GB Family's Amazing Escape Escapade!!

3rd December 2005.

What a day it had been. Exhausting. Tiring. Bone-wrenching. Exhilirating. Good clean fun.

I woke up today feeling like I was run over by a bulldozer a dozen times. Back, shoulders & arms. Stiff & kinda sore. But, the pains were pretty much worth it. Since the blast of a time all of us at Escape Theme Park was priceless.

Okay, so I was late. Cut me some slack, people. I had to wait for Mummy Alonso to return home from the mosque while playing babysitter to Nini & Nuryn. Well, at least I made it. Unlike SOME people.

*Glares at SOME people*

Lady Luck was with us again this year because Escape was having a promotional discount for all NETS holders. So, instead of paying sixteen bucks like people normally have to, we got $3 slashed off from the usual prices. Last year, we paid only $10 for our entrance due to some promotional thingy as well.

And of course, I brought along with me my trusty camera so tons of piccies coming your way!!

The Rainbow was out for servicing & the Panasonic was closed due to the recent accident regrading 2 little girls whom got seriously injured when they were thrown off the ride. Like seriously. The Panasonic shouldn't have allowed underaged kids to get on board their ride. Or ANY person for that matter. I mean, has anyone ever sat on it before?? It's horrble!! At the end of the ride, you'd feel more pain rather than anything else. And the overpowering urge to throw up is irresistable.

The so-called safety bar isn't even that safe. And it doesn't help that the other safety bar is stretched out in front of you & is nearlyimpossible to reach if you were a vertically-challenged person. The ride jerks you around like you're on a rodeo & when it comes to the slides, you virtually jump out of your seat. Granted, it's an indoor rollercoaster but I've ridden on lots of indoor coasters & I can safely say that the Corkscrew at Times Square, Kuala Lumpur is a hundred times safer than this junk. Cheaper, too.

Anywayz.

We actually didn't begin our first ride immediately. Because Kity & Punani suggested that we attack the Go-Karts first since 'it's still early & there won't be many people around so, it'll be really fast'. In Kity's words. But, after waiting for God-knows-how-long, guess what!!?? Almost all the Karts were sent for servicing!!

Expressing our frustration to the gays, we left the line & started for the Viking. Oops, did I say gays?? Sorry, I meant GUYS. *smiles sweetly*

Anywayz, with no choice but to follow, the guys kinda reluctantly gave up their post at the Go-Karts & all of us waited in line for our turn on the massive wooden boat. I rode with Penese & Blome right at the end for the first time in my life with no complaints whatsoever. I'd say, not bad a feat considering the fact that just last year I was the one screaming my head off even though I was seated in the middle of the boat.

Like duhh, sometimes you just can't help it; especially when you feel the building anticipation growing in your tummy until you really can't tahan anymore & you just have to let it out. My way of letting it out is more like a half-laugh, half-scream that I think, my friends think is a scary combination. Well, I guess it can be scary sometimes. But then again, I wasn't called GodGilla for nothing, was I??

Only after we rode on the Viking did we return to the Go-Karts where we waited for almost an extremely long time. In the end though, the six of us had to be split because the park attendants were 'desperate' for three more people to fill the Karts. So, Chippy, Kity & I decided to go first. I only took a few steps before I felt myself lunging forward, the ground inching nearer as I went.

Behind me, sounds of ooohs & ahhs were coming from the crowd. I opened my mouth for a scream as the gum I was chewing flew out & God knows how I did it but somehow I managed to right myself again & turned the near-disastrous accident into a laughing matter. Naturally, I burst out laughing as my Chippy & Kity pretended not to know me while the other three snickered behind their hands. Embarassing!! I just thanked my lucky stars that my stumble didn't allow me to fall flat on my face.

The circuit had six cars & to my delight, I found one that I immediately branded as 'mine'. Why so?? Ohh, merely because it was red & yellow all over & was stamped with the number 14, the number of which just happens to be printed on the back of XABI ALONSO'S JERSEY!!! *SCREEEEEEEEEAAAAAAMSSS!!*

So, you know, of course I was dizzy with glee as I strapped myself onto the engine-powered horse & waited for my turn to take off. Since Kity was in front of me, he sped off first & when the park attendant waved at me to go, I tore off almost immediately, letting my horses run at full speed. Though I lost to Kity, I managed to keep Chippy from overtaking me throughout the three rounds, not even easing off the pedal as the huge 'SLOW' sign sign loomed close.

Okay, fine, I screamed when I saw that Chippy was tailing me close behind when we drove up the 3-level slope but well, my baby did not fail me. And who was the one who claimed he was gonna be first all the way, huh?? *raises eyebrows at Chippy* So, there.

We watched the other three have their turn at the Karts, with Penese going off first in Kart No. 25, Blome in Kart No. 12 & Punani, who went off last in my Kart. Yeah, MY Alonso Kart. And miraculously, somehow, Punani managed to outmanouver the crazy-driver Blome & outmuscle Penese at a tight lane to be first place. Amazing.

And of course, the girls were furious that he'd overtook them. But I'd have to say, kudos to Punani who came from behind. Well, it wouldn't do him much good if he were to be beaten by two girls, would it?? *rolls eyes*

So, then we took on the Pepsi 360, where this time, I rode with Punani. And no, I didn't scream. Actually, it was kinda like when we were on the Viking. The sounds that came out from my mouth were half-shrieks & half-laughs. I don't know, man. I think I'm half human. Well, my boobs did get crushed by the harness supporting us & when I did say it out loud, that earned a laugh out of Punani. What would he know?? He's not well-endowed. His boobs are like pancakes.

While strapped to the contraption of a ride, I had spotted Bunny whom had promised to meet us after she was done with tuition. So, in mu usual screamy self, I squealed out her name even though she was at a distance. Well, she did hear me. Only because I squealed REALLY LOUD. So, when the ride was over, we kinda stumbled upon her coming out of Orange Julius. And I, of course, was abso-fucking-lutely delighted to see her.

Throwing up my arms in the air & screaming, "BUNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNY!!!", totally misjudging that Punani was just beside me & ended up giving him a smack right on his left cheek. Well, it was an ACCIDENT!! I think my knuckles hit his cheekbone, my fingertips went into his eye & I thjnk the key to our locker which I had strapped around my wrist made a slight imprint on his cheek.

I don't know if it was quite a hit or not but Punani was in pain for quite some time. Well, even after Bunny & I stopped hugging that he was still nursing his cheek, that is. But then again, Punani sometimes likes to exaggerate so I wouldn't be surprised if my slap hardly made an impact on him. Like hello, it was until some lady came up to him & asked if he was all right & needed a First Aid kit. You'd think someone as angelically dainty as me could deliver such a blow.

Anywayz, we continued our journey to 'explore' Escape & ended up getting in line for the Haunted House. It was actually meant for kids but we thought, oh screw it. We'll just go & see what the heck was inside that made the kids scream bloody murder. Well, yeah, I was slightly intimidated because even though technically, I've been a few Haunted Houses before, they were all crap. Soooooooo, upon hearing that it was going to be extremely dark & we had to make our way through the maze on our own, you could imagine my utmost horror.

And I made everybody hold hands. Like duhh...what if we had lost someone to the ghostly beings in there?? There was a TV guide in a shape of an animated skull that was useless in a sense that we couldn't make out whatever that was being said. In between, there were human-made ghostly noises that were just too lame to be scary. According to Punani, a human monster in disguise was going to have a go at Bunny but then she moved away & since Punani wasn't scared, he figured it wasn't worth it to chase her all the way to the front. And I think I speak for everyone that fortunately I wasn't the one who saw that monstrous figure because if I had, heh, you'd know what would happen.

Blome was apprehensive about going first because she'd spotted a figure on her right & didn't want to be pounced at when she entered through the curtains so she called on the services for at least one of the guys to move in front. What we didn't expect was for ALL of them to go in front & I only noticed that when we were going into the next room. So, in the end, Kity became the sacrificial lamb to be the one guarding the girls' backs & even HE, needed assurance by clinging on to both Bunny's hand & my shoulder.

Not that Kity isn't man enough. Of couse, he was!!

But, aside from that, it was far better off than the Haunted House I went to in Genting Highlands, partly because we were in a group unlike the latter, where we had to go by pair in a silly malfunctioned ex-bumper car.

Not bad, for Singapore's 'first' Haunted House, if I do say so.

Anywayz, we strolled upwards to try on the Cadbury Inverter, which like most of the rides at Escape, had seats that were under servicing, therefore limiting the capacity of people taking the ride. Lucky for us though, it fit us just fine with 3 other girls being the 'extras' in our group. Even then, we had to split ourselves up as the sitting arrangement required a 3-2-1-1 formation.

So, Penese, Blome & Chippy sat together while I sat with Bunny in front of Punani & we didn't know where Kity ended up. The ride did turn our brains inside out, technically speaking. But what the heck, we were having fun!! Although Penese did end up barely resisting the urge to puke. But of course, all of us emerged unscathed & not losing our heads neither did part of our intestines spill out despite being heaved all around.

There was an aqua show by an Australian group called the Aquanauts where we sat & watched them parade their antics from synchronized swimming to diving off the highest level to clowning around with all kinds of comical stunts with equally comical names. And there was even a cute guy!! Weeeeeee!! Yeah, or course I took a picture of him. Not, WITH him. Just him. Which I guess was good enough, though.

We had a pithy lunch where us, girls shared a whole chicken sandwich because all our money was stuffed inside our locker & so Chippy had to fork out the dough for us to pay for our meal. It was kinda pathetic because 4 of us went to queue for just one burger.

And since it's a GB Family tradition to buy cotton candy when we go to Escape, Chippy bought a stick that we all shared. What's good about Escape's cotton candy is that it is super-duper-mega-whopping big. Last year, it was apple-flavored. This year's flavor was grape. Which delighted Penese even more because purple is her favorite color. Though this year, we finished it even faster than last year. I think most probably because Chippy was there.

And when all of us were on a sugar high, smart Chippy was on hand to film all of it. Very tactful indeed.

We decided to take a ride on the Disco Ball right after lunch, where a maximum of three people were allowed on each cabin & started taking pics while awaiting our turn. Chippy was supposedly my partner but the idiot bailed on me last minute to sit with Kity. But, never mind that. I ended up with Punani which was quite fortunate because I think our weights balanced each other out & we didn't swing around as violently as say, ohh, Bunny, Blome & Penese. *snickers* This time around, Penese did not end up feeling like wretching unlike the previous year where she kinda went green around the gills.

We rode the Pepsi again & this time my sitting partner was Bunny. One thing I learnt on the Pepsi was that Bunny & I were not meant to be sitting partners while riding it. Unlike when I was sitting with Punani, sitting with Bunny made the ride more volatile. With Punani, I was happy as a clam because of the minimum swinging effect of the cabin, with the exception of some of the times when I was flung against the harness & totally squashed my fonr assets. But with Bunny, the violent swinging was overwhelming, so much that we even overturned the cabin a few times & I could see the screws & inner metal work of the ride from upside down.

Chippy had to go off soon enough though, so we did not have the opportunity of seeing the three heavyweights of the group get drenched. But, Chippy was too chicken to take the ride, anywayz. All because of the mere fact that he was wearing JEANS. First of all, who in their right mind would wear jeans to Escape Theme Park where you'd know for sure that you'd get wet. And second of all, Chippy wasn't even going to wear his jeans to work!! As in, he'd have to change to his trousers later, so I couldn't for the life of me fathom what was the fuss about. I still think he was too chickenninny to get wet.

Though, I'd have to give Punani a standing ovation. The guy practically invited himself to get wet by confidently declaring that he'd chosen to sit at the very end so that he wouldn't get wet. Dude, EVERYBODY knows you'll be wetter when you're behind. In addition to that, he chivarously told Kity that because of the height difference, the camera wouldn't be able to catch both me & him if he sat up front. Okaylahh, since he'd put it that way, what more could we say??

He had conviniently forgotten how him, Blome & I, whom had been the heavyweights back then, had nearly caused the machine to malfunction because of the nice hefty combination of our added weights & he had emerged the wettest out of the three of us. Hmmm...should it be an unfortunate thing that he was wearing a Dri-Fit albeit white top?? Because after he got drenched, his *coughs* nipples *coughs* popped right out. Eeeeeeeeeeeew, grosssssss!!

We went on the Viking again so Punani & Bunny could get dried up. Actually, the Viking isn't as good a clothes-dryer as the Rainbow was, but we had to make do since the latter was under maintainance.

We then proceeded again, to the Go Karts. This time, though, Kity & Penese neglected to join us. So, Punani became our pimp daddy & like before, I selected my Alonso Kart. And like tradition, Punani managed to squeeze past to overtake me on the way up during the third round. Not that I minded much; going uphill had always been a major problem for me.

Our rounds ended but they held us back for such a long time, we wondered what the heck was going on. Before we got on the track, Bunny had informed us that she was a novice at Go Karts but we had assured her that even the most idiotic of drivers would be sure to ace this. And while I was going at it on the track, I had totally forgotten about Bunny not being able to drive & just concentrate on getting there. But as we were waiting to park, my mind wandered back to her words & I had a niggling feeling about it.

After long last, they let us park & as I got out of my seat, there was no sight of Bunny's car. We met Penese & a laughing Kity outside the rink & I demanded to know where she was. Kity, who couldn't contain his amusement relayed to us that Bunny got stuck halfway through just as she was going down the slope. Only after a few minutes, Bunny emerged & parked her car rather haphazardly, covering her face with her hands. Poor girl was so embarrassed at the spectacle she presented. Of course we sympthatized with her!! We tolly knew how she felt because last year, we had a similar incident that happened to one us as well.

Hmmmm, seems like our lot has got a penchant for getting into accidents when driving Go Karts. Could be a potential tradition to follow, though. ; )

After that harrowing Go Kart ride, the gals decided to split up with the guys as we were up for another round of Wet N' Wild while the guys opted for another round of Karts. How boring.

This time, Bunny was again my seating partner & yes, I learnt another lesson that I couldn't take the ride with Bunny again. Because, I damn near got a heart attack as soon as the log was launched into the water & I felt myself sliding down into the far back of the boat while Bunny's side tipped up & almost out of the water. What the heck!! We were out of balance with each other!! She was too light & I...well, I was too heavy.

But then again, the Bunny & Xabs combination still managed to have fun despite any circumstance. Granted, I was as wet as a cold fish & went about walking like I had something sticking out of my ass, but well, the trip to Escape to celebrate GB Family's anniversary was worth every penny.

The park closed off at 8pm in conjuction of Wild, Wild, Wet & therefore, cutting into our game time. We were bone-weary as we change out of our wet clothes & into fresh dry ones but even that didn't help clear the stench of the foul-smelling water that seemed to stick to our bodies.

We proceeded to have dinner at the Food Court just inside of Downtown East & then visited Chippy at Lemongrass Thai Restaurant where we worked for a little while before finally heading towards home. Bunny & I sent off Kity, Punani, Penese & Blome at the bus stop that wold take them to Pasir Ris Interchange & then crossed the road to take bus number 12 home.

Bunny seemed to have enjoyed herself immensely despite the fact that she came late. Well, at least she came & just her presence makes me happy. The main thing was that everybody was happy & had many great memories to bring home & remenisce later on in life.

What a great day it was. What a great year it had been. To the GB Family & many more silly adventures to come.

Laterz...
Lenny GodGilla Xabs