Memories...
Monday, September 29, 2008
WHAT A WEEK
Indeed. Must say it was a highly eventful week ahhahaha.
Thank You Dinner on Tues.
Falling sick on Wed. (no that wasnt enjoyable at all heh)
IKEA twice on Thurs. =)
Free GoldClass movie at Vivo with AO colleagues on Fri. Btw, Mamma Mia rocks man! haha! "Dancing Queen" scenes keep reminding me of Bobsie!
Catching up with Steve & Nengjin & watching United destroy Bolton on Sat.
Cracking F1 race on Sun!
Hope for another great week ahead! n_n
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
THANK YOU 28TH, JIAYOU 29TH :)
Well, time flies. Another year of Thank-You Dinner's gone..and the 28th has stepped down. Seems like only yesterday when I saw them step up.
Must say the video played at the end was really heartwarming. =) Together with the dinner itself, it really fills my heart with pride, bliss, and indescribable happiness seeing how Arts Club has continued to grow.
Shifty remarked to me that she feels glad that 26th appears to have laid down a lot of foundations for the future. I certainly hope so, but I think every MC since the past has contributed in their own respective ways, both big & small. =) The impt thing is that the Club continues to move forward and in the 29th, I have absolute confidence that they ll do well too.
Wasnt feeling v well todae and had to see the doc. Hmmm, seems like the virus is spreading around haha.
I took this from Lynette's blog. Really interesting & thought-provoking speech haha.
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This article is actually a speech by Adrian Tan, a litigation lawyer at one of Singapore's leading law firms. Outside the courtroom, he is known for a variety of funny things, including The Teenage Textbook,
which he wrote in the late 1980s. The Teenage Textbook was converted to a movie in the 1990s.
This is Adrian's speech as a Guest of Honour at an NTU Convocation
Ceremony this year to the graduating class.
Here goes:
"I must say thank you to the faculty and staff of the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information for inviting me to give your convocation address. It's a wonderful honour and a privilege for me to speak here for ten minutes without fear of contradiction, defamation or retaliation. I say this as a Singaporean and more so as a husband.
My wife is a wonderful person and perfect in every way except one. She is the editor of a magazine. She corrects people for a living. She has honed her expert skills over a quarter of a century, mostly by practising at home during conversations between her and me.
On the other hand, I am a litigator. Essentially, I spend my day telling people how wrong they are. I make my living being disagreeable.
Nevertheless, there is perfect harmony in our matrimonial home. That is because when an editor and a litigator have an argument, the one who triumphs is always the wife.
And so I want to start by giving one piece of advice to the men: when you've already won her heart, you don?t need to win every argument.
Marriage is considered one milestone of life. Some of you may already be married. Some of you may never be married. Some of you will be married. Some of you will enjoy the experience so much, you will be married many, many times. Good for you.
The next big milestone in your life is today: your graduation. The end of education. You're done learning.
You've probably been told the big lie that Learning is a lifelong process? and that therefore you will continue studying and taking masters? degrees and doctorates and professorships and so on. You know the sort of people who tell you that? Teachers. Don't you think there is some measure of conflict of interest? They are in the business of learning, after all. Where would they be without you? They need you to be repeat customers.
The good news is that they're wrong.
The bad news is that you don't need further education because your entire life is over. It is gone. That may come as a shock to some of you. You're in your teens or early twenties. People may tell you that you will live to be 70, 80, 90 years old. That is your life expectancy.
I love that term: life expectancy. We all understand the term to mean the average life span of a group of people. But I'm here to talk about a bigger idea, which is what you expect from your life.
You may be very happy to know that Singapore is currently ranked as the country with the third highest life expectancy. We are behind Andorra and Japan, and tied with San Marino. It seems quite clear why people in those countries, and ours, live so long. We share one thing in common: our football teams are all hopeless. There's very little danger of any of our citizens having their pulses raised by watching us play in the World Cup. Spectators are more likely to be lulled into a gentle and restful nap.
Singaporeans have a life expectancy of 81.8 years. Singapore men live to an average of 79.21 years, while Singapore women live more than five years longer, probably to take into account the additional time they need to spend in the bathroom.
So here you are, in your twenties, thinking that you'll have another 40 years to go. Four decades in which to live long and prosper.
Bad news. Read the papers. There are people dropping dead when they're 50, 40, 30 years old. Or quite possibly just after finishing their convocation. They would be very disappointed that they didn't meet their life expectancy.
I'm here to tell you this. Forget about your life expectancy.
After all, it's calculated based on an average. And you never, ever want to expect being average.
Revisit those expectations. You might be looking forward to working, falling in love, marrying, raising a family. You are told that, as graduates, you should expect to find a job paying so much, where your hours are so much, where your responsibilities are so much.
That is what is expected of you. And if you live up to it, it will be an awful waste.
If you expect that, you will be limiting yourself. You will be living your life according to boundaries set by average people. I have nothing against average people. But no one should aspire to be them. And you don't need years of education by the best minds in Singapore
to prepare you to be average.
What you should prepare for is mess. Life's a mess. You are not entitled to expect anything from it. Life is not fair. Everything does not balance out in the end. Life happens, and you have no control over it. Good and bad things happen to you day by day, hour by hour, moment by moment. Your degree is a poor armour against fate.
Don't expect anything. Erase all life expectancies. Just live. Your life is over as of today. At this point in time, you have grown as tall as you will ever be, you are physically the fittest you will ever be in your entire life and you are probably looking the best that you will ever look. This is as good as it gets. It is all downhill from here. Or up. No one knows.
What does this mean for you? It is good that your life is over.
Since your life is over, you are free. Let me tell you the many wonderful things that you can do when you are free.
The most important is this: do not work.
Work is anything that you are compelled to do. By its very nature, it is undesirable.
Work kills. The Japanese have a term Karoshi, which means death from overwork. That's the most dramatic form of how work can kill. But it can also kill you in more subtle ways. If you work, then day by day, bit by bit, your soul is chipped away, disintegrating until there's
nothing left. A rock has been ground into sand and dust.
There's a common misconception that work is necessary. You will meet people working at miserable jobs. They tell you they are making a living?. No, they're not. They're dying, frittering away their fast-extinguishing lives doing things which are, at best, meaningless
and, at worst, harmful.
People will tell you that work ennobles you, that work lends you a certain dignity. Work makes you free. The slogan "Arbeit macht frei" was placed at the entrances to a number of Nazi concentration camps. Utter nonsense.
Do not waste the vast majority of your life doing something you hate so that you can spend the small remainder sliver of your life in modest comfort. You may never reach that end anyway.
Resist the temptation to get a job. Instead, play. Find something you enjoy doing. Do it. Over and over again. You will become good at it for two reasons: you like it, and you do it often. Soon, that will have value in itself.
I like arguing, and I love language. So, I became a litigator. I enjoy it and I would do it for free. If I didn?t do that, I would?ve been in some other type of work that still involved writing fiction ? probably a sports journalist.
So what should you do? You will find your own niche. I don't imagine you will need to look very hard. By this time in your life, you will have a very good idea of what you will want to do. In fact, I'll go further and say the ideal situation would be that you will not be able to stop yourself pursuing your passions. By this time you should know what your obsessions are. If you enjoy showing off your knowledge and feeling superior, you might become a teacher.
Find that pursuit that will energise you, consume you, become an obsession. Each day, you must rise with a restless enthusiasm. If you dont, you are working.
Most of you will end up in activities which involve communication. To those of you I have a second message: be wary of the truth. I?m not asking you to speak it, or write it, for there are times when it is dangerous or impossible to do those things. The truth has a great capacity to offend and injure, and you will find that the closer you are to someone, the more care you must take to disguise or even conceal the truth. Often, there is great virtue in being evasive, or
equivocating. There is also great skill. Any child can blurt out the truth, without thought to the consequences. It takes great maturity to appreciate the value of silence.
In order to be wary of the truth, you must first know it. That requires great frankness to yourself. Never fool the person in the mirror.
I have told you that your life is over, that you should not work, and that you should avoid telling the truth. I now say this to you: be hated.
It?s not as easy as it sounds. Do you know anyone who hates you? Yet every great figure who has contributed to the human race has been hated, not just by one person, but often by a great many. That hatred is so strong it has caused those great figures to be shunned, abused, murdered and in one famous instance, nailed to a cross.
One does not have to be evil to be hated. In fact, it?s often the case that one is hated precisely because one is trying to do right by one?s own convictions. It is far too easy to be liked, one merely has to be accommodating and hold no strong convictions. Then one will gravitate
towards the centre and settle into the average. That cannot be your role. There are a great many bad people in the world, and if you are not offending them, you must be bad yourself. Popularity is a sure sign that you are doing something wrong.
The other side of the coin is this: fall in love.
I didn't say be loved. That requires too much compromise. If one changes one's looks, personality and values, one can be loved by anyone.
Rather, I exhort you to love another human being. It may seem odd for me to tell you this. You may expect it to happen naturally, without deliberation. That is false. Modern society is anti-love. We've taken a microscope to everyone to bring out their flaws and shortcomings. It
far easier to find a reason not to love someone, than otherwise. Rejection requires only one reason. Love requires complete acceptance. It is hard work ? the only kind of work that I find palatable.
Loving someone has great benefits. There is admiration, learning, attraction and something which, for the want of a better word, we call happiness. In loving someone, we become inspired to better ourselves in every way. We learn the truth worthlessness of material things. We celebrate being human. Loving is good for the soul.
Loving someone is therefore very important, and it is also important to choose the right person. Despite popular culture, love doesn?t happen by chance, at first sight, across a crowded dance floor. It grows slowly, sinking roots first before branching and blossoming. It is not a silly weed, but a mighty tree that weathers every storm.
You will find, that when you have someone to love, that the face is less important than the brain, and the body is less important than the heart.
You will also find that it is no great tragedy if your love is not reciprocated. You are not doing it to be loved back. Its value is to inspire you.
Finally, you will find that there is no half-measure when it comes to loving someone. You either don't, or you do with every cell in your body, completely and utterly, without reservation or apology. It consumes you, and you are reborn, all the better for it.
Don't work. Avoid telling the truth. Be hated. Love someone.
You're going to have a busy life. Thank goodness there?s no life expectancy."
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Thursday, September 18, 2008
MY WIFE
Finally completed the last phase of zng-ing her today hehe. Time flies. She's with me for 4 and a half years lo.
Ahhh..all the fun, babes, and times we shared haha.
Feel much more shiok to ride now. =)
Sunday, September 14, 2008
What a weekend haha.
SHUT UP & DANCE was good. The highlight of the show for me & Siying was undoubtedly seeing my bro Sooze decked in sunglasses n grooving. Damn seh la. Plus he act had a SOLO dance performance! Sibei stylo xia. Piang, if i m a girl i also ll buey tahan heh. =)
I feel really happy for him for another reason though..haha...
On the downside, United lost. Xianz...but nmind! The season is still early! And I m sure we ll have time to pick up!
Goodnite world. =)
Saturday, September 13, 2008
I had another long and tiring week. But I felt more accomplished somehow..guess its the 3 month effect haha. Feeling much more comfortable esp as u have a much clearer idea of how to get things done...know more people, colleagues..and many of these colleagues turning into genuine friends that u have lotsa fun with haha.
A bit xian that I ll have to miss the Liverpool-United match tom night (esp with Berbatov's 1st game and the fact that i havent missed this match for countless years haha!), coz going to support Sooze's dance performance. haha. Then again, anything for u bro.
Time passes so fast. Before i noe it, its another weekend haha.
Monday, September 08, 2008
RAINY FANTASY
As the rain drops fall
And the cold winds waft,
I look at the words
From the same old world.
Simple words they may be,
But uplifting they sure can be.
I do agree with most of them,
"Aye Aye" here, and a "Aye Aye" there.
Drowning in the cold long night,
Chilling in a day of high,
Ohhhhhhhhh how I wish for a nice cold beer!
Hold a sec' make that a Bintang beer!!!
Add a cigar on my left,
And a shisha on my right!!!!
WAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA! I m the King of the World!
Wei wei wei,
Hocky ya' carried away.
Earth to u dude earth to you.
Control your fantasy as the red skies peel.
Sunday, September 07, 2008
ON ROP, 29TH MC, AND MY 1ST 3 MONTHS OF WORK
I took quite a while to recuperate from ROP camp. Yest's long sleep was sorta the last lap of recuperation haha.
Was my 5th ROP, and i guess each and every single one has brought me different & unique memories. Was glad to see many old faces including Aaron, Beng, Ridz, and appreciated the chance to work with the 28th & their affiliates. Also wanna thank Hwee Guang for inviting me back as evaluator, tho i m pretty sure i wont want to do chief evaluator again haha.
ROP is a very special Arts Club project, and 1 of the most impt ones. It not only allows seniors to know the new incoming batch better (vice-versa), but also helps the elects to noe more about themselves. Also provides a closure & a last chance for the outgoing com & affiliates to work tog.
Hope that this unique and distinct project can be passed on and on by future generations. =) Must say it was really heartwarming to see the 29th go thru the entire process.
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In life, there are lots of things we do not know. In fact, there ll always be things we ll never know. It is then up to us how we face these dark areas and plunge into the unknown.
I like the 29th MC a lot becoz they collectively give me a sense of having a very very good attitude to learn, to improve themselves, and a strong determination to prove their mantle. I really think they have immense potential if they keep up their open-mindedness & current attitude.
A lot of things which are dead and on paper can be learnt. It is those living attributes and qualities, things that are alive, that can never be fully taught.
I wish the 29th every success in their new term and hope that they ll keep the Arts flag flying high. =)
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3 months ago on this very Sunday, the Incredible Hock was feeling excited, yet a little apprehensive on what to expect on the 1st day of work. He wondered how his colleagues ll be, how his job scope ll be, how his bosses ll be, how his environment ll be etc. He wondered how things ll change after starting to work officially. He wondered whether he ll regret declining the offer from SIA. He wondered whether he ll see the world in a different light and lose the idealism that all undergraduates possess at 1 point or another.
3 months on, how has life changed? =)
1st of all, he has absolutely no regrets. He feels great that he listened to his heart and his sister's advice to take up this offer. Everyday at work is like a challenge to him, constantly learning new things and being plunged into the unknown.
He feels blessed becoz working in the aviation industry is really something that he had dreamt of since he was year 2. And indeed, it has been extremely dynamic just as what he had thought of.
He feels happy becoz he's got a great & humourous boss in Cheng Nam, a funny & determined assistant boss in Jan, a wonderful mentor in Su Lim whom he cannot thank enough for teaching & guiding him so much for the past 3 months. And of coz, all his other colleagues at T3 who have helped him to settle down in each of their very own way.
He also feels glad to have gotten to know other colleagues from T1, T2, and HQ much better over the last 3 months.
He doesnt feel as lost as the 1st week of work. He now has a much better idea of who to turn to for various tasks/projects, and how to prioritize his countless tasks. Though there is still tons for him to learn here.
Financially, he has become independent, a feeling and a status which he really cherish.
Friendship wise, he is glad that despite his hectic schedules at work, he has still managed to meet and catch up with many of his old friends, esp over the weekends.
Idealism wise, yes he has certainly toned down quite a bit, in the sense of being more practical and pragmatic about life in general. Somehow, working life does exposes one to some of the harsh realities of life. But it has also made him realize that work can never be finished, or rather, there ll always be work waiting for u, becoz unlike human beings, organizations, industries, & the economy ll never cease to exist.
Moving forward, the Incredible Hock hopes to deliver much more results & contributions to the T3 team & to the org. He hopes to balance his work-life relationship much better, improve his time-management at work, continue to keep in touch with his old friends, set up an official Arts Club Alumni, improve his fitness regime, and most importantly, continue to be happy with life in general. =)
