Guide to Anqi (Part 2: My Quote)

When I was in primary school, one day on the way home I saw a very old man mounting his bicycle. Initially he was walking and pushing the bicycle alongside himself, with the bicycle on his right side. Then he placed his left foot on the pedal of the bicycle. Very smoothly he lifted his right leg to place it on the other pedal and sat on the seat. Throughout, the bicycle was in motion! The whole performance was about 2 seconds. In addition, the very old man had lots of stuff in the front basket of his bicycle. I was delighted. I had witnessed a new way to mount a bicycle!

"It looks so easy!" I said to myself, as by then I had already been cycling for a few years. Quickly I went to try out with a bicycle. I fell and tried and crashed and tried ... Up till today I still have not succeed.

Several years later, I got my driving licence and began to drive around alot. A few years later, one of my regular car pool member got his driving licence. He offered to take turns with me to drive. After a few turns, he requested to be "converted" back to a passenger.

"How do you do it?" he asked me.

"You make driving look so easy ..." he said as he was always frustrated when he missed an exit, unable to switch lane or have no idea where he was or how to go where he wanted to go and his legs were aching. Then I told him of my numerous experience of leg cramps during traffic jams (manual gear car), getting lost, unable to park (especially parallel parking lots) and accidents.

For many years after getting my driving licence, I was TOTALLY not able to park in parallel parking lots. I insisted that since I learned parallel parking with four tall poles painted black and white and unless I have the four poles with me, I am not able to parallel park!

"No big deal," I thought. I will simply avoid parking at parallel lots. However life is peculiar, the more you avoid something the more the something comes after you. It seems like suddenly there are only parallel lots avaliable everywhere I go! Humph ... Then many "instructors" came and went.

Instructor 1: Turn your steering wheel three and a half rounds right ... then two rounds back ... Instructor 2: Open the car door then you can see this in line with that... then that in line with that.. Instructor 3: Look at your brake lights on the other car ... then see you in line with car infront ...

"Why is it sooooo difficult to parallel park?!" I was feeling frustrated. I have witnessed many drivers parking in parallel lots ... It looked so easy! I was going to give up when one day I had to park in a parallel lot with my dad in the car. After a few tries, he got out of the car. He taught me two simple steps and I have never failed to park in a parallel lot since.

Ah ... (Light bulb moment!) Then I came up with a quote of my own: It is easy to make things look difficult but difficult to make things look easy.