Inspiration Words: Pilot and Light
Feng Zhanqi (fuhng jahn chee) stepped into the airplane hangar, savoring the last few seconds of bright sunlight. He walked toward the Boeing 747 and thought about how he would fix the problem in the small engine room. He would probably spend most of the day crammed into the small room with one of his colleagues, trying to find the problem and figuring out how to fix it. At the thought of the long hours in the darkness, he already missed the sunlight he had left behind him.
We’ll probably be working on this airplane for the rest of the week at least. Zhanqi grabbed his tools and headed toward the plane.
Zhanqi had only graduated from college a couple of months ago, and he was still getting used to the rhythm of life in the hanger, fixing airplanes. He loved the work—he loved being around airplanes and making sure they were working properly so they could go where they needed to go, but he missed being in the sun.
Since he lived in Hainan, he still had time to go to the beach on the weekends. He would soak up as much sun as possible, saving it for the coming week when he’d be cloaked in darkness inside some obscure part of whatever plane they were checking or fixing.
After a full day of analyzing the problems in the confined area, Zhanqi headed home. To save money, he lived in a small dorm-style apartment near the hangar with three of his coworkers.
“Hey Zhanqi, do you want to go out for some barbeque with us tonight?” As he slipped off his shoes, his coworker and roommate grabbed his shoulder and tried to push him back out of the door.
“Come on, man, you know I have to study tonight.” Zhanqi laughed and continued into the small apartment.
“But you study every night! It’s time for a break.”
“Not this time.”
“But you don’t take the test for four more months!”
“That’s exactly why I need to study. I’m not gonna get my pilot’s license by eating barbeque.”
“I don’t get why this is so important for you—we already have a great job.”
“Of course, it’s a great job, but can’t you imagine how wonderful it would be to be flying those planes instead of fixing them?”
“Ok, fine, suit yourself.”
After his roommate left, Zhanqi boiled a pot of water. He dropped in a few vegetables he had picked up on his way home, then some noodles, and finally, two eggs. He glanced at one of his books while he waited for everything to cook and continued reading while he slurped down the noodles.
He checked the time on his phone before washing the dishes. 7:30. If he could read this book for an hour and a half and the other one for another hour and a half, he could squeeze in a quick shower and still be in bed by 11:00.
Nearly every day for the next four months, Zhanqi followed this routine. Sometimes, he took a break from his noodles and books to eat dinner with his friends from university or get some exercise at the beach, but he stayed up an hour later on those nights to make sure he still got a few hours of studying in.
When the weekend for the test came, Zhanqi was less nervous than he expected. He headed downtown and arrived at the testing center thirty minutes before the test was supposed to start and confidently wrote his answers to almost all of the questions. The hours of studying had paid off, and he felt certain he would pass.
After the test, he went home. He would have to wait for a month before the results were released, and even though he was confident, he still had a small fear that maybe he had misread some of the questions or didn’t know the information as well as he thought. The only thing to do was wait. And in the meantime, he needed to start preparing for the next exam, in case he passed this one. He expected the best and wanted to start preparing early for the next step.
When the results came back that he had not passed, Zhanqi was shocked. What had gone wrong? He had prepared so well, and he had been so confident on the test. Did he read the questions wrong or put them in the wrong section on the answer page? There was no way to find out. All that work; all those hours of studying, and he didn’t pass. Zhangqi exited out of the website where the results were posted and stared blankly at the screen.
“Did you get your test results back yet?” His roommate asked.
“Yeah, I didn’t pass.”
“Really? Man, that’s a bummer. I thought for sure you would have passed.”
“Yeah, me too.”
“Well, on the bright side, at least now you’ll have time to hang out with us more.”
“Actually, I’d better review all the material and try to figure out what I missed. I’m gonna take the exam again next year.”
“But surely you can afford a short break. You have what, like, eleven months to prepare?”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right. Maybe I could use a break.”
“Glad to see you outside of the dorm room, Zhanqi!” His roommate said at the barbeque restaurant as they picked apart an eggplant covered in minced garlic later that night.
“Enjoy it while it lasts! Soon I’ll be back to those books. Next time I will definitely pass. But for now, at least we have jobs, right?”