Mighty Mouse from Hamburg

It is an open secret that as a core Manchester United fan, Liverpool comes last on my list of other clubs that i like.

However it is also an open secret though of my great admiration and envy of that team during the late 70s and early 80s.

They practically swept all the silver ware available then.

They felt so invisible that one joke i still remembered goes like this:
"Billy Shankly was asked what are the 4 miracles of the world. He promptly replied that out of 4 ,3 are from Liverpool!! The other odd one out is of course as he said, Jesus Christ So then Bill what are the 3 miracles? Beatles, Liverpool FC and Liverpool Reserves team!!! "

There is though one player wearing that red shirt that was and still a favourite of mine ...KEVIN KEEGAN.
I can still remember how he and that other Leeds great, Billy Bremmer tore their shirts off during an FA cup final.

I did watch him play once when he was a player at Southampton in the early 80s and the game was at the Hawthorns,West Brom. So being within the Birmingham vicinity i took opportunity then to watch this great player.

Such passion, such commitment from Kev the King.

The other enduring image of Kev was of course when he lost his cool on TV when as a Newcastle manager he saw his team slowly losing the league championship battle against Manchester United.
In his typical Yorkshire accent...."i love it, I'd love it if we beat them!!"

Thank you Kev for buying Asprilla then mid way in the season that erupts your team rhythm and practically handed over the championship to United despite at one time having a 12 points lead.

As a player though you were the best in your era, your indomitable energy and high work rate were phenomenal. Your down to earth approach towards the game made you a popular player among opposing fans and yes you even made those Germans eat their words(not easy heh.)

You were named the Bundesliga player of the season and they have an affectionate name for you, "The Mighty Mouse"
So King Kev you still remain my favourite player from that team.

A Kuching Pyramid

During the Pharaohs time, they built pyramids to showcase their absolute power during their era of rule.
A total symmetry of a building that still baffles us even now how it can be built that way.

However human nature has never changed despite great strides by civilisation in inculcating the emancipation of Mankind.

Yes, we still love to have huge structures and the bigger it is and the higher it is the better!!!

Ugliness though is still a common feature.

I must next time when going around town take note of any ugly buildings..i thought i saw one just completed near the airport ,at first glance it resemble more of a hospital building.

Until someone remarks that it is a 4 star hotel, really???

Talking of pyramids, i cant help observing that the Golf club building has such similarity, an ugly facade amidst the trees and mist as i noticed it as such when teeing off for my golf the other day.

Sean Penn,the August man

The year 1960. The Date 17 Th August.

That was the day, Sean Penn the actor was born.

As i watched the Academy Awards ceremony last night, as the roll call was announced for the nominees of Best Actor... i found myself obviously rooting for Sean Penn.
"The Winner, SEAN PENN !!"

Wow, a great and deserving award for an accomplished actor whose character portrayal in the movie,"MILK" must have mesmerised the jury.

A deserving winner indeed, honestly i am not really into his movies, Mystic River not that bad though. Why then am i rooting for this fella? A fella who once married Madonna.

The year 1960. The date 17 Th August . The birthplace, Kuching.

Yup i was born on the same day in 1960 as Mr Sean Penn. Come on my man we both came to this world on the same day and as i watched you clutching the trophy i cant help being proud as well of your achievement.

Travel writing anyone?

The essence of travel writing is a journey of reflections of life as seen by the traveller.

It amazes me that not much of travel writing is evident from the local aspirants and we always consummed with western travel writers who never ceases to be enlightened by our Orang Utans and virgin jungles.Not much is written about people and their daily lives and aspirations.

I wonder where I should start.

Of course in the spirit of VS Naipaul or Paul Theroux you need to have some compelling themes. For me I don’t have the so called rich civilizations to ponder on or a great railway ride to relish.

Shall i go back to my childhood and try to find some answers to the nature of what shapes my own present thinking and attitude?

Unfortunately I cannot pride myself of a famished upbringing and overcoming all odds to succeed in the rat race of life nor do I can count on living during interesting times in history that can forever give you a vivid image of the world.

An idea comes to mind and dare I venture to explore it in full honesty and make it into some form of a revealing journey of my life so far?

I am talking about a recent debate in the press regarding the Prime Minister’s call for meritocracy within the Bumiputra’s community and not to continue on a dangerous path of what is termed as a “subsidy mentality”.

I can’t possibly write another Malay Dilemma story,that is better tackled by my Brethrens on the mainland and also what has this got to do with stories about travel writing.

It is worth trying though i.e in seeking some strand of relationship of the present hype on meritocracy and my own urge to do some travel writing .

Now that is an idea worth pursuing.Without a need to be structured,(coming from a trained engineer like myself it does take some mindset change),I can explore the world as I know thirty years ago and the world now and see through my own lens of experience the impacts of the privileges given to Bumiputras and the relevancy of the new clarion call on the embracement of meritocracy.

PS: I wrote above article a while back, well maybe one day i may pursue this, you never know...Rehman Rashid may have his 'Malaysian Journey"...hmmm if indeed this is to be a reality one day, what shall i call my travel sojourn? "The Sarawakian journey"? How original!!!!

Alexander the Great

A great man once lived in the Hellenistic era(circa 200 BC..) and all rudimentary students of history will definitely know the name of this great man.
Yes, Alexander the Great , a ruler of the world,whose empire before his untimely death reached the confines of Punjab , India.
Truly a man of greatness and until now he was still remembered.

What was i doing late last night? Watching a football game on TV as Manchester United further extended their lead in the English Premier League, a predictable and of course joyous occasion for all the Red Devils supporters.

The hero last night was their present No1 player, Ronaldo with a bullet like free kick that stunned all particularly butterfingers Robinson the Blackburn Goalie.

However all Manchester United supporters know who is the real HERO of the phenomena, Manchester United Football Club.

Yup..Alexander Ferguson(Fergie) the Great. Hail the Gaffer, hail the Emperor!!!

I remembered few years back watching a United away game against Charlton live at the Valley and as i mingled around with the fans they were not eager to point to me keano, Ronaldo(still a young kid then ) or Nielsteroy but all pointed to me THE GAFFER.."there's the gaffer mate ".
A great story of a life to tell indeed, a man from Govan a working class area of Glasgow now conquering the world(even beyond Punjab!!!) with his great Army,the Red Devils and their exciting brand of football .

His ending words in his biography book, "Managing My Life" epitomise the simplicity and greatness of that man, Sir Alexander(Fergie) the Great:

" For the men, it was respite enough to be spared the noise and grime of the shipyards for a couple of weeks, to escape the hammer of the Clyde. Ambition has nothing to do with their lives.Survival was the essence.Yet there was an incredible warmth of fellow being among them, a loyalty that was deep as the marrow. I wish i could visit ,however briefly, the sense of community that exisited the Govan of my childhood. It could be a rough world but there was wonderful values at the heart of it. Loyalty has been the anchor of my life and it is something that i learned in Govan."
Wise words from a great man indeed.

Hail the Emperor, Alexander(Fergie) the Great. Sorry Bill.

Auk am a Malaysian

It was just the other day a friend remarked that he is not a "pure" Malay, possibly by the various infusions of other "bloods" throughout the generation.
Then in jest i said, "So you Melayu Plastic?"(A Plastic Malay)

Seriously man we all in reality are "Plastic man(or woman)",i can possibly relate that my "blood" has its fair share of infusion....Riau Malay,Bugis, Chinese, you name it great probability it's all there just don't bother to find out more.

It goes back to a more interesting phenomena, the Lingua Franca (common language) of Sarawak.
Hands up you all out there who knows where was this unique "Rojak Malay" with its loud accentuation really originate from?
"Auk", "Sik", "kamek", "bulak kitak", "ngando" hmmm all those unique words that do not appear at all in the Malay dictionary.
"Sik mek tau koh".....
I related all above because of what i saw being presented at a St Joseph school band parents meeting yesterday.
I have to cancel my golf game as Faizul(the twin) insisted i must attend the session.

I was certainly intrigued and fascinated by one view graph shown by the school teacher,
....training,laughing,crying ,together because we are Josephians, we are Sarawakians,we are Malaysians"

Excuse me Madam can i just correct you ? ...We are above all Malaysians and truly proud of that!!!!
Ya, we may be "Melayu Plastic", "Cina Hokkien", "Iban Saribas", India Port Klang" but along the course of our nation's 50 years existence we have developed an essentially Malaysian identity and character.

Our cravings for Nasi lemak, Roti Canai, Char kway Teow you name it,also our tendency to put ourselves down, our penchant for titles and of course now our obsessions for hopping around(sometimes naked) Yes we are definitely above all, Malaysians!!
Auk, auk auk...

God's greatest gifts

As we aged and nearing that magic number 50, a favourite pastime is to reminisce of things past.

An obvious item to reflect of course was how you met your significant other. One will tell you of his enduring love since at the school bench, one will reflect on that first date watching the Bangsawan or one is forever grateful that after few failed relationships finally met the right one for his heart.

A marriage is a sanctity that bonds one human being to another.It gives meaning to a life that will normally be just a passing through of navigating a roller coaster of ups and downs.

It will be the family that will be our bedrock , it will be our children that spurs us to be an exemplary to the society,in all as I sipped my tea(or was it coffee?) celebrating a dear friend's wedding anniversary of possibly 20 odd years, I can understand his remark that our Children makes a marriage, simple but true.

Massage Parlour and the Councillor

One phenomena that really changes our social life besides the Hand phone is undoubtedly the mushrooming of massage parlours.
There is even one now near my home and which i too has succumbed to this phenomena by having regular visits to have your foot massage.

Earlier days whenever you want to have a massage you just called for your favourite masseur,normally an old lady who somehow made you convinced that what your illnesses were just by her feeling your veins and nerves!!!

Now there were so many varieties of a massage outlet, the most obviously those that employed the masseurs from China.
Foot massage is the most popular of the packages being offered possibly because of the convenience(they just need a chair for you) and one even heard that some of these places offered other "services" than just a massage.

This has certainly cause a concern to the public and City Councils will have their hands full in ensuring that these places only offer legitimate service.

It was only the other night we celebrated a friend's appointment as a City Councillor, hmm hearing from him indeed a Councillor's job can be a heavy responsibility.

So, Mr Councillor, what will be your first task?
Inspecting all these massage Parlours??
Knowing how innovative you can be, will you be rating all these places like what the Council do for restaurants?

So, Mr Councillor what does a place have to offer in order to be rated "A"?
Legitimate services only please being considered!!!

The world's first suicide bombers and footballers were from Red Cliff!!!

Whenever one watched a Chinese action movie, few things were always certain.

Firstly there will always be a lot of flying around that really defies gravity.
Then occasionally their kicks can send a victim hundreds of meters away Ala Johnny Wilkinson style.

But the one that really and always amaze me is the hero's ability to kill hundreds yes literally hundreds of opponents within a 10 minutes time frame and only with one trusted sword!!!

So with trepidation i agreed to tag along with Faizul, my twin boy to watch Red Cliff 2,
He has been nagging me to bring him to watch that movie for a long while possibly enthralled earlier by the Dynasty Warriors video PSP game.

To be fair contrary to my earlier expectations i did enjoy the movie, the dialogue was full of wise words and the plot not too bad.

I also learnt a bit on the "right" way to make and serve tea and in this movie the tea making demonstration by the heroine Xiao Qiao to Cao Cao (the villain???) led to the invaders defeat.

However what really takes the cake was the "suicide bombers" who threw their bodies to the enemies ships and they were all laden with very much improvised bombs. Yup the bombs were made of concentrated fish oil. Ha ha, are they possibly the world's first suicide bombers? Trust a Chinese movie to dispel any earlier understanding that you had on suicide bombers!!!

Another scene shows though a form of football game, played with the utmost sublime skills and of course a ferocious kick to spare(compulsory for a Chinese action movie!!)
Again another first? The world's first footballers with the skills that even made Maradona looks ordinary .

All in all despite these melodramatic observations, i enjoyed the movie and am indeed glad that i got myself around to bring Faizul to watch it.
So what's next to expect from a Chinese action movie? Possibly the World's first astronauts!!!
l

Damai for the aged

I was at the Damai Beach Resort Kuching for a working Valentine weekend. One of the participants  queried why we had the away day retreat on a Valentine weekend, my answer?
That's the only weekend i am free this coming weeks. Ha, beat that for a democratic decision!!!

Anyway the retreat went well, all were working hard and the place in a way is and can be a perfect place too to spend the Valentine weekend.

Damai has always been the place of leisure and respite for the local folks and its serene beauty overlooked by the imposing Mount Santubong has always evoke a wonderful feeling of peace and content.

It was not called Damai though in the early days, we always knew the place as Teluk Bandung(still its official address i presume)

Those days in the 70s every year without fail there was an event called Santubong Day. I remembered that well.
We took a a boat to Santubong then because there was no direct road access.
It was always a fun time for teenagers like us, staying in camps, listening to music over a fire and of course for some chasing the other species (not me, honest).

Teluk Bandung though has to be further accessed by a boat, actually i never got to go there then but i knew even then the beaches were better and more stunning than the "muddy" Santubong beach.

As i sat down relaxing reading a book at the Damai Resort beach front bench i cant help noticing that the foreign tourists sunbathing and just laying around were mostly of the Jack Lemmon's variety( i mean older folks!!!)

Talking to one of the Resort's staff , he was too lamenting on the lack of surrounding facilities and attractions that can possibly pull in the younger crowd .

Well, i have mixed views on that, the Jack Lemmon's of this world would certainly prefer Damai stay as it is, a place of serene surroundings where one at that age can savour fully. 

No Akon and Beyonce music please, go to Phuket or Bali if you want a boisterous beach holiday!!!

Have your Santubong Day for all you want at that muddy beach but Damai?? Please keep as it is.

Dont cry for me Argentina

Any mention of Argentina will certainly evoke the name of Maradona of which one poll has elected him to be the most influential footballer of all times(Even Pele came second best).

Argentinian football always display a form of competitive aggression that belies their South American roots. Here is a country from what we can see from their footballers that has a culture synonymous with strong work ethics and a competitive streak.

Yet the country was on a brink of bankruptcy few years back with inflation running wild and has a high unemployment rate.

What went wrong, Argentina? Shall we cry for you?

As one eminent Historian states...." The economic history of Argentina in the twentieth century is an object lesson that all resources in the world can come to nothing and even set at nought by financial mismanagement.
Once Argentina was a byword for prosperity;in fact the country's very name means land of silver. Even in 1913 Argentina was one of the ten richest countries in the world.

The two anathema that was put up for this sorry demise of a once rich country are inflation and foreign debts default.
I though personally believe that the underlying fault is due to a wrong form of politics ,remember Peron ?

A country like Malaysia certainly must learn this objective lessons in history and while we cant fathom ourselves in such abyss of an economic situation  BUT if we do fail we don't have a Maradona to keep our pride still intact and flying!!! A messi(y) situation indeed pardon the pun!!!!

Fusion food and the LHA phenomena

breakfast ..nasi lemak and baked beans


Friday last i was having breakfast, which i rarely do actually on week days, at this eatery and i have a dilemma of choosing what to order.
I am sure this is a normal hair wrenching decision making process that mostly people endure when they are very hungry and have specific likings for certain food or dishes.

Well, my difficult choice then was between the latest craze in town, "the Ayam Penyek".Does it mean in English,'Battered chicken?" and also a craving for "Mee Jawa" ,some form of curried gravy Noodles dish,an all time favourite.

Fancy mixing them both? Not possible so i ended up with a brunch dish of "Ayam Penyek".

This dilemma relates to my previous observation of seeing a mushrooming of Fusion Food outlets,what they offer are "hybrids or mixtures" of various kind of food.
Ranging from a mix of Thai cuisine with Western or a Chinese delicacy with a Malay favourite.

This sudden appearance of such elegantly name kind of restaurants must have been to cater for fickle minded people like me who just cannot make a firm choice of a favourite dish, so here goes Chicken chop in a tomyam!!!

I have though been a practitioner of fusion food for many many years ,well only at buffet breakfast at hotels.
Just like today was having breakfast at the Damai Resort Hotel a "fusion" of Nasi lemak(Flavoured rice ) and baked beans. Beat that Man, a great fusion that guarantees you a satisfied meal!!!!

Talking about popular food places, last night decided to have a Chinese meal at this place, Lim Hock Ann(LHA) restaurant in Buntal area.
Wow, the place was very crowded and everything was a struggle; from finding a parking space, cajoling to get your food ordered and a real patient wait for the dishes to arrive at your table.
Frankly i never understand why LHA is such a popular eating spot.

It was quite a distance from Kuching city, the right word to describe the restaurant is a wooden ramshackle that needs urgent repairing. Further more it is not exactly a Grade A outlet when it comes to cleanliness and the scenery was not even inspiring.
Well, until you savour some of the dishes, quite ravishing and the price reasonable.

The LHA owners must know their business very well, people will come to your restaurant if you have good delicious food to offer and it doesn't cost the customer a bomb.
My only advice to them is please don't turn it into another Fusion outlet, you are already a master at Chinese food and just remain that way.
I will eat my Ayam Penyek somewhere else, no problem sir!!

Bridges too far

Meradong


Now finally i am going to post some observations of my work as an engineer..

My career is mostly concentrated in the oil and gas industry ,plying my bit of know how as a chemical/process engineer.

So what am i doing building bridges?
It all started with my idea and vision to build a State of the Art steel bridge. I have observed and seen so many "ugly" bridges that we should at least have a bridge that can be viewed as a monument to remember.

The Meradong Steel bridge was a unique concept. Integrating our experiences in Ship repair, Shipbuilding works coupled with knowledge in precise engineering as dictated in the oil and gas thus evolve the idea of building a Steel bridge of aesthetic design.

The fabrication of the steel arches and beams were all done in the onshore yard.Once completed, loaded onto a barge and the bridges frames then install off the barge at Meradong work site.

A wonderful experience after seeing a realisation of a unique concept.

Somehow our involvement in bridges do not stop there. Durin Bridge the longest shore to shore bridge in Malaysia was salvaged and completed by us, a painful but enduring experience for me and the team.
Reflecting back on this accomplishment, i still wondered how we manage to complete the job, as all will know salvaging a disastrous project is not for the faint hearted. Will i go into such foray again? i doubt it.

The recent bridge that we completed was the Nyelong bridge, a bridge that got a barge stuck under its piers yesterday!!!!
Again a different experience, technically and project execution wise.

Bridges are indeed an important component of public infrastructure and i comfort myself despite issues and problems faced in building these bridges that we have contributed in some way to the enhancement of Sarawak's development.

Again i ask myself, what's a chemical engineer doing building bridges???

The ever reliable workhorses: Honda CRV and Proton

What is one's dream car? Most will probably answer a Porsche or to an extent a Mercedes Sports.
To me give me a Honda anytime.

Why this obsession for a Honda?
It all started while working in JB 20 years ago i was given a 2000cc Honda Accord as a company car. Cool man, only 28 years old then and driving a "posh" car so to speak.

That just shows my ambitions when it comes to cars, i have never waiver ed from my "dream car' that is is always a Honda.

So what do i drive now? My ever reliable Honda CRV, a bit old though now but am still happy and contented with it.

My first ever new car though was a Proton Saga. Who said Proton's cars are not that reliable?
Well true to my ever preference that the second car is a Proton, i changed the Kenari few months back to a new Proton saga GLM model, though to the other half's disconcerting view.

I though love my new Proton, shining Blue and always prestine looking!!!

Paintings... an art of beauty?

The place, the Louvre,Paris. Yes i have never seen such an endless array of paintings mostly classical in nature.
You can spend hours just walking around the place marble hallways and appreciating all this fine art.

The most famous of all the paintings at the Louvre is of course the Mona Lisa.
The famous smile(is it really a smile?) has captivated millions of admirers throughout the years. Its worth? Possibly in millions, no doubt.


I did enjoy my visit to the Louvre few years back and memories of seeing the real Mona Lisa painting still vividly clear in my mind.

While not being an avid collector of oil paintings i have got a few hanging on my house's walls.
I bought a few in Bali recently, depicting modern art and i loved them , real soothing and intriguing when viewed in the serenity of one's home.
China too is now famous for making duplicates of famous paintings and you can buy a reasonable quality of a duplicate(made in China ) particularly those depicting the classical images.

So, no surprise for visitors to my house seeing the walls literally plastered with all these paintings that i always ended up buying on my travels, no regrets though for they may just be duplicates or relatively inexpensive but to me they still evoke an art of beauty.
An art of beauty to be deeply appreciated as you try to relax after a long day at work.

It was also last week on my Kl trip i managed to find and buy " Khutbah Terakhir Nabi Mohammad SAW"(the Prophet Mohammad SAW last sermon) and i was indeed pleased for i have been hunting for it quite a while after seeing one hanging on the wall of an office that i visited recently.
Now where shall i hang it?

The impatient Roman

I read with disbelief on hearing the sacking of Scolari as a Chelsea coach. While the competitive nature of me was all smiles and glee at this turn of event at Stamford Bridge, the decision to axe him was a bit of a puzzle to me.
The Roman (read Abrahamovic) wants to see a different kind of football being played at the Bridge after seeing Mourinho grinding 1-0 results at a monotonous and boring frequency.
The Roman wants to see real flair Ala Brazil so steps in Scolari a Gene Hackman look alike Brazilian.
He has the credentials and appears to have the management skills to achieve the Roman's dream.
The Roman i believed underestimate the inherent culture of the club, hey man you may be the owner but the club is still quintessential very English.
John Terry playing Brazilian style football? You must be kidding.
Possibly it is just pocket money change for the compensation he's paying Scolari.

The impatient Roman must be pretty upset that his club is being upstaged continuously now by one famous club (ahemm..) that is being run by a working class bred Glaswegian whose idea of being posh and having a bit of class is to own a racing horse.

The English Premier league is moving towards the Easter period and that 's when real title contenders will emerge.
I am observing this recent surge by Aston Villa with mixed feelings. Villa was a club that i always frequented on a Saturday afternoon during the early 80's with Withe, Cowans strutting their stuff. I was then a student in Birmingham.
If indeed one day the Glaswegian decides to retire, i strongly urge the Manchester United owners not to look far for a replacement.
Martin O'neill is the man,he has shown how best to run British clubs at the top level after achieving success at Celtic and now Aston Villa.
So to the Roman, keep on changing your managers with continental upstarts!!

Love drama movies that are poles apart

Recently i got to watch 2 love drama movies on my home DVD.
The first one was "Nights in Rodante", a movie that was highly recommended by a friend with a strong cast that also happens to be my favourite actors( Richard Gere and Diane Lane).
I was very much captivated by one earlier movie featuring Diane Lane, "Under the Tuscan Sun" and ever since always on the look out for movies with her starring in it, some good , some terrible.
The good one was of course "Unfaithful".
Incidentally with Gere starring in that movie as well.

Richard Gere meanwhile has really transformed his role from an all action super hero and a love stud in his younger days to a role of a middle age man grappling with his own identity and desires.
Best illustrated in the movie ,"Shall we Dance'

Alas i was deeply disappointed with the movie,"Nights in Rodante', too steamy eyed for my liking and so unreal in the portrayal of the main characters. Not even Gere and Lane can save the movie, so lame!!! Maybe to be expected from a movie adaption of a Nicholas Sparks novel.
Remember the forgettable movie," The Love Note" ?

Tonight with all my chores done i got down to organise my DVD collections particularly those that i have bought but never got round to watch them.As i perused around my collection i chanced upon one DVD that i have bought a long while back on a trip to Johor Bahru.

The movie was entitled ," Christina Vicky in Barcelona". I picked this movie then to buy among many that i bought that day was purely of interest to see scenery's of Barcelona,one city that i would love to visit one day.
To my surprise i noticed just now that it was directed by Woody Allen..so hold on must be an interesting movie to watch.
To add my interest, Scarlett Johanssen and Penelope Cruz were also starring in the movie.
Wow i was not disappointed at all!!!
I loved this Woody Allen movie , great dialogue( as expected from Woody..) , interesting story line that captivates the real essence of human nature, the lust,the perceived unfulfilled dreams, the erotic desire you name it it's all brilliantly acted out in this movie.

It all adds up to one adage of any great movies.....it's the storyline and the dialogue that can hold a movie together not just its superstars.
So Woody, again you have not disappointed movie goers with your unique and witty outlook on life as always greatly portrayed in your movies. Thank you.

Giant Butterfly in the Woods

Today as i was driving back to the office after a lunch outing, something struck my attention.
Am i seeing things? Is it an UFO?
Well it looks more like a giant Butterfly in the woods..
As i stopped and observed with more intent, it was indeed not an UFO but actually the new Borneo Convention Centre at its final phase of construction.
Ha ha,it got me there !!
I hope they paint it in glittering colour, red or green so it will certainly look stunning as a building that mirrors a giant butterfly in the woods.
I took a closer picture of this new building and one wonders what kind of convention capacity this massive building will cater for.
One thing for sure it will be a great monument for Kuching.

Golf ...To be or not to be linear,that's the question

Finally played some bit of golf over the weekend after a long hiatus.

The usual haunt for us is the Kuching Golf Club(KGS) and as in the lingo of golf you normally have your golf rounds with your "kaki" ( literally means feet don't know why!!!).
"Kaki" here actually means your usual golf buddies or partners.

Golf is a funny game actually, the more you tried in terms of physical efforts the worst your game will be. You must have a relaxed, composed mind to play any wonderful round of golf.

Reminds me of a book i read few years back by M. Scott Peck "Golf and the Spirit" where he relates in the book of playing on an imaginary golf course of his own design and littered each hole narration with wise words.
Wise words such as the wisdom of inner healing and indeed appreciating life is not linear as in Golf .
Just some illustrations:
Hole 1: Once there was a man of limited imagination who considered the progress of life to be straightforward.

Hole 9: A man whose perspective does not include the invisible connections between himself and the rest of the world is not just lonely but lost.

Hole 13: Competition is a choice in all aspects of life-even in business. The healthy or whole person will know when and how to compete-and when or how not to compete.

Beat that...i definitely will not be thinking of such wisdom if i were to tee off at the first hole.
My first and only worry is to make sure my first important shot is straight and have a decent distance.
Somehow for Golf i remembered more of the funny moments rather than any wise words from fellow golfers. To start off any wise words are a rarity from the so called "kaki"!!

My first golf game started off dramatically!!
I broke my Driver's club when i teed off on the first hole!!!

I once got hit by a golf ball while on the Green in one competition i was organising myself few years back (for the ignorant, the Green is where the hole is located!!!)..hm mm lucky i survived that!!

Few years ago I got attacked by a swarm of bees at one golf game when without realising i hit on my back swing its Hornet's nest.Lucky then i was fit enough to run a good 200 meters dash !!!

So Mr Peck, how i wished i can look back on my Golf games in the same philosophical and intellectual way as you do because all the time my mind is always preoccupied with how many pars that i manage to achieve, how many golf balls that i can avoiding losing and how to keep my score below 100( still a rare occasion...)
But then who said Golf is a linear game? That i agree with you totally because all the time my shot always not ended straight to the fairway but its constant non linearity make the ball always ending up in the bush or the pond.