people...

"i dont like people"... who says such things??? i do...

i was joking when i said it though... but it did get me thinking... ok,, i was joking as far as the "people" in that case were concerned... a nicer set of people i never have seen before... but hmmm... there are other "people" that i dont like... maybe im weird... i prefer my company to that of others at times... im not a people-person... i enjoy being alone... just me... and my music... just me... and my dog... just me... and my thoughts... just me... and my books... just me...

idle chatter tires me... at times... i hate making conversation just coz i have to... i think its pure torture having to spend time with someone just coz u have to... i hate it when i have to feign interest in something the other person wants to ramble on and on about... but wait... is it just me,,, or do other people think that way too??

people are different... or are they??? crazy analogies come to mind... people are like clothes... they come in different styles, colours and sizes... but theyre clothes all the same... they serve the same purpose (or dont!)... you like some clothes n you cant stand some... you keep wearing clothes you're comfortable in and wear certain others just when you have to make an impression... its the same with people... they come in different styles, colours and sizes... but theyre people all the same.. they serve the same purpose (or dont!)... you like some people n you cant stand some... you keep hanging around with some people that you're just so comfortable with and you hang around with few others when you have to make an impression... there! people are like clothes! :D

i was thinking today abt my ill-judged statement... "i dont like people"... if it didnt sound so negative id say i meant it... :D maybe i should rephrase it... "i love few people"... there! that didnt sound so bad, did it? and whats better,,, its absolutely true... there are a few people who make life worth living... :) as for the rest,,, their presence or the lack of it, makes no difference to me... i guess God put them on earth, coz there are other people who find them indispensible... hmm... just where is this post going??? ive no idea...

another thing i thought today was... "i prefer dogs to people"... chuckle... okie... i know that sounds crazy... but it is true... you can be who you are with a dog and it will be the same to you... it either likes you or doesnt like you and it doesnt bother hiding the fact either way... a lick / a bite... it decides and sticks to it... people, on the other hand are not so simple... they might like you for one thing and hate you for another... they might like what you have and hate you for having it... they might love you and not show it... they might hate you and not show it... oh heck! you people know what people are like!

and when i get all cynical n anti-people,,, i come across someone who makes me fall in love with humankind!!! happens all the time... believe me, you, there are selfless people,,, there are honest people,,, there are thoughtful people... there are people who wish well for you... there are people who truly love other people... like i said before,,, there are people who make life worth living... here's to people! cheers!

i believe i can fly!!!!

"i believe i can fly".... its not just a song anymore... i can fly... and its an awesome feeling... its taken me close to 7 months to get to this point... way more than normal... but heck!!! who cares???? I'VE SOLOED!!!! sighhhh.... wat an awesome feeling... "on top of the world"... makes so much more sense to me now... i still envy the birds... but then again,,, im as close to doing wat they do as anyone ever will be... :D for anyone who choses to read on, i will elaborate...

the week before the solo: it had been 20 days since i had last flown... weather had played spoilsport for a while and then it was the maintainence issues... wen i finally got to fly, it was only to find out i had gone from good to really-bad... i seemed to have forgotten how to fly!!!! very depressing... emoted quite a bit... tears ran free... wondered why i ever thought of flying... wondered more if i wasnt good enough... (i hate that thought!)...

here's where my instructor comes in... asked me to stop-being-a-girl and adjust my attitude... Ron, the credit seriously goes to u!!! ur the best!!! well, ron felt there was one basic criteria i had to satisfy if i had to solo - i had to be able to land the plane... simple huh??? easier said than done... hour after hour of traffic patterns... radio calls... stabilized approaches... extending downwinds... and yes... how could i forget... touch n gos... each landing was an adventure on its own... i bounced... i ballooned... i did things which made me think id never ever be able to land... and i said so aloud... n got lectured for it... :D

the week progressed... but as far as i was concerned, i didnt... :D friday came... n the 17th touch n go in succession... for the first time ever,,, i did all of it... ron chose to remain quiet... well... to cut a long story short... it wasnt so bad... i was ready for my solo...

eve of the solo: it was my friend's bday... stayed up waiting for her to get back from her flight... didnt happen quick enough... had to sleep... was terribly sleep deprived... fell asleep,,, but i just couldnt sleep soundly... had only one thing in mind - had to come back alive! ;)

solo day: woke up in time... (not a big thing really.... sleep evaded me after dawn)... walked to school... preflight prep all done... walked to the plane for the preflight inspection... turned on the master... nothing happened... no fluctuating gauges... no noise from the gyro... no nothing...

this was so incredible it actually made me smile in disbelief... was it a sign from above??? well,,, apparently not... just some idiot leaving the master on all night... S-O-S called ron... we got another plane,,, i rushed back to preflight the new one (sprained my foot in the process)... also got to see some hand-propping... finally... we started taxiing... n guess wat,,, the airplane stopped on the taxiway... hah! wat did i do then? just wat my instructor asked me to do... start the plane again n carry on... :D well, throughout the taxiing i was briefed on wat i should do... each plane handles differently... n i did so want to solo on 733AD... well... certain things r not meant to be... so 9737V it was...

i did 3 touch n gos with ron... thats all he wanted... 3 reasonable landings n i was good to go... well... i must say... ron is a man of his words... we taxiied back... he jumped out... signed my solo endorsements n walked off... i was all alone... gleep!

the solo flight: words cant describe wat one feels during the fist ever solo flight... i can try though... its by far the most exciting thing ive done all my life... the winds that day were calm too... the airplane seemed to be having as much fun as i was... it was like i was out for a walk with my dog... i couldnt help telling myself "i love this",,, over n over again... it was beautiful... just too good... n better still,,, it was true...

the time came for my first solo landing... ive never concentrated so much on anything else ever in my life... to my joy n to a certain degree, surprise, it went off well... a pretty good landing i would say... ron's voice on the radio : "that was easy"... i was so thrilled, i giggled.... after that the frequency of "im loving this" increased... the second landing was a bit bouncy, but who cares... :D the third was pathetic... but still who cares??? i had accomplished something... i had proven to myself i could... I HAD SOLOED!!!