Taking a step

I'm normally not into politics and consider myself a peace-loving hippie person. However, its hard to ignore all the politics and news that is flying around lately. I can't go anywhere or do anything without seeing political hype. Don't get me wrong, I'm not against politics and I'm not against people who are into politics. Neither is this post about politics.

For those who don't know, every year, the Boys' Brigade of Malaysia have their Brigade Council Meeting and every alternate year, there would be an election. This year BCM was held over last weekend. It was important to me because its election year and this year, I accepted the nomination to compete for the position of Vice-President of Boys' Brigade of Malaysia. But I guess God has other plans for me because I did not get the post.

After the results was announced, some came to me and said , "I voted for you", which made me happy; some said , "At least you were brave enough to stand up", which I agreed. It's mighty hard and it takes courage and a conviction. Some said, "I am sorry, you didn't get it." Truth is, I am fine. Of cause it hurts, that's the ego saying that I've lost; but more that aside, and I'm OK.

So what made me came to the decision to put myself on the frontline. I thought to myself that since God opened doors, why not? For me, its always a privilege and honour to be able to serve Him. Not everyone is called, and if He calls me, who am I to say 'No' to Him?

When I said 'Yes' to the nomination, I told myself that whatever the results is, I've leave it to God. No campaigning for votes, no talking to people to make myself a better candidate. I wasn't being passive. I did share my belief with those who came to ask me. But results, I left it to Him. Whether if its a 'Yes, you are ready' or 'No, not ever' or 'Maybe, in the future', I believe He knows best.

Oh, I did struggle, knowing deep down I am not qualified, I do not have the experience and just possibly, I might let people down. But I believe that if we all were to remain in that thoughts, we would not move forward. We will all be stuck in the mud of fear and failure.

Change is good, change keeps us moving forward, change gives us vision. No doubt, change can be for better or for worse. But if we don't take the first step, we will never know. A little change, a lot of change, whatever it may be, I call it moving forward. I call it one step closer to achieving my dreams.

KL State Contingent during the 49th Brigade Council Meeting @ Georgetown City Hotel, Penang. I love this picture because its the 1st time after 5 years that the entire Kuala Lumpur is represented.
From left to right : Capt. Nelson Lim (1st Seremban), Capt. Andy Tan (4th Kuala Lumpur), me (10th Kuala Lumpur), Capt Jacob David (2nd Kuala Lumpur), Lt. Leong Soo Ming (1st Kuala Lumpur), Hon. Capt. Tony Chow (Kuala Lumpur State Commissioner , Hon. Capt. Aaron Tan (3rd Kuala Lumpur), Capt. Nicholas Yeap (12th Kuala Lumpur). Capt. Goy Su Ling (6th Kuala Lumpur) is not in the picture as she has already left the venue. 

Me not getting the post of the Vice President does not mean I've failed. It does not mean that people are fear of change. It does not mean that we are not moving forward. (I believe that the new Brigade President will bring about changes.)

But as for me, I know that I've changed. I know that I'm moving forward. I know that I've overcome my fear. I can now say that I've tried. I've stepped out and it made a difference.

Not being a Vice President does not mean that I cannot continue fighting for my beliefs. There is still other platforms, there will still be open doors. I will continue working towards my dreams and vision. I will continue making this world a better place. I will continue making a difference.

Let us all not be held back by fear of the unknown, let us take a step forward towards our dreams.

Sunset @ Tioman Island

Some random photos taken during my previous diving and chilling trip to Tioman Island.. 

  

Beautiful sunsets, chill out time, perfect. 

I got poisoned, by my dive master

Last Friday, my SIL & I decided to go diving. We booked out tickets and 36 hours later, we arrived in Redang Island. We did 2 dives on Sunday and another 3 on Monday. Sunday night, our dive master talked us into rental an underwater camera and I don't regret it. Not one single bit. It was super fun and made the dives more interesting. Here are some of the shots.

SIL and I, all set to dive. 

 Our Dive Master, Tim, gave me lots of pointers and tips on underwater photography. This are some of his shots that I like. 

OK I got to admit. The 1st time I held a camera, it was total failure. Ugly shots and lots of 'lap sap' aka rubbish, coined by our dive master. Here are some of my shots, mostly cropped, to save myself the ugly truth embarrassment. However, no other editing was done, so colour is original. 

 Lots of Nemos, cause I like Nemos. And they are the easiest to capture :)

The surge was really strong and I had a hard time steadying myself. 

 Lots of dead corals and brown rocks. Very sad :(

This is what happens when you go diving with so many people. All crowding around just to spot a nudibranch. Hahaha.. Nah, it was worst on our last dive when a big group of students joined us. I kept bumping into legs and tanks and bodies, or had someone's flipper in my picture. 

A selfie at the end of the dive, before boarding the boat. 

After getting scolded by Tim again for all the rubbish photos, the last dive was much better. I was steadier, was not so afraid to get closer to the subject and was more relax. However, I accidentally change the setting and most shots came out blurry and the colours were not sharp. I can just go shoot myself in the head. -_- So disappointed. Anyway, here are some shots that are passable. Some of them are cropped, to remove all the unwanted 'lap sap' but besides that, no other editing. 

Crown of thorns. Beware!!

Blue-spotted Sting Ray. It was the nearest I could go. We also saw a turtle but it swam away before we could get a clear shot. 

Sea grapes!!

Feather Star. 

Black Fan Coral. 

Finally, a fish. Super hard to get a clear shot as they move so fast. 

And finally, if you can spot it, a faraway, blurry picture of a giant barracuda right in the center. I didn't dare go closer. After that, Tim took the camera back and record a video of it. (Will try to upload it to Youtube)

And finally, finally, a picture of me - diving :) Yay!! Super happy that I had the opportunity to take photos. I think I'm hooked. Time to get an underwater camera!!! Woots!!

Need to relook my underwater hairstyle. 

So yeah, tell me what do you think. Do I stand a slight chance in underwater photography or just tell me if I should just pack my gears and head home?