Thirty Eight

What Do You Wan To Be...

Remember when you were in the primary school and you were asked by the teacher to do your first essay titled "What I want To Be". So you wrote that and I'll remeber that at that time (before the ASTRO came when we had RTM black and white television) the famous profession on the list is always being a pilot (though you never knew about the flight stewardess those younger days or too youg to know about flight stewardess). Maybe if someone had an eye into the future maybe someone would write they want to be a Prime Minister. Wait.... would you want to be the present Prime Minister or the retired Prime Minister... what's the difference?

Retiring at the age of 37


Of course I was too underexposed to know what Formula One was those days. Otherwise I would have loved to be a Formula One race driver. But I guess that is where the picture of Schumacher above comes in this blog. You need someone to benchmark yourself against when you come to a certain age. Of course you prefer not to be linked with Datuk Siti Nurhaliza who got her Datukship at the age of 27. I would not want to measure myself with the singing sensation like Mawi (he can sing better than me) and maybe Suki (she can play a guitar while I can't) who becomes millionaires before they reached 30 years of age. So Schumacher retires before he reached 38 years of age. Successful and he has been through all the hardship, the sweet and bitter part of being good in what he is.

So its something to think about as I reach my 38th Year of living today. Something to reflect on before reaching the age of 40? Patrick of Traxx FM called up to remind me that "Life Begins at 40". Gosh most of the professional soccer players are retired at that time. If I chose the life of a politician maybe I would be able to continue on until I am 'retired?' say 80 years of age, God willing.

Its Only a Number

The sound thirty eight sounds quite far out if it refers to your milestone in life. Everytime I turn the old photo albums I see the memories that pass by. Pretty ironic I should say now I pass shift through the albums with my daughter. She would point to my baby photo and tell me excitedly 'Baby Baby'. When I told her it was daddy she does not believe me.

A picture of myself in 1968

So how do I sum up the 38 years of 'living'? Its something worth to look at especially when I remembered that I lost a few friends to cancer before they even reached 30. And they do the strangest things. There was a university mate whom I know who broke up with his girflriend when he discovered he was diagnised with colon cancer. He did not tell his girlfriend about it because he does not want her to suffer emotionally when he goes. I knew of it only when he was admitted to the hospital and lost the fight with cancer a few days later. He was just 25 years old at that time.

As I looked at my own journey, I can only thank the Lord Almighty for taking me this far. How far he wants me to go and what obstacles he has for me - its like going through life like The Amazing Race. Not that I am just saying it but it really is a kind of race. That;s why I used Schumacher as a reference point. People love him and people hate him but he does not really care about that. He lost his loved ones in the middle of the Formula One Campaign at one time but still came on top of the podium. He is good at what he loves to do and during his last race in Brazil - when he had to race from tenth place to fourth in the race of his life, and that is after he punctured a tyre. It would be a story that I will relate to forever. Its about giving the best of yourself.

I am not a Formula One Driver but I hope to emulate that fighting spirit shown by Schumacher.

The Disney Character


Picture in 1982



Picture in 1984


The Explorer


The Adventurer


A lot of Monkey Business

There are a few more of what and where I have been in my own chapter in life. The term 'Been there, Done that' does not really apply. Some has had it harder I know but the journey is still long but we cannot really determine what comes tomorrow.



Taking life as it comes

At this point I will take life as it goes and live each moment to the fullest. I appreciate all the SMSes sent to me but at this point I would like to sit down and reflect on life and project on what to expect. And while at it I may still be able try win a few Formula One Races of my on - the race of life itself.

Comments

Anonymous said…
cool!!hehehe
lawa amat pics kitak maya agi bujang kelia neh..zaman P.Ramlee..bc hitam putih
happy b/day! now that there's sepang in KL, you are 1 step closer to your dream. but damn your glasses....
Rentap said…
Best wishes to you on your 38th birthday.Life is short so make the best out of it.Carpe Diem!!!
aku orang biasa said…
bah, bila ka ngerami ari pengada nuan deh tuan..