Reflections on my past, and dreams of my future...

I was busy procrastinating today, and I wanted to check my e-mail, so I click on Firefox to open, and since I have my homepage set to a random Wikipedia page, it would teach me something new and interesting. When I opened up Firefox today, the random Wikipedia page that came up was about the Concorde airliner. In an instant I remembered the time I was a kid and would get anything related to airplanes, especially the Concorde. As a child, I would look forward to a trip every time simply because we were flying there. I didn't care if we were going to Iran, London, LA, or anywhere in the world, all that mattered was that we were flying there. Everytime before a trip, I would ask my parents what type of plane we were flying on, what type of engines it had, and how many people it could accomodate. I knew how far a Pratt & Whitney engine would go before it needed maintenance vs. a Rolls Royce engine among other things. Needless to say, I gave my parents a headache for all that information!

With my "technical" knowledge of airplanes, I had dreams of becoming a pilot, and the plane that I always wanted to pilot was the Concorde. It was such a big plane, for a person my size, and it would go so fast, past the speed of sound (I can't remember exactly how fast, but I used to). Everytime we arrived in London, I would ask the information people if the Concorde was there so I could see, and I was always disappointed to learn that it wasn't. Now that I'm going to London for the umpteenth time in a few weeks time, I could re-create my childhood and ask the information people if the Concorde is there, I don't think I will be disappointed this time!

I had big dreams as a kid, and they involved designing race cars and piloting a Concorde were the ones, which would be the most satisfying of dreams. Unfortunately, I grew up. My childhood dreams left me and I entered the "I'm being judged by my peers" mindset. I am now 20, and I am out of the insecurity of being a teenager. My childhood dreams are coming up bit by bit, albeit, a little more realistic now. I won't be able to be a pilot for the Concorde, but I can be an amateur pilot. I won't be able to design race cars, but I can contribute. It's only a matter of time, just time.

Never forget, never repeat.

I was shocked in learning that yesterday, a shooting happened at a university in Virginia. It turned out that it was a South Korean international student majoring in English named Cho Seung-Hui. My current feelings are of sadness and anger. Sadness that 33 people died, anger that it had to be at a university, of all the places in the world. As a student, this affected me because something like this could have happened at U of T, and U of T is just as large as Virginia Tech, according to the map that is available. I'm usually at all places within the university since I know a lot of people, and I have classes in different buildings all over campus. Unlike other science students, I'm not limited to one corner of the campus.

However, it is unfortunate that in an "in your face" society, we are desensitized to death, shootings and killings that we hear in the media. I don't feel desensitized though. I can't take death very well, and I can't take people who kill other people. Maybe it's just me.

Jetsetting: Munich

Not exactly one of the most pressing places in the world which I'd like to see, Munich is one of those destinations in Europe where it is close to just about everywhere else, and has so much to see within the city as well. As a racing fan, heading into the continent where motorsport originated, I would love to see the BMW museum. I'm a Mercedes Benz fan, but they're in Stuttgart. I hope that they have the BMW Sauber F1 racer from 2006 on display there, because a racecar is always a treat to look at!

I won't be going south though, where Neuschwanstein Castle is. For those that don't know, this castle is the inspiration for the castle you see at the beginning of Disney movies. That is one of the sites I'll be missing out, but I'm pretty sure that Munich has many things to offer. Until next time...

I did the unthinkable...

I paid for my trip to Europe. After my HMB304 test, which I probably screwed royally, I went over to the bank, withdrew the money (over $2000) and walked the three floors down to the travel agent! On my way to the travel agency, I was so paranoid, because I was carrying so much cash in hand. I put the money in my jacket, zipped up my jacket, and went there.

When I got there, I was informed that it was time! I unzipped my jacket, took out the envelope containing the new $100 bills, and handed them over to the agent. He counted them one by one, and they were right down to the penny. He put it in, and I was ready to go! The ticket will arrive in a few weeks, and I have the unenviable task of saving up some spending money for this trip!

Anyhow, I'm counting down the days for this trip! It's coming fast, and before I know it, I'll be on the plane back home to Toronto from Amsterdam!

Iran frees sailors. Interesting to watch...

I'm sure many of us have been shocked to hear, out of the blue, that everyone's best friend, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad freed the British sailors that they captured nearly two weeks ago. It was something that just blew me away!

However, I believe that this was a very interesting move from the Iranian government. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad played his cards very well. Why do I believe this? Firstly, the Iranian government is not North Korea. North Korea has no diplomatic relations, and any member of the American or British government would have themselves captured, without warning. Iran, on the other hand, has some diplomatic relations with the UK, and a better relationship with the UK than the US. Had these sailors been American, this standoff would've gone on for a much longer time.

I also believe that Mahmoud played his cards well because of the fact that he held these sailors for 13 days, and the UK was powerless to do anything. If they tried adding sanctions, Iran would've held the sailors for a longer time, and maybe deny oil to the West as well as other goods that the West needs. Iran played their game very well, and there seems to be no real issue that the families have with Iran or the government.

I don't think that this had anything to do with the uranium enrichment thing. I think this was just to show that Iran has power, and they will use it against anyone that should go against them. Great show Iran!

The way that the American media handled this was of course, the way they would handle it with any of their enemies. What they did was interview the former hostages of the American embassy siege. Times have changed since then and Westerners aren't looked in a bad light anymore. If you're a visiting Westerner, with blond hair and blue eyes in Iran (Even if you're from Israel), you're taken in with open arms. You will feel welcome in the country from wherever you're from now. The dark days of the revolution are over, the people want to get on with life, the governments don't!