2009-01-03 - 7:04 p.m.
I didn't do anything special on New Year's Eve. I didn't go out, except to just play with the neighbour's cats on the streets. (They're just cute!:D Pretty kitties.) I mostly just stayed home, reading SPICE!'s latest issue and Sophie Kinsella's "Remember Me?" Watching "The Pirates of The Carribean Trilogy" marathon.
But on the afternoon, I got to hang out with the girls again - Fitri and Nezzie.:) And a guy - Nezzie's Tio.:P We hung out in FX, Senayan, Central Jakarta. We had ice cream at Cold Stone. (Actually, the girls had already had some before I came - because I was very late.*blushes* I got a little stuck in the rain.) Since I've already tasted the great chocolate fudge, I ordered cookie doughnut. It was sooo yummy too!:D
Then we decided to watch "Bedtime Stories" - starring Adam Sandler. On our way to the cineplex, I spotted "AtMostFear" - the tall, giant slide all the way from the seventh to the first floor.
I wanted to try that. In fact, I've been wanting to try that since the very first time I visited FX with Nezzie and Jules.
So, after buying the tickets for the seven pm show, I decided to buy another ticket for the "AtMostFear" challenge. It's tad expensive during holiday season, so the girls didn't feel like trying that out too. (And Nezzie said Tio would catch up with us soon.)
After that, I stood in a queuing line, waiting for my turn. I asked Nezzie to take my yellow bag for a while. The girls just waited outside the gate and watched.
By the time it was my turn, they asked me to wear several important things for my safety. The helmet. The huge (rather smelly, ugh!:|) jacket. The woolen-gloves (also smelly!:|) The knee-pads. A girl in a blue polo shirt with the "AtMostFear" logo asked me as she was helping me putting things on.
"First time?"
"Yes."
"Test-drive, huh?"
"Uh-huh."
"Okay, you're all set." She pat my arm and gestured me toward another entrance. I just spotted another daredevil disappear into an open, loophole tunnel and heard his (or her??) loud screech all the way down. I gulped and turned to the girl nervously.
"Any accident before?"
She laughed. "We don't want that to happen, do we?"
*gulps* Right. Of course, nobody does. Hehe.*shudders*
Here we go, I thought as I sauntered to approach the loophole thing. Four guys in the same blue polo shirts stood by to help with the preparation. One was a photographer (for their documentation, I suppose.) I saw a sled-like thing made of thin, rough cloth with a black leather rope on the front at the edge of the loophole. They told me to sit on it and put my feet in what looked like a huge bag in front of that sled-thing. It was pretty slippery. (Yikes!) They had to grab hold of my jacket so I wouldn't fall in way too soon and slide myself out of safety. I had to pull the rope to keep my feet covered. I had to lay back a little, but not completely down. They asked me to keep my chin pressed against my chest - the entire time.
"Don't ever let go, don't close your eyes, but it's okay to scream."
Whoa, wait! What is he talking about?:O
"Wait, turn around." I did, and faced the camera. "Smile!"
Click! I grinned (or winced? Grimaced??) Then I heard them say: "Ready?"
"Yes." Did I just say that?
But it was too late. With that just one push, off I went. Down and down inside the long, loophole tunnel in an enormous speed. I could see the plastic ceiling moving past my head until my body started spinning wildly. Dizzy! The next thing I knew, I closed my eyes the entire time and just...screamed. I was literally spiraling down the drain. I was screaming like I'd never screamed before. (Screaming? No! I was shrieking. Horror-movie shrieking!) I couldn't stop until I felt myself (finally!) thrown out of the loophole, flipped over and then landed pretty hard - close to the edge of the huge black mattress on the first floor. My very first thought was: Wait, where's my slipper?
It took a few seconds for me to breathe (normally) again, and then rolled back slowly. I saw two guys in blue polo shirts rush closer to me, but I just couldn't help myself. I threw my gloved fists in the air and shouted in victory. "WOOOHOOO!!!" I heard people laughing and I automatically joined in their laughter. I couldn't stop laughing, even as the guys helped me to my feet and started removing the helmet, the pads, the gloves, and the jacket. One of them returned my slipper - thrown off somewhere on the mattress behind me.
I guess this is what they call 'hysteria'.:*big evil grin*
As I wobbled around to see the huge screen, I spotted my time record and couldn't believe my eyes.
9:57.
Less than ten seconds. Wow!:O
And now I know why they call that "AtMostFear". It felt like an out-of-body experience!*giggles*
I half-staggered back to the elevator and returned to the seventh floor to meet the girls. By the time the double-doors parted, both Fitri and Nezzie were already in front of me - looking a bit worried. They said they saw me from the screen, flipped over and nearly falling off the mattress. It turned out that I'd stopped screaming completely at that time until Nezzie had to ask Fitri, "Is she okay?"
*giggles*
While waiting for the movie to start (and Tio too, of course), we ate early dinner at Cartel. The yummy potato wedges must be made with BBQ powder. And the sauce was made of cheese...and curry. Hmmm...:P
Tio finally came. We talked a while until it was time for the movie. I bought some orange juice before I got in.
"Bedtime Stories" is incredible. I love it!:D Very funny and heart-warming too. I wonder what would happen if I started telling some kid I know a story about an ordinary, non-princessy girl getting her prince of dreams despite the odds - then having it come true the next day.
:|...
I know. There's always this thing called 'real efforts'.
The Author
