Tuesday, January 16, 2007
ann arbor has ransformed into a crystal paradise overnight. i left for the ski trip(which i'll touch on later) saturday morning and returning the next evening, it was a lot colder. but the trees.. breathtaking.
i remember going to Harbin in sec 2 and one of the natural attractions was supposed to be these icicles hanging from the tree branches and twigs. i didn't quite get what that meant. but i'm very certain it is what i'm seeing now.
every bare branch and twig is covered in a centimetre thick layer of ice. imagine that repeated on every tree along the roads. on the shrubs and pine-needles. on the berry-like fruits. they look like popsicles or fruit jellies. and they refract the light like crazy. the whole town is bright from the glare and it's really such a dazzling experience.
really just like walking in a wintry wonderland.
and now for my virgin ski experience. some of the seniors have skiied before and nobody really voiced any difficulties. so i automatically assumed that nothing should be beyond me, despite my somewhat sickly constitution.
i got onto the chairlift with some difficulty and rolled off onto the snow afterward. i hadn't the least bit of apprehension coz i was like, hey! it looks freaking easy! well what should have been a minute down the hill slope turned out to be an hour and a half.
i skiied like 5 metres then fell and slid and rolled down the slope. tried to get to my feet only to roll further down. i got some help for other people getting up only to fall again or better still nearly took the slope backwards. after like 5 attempts i decided to boot out of my skis and walk down. i got to about mid-slope before i decided to try again. which i did, only to get down and crash into some very unfortunate souls at the bottom of the slope. but that didn't matter coz i'd finally made it down.
subsequent attempts were made with an insane amount of fear and probably any singaporean on the slope could have told you that some girl was screaming all the way down. haha
but i did pick up some skills. i can sort of ski now. and i'm happy i went. the ski resort served really good breakfast =)
i was blog-surfing for a bit just now. can't help but feeling a sense of loss. one would think that i should have gotten used to it now. i mean, how can one be a part of another's life if one is never present? just looking at my HC class blog or the blogs of friends, i just wish so much that i'm back there, having a meal and chatting and chilling. some of whom i haven't seen in ages and it just makes me feel so out of it.
i can't help it but to keep grasping and holding on but somehow i keep grabbing air.
i'll be home soon i suppose. my finals end april 19. and i'll be able to board a plane home soon after i settle my storage issues for the summer and any other miscellaneous matters. i can't wait to be back. gotta admit the weather really plays a large part.
but home will be so different. with all the changes taking place. ferly no longer working for us, and mama no longer in the chair by the telephone table.
mama left all of the grandkids a sum of money. mom was gonna just put it into my ATM account for me to use. so she said over the phone last night. but i adamantly refused. i just can't spend it. there wasn't much that she left behind. and knowing my spending habits i'd prolly not keep it very long. so i asked for it to be kept in some kind of investment.
i should check if any momentos can be passed on to me.
