a nice day at the east

Went for a chalet yesterday and I think it was eons since I last went for a chalet. You know, that kind of class-gathering-and-bbq-together type of chalet. So it was kind of a surprise that Yandao Goh booked a chalet and extended his invitation to us for a 1 night chalet at downtown east.

Kind of fun to see everyone again since the exam ended. Haha… No one changed much, especially Xiao Pang who kept claiming (falsely) that he had slimmed down. Due to overprovision of the number of people coming, we had a lot of left over food. Xiao Pang tried his best not to waste all the food but alas, even someone like him have to call it a day. Heh.

Drank quite a bit I guess but it could be due to the fact that I am no strong drinker. Head was very heavy and eye lids too. Though I still can hear and see what is going on around me, my head seemed to be stuck to the bed and my neck muscle cannot hold my head up. Haha… Is this what they call “head spinning” after drinking? Virgin experience leh… Xue ren drank quite a bit too but he can hold his own. Danlin and Selene drank quite a bit too but the champion of the night goes to Tunz who reached a stage where she drank without knowing why she drank. Never mind, there’s always the big strong arm of the hairy rabbit to hold her eh? Dun eat her tofu ok? Hehe…

Kudos to the organizing committee: Yandao Goh, Marvin, DL who gave the overarching vision and expect us to make it happen (and we did make it happen). Thanks to Xiao Pang who demonstrated his agony of sleeping, Selene who showed us that a cooked lobster is no match for her red face, Mark for sharing his ghost stories, Tunz who showed us her drunken side, Rabbit who showed he can take care of a drunken girl, Yunru who showed her cocktail skill, Chunwei who drove me around, Leonard who came and left mysteriously and Dap who fed me with the food. Heh… Wendee wanted to come but she was bogged down by gastric. Hmm..

Oh yah, tried roller blading with Xiao Pang, Tunz and Rabbit earlier in the morning at East Coast Park. Damn, so hard to blade. I really really prefer to have no wheels under my footwear man. Tunz even tackled me once *blush* when we were playing catching. Rabbit proved to be elusive as he evaded all attempts to capture him. Wanted to go kayaking with Xiao Pang after the whole sorry saga but there was no time. I missed kayaking/canoeing. Haiz…

Backing a winning horse pays off

So nothing had changed. PAP lost only 2 seats, rendering the status quo unchanged. Chiam and Low must be having a field day at securing their 10k a month salary for the next 5 years. Kudos to all the new PAP MPs; you guys either won through walkovers or won because you had the backings of the more “established” MPs. I doubt you would have won if you guys went across the fence over to the opposition. This is what I call backing a winning horse.

In life, all of us want to win. Be it finding a job, getting the grades or even in computer games. No one likes to see the sign “Game Over” flashing and flashing all over again. No one talks about losers. That is why in Life, everyone wants to get that extra bit of advantage over others. That extra bit can come in the form of luck and/or knowledge and then when asked to share: “Don’t have lah… Where gooooot? Got meeeeh???”

To those who constantly want to get a better over others and to those who keep lamenting that you are no good, this is a message for you all (btw, I fall in the latter category): No one wins in life. In the long run, the small wins and losses here and there, coupled with huge wins and losses once in awhile, all cancels out. If everyone wants to win, who losses? If everyone is above average, what is average?

So. Do not moan what life had not given you but appreciate what life had given to you. I am trying to relearn the meaning of that statement everyday.

(Due to inability to find the lyrics on the net, I have undertaken the task to translate the lyrics)

There are many times when
We do not know what our self worth is
What should we do
So that we will not waste our lifetime

Are we important?
Are we small and insignificant?
Hidden deeply inside our heart
Will other people find it ridiculous?

Chorus:
Do not think of yourself as been useless
Do not always sit there staring at the sky
If you are unwilling to help yourself
Who else will there be to help you to succeed?

Do not think of yourself as been useless
Do not let self-pity stop you from moving on in Life
Everyone’s contribution is different
Perhaps, your contribution is the best type

(Repeat x1)
(Repeat chorus x1)


Some people think I am smart. I beg to differ. I had never been a smart kid. I worked extra hard to gain that edge over others. Bowling? Ktv? No thanks. I need to go home to read my textbook to confirm how many sides a circle has. I make mistakes, lots of them. I try my best to learn from them. I learnt the meaning of “high expectations” since young: Being in the special stream, I was required to clear my normal Chinese paper when I was in Sec 3. I do not really like Chinese and I hated my big red Chinese dictionary. I got an A2. I was devastated. Perhaps the peer pressure got to me. Most of my peers in my class got an A1. I felt left out in life. For the first time, and certainly not the last, getting an A was not enough.

In RV (yes, I was from river valley high), I remembered a teacher saying this (in mandarin of course). He said we will want many things in life. Unfortunately, wanting something and achieving something is very different. Indeed, after 24 years, what have I achieved? I wonder.

More on this next time.