(I just remembered, i forgot last week's post, so i'll just make this twice as long :P)
Well, last week, i didn't do nothing much. Grade 8 were all off in their own little fieldtrips, and school seemed to cool down. Not too much homework, or too boring classes.
Let's skip to this week. Monday and Tuesday were normal, as normal goes. Mr. Joykill was back asking me about me tasks, which I completely forgot about. Out of boredom, I opened that omegle site everyone was talking about and had a few chats. I'll post them here so have a nice read!
(First one was way weird)
You: hi
Stranger: hey
Stranger: asl?
You: 14, f, australia
You: how old are you?
Stranger: in 8
You: ?
Stranger: im 8
(I was typing, gonna ask a few things and then...)
Stranger: are u horny?
(I swear, my eyes bulged out of their sockets and i couldn't stop laughing.)
You: okaaay, i doubt an 8-year-old would know THAT term, but no
You: ahahaha
You have disconnected. (LOL)
(Second was nice. Her pic was so pretty (but then again it might be fake ahaha))
You: hey
Stranger: hey
Stranger: asl?
Stranger: :)
You: ahaha indo
Stranger: ahah :)
Stranger: im 17, female, california
You: really? wow, i'd love to go to cali some time. u can speak indo?
Stranger: weeelll
Stranger: i learnt a bit at school
Stranger: but im horrible xD
Stranger: wait.. tidak is no, isnt it?
Stranger: D:
You: yeah ahaha. i'm 13, female btw
Stranger: awesome :)
Stranger: wow
Stranger: i remember being 13
Stranger: looooong time ago
Stranger: not really
Stranger: 4 years
Stranger: but it feels like a long time
Stranger: :p
You: yeah, i know. i can barely remember when i was 9. time jsut seems to go by fast
Stranger: haha, it does
Stranger: so.. what's your name?
You: karina
You: you?
Stranger: aww, cute name :)
Stranger: mine's katie
You: thnks. katie's cute too
Stranger: ahah, thankyou :)
You: so your in high school now right?
Stranger: yep
Stranger: last year
Stranger: im going to be a policewoman
Stranger: :)
You: awesome. like an adrenaline rush huh?
Stranger: ahah, yeahhh
Stranger: http://i44.tinypic.com/24lmn8o.jpg thats a pic of me :)
You: wow, you look great!
Stranger: ahah, thanks!
You: i like your hair color. mine's black, but i've been wanting to dye it but that not allowed :P
Stranger: hahah
Stranger: ugh, i hate my hair color
You: why?
You: it looks nice
Stranger: i just think im ugly :p
You: everyone thinks their ugly :p
Stranger: they do, true fact
Stranger: well.. some girls think they're hot
Stranger: but they only turn out to be pregnant by 15 and stuff
Stranger: its good to have self confidence.. too much is bad though
Stranger: :)
You: yeah. some girls at my school are pretty, but just are waayyy to snobby (*this was just ad-libbing, so don't read to deep into it)
Stranger: yeah, hahaha
You: i don't know what to say anymore haha (*dumb thing to say:P)
Stranger: ahah, neither
Stranger: better be moving on 'eh?
Stranger: good luck to you :)
You: yeah, thnks
Stranger: byee <33
(Wasn't that sweet?)
I got bored after that and closed Omegle, thinking I should just sit back and relax before tomorrow's big day. The first fieldtrip of Junior High life, Destination: Taman Safari.
On Thursday, 15th April, 2010, I woke up very early that morning. I glanced at my clock with sleepy eyes and saw it was 03:30 am. I don't know why I had woken up, but the next second, my head on my pillow and I closed my eyes and fell into a half-sleep.
I suddenly realized my heart was beating a bit fast. Maybe I was excited about today. It would be a very refreshing experience and give me a chance to spend a day outside of class. At 05:00 am, my cell phone alarm rang really, really loud. That got me wide awake. And even if I did go back to sleep, I'd just oversleep and be late anyway so I pushed my blanket away and fired up my laptop.
The cool surface of its metallic skin pressed against my legs. I turned the air-conditioner off to give myself time to thaw, but even the simple touch of my laptop was could enough to make me shiver. With the new tunes of Glee sounding in my ears through my headphones, I opened up Microsoft Word and flexed my fingers. Ah, how good it was to feel at home.
I typed away on one of my on-going novels, typing faster than I ever had before, the words flowing with ease. I was very busy all week and this was the first time I had a chance to continue writing this. Sadly, the clock struck 05:30 am. I had to get ready to get to school.
After a quick shower and breakfast, I grabbed my backpack filled with the things I packed the night before and jumped into my car with my lovely cell phone. I reached the school just a minute before six. Unbelievably, almost everyone was there. A few kids arrived at the same time as me, and I was surprised to see a few kids –who would be super late back in elementary— were already there. I was the last one in my class to sit down (I'm such a disgrace! :P). It seemed that everyone was excited to get to Taman Safari.
Not too long after, carrying 3 bottles of water, courtesy of the school, which by the end of the day I would find completely unopened, my bag was a tad heavier when we all got on the bus.
I sat next to Gaby, one of my good friends and after a quick prayer lead by Ms Windra and Pak Darma, the bus pulled away from its parking space and drove through the school's front gates. I immediately plugged in my earphones and turned on the music on my phone – an N97 mini, which I had bought just a little over a month ago.
The ride was slow and I'm a bit disappointed to say, mundane. You'd think a class that would never shut up during school hours would be a little more hyperactive on a fieldtrip. But I decided to see the silver lining in this and enjoyed the quiet.
We drove from 06.30 am up until 9 before we reached the gates of Taman Safari all the way in Bogor. Gathering our things we got off the bus and made our way to a small meeting room that the staff had prepared for us. We were given a warm welcome and the trip started off with a tad sleepy presentation. I nearly dozed off during the whole thing, but luckily I was wide awake when info for my fieldtrip group, the Pisces group, popped up.
The presentation ended around eleven. Yeah, it was way long, but when we stepped out to make our way to the open stage show, we were given a small booklet with questions to help us on the tour and a really cool Taman Safari hat. It looked like one of the safari used when going camping or hiking. I got a black one with the writing "Taman Safari Indonesia" stitched in white stringy letters. But the cool thing was, the underside of the hat there were a variety prints on each one. And you just flip the hat and put one a completely different one!
Stuffing my first souvenir in my bag (it was still early and not hot out yet), we walked together in groups to the open stage to watch and eco-drama about nature abuse. The drama revolved around a pair of hunters that spend a night at the forest. They were the kind of guys who were completely selfish, and out of frustration set the forest on fire. That sent the local villagers in a panic. There were a few acrobatic acts in this drama – by animals, no less. A large toucan flew above us, a monkey swung on a vine and a parrot used a unicycle to open a motivating banner.
Noon came and it was hot. I was kind of sleepy and low on energy and luckily when the show was done we went to the Rainforest Restaurant or Restoran Rimba for lunch. Stacked for us were green boxes of lunch. There was a nice portion of rice, a piece of Safari Fried Chicken, capcay vegetables with some shrimp, and a green-ish banana that didn't really taste all that ripe.
It was a filling lunch and got my stamina up. And since my table wasn't big on conversation, I ate in a still, awkward silence, just enjoying my food. When my group was done and after we got all cleaned up, we headed to the lower floor to wait until 1 pm to set off again.
Already, a large number of students were walking around, buying French fries or ice cream, and lounging around the small souvenir shop. I took a look to, but seeing as I was on a budget I bought the cheapest thing I could find: a cute, brown-feathered owl doll for Rp 40.000. Later, I would decide its name was Olly. I'm not a cheapskate, I'm just trying to save some money, and the owl doll was small and cuddly and just right for me.
The next thing on our agenda was an exciting one: we were going to watch the Tiger Show. As 7F would say, "Auuummm!", hand all curled up like claws. It was an entertaining sight. Three pairs of Sumatran Tigers and trainers were the center of the show. The placed was densely packed with spectators. They did amazing tricks. Like at the beginning, one tiger jumped up on a tree and climbed up tree by one side of the caged stage to eat a piece of meat tied up there before the show. They stood on their hind legs and were fed milk; one trainer even lifted one of the tigers, and they all did awe-inspiring jumps.
Even better, after the show, when every other member of the audience filed out, the students of Santa Laurensia were given an extra presentation about the Sumatran Tigers. I learned a lot of interesting facts, and saw a real-life fossilized tiger skull. Like, did you know tigers always attack from behind? The stripes on their fur are all different, acting like a genetic fingerprint. They have padded paws and always walk on tiptoe, and on the backside of ears, there is a white spot in the center of the black fur that seems to act like a pair of eyes to ward off other tigers.
After the show we all split up into our own fieldtrips groups, according to the Class of Animals we should be researching on: Mammalia, Reptilia, Amphibia, Aves and my Class, Pisces. Since there was only like, one tank that had fish, we had a chance to look at all the other exhibits too. We had a veterinarian from Sydney and Pak Darma with us, so it was a nice sight-seeing trip. The guest doctor was nice, and Pak Darma made sure we got the information we needed.
At 4 pm, we had to gather at home base, Restoran Rimba, before we headed home. After waiting for the bus for awhile, we filed back into our blue, cushioned seats and set off for home. To be honest I was tired. I was really sleepy. After making sure my things were all packed and there, I pulled out Olly and ruffled its feathers, closing my eyes and trying to fall asleep.
I did, kind of, and woke up at 6. We were nowhere near home, as we hit a traffic jam. The backseat was acting up, getting back into their usual noisy groove. Ah well, the quiet was nice while it lasted haha. There were taking pictures and laughing up a riot so loud, the uproar made Ms Windra and Pak Darma not too happy. We got scolded, badly and even told that this fieldtrip was an early evaluation to determine if the 8th Grade Edutrip would happen for us next year. But even after that threat, just a few moments later, they were talking loud again. That's 7F for you (but I love the class anyway! <3).
My head was beginning to throb and I didn't know why. I tried to go back to sleep again but I couldn't, and because of a personal reason I was beginning to fall into my emo phase. The only thing on my mind was that I wanted to get back home fast.
Traffic slowed down the hope of getting that wishful thought realized. At seven, the day now night and cold and tiring, we reached the lovely green gates of Santa Laurensia. As soon as I got off the bus I immediately asked around for a cell to borrow since mine was out of batteries. But after a few futile tries, no one picked up. Typical.
Then I remembered that even if I did call home, there would no one to pick me up – other than on foot, of course. I realized my Dad had used our only car for a business trip to Bandung. That left me tired, sweaty, freezing, sleepy and without a car.
I just sat there, closing my eyes and waiting for my migraine to subside. There were a few people still around, and Pak Darma was waiting for us too. So, I figured I'd wait a bit on going home. And then, as if God had answered my prayers I was offered a ride home.
A few minutes later, I stepped out of my friend's car, said thank you and dragged my heels to my front door. I practically threw it open, off its hinges and dropped my bag. I would've dropped dead on the bear carpet in the living room if I didn't take a whiff of how bad I smelled and how sweaty I was. My mom was sitting at the dining table, and barely glanced up from her BlackBerry. It was if there wasn't a time, my loving mother wasn't looking at her facebook page.
"Want to take a bath? There's dinner in the microwave." I was about to roll my eyes and say, "No, duh." when I realized I was too tired to even do that. Sarcasm and my cynical mood aside, I grabbed my towel and took a long, hot shower.
When I was done, it was eight. I groaned internally, since there was a few things I wanted to do. I wanted to at least prepared the materials for the field trip presentation we were given the whole day to do tomorrow, and fighting my over-achieving, student persona, I decided not to push my self. I cracked the knuckles on my left hand and winced. The wrist was a bit sore. I fell during P.E. when we were playing soccer, twice on my rear end. My hand hit the ground when I tried to stop myself, but the pain was gone before it even came.
My hair was frizzy from a quick dry and was a tad wet. I walked across the living room to get into my bedroom and just jump on my bed, I stepped on a slippery path of floor tile. I slipped, thankfully not to hard on the bear carpet, but I fell completely backwards landing on rear end (again). And then my body ran out of carpet to fall on, and my upper left arm hit the tiled floor hard with a painful thud. And just my luck it was the hand I hurt during soccer and what was a simple 2 on a pain scale of 1 to 10, just turned into an 11!
That night I lay down (finally!) on my bed, with a messily bandaged left wrist. A piece of cotton was pressed against my wrist, soaked in the messaging oil that made my hand feel cool and numb as it soothed the throbbing pain. I took a deep breath and contemplated the good parts of my day. But with the fatigue and pain, the last drop of sarcasm inside of me just conjured up one last parting shot.
What a nice day, Sarcasm quipped, before my mind drifted off and into sleep.
Signed,
Sir Writes-A-Lot
