What a weekend

This weekend is a marked difference from what I experienced last week.

Last week, I spent a good half of Saturday morning mourning the fate of my car (and my wallet. However, the insurance people have since stepped in to bear the bulk of the costs involved. Phew!). With a car that's stuck in the repair centre for a good (minimum) 1 month, it really dampened my weekend. Not even the fantastic Germany-Argentina match could save my rotten mood. Perhaps it was also caused by me having to attend a wedding the same night and missing the first half of the game. No matter what others say, watching a replay is not the same thing as experiencing the heart attacks in real time!

Today's Saturday saw me doing something which I never thought I would be doing and one which I think confirms that I'm no Spiderman. With a few colleagues and their friends, we went to the Bukit Seri Cahaya Shah Alam for Sky Trex. I confirmed my attendance a long time ago despite my reservations against physical activities (don't blame me. I'm never one for all those keep-fit programmes) and despite several ffks from others, I proceeded nonetheless.

When a colleague first mooted the idea, I was actually hoping for the 'Little Adventure' route. Little did I know that that route is meant for adventurous kids and so, I got an adamant 'No!' from colleagues. They persuaded me (and it's my fault that I did not bother to surf the website to see what is exactly in store) to join them for the 'Big Thrill' which they promised is a leisurely enjoyable ride. To convince me further, they even said that it's nothing compared to 'Extreme Adventure' which is really a test to separate the men from boys (please excuse the gender reference. It applies to the fairer sex as well).

There were 23 of us. While I was dressed in the usual bermudas and a tee, the other girls looked as if they had stepped out of a fitness promotion. More importantly, most of them looked damn fit with not an ounce of body fat! The guys were more into the casual look that belies their physical prowess (or lack of it for some). Anyway, I was stuck and had no way of turning back.

Before we started with our route, we were given some sort of hands-on tutorial where we were taught to wear the safety harness. That was when I learned about the carabiners and the pullys (I don't even know if that's how they're spelled as. Anyway, they instructed us to always have one carabiner (we are equipped with 2 carabiners each) attached to the safety line and that we must never put our hands in front of the pullys. Well, the tutorial didn't seem to be that bad...

I changed my mind when I saw the 'Big Thrill' departure point. For starters, we had to climb this one really really long string ladder. By the time I completed the climb, I felt my heart has left my body. And why shouldn't I feel that way? Because with every attempt of dragging my feet up another rung, my arms were left gripping the higher rungs for dear life. From there on, it was one physical activity to another. I walked on planks perched high-up between the trees (thank god I did not have a fear of heights), found my balance while maneuvering my way through the netted paths and wondered what part of my brain caused me to agree to this outing as I struggled through the 'Balance' escapade. Only the 'Flying Fox' was enjoyable and even then, I did have moments of trepidation when I was flying through the forest at a fast speed and I either didn't manage to reach the next station.

And I think some of my colleagues are worried that I may not be able to complete the course. One friend in particular who remained behind me kept asking me if I'm alright or whether I need any help. Well, his cheers and advice for me to take my time really worked although I feel bad that he had to wait a long time. It was funny at times because from the way my friends shouted my name out in the forest as we make our way from one station to another station, everyone would know my name as well!

It was with a sense of relief that I finally completed the course around 12 noon. By that time, I was drenched with sweat and my bottle of water left empty. We left Shah Alam and settled for a leisurely lunch at Subang's Asia Cafe (which by the way, is a first time for me. That's rather ironic as I've lived in Subang all this while and yet, Asia Cafe never seem attractive.) before we decided to part ways at 3 p.m.

The next plan the group has in mind is playing paint-balls. Should I push myself again for another adventure or play safe and decline? Perhaps this question is better decided after tonight's sleep. With aching arms and fatigue, I need to sleep real bad.