VIVA LAS VEGAS II

I'm falling sick again
it's this damn weather
have been spoilt by vegas
it's wet, dark and cold here
and the sudden change is making me ill again

my juggling has been rejuvenated by the WJF trip
trying to fit in regular practice
yesterday i was practising clubs in my apartment at 2.30am
until my neighbour upstairs started banging my ceiling in frustration
oops

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THE ONE WITH THE GRAND CANYON

the grand canyon is a 4 hour bus ride away
so with 8 hours of travelling and 4 hours of hanging around the canyon and stops etc
the whole trip took abt 12-14 hours

we stumbled onto the bus at 6.15am
bleary eyed and cold
it really wasn't too bad
just the ride around Lake Mead and Hoover Dam was rough cos of the winding roads which made me car sick

we stopped at the Hoover Dam for about 10 minutes for photo-taking
i have a video of Siyong and I trying to sian abt how the Dam works :)


-The Hoover Dam


the bus went along Route 66
supposedly a historical route or something
i'm still unclear about what's special abt that route
but i guess it's a big deal cos the pamphlet was practically screaming it out

we finally got to the grand canyon at abt 1pm
the bus driver told us to meet at the end point at 3.30pm
and he warned that in his career history as a canyon driver
there is always 2 pple who would get lost or be late

so we decided we'll walk in a group of 5

the grand canyon is pretty cool
i imagine it to be Disneyland to Mr gomez the geog teacher
at some point it hit me that these were rocks and rocks and just more rocks
no matter what photo i was taking they're still just rocks

so i begun to look for more interesting stuff
i call this "The Nipple"
(ok fine fine...the CANDLE)


-the Nip....CANDLE


and this is the 3 da4 bian4



-the DA BIAN

by and large though the canyon is pretty cool
it's majestic and really quite pretty
it's so out of the world the backdrop looks like it's painted

Sheng hau was jumping around everywhere trying to find exotic spots for his photographs
Jugglers being jugglers
we just HAD to juggle at the grand canyon
Only sheng hau brought his balls along though (Siyong and I were planning to just juggle rocks)

anyway, we all got our videos and pictures we wanted
sheng hau did 5 balls while i did 4 cos i was afraid i'd roll his ball off the cliff into the unknown depths of the canyon

"wouldn't it be something to call up the ball supplier and ask her to send you one more ball cos yours rolled off the grand canyon?"

halfway there we saw a deer which was amazingly agile for it's size
it clamboured down the cliff when it saw us excitedly running over to it
we were kind of afraid it would roll down the cliff
but as the taiwanese lady said, this is probably the daily routine for the deer

Us being Edward Itchy-hands also had to throw rocks down the Canyon
Sheng hau found a Mother of All Rocks
but he refrained from throwing it down in case "it hits someone"

"More likely it'll hit the deer!"
"What if the rock hits something and causes a landslide"
"yah man. i bet the Canyon was shaped by the Colorado River, plate forces and Man by throwing rocks down"

in the end, true enough, we were the last group to make it to the bus cos we took up a lot of time taking pictures everywhere with our funky poses
we were only about 10 minutes late
but it's still quite paisei cos we were the youngest group on the bus yes
most of the others are like quite elderly

the ride back was not too bad
for one the bus driver finally stopped talking
i couldn't make out what he's saying half the time
and his talking was so loud i can't sleep or chat properly
so i'm always glad when he says "i'll stop talking now"

on the way back though he played a movie that was full of shoutings and fighting and gun shots
so also cannot sleep properly

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QUOTABLE QUOTES

Ron is one of the jugglers at the WJF
he looks pretty young, and he learnt 5 clubs in a year
so i was discussing with him on how to get 5 clubs
and he left some memorable thoughts to mull over

"Do you practise everyday?"
"yes i do"
"How do you find the dedication to do that?"
"Well....if you need dedication to juggle...then maybe you need to find another hobby"

(pfffffffffff.........can feel the air coming out of my bubble...so lao kui)

"can you break down the 5 clubs for me? what do i need to learn to get it?"
"well.....you can try this, or this. but really, you just got to keep working on things you suck at to improve you overall control. it's not about being a 5 club juggler, it's about being a complete juggler. as long as you're learning something new, it's gonna add on to your skills."
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Discussing with SY about whether it's wise to spend so much time juggling. there are only 24 hours in a day, when you devote time to something, something else has to give.

"i say just do it. who knows, maybe in the midst of preparing for your production you'll meet somebody. I've made so many new friends through juggling. why go to a club to meet someone when that's not your cup of tea?"

(that's an enlightening thought. the key is to do the things you like, then if you meet someone through that activity, it'd be someone who shares your interest.)
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From "Tuesdays with Morrie", the book i bought to occupy me for my 4 hour transit to Vegas. it's a good thing i bought the book, cos my plane broke down and the next flight got cancelled so in the end i spent 12 hours at the blardy airport. that's right, i got to the airport at 4.30am, and i managed to fly out at 5pm.

Flying from singapore to vegas would probably take a shorter time than it took me to fly from alabama.

so it was a tremendously frustrating time cos i was so looking forward to vegas. i finished reading the book and got enlightened enough to start juggling at the airport.

if i can't go to vegas, then vegas comes to me!

(Truth is i got too bored. and i was too tired and pissed to be self concious)

i was going in and out the gates so much to reschedule my flight that i went through security check 3 times, until the officers can recognize me liao.

so anyway, back to Tuesdays with Morrie.

When asked if he envied the youthfulness of the author, Morrie (who was dying) says:

"I don't fear aging. I embrace aging. As you grow, you learn more. if you stayed at 22, you'd always be as ignorant as you were at 22."

"This is your time to be in your thirties.I had my time to be in my thirties, now it's my time to be 78."

"The truth is, part of me is every age. i'm 3, i'm 5, i'm 37, i'm 58. i've been through all of them. Think of all i can be! I am every age, up to my own."

"How can i be envious of where you are - when i've been there myself?"

(then why do pple say "oh if i were young again" or "i wish i were 65")

"You know what that reflects? Unfulfilled lives. Unsatisfied lives. Lives that haven't found meaning. Cos if you've found meaning, you don't want to go back. you want to go forward, to see more, to learn more."

I think those are all very interesting and insightful new thoughts.
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the fellas and i are already planning for our next convention trip. there's IJA, BJC, and closer to home, JJF.

SY: "When in school, we have not enough money to do all these. when working, we have no time"

i'm still somewhat in dreamland. wired in the possibilities of what can happen. soon the euphoria will die down and i'll get caught up in the troubles of the real world again.

(at last count the vegas trip, including all the fabulous props i bought, cost me a month's salary. and i'm still eyeing more props that are fabulously expensive)

But like what Feynman says, let there not be some grand life plan. let's just do things that excites you from day to day.

and then when you look back, there'll be no regrets, cos you can remember fondly why you did what you did.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From Cirque Du Soleil's "O":

"Travel far and wide, and you'll discover something beautiful -- your self"


From School of Rock:

"One performance can change the world"
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Spelling! or Chendol?
the closer i get to my self-imposed date
the more impossibilties i see
or rather, improbablilities

like they say
if you want to do something, you'll find a way
if you want to do nothing, you'll find an excuse

it's quite scary
it's like excitement, but with more cows