When the going gets tough...
...the tough get long lectures from their moms, or wives, or loved ones...
At last Saturday's ICCS at Kranji mangrove, Wai was asking around for army insect repellent, and finally had to settle for a milder type. We wondered and asked why she was suddenly so 'religious' about insect repellent as she sprayed this stuff all over her arms and legs. Her reply: "My mom made me promise to do it". Huh? Oh ya, dengue bug going around.
I thought about how it'd be like if my mom was living in Singapore with me... She'd definitely ask the same of me, and probably even make me walk around in some sort of homemade net-like bodysuit. And the nagging would follow, day after day. And I'd probably tell her something like, "If crazy people like us don't do it (film in the "wild" or go "wild" every full moon), who will?"
I lived a very happy but rather 'protected' childhood. 'Protected' from "the sun's harmful rays", and anything dubbed 'unladylike'. The only time I had contact with 'wild' creatures was on family trips to Malacca or Fraser's Hill, or settle for my brothers' pet grasshoppers, spiders, etc. Wasn't much of a sporty kid either... only ECAs I took part in were 'nerdy' ones like Astronomy, Chess, Librarians, Literary & Debating Society, 'Dikir Barat', Young Catholic Society, with Volleyball & Swimming being my only sporting ECA. So you could say I got through the first quarter of my life literally without a scratch. Yup... fair & smooth skin, no scars from PE or sports, no wild tales of being bitten by animals or insects.
Now, however... (This is where the SFX of my mom doing the "tzt, tzt, tzt" sound comes in). I guess quite a number of those like me are simply making up for lost time. Sandfly bites and scars as huge as 20cent coins? Ah, it'll pass. Scratches, scars, bites, close shaves, blunders... all part & parcel of the fun of our Wild adventures ya? No doubt we're not really risking our lives big time like filming in some war-torn country or a region plagued with disease, but still... If everyone stayed home waiting for the next guy to get the job done, would the world actually be a safer and better place 'cos no one lifted a finger in the first place? Or would we all still be like cavemen, freezing from the cold 'cos we're waiting for the next smart ass to start a fire?
"A ship in a safe harbor is safe, but that is not what a ship is built for." - William Shedd
At last Saturday's ICCS at Kranji mangrove, Wai was asking around for army insect repellent, and finally had to settle for a milder type. We wondered and asked why she was suddenly so 'religious' about insect repellent as she sprayed this stuff all over her arms and legs. Her reply: "My mom made me promise to do it". Huh? Oh ya, dengue bug going around.
I thought about how it'd be like if my mom was living in Singapore with me... She'd definitely ask the same of me, and probably even make me walk around in some sort of homemade net-like bodysuit. And the nagging would follow, day after day. And I'd probably tell her something like, "If crazy people like us don't do it (film in the "wild" or go "wild" every full moon), who will?"
I lived a very happy but rather 'protected' childhood. 'Protected' from "the sun's harmful rays", and anything dubbed 'unladylike'. The only time I had contact with 'wild' creatures was on family trips to Malacca or Fraser's Hill, or settle for my brothers' pet grasshoppers, spiders, etc. Wasn't much of a sporty kid either... only ECAs I took part in were 'nerdy' ones like Astronomy, Chess, Librarians, Literary & Debating Society, 'Dikir Barat', Young Catholic Society, with Volleyball & Swimming being my only sporting ECA. So you could say I got through the first quarter of my life literally without a scratch. Yup... fair & smooth skin, no scars from PE or sports, no wild tales of being bitten by animals or insects.
Now, however... (This is where the SFX of my mom doing the "tzt, tzt, tzt" sound comes in). I guess quite a number of those like me are simply making up for lost time. Sandfly bites and scars as huge as 20cent coins? Ah, it'll pass. Scratches, scars, bites, close shaves, blunders... all part & parcel of the fun of our Wild adventures ya? No doubt we're not really risking our lives big time like filming in some war-torn country or a region plagued with disease, but still... If everyone stayed home waiting for the next guy to get the job done, would the world actually be a safer and better place 'cos no one lifted a finger in the first place? Or would we all still be like cavemen, freezing from the cold 'cos we're waiting for the next smart ass to start a fire?
"A ship in a safe harbor is safe, but that is not what a ship is built for." - William Shedd
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