31122006
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
31122006
During the last hours of 2006,i was in my uncle's car travelling down the darkened expressway.There were no streetlights on either side of the road,and the only source of light came from the headlights of the cars nearby.In the backseat were my mother and aunt,with a ball of tissue in both their hands,playing victims to the virus that infected their blood streams.They know no timings,i thought to myself.Even on the last day of the year,they had no mercy and no regards,putting forth mucus from the nostrils.
Being at the brink of the year - the beginning of the end - there was a sudden fear inside of me.Suddenly,Stop this Train by John Mayer made so much more sense to me.After all,another year on the calendar would mean a year older than before.2007 would mark myself turning 21,the last gateway before i have access to everything.I have recieved so many birthday invitations in January,people turning 21 and want to throw a party to celebrate.Then i started to wonder if there is anything worth celebrating about.What is the big deal about being 21 anyway?It is the first steps to adulthood,the first steps to reality,and you have no idea how you are going to turn out to be at this raw,innocent age.So what are we celebrating about,really?Nine years left to being thirty years old,and you are throwing a party for growing old.You might as well not have a funeral.
It is six months away from my own 21st birthday,and i dont expect myself to be in any way,exhilarated about it.Like any other birthdays,i am not expecting gifts either.Just the usual birthday SMSes and the dinner treats,which is more than enough for me.I dont even need to watch a R21 movie at the theatres to have the idea of me turning 21 fully sink in.I KNOW that i am 21,and i am freaking out before the birthday cake so bad that the fire in the candles are flickering,and you guys are singing me a birthday song?You guys might as well lament for me and be done with it.
Like last year,living in the Northern parts of Taiwan,the highlight for the end of the year is of course the fireworks at Taipei 101.I remember being all excited about the fireworks but never having enough guts to inject myself into the crowd to catch the fireworks up close.After all,getting yourself in is one thing,but getting out is another.Last year's plan was to view from a random street in Taipei where the view is apt,then swerve out of traffic's way right after the fireworks end.That plan worked,but the view was merely 'okay',since we were still a couple of blocks away from the main building,and the size of the building - though being the tallest building in the world - was no bigger than the size of our own pinky.
This year the strategy was different.After much discussion over a steak dinner,my uncle and i devised the masterplan.The motto of our plan is: Get In.Get Out. So the plan was this: We will drive from Taoyuan to the outskirts of Taipei,then take the metro to the heart of the celebration itself.And since the station we will be taking at is the last one as you can see here,from YongNing station,we headed all the way up the blue line to Taipei City Hall Station.
The doors opened,the people in the train literally exploded out of the carriages.People swarmed towards the escalators,up the staircases and through the multiple exits on either side of the station.The moment i stepped out of the station,in front of me was an OCEAN of people.I mean,not just the road in front of me was filled with people,the blocks and the streets after this,and then the blocks and streets after that block and streets were filled with people too.Everybody had their shoulders rubbing against one another as we squeezed through the crowd,trying to get the best view of the Taipei 101,which was looming in the gathering dark of the night.It was half an hour to 12 midnight,and there i was in the middle of the 500000 strong crowd,gaining a place on the curb and reaching out in between two couples with the camera in my hands,pointing it straight at the building.
Like before,the endless chatters quietened down.Despite the hills of people all around,the silence that followed the darkening of the lights at the Taipei 101 was incredible.The silence was deafening,screaming from street to street the anticipation of the 500000 strong crowd.Soft murmurs from all directions of the time remaining,eager countdowns under the breaths of the teenagers and the children while the older admirers stared quietly at the building.Cameras pointed in anticipation,the hopes of the crowd rose above the height of the tower itself,temperatures were rising and still the crowd was silent.
Then,it happened.
From the first storey of the tower,a single shot came from the side.With each second that goes by,the shots went up the sides of the tower,and at the very moment when the crowd screamed the last second of the year,the whole tower exploded into a blinding display of fireworks and lights.The crowd gasped as the waves of artificial stars shot through the chilly night air,and cheered at every explosion that rocked the streets and into our bones.It went on for a full 188 seconds,that's 30 million dollars spent.Red,white and blue,then it the tower turned into a giant Christmas tree with a brilliant display of red and green,toppped with a starry crown of yellow fireworks.It was truly astounding,and it surpassed the one last year by a million miles.The best fireworks i have ever seen.
As the last of the fireworks exploded and the smoke started to clear,i evacuated the area alongside the rest of the audience.Of course,me being as slim as i am,snaked my way through the crowd and got myself a seat on the train when everybody else stood on their feet.By the time i got home from Taipei it was already 2am.But it was all worthy while i thought to myself,as i reviewed the pictures and video i took at the very last moment of 2006 - the most beautiful farewell.
I looked back at 2006,in the car back down the same dark expressway i came from,and in my head i reviewed the things that happened.The second year in NS was amazing beyond words.With the India trip still vividly carved in my mind,words cannot begin to justify just how life changing it has been for me.Especially the stay in the desert and the Taj Mahal.Those truly changed my perspective on life,altered the view of it and set my sights from a different angle altogether.The friends i made in NS are the ones i am truly going to remember,because they are the group of people whom i can call "The bunch of people who went through the thick and the thin" without feeling that the line was forceful or cheesy.Because we did pull through all those together,with our sweat and blood.I appreciate the times when we encouraged each other,laughed and cry with each other in each of our outfields.In camp,the great times at night playing cards,eating or just sitting around and talking deep into the night.I am never going to forget the good times and the bad,the greatest moments of my life when i felt that i truly transformed into somebody entirely,somebody i look at with greater respect than before.
I guess at this point i have to give a little speech to my TSO as well.Chewbacca,you are the greatest thing that ever happened in my life.Throughout my two years in NS I've been wanting December 06 to come as soon as possible.And when it finally came and the life i grew so used to ended,i was afraid that i'd be afraid.I dont know if that made any sense at all,but i really was standing at the edge of a new beginning,petrified.I guess i was afraid that i might hate myself,that i might waste my life away in the months to come.Because without a school to go to and not a motivation at all,i know and i could see myself hating my guts,tearing and scratching at myself and wanting to run away.But for some reason,you came into my life the way i went into yours.I will never forget the beautiful October night when we held hands for the first time,and the rainy November afternoon when we stole our first kisses.The most amazing days of my life happened in 2006,and all thanks to you i am not afraid of the future anymore.Because really,what's the worst that could happen,if we have each other.Thank you for loving me.Thank you.
So here's to a safe,healthy and happy 07.And to you my dearest,till the next 31st of December,for one more time though always one time too few...
I love you.
With Much Love,
wl
During the last hours of 2006,i was in my uncle's car travelling down the darkened expressway.There were no streetlights on either side of the road,and the only source of light came from the headlights of the cars nearby.In the backseat were my mother and aunt,with a ball of tissue in both their hands,playing victims to the virus that infected their blood streams.They know no timings,i thought to myself.Even on the last day of the year,they had no mercy and no regards,putting forth mucus from the nostrils.
Being at the brink of the year - the beginning of the end - there was a sudden fear inside of me.Suddenly,Stop this Train by John Mayer made so much more sense to me.After all,another year on the calendar would mean a year older than before.2007 would mark myself turning 21,the last gateway before i have access to everything.I have recieved so many birthday invitations in January,people turning 21 and want to throw a party to celebrate.Then i started to wonder if there is anything worth celebrating about.What is the big deal about being 21 anyway?It is the first steps to adulthood,the first steps to reality,and you have no idea how you are going to turn out to be at this raw,innocent age.So what are we celebrating about,really?Nine years left to being thirty years old,and you are throwing a party for growing old.You might as well not have a funeral.
It is six months away from my own 21st birthday,and i dont expect myself to be in any way,exhilarated about it.Like any other birthdays,i am not expecting gifts either.Just the usual birthday SMSes and the dinner treats,which is more than enough for me.I dont even need to watch a R21 movie at the theatres to have the idea of me turning 21 fully sink in.I KNOW that i am 21,and i am freaking out before the birthday cake so bad that the fire in the candles are flickering,and you guys are singing me a birthday song?You guys might as well lament for me and be done with it.
Like last year,living in the Northern parts of Taiwan,the highlight for the end of the year is of course the fireworks at Taipei 101.I remember being all excited about the fireworks but never having enough guts to inject myself into the crowd to catch the fireworks up close.After all,getting yourself in is one thing,but getting out is another.Last year's plan was to view from a random street in Taipei where the view is apt,then swerve out of traffic's way right after the fireworks end.That plan worked,but the view was merely 'okay',since we were still a couple of blocks away from the main building,and the size of the building - though being the tallest building in the world - was no bigger than the size of our own pinky.
This year the strategy was different.After much discussion over a steak dinner,my uncle and i devised the masterplan.The motto of our plan is: Get In.Get Out. So the plan was this: We will drive from Taoyuan to the outskirts of Taipei,then take the metro to the heart of the celebration itself.And since the station we will be taking at is the last one as you can see here,from YongNing station,we headed all the way up the blue line to Taipei City Hall Station.
The doors opened,the people in the train literally exploded out of the carriages.People swarmed towards the escalators,up the staircases and through the multiple exits on either side of the station.The moment i stepped out of the station,in front of me was an OCEAN of people.I mean,not just the road in front of me was filled with people,the blocks and the streets after this,and then the blocks and streets after that block and streets were filled with people too.Everybody had their shoulders rubbing against one another as we squeezed through the crowd,trying to get the best view of the Taipei 101,which was looming in the gathering dark of the night.It was half an hour to 12 midnight,and there i was in the middle of the 500000 strong crowd,gaining a place on the curb and reaching out in between two couples with the camera in my hands,pointing it straight at the building.
Like before,the endless chatters quietened down.Despite the hills of people all around,the silence that followed the darkening of the lights at the Taipei 101 was incredible.The silence was deafening,screaming from street to street the anticipation of the 500000 strong crowd.Soft murmurs from all directions of the time remaining,eager countdowns under the breaths of the teenagers and the children while the older admirers stared quietly at the building.Cameras pointed in anticipation,the hopes of the crowd rose above the height of the tower itself,temperatures were rising and still the crowd was silent.
Then,it happened.
From the first storey of the tower,a single shot came from the side.With each second that goes by,the shots went up the sides of the tower,and at the very moment when the crowd screamed the last second of the year,the whole tower exploded into a blinding display of fireworks and lights.The crowd gasped as the waves of artificial stars shot through the chilly night air,and cheered at every explosion that rocked the streets and into our bones.It went on for a full 188 seconds,that's 30 million dollars spent.Red,white and blue,then it the tower turned into a giant Christmas tree with a brilliant display of red and green,toppped with a starry crown of yellow fireworks.It was truly astounding,and it surpassed the one last year by a million miles.The best fireworks i have ever seen.
As the last of the fireworks exploded and the smoke started to clear,i evacuated the area alongside the rest of the audience.Of course,me being as slim as i am,snaked my way through the crowd and got myself a seat on the train when everybody else stood on their feet.By the time i got home from Taipei it was already 2am.But it was all worthy while i thought to myself,as i reviewed the pictures and video i took at the very last moment of 2006 - the most beautiful farewell.
I looked back at 2006,in the car back down the same dark expressway i came from,and in my head i reviewed the things that happened.The second year in NS was amazing beyond words.With the India trip still vividly carved in my mind,words cannot begin to justify just how life changing it has been for me.Especially the stay in the desert and the Taj Mahal.Those truly changed my perspective on life,altered the view of it and set my sights from a different angle altogether.The friends i made in NS are the ones i am truly going to remember,because they are the group of people whom i can call "The bunch of people who went through the thick and the thin" without feeling that the line was forceful or cheesy.Because we did pull through all those together,with our sweat and blood.I appreciate the times when we encouraged each other,laughed and cry with each other in each of our outfields.In camp,the great times at night playing cards,eating or just sitting around and talking deep into the night.I am never going to forget the good times and the bad,the greatest moments of my life when i felt that i truly transformed into somebody entirely,somebody i look at with greater respect than before.
I guess at this point i have to give a little speech to my TSO as well.Chewbacca,you are the greatest thing that ever happened in my life.Throughout my two years in NS I've been wanting December 06 to come as soon as possible.And when it finally came and the life i grew so used to ended,i was afraid that i'd be afraid.I dont know if that made any sense at all,but i really was standing at the edge of a new beginning,petrified.I guess i was afraid that i might hate myself,that i might waste my life away in the months to come.Because without a school to go to and not a motivation at all,i know and i could see myself hating my guts,tearing and scratching at myself and wanting to run away.But for some reason,you came into my life the way i went into yours.I will never forget the beautiful October night when we held hands for the first time,and the rainy November afternoon when we stole our first kisses.The most amazing days of my life happened in 2006,and all thanks to you i am not afraid of the future anymore.Because really,what's the worst that could happen,if we have each other.Thank you for loving me.Thank you.
So here's to a safe,healthy and happy 07.And to you my dearest,till the next 31st of December,for one more time though always one time too few...
I love you.
With Much Love,
wl
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