Was talking to my friend from univ yesterday. She asked me about my plan after graduating. Actually I hate these kind of questions bcos everybody does not seem to agree with my future plan. So now I'm telling the whole "world" of my great plan after my graduation. I want to do my MA in the UK, then come back to Msia, open up several tkd classes, work at McD or Starbucks, where I can at least get rm4-5 per hour, teach tkd private classes on weekends (eih,but where to teach if I don't even have my own place?), spend the nites reading lots of books, and trying to perfect my very first novel. When I have enough money, then I'll open my own tkd centre, complete with the gym equipment. Hehe, maybe by that time I'll be around 30-31. She asked me again, what's the use of my MA then? Laa...seeking knowledge is not something that you do for the sake of making lots of money. If you have a lot of money and you are still unhappy with your life, does that money do any good to you? Oklah, I can't deny it, money is important. Without it you can't survive in this world. But as my mom always says, you should not carry too many things to the next world, you should leave some behind (she usually put this in Malay so it sounds a lot better hehe). Obviously you can't bring your harta karun to the grave. I'm carrying with me my knowledge, good and bad deeds,sins and rewards to the next world. I should leave a few things behind, thus I should teach other people what I've gained thru my experience and share my knowledge with them. That is why I choose to teach tkd...Quoting the great Sir Phillip Sidney again "to teach and delight".
When I learn something new in martial arts I feel good, and when I'm able to practice and perform the things that I've learned, I feel great. I enjoy learning martial arts, testing my abilities, and understanding the philosophy behind every graceful move. I know many people would wonder what is there to be enjoyed in throwing few punches, kicks and blocks. I don't know how to explain it. But...erm, I think, it fills up your soul with satisfaction and you would desire for more. It is all about understanding the movement, being one with the pattern, discovering your real self, your strength, your ability, your "independence". It is an art, and to appreciate arts you have to be one with it. Why do I enjoy martial arts so much? Perhaps because it is something that requires no linguistic medium...and I hate linguistics, remember? Hehe, nope, juz kidding. Dalam setiap perkara yang dilakukan, perlu ada penghayatan, supaya intipati sesuatu perkara itu akan membentuk satu kendiri rohaniah yang tidak mudah goyah di dalam jiwa seseorang. Wah!! my malay ah, sounds so artificial hehehe. (more or less to say that - We have to possess good understanding and commitment towards the things that we do so that the real thing, the real essence, will form a firm foundation in our "dignified" selves).

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Today is the last day for the U-16 ladies team to train before their match this Saturday. Aiyak, Ms.Nosy once again gave me a headache la. There are six people in the group, one should be a reserve, nobody wants to be the reserve la for sure. I asked Ms.5th Dan Blackbelt, "up to you la, you the coach wat". Erm, you see coaching a team is a very big responsibility, you don't want to hurt anybody's feelings and you don't want to be blamed in case if the team lost in the match. You have to choose the best five. The problem is during the training ah, they all malas to practice, when I threaten to kick them out of the team then only they'll do the pattern properly. But in less than 10 mins, they're back to square one. So among the six of them, there were two students who were a bit weak in executing the punches and blocks, Ms. Nosy and Ms.Man. I asked both of them to do some serious discussion and re-think of their abilities and weaknesses, and let them decide who's better than the other. Simple task rite? But they made it so complicated that in the end I still have to decide. So I chose Ms.Nosy to be in the team and Ms.Man to be the reserve. Ok I might have some unsettled issues with Ms.Nosy but I'm unbias, I judge my students according to their capability. Ms.Nosy felt guilty perhaps and she asked Ms.Man to take her place. Aiyak, coach dah buat keputusan you ikut sajalah. So stubborn la this girl. I tried to explain to her that I've made my decision, if she wants to change her mind and be the reserve it's her own decision, and please don't link it to me. Dia tak faham2 jugak. So Ms. Man talked to her in Mandarin, and I was like erm, confused. They are both Indians and I think they are more fluent in Mandarin rather than Tamil. They went to chinese school what. It's amazing to see two Indian girls quarreling in Mandarin...hehehe, am I proud to be Malaysian, no?

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Accompanied my mom to the furniture shop near LDP. The sales girl ah, betul2 manis mulut lah. She said I'm pretty hahaha. She sounded sincere and I couldn't help but to admire her determination to sell the settee. My mom kan when she has decided on something it's hard to change her mind, lantak kau lah nak puji ke nak kipas ke. My mom finally decided to buy the settee, yeah it would look nice at the guest hall. While waiting for my dad, my mom sempat lagi preach to this lady :) because she kept on saying "saya janji sama Allah, tada tipu punya". So my mom explained to her that everybody believes that there's a being who is all powerful and keeps this world in order. But we pray to HIM in different manner. Why should a person ask the great God thru a mediator, when he or she could ask directly to the God. It's like in business, if a person wants to buy a product, and s/he knows the boss of that company very well why must s/he buy the product from the agent and not directly to the owner of the company. And that sales girl said to my mom "aiyak, kakak saya ingat ah, you tuhan punya wife, tuhan hantar kasi ajar sama saya" (me and lukluk looked at each other and laughed) and she asked my mom why is there only ONE God. My mom explained further that God need not to have wife, children or anybody because He is all powerful. There should only be ONE TRUE God because if there are more than One God then the world would be torn apart. Imagine, if one God says that the sun should shine this morning and the other thinks that it's better if it rains. Kejap hujan, kejap panas. Boleh gila satu dunia ni! But the sales girl still could not understand how can ONE God do every single thing and take care of every being...God is all powerful remember? By God's will, everything will happen. Kun fayakun. Aah, my lovely mother, spreading and sharing her knowledge with everybody, everywhere she goes...perhaps that's how people will remember her when she's gone. I'm sure I will...


-and, erm, my mom is a former GM in a transportation company ^_^