very recently, i made a bucket list. and yesterday, i just fulfilled one goal.
i didn't know how extreme wakeboarding is until i watched experienced, amazing and awesome wakeboarders on board, jumping, flying and going along and against the water live and in action,
...and until i got on board myself.
in the morning of our wakeboarding day, i joked around, telling my housemates to remember where to find my mom's number and to tell alvin how much i love him in case i don't keep myself alive after.
when my friends and i got to East Coast after work, i was purely excited. as first-timers, we're advised to use kneeboard instead of wakeboard. less thrilling, maybe, but safer, definitely.
when my knees are strapped on board and i'm positioned to be dragged harshly away from the coast, i then felt my heart racing, my legs shaking, out of thrill and fear. the excitement was gone. boy i was shrieking all the way after the take off!
20 meters away from the take off point, i thought i'm getting the hang of it, but even before i pass through the first obstacle, the cable wire dragged me harder and clinging onto the rope became unbearable. so as much as i hate doing it, and fighting against my own hard-headedness, i let go of the rope. the life vest served its purpose. armed with my board, body pain and fear of being run over by zooming wakeboarders, i swam back to the coast. after 10 minutes or so of pretend swimming and pushing myself back to land, i went to the start area to try once more. and the exact same thing happened: first curve, first obstacle, and i let go one more time.
after this, i know i'll be back and try many times more, after i shake off the body pain i gained some days after.
anyway, other than the pains and aches, i gained something bigger and way more significant --
the fulfillment of having pushed myself to the limit, of crossing the line, and of going out of my comfort zone.
and i promise to shriek less next time :)
 |
| me, complete with wakeboarding gear. |
i didn't know how extreme wakeboarding is until i watched experienced, amazing and awesome wakeboarders on board, jumping, flying and going along and against the water live and in action,
...and until i got on board myself.
in the morning of our wakeboarding day, i joked around, telling my housemates to remember where to find my mom's number and to tell alvin how much i love him in case i don't keep myself alive after.
when my friends and i got to East Coast after work, i was purely excited. as first-timers, we're advised to use kneeboard instead of wakeboard. less thrilling, maybe, but safer, definitely.
when my knees are strapped on board and i'm positioned to be dragged harshly away from the coast, i then felt my heart racing, my legs shaking, out of thrill and fear. the excitement was gone. boy i was shrieking all the way after the take off!
20 meters away from the take off point, i thought i'm getting the hang of it, but even before i pass through the first obstacle, the cable wire dragged me harder and clinging onto the rope became unbearable. so as much as i hate doing it, and fighting against my own hard-headedness, i let go of the rope. the life vest served its purpose. armed with my board, body pain and fear of being run over by zooming wakeboarders, i swam back to the coast. after 10 minutes or so of pretend swimming and pushing myself back to land, i went to the start area to try once more. and the exact same thing happened: first curve, first obstacle, and i let go one more time.
after this, i know i'll be back and try many times more, after i shake off the body pain i gained some days after.
anyway, other than the pains and aches, i gained something bigger and way more significant --
the fulfillment of having pushed myself to the limit, of crossing the line, and of going out of my comfort zone.
and i promise to shriek less next time :)
 |
| the wakeboarding newbies: ate monette, jerwin, marvs and me. |
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