Monday, September 22, 2008

When's next?

Time flies really fast; seems like it was just yesterday that Mr. TMC announced to us the idea of the trek to Mt. Kinabalu. It was exhilarating and very appealing, but at the same time I buried some of my hopes of going for the trip. My parents have never been very supporting on me going on treks. I have always been a rambunctious kid, and being typical Chinese and conservative parents they are, they always expect me to grow up to be ladylike. Trekking and other extreme sports were never on their agenda in bringing me up.

Time flies really fast; seems like it was just yesterday that I was begging my mum to let me go to Kinabalu. And also begging her to give me the RM500 for the down payment. And the feeling of contentment when she finally gave me the permission to go, and the joy when I finally handed Mr. TMC the cash.

Time flies really fast; seems like it was just yesterday that I had to sacrifice my beauty sleep and wake up in the morning to go and promote one of our fund-raising activities, Car Wash. It was my first time helping out in a Car Wash. I was actually so impressed by the enthusiasm of the fellow CIMP-ians that even those that who were not going up Mt. Kinabalu helped us out as well. Some of my close friends, Andrew Tong and Jeng Shiun, voluntarily helped us; they sacrificed not only their energy, but also their precious time. Which they could probably have used it to do something else.

Time flies really fast; seems like it was just yesterday that Mr. TMC called me at 10am, asking me to go to college and try on the prototype of the popular "I'm Addicted" T-shirt. I remember how I hated that picture of mine (still looking sleepy and I hadn't bathed at that time) and how I repeatedly feel embarrassed that the picture had to be shown up practically everywhere; in college, Mr. TMC's blog, Punan Bah's Blog, etc.

Ah. That brings me to Punan Bah. It was so unfortunate that the longhouses in Punan Bah, Sarawak, was caught on fire and made a numerous people homeless. That's when TMC's brilliant idea came; for every RM 2 we collected from each of the T-shirt sales will be donated to Punan Bah Longhouse Charity Initiative. I thought to myself, 'At least that ugly picture of mine modelling the T-Shirt are now doing not only CIMP Trek Club good, but also Punan Bah'. Not only we helped out from donating some portion of the T-Shirt sales, we helped to collect stuffs to be donated to them. This taught us a lot during the process, and I regret for not being able to participate much in this because i had to go back to Indonesia.

It was not only us students who sacrificed, the lecturers did too. I can't imagine how the lecturers had to squeeze a lot more planning for this event into their brains. I'm sure they already have a lot of other stuffs to be stressed about.

Time flies really fast; seems like it was just yesterday that I was busy multitasking between finishing my assignment and shopping for the stuffs to bring for the trip, and also packing them. And soon after we were already on the plane to Kinabalu. I remember how the people in our van on the way to Mesilau were complaining on how they can't sleep because Leon, Shamini, and I couldn't stop singing during the entire journey. We were simply too excited. I call it the joyride.

Time flies really fast; seems like it was just yesterday that me and Shamini were being such a pain in the a** to the guides because we were super slow. And how I thought of not going up to the Low's Peak after such a long ascend. How I was contemplating that I've come a long way for the trip, not being on the peak was such a waste, on the other hand that I might have pushed myself to the limits, and that it was not necessary for me to be up there, I've learned a lot along the way anyways. But in the end, I made it. Even though it took me such a long time to get up there. And it was such a satisfaction to tell those people that were going up as we were descending the mountain that 'It's not that far more' or 'Good Luck, we've made it to the peak'.

Time flies really fast; seems like it was just yesterday that I was happily doing white water raffting on Sungai Padas. And how we spent the evening and the next day exploring Kota Kinabalu, savouring the orgasmic seafood and Sabah noodles and roaming around the traditional markets and views.

Time flies really fast; I can't believe the trip ended exactly 3 weeks ago, and I still can't get over it. We all thought everything that we paid for this trip was worth it. Not to mention the energy, time, the class I had to miss in Monash (Was supposed to have a test that day!) and everything else that we sacrificed for this trip. And it was super nice to get to know some new people : Justin, Darwin, V, Faril. It was not just about climbing up Mount Kinabalu. It was about the whole package : the effort in making this happen, car wash, Punan Bah, pre-treks, meetings, etc. And of course the anticipation.

Time flies really fast; so before we run out of it, when's the next trekking trip?

toodles - G

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