We Undertook a Quest

Last Saturday, Lindy and I had perhaps one of the best days ever in the history of Happiness-Equals-Bracket. In fact, friends of ours, who have already heard us gush enough about it, would probably kill us happily just to stop us posting about that day-

Who's that at the door? Just give me a moment.

BANG! SMASH! WOODSPLINTERING NOISES!

Oh. Oh dear, it seems they're right outside hammering down the door right now with axes and pitchforks so I'll make it quick. And even though this might sound like an ordinary day, there was a lesson in it - something special that hopefully you'll read on and understand :)

For those of you who have no idea who Quest Crew is, shame! But then again, I know it's difficult to match my superior fan-girl, stalking skills.

Quest Crew are a breakdancing, hiphop group who won the third season of America's Best Dance Crew - which isn't entirely extraordinary. But they're internationally well-known for being mostly asian, unfairly multi-talented, and having a wacky sense of humour.

And also 'cos you know, spinning on your head upside-down is just cool.

We found out recently that, not only were Quest coming to Australia, they were teaching dance classes in the city for a not-unreasonable amount! Well, you can imagine how excited we were - ever heard an elephant squeal?

The only problem was, the classes were breaking and bboying. Of course, being the gifted, extremely talented girls we are, Lindy and I knew neither of them. And on Friday night, we were attacked with a case of the frights.

What on earth were we doing?
Quest crew were insanely good breakdancers, and insanely good breakdancers from Sydney would surely turn up to learn from them - and then laugh at us.
We'd look like monkeys at a Justin Bieber concert.

Besides, we had to study.

But regret is a very strong and lingering feeling. More than anything, it's not the things we regret doing, but the ones we regret not doing that keep us up at night.
So we crossed our fingers, toes and eyes for good luck, put on our best bboy outfits and set off on Saturday morning not knowing what to expect.

And somehow, it ended up being the best end to a summer holiday ever.

 Smilelights =)

=) Walking into the studio to find a bunch of hardcore-looking boys - but also a few extremely nice girls, particularly one woman who had also never breakdanced before. Also, talking to aforementioned hardcore boys and discovering they were actually very friendly!

Lindy and a mysterious masked man

The mysterious man is actaully a dwarf.

=) Stretching with very flexible and well-known Victor Kim, who kept us entertained with random lines, strange noises and generally posing around. Some choice quotes:

"Alright this next move is like a fullstop in breakdancing because it punctuates it. No, more like a comma - a semicolon, a question mark maybe."

"I really think I need a filter for the words that come out of my mouth.'





Victor got sick of walking with his feet.

=) How despite our many fails, crash-landings, embarassing attempts, nobody made us feel like we didn't belong there. Even Quest Crew patiently taught their tricks, laughing along with us whenever we did something particularly cringeworthy. As for the other breakers, they never acted like they were better than us (although they DEFINITELY were).


Hok's crazy hair!



Ryan looking much better than either of us



=) Lazing on the couch and meeting some very cool guys who brought a guitar with them. Ten minutes later, despite being complete strangers, we were singing, clapping and dancing to 'Billionaire.' Then 'Love the Way to Lie.' Then making up our own songs and raps. We spent hours there just jammin' and had the time of our lives. I know, exciting lives we lead :)

One of our talented jammers!

If you are reading this Chris, Billy, Alija  - you guys are going to be famous dancers/guitarists/Bruno Mars sound-a-likes! Give us an autograph!

All in all, it was a very simple kind of day. We met some people, stretched some muscles, tried to do a handstand, rested on a couch. But when I left, there was two thoughts that kept circling my mind:

First, Victor told us this."When you make a move, never do it half-heartedly. Even if it's a mistake, make it look as if it was meant to be, and put all your effort into what you're about to do."

The reason why I love Quest Crew so much is because they had the courage to follow what they really loved to do. They had asian parents too, who definitely would have disapproved of dancing for a career. Dancing? Don't be ridiculous, DOCTOR!

In fact, many of them went to college - some even completed degrees and started working at respectable firms, only dancing at night. But in the end, it takes a lot of courage to give up all that success for a career that is really risky and not that well-paid.

The dancers is Quest knew all that, but they still quit their jobs so they could pursue what they love. They had to fight for it, and it must have been tough and painful, but Quest Crew proved you don't have to do med to be successful!

I really admire them for that. And I only hope that I can have that same courage to choose my future, a future that I sincerely am excited about.
It doesn't matter what you want to study (whether its med or law or even cooking) as long as you are passionate about it, and willing to fight hard to get there.
Otherwise, if it's just something your parents want you to do, or if it's just a respectable job to have, really consider if it's worth it.
Will you regret it in ten years?

The second thing I realised was that, had Lindy and I chickened out, stayed at home and studied, we would have missed out on this amazing, wonderful, glorious day.

Our new crew!

We would've never met all these cool, funny and awesome people. Go figure =)

Finally, here's a Quest Crew performance if you don't know them just so you can see how talented they are!

Now - ARGH! THE DOOR IS DOWN. REPEAT, THE DOOR IS DOWN AND MY FRIENDS ARE NOW IN THE ROOM ATTACKING M-

Always remember, Happiness Equals Bracket =)