Friday, November 30, 2007 @ 8:59 PM: Chess and Bridge Chalet
Ok... Had wanted to do some things today but perhaps I've been too tired (haha... it's an excuse i seldom give haha)... Shall blog about the chess and bridge chalet!
First day I went... and it was like OMG when I entered... Compared to the last two years when the chalets are two rooms and big, the chalet is super small this time... then when some others came at night, we've the GG team, the 3 Chinese Chess guys and the bridge guys - as in, three different groups. The second night wasn't much better, but at least got moky, xy, xiaoling, zb, wc and xiaoming who came... at least everything seemed more lively.
I guess the highlight of the chalet room is the laptop, to see how ppl queue up and wanna use it to play dota/chinese chess/msn/read bridge notes... haha... so what's the point of chalet? i mean, when I think a GG team at Jackie's or Zehan's house is no different in the sense we'll still be playing magic (I must stress I don't play) and cards... No BBQ, no interaction, no soccer, no dvd, no nite cycling, and somemore a chalet without most of the junior committee members... Is this the CNB chalet or the CNB seniors gathering?
And everything was made worse when the ppl at Downtown east came to tell us that we were too noisy at 2am... haha... dun tell me that u go chalet cos it is a better place to sleep at home? And we aren't talking or shouting... and i think everyone sleeps after that... haha... When I told mum abt this, she even said it is like camp life! HahahAha...
Ok... of course this won't be a barrage of negative comments about the chalet... it was great to see ppl of different chess interact and play munchies (or is it?)... it was also great to be playing with peeps like chun hao (my dear weiqi junior!), victor, ying jie blah blah... and of course refreshing to see ppl like zb, xiaoming blah blah cos i din see them so long at scba...
Just a point that all should take note... if the committee members cannot come that day, then what's the point of organising it? And a lot of parallels can be drawn back to geog soc... cos seriously all the good work at geog soc is rolling down the mountain... the last time i went back to hc for open house, our dear geog soc booth person said aiyah... geog soc only a secondary CCA... got one highlight event lor... see so slack and good... I mean is this the way u can allow standards to be upheld? Is this the way CCAs can function? And I think I gave a good army-style talk to these juniors... not that they will listen anyways, but that I feel that it is essential for them to know what it takes to be a committee member, regardless whether u are the chairman or simply a project manager (Though I see the recent trend in that the chairman is always absent in those events... no chance to really talk to them, Orientation perhaps?) Sadly things are out of control and perhaps what Alvin says is right... what's the point of holding on?
Perhaps mei4, the crucial question is on whether the spirit, the commitment and enthusiasm is there, not just in the committee members but also EVERYONE... and it is not up to the seniors to do anything while the best we can do is to advise and hope for the best... Think it sounds too bleak though? (Ok... disclaimer: Edited this entry for some portions to cut down the parts that may infer attributing blame on the committee members, but I hope that the message is clear enough)
thank you for bringing me memories...
Tuesday, November 27, 2007 @ 11:58 PM:
Wow... it is certainly a long time I have not typed a proper blog entry... Today? Haha... My lazy mind says perhaps not so good... wait until chalet got more things write correct? Then I'm sure after which I will be too tired and busy meeting ppl or playing bridge before flying off to manila... haha... so better type some lahs...
Whampoa Weiqi Championships:Woohoo! This is the first time I'm taking part in a weiqi competition and while others lament that they've not been playing weiqi for 4 months in preparation for their A levels, I've not done so TOTALLY in 2 years and did not receive any proper training/competition for the past 4 years... As such, it was sort of a play-play mentality when I told Siong Hwai that "I dun mind to take part"...
The first day I went and it took quite some time for me to stare at the weiqi questions (sort of a quiz to win prizes) and I'm quite surprised that I can come up the solutions for 4 out of the 6 questions... Well, it was quite a confidence booster and the first match-up was against Wang Sheng Ze from NUS High School... And I was almost given a scare right from the start as my first attack move left a territory with only one yan surrounded by his seeds... and thus the only way to counter this very bad move (as I didn't foresee his counter-attack) was to capture his corner... Luckily I did and the first round was won. However, it also made clear to me that my skills were very rusty. The second game did not expose much while in the third match, I met up with Jeremy Pang who was from NYP... And sadly I did not analyse the board properly and was too aggressive despite having a slight lead in the midst of the game... alas, my aggression went overboard and his finishing was steadily infringing into my territories... First day ended 2 wins and 1 loss out of 3 matches, not quite a bad day, but I was quite upset at the way I dealt with the 3rd game, when in fact anything could have happened.
Sort of disappointed in myself and thinking there's no chance of ending up top 10, I did not prepare myself well for the second day of the tournament... (I went to shouheng's house to watch the man u vs bolton match and see how man u was agonisingly toothless in attack, to the point I can't sleep when I got back home) The 4th game was neatly wrapped up, the 5th was won despite several start-game mistakes (I must admit I am clueless about new strategies), the 6th was won right at the end when I recaptured an important corner and the last was won due to the opps' mistake as well... In fact, I could have easily lost one or two of them... but I guess the one who makes less mistakes wins the day... Just like how the theory applies to bridge... And with 5 tied with 6 wins out of 7, I got a 4th position in the kyu group... But more importantly, I have reached my aim of 4 wins!
And I just wanna say I'm really happy to be from weiqi club! Haha... I guess the juniors are really nice to cheer me on, knowing that my skills have plunged to abysmal levels and yet they are encouraging to point out where are the mistakes and how I can improve on certain portions of the game (cos I guess really no one will just go back and compete in a lower group level haha)... And it is this sort of brotherly spirit that makes me wanna come back to this competition to see how they have progressed thus far... haha... And we've certainly enjoyed ourselves in the Weiqi Dinner... Kudos to Siong Hwai, Wei Lai and co. for organising this! Of course, my legendary batch (the batch which finds chances to go canteen during weiqi practice sessions) was in full strength... Though poor Yong Wei had to suffer the hot sushi meal... and it's certainly good to interact with peeps I haven't seen for a long time, like Jian Ting, Yan Ming, etc.
Perry's Birthday!We celebrated Perry's birthday last last Sunday (181107) at the Minds' Cafe... Actually come and think of it, this is the first time our bridge team is actually celebrating a birthday for our team member? Haha... anyway we've 7 ppl at our table and games like Monopoly will take six to play... So how? That's where partnerships come in and merge to become one entity! Haha... Anyway zh and I owned at the Monopoly (not the normal version, but where it is competitors vs monopolists... but i guess the competitors could have established their advantages with speed more than anything else) and later in the Game of Life, Wei Jian did a lame act by snatching my 90,000 salary when there's 100,000 salary available... haha... geniuses think differently perhaps?
ECO Singapore Saturday (171107) was quite a fruitful day in the sense that I've gone to the ECOSingapore for their 'orientation' talk... quite nice to meet peeps like zhihao, wilson, etc... and to see how their enthusiasm for the organisation works... haha... And to all those who think that joining volunteer environmental groups means picking up rubbish, IT IS NOT TRUE... It just merely means that we'll try to have everyone pick up their own rubbish instead... as environment is not just the group's responsibility; it is everyone's.
Other MattersPeople must be wondering what I'm doing these days... Slacking? Looking for jobs? Haha... My first week after ORD-ing was mainly tuition and playing FIFA07 with Alvin... Certainly a great companion to be with for the game (Considering how we fight until 8-8 when England meets Man Utd)... while my second week comprises of essays and tuition and of course bit of weiqi comp... haha... upcoming will be the chalet for chess and bridge, meeting up with peeps, packing, preparation for bridge... haha... so perhaps see my next entry as late as 17th Dec? Hopefully will update some photos from there then!
thank you for bringing me memories...
Thursday, November 15, 2007 @ 1:58 PM: Some random thoughts
Wofaxianwoshijingranrucidecuiruo,namedebukanyiji.wokanzheyouyiyejiusuanle,rentianjuedingba.
youyuanwomenyiranshihaopengyou.
thank you for bringing me memories...
Tuesday, November 13, 2007 @ 11:10 PM: Updates
Firstly, I've finally got my pink IC... Cools... Certainly miss all the ppl inside (of course i won't miss the calls HAHA)
Secondly, I also dunno what sort of lifestyle I'm leading these days... Tuition, sleep, play bridge, discussion, meet up with some friends... Haix... Certainly hope I can do everything that I had planned... I'm not really disciplined enough haha... Since like last year, I've been like yearning to learn guitar, but it never seems my schedule can fit in...
Thirdly, I realise some gaps are really big, too wide to be covered since it always takes two hands to clap. It really seems very weird when everything is from one side and friendships cannot be forced... (and i mean normal friendships) I think I have done my part... (If u dun get this part, dun worry... that means we aren't close, or very close, or that i'm the one who is not coming into the picture)
Lastly, I dunno I should say I'm looking forward or worry abt going manila in dec, esp with the recent happenings... and seeing how we got thrashed in the hs ho... haha... got a lot to learn to brush up my declarer skills...
thank you for bringing me memories...
Sunday, November 04, 2007 @ 4:38 PM: My blog is lonely... Finally updates!
Sorry for neglecting the blog for a long time... haha...
Things i wanna blog... (just received a call for tuition tonight):
1. Headache!!! (from yesterday)
2. ORD Dinner
3. Cambridge and bridge!
4. Some self-reflections
thank you for bringing me memories...
