Dark and Random Thoughts

Update

2008-12-31T05:35:00.000-08:00

Ok, because I haven't updated for god-knows-how-long and I really want to blog a post to sum up 2008, so here goes nothing.

2008 was a rather fruitful year for me. It was a year where I had the chance to push my mental capabilities to my limits by mugging for my A levels. (Write the various steps of aerobic respiration 20 times etc.)

It was also a year where I had the chance to finally realise my dreams in chinese chess, gaining various decent positions in the competitions I had the chance to take part in, to being recruited by Bei Dou chess team.

I made new friends as well, along with strengthening existing friendships. (Pardon the bad grammar, I am from tekong) All in all, 2008 would have been a great year, if not for the fact that I had to enlist in the army.

That, would at least be what I have thought prior to 11 Dec. I know better now.

Despite all of the rumours and myths surrounding army life, one thing I have to ensure everyone, at least those from the PTP batch (like me!) that while training can be tough, it is rewarding as well. Pain and muscle aches translate to stronger biceps and quads while blisters merely toughen up your soft skin into callused hands and feet.

3 weeks in army, and while I can't say I don't enjoy my book out days, the days I spent in army are relatively fruitful, and oddly, quite fun. Verbal retorts from superiors merely toughen one up for the real world where words are much less kind and connived to strike those in the back. I am both physically tougher and mentally tougher now.

I got a tan, a nice smooth round head, and tekong cough to boot. (For the uninformed, tekong cough is a particularly virulent disease that strikes nearly every recruit) I am stronger. Training is going to get more tough, but I am relishing every minute of it. Maybe I developed a bit of sado-maschoism while in camp.

I enjoy talking cock with my section mates at the common table during the short periods where we get to rest. They are the ones who made army more enjoyable, and I dare say I will be relying on them in the future as well.

To sum up, 2008 has indeed being a fruitful year, because of my As, and because of army as well. Too all those pre-enlistees, do not fret unduly over how tough army life is or how you may lose your freedom. I have been there for the two weeks in confinement, and I have survived. If these napfa failure can do it, then surely, the rest of you napfa silvers and gold can do so as well.

P.S. May be going for a swim on friday. Those interested in swimming as well pls give me a call.

Chronicles of the Raffles Chess Club--Part 1

2008-09-19T20:15:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the momentary respite after the nastily exhausting prelims, I have decided to blog a short post here on the topic that is almost the closest to my heart, the RJC chess club.

Counting the years I have spent in RI as well, I realize that I have spent close to 6 years playing in the Chinese chess circuit for secondary and JC division. I have my fair share of up and downs, from killing off some sec 4s in my debut as a sec 2 player for RI team B, to losing every single game in the following year's Raffles Cup.

Along those times, I met and defeated several opponents, the most notable of which was Jia Cong, later to be the Captain for RJC 2 years before Jun Ren. There was also a constant drive to improve myself after facing opponents I simply could not defeat, such as Jun Ren and Jon Sim, widely regarded as the two most promising of chess club for my batch then.

Then a thought struck me as I was travelling home in 59. If an average player like myself can have such ups and downs, then what about the other players of RJC? Intrigued by this concept, I will attempt to chronicle the playing history of our players, so that when I grow old and senile, I will at least remember my comrades in arms.

Without further ado, I shall begin with Lim Jun Ren.

There are many that see Jun Ren as the revitalising spirit for RI chess club. This is without a doubt, true. After the graduation of Zhao Wei's batch, few noticeable players remained in the club. This was especially true among the sec 3s, where Yixian was the only player left. Due to circumstances that I myself am not aware of, several of the previous sec3s had been kicked off the club by Zhao Wei.

Yixian was a good leader, but unfortunately his chess skills were lacking. During this void of skilled players in the club, Jun Ren became the pillar of the club. His outstanding performances in many competitions has earned him a fearsome reputation, which was further raised with his landmark defeat of Hwa Chong's Zixian during the Nanyang Poly Competition. From then on, Jun Ren was simply known as Speed Chess King/Demon and it would not be an exaggeration to say that all within 3 years of our age group knew of Jun Ren as the RI captain, one of the strongest player on the circuit.

Of course, it is a foolish thought to suggest that all that Jun Ren brought to the club was his skills. He brought along with him skilled chess players, many of which were his friends from class as well as his CCA, which is a primary reason as to why chess club is still predominated by BB people (Forgive the HH author for complaining)

Among these players were Jonathan Sim, Wentao, Chunkai, Junwei, Ling Zhang, and many others. It is fair to say that the 'golden batch' of RI chess club will never have emerged if not for Jun Ren.

Now that we have retired from the circuit, I thought it fine to reveal the formations that each of us specialise in. Jun Ren was known during the secondary circuit days as the 弃马 person, but to date he has converted into a variety of formations, the most notable of which is 先后鸳鸯炮.

Jun Ren is also labelled as one of the 四大天王 by Kian Peng.

--Next up: Jon Sim, the man with unfulfilled potential.

Raffles Cup Aftermath

2008-06-02T00:03:00.000-07:00

Hi. RJC Team A won 3rd for Raffles Cup, through a series of fortunate events. This came as a pleasant surprise to us since we were the 'dark horse' of the competition and were just hoping to make the bet of our final competition before the end of JC.

It is true that luck was a major factor in our getting a draw with HCI in the last round hence clinching third place with superior opponent points to NJC. Had there being a tiebreaker match with NJC, we might not necessarily have won. Then again, all sports contains an element of luck, including chinese chess.

For example, grandmaster Tao Han Ming ascended to the grandmaster throne through having a slightly better opponent point then either Lu Qin or Yu You Hua, both grandmasters then. While his win then might have been based slightly on luck, his performance now has silenced previous critics into thinking he was an undeserving champion.

I do not mind people saying that we got third by luck, and neither do I mind saying that I am a noob player, as evidenced by my blog title. What bothers me is the complete lack of knowledge some have regarding the chinese chess arbiting and score keeping system.

Firstly, a draw is acceptable anytime in the game as long as the side asking for the draw has the complete advantage. And the opponent having no shi or xiang, boys and girls, with you having one more ping and one horse and cannon is a clear example of absolute advantage. Before you criticize me for my lack of knowledge, please study Lu Qin's games.

There was a game in the 1980s when grandmaster Lu Qin was down by 2 pings against another player whom I cannot recall (Check Lu Qin's biography, 羊城少帥吕钦 for the details) The opponent, however, had only one minute left and asked for draw and the arbiter approved of it. Hence, there is historical precedence even in the highest level of chinese chess supporting my case that a draw can be declared by the arbiter anytime when the side asking has the absolute advantage.

Another interesting point by the opposition is that one horse and one car and one ping versus one horse and one car does not end in a sure draw. Rather amusing in fact. Of course, excuse me and my limited knowledge of chess, but I have no doubt that you have just discovered a new brilliant end game scenario that has eluded the notice of countless grandmasters. Simply wonderful.

And it is an unfounded accusation that my team and I are despicable that we swapped our reserve in so that our best players could get to play against your best players. Firstly, this is not prohibited in the rules, and secondly, which deuce would send his worst player to play against your best? And lastly, and the most damning of all, you changed your formation first so that you get to target our weakest player and now you are crying foul? Hmm, something not right, is there?

To question the objectivity of the arbiters is something completely uncalled for. That's just like Chelsea players surrounding the referee after he has made a decision against them. You are nothing, I repeat, nothing, if you think that you know more about arbiting than Mr Ong or Mr Tan. Wait till you have received your arbiter license and arbitrate in high level games between top players in the region before you complain.

And pardon me if I was wrong, you hired the same arbiters for your own competition, and there was no complaints. So why complain only when the ruling is not in your favour?

If you have read the above and still disagree with me, and think that I am just attempting to justify our draw, and think that you should be champions instead of AJC, I don't mind. Everyone is entitled to his own opinion. But know this: AJC beat us 7-1, and even had your best player being here, you will still only beat us 6-2. The deserving ones won the championship trophy.

We know.

对胜利的盘算

2008-05-15T00:58:00.000-07:00

哈哈，突然心血来潮，想用久未接触的华文来写博客。若有何用词不当等语病，恳请诸位多多包涵。周围的朋友们大都知道我月底将会参加大慨是人生的最后一场团体象棋赛，而这也将是我高中时段的最后一场比赛。

虽然有众多的不舍及遗憾，但人生就是如此，懂得珍惜时机会就不再有了。浑浑噩噩的过了中学象棋的生活，实在是后悔莫及。如今上天又再次给我了一个机会，再次能够与队友们向冠军前进，我是决定不会错过的。最起码我还有这个机会，就算无缘冠军，但在过程中至少也会学到不少东西。

当然，我并不打算在此叙述我学棋的故事。我又不是胡荣华，故事也没杨光麟精彩，可没本钱在此大谈象棋的真谛等等。我写此文章的意图是为了盘算我们莱初问鼎的机会有多大。以我愚见，可胜，而且必须要胜。

何以说可胜？其因有三。

去年我和队友棋力尚未练到火候，而因此对强敌AJC时败下阵来。但如今咱莱初三凤翅膀也硬了，以到时机，何愁不胜？

其二，古人常说天时，地利，人和，我们岂非没有？我等养精积锐，索性不参加HCI Cup，准备Raffles Cup, 他人则因比赛堆得满满的，疲惫不堪，强弩之末，何惧也？可见天时在我等手中。论地利，Raffles Cup 是我等举办的，地点也是我们的，强龙不压地头蛇，地利也是我们的。再说人和，全社上下一心想赢Raffles Cup, 士气更因赢了JJC Cup 高扬，人和也在我们的手上。

其三，我们更是胡海宇的弟子，不赢对不起师父，唯有朝冠军之路走。

由此三样条件，我等必胜。

Random Quiz

2008-04-01T03:32:00.001-07:00

You Are A Loyal Sidekick

While you aren't the most visable one in your group...

You're always up for a good time or conversation

And you stick with your friends no matter what

You may feel underappreciated - but it only seems that way!

What Kind of Friend Are You?

Yay.

Update

2008-03-26T01:26:00.000-07:00

Hi, just thought i will blog a short post here today.

Was busy surfing other people's blog until I found this entry from a tutor of mine. The link is here:

http://www.freerice.com/index.php

This seems like a meaningful and fun thing for us to do to practise our ang-mohish. Maybe we should petition to do this during GP? Haha.

As of now, I am abandoning the previous "trying to pattern and complex the game strategy". It's not a bad strategy, but it's just not for me. Will stick with the tried and tested "humchee to the core" ultimate strategy from now on. Hopefully can improve my chess further.

See ya.

Prize Giving

2008-02-18T21:55:00.000-08:00

Before I start my post, let me first apologise to the following people: Shida, Ada, Moses, Gerald and Wai Han. Sorry for my temper tantrum in which I shouted at you guys. I am sincerely sorry about that.

I still recall my promise to myself at the start of JC. I made a solemn promise not to lose my temper, and for good reason. First hand witnesses of when I get angry will testify that I am not myself when I am mad. In fact, I got into a fight with one of my most cherished friends, Kian Peng, during secondary 2, as a result of my temper.

Thankfully, our friendship has remained intact and has hopefully become even stronger, but that incident has led to me to treasure friendship more. Being the (relatively) quiet person that I am, at least around people that I don't know, I tend to clam up, so to be frank, I have a rather small circle of friends.

Which is why I get pissed off whenever I see my friends quarrel, especially over minute things such as chicken chop (sam-u-am and derek should be very familiar with this) Quite frankly, I just hate arguments. If I was to choose an animal which I resemble the msot, it will be the ostrich.

I won't hesitate to say that I am a coward who likes to hide from conflicts. That much is true. Even my chess style is defensive as well. But once in a while, when I am fired up like I am now, the ostrich will go on a rampage.

Both of you were arguing since the start of last year. You argued over anything under the sun. I thought to myself "Hmm, well, they are still young, and may not have matured fully in their mindsets yet". I tried, though perhaps unsuccessfully, to lower the tension between the two of you.

At the start of the new year, I was optimistic in that perhaps with the passing of two months, relationship between the two of you will gradually normalize. I was a fool. Barely a month had past before the two of you were trading accusations over the stupidity/retardedness of your various better halves.

A small matter, I said, attempting to defuse the situation. No, you told me via your expression, that the matter was a question of life and death. I questioned the other one on what happened. You valiantly defended your other half by saying that you were the one to ask him to do whatever grievous harm he inflicted on the your enemy's other half. You finished off with a witty comment "So there's nothing wrong what."

And just today, the two of you were arguing again. Over who should walk to each other. The absurdity of the fact was that you were not separated by the Himalayan, neither were you separated by the Alps, you were merely separated by one floor. What was worse was that you had to communicate through me.

I am sick and tired of always being the middleman. The one who tries to salvage what remains of civility that lies between the both of you. Go on and fight it out with your immature and petty disputes. I am quite sure that even World War II will seem to be a minor war when compared to yours. Perhaps you think I am just talking crap. Perhaps you won't even bother to read my post to its end. I don't care, frankly. I may lose two friends from now on, but to continue to plaster over an increasing crack is a coward's act, and I have enough of being a coward.

You two can continue to fight it out. I have stopped caring. Fight if you must, kill each other if necessary, but remember not to spill the blood onto my shoes. I couldn't care less about your disputes anymore.

Ambush (Part 1)

2008-01-28T02:39:00.000-08:00

Hi.

As I stated in my previous entry, I really want to win the Raffles Cup.

Okay, scratch that.

I really really really (X 10) want to win the Raffles Cup.

So as any budding strategist must do, I will have to plan a cunning strategy for RJC to win the cup again. (after n number of years)

Now, we will first narrow down on our possible competitors.

Firstly, we have Hwa Chong and Anderson, two really tough schools that are likely to be above us in skill.

Next, we have National, Victoria and Nanyang, two traditionally strong schools with several tough opponents.

Finally, Jurong rounds up the fearsome sixsome, with pro players that are, well, pro. Frustrating as it is, I have absolutely no data on Jurong, other than playing one of their players who draw with me when he started first.

However, Raffles isn't that badly off either. We have Chun Kai, arguably the best player in RJC since wentao knows when. Notable records including owning yours truly for 8.5 games straight. (Although he DID suffer the ignominy of defeat to a certain Fiona) We have Junren, slayer of the 'big guy' who was defending his streak of 34 games undefeated. Heck, we even have god on our side. (i.e. Wentao) Incidentally, god lost to a certain female player as well. (Looks like not only ying xiong can't pass the mei ren guan)

Of course, we also have myself, arguably the second most defensive-oriented JC player (remember a player in AJ) and also consummate cheat who can 'steal time', as my dear opponent once commented. Not to forget Jon Sim, the fellow who I have never really won as far as I can remember. (Not once in practise, since games got cancelled, not once in competitions, when I lost twice and drew once)

Not to forget we also have Lixin, whom I can't think of a funny incident for, and a whole horde of promising J1s. We really do have a fighting chance this year.

This shall be a start of a series of posts who shall see yours truly here trying to figure out the best formations to use against the different schools. Hope that this really does help us to clinch victory.

7-11 !

P.S. Geddit?

Back from camp

2008-01-19T06:13:00.001-08:00

Hi, as the title of this entry suggests, I am back from the chess camp.

Won't go into details since I am really only half awake right now, but I really had fun and I hope that the J1s, as well as the J2s did as well.

Special thanks must go to Junren and Hanyu, without which the camp would never have been planned and implemented.

Thanks to Mark and Wai Chuan too, for excelling in their role as F&B I/Cs and ensuring that (most) people got their food.

Thanks to Wentao and Chunkai, who taught me how to play mini shogi.

In fact, thanks to everyone who helped to make the camp a success in one way or another (sounds so pretentious, lol)

Funny thing is, this is around the first time I have ever heard someone playing chess competitively calling me 'pro'. Feels quite strange haha.

Still, the camp is over, and we must now turn our sight into bigger things in the horizon, namely, the Raffles Cup.

I could wax lyrical about how much I want to win the cup over ten pages, but that barely scratches the surface of my desire to bring this cup back to RJC. It has been a long time since we have won the Raffles Cup. Too long. No matter how many trophies I may win in the future, I will feel eternal regret if I do not seize the chance to earn my final Raffles Cup.

This is our final year. Jun Ren, Chunkai, Jon Sim, Wentao and Lixin, we have been at Xiangqi from RI to RJC for close to 6 years now. Let the 24th Raffles Cup be the competition where we will mark RJC as the top school in Xiangqi.

Let's leave no regrets.

Random Meetings

2008-01-14T04:57:00.000-08:00

Hi.

As everyone should know, I am quite a random and lame person. In fact, I think the only way I could have gotten so random and lame was because god, in one of his random and lame moments, made me so.

In fact, I think god is just as lame, if not more lame than me. Atheists, may scorn the below argument, but let's face it. One RI guy, active in xiangqi and previously active in NPCC, meets this HCI guy who is in enterprise club on MSN for no particular reason, and both wondering: "Who is this random person that I have added to my contact list?"

Now, I don't really care whether the big bang happened out of some fantastic scientific concept, but I do know that the odds of two guys who happened to have a mutual friend whom definitely didn't introduce them meeting on MSN and just happened to be in HCI and RI is kind of rare. Some more same age. Somewhere out there, god is probably having a good laugh at my expense.

Here is our interesting conversation, which I interjected with some commentary:

Shade (I shortened his nickname) : Hi who are you?

Me: (Thinking he is from NPCC): HI I am Wei Yang from NPCC

Shade: Huh? (Tio stunned liao)

Shade: I am mujianhan(something to this effect, I didn't catch it) from 07s7something

Me: Er I from RI, you?

Shade: HCI

Me: Do you play chess?

Shade: Hardly ever. Do you take part in enterprise competitions?

Me: Not at all

Me: Hey wait. Maybe you are my brother's friend and I add you?

Me: What's your age?

Shade: J2

Me: Sian. same

Me: Um, are we primary school friends or something?

Shade: I from bvps, you?

Me: Sian I from shps

Shade: Argh I give up damnit

Me: Maybe we have some mutual friends?

Me: You know shibao, jing yang, xinhui or junting?

Shade: Xinhui guy or girl?

Me: Guy

Shade: Wear green specs?

Me: Er I know his surname is lowe

Shade: Ah, we know the same person

Shade: But how we get to add each other?

Me: Lol, damn funny

Shade: Haha

Basically, all you can see are two random idiots trying all ways and means to find out how they are even remotely related to each other. Stopped halfway to find out how we added each other, because somethings are better left lying. God, you do have a sense of humour in letting two lame guys meet, eh?

A quiz, because I am bored

2007-12-23T04:07:00.000-08:00

There are times when you give some obvious hints to people who are looking to buy you some Christmas presents. This is one of those times. By sitting in front of my desktop for nearly 9 hours watching Prince of Tennis Videos on youtube, I am hoping in vain that my desktop will explode, allowing me to buy a new one to replace that obsolete machine.

Alas, that happy scenario doesn't seem to be happening anytime soon, and therefore I will do this quiz that yong han and moses sent me. (I know, it's late by weeks, but my computer lags, and so do I).

The person/people who tagged you is/are?

Yong Han

Your relationship wif him/her is:

Gay Lovers living in San Fransisco right now.

Just kidding. (Not colting or chicking, no...) Yong Han is my ex-classmate and friend, yeah.

Your 5 impressions of him/her... (Yong Han)

1. Sociable
2. Loud
3. Friendly
4. Widely popular with girls (and guys)
5. Has wide mood swings

The most memorable thing he/she had done for you...

Passing this quiz to me, haha.

The most memorable words he/she had said to you...

Screw you! (No thanks, I don't swing that way.)

If he/she becomes your lover, he/she will...

Buy me a new PC for Christmas

If he/she becomes your lover, things he/she has to improve on will be…

Let's see... How about some generosity? Particularly to the CWTPWY? (Care and Welfare of the perfect... no, I will prefer to be modest here)

If he/she becomes your enemy, you will…

Kill him. (What, you don't kill your enemies?)

If he/she becomes your enemy, the reason will be...

I teased him one too many times.

The most desired thing you want to do for him/her now is…

Wish him good luck for orientation?

Your overall impression of him/her is…

A nice, dependable friend who experiences weird mood swings from time to time.

List out your top 5 birthday presents you wish for:

1. Good Health to those around me
2. Good Health to myself
3. A new PC will be nice
4. Failing which, $ will do quite well too.
5. Gundam Model Kit for Providence

How you think people around you feel about you?

They think I am weird/lame/quiet/talk too much (Yep, different people think differently about me)

The characters that you love of yourself are...

Everything, duh. Narcissism doesn't even begin to describe me.

On the contrary, the characters that you hate of yourself are...

Nothing! Maybe just a bit of a big mouth and an impulsive nature. Oh, I am lazy too.

The most ideal person you want to be is...

A bit of everyone's good points, really.

For people that care and like you, say something to them...

Thanks a lot, people.

Pass this quiz to 10 persons that you wish to know how they feel about you...

1. Derek
2. Gerald Toh
3. Shida (You can do this again)
4. Samuel Chong
5. Moses (Same goes to you)
6. Wai Han
7. Samuel Lim
8. Kian Peng
9. Ada (Please don't kill me, Mr Huang)
10. (Drumrolls) My brother, Weilu

Who is No.6 having relationship with?

I don't know, he never told me. Some girl, I hope (for his sexuality, no offense meant)

Is No.9 a male or female?

Unless RGS screwed up badly for their PSLE intake, should be a female lah. Or just ask Huang lor.

If No.7 and 10 are together, will it be a good thing?

I don't think either of them are inclined towards that sort of thing, so, no.

How about No.8 and 5?

I don't think they know each other, but you never know... (Ducks barrage of rubbish thrown by Moses' various admirers, both female and male)

What is No.2 studying about?

Some cheem stuff at ASTAR. If not, probably magic tricks.

When was the last time you had a chat with No.3?

Quite long ago. Our conversation, as usual, range quite widely, from china made goods to electronics and all.

What kind of music band does No.8 like?

Probably Chinese Pop. SHE, if I have to make a guess.

Does No.1 have any siblings ?

Yes. One.

How about No.7 ?

Yes. One, if I don't remember wrongly.

Is No.4 single?

As a friend, I hope not.

What is the surname of No.5?

Tan. (Why not fair? Are you being racist?)

What is the nickname of No.10?

Pig/Pighead/Oink

What is the hobby of No.4?

Ah, training for waterpolo and chess, I think.

Do No.5 and 9 get along well?

I guess so. Except when a 7 no-trump hand kenna 12 tricks only.

Where is No.2 studying at?

ASTAR/RJC

Talk something casually about No.1?

Something casually about Yong Han?

Have you tried developing feelings for No.8?

Not likely to happen in this lifetime, pal.

Lessons in Victory and Defeat

2007-12-16T16:49:00.000-08:00

Hi, it's me again.

I took part in the recently concluded Anchorvale CC Fast Chinese Chess Competition and managed to win 12th place, which was quite nice since it was an open category and there were four masters participating. The prize? A nice trophy and 10 dollars in cash.

On the course of earning my place, I played with several interesting opponents:

3rd round) My opponent here was... strange. He wore ear rings, had his hair long and curly, and painted his nails (meaning both his fingers and toes) white. Still, he was an formidable opponent, and I lost to him. He later got into the top 10 places.

6th round) My opponent here was an old man who was a sore loser. Which part of fast chess did he not understand? Yes he was better than me. Yes, he had the advantage in the game. His time ran out, and he couldn't believe the fact, calling all and sundry to accuse this 'young brat' of stealing away one minute from his clock.

Besides these colourful characters that I am mentioned, my teammates also did encounter several other interesting faces.

Chun Kai played against an entire family of chess players in his first round. Confused? He actually just played with one guy, while the mother, father, and sister of that guy surrounded the table. Looked like some kind of Hong Men Yan with them preparing to kill Chun Kai once he wins.

Wentao got to play Fiona. He probably wouldn't have lost if not for that bad mistake.

In retrospect, my win was mostly due to pure luck. Not that I am complaining, but such luck most likely will not continue to next year, so I really need to buck up. On the other hand, I was the only JC guy who got into the top 15 placings (aside for Junren who got 11 place with even more extreme luck then me) so I suppose that is quite encouraging.

Still, there are many tough JC opponents who didn't participate in the competition, and also some who weren't on form then, like zixian. Additional training must be needed to prepare for these obstacles to us winning the Raffles Cup. (Come to think of it, the Raffles Cup trophy is actually smaller than the two trophies I have at home)

On a lighter note, Liverpool lost to Man United by one goal. To be honest, Man U deserved the win. They defended tightly, and Liverpool, aside for a couple of missed opportunities in the 1st half, were relatively tame in the 2nd half, and really didn't deserve to win. (I know I will never hear the end of this from Moses, sigh)

This blog isn't dead.

2007-12-12T00:01:00.000-08:00

Hi.

It's been nearly a month since I have blogged, but I don't think anyone really cares, so I will cut short my excuses.

I was playing chess. Now I could have said I was mugging, was doing my tutorials, was busy attending weddings left, right and centre, and it was true, but to be frank (or joe, if you are feeling lame) most of my time was at chess.

Chess is really a very intriguing game. I don't really like playing chess compared to other games like bridge or weiqi, but somehow, I just can't stop playing it. My points are around 1770 now, still very noob compared to the average China players, who average around 1830. Hopefully, I can get to 1850 before the end of the holidays, cos' I will probably have to stop playing so intensely once school reopens thanks to A-levels.

Chalet is tomorrow. Hope it will be fun.

I AM BACK!

2007-11-14T22:02:00.000-08:00

No word can describe how glad I am to have my internet connection back again.

2 words, however, can.

Now, what had happened during my exile from the realms of cyberspace?

I got to make new friends, by the name of Sloman, Campbell, Ramsden. They are rather silent people, and rather overweight. (Is there a BMI for books?)

Anyway, is anyone going out? Reading books are fun, but not reading them for 14 days. If so, please, please, please invite me.

Thanks

2007-10-26T22:20:00.000-07:00

Hi all.

It pains me to have to announce this, but a real man ought to get things over and done with, so I shall do it now.

As most may know, my internet connection has always been a prickly issue with me, having an erratic behaviour of working sometimes and not working for the rest of the time.

As such, I have decided to cancel the contract I hold with my current internet provider. (whose costs are prohibitive anyway)

Alas, the current competitors of this company are not offering any discounts of free computers/laptops/anythingunderthesun. As such, I shall most likely not have any internet connection during the course of the november + december holidays.

No connection would mean no blog of course, and that would mean that the author is bidding all loyal readers farewell.

As of now, this blog is entering into a hibernation mode, and do not expect any new posts on it for a long long time.

With that, sayonara, and visit other blogs for a change.

Thanks.

--Wei Yang

CVs, CIP, and Babies

2007-10-17T02:57:00.000-07:00

Hi, this is Ada hacking into Wei Yang's blog.

Just joking.

Actually, this is Wei Yang trying to envision a possible scenario of Ada hacking into my blog and posting a post in my own name.

Why am I doing this? To prolong the immensely pleasure of writing my CV, haha.

Anyway, I( As in Wei Yang who is trying to pretend that Ada is pretending to be me) chanced upon two events today, and one made me happy, the other sad. All in all, I learnt something from them.

The first event made me happy. I saw an adorable baby sitting next to me on the bus today. He was so cute!!! I look at him and wondered if he had as many strands of hair on his head as Mr X got for Maths. Probably not, but the baby was cute (not cube) nevertheless.

(On second thoughts, this isn't working too well, so I will revert back to myself)

The second event made me pissed off like siao. CIP was canceled again. I am sharpening my parang and chopper at home, in preparation for their matchmaking session. With who? The balls of the fellow who happily told me to blame someone else. One of these days, the chopper will elope with that fellow's balls to a far away land, never to be seen and heard again. Watch out.

On a lighter note, my chess is improving back to my original standard, with hopes of exceeding even that standard. Yay.

Since I ran out of things to write, I suppose I will get back to writing my CV. Ah, how wonderful.

--Update

2007-10-16T00:58:00.000-07:00

Hi.

I wanted to name this entry "Life is like a RPG", but decided not to, since it sounds like the title of my previous entry.

Sometimes, I feel that this blog is like a mistress to me. Why?

Because I only come to this blog when I am not playing chess/doing hw/sleeping/eating/etc, which is a very rare occurrence.

Come to think of it, most people have plenty of trivial pursuits in life, like baking cookies, getting picked up, getting drunk etc. However, it would be significantly rarer to find someone possessing a main focus on something, be it to live a happy life, excel in their career etc.

People constantly bemoan the fact that life 'sucks'. I will stop short of criticizing them, since I had belonged to the ranks of these unhappy people not too long ago. However, have these people ever ask themselves what is their purpose in life?

They have not. They sink deeper into the quagmire of self-pity, thinking that their bloody lives are without purpose, and 'that there is nothing for them to live for'. Remarkable idiocy.

If life gives you lemons, make some lemonade. Similarly, if life has no purpose, give it a purpose of your own. The path to the goal you choose may not be smooth, you may be lonely, you may fall down and cry, but do not give up. The presence of a goal other than procreation distinguishes us humans from mere animals.

Life is like some Arcade Game

2007-10-02T20:15:00.000-07:00

Hi. I am surprised that people actually want to read my blog posts, so I guess I will just blog a short post today.

Have you guys played arcade games in the past like Street Fighters? Anyway, the general idea is that after you beat a boss on one stage, you progress to a harder boss on another stage, and so on and so forth, until you beat the final boss, and get your name on the top 10 ranking sheet.

See any parallels between our lives and arcade games? We have to fight through numerous barriers, PSLE, O levels, (OK, I know one reader of this blog will suan me for not taking all the subjects, but that fellow isn't important) Promos, and the As. This is not to mention the various other personal challenges we face on the way, such as whether we should go out during afternoons or evenings.

Right now, I feel terrible. Why? Because there is this damn disgusting thing on my keyboard right now that I am touching. Haha. (For the less intellectually inclined, that was meant to be a joke). But seriously, I thought that after Promos, I can get a nice break, but no, OP has to come, along with Open House. So instead of having a nice break after beating Promos, that nasty boss, I get to fight an even tougher boss now.

I am really tired. I am not some superman. Can someone save me?

Honour

2007-08-21T02:44:00.000-07:00

Felt really bad today. Played chess using SC account and completely destroyed my opponent. Didn't even wayang here and there to make him think he had a chance.

And that was really unfair, since a player of my ranking is not even allowed to play with that opponent normally. (it is forbidden by the rules) It was almost like Liu Xiang participating in a hurdles competition against JC students. That was how unfair it was.

Reflected on myself after that game. Is this the kind of person that I want to be in the future, preying on the weak? I find myself disgusted with the possibility. Which really brings up to my point here: do we realise the consequence of what we do in our normal lives?

We ask our teachers, classmates, even the cleaning auntie next door on answers to things like quizzes, tests, and all that, just to score an A for the paper. Is that right? That smacks of lack of integrity and cheating.

Some may argue that it is only fair to ask for these answers since others will do it as well, and they are doing that to ensure an even playing field. I ask: If people are eating dung, will you eat it as well?

The fact that others do it gives us no reason to do it ourselves. Do we really want to live in a world where we are continually finding out ways to use shortcuts instead of working for it ourselves?

Sun Tzu, or some great chinese philosopher once said: "Great is the man who knows how to use stratagems to advance himself. Greater is the man who knows of these stratagems but refuses to use them", and I fully agree with him.

The satisfaction from a 'B' worked for far exceeds the 'A' which comes out of dubious means.

Trust me.

Lame

2007-08-14T04:54:00.000-07:00

Thought of some lame riddle after reading Derek's and Priscilla's blogs. Care to guess?

Who can claim to be I?
Unique and special I, my first is but a poor cousin thrice removed.
Different my second is, estranged from its brothers,
It is missing from this most unusual line.
Zebras favor not my third; neither do
Horses, yet mares do, and I wonder why.
Ordinary four,
Not flower, not grass, but a mirror image of a tree.
Go east, west or south you may, but never
Possibly can you find my fifth.
Arrange the letters in descending
Order, and perhaps you may figure out my whole.

Lol, there are two things present in the riddle. Try guessing. I think you probably can get one but not the other.

The CHAINS of command

2007-08-13T06:35:00.000-07:00

I know I really should not be blogging now. But if I don't get this off my chest, I don't think I can function and work properly.

The below is a satire on something which if you should know, you will know. If you don't... Ask me personally and I may tell you.

Long ago there was this god who was an ardent supporter of Leads United, his celestial football club. He created the land known as happy happy land with 4 kakis chosen to rule the land. They are: The Dragon King, the Crown Prince, the Spinning Princess, and the scholar from hazy land.

One day, they decide to plan a gala dinner. The Dragon King thought it was a fine idea, and got the Crown Prince to seek blessings from their god together. The Dragon King did several things, such as coordinating the committees formed, but left the bulk of the work to the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince then struggled valiantly to organise the gala dinner, and tried getting the other two kakis to help.

The princess was more supportive of forming a bank to suck some cash, and when her scheme failed, migrated to red hair land to sulk.

The scholar was nowhere to be found. Enough said.

The Crown prince, in his desperation, resorted to finding several jokers to help him do his work. The people were pissed, but they did it, on account for the Crown Prince's own dedication.

I am but a minute peon in the scheme of things, not involved in the chain of command at all. Yet I am responsible for doing this shit.

Why the hell am I doing all this things? My' superiors', with the exception of one, are doing nothing at all but to 'supervise'. I owe nothing to them, I owe nothing to the organisation, I owe nothing to the Leads United supporter.

What the fish man. I am not in the ruling elite, so why do I have to do this sai kang? Why not let the princess do the job? Why not let the person originally in charge of my section do it. Oh my god, I forgot, they are in a far away place mingling with the red-hairs! Oh dear, how could I possibly make such an error. I don't know what to think. Perhaps happy happy land isn't so happy afterall.

Completely fictional, as always, dear readers.

Apologies

2007-08-11T02:29:00.000-07:00

I realise that my blog post below might be perceived as insulting or rude to some people. For those offended, I sincerely offer you my apologies, and recognise that you have a right to choose your own way to live, be it vastly different from mine.

From the bottom of my heart, sorry.

Resting

2007-08-10T07:34:00.000-07:00

Lol, had the inspiration to blog after checking out on some other people blogs.

Sometimes, I wonder how people can keep cheonging ahead. (Maybe their surname is Cheong)

Got to hand it to these people man. Don't they need time for rest? Doing things like intricately planning class outings, organising CIPs and the like. What gives them the drive to do such things?

Is it for their CVs? Is it for the satisfaction involved? Or something else entirely?

But whatever the case maybe, we really ought to thank these people. Without them, how can slackers and lamers like me thrive?

With the presence of these paragons of virtue, we can safely procrastinate in the knowledge that we still have someone to watch our asses.

To be frank though, I think that their lives are actually quite sad. Rushing like a bullet train for far ahead destinations, not stopping for anyone, anything. Not stopping for those slackers strolling behind, or the bright meadows they hurriedly pass though.

Life is short. The past is the past and cannot be retrieved. The future is still uncertain and there is no point waiting for it.

Live life for the present, man.

Enlightenment

2007-08-05T00:30:00.000-07:00

I got it.

I have found the path that I am looking for.

To hell with the nagging doubts and worries that I have at the back of my head.

This is it.

There can only be one winner, and I don't intend to lose.

Watch out.

Lamergoat is back in action.

Inactivity

2007-07-31T02:54:00.000-07:00

Lol, long time, no blog.

As can be guessed, the main reason for me not blogging so far was because I was weeping over the loss of the last round in Raffles Cup.

Actually, I was just pulling your legs (hopefully you become as lame as me after that). To be honest, I was just lazy and really couldn't be bothered to blog.

My life right now? Pretty decent, my chess skills, as Chun Kai noted, are more volatile than the stock market, dipping from 1633 at one point to 1774. Currently, my score is at 1714/1715, so that's still quite noob, since masters are expected to be >2000.

My love life? Non-existent, pretty much the way I will like it to be, after seeing so many bright young men kenna killed by the opposite gender. (And no, I am SERIOUSLY not referring to anyone from our class here)

Sometimes, I really wonder how long I can continue to be lame. It takes significantly less effort to be lame than to be serious, but honestly, to be a complete sloth takes NO effort at all.

When you are happy most of the time, people do tend to take you for granted and think that you are a constant, like Kc and Kp. Am I then forbidden from feeling down because I am supposed to be the optimistic one and cheer up others with my lame jokes?

I am sick and tired of continuing this guise. But I guess I will still wake up the next morning acting this way again.

Because this is what people perceive, people want of me.

That will have to do.

Raffles Cup Aftermath

2007-06-18T06:33:00.000-07:00

In the end, we got thrashed by Anderson JC four boards to nil. Well, maybe we just weren't prepared both mentally and physically (meaning mugging of chess) to beat such a strong school. Some random quizzes that I took as a break to mugging:

Raffles Cup final round

2007-06-05T05:44:00.000-07:00

It's time for the final round, and we are up against the best performing team in the competition yet, AJC team A. Will post the final synopsis on the raffles cup by tmr or the day after. Wish us luck against AJC. Thanks.

Lessons Learnt

2007-05-21T02:01:00.000-07:00

Just realised today that I really need to improve on my temper. Got really pissed off during Math lecture at Yichen, who did something really, really spastic, but even so, I should not have reacted that badly.

Played 4 games of Xiangqi with Chun Kai today and won 1, lost 3. Got a nagging feeling that I really could have fought a draw in at least two of those matches. Guess I really need to further improve on my mid game, otherwise will probably get slaughtered for Raffles Cup. Still, I will probably start on my training/mugging after GP common test, so we will see how my win/lose ratio is like during next training.

Got to be more careful in bio in the future, 'cos I realise that I always miss out some important detail in my answers, (like how the codon is complementary to the anticodon because of base pairings)

Overall? I think I better buck up, otherwise all my goals will will never be achieved.

P.S. Got a joke from somewhere-- What is the definition of a will?

Answer: It's a dead giveaway.

1st Post

2007-05-16T04:09:00.000-07:00

On account that quite a few of my classmates have blogs, I finally decided to jump on the bandwagon and start blogging, albeit much later than when blogging was all the rage. Still, starting late is better than not starting at all, so I guess it's okay.

School has been quite dull lately, with tutorials coming fast and furious (drift, drift) since the examinations are coming soon. Should be doing them but don't feel like doing... slacking off as usual =p. It is kind of troublesome to balance between things which I know I should do and things I want to do, which is really the reason why I named this blog that way, in the remote hopes that I actually do find a path for myself to take.

Actually, I think I sound slightly "emo" here, so I better write more on the bright side of life. (ME! Good Job if you actually got that lame joke) Anyway, got to start doing those tutorials that I mentioned earlier, so bye!

P.S. What does a bowling ball have in common with a hedgehog?

Answer: They are painful to touch (Ten pin bowling) Lol, not very funny, but I didn't have much time to think of a better one.