Wednesday, January 19, 2005
bottoms up! my posts are not running in chronological order from top to bottom. unless you enjoy reading random events, i suggest you scroll down to my first post today and read from bottom to top. happy reading, happy scrolling. cheers!
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jack and jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water..
lovelovelovelovelove. absolutely love skiing. took an hour's drive from hanover inn to the dartmouth skiiway further up north, but still in the state of new hampshire. the lesson was an hour-long and my ski instructor was named "Boo".
heheh. 'me and you and a dog named boo..."
great welly wellingtons! bless my sole! ski boots are not the easiest things in the world to put on. i had so much trouble stuffing my fat feet into them. huffed and puffed and worked myself up into a reddish flustered state. not a pretty sight. my left foot (the first to go in) got stuck half-way and my uncle was standing there yelling at me to "PUSH! push harder! what are you going to give up now? PUSH em all the way!" felt as though i was going through labour.
thankfully, once the ski boots were on and i had collected my skiis, the hardest part of the lesson was over. first i learnt to walk in my skiis like a flip-flapping duck, then Boo got me to slide around almost level ground to get a feel of the movement. i learnt to "do a Wedge!" with my knees to ski downslope, and then flip-flap back upslope with my skiis in the opposite shape.
before i knew it, i was riding on the j-lift to the top of the 'bunny' slopes, which were supposed to be the gentlest, chicken-est slopes around, but to me seemed like incredibly slippery steepness. i practiced skiing downhill, making large sideway turns and then found myself stuck midway. (being only halfway up the slope, i was neither up nor down.) what a curious fairytale-turned-nightmarish nursery rhyme! in the end Boo had to come up and get me and escort me down. i managed to do it, actually. i think i was just too scared to try skiing down on my own. just needed more confidence and a bit of encouragement.
meanwhile, my cousins were happily skiing away on the blue slopes (steep, near-vertical drops. insane if you ask me!) with narry a care (or fear) in the world. being young, they were break-a-leg, break-a-neck reckless. and alex, by nature, was always a daredevil of sorts.
just watching them sent shivers up my spine.
i did eventually fall down. it happened on my second attempt to ski down the bunny slopes. for a few terrifying moments, i was dragged downhill feet-first thanks to my heavy skiis. i couldnt stop. but you know what? after screaming like mad and flailing about like a fish out of water, (incurring many incredulous stares from parents and their kiddies) i did eventually stop sliding from sheer friction.
jack fell down and broke his crown and jill came tumbling after.
i got up and continued skiing (with a little help from Boo of course!) as though nothing happened.
the important lesson ive learnt from all of this surprisingly has nothing to do with my falling down and getting up again. it has to do with encouragement, and positive words. it has to do with a ski instructor who was so incredibly patient, good-natured and encouraging, i couldn't help but feel a little taller after his class.
only words that build up, never words that tear down. that's how i want my lips to move.
planted @
6:01 AM
