Testing blog

Travel

I like to travel. I like to go to different places, to see new things. But mostly, I like to know things that no one else knows. An amazing coffee in a little bistro in a lost suburb of Paris, midnight pastry in a mall in New York, pasta in the moonlight in Florence, an early morning stroll in the South Hampton, a new romance in Venice, spicy chat in a corner of Mumbai. But that’s just for the tongue. There’s so much more for the eyes to see, for the ears to hear, the skin to feel, and for the emotions to sense.

My favourite city is Boston. There is always something new to do in Boston for me. From Dorchester Bay to the malls in South End to the Italian restaurants in North End. I already know what I must do in my next visit there. Brunch at MIT Square, the Freedom Trail, dinner in North End, coffee in Porter. And the photos are always endless.

I’ve just reread the paragraph above, and I sound like someone who has been to Boston a million times, when I’ve been there only twice, but that’s the kind of city Boston is. It signifies to me freedom of a higher degree than I have ever imagined before. It’s to Boston, I will always return.

Orange Juice

I have found America to be a country that thrives on capitalism. The end consumer is completely mistreated and humiliated by big companies in every service and product. Except Orange Juice.
Orange Juice is available in various categories. The basic classification begins on what kind of pulp you like. There's No Pulp, Some Pulp, and then of course, Lots of Pulp. These are further classified by brands. My personal favourite has been Tropicana's No Pulp Low Acid. Other Tropicana populars are the Original, Calcium+Vitamin D added and the HomeStyle versions.
Until recently, believed that all these were organic varieties of orange juice. But then Tropicana came out with the new USDA (US Dept of Agriculture) approved Organic Orange Juice, which i have found is not only their tastiest version so far, it is also obviously the most nutritious.

Lemon tree

Lemon Tree

Lemon tree, my lemon tree
what is it that you wish to say?
You must wait for the wind to come
and when it’s here, you mustn’t sway.

That aroma of yours, it caresses me gently,
And it is still not, january.
Lemon tree, my lemon tree
what is it that you wish to say?
You must wait for the spring to come
and when it’s here, you mustn’t sway.

That flower of yours, has turned to fruit,
Lets test the strength, of your very root.
Lemon tree, my lemon tree
what is it that you wish to say?
You must wait for summer’s still
and when it’s here, you too must be still.

That fruit of yours, it’s no longer raw,
All the grass was once straw.
Lemon tree, my lemon tree
what is it that you wish to say?
You must wait for the rain to fall,
and when it’s here, you may recall.

And, yes, it’s true, your leaves will tumble,
While the wind howls, and the clouds rumble.
Lemon tree, my lemon tree
what is it that you wish to say?
You must wait for the cold to settle,
and when it’s here, you must prove your mettle.

I know it’s cold, I’m freezing too,
In this weather, we sure could use some loo.
Lemon tree, my lemon tree
what is it that you wish to say?
You must wait for spring again,
and when it’s here, you’ll be free of pain.

I Remember

I remember that the winds were light, like it just wanted to touch you again and again. I remember that the grass was absolutely green. It was the perfect day to be asked, "How green can grass get?". I remember that the scent of the lemon tree over my head was ecstatic. I remember the few clouds in the sky only highlighted the sun in the February afternoon. I remember how quiet the house was. I remember how I lay in the lawn of the house I haven't visited since. My head lying on the grass. I remember how everything was at peace, all the elders had gone to sleep for the afternoon, and that no one would disturb anyone till early evening. My grandmother had died, and this was the afternoon following her funeral service. I was the youngest at the service. I remember how my back was killing me, after having bent over to take everyone's blessings, having done peri-penna a million times before, and another million today. My grandmother had many well-wishers. I remember how it did good to do nothing, lazing on the grass, surrounded by beautiful flowers and a tangy-aroma-ed lemon tree. I remember it as a day when a lot of tears had been shed, but I also remember it as the day I felt truly at peace.

Last Month

Last month was sad, with that cold that turned out to be bronchitis (yeah, i know), followed by bad weather such that i didn't fly for almost three weeks. i did, however make a new friend online, who is jewish, (i've never known anyone jewish) and we chat of all things possible, and impossible. Last week was bad weather again, so haven't flown for about five days, but today seems to be clearing up, and i just might go up for a stage check tomorrow. once i clear that, i will go on a solo cross-country flight(exceeding 100Nautical Mile total distance, not an international flight). Once that is done and the minimum requirements met, i will be ready for my check-ride for my private pilot's certificate. once that is done, i will go into instrument hour-building, and later into instrument flying.

Valentine's Day came and went and felt like any ordinary day, which was a refreshing change, as on most V-days I'm usually very elated for absolutely no reason what so ever. It snowed here, little flakes gently settling onto the ground, not falling, but settling. it was like a huge tanker of salt had burst high in the skies. even now the remaining snow looks like spilled salt.

For those of you who have been complaining i haven't written in a long time, i'm sorry. as a compensation i'm writing a story, that probably will not get anywhere beyond 200 pages but no matter, i'll still complete it, finish it.

may reiki bless you,
nanz

A Daunting Cold

I have a cold. A daunting, draining, demoralizing cold. Every time I move, it seems I am dragging heavy chains that want me bound to the ground. It is difficult to think of anything when you know thousands of germs reside in your every breath, waiting to cause you to cough again. I cannot fly these days, I cannot even leave the house. No matter. I now seem to have ample time to catch up on studies, although it is difficult to concentrate when you keep 'coughing up a storm every few minutes.

Time

A lot of people have been asking me if I thought my training would be complete within six months as I had previously anticipated. No. It will not. Two and a half months are already over and I am not yet half-way throught my Private Pilots License (PPL) (or is it Lisense?) and I expect it to be complete not before mid-January, which would be about three and a half months. It is then to be followed by Instrument Rating (IR), which is supposed to be the toughest of all, and I expect that will take atleast two months by itself. Next comes Commercial Pilots License (CPL), which will require an additional hundred hours of flight, amounting to another two months, on the lesser side. Finally we have the Multi Engine Rating (ME/MER), which should not take more than three weeks. Of course all of this is dependent on the weather, and then I need to get my passport renewed as it expires in the first week of April, and i highly doubt my training is going to finish anytime before early june, and if i intend to continue to fly while my passport has gone for renewal, i will need to get a local id, which is another pain in the butt, but i guess what has to be done, just has to be done.


I was doing reiki the other day, and it felt great! like a splash of fresh water, revitalizing every fibre of my being, especially since i did it for around three hours. i must find time to do it more often.

Cold and Clear

Well the weather has improved for flying, the ice has mostly gone and flying has started again. But brrrr, its really cold, and when i say its really cold, i mean 8 degrees below zero, so that when i'm out on the snow, doing my preflight inspection of the plane, my hands are absolutely numb, and so i need to come back inside and thaw them out before we can take-off, hence for a 7 am flight we depart at 7.45. we need a furnace to thaw people from the flights cause its sooo cold out there. Then the weather channel says its not even winter yet. and then they say global warming is a problem! I said this to my instructor, so he replies that cause its heating up everywhere in the world, we are the unlucky ones to be stuck in nowhere, where its freezing cold.