Memories...
Friday, April 27, 2007
A SPECIAL DAY.
Todae is a special dae, becoz it is the 3 year anniversary of me getting my bike licence and my bike.
A 3 year anniversary of fulfilling a childhood dream.
I rem very clearly how 3 years ago, after i finally got my bike licence from BBDC, i immediately went to the bike shops at Queensway, fix my sight on this bike, and within 3 days, it was rolled out for me.
I rem how excited i felt, heart-pumping, as I received the bike key, started the engine for the 1st time ever, and crossed my legs over the seat.
I rem requesting for a big ah peh red-coloured box to be installed at the rear of my bike for convenience purposes. (which i subsequently removed a few months later for seh3 purposes)
I rem the 1st petrol station Mobil which i stopped to pump fuel. How blur and unsure i was of how to do it, and how i had to get the attendant to teach me. Haha.
I rem riding my bike that very night into Kranji Camp where i was about to ORD. All along for those 2 and a half years in the army, i have watched enviously many of my scout platoon mates riding their respective R1s/ scramblers/ Phantoms/ Shadows/ Super4s/ Vespas in and out of camp.
I rem as i was riding out of camp on my ORD dae, on my very last dae of NS, riding down that long road to the exit gate, that exhilarating sense of freedom and joy i had, and as i zoomed past the poor RPs at the gate, i raised up my left arm as high as i could, and screamed as loud as i could: "ORD LOHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!" Knowing that...i ll never ever come back inside this camp and this long road ever again. (I hope i wont be proved wrong on this during reservist hah!)
I rem riding into NUS for the 1st time in my life. It was for PA Camp. And the realization that another of my childhood dream- to be able to ride into school everydae- was going to be fufilled..that filled me with so much pride and happiness.
I rem how sad i was each of the 3 times that i fell. Heartbreaking. Scars, both mental and physical, remain. But u learn from dae 1 as a rider that all riders fall. Its kinda of akin to life. Everybody will fall at one time or another in their life, but what makes u stronger and wiser is how u pick yourself up from the fall, dust yourself up, and go again. Happy to say though, that i have learnt a lot from each of the accident i ve been thru, and have been accident-free for an entire year liao. =)
I rem the night when i zoomed down to Zouk to find Princess Shuang Er in the middle of my work coz i was so worried that she was drunk. We werent together then, and I rem how my bike provided a haven of security and access for me to reach those that i love.
I rem the night at MC chalet, when Chonghan urgently needed to go to NTU to see his girlfriend coz he was afraid she was drunk as well. I rem pilloning him and speeding down the highway from East Coast all e way to Boon Lay. I think that was one of the fastest speeds which i rode at.
I rem the nights when i cried while riding back home at night, with the wind blowing in the cooling night..crying in my full face helmet which hide all the tears, and all the sorrow from others. Tears from relationship probs with Joy back then, tears from arts camp 05 problems, tears from the loneliness and unwarranted criticisms i felt when i decided to re-run alone as president..The wonderful thing always was that whenever i reached home, parked, and came down from my bike, i felt ok again. A good ride really does do wonders for me.
All the memories, both good and bad, sweet and sour. =) But noe what? I never, ever regretted riding. Never. Becoz i see it as a childhood dream of mine since i watched Arnie on a Harley in the terminator when i was a kid. (No Ghost Rider then)
So many people in life are afraid to pursue their dreams. Scared of this, scared of that, worry bout this, worry bout that. Dun dare to do this, dun dare to do that. Think that its rational to drive car, and irrational to ride a bike.
I say this, that sometimes in life, it is good to be irrational, to dare to imagine and dream of what you can do and what you can be, to let your imagination fly, to dare to be unconventional and seek the path less travelled. Only then can u really live your life to the fullest and to the most enjoyment.
Being a rider gave me a lot of confidence in life, in every aspect of my life. Its not just about the accessibility, the ease of transport. Its about the realization that you can reach your dreams with persistence, peverserence, determination and hard work.
So with that, happy 3 year anniversary, to my Daelim Daystar. n_n
