back for 5+ years, and it's so much different, so many changes have taken place during my absence. my family shifted once, from the city to the suburbs, in consideration that my grandparents prefer the slower-paced life and less polluted suburbs. and time gives no one leeway, people have aged.. really fast..
oh and it's also my first plane trip ALONE!! though i encountered some rather stupid problems on my way back, i managed to overcome all the trials and tribulations and reached singapore in one piece. so proud of myself ahaha =D
i also visited the great wall of china for the first time of my entire 17 years of existence. a magnificient and stupendous ancient structure! almost died climbing it though, literally. something that left an impression on me was the many locks stringed together along one of the walls. my uncle said it's something like: you can put your lock there. years and decades later, your descendents can come and unlock it. for what i dunno, but it's just pretty interesting.
and of cos, i'll never let my mouth rest, wherever i go. so we tried many things.. peking duck, local buns, korean bbq etc. i still can't get enough of the buns. well and on my first night there, i actually managed to eat 3 bowls of rice during dinner! =o
enough about my trip lah haha. had training today, still about the same standard i think, neither deproved or improved. sigh, at least i didn't deprove in these 2 weeks huh. and surprisingly, i actually went jogging thrice on my own when i was overseas haha. stayed back to chalk out the track banner design. dunno why 4 figures took us 3h+ to draw?!? well at least we got some bountiful "harvests" hoho XD
look forward to track camp next week! it's a 3-day camp, from mon to wed. sadly it's not an overnight camp but i hope it'll be fun and memorable anyway. well we will make it so =) and i'm in the food comm, just to my liking AHAHAHA. there'll be a total of 8h of study sessions though.. i must aspire to utilize the time fully and catch up on my schoolwork!!
indeed, i agree with hx that simplicity is irreversible. and sometimes, it isn't a bad thing leading simple lives and having simple minds. my grandfather's memory is deproving (exponentially?) and he's becoming really senile, to the extent that it's a little shocking. but my family has accepted the fact that it may not be that bad a thing. at least he doesn't remember all the sad things in his life and doesn't constantly worry about them. his mind is like a small treasure trove, where all his few most precious memories are stored.. at least he's a happy old man.. we, who have relatively such good memory, remember most of the things we want to and need to remember, as well as those which we don't want to recall. and doesn't this add to our sorrow and pain?
hmmm. 2 more weeks of the holidays left, so much to do and so much to catch up on. and in response to huixiang's post on 17 may: YEAH, can we find time for a boo/kskp outing? i miss you all too. and hx, mich and cheryl: seriously we should consider having a macritchie outing/hike, i kind of miss mac haha. relive those wonderful memories (and trainings x.X) we had there! and our first inter-school medal haha, i'll never forget. yes ny will rock track this year, they'll burn the track with their wonderful timings and standings! =)