I have always wondered how cruising down the river on a raft would feel like. From the documentaries, white water rafting seemed like a kind of crazy sport that only crazy maniacs would bother attempting. Putting one’s life at risk, hanging your life on a thin thread, like dangling a carrot in front of the God of Death, tempting him to see if he could take your life away. Touch wood. But, that is how it seemed to me at first. Taunting the devil. Disrespect for life.
Nevertheless, when my life became out of control for the past eight months, I decided I had to do something drastic to change my sense of direction. I had become a workaholic. Working on weekends, until 5pm; and working until 10pm on weekdays, even bringing back heavy files to work on my personal laptop. No time to shop, talk or eat. Work had been filling my mind 24/7.
I just couldn’t stop thinking about it. I ran simulations in my head when I walked; understanding theories when I was in the LRT; thought about the sensitivity cases to run when I was eating; generating virtual syntax in my head when I was talking to my mom. When I couldn’t get anything right, I just got frustrated and felt like strangling people around me. Everything that did not go according as planned irked me, even if it was a small matter, like saving files that could not be saved because it was corrupted by the auto-saved feature in the Microsoft 2007 feature.
It came to a point when I realized that this had to stop. I can’t let work control my life. Not when I was still young and had a lot going for me. For one, I need to widen my social circle. At 26, I can’t let my long-term companion be a 12”x12” LCD screen which churns out non-interactive results.
So, I decided I had to do something out of the norm in my life to return me to my normal life. I had a few options initially. For instance:
1. Taking the hot-air balloon ride - This was out of the question as the date coincided with the day that I had to be out of town.
2. Bungee jumping - I don’t think they currently offer this service in Malaysia
3. Sky diving - Same reason as Option 2.
4. Scuba diving - Sounds extremely appealing. Nevertheless, it is an expensive hobby to take up.
5. White water rafting - This seems like the perfect sport. Not too challenging, not much energy would be burnt. Not too hectic.
6. Hiking - I have a few places in mind. Yet, there’s no partner willing to indulge in this activity at that particular moment.
Finally, after a heated debate between my heart and head, I chose the 5th option - white water rafting.
Nevertheless, when my life became out of control for the past eight months, I decided I had to do something drastic to change my sense of direction. I had become a workaholic. Working on weekends, until 5pm; and working until 10pm on weekdays, even bringing back heavy files to work on my personal laptop. No time to shop, talk or eat. Work had been filling my mind 24/7.
I just couldn’t stop thinking about it. I ran simulations in my head when I walked; understanding theories when I was in the LRT; thought about the sensitivity cases to run when I was eating; generating virtual syntax in my head when I was talking to my mom. When I couldn’t get anything right, I just got frustrated and felt like strangling people around me. Everything that did not go according as planned irked me, even if it was a small matter, like saving files that could not be saved because it was corrupted by the auto-saved feature in the Microsoft 2007 feature.
It came to a point when I realized that this had to stop. I can’t let work control my life. Not when I was still young and had a lot going for me. For one, I need to widen my social circle. At 26, I can’t let my long-term companion be a 12”x12” LCD screen which churns out non-interactive results.
So, I decided I had to do something out of the norm in my life to return me to my normal life. I had a few options initially. For instance:
1. Taking the hot-air balloon ride - This was out of the question as the date coincided with the day that I had to be out of town.
2. Bungee jumping - I don’t think they currently offer this service in Malaysia
3. Sky diving - Same reason as Option 2.
4. Scuba diving - Sounds extremely appealing. Nevertheless, it is an expensive hobby to take up.
5. White water rafting - This seems like the perfect sport. Not too challenging, not much energy would be burnt. Not too hectic.
6. Hiking - I have a few places in mind. Yet, there’s no partner willing to indulge in this activity at that particular moment.
Finally, after a heated debate between my heart and head, I chose the 5th option - white water rafting.
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