Power of Non-Violence

Dr. Arun Gandhi, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi and founder of the M.K.Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence, in his June 9 lecture at the University of Puerto Rico, shared the following story:

I was 16 years old and living with my parents at the institute my grandfather had founded 18 miles outside of Durban, South Africa, in the middle of the sugar plantations. We were deep in the country and had no neighbors, so my two sisters and I would always look forward to going to town to visit friends or go to the movies.

One day, my father asked me to drive him to town for an all-day conference, and I jumped at the chance. Since I was going to town, my mother gave me a list of groceries she needed and, since I had all day in town, my father asked me to take care of several pending chores, such as getting the car serviced.

When I dropped my father off that morning, he said, "I will meet you here at 5:00 p.m., and we will go home together." After hurriedly completing my chores, I went straight to the nearest movie theatre. I got so engrossed in a John Wayne double-feature that I forgot the time.

It was 5:30 before I remembered. By the time I ran to the garage and got the car and hurried to where my father was waiting for me, it was almost 6:00.

He anxiously asked me, "Why were you late?"

I was so ashamed of telling him I was watching a John Wayne western movie that I said, "The car wasn't ready, so I had to wait," not realizing that he had already called the garage.

When he caught me in the lie, he said: "There's something wrong in the way I brought you up that didn't give you the confidence to tell me the truth. In order to figure out where I went wrong with you, I'm going to walk home 18 miles and think about it."

So, dressed in his suit and dress shoes, he began to walk home in the dark on mostly unpaved, unlit roads. I couldn't leave him, so for five-and-a-half hours I drove behind him, watching my father go through this agony for a stupid lie that I uttered. I decided then and there that I was never going to lie again.

I often think about that episode and wonder, if he had punished me the way we punish our children, whether I would have learned a lesson at all. I don't think so. I would have suffered the punishment and gone on doing the same thing. But this single non-violent action was so powerful that it is still as if it happened yesterday.

That is the power of non-violence

POSITIVE THINKING OR JUST “TIDAK PA” ATTITUDE

Have you had the feeling that you are getting old and you are not as good as you use to be? Does it feel sometime that the fighting spirit in you has just disappeared?

Well, last Friday I felt just like that. They guys and I went to play badminton at the local sports complex. It’s been more than 3 years since I last played this game. A game I use to love so much and thought I was really good at it.

I remember the times when I lost a match, I would like get so pissed with myself and just wanna keep trying again and again until I got better and was able to win. This mentality was not restricted to just badminton but to anything I did.

But somewhere in the last 5 years, something happen to me. Now if I lost any game, I would just smile and say “good game” and tell myself that it’s just a game, it’s for fun, no biggie. Then I would lose again, and I would just go like, “oh well that dude is good….its just a game, someone has to lose…”

These are all methods of thinking which I picked up along my journey growing up. It’s what they called “positive thinking” (pls correct me if I’m wrong). Looking towards the brighter side of things, looking for the silver lining, what ever you wish to call it.

So here I am playing badminton with these 2 strangers. My buddy and I got trashed like 15-2. Throughout the match, we were laughing and enjoying ourselves while the other 2 dude were so serious and I might be wrong but I sensed frustration in them like they are not happy with the way we are playing. (C’mon we’ve not played for 3 year mate!!)

Then after the game I sat on the side looking at these people play and get so worked up over losing a point. Looking at them feel like me looking at myself 5 years ago. I suddenly asked myself, what happen to that guy? Why am I not competitive as before?

I turned to my friend and said, “positive thinking has made me a wuss!!” and he asked me why. I go on explaining to him why I felt so. This buddy of mine is 30 years old, married and has been working in top management for the last 6 years of his life. He says, “dude its not positive thinking”. He goes on “its just that the older you get, you tend to care less.”

What he felt is that when we get older, things like games, things we do for leisure don’t mean that much to us anymore. Its what we guys here call it the “f*&k it” attitude. When something goes wrong, we just go “aiyah!! f&%k it, so what”….honestly, he made sense.

Some things just don’t matter that much to me anymore. I’m still competitive in terms of my career advancement and other things that affects my life in general but don’t really care for the sub-elements of life anymore.

Its just so weird how one grow. I don’t think i’ve changed and yet I feel I’m different. Hmmm…… mysteries of life!!

FIRST SOLO FLIGHT

1st September 2005 is a historic day for me. I woke up in the morning after a sleepless night. It was 6.15 am and I had to get ready to go across to the college to prepare for my flight which was scheduled at 8.00am. I was really nervous for this flight as I was running out of hours to clear my solo check.

Just a few days back I was changed to a different instructor after failing to clear the check with my previous instructor.... The pressure is on... Many things ran through my mind.. What if I failed? What if i had to go back home? Can I look for a new job? God!! I need to start fresh again... Will companies still be interested in hiring me? I'm only gonna be a burden to my parents.

All these thoughts were only making it worst for me. You see, flying is supose to be relaxing.. If you want to fly the plane well, you mind has to be clear and totally focused only at the job at hand.

Well... this was my second flight with my new instructor. He's a really nice person. His really skillful with flying and his method of teaching was just what I needed. I manage to grasp the skill to land the plane properly ad sofly.

We started taxying the plane to the run up bay. Halfway he took control of the plane saying I was too slow. I thought man, i'm in trouble... He then completed the run ups and took off the plane. After completing one circuit, he handed the plane over to me. I did 3 touch and go's and finally the last circuit he the tower told me i have an option to glide the plane. He took the option and asked me to glide the plane down.

In my mind I was like damn, I've not done a glide before in Perth and here I am required to do a glide which might be used as an assesment for my eligibility to fly solo. I thought i was a goner!! Thankfully my instructor guided me by telling me what's I need to do. I manage to get the plane on the runway with a soft landing.

To my delight, he made a call to the tower telling them he is sendimg me on my FIRST SOLO!! Many things ran through my mind that instant... Mostly a sense of relief and yet a little worried knowing that I cannot screw this flight as there is no instructor in the plane to safe me.

After dropping my instructor at the run up bay, I taxied back to the runway and took off. I completed a circuit then landed the plane. It was wonderful.

What amazed me is that through out the flight, I can hear my instructors, voice in my head, telling me what to do. I owe him big time for this. On the same day, 4 other friends of mine cleared their solo along with me. They were all Malaysians. Everyone was saying that we must be patriotic and we all cleared it the day after Malaysian's independence day...

Today I was sitting and having breakfast with one of my buddy when he told me he has a picture of me taxying the plane on my first solo. It just happened that when I was doing my solo, his girlfriend and parents were at the lookout point taking picture of him flying. They happen to take a shot of me in my plane. I'm like no way!! That's so cool... I should get the picture sometime later this week. Will post it up then...

Anywayz, I'll end here now. WIll write soon again. My mind is still in reflection mode thinking about my life and so on.

Blast From the Past

Its 1a.m Saturday morning… Most of the guys are out except for my course dudes. Most of us are flying tomolo so we need to get a good night’s rest. Fortunately for me, I’m not flying tomolo.

( Picture 1: from left - Vicky, Me, Elaine)

Its just one of those days where you wanna do something but just dunno what to do. I surfed the net until I don’t really know what I wanna look at. Feeling bored I decided to buy something off e-bay. I’ve bought air-ticket and paid my bill via the internet but never really bought any thing off an auction site before. Started browsing for a notebook. Always loved an Apple i-Book. Kept surfing but can’t seem to find one that is cheap or worth bidding for. Its cheaper to buy it in Singapore.

Finally I started browsing for handphones and found a few that was worth bidding for. Each time I set a price I was out bid by someone else. After increasing a few times I got frustrated….haha My buddy who was in my room told me after laughing at me that there is actually an option for someone to set a maximum bid and if I want to outbid him I should just set the highest price I’m willing to pay. According to him, the system will automatically counter bid other bids until someone actually outbids my maximum.. wow!! Learned something new…hehe

After bidding a few items, my buddies were like telling me to stop saying that there is a possibility I might win all and have to buy em all!! Oh no!! what have I dun.. thank god the items I bid were cheap… so if I had to buy em all…I will have to fork out only aussie$200….

E-bay got dangerous for me…. A bored shopper who might just ended buying anything for the sake of killing time..haha I then was waiting aimlessly online hoping someone would online and I can talk crap with them…. But no one came!!!

After that, I did something I never really did in a long time… go through my old files, photos taken during my university days. What triggered this was me listening to my mp3 and suddenly a few songs brought back memory of a particular girl. A girl who was so sweet and she just melted my heart with the sweetest words ever.. Sadly though the relationship did not even start cause she was not ready for commitment. Who knows, maybe deep down inside I’m just not her type.. Its something we will never know. Afterall, a women’s mind is something you can never understand even in a lifetime.


Going through the pictures got me going through some files. As I browsed through some of the file, I came across a letter I wrote to my girlfriend whom I broke off with cause her parents did not approve the relationship….( Yeap sadly in today’s world, parents are still particular about race and background rather that who the person really is)…

(Picture 2: Pre grad picture- we just collected our robes and wanted to try it out. We had a fashion consultant - Mr Conan Lui)

It was like wow!! I can’t believe I wrote stuff like that. This particular letter was written to her about 3 months after breaking up. Man, as I read it, emotions ran wild. I can’t believe I actually erased a lot of what happen. I really loved this girl so much and what shocked me is as time passed by, I actually forgot how much I loved her.. hmmm….. weird rite what twist life puts you in….

Sadly few months after we broke off, our relationship turned sour… We had to like work together in this organization and it was difficult… Learnt a good lesson… NEVER HAVE A RELATIONSHIP AT WORK!! Sometimes I look back and wonder, was I wrong in the way I approached the whole working together thing? Could I have made things easier on her? Or was she just plain stubborn and childish about the whole thing?

Its something I would like to find out. Who knows, sometime in the future I might be able to sit with her as adults and talk about the past… It would be a good lesson, so if I did make a mistake, I can rectify it.

Going through the pictures also brought back memories of my friends back home… Picture of 2 very special girl in my final year in university. Miss “blur” Sze Yeen ( last I heard she is now known as Elaine) and Miss “Sexy legs” Wee Kin (recently known as Vicky)… 2 girls with opposite characters but inseparable….

Sze Yeen has always been there for me… You know a person you can trust to walk with down a tough road knowing she will stay by you… A person who takes care of you and a person you know you can turn to in times of trouble. She is a fun person to bully and a really good sport.

Wee Kin... well..this girl is a one of 2 powerful girls I’ve met so far. She is really amazing and you know she can achieve anything she sets her mind to… She’s like the sword Excalibur.. She can give you strength if she is on your side… she can hurt you if you dun treat her right…hehe… She’s a person that constantly checks me and put me in my place. A person I would definitely be intimidated to oppose but a person whom I would love to work with as we just work so well together..


(Picture 3: The whole Board member minus one person... A great team- learnt alot from each other and we achieve great success too )

Then going through more pictures…. I find this picture of a tall dude… A very familiar face… A face that I’ve been seeing for the last 6 years of my life… A dude whom has made my life eventful with all the crazy things he does. Yeap… it’s Datuk Dr. Tan Cheng Han…. Phd in sex education!! Haha I’ve learned a lot from being with him… mostly on things not to do.. Everytime he screws up… I’m like…okie…that’s a bad idea…make mental note to self…don’t ever try that…hahhaa..He’s a cool dude…. And he’s madly in love with a girl from subang…

To join the gang, comes Eric “Pansy” Low…. This dude wants to be just like the Beautiful Boxer… equally crappy and if you put him with cheng han, I’m dead cause all the black joke comes out… But lucky me!! Being a crap talker with 23 years experience, I’m able to twist and get cheng han to join me to hit Mr Pansy with gay jokes…. Mr. Pansy is a good guy… a dude who always says he wont do this and that… but guilt gives in and he does help at the end…haha… He’s single… Looking for a partner.. Girl or guy also can… just email me and I’ll give you his contact details…haha


All in all, I really do miss my friends… at times wonder what are they up to and when can I join the outings. Hoping the days pass by faster and looking to my successful return to Kuala Lumpur early next year..

(Picture 4: Cheng Han and Me with the rest of the board members hiding behind us.. It was the day I was forced to do a performance.. One night only!! Sound Of Music!! oh God!!)



Was going through my family pictures too… Miss my family lots… Never really thought I would miss them this much.. I mean its like when I was in KL…I was hardly home… Now when I’m away…I miss them more… Guess its true, you don’t know what you have until its gone..

Anywayz.. I’ll end here tonight and write more in the morning.. Guess I’m in a reflective mood lately….

FREMANTLE

My first weekend in Western Australia, I visited Fremantle. Fremantle is the chief port of Western Australia.

It really a wonderful town. Its a must visit place for tourist who visit Perth. My impression of Fremantle is it seems to be a tourist town. It really those kinda place where you can find all the museums, souveniors, street cafes and so on.

The picture on the left is the Cappuccino Strip. Its really a nice place to hang out and relax. You get to see people shopping, just day dream all day and have a delicious hot pie with a nice cup of coffee....


This road leads to the Fremantle market (Picture on the right). Its similar to Central Market in Kuala Lumpur.

For Asians who wanna feel at home should go here. The vege sellers at the end of this market are majority Asians...Haha

There was even one Corn(Jaggung) store selling "Satay Pedas".. I stoopd in front of it for like 10 minutes wonder which food displayed is actually a satay...haha

Its really a cool place to look at things and buy little little things.. There was even this CD shops that sell really cheap CDs.. They have really nice Jazz CDs.. Yeap I'm into Jazz lately.. Don't know why, maybe I'm feeling the blues!! haha
Wanted to buy a few but my friend was telling me somewhere in Perth City there is this place that sells original Jazz CDs for only AUS$ 4 per CD

Earlier that day we went for lunch at this nice Fish & Chips place... It called as Ciserallo's and its supose to be the best fish and chips is Western Australia. It was really nice and if you are a seafood lover, there are many more variety there. Too bad i'm a fussy seafood eater. There is this other place called "Kylie's" and it supose to be really good too. Will be trying that place on our next visit there.

We later visited a brewery near by the fish & chips shop. Its so cool to see the setup on how they produce the beers and the various type of beers they have. They have a bar in the brewery and its so cool cause it feels like those olden days pub.. The beers were really cheap too. A good place to hang out and drink.

We visited the shipwreck museum in Fremantle (picture on the right).. It really cool if you like historical stuff, pirate ships, and so on.. I really enjoyed my visit there. It was there we met with this lady who told us that Fremantle has a chocolate factory!!! Huray!! But too bad for us it was getting late and we had typing duty. So had to skip that.

Will definately be going back there to visit the chocolate factory and hang out at the Cappuccino StripThat's pretty much about Fremantle for the moment. Will write more tommorrow on my trip to Joseph National Park.

Jandakot Airport

That's a picture of my study table in my room... Kinda cosy rite...hehe

Flying College

The flying college is really great.. I wish I had a pciture to show you guys but at the moment I've not gotten any. When I get em I'll post it up...

We have about 27 Cessna 172 and 6 Barons.. Its so cool seeing em all parked at the apron. Man!! its just great to step in there.

I've went on my first flight in Perth last wednesday. It was simple amazing. The Cessna 172s are much easier to fly then the Cessna 152s which I was flying back at Seletar (Singapore). When I got into the plane, the winds were very strong so much so the aircraft was rattling on its own even without the engine started.

I could not take-off on my first flight as the crosswinds were exceeding the minimum allowance for me (a cadet) to take-off. My intructor did the taking off and then handed the controls over to me... MAN!! the minute I took control, the feeling of " THIS IS WHAT IT FEELS LIKE TO LIVE YOUR DREAMS" went through me... The view was simply fantastic...

We overflew lakes, farms, houses, hills, etc... There were no clouds and I got a clear view of the ground.. Its like simcity with all the cars so tiny ont he ground. I got to see the waves rush to shore, beautiful lakes with people sailing... wow.... just amazing

I was supose to fly again on thursday, but the Fronts came in and visibity was bad. Flights were cancelled for 3 days. I was scheduled to fly again this morning but just my luck, the aircraft I was supose to fly was unserviceable. Well so here I am writing away to kill my boredom while boring you guys to death..

Land Down Under

Oh My God I'm Back Again!! Yeap.. its like the second time I'm writing on this blog.. ( you noticed? i actually figured out how to upload a picture..haha) .... That's me in Fremantle, Western Australia...

It really wonderful to be here in Perth continuing the second phase of my training.. I've been studying like crazy through out my first phase in Seletar for my ATPL(Airline Transport Pilot License) exams.. Honestly, I've never study this hard in my whole life before...

This got me thinking... why was I so lazy before.. When I was younger, teaches and my parenst use to say I should be studying like 6 - 8 hours a day which I thought was IMPOSSIBLE.... But when I was studying for my ATPL exams.. I actually managed to put such hours in... hmmm.. amazing huh what one can do when they put their mind to it...

Well enough about studies.. I'm now based in Jandakot Airport, Perth... I arrived here last week and its winter here now... The weather is really cold and being a Malaysian who only experience cold climate when i go on holidays, in my faculty lecture halls or when I open a fridge, it takes time for me to adapt to it...

Was playing soccer with the guys here yesterday and after 2 hours in the cold I could hardly feel my fingers...haha... But that did not stop us from continuing as we need the exercise.. We are well fed here so much so we all are putting on weight... Man!! I'm like so fat now...

THE ACCOMODATION

The accomodation provided my the Singapore Flying College is truly magnificent. Its a hostel enviroment but nothing like the living conditions we experience in University Malaya.... The rooms are comfy, we have aircond/heater units that maintain the room at a certain temperature which we set. A very nice study table, internet access, reading lamp by the bed side..its just so cool.. We are even provided with towels which we can change anytime we want...They are just so sweet...

We have 2 laundry rooms here with each room having 10 super huge washing machines and guess what!! clothes dryer...wow...( the reason why I'm excited is cause in Malaysia its not common to own a dryer)..

We have a well equiped gym, its rather cramped but the equipments in there are just great.. Total body work out....

Kitchen!!! yeap yeap... kitchen is so so huge... we have like these super huge fridges which 6 people can fit in... Cool huh(If the weather is not cold enough, you know where to go).. We are provided with catered food and on Sundays we get fast food for lunch... Cool huh, no need spend a single cent.. Those who don't like the food given can cook their own food, we have unlimited supply of food and goodies which you can use for cooking...

to be continued......

- Perth
- Flying college
- my first flight

Wondering how to get this site to work..

Well.. I've been spending the last 30 minutes wondering how to set up my blog. Still looking for the button to press to add pictures and so on...
So I decided what the heck.. Just write something and see if it works.. Its my first time blogging... Always wanted to do it..but never took the time to learn how to do it.

Well.. today has been a really good day.. I just got my results for my tech exams... Was really happy that I passed all my papers...Yay!! I thought I failed my theory of flight paper.. But somehow I guessed i scrapped through...

Tomolo is my C-Check.. Its where we are assessed for our apptitude to fly... I'm kinda nervous as I will be assessed by a different instructor... Once I pass this..then its ground school all the way till June...

Anywayz.. Its getting late and i'm not even sure if this msg will be posted up.. So I shall end here and try again tomolo....