(Part 4 of a 4 part series)
My phone alarm woke me up at 6am but I snoozed it for 10 more minutes before getting up. The girls were still in bed and I took this quiet time to shave, put on my hair products, and squeeze some ripe pimples. I ate the rest of the tuna mayonnaise I bought on Day 0 sans the bread (no more space in my bag), and some biscuits. I was too demoralized to do any protein shake so I just hung around for everyone else to get ready and we got going.
We stepped out into a rainy day and none of us had an umbrella so we had to get a bit soaked walking to the bus stop to take a taxi. The driver capitalized on the rainy day and the early hours by charging us RM10 to drive a 5 minute journey. I was in no mood to complain.
Many people were already inside rehearsing their performance. I took the chance to ask Fetty to evaluate my technique and she gave some great comment. Even if I mess up my coaching later, at the very least I need to get my technique right! At 8.30am, earphones came off and we assembled for our final briefing before presentations.
I thought we were done with the dance school on Day 1, but surprise, surprise! We had another hour of advanced drills where we went through all the moves again but this felt harder as the trainers were stricter on technique and we kept on doing the moves again and again and again. Furthermore we were trying to conserve energy for our final performance, but the fact that we had to show our full potential just started draining our energy away.
We then went through some simpler drills to help us create magic on the stage, and at around 11.30am, the time of reckoning came. Since I was presenting track 4, I only stayed for the warm up track to give moral support to Pauline. After that I quickly went down to the locker room to rehearse my song again and change into my presentation clothes. Days before I already decided what I wanted to wear for my final performance and I put it on now. When I went into the studio my heart was pounding, but my mind was ready.
I’ve been preparing for this for the past year. This is it!
I really gave it my all and I was surprised by how breathless I felt at the end of the 4 minutes. But I didn’t make any mistakes and gave all the cues I wanted to give, so I would say it’s a good job. Arnold who evaluated me this round agreed. He commended my preparation for the coaching, but asked me not to talk so much (always a problem with me) that I drown out the music. My armlines are still not strong enough to his liking but he was generally happy with my performance. I was SO relieved. I knew I would pass then.
After evaluating everyone we were given a longer lunch break this time. I took a look at my energy bars and thought, “Fark this”. I’ve been having protein shakes and Uncle Toby energy bars for the past two lunches, and I deserve something more resembling food after all the work I’ve done. We walked out to the nearby Burger King and got myself a Single Swiss Mushroom burger. I was heavily tempted by the Double, but I didn’t want to reverse my digestion process when dancing later. And it was the most delicious food I had since Wendy’s burger 2 days ago. The chunky mushrooms, creamy sauce, and tasty patty gave me such a warm feeling inside…. or maybe it’s just that I’ve been eating crap lately.
The second half of the day is the most fun we had for the training. One was of course the BodyJam challenge. If you don’t know what it is, don’t worry and just enjoy the activity. It doesn’t affect your results at all, and really ends the training on a HIGH. Then of course we got to cam-whore while waiting to be called up to get our results. I also went around and got everyone else’s contact information so we could keep in touch. Soon, my name is called to the judges’ corner.
Arnold made me promise to keep working on my technique and use more energy because I was tall and had longer limbs. So I had to stretch further, squat lower, and jump higher. I just kept nodding my head and agreeing, and then he put the Pass letter in my hand.
Mission Complete. J
Pauline got a Pass Withheld result, which was still very good. She had to work on her coaching skills first. We had a bittersweet goodbye and ended the training the traditional Les Mills way, with a BodyJam twist.
The rest of the trip was uneventful. Pauline’s friend picked us up from the gym and drove us to her family’s house somewhere near Batu Caves. I slept on a sofa that was a little too soft for my aching lower back, but hey, it was way better than the floor! Monday was spent lazing around the house, watching the DVD again on our laptops, and taking afternoon naps. We were hoping to get on down to MidValley Megamall, but Pauline’s legs had weird bruises all over and he feet hurt while walking. Using the Osim iSqueeze massage machine did not help at all! Little wonder, ‘cause it was a pretty boring device.
We took the 5.45pm Transnasional bus back to Penang, and I reached home at 11pm feeling like I melting to the floor. Not to mention I had to work the very next day! But in my heart I enjoyed every moment of the training, and the quiet bus ride home gave me lots of time to reflect.
I’m thankful for all the support my friends and family gave me. In fact, my parents allowed me to skip giving them their monthly allowance in May as a form of support. There was also someone who put up with my stressed attitude for weeks before the training. Special thanks also to Chris for giving lots of useful advice and sacrificing his exam preparation time to help us. Without them, I wouldn’t have made it through!
Now, the hard work begins to convince gym managers I am worth giving a time slot to. This blog will definitely get interesting again as I infiltrate the ranks of a fitness centre.
Stay tuned ;)
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