Nibbling Away at My Soul ...

obligatory journal 003 & trying something new 002
casting away and waiting ...

Fishing. I never really get the allure of this particular hobby that my third brother is so and still so passionate about and even my mother voiced her interest to go and have a family trip to fish at a lake somewhere. I never had any intention to do it myself but my one and only best friend currently, Gabriel Samson, being an outgoing person as he always is, managed to set up a fishing trip at the paddy field with a colleague at his school. Besides a female friend visiting from Negeri Sembilan (literal translation is Nine State), he invited me to join him and I accepted his invitation without thinking much about it. Going to buy the bait first at the nearest fish shop, I had to ask her how tall she was since she appeared to be taller than me and here I'm almost never around a girl that rival my own and her only wearing flats is a testament to her height. When I found out she's actually just below me and Gabriel for only a couple of centimeters, maybe the way she carried herself made her appear tall in my eyes and since I learned to do so by straightening my back when I learned army marching before, I really appreciate that. If you've listened to my podcast before, it's just like him to state the obvious: here we were, three different people with different race and religion a la 1Malaysia (you would know if you're a recent resident ... it's basically a government mandate of a call for acceptance and unity for its multi-diverse citizens although our country never really have that kind of problem recently), going for a hobby each of us never really familiar with. Which was why when we get to the first fishing spot on top of a rickety wooden bridge over a small river/ravine, we felt really out of place figuratively and literally as we were handed a rod each and tasked to put the bait we bought earlier to good use. I brought over a few rods and a reel my brother left at home but it turned out the latter was actually for deep sea fishing while only one of the former was used since the teacher's family had some rods to spare for us to use. The method they used to fish here was actually beneficial for us beginners since we only use a simple rod each with a line tied to the end with a cricket at the end of the hook as bait. Truth be told, all of us weren't looking forward to put on the bait ourselves and since it's my first time as well, I had to put on a brave face with the girl at my side as Gabriel was being his usual loud and spontaneous self with all of the family members. We never really got the chance to properly sink our bait before we were whisked away to another spot that's more viable according to the seasoned anglers (something about the murky 'coffee-colored' water) and along the way, I was amazed and at the same time tickled by her reactions to everything she saw from the paddy field to the concept of big scoop used for fishing and understandably the craving for hot pisang goreng or fried (floured) bananas. Finally stopping in front of a bigger river and cleaner water just in front of a house (that was actually the teacher's sister's house), we finally prepare ourselves for the long haul as every rod was pulled out of the cars and we chose our own individual spot. It was retroactively and in the moment actually a beautiful sight to see the family members from all walks of life spending time together over a shared love of a hobby while us the strangers being welcomed in with open hands. What I learned that day is that the mechanic of fishing is simple and mostly it depends on luck for us beginners but when every family member started to pull up fishes left and right every five minutes or so, I could surmise that every little knowledge that's gained from experience. I know there's a thing called beginner's luck which was proven that day by how fast the Gabriel's friend got her own catch: literally under five seconds. I on the other hand didn't really fare so well as I was getting used to it and after a few nibbles here and there, I then knew that I had to straight away pull up the rod after the nibbling instead of letting them eat through the bait.Gabriel though was actually feeling a bit competitive and rather whiny when he couldn't get any and started to change from one rod to another without any succession. Disclaimer: I'm really bad with names and although I did ask her name when we first met, I proceeded to talk to her in English and never said her name again which was rude of me and I could never remember to ask her name again. Since I was situated beside her for the remainder of the session, I tried to be a gentleman and take care of her as much as I could, taking care of the hooking the bait duty and covering her back with my own scarf (it's an army cloth ... I'm not that kind of person) since her back was exposed when we're sitting on the ground and leaning to the front. Mind you, I do find her attractive and her appearance certainly helped (a simple form-fitting white long sleeved shirt and jeans) but I was being cautious and just wanted to be a good company by making small talks and joked around. It's been almost three years since my last relationship and I never had any experience with any girl from different race which is why I would never have the confidence to do so but in this instance, the opportunity came to me and I made the best of it, hoping her to at least appreciate the effort (which she did according to Gabriel the next day). This post is supposed to be about the fishing but now doubled as my journal entry. Nevertheless, I now get the allure of this particular hobby. Although I never learned the more intricate nature of the mechanics, the simplicity that day helped me to get the essence: the decision to pick your spot and go through with it, the calm wait and the tension of anticipation for the bait to do its job, the sudden rush of adrenaline when the fish was nibbling and the decisive decision to decide when to finally pull up the rod. Unfortunately I couldn't get to the final step which is the rush of elation and excitement when you get your just reward dangling at the end of fishing hook but I was just happy to experience the nibbling sensations over and over again that I even pulled back my head out of frustration that I banged my head on the ground behind me. All and all, it was a really nice experience, with the girl adding two more fishes to her tally while Gabriel finally getting his elusive catch and calming down after changing his spot to another rickety wooden bridge and I just had a great time with everybody especially because of the teacher's family's welcoming hospitality (they even served bandung drinks from the house for us to drink). After coming back home from the outing, I inexplicably got a serious headache and a strong case of fever and had to retire early and sleep it off with a couple of Panadols and a fever medicine the day after that my mother had to buy at the pharmacy. Nevertheless, it never detract me from going for another round again with my friends or even by myself down the line.

~

+ Highlights +
the new experience of fishing for fishes,
learning the mechanics of the hobby,
the rollercoaster of emotions,

having a great experience spending time with my friends and a typical Malay family.
- Lowlights -
experience the game of waiting myself but that's part of it though,
not getting the elusive catch of my own.

~

Lesson Learned:

Again, you'll never know how it feels until you do it yourself!

time: from 3.30-6.30 p.m., 19th of February, 2017