The Top Percentile

.... really isn't as distant as it seems perhaps.

Effort, Endeavour and Endurance.
The kinds of heat required for incandescence.
Add to that a pinch of fervor.
And you can reignite any dying ember.

Had a long chat with K.
Maybe it's true. Somewhere down the road, I lost that drive. I slowly gave in to contentment. Now, being content is no bad thing. But being content with mediocrity when you know you can do better is another thing.

The time is nigh to go back to being a dreamchaser.
Tomorrow will always be there. But a person's strength and abilities will not.
Chase now and be prepared to chase long.
Work now and be ready to work hard.
Dream big and be motivated to makes dreams real.

Seasons

It's always summer where I live.
Sometimes, the heat can get unbearable.
And somedays, all I want is a nice cold dive.
Yet there was comfort in warmth so tangible.

Even the smallest, littlest things.
Like waking to messages of an adored one after a nap.
Would make me feel like I have wings.
And I would walk with a spring in my step.

A cold, loveless winter would tear most men apart.
But the warmth of Summer was always in my heart.
Alas, Autumn never came.
And I still feel the same.

It's always summer where I live.

It's Time to Soar.

When I was driving home from class today, my mind was cluttered with thoughts, of which one stood out more than the rest.

I can't meander in the sea of mediocrity any longer.

For far too long I've been far too comfortable with being average. I tell myself: "Well, it's alright! I'm still young, there's plenty of time in the future to be good at what I want to be good at."

But that's not really true. I've already entered the third decade of my life and within five years I'm likely to be in the working force. (If I'm not... Gosh what have I been doing!?!?) I want to be of significance, of worth to the society and to achieve that, there are plenty of things I need to work on.

It's been so long since I felt cocksure about my abilities, since I've been truly confident at what I can achieve or do, since I felt totally in control of a situation. Do I really just want to be a bystander as my peers achieve greatness after greatness? I want to achieve my share of success too!

It's time to buck up, Q. Are you willing to just stay as an Average Joe for the rest of your life? No. So get your foot on the pedal and start moving forward.

Contempt. Detest. Despise.

I haven't felt more irritable all year.

First experience. Might as well be last.

Enjoyable? Maybe if I'm drunk and completely intoxicated.

The world seems to love this place, but I tell you what. Perhaps I scorn the world. I scorn their opinions. I hate the conformity. I hate how people just waste their lives away here. To what end? To what purpose? I see none. Why? I don't understand. Is it that fun? I see no enjoyment.

The dreary smell of smoke and alcohol. To many it seems like ecstasy: refrained from troubles, refuge from the vitriol of life, a paradise. They feel at peace in the midst of chaos.

Hands flying, arms flailing, limbs are going places it shouldn't in daylight and facades otherwise forbidden are at full force. But is it really a facade? Or are their daily lives the true facade?

Drink, rave, grind and get crazy.

If that's their honest opinion of fun, I have no problem with it. Society demands we respect the people's fundamental rights to decide how they wish to lead their lives and I'm not about to tip over the line.

I couldn't care less about how you view mine.

When//Who?

The Destitute Pilgrimage 

Want it bad,
At times in distress,
Occasionally sad,
But won't settle for anything less.

Patient but flustered.

Bitter but not jaded.

Probing and seeking,

All the while.

Bettering and refining,
I'll wait out the lull.

Perseverance//Tenacity.

VICTORIA CONCORDIA CRESCIT! 

Arsenal vs Tottenham: North London Is Red from VladVideo on Vimeo.

:D

Wheee, after a week of doom and gloom, so happy to see Happy Arsenal. ^.^V

Don't Stay//Move On.

"It's not your fault if you're born poor. But if you die poor, it's no one's fault but your own." 

- Bill Gates.

The crux of the message is basically the need to adapt and change according to circumstances. Doing nothing results in nothing happening. Not really rocket science, is it? Yet so many people have the propensity to just sit on their arms and watch. Maybe let out a little whine here, and a little complaint there; but do nothing about it.

That's one facet of change, focusing on the result. 

"If I don't do anything, X will happen. But if I do Y, maybe Z will happen instead." 

I shall explore another facet by alluding to another quote:

"Don't get set into one form, adapt it and build your own, and let it grow, be like water. Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless — like water. Now you put water in a cup, it becomes the cup; You put water into a bottle it becomes the bottle; You put it in a teapot it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend. " 

- Bruce Lee.

The other facet of change focuses on approach. You could argue that a change of approach is the subset of  a change of result, but a change of approach doesn't necessitate a change of result.

Bruce's doctrine deals with the belief where there are no rules for any particular discipline that are set in stone. He encourages people to express themselves, instead of following patterns over and over. Using martial arts as an example, students are thought the same techniques of striking, blocking, and grappling. However, when sparring, exponents tend to have very different methods of approaching a brawl - technique is but a stepping stone to expression of self, of how you want to fight and no two souls or completely alike.

So what does this mean?

It means we all have an innate preference for things. Such as what we like to do, what places we find beautiful, what food we find delicious, what genre of music we enjoy listening, what shows we like to watch and what stories we like hearing, and particularly how we like to do things. But all these tend to be blurred by society and it's dealings.

To achieve a goal, we don't all have to follow the same path. Say, two persons' ultimate goal is to teach. Do they all have to go down the same path, the academic way? No. Songwriters can express their teachings through their songs. Journalists can express through articles. Heck, Jeremy Lin is teaching us through basketball. Methods are only limited by imagination.

So to those who find their days dulled down and less exciting than it has been: maybe it's time to alter your approach, shake things up and change the way you view things! The mind becomes stagnant when there is a lack of imagination. Explore your strengths and weaknesses, your likes and dislikes, and live accordingly. Ultimately, be true to your own dogma and find something in life that suits you! :)

-Q

Take Pride//No Shame.

I thought long and hard before deciding if I should resume blogging after a 2-year long hiatus from the blogosphere.

In light of the recent Kashgari case, many people were enraged that a mere comment on the Internet had such strong repercussions in the form of the death penalty. I myself was a little afraid - I tend to be endlessly attracted to controversial issues, and was worried that I might be just one careless comment away from ISA detainment.

Which is why I have put up a disclaimer on my blog! :D Hopefully that saves me should I make any tactless decisions lololol!

AND SO, I AM BACK! :D And now I will reside in my new blog instead of the old JUMP! blog. Well you can still read that if you want, but I would say it's a fairly obsolete reflection on who I am right now. As this is a mostly introductory post, it's going to be short.

In this blog I will cover a wide range of things, from the things that happen in my daily life, to my opinions on thought provoking issues, to football, and even anime or manga.

Today, I would like to share a few quotes. (Btw, I don't remember it word for word.)

"Do not fear suffering. SUFFERING produces CHARACTER, with CHARACTER comes HOPE, and HOPE NEVER FAILS US." 

- NBA sensation Jeremy Lin, referring to Romans 5: 3-4 of the Bible.

Do not dwell on tough times. Whining won't help; working hard will. All good things come to those who persevere. And Jeremy Lin's rapid rise to stardom is just a great example that is unfolding right now: 

Undrafted, snubbed by Golden State, snubbed by Houston, arrived at New York as the #5 point guard in the team. It was no easy road. But he persevered, kept working hard, and then his chance came - NYK's point guards were injured, they were short on personnel, so Jeremy was thrust into the team. He grabbed his chance with both hands and never looked back. Linsanity began in earnest and is still going strong. Overnight, he became a superstar, endearing himself to many with his humble attitude, the hero of many aspiring Asian basketballers, and the pride of all Chinese people.

“长命富贵世间有，日月同久世间无。“

Loosely translated as: 

"The world can offer us a long life and wealth, but eternity is something that even it is powerless to give."

- Tan Sri 张晓卿 (Zhang Xiao Qing,) touching on how short life is, and how time passes so quickly, while reminiscing about his childhood with his recently deceased younger brother.

THEREFORE WE SHOULD TREASURE ALL THE TIME AND PEOPLE THAT WE HAVE, ESPECIALLY US YOUTHS! LIFE IS NEVER REALLY THAT LONG.

This was extracted from a Chinese news article (Sin Chew Daily) which my mum asked me read. I found it very heartwarming that two brothers (and in fact, the whole family) could have such a tightly-knit relationship. (Sadly, me and my bro are not that close due to age gap) 

Tan Sri Zhang is one good big brother, born into poverty, he dropped out of school after barely scraping through Form Three and helped with the bread winning for the family. He gave financial support and encouraged his younger siblings to study in universities overseas, especially her sister due to the (at that time) sexist society. He believed that education is the best way to change the life of his family and persisted where his siblings resisted. He says: 

"There are a lot of things I want to do in life. But as I am not very intelligent academically, the things I can do are limited. As the big brother, I did not want the suffering I lived through my youth to be the predicament of my younger siblings, and where I fail, I hope my younger siblings succeed." (loosely translated)

Quite inspirational. I always thought that inherently, I have a big brother personality, and he is definitely one good example to learn from. Sadly I have no younger siblings to dote on. :( 

I am always green with envy when I watch TV series such as Moonlight Resonance, lamenting the absence of such siblinghood (if there is even such a word) in my life. For those who are close with your siblings, you sure are lucky! You may fight and quarrel often, but in the end, you know he/she is someone you can count on. : )

Well, I guess it didn't end up being that short. =.= I apologise.

Hope you enjoyed the read! : )

-Q