Update On Life So Far

Well, it's already the mid of August isn't it? *sigh* Anyway, recently things aren't that smooth flowing as I would've liked. Too many things are just happening at the wrong time, wrong places and to the wrong people. Gosh...guess this just bumps up the meaning of "haywire" a few notches huh?

And, no, my troubles aren't school related.

This just leads me to re-examine 1 of my axioms of life, that being:

"We only live for a few decades anyway, why not enjoy life as much as we can?"

Sadly, being mortals, we are all encumbered by troubles that usually just comes with it. Humans, after all, are the wisest of all living organisms (so called) therefore, it isn't surprising that we are periodically given problems and hardship, or tests of faith, just in case we forgot how to use the lump of grey matter in our skull.

So, sorry Julian, that axiom of life of yours has gotta be put aside for the time being...

Hmmm...just hoping that there's a better tomorrow somewhere, someday, sometime...

Preferably tomorrow! :)

The new Wimbledon champion is....

...RAFAEL NADAL!

...*gasp*...Would you believe it? The Clay Court King is now the Grass Court King! Federer, the defending champion was beaten 6-4, 6-4, 6-7, 6-7, 9-7 in an absolute thriller of a final. What an upset, as Federer was on a roll coming into the finals.

Well, this just shows that life is anything but predictable.

Oh well, at least Lewis Hamilton winning the British Grand Prix in Silverstone doesn't come much as too big a surprise. But he's also the underdog coming into the race. Must say though, his winning margin of 68.6 seconds is incredible.

Incredible day for sportsmen and the underdogs to achieve the improbable, not impossible. Just like Spain winning EURO 2008...anyone gave them a chance when they played their 1st game?

Life is full of surprises.

Busy, busy, busy...

You may think that after the exams, life would be more relaxed. Wrong! In fact, it's gotten just a tad bit more hectic. Though it's not exam-related-hectic, thank God for that!

The International Trade Challenge, ITC for short, is part of the YE programme that is currently ongoing. The perk is: grand prize is worth US$2,000! Now, isn't that motivating or not!

Of course, prize money aside, the road to the 2K is quite a long and tedious journey. So better start sowing the seeds if it's a good harvest we are looking for. And we are!

Hmmm...speaking on the ongoing EURO 2008 in Austria and Switzerland, I just can't believe that the Dutch got eliminated by the Russians! Let's see now, Germany kicked the crap out of Portugal, so they're in the semis, facing Turkey, who also outscored the Croats in penalties (3-1, would you believe that!). And now Russia will face either Italy or Spain, whoever that wins tonight's crunch match in Ernst Happoel Stadium, Austria.

Personally, I hope the Spaniards will make it throught to the semis. Let's hope that Torres, Villa and co. will bring their scoring boots along and send the Italians home! Fingers crossed!

PS: Christopher Paolini's last book (presumely) of the Inheritance trilogy is finally coming out! Yay! After such a long wait, this better be good, Mr. Paolini!

It Just Occurred To Me...

It just occurred to me that sometimes we tend to contradict ourselves, don't we? To put it in simple words, we humans in general tend to be hypocrites, whether we want to or not.

Weird huh?

Well, I did a little reading up on Wikipedia and found this:

"Hypocrisy (or being a hypocrite) is the act of opposing or not purporting a belief or behaviour while holding the same beliefs or behaviours at the same time, or vice versa.
Hypocrisy is frequently invoked as an accusation in debates, in politics, and in life in general."

True. So in simple terms it means that being a hypocrite is not practising what we believe in, or taking certain actions that contradict our beliefs, at times. Well, that happens quite often, don't you think? But what we do to contradict ourselves are mainly small matters to ours and other people's eyes. Though it may seem as something trivial, the fact remains, we humans are hypocrites, to a certain degree.

Let's look at hypocrisy on a more serious note then.

Quoting Wikipedia again, linguist & social analyst Noam Chomsky defines hypocrisy as the refusal to "apply to ourselves the same standards we apply to others". Now Mr. Chomsky is no ordinary rambler, he is the professor emeritus of linguistics at the Massachusets Insitute of Technology (MIT), so basically, his definition of hypocrisy is not baseless.

According to Prof. Chowsky, hyprocrisy is also 1 of the central evils of society: it promotes injustices such as war. At the same time, also promoting self-deception, including the belief that hypocrisy is a necessary or beneficial part of human society.

In a nutshell, we are hypocrites because the world in all believes that hypocrisy makes us truly human, which is purely bullsh*t.

We don't have to be hypocrites to be human.

Bullsh*t, I'm being a hypocrite by saying that.

You know why? That is because the society nowadays is built not on trust, not on integrity, but, yes, hypocrisy. It is embedded in modern, so called civilized people, ie: us. So deep within us that hypocrisy does seem to be like a part of our genetic makeup. Haha, how ironic.

Based on current events, I don't think there's a hope for people to move away from life without hypocrisy. Hypocrisy is everywhere! We just need to flip through the newspapers and we can find HYPOCRISY virtually staring you straight in the face. *sigh*

The best we can hope for?

Keep hoping.

Knackered

Picture courtesy of jerryreynolds.com

I'm knackered,

So tired that I feel like,

Just dropping on a bed,

And sleep the hours away...

I'm knackered,

The past week has been,

Busy and sapping indeed,

24 hours a day just ain't 'nough.

I'm knackered,

My eyelids are heavy,

The bed beckons,

But I can't sleep just yet!

I'm knackered,

Hold on, Jules!

There's still work to do,

Sleep has to wait...

I'm knackered,

Rubbing my eyes I sighed,

Perking up I say,

"Here we go again..."

Is it possible to have more than 24 hours a day?

Well, so that we can use half of the time to sleep & recharge our batteries.

Wishful thinking, I know, still, it doesn't harm to wish... :)

Life Without Inspiration

What is life,

Without inspiration?

It is aimless,

Like a rudderless boat,

Driven by the wind and waves,

Uncertain without direction.

Steered by uncertainty,

An aimless person roams,

He stumbles in the dark alley,

Hoping for a brighter road ahead...

Hope remains hope,

If he doesn't seek it out,

And grasp it by it's neck,

Never releasing it again.

Grasp hope by it's neck,

And from it wring out,

All the inspiration there is,

To carry us on in life.

Inspiration only directs us,

While we tread alone to the light...

The Best Way To Manage Stress?

"You have to do..."

"I want this on my table by..."

"Have you washed the dishes?"

"What are you waiting for? Get your ars# moving!"

__________________________________________________
We face stress at almost everything we do, every single day, don't we? Stress is just such a pain in our behind, isn't it? Don't we just wish that we can crumple up 'stress' like a piece of waste paper and chuck it into a bin labeled 'Your Stress Here Please'? Ah, if only life is that easy...

Anyway, there IS a way to deal with stress. It's such a common thing that we do, and yet it never fails to work wonders. Have I got your attention now?

It's simple. Really.

The answer?

SMILE. :)

Yes, smile, people! Smile in the face of stress. Dare it to wipe that smile off your face. Trust me, it can never wipe it off. All the stress in the world will wilt in the bright radiance of a smile.

How you any idea how powerful is a smile?

Have you ever experienced this? Picture yourself walking along one normal day. Someone passed you on the opposite direction. You look up and met his/her eyes. Plain strangers and yet, he/she smiled at you. You felt something uplifting and you smiled back. You moved on and you thought: The day seems brighter, doesn't it?

There you have it. Even a smile from a total stranger can brighten up our day. And that's from a stranger!

So when you're overwhelmed by stress, just face the mirror and smile at yourself, at the same time telling stress: "Come on, I can take you on. You're not that tough after all!"

Or put down everything you're doing that's pissing you off, close your eyes and think of something that makes you happy for 30 seconds: be it your loved ones, your dog or whatever. It'll sure bring a smile to your face and you'll feel refreshed after that 30 seconds of recharge and continue tackling your task, but with more drive and determination now.

So who says that we should bow down to stress? Why should we give in when we possess the most effective counter-stress at our disposal?

All it takes is just 30 seconds and a nice, sincere smile.

It isn't that hard.

So what are you waiting for? Start smiling! :)

Earth Day

It's World Earth Day 2008

Hmmm...what do we do on World Earth Day? Basically, it's just the same as any other day, isn't it? The world doesn't grind to a stop on World Earth Day, life still goes on...and on...and on... :)

OK, what about Earth Day then? Discovery and Nat Geo has been talking bout April 22nd for the past few weeks. And HBO's airing Al Gore's 'An Inconvenient Truth' tonight! Gonna watch it, the reviews were pretty encouraging.

So, Earth Day. A quick check at wikipedia.org tells us that it was founded by a certain US Senator Gaylord Nelson (unique name, don't you think?) way back in September 1969. Gee...isn't that when the Americans first went to the Moon? Anyway, it was decided that Earth Day shall be held annually at April 22nd henceford.

What's the purpose of this Earth Day?

It is actually the day when we, Earthlings, stop and ponder about the state of our dear old planet Earth. The pollutions and destruction we caused in the name of development. The implications of Earth's severe condition and it's implications to our future. And of course, what can we do to save our dear planet Earth.

Well, ironically, are we only supposed to think of these issues on Earth Day alone? Does this mean that for the other 364 days that we have in a year, we can forget about Earth's deteriorating condition and carry on polluting and developing without giving a damn about the effects our actions might cause? Hmmm...that's not very eco-friendly of us, isn't it?

Therefore, we should always be aware of the perils that planet Earth is constantly facing, and not only being concerned for the sake of April 22nd being Earth Day. It is our responsibility and our obligations as dwellers in this beautiful planet to protect it from being destroyed by our very own hands. April 22nd is only to commemorate Earth Day as a day where we give an EXTRA thought to the well-being of planet Earth.

Protect Earth, my fellow Earthlings! For it is the only planet that's able to support life in this solar system. Yes, there may be traces of water in Mars that may be a potential dwelling for humans, but until further evidence is uncovered, there's just Earth. So let's not condemn ourselves to doom by ignoring the plights of Earth. Let us fix this mess we created and create a better future.

"We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our
children." ~Native American Proverb

We owe it to the future generations.

Morning

The morning Sun rises,

From far the early bird chirps,

In the cheery morning sounds,

Peace is just such a bliss.

The cockerel crowed,

With it the whole world awakened,

I opened my eyes,

And smiled at such gorgeous skies!

"Good morning, God!"

Said cheerfully did I,

"Oh God, morning?"

Groaned from the smelly pig sty.

A new day has arisen,

With it new challenges lie,

Tasks to be done,

And dreams to be set fly.

____________________________

Put on your boots then, my friend,

For it's a pretty long hike,

Quick, quick! Move fast we must,

If we want to catch a ride.

"Don't forget your breakfast!"

Mummy was quick to imply,

"Oh well, we'll just grab a toast!"

Was our eager quick reply.

Good morning, Sunshine,

How have you been?

I wish it'll be a good day ahead,

The morning just makes me keen!

Julian Wong

Promises, Promises...

How hard is it to live up to our promise?

Sheesh, that's a tough question, man!

And yet, how hard?

You want an honest answer? A seriously honest one?

Yes.

Well, it's a colossal task for some, and yet, it's as easy as snapping your fingers to others.

And what about those who can't snap their fingers?

Um, well...

I'm waiting.
It's easy, just plain easy, mate.

______________________________________________________

Fact: The difficulty of keeping a promise varies from person to person.

Well, OK...I guess I can live with that. But what bugs me more is that there are people that make up lame excuses in their effort to cover their, um, behind after being caught with their pants down for not fulfilling their promises.

Well, not with their pants down literally.

But still, isn't it annoying that at times we just find it hard to keep certain promises? Yes, we as in everyone in this rotating, spiralling planet Earth. Everyone's failed to deliver upon their promise before.

Everyone. I'm not proud of it, but i've done it.

The difference is that some do more, what should I say, frequently and in a greater scale than others. Well, mostly this applies to politicians or leaders of nations. Why am I not surprised?

It's really funny of human beings that they tend to be forgetful at times. Yup, forgetful is just the word to describe us. *sigh*

Question: So what can we do to avoid promising upon promising and failing upon upon to keep our promises? The solution?
Easy! Don't promise at all! As if that's gonna solve our problems.


Nope, we cannot NOT promise. You know why?

That's because promises bring forth hope. Promises bring forth faith to the people. Promises give people the strength to believe in you. Promises can do a lot of things, if used appropriately.

Therefore, we should harness the power of promises and use it to wisely, and not like a drunken who rattles on through the night about giving charity and yet, forgets about all of it in the morning.

Question: How do we fully utilise the power of promises?
Easy peasy.

1. We take a deep, deep and thorough look into ourselves.
2. We identify our strengths and weaknesses.
3. We identify our abilities and ask ourselves: "Can I really do this?"
4. If the answer is "Yes", we proceed. If it's "No", then we think of something else that's within our abilities and we are perfectly able to fulfil.
5. Now, only then, we make a promise.
6. And we deliver!

Now that is how we fully harness the wondrous power of promises. Doesn't it look promising already?
Think about it.