day 3, 26th august 2007: taupo to rotorua, the shrillest highs and the lowest lows

the night before, before i went to sleep, i said a short prayer. i said, "god, i don't know how i'm gonna go for mass tomorrow, but only you know how much i want to. you'll find a way for me." this morning, shanny comes into the room while i'm packing my bags and tells me that worship is going on next to the kitchen. my heart bounces. what on earth are the chances?? in this little backpackers' in taupo?? true enough, i walk to the kitchen and a group of filipinos have gathered for a sunday morning worship. i stand there, dumbfounded and smiling from ear to ear. it's always a joy to see a group of people come together to praise and worship god in song, doesn't matter who or where. they were really welcoming towards me and eugene and offered up their seats to us, inviting us to join them as they broke the word together. yea, it wasn't mass. but i couldn't ask for more. i had only thanks to give. and how apt because shortly after that, glen, shanny, gavin and i were whisked off in a limousine to go...

SKYDIVING!



i felt a special connection with my tandem instructor, not because he was crazy (oh believe you me, he was a nutcase, he was perfect!), but because he had the same name as my darling. not mervin la. reno. haha.

check out the video of my experience below!! a bit tak glam (not glamourous), but what to do. you can't really think about all that fluff when you're 15000ft above ground, falling off an airplane in the middle of god knows where, with a crazy man shouting into your ears!




yes, what cornier song could i have chosen than eye of the tiger right. haha. damn.

the whole experience was rather intense. the first few seconds was such a blur. i was hanging out of the plane one second, and the next thing i know, i'm spinning wildly in the sky, with my ears popping like, i don't know, a popping thing. pop, pop, pop. scream. spin. a glove falls to the earth. scream. spin. wonder what the hell you're doing falling through the sky. fall. fall. fall. sudden realisation that you are actually skydiving. look at mountains and coastlines and fields and hmm, i don't think i saw any birds. suddenly, everything becomes slower, and calmer. the canopy has opened. this is the part i start flailing my arms and my legs as we gracefully descend to the ground, imagining myself to be a bird. this is where i look at the cars below, oh how small they are, and that feeling is perfect. i'm flying!

was it all that scary? i don't know really. i don't think i felt fear. it was more like, what the hell!!!! insanity, perhaps. fear? that would be looking over the edge of a cliff and taking that step to plunge down to the rocks, suspended by a mere cord. i think the consciousness of what you are doing contributes alot to the fear you feel. and in TANDEM skydiving, you don't make that conscious decision. someone makes it for you. that is why, one day, my dear friends, i will learn how to do it alone. that's when i'll really be afraid. that's when i know i have to do it! crazy la this girl.

moving on.

next stop was huka falls. no, it's not a hippie hideout where you smoke hookah the whole day. it's a series of rapids leading to a waterfall. over here, i don't know whether it was just me but i had an urge to jump into the water and let it carry me to wherever. i have a weakness for water-slides and water-rides. you can't blame me. the water was so clear and blue and looked like something you'd find in fantasy island (water theme park which got closed down in singapore). i swear eugene is trying to kill me, whether it's by pushing me into a whirlpool or giving me a heart-attack everytime he suddenly appears at my house or his cockiness when he plays bridge. OOOOF!!!

still not satisfied for the day. we headed on towards craters of the moon, where the earth was literally fagging because the crust there is so thin. it's so insane. some crazy person pointed out that the place looked apt for the setting of a martial art movie and soon, we got to work.







YOU SO HAVE TO WATCH THIS!! presenting eugene vs dias...


with enough done for the day, we headed on to rotorua where the fragrant smell of sulphur resided permanently. it was here at cactus jack backpackers, when the others had gone to play bridge, where i received the awful news that reno had been put to sleep. the phone was passed around from papa to mama to pravin to jeevan to aunty and
my heart broke as i heard the sadness in the voices and let the reality sink in that reno no longer was. it was a strange call now that i think back.

shireen: i went sky-diving, and my instructor's name was reno!!
papa: synchronicity.

and then he had to break the news to me. who knows what to make of such a day as this? you can't be totally happy, and yet, you can't be totally sad either. i guess, in all moments, it's always important to be thankful. and i should know that. there's lots to be thankful for.

synchronicity indeed, this is the song playing on my iTunes now...

I am thinking it's a sign
That the freckles in our eyes
Are mirror images and
When we kiss they're perfectly aligned

And I have to speculate
That God himself did make us into
Corresponding shapes like puzzles pieces
From the clay

True, it may seem like a stretch
But it's thoughts like this
That catch my troubled head
When you're away, when I am missing you to death

When you were out there on the road
For several weeks of shows
And when you scan the radio
I hope this song will guide you home

They will see us waving from such great heights
"Come down now," they'll say
But everything looks perfect from far away
"Come down now," but we'll stay

I've tried my best to leave
This all on your machine
But the persistent beat
Sounded thin upon listening

That frankly will not fly
You will hear the shrillest highs
And lowest lows with the windows down
When this is guiding you home

They will see us waving from such great heights
"Come down now," they'll say
But everything looks perfect from far away
"Come down now," but we'll say...

-Such Great Heights by The Postal Service

edit: ah yes, we went to the mitai maori village at night but i kinda ended the post already, so, once again, just refer to shanny's blog. and look out for owen! haha. i seriously felt i was at some gigolo show sitting between shanny and bavani who were giggling like little girls and drooling as the almost-naked maori men pranced around crazily on stage. i quote bavani, "i'm in heaven." once again, i hope none of your boyfriends come here! haha.