It was in January 2005 that I first stepped foot on this land called Oz. The first sentence of Aussie I heard was from the the guy arranged to pick me up from Perth International Airport:
Driver: G'day, you must be Chris
Me: That's right. Nice to meet you.
Driver: So, you came here TO DIE?
Me: .............
Go figure.
Taxi ride to Sunway Pyramid: RM 5.00
Getting hair cut at 'A Cut Above": RM 40.00
Fulfilling lifelong desire to be a walking billboard: Priceless. Bloody Priceless.
I thought that I was the biggest poser......until I saw this piccie. Looks like the first year meddies are total pros at this. A-high a-five! (Borat voice)
From left: Shazeea, Joel, Ali, Hui Sze+Raye, Wee Shuan, Aiman
One week to exam, so I'm desperately hitting the books. After about an hour of studying in the library, I decided to take 5 and have a short stroll to relax. Guess who I saw? Some old white bearded guy in an off-white suit. With a bunch of eager-looking college staff following him around. Naturally curious, I went to take a closer look.
As I suspected, he wasn't just a random person coming for a visit. I learnt from a staff member that he was Sir Chris Bonington, a mountaineering legend and adventurer in Britain. Apparently, he led many expeditions up Everest, K2, and other dangerous peaks over the past 40 years. Plus, he's still climbing after all these years! And I read his book 'K2-The Story of the Savage Mountain' a long time ago. Pretty inspiring. So, yeah...on to photo op time with shameless me..
The famous Chris with the not-so-famous Chris
Looks can be deceiving eh? I guess I should give climbing a try when I have the time. Probably not K2 or Everest. Mount Kinabalu anyone?
Went to Anna's CF along with Alex and Laura on Friday. After that, we had lunch at Asia Cafe. Walking towards the food stalls, something caught my eye and I coudn't help smiling........................
A restaurant painted pink, and appropriately named Pin Kee (pronounced as 'Pinky')
And guess what? Just above it is CSI: Las Vegas Miami Muzik Studio!
I can only imagine how it looks like inside there:
Well, sorry ladies, this may not really be of use to you. Maybe otherwise. But I target this at the guys, the men, the males, my brothers. It also serves as a personal note to myself. You may call it self improvement, I call it self awakening.
As a male, a man-in-the-making, a growing Christian man....I have always wondered, what qualities make a true man. Would it be enjoying sport and be good at it? Or enjoying a few pints with some mates? I guess girls would generally dismiss most manly behaviour as childish, even undesireble. But come to think of it, God hardwired or brains differently. Ask any girl what their perfect male would be, and they would likely answer..
"oh ya, i'd like him to be tall, smart, articulate, caring, good husband material, sensitive, charming..bla bla bla..."
Yeah, you got that clearly. But then, when such a man comes along, the girl would say:
"hmm, he's too perfect. He's probably gay"
But I'm digressing here. Guys, wer'e not talking about what women want in us, we're talking about what we want in ourselves. In my opinion, there is something important seperating boys from MEN.
It's DECISIVENESS. That's right, DECISIVENESS...or rather the lack of it, INDECISIVENESS
Men are decisive. Better, men are SUPPOSED to be decisive.In prehistoric times, men HAD to be decisive. If there was a female nearby, you had to think fast, club her over the head, and drag her back into your cave. Failing to decide and act meant failing to spread your seed, and you know what that means..extinction.
But these days, the qualities of an ideal man has gone through some transformation. For the worse I fear. Just watch sappy TVB and Korean dramas. We are expected to be accomodating and tolerant towards the fairer gender, and among ourselves to boot. While I do agree to some extent that we should be sensitive and all, I believe that a lot of us have taken it to an extreme. And thus, we have the whiners, the people pleasers, the fence-sitters. Indecisive boys we are, and I'm still in the process of escaping.
"our level of manliness nowadays"
Firstly, let's look at the factors preventing us from being decisive.
BEING A CROWD PLEASER.
Definitely something I'm avoiding currently. Back when I was in primary school, I was the good boy. The one getting good grades, the one pleasing the teachers and my parents. Boy, it felt good to receive approval. But I knew it was wrong. If you really love others, be honest with them, even if its brutal. To sugar coat things and refrain from critism would be plain selfish. This isn't kindness, it's manipulation.
FEAR OF REJECTION.
I can safely say that most of you wll share this fear to some extent. Probably one of my deepest fears and I'm still overcoming it gradually. Its like: "I cant decide, because you may not like it, it may be wrong, you may reject me." That is just cowardice. If someone rejects you for a wrong decision, accept it and move on with your life. It's not easy, but that's crucial to being a true man.
FEAR OF BEING WRONG.
For the anal-retentive among you out there. Sure, a lot of us are perfectionists. But sometimes, we are put into situations where quick decisions need to be made. Just like the last PCL, where a junior doctor was left with a dying patient with an acute hemothorax. He performed a chest drainage, but a slight error cost the patient her life. He found it difficult to move on. But he did what he had to do. A quote I remembered while watching Battlestar Galactica (a sci-fi series) goes something like this.
A true man may not always make the right decisions, but he accepts his mistakes, though he may not admit it publicly, and moves on.
WANTING TO KEEP OPTIONS OPEN.
Face it, we can't be indecisive when it comes to important things. When I chose Medicine, it means I'm choosing against Music or Arts. Don't blame me, I'm also very interested in them. But sometimes you have to let things go, because they may affect your effectivity. I do not regret my decision, even though I'm sacrificing things dear to me. But I still hope to teach my children guitar when the time comes :) Same applies to when it comes to God. As Jesus said: "You are either for me or against me. Whose side are you on?" There is no grey area. If your heart is not fully with God, then you are against Him. Ah, I struggle with that sometimes. Lots of temptation and doubts. Alcohol, social life and expectations. What's right and what's wrong. Sometimes, I put one foot in godly things, and the other in worldly things. I want the best of both worlds, though I know it's wrong. Many of us do that. I'm in the process of changing that, though I find it difficult.
I want to be a man, a better man. I'll start by overcoming indecisiveness first. One step at a time. Here's another quote I found to be so true:
"Those who stand for nothing, fall for anything." Alexander Hamilton