setting the bar

happiness vs sadness...
contentment vs disappointment.

yep, today is results day.
and i am seeing many different reactions being expressed online.

some people are happy.
some elated.
some just thankful.
some lament.
some complain.
some promise to do better.

essentially it's whether you are satisfied or not...
do you sincerely accept it?
or does it feel difficult to stomach?

i guess, whether we are satisfied with our grades can only be determined by our own expectations.
i'm sure we all already had a preconception beforehand; a rough gauge.
and whether or not you reach this bar determines your level of satisfaction.

say you aimed for a 4.0...
roughly speaking, a 2.5 would be devastating...
a 3.0 would be sad...
a 3.8 would be disappointing but you'd want to work harder next sem...
a 4.1 would probably evoke a sense of relief...
a 4.5 would make you feel happy.
and a 5.0 would totally exceed expectations.

so how high did you set your bar?

yes, expectations kill.
but i don't see how we can 'not expect'.
you would have to have some form of expectation.
and even if you honestly didn't have any beforehand...
when you eventually get the results, whether you are satisfied or dissatisfied will tell you where your expectations lie.

slow is cool

last night, i rediscovered how enjoyable playing the guitar is again.
i think it has this cathartic effect on me man.

but wow, when i picked my guitar up last night, it felt as if the last time i touched it was devastatingly long ago.
you see, ever since the holidays began, i've been busy trying to keep myself busy...
so much so that honestly speaking, i really haven't played for a while now.
and we are currently standing at 3 and a half weeks.

which led me to think, why?

why all this pre-occupation, till even taking time off at night to chill and play the guitar is forsaken?
isn't this the holidays? and aren't we supposed to rest and relax?

life shouldn't always be a rush, and we shouldn't be working all the time.
like all those people in the streets, the train stations, the commercial districts...
why are they always rushing?
for buses, for taxis, for trains.
even on foot they walk at a blistering pace.

and for what purpose?

rush to wait, wait to rush...

sometimes in life, it's about slowing down to enjoy the view.
to appreciate those around you.
and to cherish the moments.

there's really no point rushing everywhere if you don't stop to take a good look around you once in a while.
i believe the journey matters more than the end point yea?
so if you're one of those people, always rushing head-down from point A to point B...
do slow down once in a while and take a good look around you.

ever finally reached your destination but couldn't remember how you got there?


what do i have to do?
to try to make you see
that this is who i am
and it's all that i can be


i won't let you go
i won't let you down
i won't give you up
don't you give up on me now...

hopeless love

melancholy threatens to engulf me tonight.
and therefore i shall retreat to my bed and attempt to escape.

tomorrow will be a new day; a new experience.
semper fi.

hopeless love, why did you carve your home in me?
this broken heart is too weak to hold your weight;
and now i regret the day we met
help me forget... your name

in fitness and in health

i'm really determined to put this new fitness regime into action.
so i'm putting it out here. (anyone keen to join me, please feel free)

2-3 times a week.
of running, plus sets of static exercises after.
push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups, flutter-kicks, bridges, crunches etc.

slowly, running intensity and distance will increase.
repetitions per exercise and number of sets too.

and not only fitness-wise, but health-wise as well yeah;
'cause what's a good fitness regime if you're still eating junk?

so less alcohol.
less beer.
less hard liquor.
no fast-food.
no kfc crispy chicken skin.
no fried lard in bakchormee.
less mcdonalds.
less salt on the fries.
less sugar in the milk tea.
less fizzy drinks.
as so on so forth.

basically, cut down on unhealthy foods.

with sufficient discipline i will be very fit come start of school.
and the vjc motto seems very apt here so i shall say it again.

nil sine labore.


my brother had a book he would hold with pride
a little red cover with a broken spine
on the back he handwrote a quote inside
"when the rich wage war, it's the poor who die"


with hands held high into a sky so blue
as the ocean opens up to swallow you

nothing without labour

sometimes you play better.
you dominate the game.
you create more attacking chances.

but against the run of play, your opponent scores with their only chance.

then early in the second-half, your player is brought down resulting in the opposing goalkeeper being sent off.
but the referee judges the foul to be just on the edge of the box.
no penalty.

and the possession turns strongly in your favour.
you hold the ball and try to break them down but they're one man down.
they park a bus in front of their goal.
from 4-4-2, they are now playing 8-0-1.

you hit the crossbar with an overhead kick.
you tap the ball into the goal and send the crowd into raptures.
but it's offside.

and in the dying minutes of injury time, you hit the freekick and the ball seems to curl and nestle into the top corner.
the crowd goes crazy but no, it's the side-netting.

and then the final whistle goes.

the opposing team celebrate in pure elation while you stand in despair.

sometimes in life that happens, just like how it happens in soccer.
you may play it better but you may not win.
but that is the reality of the beautiful game.

at the end of the day, it was a good fight.
there should be no regrets as long as you gave it your best shot.
and i must say that i'm very proud to be a victorian.

the way we sang our school anthem today seriously filled me with pride.

nil sine labore.

Victoria in Singapore
There are other schools we know
Victoria is something more
The school that watched us grow

For here we've learnt and striven too
And played the sportsman's game
Victoria we give to you
The honour that you claim

Victoria, thy sons are we
And we will not forget
Victoria, thy triumphs see
And victories we share yet

For others came before and went
And carried to the world
Victoria's fame and our intent
To keep her flag unfurled.

all in

great event today, good experience.
plus fun, laughter, peace and joy.
it's nice how one-day events like these always turn out to be awesome.
not just pay-wise, but experience-wise as well.

met some new friends today, as well as some "old friends"...
from nus, fass... smu, ntu... from vjc even...
man is the world linked.

also, saw many things during the 8 hours there...
saw the good side of some.
saw the ugly side of others.
saw some lend a helping hand.
saw others snub their noses.
saw some take the initiative.
saw others who didn't care.
saw victory.
saw defeat.
saw triumph.
saw anger.

but i think at the end of the day, what remains the most important is that we give it our all, in all that we do.
at the very least, for all the important things that we do.

seriously what's the point in putting in only half the effort.
lol unless you are trying to prove something...
hmm but that's a different story haha maybe another day.

bottomline is: don't be a half-fuck.



oh btw special mention today...
happy birthday to stan the man!
here's to more legendary moments to come bro, cheers

advocator of good

when somebody litters as if they own the road...
when an old lady is being bullied by an unreasonable customer...
when a suspicious bag is spotted outside a bank...

what do you do?

i get really disturbed by the bystander effect.
and what they call the diffusion of responsibility, is scary.
for how can it be that, as the number of people (or passerbys) increases, the chance of someone in need receiving help, decreases instead.

what happens here is that when people spot someone in distress, they tend to 2 rules...
first is the rule to help someone in need.
second is the rule to conform to what other people are doing.
unfortunately, in most cases the second rule overrides the first one.
therefore as everyone passes by somebody lying motionless in the middle of the street, nobody stops to help the poor fellow just because no one else is either.

so, it's fucking time to stand up to all this nonsense.

when something isn't right, set it right.
when somebody needs help, offer a hand.
when somebody is being bullied, stand up for him/her.

it's time to advocate good, albeit in a fucked up way.
but that's totally acceptable, 'cause it's what the scumbags deserve.

haha on a totally different note i'm quite grateful that i passed by 2A lesson 1 today.

i knocked down the slalom cone twice, and went off course in the middle of the practical.
but in the end, still one of the 3/9 riders who passed.

hope good luck today doesn't mean bad luck tomorrow.

well life is like a shadow
it never stays in one place
hell i'm standing here anyways
however long it takes to steal your heart


i'm gonna' steal your heart away