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| This is coming in a little late, but hey there's more to life than in front of a computer..
Just thought of reflecting on the past 10 years of my life. The past decade was spent on completing my education and I sure hope that is where it ends as I get my final results on the 22nd of February. Passing it means I'll be officially a working adult come-March 1st.
I'll kick start with the year 2000. The year of the golden dragon, something which seemed like I had been waiting my whole life for. For the uninitiated, I have been crazy over lion dances my whole life and I was also proud of my Chinese zodiac being a dragon, and this year had both. This was also UPSR year, and I hated school. I used to get migraine attacks very frequently and missed a good deal of classes. I also had a weird problem where I used to get headaches by listening to music. The year ended on a low note as I did quite badly for my UPSR examination.
Year 2001 was the next big step for me, moving on to secondary school life. I turned over a new leaf, and started attending school more often. I also started getting active with co-curricular activities, but that didn't last long as by mid year, I quit all the clubs that I had joined. My exam results were good and I found a new love for mathematics, ranking among the top achievers in the form. I was also hooked on to yo yo-ing, something that I picked up two years earlier. Was also hooked to the Harry Potter Trading Card Game. The first Lord Of The Rings movie came out and blew me away. Shrek also became my favourite movie of all time.
Year 2002, I became a prefect for the first time. I started slacking like mad, and although my results weren't too bad, it was on a slow decline from my form 1 days. My love for anime escalated, and I started playing basketball amid the Slamdunk craze. As sad as it may sound, it is only this year that I started going out with girls..lol. My problem with music was suddenly solved, and I started enjoying listening to Linkin Park and Eminem among others, both of which remain my favourites until this day. The end of 2002 was when I got my first handphone, an old hand-me-down Ericsson. If I remember correctly, it was an R520, the first bluetooth phone to reach our shores. The first death of someone close to me, being my grandmother..
2003 is probably my favourite year of the decade. Had a fruitful CNY catching many lion dance performances and competitions. It was PMR year and I had finally found my groove again to study, spending most of the time at the then MPPJ Library just behind my house. Basketball was improving, and I got my first gold medal from a competition. PMR results day was also a delight as I unexpectedly scored straight A's. It wasn't all rosy though, as I experienced my first heart break..lol. Also attended my first Genting competition for the 2003 nationals and watched Khuan Loke, my prospective team, falter in the finals.
2004, the honeymoon year. I realized that I should NOT be in the science stream, but social stigma kept me from switching to anything else. Had a whole lot of fun in the run up to the canteen day. Had some precious time with a special someone. Got my first camera phone, the Sony Ericsson K700i which started my passion for photography. Also got Streamyx installed, and I have had difficulties going offline ever since. In October 2004, I made a milestone move by attending my first ever lion dance training with Khuan Loke. I didn't cope too well at first due to the language barrier and me being more of an indoor kid at that time.
Year 2005 was my final year in high school. School was a struggle, in preparation for my SPM. It didn't help that I was in a stream studying things that I didn't like and thus didn't understand. Also started getting close to someone who changed my perspective of life and made a drastic change in me. Among the highlights of the year was the haze that caused the government to call an Emergency. Went for my first Chinese New Year performance as a lion dancer, although it was only for a day. Performed live on TV for the first time.
Year 2006 was another year of major change. It started off with more time lion dancing, and then off I went to East Malaysia for the first time for my 2 month stint as an National Service trainee. Next up was moving on to college life when I started my CAT course in Sunway College. Met lotsa people from all walks of life. Was also elected as the class rep. Participated in my first lion dance competition. Visited Hong Kong and China for the first time.
Year 2007 was another good year. Participated in numerous lion dance competitions around the country. Got champion as a participant for the first time, and also earned my first coveted Genting medal. Graduated from CAT and got into ACCA. Went for my first trip with college mates to Langkawi. Also went to Chiang Mai with family.
Year 2008. Began college-hopping for certain subjects. Suffered my first failure in ACCA when I failed my audit paper. Travelled to Pulau Perhentian and Langkawi again with college mates. Also went to Bangkok with family. Got into the Sar Ping family when I was accepted as a disciple by Master Albert Fong.
Year 2009. The year that was...possibly the most bittersweet year of the decade. A number of things that dragged me down and realize that certain things aren't the way I thought it is. Also accomplished many things that I had set out to do. Celebrated my 21st birthday, had a number of milestones in my lion dance life, finally got my car, got my short sightedness fixed, won a gold medal at Genting. This is probably the year that I will remember for a long long time..
That wraps it up. As you can see, it gets shorter and shorter as the years go by. Only because I get lazier and lazier to type. So cheers and hope you've had a memorable decade as well, and here's to another good decade! 
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| The story given below is quite interesting and really gives us an insight into DECISION MAKING. Which one will you choose?
A group of children were playing near two railway tracks, one still in use while the other disused. Only one child played on the disused track, the rest on the operational track. The train came, and you were just beside the track interchange. You could make the train change its course to the disused track and saved most of the kids. However, that would also mean the lone child playing by the disused track would be sacrificed. Or would you rather let the train go its way?
Let's take a pause to think what kind of decision we could make................
Most people might choose to divert the course of the train, and sacrifice only one child.
You might think the same way, I guess. Exactly, Many people thought the same way initially because to save most of the children at the expense of only one child was rational decision most people would make, morally and emotionally.
But, have you ever thought that the child choosing to play on the disused track had in fact made the right decision to play at a safe place?
Nevertheless, he had to be sacrificed because of his ignorant friends who chose to play where the danger was.
This kind of dilemma happens around us everyday. In the office, community, in politics and especially in a democratic society, the minority is often sacrificed for the interest of the majority, no matter how foolish or ignorant the majority are, and how farsighted and knowledgeable the minority are.
The child who chose not to play with the rest on the operational track was sidelined. And in the case he was sacrificed, no one would shed a tear for him.
The kids playing on the operational track should have known very well that track was still in use, and that they should have run away if they heard the train's sirens. If the train was diverted, that lone child would definitely die because he never thought the train could come over to that track! Moreover, that track was not in use probably because it was not safe. If the train was diverted to the track, we could put the lives of all passengers on board at stake!
And in your attempt to save a few kids by sacrificing one child, you might end up sacrificing hundreds of people to save these few kids.
While we are all aware that life is full of tough decisions that need to be made, we may not realize that hasty decisions may not always be the right one.
"Remember that what's right isn't always popular......................................................
.........................................................................and what's popular isn't always right."
(Above source from website : Sacrifice - Intelligent Minority Vs Ignorant Majority) | | |
| The 14th Malaysia National Lion Dance Championship at Genting which I have been so occupied training for has finally concluded over the past wekend. Following my previous post in which a team mate of mine had fallen and broken his arm, I was left redundant for 2 weeks with no role in the team to play for in the competition as there weren't any more vacancies in the other teams that the association was planning to send for the competition. It was only last Monday when I was fitted into another team and had to memorize the whole routine within 2 days before ascending to Genting on Wednesday. Even worse, training for the double lion category started on that same day, and I was playing in another team with a very different routine to memorize, including lots of footwork and action. Still, I hanged on. I first stepped foot into the arena on Wednesday afternoon, not feeling the least bit jittery or nervous. But as Friday loomed and seeing all my other teammates doing well in the preliminary rounds, my confidence started shaking to the high expectation of joining them in the finals. Saturday was the day when I first took to the stage. My first event was the single lion category, and I was feeling the pressure of making it into the finals. As I was clanging on the cymbals, my mood slowly starte flowing away when I noticed that the dancers that I was playing for couldn't overcome their nerves and were making mistake after mistake. We finished our routine and my mood was at it's lowest. As expected, we were given a very low score. I felt like all hope was lost. Going back for our final training before the double lion category that night, my mind was blank and was making mistake after mistake. That was when I starte feeling scared for myself and the team. Thankfully a few unexpected messages came from an unexpected person, and my mood was lifted up a tad bit. I walked back to the arena with a little more confidence. This double lion team that I was playing for is the main team that my association is sending, so there was high expectations on us to do well. Running into the performance area at the start of our turn, there were thunderous cheers from our fans and supporters. As we performed, the rupturous cheers grew louder and louder as we executed move after move with precision. My mood began to grow again. At the end of the performance, we were awarded the highest score thus far, which subsequently remained as the highest score! We did it! The gold medal, finally in the hands of my association for the first time. The association has won countless national and international titles before, but no title is as prestigious and valuable as the ones won at Genting. The highest honour in lion dancing, finally in the grasp of my hands. 
The whole experience was so surreal. Precious memories that I will cherish on for the rest of my life; as corny and cliche as it may sound. More so for the fact that this is probably my last competition at Genting before I become a slave to the audit working world. On a last note; thank you Ms shorty AC for coming all the way up to support me! And also Ms fatty LKS for those messages Now another battle looms ahead of me; conquering ACCA! Time to put it away for good! Good luck to all fellow ACCA-ians with the exams! All I need to do is to clear my P5 and I'll be freeeee! That'll be the perfect ending for me this year in both my studies and lion dance career.. Until then! | | |
| Firstly, I'd like to apologize for my super long hiatus. Life sux.
Now on to the topic. Over the past few months, I've been caught up with my lion dance training, all for the purpose of the upcoming Genting championship, which is THE competition to win in the world of lion dancing. Nothing is bigger than this.
So my team is sending 4 teams (as in 4 lions) to this competition and all 4 have been training hard over the past few months. This pair of dancers that I'm playing the music for, has been training particularly hard and were on good course to making waves at the competition.
This is because the tail dancer really has a burning desire to win the competition, which will be his first and last chance to participate at Genting. He has been dancing for a very long time now and has gotten many awards,but has had no luck to go to Genting. The previous time they had this competition, he fell and broke his arm. That would have been a career ending accident, but he bounced back and continued dancing within a couple of months, defying all odds.
So, hoping to get his fairy tale ending to his colourful career in the art, he has been labouring hard day and night, both with his job and training.
Alas, what he got out of it was a very bad fall due to fatigue last week. Mind you, this was no ordinary fall, as his bone got dislocated and potruded out of his right arm. Definitely not a pretty sight.
It is really sad to see so much effort and dedication going down the drain just like that. Especially when there was so much hope, desire and will put into it. Seeing him lay there broken hearted, a blank look on his face and tears streaming down as he wailed about his faith was a really unforgettable experience.
Out of all these, the bitterness and dejection is there, but God works in mysterious ways and I'm sure He has bigger plans in store.
I guess now I appreciate life a whole lot more. Just a day after the accident, a lightbulb broke and came crashing down on my head, thankfully without permanently injuring my eyes. Luck is certainly not with me lately.
To end this long winded post, I just want to make a shout out for all you friends to be careful and appreciate life more. You never know what's going to happen to you. In our pursuit in the rat race, remember to take a few steps back once in a while to appreciate the miracle which we call life. | | |
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