Merry Christmas and a happy New Year

Alright people, I will be leaving for Paris in a couple of hours time.

Will be there till 1st Jan 2007.

Not sure excited is the word to describe how I feel now. But certainly full of anticipation.

So I wish u guys a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!!!!!!

See u in 2007!

“一将功成万骨枯“

一将功成万骨枯。。。

不知道为什么会突然想到这句话。想了想又觉得这句话包涵了一些人生道理。

从字面上理解，这句话是说一个领袖的成功背后一定要做出很大的牺牲。至于是否是那个领袖本身作出的牺牲还是别人为他的付出则因人而异。

历史上对“一将功成万骨枯”这句话的印证多不胜数，罄竹难书。从三国诸侯争霸天下到共产长征，哪个不是血与泪把领袖的名字刻在史书上。这种例子不只在东方，西方也有。例如French Revolution。

如果是你，你会愿意做那个“成就大业”的“将领”吗？

凭着他人的牺牲而换来的成功，值得吗？这样做对吗？如果目的是出于大义或为他人，那也许牺牲是值得的，是应该的。但如果是为了一己私欲，那么牺牲到底是为了什么？一个人又凭什么要别人为自己付出？难道要像曹操宁可负天下人也不可让天下人负他？

如果你是那个做出牺牲的人，你又如何知道你的付出是有价值的？当一个人要另一个人为自己做事时，总会陈述自己的论点，提出自己的理由。同样的，一个“将领”也能把自己说得像是替天行道，出师有名。更可怕的是这些所谓的“领袖”总有过人的智力以及说服力。

如果你是那个“将”，你会愿意背负众人的期望吗？这种心理压力不是每个人都可以承受的。这就是为什么人类社会体制里有“领袖”这个角色。一个真正为他人服务的领袖更是难能可贵。因为除了心理跟智力要比一般人强以外，他也要有范仲淹“先天下之忧而忧，后天下之乐而乐”的心。

我想要看清楚这一切必须靠“信”这个字。相信自己的心。相信自己的眼光。相信自己的能力。相信别人对你的信心。相信天。

话说回来，难道得到些什么就得失去些什么？也许是罢。有得必有失。或许这世界真的是个zero sum system。如果这样的话，那是否代表每个人在生命的尽头都无善无恶，无喜无悲？这样的话，我们从现在起无善无恶，无喜无悲， 以免日后大善大恶，大喜大悲。哈哈！

我相信不是这样的。人生不是一个zero sum。得到未必是好，失去未必是坏。塞翁失马焉知非福。

或许失去让我们学会珍惜，学会放开。。。

Cold! COld!! COLd!!! COLD!!!!

It's REALLY starting to get cold here.

Averaging 0 to 2 degree celcius lately.

I went to school today during the afternoon, it was cold as ever. Midday and it was gloomy and cold. No sun, no nothing. It's as if all the moisture from people's breath has condensed the moment it touches the freezing air and covered up the sun.

Wore a pair of black pants (saving my jeans for Paris), definitely not enough. The moment I stepped out of the house I knew I was in for a LONG walk to school. The cold simply penetrated my clothes like hot knife through butter. So I walked like a "stick man" (straight hands straight legs) to school.

Did my work. Decided to go home. The moment I went outside I thought,"Now that I am here, I seriously don't want to walk back. Let's just stay indoors..." So I went to the library, picked up a copy of The Economist to read.

Talking about The Economist. I really should get back to my regular readings of this very informative and entertaining magazine. Used to subscribe. Ever since ORD didn't have much time or motivation to read.

Anyway had a rather leisurely time reading the magazine. Decided to brave the colds and make the arduous trip back to hall. It was getting dark (4pm). Gotta get home before it gets EVEN COLDER!

When I got back to my room, hot soup immediately entered my stomach. Yep, that's right. I had put my slow cooker to good use again! Haha!.Pop! out comes the Pringles and all was well...

Now I'm satisfied...

Went to Riley's at Shephard's Bush yesterday.

Join the "Riley's" club. Its nothing big just a membership so that you can play at the club. Paid 5 pounds for it. Didn't think much about it at all since my hands were ITCHING for pool. Almost made a wasted trip there. Because they needed a proof of address to join.

I was like WTH!!!! It's just a pool hall man. Why do I need a proof a address? So I gave the staff a super duper sian diao look and they let me join without the proof of address. I knew it! How are they gonna make any money like that if they refuse customers like that?

I think they made the concession partly also because I whipped out my Imperial Student ID and I was carrying my cues (which shows that I am a serious player, not a trouble maker). Anyway, I made it in.

Paid 10 pounds for the "Play all Day" plan. The plan actually allow the players to play from 11am to 6pm for 10 pounds. I was there from 2pm to 6pm. That meant hourly rates even lower than that of KPool and Orchard road. Besides pool for 4 hours straight ALONE, is more than enough man. I am a mere mortal, not a god. There's no way my attention span could go beyond that at my current level.

I was happy during that 4 hours. Sharp as a razor!!!! Haha!

It has been a long time since I played with my beloved pool cues. Almost forgot how it felt. The soft hit of my Viking F90 and the thunderous break of my Gino Ferrari. Magnificent. Wonderful. So used was I to my lighter snooker cue that initially I really wasn't used to the table and cues.

But after a couple of racks, it was business as usual. The balls are spinning the way I want them to
and stopping where I want them to (more or less! haha!). The table was of good quality. It turns out snooker had done my game more good than harm. My cueing was more consistent, my aim has never been better and I was able to impart more spin to the cue ball. It's strange though. I was always under the impression that I have stayed faithful to my pool strokes but somehow snooker just made my cueing better. There's less fluctuation in my stroke and I could keep my eye and concentration on the ball better.

Potting and placing have improved, I would say, even though I was away from the game.

Another thing worth mentioning is my break. That's another strange thing. In snooker I don't normally use strong strokes (even if I do, they don't work most of the time! haha!), but when I was breaking with my Gino, I was potting at least 1 ball quite alot. My break has improved it would seem. Perhaps it is due to an improvement in my stroke. I could keep my aim even if i try to hit harder. Perhaps its due to my Gino. Never really realised the breaking power of my "metal rod" Gino in the past I guess. The ang mohs there didn't break as hard as I did. That's for sure. Even when some of them tried to! Haha! No la, strength wise I admit they are stronger. But I guess they don't know the technique and they don't have my Gino. Haha!

Lastly, it's my draw shot. Improved significantly from what I last remembered it to be. Gotta thank snooker again. Back in Singapore, I was trying SO HARD to get the cue ball to come back to me and it didn't work. Now, with the same cue, it takes much less effort. Shiok shiok ka li pok!

Blissful 4 hours I would say. At the end of it, I was spent but nonetheless happy. Glad I had not lost my pool feel. Also it reminded me of the time when I was playing in KPool with Mr Gan and when I was playing with Etch WYWY and Soon. Happy days...

Almost forgot how real soup tastes like....

Finally got down to using the slow cooker that my mother insisted that I bring over. Guess her judgement is much better than mine when it comes to household matters.

Used it to cook some herbal chicken soup.

Here, we seldom have soup due to a lack of time. It's been at least 2 months since I have had REAL soup, as in the kind I used to have at home.

One of the best meals since I came to London...

I've never thought of that before

I was in the toilet going about my usual "business".

I saw the tap that was installed in my hall toilet and I thought how lousy the UK taps are.

Most of them don't even have the hot/cold water mixing function. As in the basin has 2 taps. 1 for hot water and the other for cold water. That's so unfriendly. Sometimes the hot water's too hot. But if you use the cold water tap, it's WAY too cold.

Even though my hall has those adjustable temperatur taps (I will call them ATTs), it's still not as good as those in Singapore. Here you only get to adjust the temperature. And the water pressure is miserable. On top of that, some of the ATTs don't even have a stable temperature (like those in the kitchen). You can actually feel the temperature oscillate periodically between that of the hot water and cold water.

Unbelievable.

I was lamenting the inferior quality of ATTs in such a developed country when I realised that I was being quite unreasonably fussy, especially for a person who went through NS. So "Singaporean", as many people would put it. Or is it?

Just as I was celebrating this "revelation" and feeling happy that I have uncovered "yet another important and seldom seen" fact of life/Singaporeans. Something else struck me even more.

Back in Singapore, I didn't have to worry about ATTs. Did I?

Think about it....
(I'm not just talking about how comfortable the Singaporean lifestyle is.)

Rare Occurrence

Was playing minesweeper.

The box with the number "8" came up. It essentially means that all the boxes around the numbered box are mines.

Not exactly the discovery of the century. But most certainly quite uncommon.

Everyone go watch Death Note

Watching Death Note now.

One word, "WOW!"

至理名言 12

淡泊以明志，
宁静以致远。

School's Out!!!

Today is the first day of the Christmas Holidays.

It seems everyone is in a Christmas mood. Excitement is in the air as everyone embarks on their overseas holidays. Even I am feeling it too.

It's good man.

There is one thing though. I will be more or less the only Singaporean left in the hall for around 9 days. After which I will be the only Singaporean not in hall for the following 8 days. Haha!

Maybe I should have planned my holiday better? Maybe not. It was my plan to spend Christmas and New Year abroad anyway.

However this is something that I did not really foresee when I decided to go on my Paris trip. Abit lacking in foresight I guess.

In my previous post about my Paris trip, I mentioned the trip being some sort of test or challenge. Now from the way I see it, the next 9 days in hall presents a challenge in itself! Haha! I guess this is the time for me to really sit down and do my work without any interference AT ALL. Wonder if that's a good thing... Well I'm gonna find out for myself pretty soon.

Still haven't really figured out where I am gonna go on which day of the trip. Don't think that will take up much time anyway. How hard can it be when you are travelling alone? Of course, I do have an idea of what are the places I wanna go, just that I haven't plan when to go. On top of that, I wanna leave enough flexibility to take part in whatever new year or christmas celebrations they have there.

We'll see...

An old familiar feeling...

Went to Riley's pool hall today. It's practice for an English 8 Ball pool competition.

Discovered English 8 Ball Pool today. Vastly different from American 8 Ball. Both in terms of strategy and physical characteristics (i.e. ball and table size.)

But no matter what it is, as long as it is a pool table, I am in my element. Had alot of fun today. Won quite abit.

What was most gratifying was the sight of a TRUE BLUE 9 FOOT AMERICAN POOL TABLE. Finally, after 3 long months, I see a decent pool table.

Althought I did not get to play on the american pool tables, I will be back. With my pool cues, I SHALL RULE THE UNIVERSE!!!! Haha!

When I was playing English pool just now, though not the same as American pool, it felt somewhat like I was in Singapore again. Playing with Soon, Wywy and Eugene at Pool Factor. Playing with Mr Gan or alone at Lot 1. Something which I miss terribly. Something which I hadn't done for some time.

An old familiar feeling....

回首当初

仓促间，差点就忘了。。。

(from Daoye's Blog)

至理名言 11

路遥知马力，
日久见人心。

Something short

I noticed that alot of my blog entries are quite long.

Thought I might wanna write something short for a change...

How much can a human being take?

Just finished reading Mo Yan's Big Breasts and Wide Hips. It's a translated version. The original name in chinese reads 丰胸肥臀. Quite good, although in my oppinon the style is not so easy to appreciate.

This book was originally banned in China. After reading it I could more or less see why.

The story revolves around the Shangguan family. The central characters include Shangguan Lu (the ill-fated daughter-in-law who later evolves into the pillar of the family), Shangguan Jintong (her degenerate son) and her seven daughters. The interesting thing is that almost all of Shangguan Lu's children are fathered by different men, while she was still the daughter-in-law of the Shangguan family. (Now now people stay calm, don't get too excited. Haha!) The story takes the reader through pre-revolution periods to the Communist era in China and spans 3 generations (from Shangguan Lu to her grandchildren).

In this book, the role and status of women in the old china is fully portrayed in its grimmest and most raw form. It shows how women were confined by traditions (e.g. foot binding, a painful and disabilitatin procedure) and seen as child bearing machines. The only way for them to escape from suffering is to bear a son. Which is why Shangguan Lu had so many daughters fathered by different men (her lawful husband was impotent) before finally bearing a golden son (Jintong, literally). Likewise for the daughters who naturally took a backseat when it comes to the needs of the son.

The son, Shangguan Jintong, got whatever he wanted because he was the only son. And because of this, he was never really weaned of breast milk. This sort of relates to the central theme of breasts in this book. Jintong's reliance on breast milk had become his weakness, his fatal wound that doomed him to a life of failure. At the same time, Jintong's reverence of women drew a stark contrast to what was generally happening in the society at that time.

However, instances of women rising up to the occasion, often above men, were numerous in this story. Shangguan Lu's mother-in-law, the de-facto head of the family, is one of those examples.

Shangguan Jintong led a life full of ups and downs, all of which had something to do with breasts or women. From an outsider's point of view, Jintong is an utter failure. A drag to his family who had to protect him all the while in the turbulent years. Truly a useless piece of shit by any standard. But the author chose to tell his story through him.

The author embedded a rebellious attitude into the story. Throughout the story you see people struggling to break free of the shackles of the old china and later the communist china as well. Rebellions and illicit affairs were like undercurrents which kept the story moving.

During the turbulent times, wars were fought, won and lost. Friends and enemies lived and died. This is the aspect which the author chose to illustrate in the least shy manner. Details of rotting corpses and starving people were exagerated and described to the fullest, as if in an effort to depress the reader. I guess this is also one of the good points of the book. The author expresses his feelings not just through the words he writes but also through the way he writes.

How the people suffered during those times....

Pride, dignity, honour and loyalty had no place in the face of survival.

At the end of the book, you would have read so much of people dying and how they suffer under the harsh circumstances that you feel kind of numb about it. Of course the author does let light into the story and there are some parts in which the characters had some good times. But the feeling of suffering and rebellion stands out.

In the book, the characters suffered loss of kin and friends and all sorts of hardships. One of the daughters was forced into prostitution to keep the family alive. Some of them driven to madness. Some became the playthings of powerful men. And stuff like that. On top of that, you see the hardships that the people around the Shangguan family had to endure.

You ask yourself," How can anyone take that?"

Perhaps to people like me, this is truly unimaginable. Perhaps this is a question that the characters of the book did not have the luxury to ask. Perhaps in a situation like theirs, all you can do is to do your best to survive.

At the end of the story, my feelings were mixed.(I won't tell you what's the ending. No, not to keep you in suspense or anything. It's just that I would have to include a whole lot of other things and that would make this entry excessively long.) Somehow the author had me on a journey and returned me to square one, back to where the journey started. Perhaps this is something that you don't really get in life, a fresh start.

I have not included all the details in this blog. It's really beyond my ability to try to illustrate everything and do the book justice at the same time. For those who don't mind the sometimes exagerated style and the sexual references AND you have the time, you may wanna read this book.

至理名言 10

玉可碎， 不可改其白；
竹可焚，不可毁其节；

Bath and Stonehenge

Went to Bath last weekend(2/12/06 to 3/12/06).

Wonderful wonderful trip I have to say. Everything just fell together nicely.

Weather was DEFINITELY on our side. Before we went we were still worrying that it might rain. In the end, well, it did rain. But only when we were sleeping or indoors. Other than the wind, which was perpetually blowing in our faces, the weather was nothing short of perfect.

We arrived in Bath at around noon time. Zhonghan's friend, Jinpeng, received us and orientated us to Bath. He took us to a field close to our hostel to see the city view of Bath. It was breathtaking. Everything looked so sharp and defined and bright. The air was so so fresh.

Then we went to the stonehenge, the "highlight" of our trip. I have to say, although the stonehenge is literally just a bunch of rocks, the sense of history is overwhelming. ( I will elaborate on this feeling of history later) The scenery of the countryside was breathtakingly beautiful.

That night we ate in an indian restaurant called Pria. When we reached our hostel, we left our bags in our rooms and headed back to the field we went to early in the day. (Joanne stayed in as she was tired, I think). At night, the view is very much different. Since we were the only ones there, there was a serene atmosphere lingering in the air. The openess of the field made the night view of Bath even more beautiful. (sorry no photos of the night view. cos i not power enough. ahaha!) Zhonghan, Teresa and I stayed there, doing nothing. Simply enjoying the peacefulness and openess of the whole situation. I guess at the end of the day it was the atmosphere rather than the view that made everything so wonderful.

The next day we ALL attended a church service. Because the girls are christians. Haha! Kind of funny when you think of the fact that a person like me actually went to a church service. Quite an experience I must say. Of course I didn't kneel or say prayers and stuff like that. But I felt the strong spiritual strength amongst the people in the church. Such is the feeling I find in most proper places of worship. The church we went to was called the Abbey. Its a very old and beautiful church. The whole of the Bath city centre basically revolves around this christian landmark. (Didn't dare to take pictures while inside the church. Scared kena thrown out. Haha!)

Then we had breakfast at a place called Sally Lunn, which happens to be housed in Bath's oldest house. There it is said the bread is made using an ancient recipe. I don't know about that. But I do know that the HOMEMADE BRANDY BUTTER HALF TOASTED BREAD was fantastic! Sure packs a punch in the morning! Haha!

We ended our trip with a trip to the Royal Crescent (where Johnny Depp is said to have bought a house), feeding swans, playing in the playground and finally a visit to the Roman Bath. (Come on. You go bath of course must go Roman Bath la!)

There is this feeling of rich history which I constantly get in Bath and at the stonehenge. Undoubtedly, these places are places with unimaginably rich history. The fact that when you place your foot on a ledge and at that very spot another person from another epoch could have also put his foot there, is amazing. There so much to see, so much to take in. We kept taking pictures till our memory cards ran out of space. It simply feels too good to be able to immerse yourself in such a wealth of history.

Throughout the trip, the group was very light hearted and relaxed. That's the way uh-huh uh-huh I LIKE IT!! So fun. Hadn't been that happy in quite some time. The company in this case is crucially important. A group of people with the common aim to relax and have fun. No one was too uptight or too slack. Everything was just right. We talked, just about everything. As we strolled through the streets of bath, the erm... what's the word..... ah yes, "qi" of the group if I may put it that way, was harmonious and simply wonderful. (Wow! it must have been a better trip than I thought, for me to use the word "wonderful" so many times)

Looking beyond the tangible aspects of the trip itself, I guess we must really cherish how things come together so nicely and naturally. The weather, the place, the people, everything. 天时，地利，人和缺一不可。 As natural and beautiful as water flowing down a river. Things don't always happen like that. So when such situations do happen to us, we must remember it, cherish it and write about it in a blog. Haha!

Along the way back, funny incidents like how the waiter at the Indian restaurant tried to chase us out to make space for other customers and how Joanne was like kicking herself over buying a dress (which I thought was very nice) that cost her 25 pounds flashed in my mind. I think there were instances when I smiled to myself. Hope Joanne didn't see this. Otherwise she think I SIAO! haha!

So we made it back to London. I sent Joanne home while Zhonghan sent Teresa back to hall. Somehow this weekend though eventful passed like a blink of an eye. What a fantastic weekend. Good times do fly by. I'm sure everyone in the group felt that way. Anyway that concludes our weekend trip.

Oh yah, before I end. I just want to say, some people DEFINITELY came back to London with more than just some souvenirs and a bunch of photos! Haha!

Bath and Stonehenge Pics

Looks like I am falling off a tree right?

The most famous bread in the oldest house in Bath

Breathtaking scenery at the stonehenge

Zhonghan stunned...

Bath has this very "old" feel to it...

That shuai ge's me by the way....

Hey! That's the stonehenge you know!

Ooh... What do we have here?

Our hostel. On top a hill with a wonderful view.

City view of Bath near our hostel

Teresa and I listening to the audio tour at stonehenge

The Group (Han at the camera)

WA!!!! Sadako!!! Don't kill me!!!!

Stonehenge Stonehenge here I come

Going to the Stonehenge tomorrow. Yes, it's THE STONEHENGE.

Quite excited. Of course the trip is not just about the Stonehenge. Will be stopping in Bath too to do some sightseeing.

The group members are Han, Teresa, Joanne and moi.

Starting to travel out of London liao. There will be more trips out of London from now on since I've done quite abit of touring within London already.

Hope it doesn't rain tomorrow. Otherwise the Stonehenge area will get all muddy and dirty.

Actually I don't expect the trip to be those kind of "fun" fun. I am expecting a more "eye-opener" kind of trip. I mean afterall the Stonehenge is one of the most prolific ancient relics.

Quite a few firsts on this trip. First time to stonehenge. First time to other parts of UK with friends. First time staying in a hostel (as in the hostel type of hotel).

Will take some pics and post it here...