Lousy, Tired and Sad

It's been quite a while since the last blog entry. Needless to say, most of the Lunar New Year holidays were spent on visiting relatives. Then back to relentless work, then steamboat with colleagues on Saturday and hosting 2 groups of former students on Sunday. Yes it was delightful to see so many familiar faces but too many things have been packed into too little time. My workstation in school remains messy as ever. Having difficult classes to teach isn't easy-going for me even with a reduced marking load. The reluctance of students to even do proper learning is enough to make anyone feel defeated.

Having a good sleep and waking up fresh sounds more like a dream than a reality to me. Even when my body is at rest, the mind refuses to stop and I wake up more a zombie than a human the next morning. Now, I begin to wonder if I should be on a You-Mei-Sho drip.

I have lost a couple of things these days. First of all, my black fan which I use for my taiji fan practices. Seems that it has disappeared into thin air after my Lunar New Year Celebrations Concert. Then my favourite Australian hamaetite ring gave way after I repeatedly slammed my palm on my marble floor. Although Jingyi was thoughtful to fix it for me, the ring refused to stay mended and I am now left with a fraction of the ring. Then, I have gotten wind that some orchestra members chose to skip practice for common test. If only they had been so serious during normal lessons, I would have supported their decision. However, those who were contemplating or actually guilty of the charges are those least serious in practice or schoolwork. So they don't deserve my understanding nor my forgiveness. Please lor, if you can't even handle 1 test per day, then don't convince me you can cope with 2 O level papers in 1 day! What a poor example of a stupid reason! Since the common tests will be over by Friday, let me turn on to SYF mode and proceed with intensive training sessions.

Visiting 101

This is the time of the year where people go around visiting their friends and relatives, but some "rules" have to be observed during these visits, so I thought it would be best to share them here.

When visiting a friend's/relative's/teacher's house,
1) Greet all elders in the house. It is basic courtesy to greet people when visiting other people's house. At least a generic "uncle" or "auntie" for elders and "gorgor" or "zehzeh" for older siblings.

2) Wash your feet in the laundry area or toilet if you don't wear socks or have taken them off. The perspiration from our soles will make the floor sticky, so do keep our feet clean so that everyone is comfortable.

3) Stay in the living room. Only treasure hunters and thieves roam around the house immediately. Enter other rooms only on invitation, don't wander around yourself and invade other people's privacy.

4) Treat the place as a museum. Don't touch anything that belongs to others unless given permission. What is worse than spoiling other people's personal items?

5) Beds are for sleeping. Don't sit, jump, lie on your host's bed as that is for them to sleep, not for you to play on.

6) Clean up after visit. Always help the host to restore the furniture back to their original places, clean up the area and throw away the rubbish before you leave!

7) Thank the host for inviting you. This is so that everyone will continue to invite you year after year!

By following the 7 pointers mentioned above, it will prevent a lot of unecessary unhappiness and let everyone enjoy the festive season. :)

Happy Lunar New Year

The New Year is just a few minutes away, so I would like to take this opportunity to wish all students a very Happy Lunar New Year. May all of them do well in all their subjects.

Also, despite me not being able to support my orchestra during the SYF Central Judging this year, I do hope they will try their best to aim for a silver award or better.

Finally, I would like to wish all of my friends and relatives good health and a smooth year ahead!

再过几分钟就要迎接新的一年了，在此祝愿所有学生新年快乐，学业进步。

同时也祝愿我的华乐团能够竭尽所能，在这次的青年节比赛中赢得银牌。

最后要祝所有亲友身体健康，万事如意！

愿大家心想事成！

Lunar New Year Celebrations

After much sweat and agony and courage, we managed to put up a decent Lunar New Year concert item. I must appluad those students who stuck with me till the end. I am proud to say that despite the lack of time to prepare for the item, they did pretty well on stage. Judging by the comments and cheers from the audience, I can say the shaolin martial arts segment was well received by the school.

I must also thank students for suggesting that I use Jay Chou's song for the item. Though some people feel that the tempo of the song was too fast for a taiji display, I thought it was good to play a song which the students were familiar with, is related to martial arts and have a distinctive Chinese flavour. The student performers cheered loudly and it seemed that the lower sec classes were more sporty and enjoyed the item. If I insisted on using the original music, the item would have been much slower and not so interesting. Although it was physically tiring for me, I must say that I was quite successful in capturing the audience attention and that Taiji can be quite hip. :) I know some students might think that I was holding back my smile, but I was actually smiling from the loud cheers from the student performers whenever the chorus was played. It was reassuring and delightful to hear the audience shouting the chorus in unison when I was executing all the moves. Maybe I should start a wushu enrichment in school...

经过一番辛劳，我校的春节庆祝活动顺利举行。尽管学生只有3次练习，我觉得他们在台上的表现还是值得鼓励的。至少他们提起勇气，认真地在台上把少林通臂拳打完。我想他们也应该为自己的努力感到骄傲，因为节目受到观众热烈的欢呼和好评。就因为他们能够坚持到底，我才会决定和他们同台演出，支持他们。

我也要感谢学生建议我用周杰伦的《霍元甲》作为配乐。虽然一些人认为《霍元甲》的快节奏与动作缓慢的太极拳格格不入，我还是坚持决定，因为《霍元甲》是学生熟悉的流行歌曲，歌曲包括不少华乐配乐，又让观众对太极拳改观，真是一举多得。42式太极拳原本需要7分多钟才能打完，但我仅仅用了4分多就完成。虽然体力消耗得快，但听到学生的掌声和“霍霍霍霍霍霍霍霍”，我还是觉得一切是值得的。有学生以为我是强忍笑声。其实在听到那班学生在为我呐喊助兴，我感到很开心，心情也没那么紧张了。或许我该考虑在学校办一个武术课程……

Rehearsals for Lunar New Year Celebrations

There will be a rehearsal for all performers for Lunar New Year Celebrations. It will be held at the hall from 2:30pm onwards.

For those who were sick in China when the rest were learning Shaolin Martial Arts, you guys will be required to find out about 通臂拳and introduce it to the school.

On the actual day, there will be 2 celebrations:
0730 - 0900: Lower Sec Celebrations, Upper Sec Class Party /Lesson
0915 - 1045: Upper Sec Celebrations, Lower Sec Class Party
1045 - 1100: Cleanup, dismissal by Dean/DM

With barely a week to refresh memories, train with the music, it is quite difficult to put up a decent performance. Maybe the one who WANTED the performance should personally take charge instead. I am personally not happy with the short time to prepare for so many things.

GCE 'O' Level Results

Yesterday was the release of the 'O' Level results. Our school has done quite well, and the Mother Tongue Department has not only maintained, but improved the performance of the students. We have a significant group of students who did well, scoring 5 As, 6As, 7As and even 8As. Well done to all the graduates of BBSS!

This marks the end of Secondary School education for them and the beginning of another phase in life. Best wishes to all and do hope to see them coming back to visit us often!

The Countdown Begins!

Now that we are all prepared to put up a show on Lunar New Year Celebrations, here's what was being briefed to all involved:

Practice Timings: Mon & Tue 3:30 - 4:30pm
Rehearsal Timing: Wed (prob 3:30pm onwards)
Items to bring: PE/sports attire (for practice)
Shaolin Tshirt & PE shorts (for actual performance)

We need to:
1) Refresh our memories of the movements
2) Co-ordinate our movements with the music I found
3) Co-ordinate our performance with PA/AVA crew
4) Familiarise with the stage, entering & exiting the stage
5) Allocate positions for all involved

CNY Celebrations (16/2/07, Fri)
0730 - 0900: Upper Sec Celebrations, Lower Sec Class Party
0900 - 1030: Lower Sec Celebrations, Upper Sec Class Party
1030 - 1100: Clean Up, Dismissal only after Deans/DM has checked and give clearance

The Edict has been issued!

圣旨已经传达下来了。正如我所料，去年参与中国之旅的学生必须将所学的少林拳搬上舞台与全校分享。所谓：“是福不是祸，是祸躲不过”。我早在去年就已经让他们做好心里准备，不要以为随便学学就算了。因为在出发之前，意思已经很清楚传达给他们，所以这次新春表演是势在必行。既然要做，就做得最好。既然要表演，就认真对待，让别人看了赞叹，而不是觉得自己上台很丢脸。要知道，如果这一点点演出都觉得丢脸，要不就是自己当初没有认真学习，要不就是唾弃自己的丰富文化精华。

不管别人怎么说，怎么嫌弃，只要自己尽力做得最好，那我一定全力支持到底！

The imperial edict has been issued. As expected, those who went for the China Cultural Trip last year are required to put up a performance to share what they learnt about shaolin fists with the school. Knowing it to be inevitable, I have put the point across clearly to those who went. Also, our leader made it known before departure that they would be required to perform what they have learnt, so this news should not come as a surprise to anyone at all. Since the task has been set, we should aim to do our best. Do it once, do it good, and get it over and done with. The worst type of mentality is to think that it's a disgrace to perform. Why? Because such an answer will mean that the student didn't take the experience seriously or was looking down at the rich culture and heritage. If you do your best and put up a good performance, who would be looking down at you?

Regardless of what others may say, I will only say I will give my fullest support to all performers as long as they are determined to do a good one!

I have lost 4kg in 3 days!

Sounds like a Marie France advertisement, doesn't it? Well, that is what it appears to be. After a prolonged 2 weeks of poor appetite and digestion, my gastric flu came back to haunt me again from Saturday (3rd Feb) till Monday (5th Feb). For reasons unknown to me, I have been getting less of those colds & flu which causes runny or blocked noses, but more of gastric flu where diahorrea and/or vomitting is common. Either the viruses have found new ways to attack human bodies or that my immune system weakened when the new year began with a myriad of activities.

In case you don't know what comprises a gastric flu, I will just "share" my experience here.
Poor Digestion
Bloated Feeling (Gas in stomach)
Stomach Churning
Recurring Diahorrea and/or Vomitting
Uncomfortable standing and sitting and lying down
Aching muscles for a brief period of time (a common symptom of flu)
Shivering when environment is not too cold (common symptom of flu)

Things I avoid consuming when having gastric flu:
Oily, fried, spicy, cold food
Big quantities of food/drinks
All diary products (yoghurt, milk, cheese, ice-cream, etc)

After abstaining from food for a quite a while, it is not a miracle that I lost weight. However, weight loss does not equal to fat loss, as not all fats are used up even if you do not eat anything, so this is never a healthy way of losing weight. In fact, I am concerned that I may have lost more muscles than fats after this recurring sickness of mine.

In short, a clean slate of good health is the most important asset we possess. I do not claim to be knowledgable even after repeated bouts of gastric flu, only to share the experience so that others may learn to take care of their health better than to suffer this similar predicament.

May all out there eat well, rest well and live well during this Lunar New Year festivities...

Brooding Nights

With daily mental exertions and long days, one will feel lethargic. The common sense is to retire to your bed, but the reluctance to rest lingers. Why? There will always be so many things to look forward to, for you have the pace you want to live in, the environment you relax in, and the mood you relish. I do not know about others, but there will always be things I will look forward to doing at night when I am far far away from work. Maybe it is my body telling me to relax and rest.

And thus, out of interests and restlessness, I continue to crave to be a creature of the night even as I combat my fatigue while getting my much needed rest.

Music of the Night

Just bought the new Evanescence album "The Open Door" not too long ago. Though it feels almost like the previous album "Fallen" I still bought it nonetheless. Perhaps I just find the dark and heavy melody reassuring and familiar. Such music portrays a dark and brooding atmosphere, and I liken that to vampires stalking the night. Maybe I was listening to a lot of Evanscence music when I started learning to play my Vampire Counts Army, and thus my brain connects the 2 together.

I am no fan of the horror genre, but vampires intrigue me. Not their thirst for blood, but their character so often described in books and movies. One can imagine a lone figure highlighted against the night sky, taking slow steady steps. Treading slowly but purposefully, nothing stirs in their dead, dark hearts. They embrace the long cold nights, maybe out of necessecity than interest. One can only wonder what stirs in their minds as they live from night to night for years, decades, centuries. Damned immortals, they are a bane to life, yet their fates are inevitably tied to all living beings. Ironic?

Ships to starboard side!

One can hear the bloodcurdling cries from a distance. As you approach the scene, a scene of chaos maximus greets you. Swerving through the waters, one can hardly stay afloat amidst the rolling waves and monstrous vessels flitting to and fro. Gritting your teeth, the best a captain can do is to avoid the monsters of the deep. Still, they charge through the waters in relentless waves. The only respite you will ever get is to leave the sea of chaos. The only consolation you will get is that others in the waters with you face the same fate. And seeing a familiar face.

Such is the only thing one will experience if you choose to swim in a public pool on a Saturday evening.

Song Lyrics

最近刚搜索到喜欢的歌词，现与大家分享：

《爱江山更爱美人》李丽芬
词：小虫　曲：小虫

道不尽红尘舍恋　诉不完人间恩怨
世世代代都是缘
流着相同的血　喝着相同的水
这条路漫漫又长远

红花当然配绿叶　这一辈子谁来陪
渺渺茫茫来又回
往日情景再浮现　藕虽断了丝还连
轻叹世界事多变迁

爱江山更爱美人　每个英雄好汉宁愿孤单
好儿郎浑身是胆　壮志豪情四海任名扬
人生短短几个秋啊不醉不罢休
东边儿我的美人儿啊西边儿黄河流
来啊来个酒啊不醉不罢休
愁情烦事别放心头

《广岛之恋》
张洪量，莫文蔚

你早就该拒绝我　不该放任我的追求
给我渴望的故事　留下丢不掉的名字

时间难倒回　空间已破碎
二十四小时的爱情　是我一生难忘的美丽回忆

越过道德的边境　我们走过爱的禁区
享受幸福的错觉　误解了快乐的意义

是谁太勇敢　说喜欢离别
只要今天不要明天　眼睁睁看着爱从指缝中溜走　还说再见

不够时间好好来爱你　早该停止风流的游戏
愿被你抛弃　就算了解而分离　不愿爱得没有答案结局
不够时间好好来恨你　终于明白恨人不容易
爱恨消失前　用手温暖我的脸
为我证明我曾真心爱过你
爱过你　爱过你
爱过你　爱过你爱过你　爱过你