Medical

Today, I went for my medical. Like what my friend said, it was déjà vu all over again. I could not and did not sleep properly last night, probably because of all the excitement. Everything went the same and now there is nothing more I can do but wait, and pray. Everything from this point onwards is beyond my control. An answer must come within 3 months time because of one of the medical validity periods. I am expecting it to be June as planned, or better still, next month :D I must continue to keep the faith. The time is near!

Winds of Change

This morning was like any other morning. I got up at around 10am, switched on the laptop, washed up, made the usual breakfast tea and finished off the last of the scones and read the papers. Coming back to the laptop, I pressed 'Enter' to allow my Gmail notifier to log on and to my surprise... I got an email from That Which I Am Waiting For to go for my re-Medical! WOOHOO!!! Things are looking good. June may really be the end of all the waiting (1 year and counting).

I also drove out to Changi again to snap planes and this time, the winds had changed! 20 approach - Changi Beach here I come! I'll let the pictures do the explaining :)

Indonesia AirAsia A320-200

Cathay Pacific B777-200

Singapore Airlines B777-200

Singapore Airlines A380-800

Pure, raw, awesomeness. Plus the sound of those engines, my goodness - like ecstasy to the ears! I wanted to stay and take some videos but alas, the fun was short-lived because a storm came in. I waited to see if it would subside and let me continue the snapfest but it went on and on and on... Oh well, another time I guess. I drove home and on the way back on Changi Coast Road, saw the evening sun among the storm clouds. The light at the end of the tunnel is finally within sight.

Thinking

I work as a part-time trainer at a right brain enrichment centre. One of the training exercises there involves students looking at a board with an abstract image where they are required to use their imagination and explain what they see. This week's board consisted of a fairly simple image which showed a yellow circle and a blue background. Within the circle and along its circumference was a picture of a crescent moon as well as 7 stars. My students are mostly within the 7-9 and 10-12 age groups and when showed the board, almost all of them immediately said 'moon' as their first observation. In one class (10-12 age group) however, one of my students took a few moments to study the image and then concluded, "It looks like a brain". I did a double-take and asked how he saw a brain and he explained to me. After that I asked him if he could see the more obvious moon to which he stopped for a second and exclaimed, "OH YEAH!!!". Lol. His level of thinking that day must have been on a higher plane of existence. Sometimes we think too much we fail to see the bigger picture or miss the obvious things.

It is interesting to see how our mindsets shape the way we think. I have been teaching at the centre for coming to 8 months already and it suddenly dawned on me why I found it a bit hard to click with my 7-9 age group students after finishing a 10-12 age group class before that. Teaching the latter group involves a different level of thinking, especially when my student has a penchant for playing with words. After finishing that class and going to my next class, the age shift requires an accompanying mindset shift as well. Students at that age may not catch your wordplay and instead give you blank stares. And thus, after a few minutes of acclimatization, I managed to re-establish two-way communication with my students. I have heard similar encounters from my fellow teachers where they transit from a 10-12 age group to a 2-3 age group or vice versa. Imagine a scene where you are talking to Primary School kids as if they were babies. Got my drift?

Adults, because of their experiences in life tend to think much more and deeply. Our heads are filled with so many thoughts (as well as worries), all an effect of the dealings with the complexities of life. Kids on the other hand, think on a much simpler plane, which is why teaching them can be an eye-opening experience. One of my previous students from my 4-6 age group class asked me how my braces stuck to my teeth.

Student: "Teacher, how did you stick that on your teeth?"

Me: "I used special glue."

Student: "Is it tooth glue?"

Me: *stunned* "Yes, it's tooth glue!"

Student: "Was it a big tube or a small tube?" *FINISHING MOVE*

See what I mean? Kids - whether they know how braces are fixed to our teeth or whether they miss the moon for a brain - will always be kids :D

The Months Ahead...

Went to watch How To Train Your Dragon today, a pretty good animation initially about Vikings fighting dragons. Nifty graphics with heart-warming and humorous moments as well as a subtle message that parents should sometimes listen to their children. Tsk tsk. Had some supper at Republic of Steak at Victoria Street (right next to Victoria Hotel) which was similar in concept to Aston's - 2 complimentary sides to the mains along with the usual western steaks and fare. The potato salad side was good and chunky but Aston's coleslaw still won hand's down.

Other than the day's activities, I've been pondering on what to do for the coming months. Reservist is coming end June so that kinda sucks. So many options but so little money... Solo holiday to Laos or Perth? Family holiday? DM course? Dives? Another part-time job? I have also seriously been procrastinating with certain activities: Fringe episodes are still stuck at Season 1 Episode 9. Reading of books has been at a turtle's sloth's pace. Practising the violin. Dang. How the hell to advance/improve if I'm gonna hehe-haha dilly-dally wishy-washy. Whenever something is easily within reach, people take it for granted. How true. Now, I have all the freedom in the world and I go and do other less important things... Less wishful thinking and more doing please.

On the other hand, photography has been keeping me fairly busy. I'm hoping the wind changes one of these days so I can take shots of planes landing from Changi Beach (20 approach). The other evening's experience was absolutely not enough! Also, I don't think I can do those CAAS papers I had been hoping to... I need aeronautical engineering experience. Crap. I guess I will just read up on the modules. The weather's also been turning nasty.

I've got till June. Go figure. And just do it.

1 x Update

It has been an oh-so-long time indeed. I am now working part-time instead while waiting in the meantime for June... IT'S COMING!!! I wanted to look for a job to fill in the current 2 months gap but I may decide to just sit back and chillax for now. Complacent? No. Faith? Yes. Ain't gonna get a break like this once the ball starts rolling - especially once I sign for it. Been having a lot of pressure recently because I couldn't find a job as planned; it's probably because everyone else is working and I'm slacking off. Well, a lot of friends have been telling me I should just take a break since I'm not gonna get something like this in a long long time. It's taken me a long time to get over this Asian mentality and I decided that rest, it shall be. I'll probably get another part-time job or go for a holiday or something plus catch up on everything else: movies, Fringe, training, more dives if the wallet permits and photography... speaking of which, I have been doing recently.

Went down to Changi Business Park that day to snap planes again and brought my binoculars this time. Learned that taking shots in widescreen would give a better presentation effect since the planes were long themselves and a lot of fore/background would be unnecessary. Took some good shots that day and also fooled around with the binoculars and camera to take extra-zoomed shots haha.

Good Shot 1

Good Shot 2

Binoculars + Camera = DSLR w/ 50-200mm lens

Will definitely invest in a DSLR once the money comes rolling in. The planes kept rolling in till about 6:45pm when I noticed they were now taking off from my position. That meant they were now landing from the other side now. It was getting dark and late but I decided to carpe diem and drive off to Changi Beach to catch whatever I could catch. My camera wasn't good enough to snap planes coming because it was getting dark so I took a video instead. Man, you gotta love that sound. As the evening unfurled, the sky greeted me with a delightful surprise:

Changi Beach Sunset

I guess the simple things in life are often the most rewarding. Full Tank Top-up: $50. Camera: $500. Watching planes come in under a breath-taking evening sky: Priceless.

Photography aside, been catching up on some movies as well. Watched Sherlock Holmes yesterday and loved the way they portrayed Holmes' analytical and logical approach to solving mysteries and even... how to win a fight:

Totally loved that scene. Plus, I learned a new word: Discombobulate.

Till the next post, adieu.