Innocence lost in time and ages

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Just words for today.

Oxymoron
- I think I am a perfect example of it.

Inequality
- is evil! Inequality is what makes this world a fair game.

The world
- is NOT in your books and maps. It is beyond the window out there, waiting for you to discover!

I was
- a realist, a free-thinker, music-lover, sports guy, math freak, food indulgent-er, eccentric and weird, loves games and smile on people's face.

破釜沉舟
- You do, or you die.


Battle
- Fight the contradiction with your own style. Or lost yourself in the times of ages.

Be Strong
- and be stronger than your strongest excuse!

Success
- felt better earned, not given.


Time
- flies, but certain feeling stays. And such is my attitude.




..Almost 5 years past. Gawsh.

《识人七法》

志、变、识、勇、性、廉、信

问之以是非而观其志；
穷之以辞辩而观其变；
咨之以计谋而观其识；
告之以祸难而观其勇；
醉之以酒而观其性；
临之以利而观其廉；
期之以事而观其信。

If you can read that far...

I believe this is a world full of distraction.
One that feeds on your inaction.

Everyone wanted to have a dream,
to be like others, be kings and queens.

Some struggled to prove their identity,
while some others creates new personality.

Everyone thinks they have the right conviction,
and with that, this will be their life commitment.

Some cares only about progression,
while some just wants more attention.

We wanted to be always happy-go-lucky,
but sometimes, you really can't afford to be lazy.

While you may define your life goal differently,
Why must we only focus in one thing only?

It may seems that, this is the way to be,
but can't we thrive, for everything there is to see.

_______________________

So why not?

Valedictorian who sports daily,
Attention-seeker who cares kindly,
Muscle-builder who reads mindfully,
Kids who learn patiently,
Narcissist who talks humbly,
or maybe,
Facebooker who treats me nice food seriously.

All of us started with choices we didn't make; your name, your parents, your race, your everything there is to be decided by yourselves.
While we can always improvise what we already have instead of changing it, your beliefs, your names, your savings, your friends, etc etc, Why not always go for more? Unless you are already in your own sweet little comfort bubble, then please do not forget that making one choice doesn't always necessarily means that you have to forgo others.

________________________

I works like zombie,
laughs like crazy,
sports weekly,
nerds daily,
tries hardly,
falls deeply,
selfishly,
talkatively,
trying to be the best of myself.

I make choices that I needed to, because I want to.
If I can't beat the strong, I will, join the strong.
No matter I will end up strong, or end up wrong,
I am, song leong.
I am, July's gladiolz.
I am, going to sleep soon.

______________________

There's nothing different about me, everything I said above, is all me. But you who are reading this, top students, top cosers, managers, supervisors, engineers doctors auditors (sorry I no lawyer friend here deal with it)...
Live your life to the fullest, by walking in more than one way.
I may always be ignoring heroes wannabe like u all, but that doesn't mean you can't be more than what you are now.
Guys who acts like mature boi, go get a girl for real, works for real, get a real commitment,
Girls who act like they are dead serious in their life,
..I have no comments coz girls are scary.

Just, care about ur health while u care too much about ur works n studies;
care about your brain content while u care too much about ur reputation,
care about ur friends and families while u care too much about being successful YOLO-er,
care about being a real woman a real guy a real son or daughter, whoever you are; walks proudly, knowing that you are always on the right tracks to be someone who shines in more than one way.

Strive.
Kay?
Then belanja me makan,
kay kay?

Don't be distracted by my nonsense,
kay?
I promise I will be the best of your friend...
provided nasi lemak rendang, ice cre//oiiiii
‪#‎Rant‬ ‪#‎CozIthinkpeopleOnlyFocusinOneThing‬ ‪#‎Why‬‪#‎ShouldIcleanupMyAccountAndTalktoMyself‬? ‪#‎Idontwantslackerfriend‬‪#‎Idontwantoldme‬ ‪#‎Ionlywantcurrcychicken‬ ‪#‎freeOneOkay‬

Who are you? (Part II)

Which one are you?

Which one hits you? Did you lost the person you loved the most and only left with memories? Did you think you became stronger just because you get over Someone? Talk about the benefit of free-thinking, sometimes it has no difference than terrorist -- both lives in their own world and thinks that their thought Matters.

Are you attention seeker who wanted your friends to know that you are doing very, very fine? (blah go travel, go eat, go cafe, go do 'something crazy', go join all the latest hipster event and the trends happening on the town..)

Are you the career obsessed 'leader' or just slaves who are barely getting paid for what you contributed? Oh wait, both are just the same.
Can't you feed your own goatdem mouth and just be happy about it?

Or are you lost? Because sometimes finding a meaning and a goal in life without being negatively pervaded by the thoughts of the people around you just seems so, difficult? Go get a laif! Get....oh wait, that's exactly what I am now o_o sheetz its 130am! goodnight miao!


..I mean, ciao!

but seriously, think about it. #FoodForThought #NeverEnding #SelfReflection #StandAlone

Are you special? (Part I)

Scroll down to the last part for summary kay O.O

Have I ever tell you anecdotes about my life? About all the little things that matters, all the risk taken, the youth gambled, and the life that I missed out in order to take the road less taken. Sounds a bit familiar to your life perhaps?

Whether you are a fervid hobbyist who is destined to carry the flag of #YOLO legacy, or you are one whose youth had been impoverished by hours and nights of career building. Have you ever wondered whether all these history-making moment are not exactly just an excuse for us to escape boredom and loneliness?

Did we followed the footpath of general social media, to capture all the beauty of cafes, to drink all the good coffees in the world, to do all the extreme sports to feel unique, to travel to different country in search of life, to be the hipster who are ever so ready to take on the world, but are never ready to take on a commitment. A mortgage, marriage, career plan, children, the dreams of not yours but the one who raised you up -- your very own parents.

Oh or perhaps you are the one on the other shore -- ka-ching! nuff' said.
Money buys time, time to daydream, time to travel, time to spent with family, and it buys flight tickets too,
property, insurance, saving plans, and that includes your favorite watch or handbag.
Let's go with the simple formula and take the 'safer path', or we can pretend to be young by doing both! We can climb the corporate ladder, earn ample amount of income, and spent it as if we are random refugee who started poor and shook the world by accomplishing something great.

Anyhow, we just wanted to prove to ourselves that we are more than what we are.

But are we ever any less than what we are supposed to be?

Or if you are the dreamer who are lost, the faithful sailor of the Ship of fools, here's the question to be asketh, Does your emotion matters? Does your opinion matters? Does being perfect matters?




Me? I will still stubbornly hold into this principle, of sharing attitude but not emotion, sharing experience and wisdom but not self-opinion nor self-esteem, sharing a little thoughts in this article, and that's the best I can manage, for now.
________________________________________________________________________________
重点hidden here, that is if you are not the 'reader' type

TL;DR? (Too Long, Dont want to Read?)
Nah it's just random rambling of an old guy. That's all xD

Rant of the day: why does everyone let themselves be defined by anything else other than themselves? The society, the trends, the forcibly infused dreams, the artificial sense of proud and self-esteem, money, and... attention.
________________________________________________________________________________

The Art of Happiness - Dalai Lama

Let's have a quick and simple reading trip to the world of the master of his own mind.
#RandomComment

“We need to learn how to want what we have NOT to have what we want in order to get steady and stable Happiness”
#Deep

“Although you may not always be able to avoid difficult situations,you can modify the extent to which you can suffer by how you choose to respond to the situation.” 
#Worksforme

“When life becomes too complicated and we feel overwhelmed, it’s often useful just to stand back and remind ourselves of our overall purpose, our overall goal. When faced with a feeling of stagnation and confusion, it may be helpful to take an hour, an afternoon, or even several days to simply reflect on what it is that will truly bring us happiness, and then reset our priorities on the basis of that. This can put our life back in proper context, allow a fresh perspective, and enable us to see which direction to take.” 
#Chillkay #OnlyfortheStressedoutOnes

“Self satisfaction alone cannot determine if a desire or action is positive or negative. The demarcation between a positive and a negative desire or action is not whether it gives you a immediate feeling of satisfaction, but whether it ultimately results in positive or negative consequences.” 
#Golden! #FirstworldHipsterproblem #Yoloisatrend

“I think that if one is seeking to build a truly satisfying relationship, the best way of bringing this about is to get to know the deeper nature of the person and relate to her or him on that level, instead of merely on the basis of superficial characteristics.”

“regret with dignity and grace.” 

“Compassion can be roughly defined in terms of a state of mind that is nonviolent, nonharming, and nonaggressive. It is a mental attitude based on the wish for others to be free of their suffering and is associated with a sense of commitment, responsibility, and respect towards others.” 

“By mobilizing our thoughts and practicing new ways of thinking, we can reshape our nerve cells and change the way our brains work.” 

“The psychoanalyst and social philosopher Erich Fromm claimed that humankind’s most basic fear is the threat of being separated from other humans. He believed that the experience of separateness, first encountered in infancy, is the source of all anxiety in human life. John Bowlby agreed, citing a good deal of experimental evidence and research to support the idea that separation from one’s caregivers – usually the mother or father – during the latter part of the first year of life inevitably creates fear and sadness in babies. He feels that separation and interpersonal loss are at the very roots of the human experiences of fear, sadness, and sorrow.” 

#Goodreads
for
#Selfimprovement

一轮明月下的观点

宁静之夜中的公园， 倒映在湖畔的月光， 刷过树叶的风声， 携手散布的情侣， 玩乐的孩子们， 运动的健身狂; 这样的夜晚， 自然景观中， 偷懒的我， 活在当下。
#Twitter xD

-Hunting wolves-

Social media:
A pack (wolves): The first 3 are the older or sick and they set the pace of the group. If it was on the contrary, they would be left behind and lost contact with the pack. In ambush case they would be sacrificed. The following are the 5 strongest. In the center follow the remaining members of the pack, and at the end of the group follow the other 5 stronger. Last, alone, follows the alpha wolf. It controls everything from the rear. That position can control the whole group, decide the direction to follow and anticipate the attacks of opponents. The pack follows the rhythm of the elders and the head of the command that imposes the spirit of mutual help not leaving anyone behind.



..Sounds cool right?




The truth:
The compelling and inspirational story about teamwork, it’s not true.

David Attenborough took the photo in question for the BBC’s “Frozen Planet” Series in 2011. It shows 25 timber wolves hunting bison in Wood Buffalo National Park in Canada. The female alpha wolf led the pack, and the others followed in a single file line to save energy as they made their way through deep snow, according to the environmental website Benvironment.

Wolf packs are typically about half the size of the pack pictured in the photo from 2011. Most packs don’t hunt prey the size of bison (which is 10 times the size of a wolf), but the larger pack is able to. And the wolves walking in a single file line through deep snow is a classic example of how they’re able to use weather conditions to their advantage while hunting prey that’s much larger than them.

Also, the idea that wolves have to be on the lookout for “ambushes” or attacks isn’t true, either. Wolves are at the top of the food chain and have no natural predators. Aside from turf battles with other wolves (which wouldn’t start in an ambush) bears are the only threat to wolves in Canada. Even so, experts say that bears are only able to prey on wolf pups because grown wolves are too fast, swift and clever to get caught by them.

La Moralité de Charles Perrault

Fairy tales not as we know it.


To wait a while to find a husband
Rich, good-looking, chivalrous and kind -
This is natural enough,
But to wait a hundred years, always asleep,
You can't find a girl or a woman anymore
Who will sleep so tranquilly.
The Fairytale above seems to tell us
That to put off the bonds of Love,
May make for happier marriages,
And that there is nothing to lose by waiting.
But the fair sex has such a passion
For conjugal intimacy,
That I have neither the strength nor the heart
To preach them that moral.

- Sleeping Beauty


______________________________________________________


Children,
especially attractive, well bred young ladies,
should never talk to strangers,
for if they should do so, they may well provide dinner for a wolf.

I say "wolf," but there are various kinds of wolves.
There are also those who are charming, quiet, polite, unassuming, complacent, and sweet, who pursue young women at home and in the streets.
And unfortunately, it is these gentle wolves who are the most dangerous ones of all.

-Red Riding Hood

______________________________________________________


Beauty in a woman is a rare treasure that will always be admired. 
Graciousness, however, is priceless and of even greater value. 
This is what Cinderella's godmother gave to her when she taught her to behave like a queen.
Young women, in the winning of a heart, graciousness is more important than a beautiful hairdo. 
It is a true gift of the fairies. Without it nothing is possible; with it, one can do anything.

Deuxième verset de morale:
Without doubt it is a great advantage to have intelligence, courage, good breeding, and common sense. 
These, and similar talents come only from heaven, and it is good to have them. 
However, even these may fail to bring you success, without the blessing of a godfather or a godmother.

- Cinderella

a walk in the Education pathway

Read an article the other day about education systems in Singapore and how it should be restructured to fit the modern society where competition lies in every aspect of life. Should the new initiative focuses on learning process than acing examinations? Or should we face the reality where productivity comes from a culture of rote-learning?

While it is true that schools and universities are place for you to make friends, to learn more about this world in a smaller, protected scale before you stepped outside to this vibrant yet potentially dangerous world of 'adults', of 'reality'. Where does education comes in really? It might be a good food for thought for many but I think the answer is quite apparent once you've seen enough of the bigger world.

Life skill: the sooner you learn it, the better it is. How to socialise, how to know where your passion lies and how to say no to things that shouldn't be part of your life. This is often what the westerner known as the entrepreneur life.
Practical skill: where technicality, and effort, makes everything. This on the other hand is what makes you 'useful' in asian's point of view. But does being 'useful' feels as rewarding as your other passion in life, If you have any? Or does it matter to even compare between the two if your life priority comes with managing expectation of others before following your own heart.

Does it matters? Says the asians.
Why not? Says the westerners.
Who cares. Says the gen-Y.

Ultimately, education became the part of civilization where it no longer pushes humanity to a higher level, but rather serves as a measuring tool to separate humans into different society ranking, thus determines their living standards. Does the original purpose of education became obsolete? Must we move on? And if yes, where to?

Isn't this the very basic question that should be answered in your process of finding your own meaning in life while you are at schools and uni? You decide what you want to do with your life, then pick up the skills and capability you need, before moving forward to realise that very dream.
Or are you someone who just feels reluctant to step out of your comfort zone, and feels safer following the crowds? Graduate, fall in love, fall out of love, plays, work, travels, work, plays, fall in love, get married, repeat the cycle indefinitely and.... who cares.
Does it matter if you do otherwise?

That sounds exactly like a typical chinese or gen-Y these days, even my colleagues who are tens of ages elder than me might say the same and does the similar.
But if you ask me the same: who cares?

I would.
And I do.

By now I hope you have found your answer too... so let's move forward pals. See you in the near future! ;)

That's why I am scared

“You say you love rain, 

but you use an umbrella to walk under it. 

You say you love sun, 

but you seek shelter when it is shining. 

You say you love wind, 

but when it comes you close your windows. 

So that's why I'm scared when you say you love me.”

..didnt know who wrote this but it sounds so 文青 lol. Good ones.

Enjoy the rain and the rainbow that comes with it! ;)

The past 365 days - 2015

2016
Another year with resolution.
Few days before it was the year where I made my resolution centered around the principle of "survival" and "apoptosis"
And I did made it just like the year before that one, pheww it was sure a harsh path taken.

I could have list down things I did that sorta makes me feel that I am not so lifeless yet xD
Finished a whole series of k-drama and j-drama, completed two games in short amount of time.
Totally not something that I would usually do xD

That being said, youtube videos and mobile games are still largely part of my entertainment-routine, so I decided to cut off major part of it!
Lesser FGO and ToS for me soon! Hmmm I wonder how >< Anyway gonna be firm about my resolution! (Y)

Next in line: ViperChallenge! >:D Who wanna join with me? xD

总算穿荆度棘过了高起伏的一年~
站在世界的两岸，看到的一边是忽悠忽悠着的海子们，快乐忧愁当饭吃；
另一边则是无止境为‘人生’打着仗的故友们。
盲目冲刺的，失去方向的，原地踏步的，自我娱乐的，总结上其实就是会自我安慰的人能力真的太强大啦！！
当然这只是给那些不怎么上进的孩子和小大人们的用词，请你们不要学我那么懒啦，这是我的标记好不！ :P

至于很多为自己真实梦想而冲刺着的朋友们。谢谢这一年来保持联络过的。。
终于开了自己经营的咖啡店的小老板，不分昼夜照顾病人又不停自我升值的小护士，数月隔绝电脑网络世界来探索人生的建筑师，从不停止脚步的纽西兰赛高鸭子，时间被工作打劫了还逼着把人生排第一的师姐友伴们，给你们个大大的赞！ (Y)

Real pain changes people.

Real pain changes ppl: not the one that is in your discretion whether you wants to burden it with you or not; no young kids 'trauma' or emo drama...



Few days ago I just received an unnecessary reminder of how fragile life can be... I was still fine and healthy until in a short few hours high fever kicks in and I couldn't sleep for the next 12 hours with my instinct keep telling me to bang my head at the wall or something... the body temperature just gone up like crazy and even as I keep drinking water every 20-30 min or so I have to go urinate the boiled water out of my body with my shirt my bed and everything else feels extremely heated up, I can barely feel any senses left in my limbs.

Just less than 24 hours before this happened, I was still happily doing my routine short exercise to sweat like a pig, happily having my meals and have a lovely and deserving sleep.... and no, I never get exposed to rains, or any immediate signs in these periods that could have ready myself for this sudden fever..

Now I am roughly recovered after some random 'natural' medication and treatment... I just want to say this: Imagine how much pain ur mom have to go through for that 9/10 months of on-going pain to give u a chance for a journey here, to keep alive so u can facebook and even reading this. Even thou some of you all out there doesnt have a satisfying childhood thx to ur mom as well, but the pain your mom went thru was a real deal. I guess it was right to say that some woman changes after becoming a mom~ Happy Mother's Day everyone = )

And for everyone else, life is fragile: survive!

P.S: For the kiasu colony, to Survive =/= to Win. Dont step on other ppl to win and claim that u r 'surviving'.
_____________________
Sorry no chinese ver, lazy to write one xD

Tribute to a warrior

Just a view on the perspective from a random kampung boy, a write-ups to pay tribute to the warrior who transformed a small fishing village into the first world country, one of the most significant centre of economy as what we've known today, Singapore:

A lot of people once told me that Singapore is a place where everything is about money! But no one ever tell me that it's a place where everything is about corruption.

They say being there is about surviving from stress! But never one says that it's about surviving from criminal.

Many says that Singaporean are generally kiasu; but none ever says that they are generally lazy!

They might not like their own life, they might be taking things for granted and some even probably thinks that they deserve more... and it's all because that they CAN. They deserved to live and to think this way because of the very place that enables them to be a fighter.

..a lot of people respect the late founding father of Singapore, Mr.Lee Kuan Yew and look at him as the national hero; While there are also many who see's him as the great villain who took advantage of many people many things to reach where he are today. But regardless... it's undeniable that he is a great soldier, one who fights for what he believes in, and proved by action.

There is no public holiday, yet so many people decided to line up for hourssss just to send him their prayers and thoughts for the great man.
There is no extra leave for me, and *plottwist* nope I didn't go that far to line up for hours not sleeping to look at him.

But anyway.. like most, if not all of you, I've met alot of different people in my life. Some people put priority on their religion and says that it transcend death; some people focused mainly on money and says that it goes beyond generation; some people focused on being the norm because they say's that they can only be 'truly' happy when they are 'successful', be it in their achievement that they want to be recognised, or their effort that they wanted to be rewarded with reputations, fame, or a loved one.

For the story of a man who's focuses more on changing the life of other's than the fear of his own death. Here I penned down my respect in the form of a insignificant blog post.

General quotes amongst the Oditer: You can rest when you die.

Therefore, after having barely(or less than) 8 hours of sleep in the last 72 hours. I ain't going to nap for now, I ain't going to spend the time now socialising with friends on facebook/whatsapp that I so deprived off(maybe:P), nor am I going to the nearby mall to pay tribute to the late Mr.Lee.
..I am gonna jog till I felt like sleeping in the field, preferably under the rain. And rethinks why am I still not desperate enough to move on. And so my dear friends, for those who are fighting, someday we may cross path again and I hope I isn't still too far behind. And for those who are not spending it constructively... I believes that anything can happen as long as we are alive, no matter how good how despicable how pathetic how absurd or how wonderful things can be... thank you my friends and people who have always been an inspiration for me by being yourself!
Jia You! 加油！　*vroooommm~~~ 
#lamejoke #changemoodabitKay

Viper Challenge 2015!! (Part 2/2) - The Journey to the Viperc Den

The early missteps

My original plan was to reach Damansara via bus early in the morning and proceed to stay at my friend's house to catch a somewhat important pre-event sleep the day before the Challenge. However what turn out was that the bus driver decided to stop at middle of Kuala Lumpur at 5am morning and didn't give it a dam about the destination I bought my ticket for. Stranded without access to the railway this early in the morning, a good singaporean family kindly let me 'tumpang' their cab to reach KL central station, a better place for us to rest before other public transport starts operating. After a bit of hustle and minor travelling, I managed to meet up with my friend and reach his house around noon, I even get to meet one of my close friend of PwC before I leave KL central! =  )

The beating before the game

..however, all this early travelling with lack of sleep (been travelling since midnight 1am from Sg) started to give my immune system a naughty idea for an early morning treat in the form of sore throat D: When I reach my friend's place at noon, he have to go out to run an errand for his family so I decided to get a healthy chinese tea to calm my worrying throat. And for those who met me during the past weekend, they'd know better how that ends up: the kind lady at the chinese tea shop there served me with a supposedly healthy chinese bitter tea which ends up with a terrible adverse effect. With my body not accepting the the content of the bitter tea even after my tearful effort to drank it all, it decided to give me a nice warning of sleeping time and made me wanna instantly... faint? Or more like to fall asleep completely. I managed to found a nearby couch and quickly have a unproductive on-and-off nap for around two hours. With all the cold sweats and the body resetting its immune system the internal workout activity of my body seems busy enough to keep me barely alive for another day.

Preparation of war:

As the sub-title suggest, war. The war must go on! I took a 2 hours nap before heading out at night for a light meal with friends and meetup with Kelvin who motivated me to take up ViperChallenge. He is a nice guy who looks overly mature for someone around my age. He had been kind enough throughout my entire Viperc 2015 experience especially during pre and post-event for fetching me around etc.
We were part of the mass 'manual labour' who volunteered for last year ViperC with overly under-recognised sweat and sweats. With a point to prove and alot of fellow friend's sake to win for we marched into Viperc early morning with much nostalgic feeling: The never-see-before clear sky where I can see the entire constellation of Orion with roughly only level 1 light pollution! (Far city light pollution is at minimal value of 3) It totally reminds me of last year when I spent the night in the middle of jungle with my Station 2.5 teammate under the very same sky.

With only 4-5 hours of sleep and some random pills from Kelvin we start the course with a readied heart!

Viper-Challenge!

https://fatsoslim.wordpress.com/2015/03/16/my-viper-challenge-2015/

Due to the lack of pictures and/or go-pro equipment there is isn't anything more than verbal description so show you what it was all about~ Therefore I enclosed a link here to someone's blog I found online with some interesting write-up and nice pictures of ViperChallenge2015! (Y)

The ever recognisable Viper Challenge obstacle is always the first and the last one. With increased number of obstacle this year, ViperChallenge greeted us with a reminder that IceBucketChallenge is not only Not forgotten, It Is Overrated. ViperC wakes up ur muscle with a new and improved obstacle from last year's ice water dipping into this year's major ice diving!! It looks fun and simple enough but the coolness and the chill that comes right after u went through the obstacle is a happy drug to your muscles... woke up? Good! It's time to move on!!

Dirtier Dirt and Muddier Mud:

With some dirt and muddy obstacles here and there, I got my first injury on my right knee when someone accidentally pushed me when I was trying to speed-climbing the slippery mud slide. With that minor injury on me, the crawling and the water obstacles doesnt make it feel any better, but at least it does make my knee clean! xD Along the way it totally feel like endless mud and water obstacles, with some of them being modified from last year ViperC: Like the jump over fire obstacle without a pool this year to end it cool, no more basic monster size tire workout for us, and so on. We keep looking forward for more fun ahead, and it wasn't long until you realise you are almost halfway there...

Choose your difficulty level:

With the Spiderman Shuffle being the only major stamina-killer in early course, the quick-mud take a change of game at around 8km - 10km route. Its a approximately 1km jungle trekking with quick muds everywhere~ Everyone have to go in pairs or groups so someone would be helping you up when you fall into the quick mud. The tough part of this course is Not the slow drain of your stamina, but rather... the mud vs your shoe!
With many participants end up with their war gear being sacrificed in this nasty obstacle... this is where the different types of Viperc participant started to differentiate themselves. Me and Kelvin helped alot of ppl along the way, I even try to break a semi-big tree branch to help some people who got stuck in the nasty mud. 

The next obstacles right after that was one of my favourite: the mini walls! The other fun climbing obstacles up to this point for me was the 'stairway to heaven': very simple series of climbing and descending and viola~

you'd do good as long as you warmed up enough and knows how to do a few basic climb :) [Google the pic pls coz it was awesome! :D ..and kinda easy xD]

Speaking about that... this year's obstacle was considered fairy do-able especially for the new-comers/amateurs. With the course kinda designed with alot of near-cross-path, the lack of volunteers on many obstacles gave many participant extra motivation to be skipping track if you are not up to the task. Especially when we reach this giant fun slides after about 14km through the course, I found out at the end of the day that alot of ppl skipped the track by following the nearby crowd going into the other direction and to their surprised it'd takes them to the end obstacle with around 7km skipped and 7 obstacles missed! Well, medal certs and tshirts aside, u choose your own goal! ;D

The fight takes shape!

Why alot of people wanted to skip courses and obstacles? If you are one of them asking the question, you probably didn't realised the fact that this course became lesser about 'leaving no one behind' and more about 'just get this done with' especially after the quick-mud.... when ViperC started to bare its fang on the participants!

With a series of climbing that requires upper body strength it even make it harder for us to keep helping ppl as we need to reserve strength for what lies ahead. Kelvin being the one tirelessly to talk to the volunteers and the participants accidentally lost his spec into the pool when he was going through the monkey bar challenge. It demotivates him alot especially when one of the on-site crew turned an eye away from his problem and didn't even bother to console him.

I tried that challenge twice and end up holding one arm on the bar(again!) while the other arm couldn't reach the extremely high 3rd ring, which is exactly the reason why this obstacle was given the name 'epic journey'. Right after that Kelvin seems even more demotivated as many ppl realises that the more time you spent not moving, the harder it will become! It doesnt matter whether you waits for friends, or tries to help other people, the longer it gets, the more the scorching sun will take its toll on you. With friends started to split up and we decided that we doesnt have any spare energy tank left to be the kind samaritan around, we quickly proceed to the remaining obstacles. At this point of time, my voice still haven't fully recovered so I couldn't talk much nor shout, and with Kelvin recently lost spec, it's a team with the poor voice and vision display. With just two of us left to take care of each other, the 'leave no one behind' motto takes the form of the 2 ppl left in group.

For the warrior

Along the way undoubtly there are more obstacles, physical challenges and body constrains that came into the picture. Kelvin being the smart guy around carries various cream and products that ease muscle pain. He started to have major issue of recurring muscle pain when he tries one of the obstacles and fall down on the crumbling sand which made him rolled the ground. To my surprise he still endlessly try to beat all the obstacle coming in our way of beating the ViperChallenge!

The 2nd obstacle that I failed is one that I am not happy about... the 'nerve of steel'!! The challenging part was that the metal rope was so slim that u either have to be fast and strong enough to hang and move along before your body weight wins in a fight of weight vs stamina.. or you have to be tactical enough to lock ur arms and legs around the metal steel to make it slightly easier, with a price of painful drag of skin when you to move while hanging on the metal rope. My muscle began to feel tired when I was more than halfway over the pool underneath, as I look ahead I saw only two choice: brace myself towards the remaining distance to beat this obstacle with the expense of possible stamina overhaul, or give up at this point to save the energy on what's to come.

My choice? I end up slowly drop down to the water... And on my mind? I really wanted to beat the final obstacle no matter what it takes, and I would hate not being able to finish more obstacle before That final one!

ClimbMax

This is already the part when ViperC challenge this year shows you that the toughest of obstacles are always the last to come. With the last few obstacles being the toughest among all the obstacles, you don't even have time to be excited; conserve stamina, save energy, be as tactical as possible to beat it fast so you don't have to waste too much of strength.

What comes next is the 3Meter wall called 'Rapelling Wall', infamous for the amount of victims that it 'consumed', I became extra careful and tries to move quick but not too fast climbing the wall with the rope attached... however like most ppl do, my arm strength just couldn't pull my whole body up quick enough to climb the whole 3 meter, I stepped down, stopped, rested for a while and rethink my strategy: I would really hate not to conquer another obstacle, and having failed the previous obstacle, I owed to beat this one!
After some rethinking and watching how some other ppl do it, I found the right method of doing it and with another strength rush on me I give it another shot and starting to pull myself up via the rope with my body flat sticking to the wall and leg spread forming a M shape and stand on the tiny piece of wood nailed there: pull the rope, push the legs, stick the body to the wall, repeat, conquer! It takes energy to reach on top but it takes much more to come down via very unfashioned way of me using the last bit of my energy to ensure a safe landing (alot of ppl hurted themselves because they lost their strength/grip on holding the rope when descending)... with almost a cramp on my thigh I rolled and land on my butt.. ouch!!

Shortly after that, as I regain my strength to move on ahead, I saw Kelvin climbing back down from the very same obstacle without much trouble. With that little bit of strength left and all that muscle pain, I guess he still can nail it especially when its something that requires more skill than strength.. impressive guy!!
And with just some more challenges left in the game, one of the last strength-killer was the 'Define Gravity' obstacle! The giant slanted plank that required you to move upwards by speeding ur way up if you are an super-athelete, or u can be tactical about it by having ppl forming human pyramid ladder to help you up.
Being one of the final few obstacles left around for you to conquer, it doesn't stops here. Once u reach the top, you will only realised that unlike last year, the back of the slanted wall is not flat land for you to just land on it, but rather a big distance for you to slide down along the sand to reach the ground level. There was two random guy around who helped me up my letting me climbing via their shoulder, with a small burst from the wall I reach my arm to the guy waiting on top to pull me up to finish this obstacle. Right after I felt that sense of accomplishment, I looked at and realised the cool guys moved on ahead without giving me a chance to say thank you; and as for Kelvin, he tried to conquer the obstacle solo way, but as he was sliding down due to lack of momentum to reach the top, his foot began to give up and he rolled on the ground again... yiks! He pull himself up as we march towards the remaining short distance before the victory... the ramp of Triumph!!



The height of triumphant
It was around 1am noon with the hot sun still burning on our skin and stamina... when I finally reach the back the Stadium, here it is, waiting for me... the 'ramp of Triumph'! The obstacle so iconic as ViperChallenge finisher that was inspired by American Ninja Warrior's Warped Wall obstacle. The one that I set my eye on to beat it since last year... climb, jump, rope, humans, whatever it takes me to beat that, I will. With all the remaining energy saved for this very game-finisher, I waited patiently for my turn as I saw more and more ppl failing the obstacle and.... sliding down!? O_O With the location of bomba(fireman support)'s water spray changed, I felt like this is kind of a let-down for someone with expectation :(  Last year right after you conquered the Ramp of Triumph, you will gather behind this very finisher with water spraying all over you via the nearby fire truck until it reaches around 20-40 ViperC finisher gathered around, the cameras will fly around you and the host will begin the countdown for your last spurt of victory to the finishing line with much joy and excitement.

As for this year's one, the fire truck was placed right before the ramp, so the longer u wait, the more ppl who tried the obstacle with their newly drenched shirt etc will make a nice sliding ground on the ramp, which make it even harder! D: I used all my strength for a sprint towards the ramp and before I was even ready for a jump to reach the top or whoever waiting there to help me, I slide down hopelessly like all others while my heart rant painfully for how powerless I am.

I asked Kelvin to move on ahead while I wanted to conquer this Very Badly. Very. However my throat and my body decided that it's time to end the deal of our peace agreement and I cough relentlessly as my body grasps for air that my throat does not happily allow for. With the last spurt I gave to the ramp a failed attempt to beat the obstacle, I tried to replace my anger with energy; being desperate, I took off my shoe, readied my whole body strength, calm my mind, and stepped out in front of the group of girls who are hesitant to tried to grab the rope to climb the ramp. With not much time to spare for everyone, one of the guy in the group saw me ready to go for the rope and decided to run ahead first to attempt on the rope climb to the ramp, despite all the kiasu-ness or the macho-ness the guys wanted to show it's simply to exhausting and time-consuming to try to comquer it solo style... with only 50/20,000 participant who did that single-handedly last year, I knew that I wasn't even going to try for the 2nd time to sprint and jump on the ramp all by myself. I saw the guy sliding down on the ramp right in front of me as his lose his grip and his armstrength trying to hold on the rope for too long without successfully climb to the top of the ramp.

Without a second thought nor another moment of hesitation I rushed to the ramp, holding the rope trying to climb upwards to the top; as I keep pulling with all my strength with my feet walking almost vertically, it reaches the point when gravity and the slippery takes in and I began to fell with my feet dropping down.. however I was still holding on the rope and ready for the last jump to reach the top; I shouted as my feet sliding down with only my arm holding on the rope. "Pull me up!" A rather failed attempt to reach out to the random helpers on top as my voice was still worst than a duck quackling and with the helpers on top not realising I was there, I pulled my whole body up and my feet back touching the ramp with my knee bended ready to make the short jump.
But instead, when I jumped a bit I was reluctant to risk it all by letting go of the rope, so I pushed all my strength into placing one feet on the top of the ramp, and I made it! ..with a far-king pain-rush on my left knee left thigh left leg I gave it a final pull-rush on my arm to pull my body ahead and pushed my right leg and the whole body to a flip-of-faith with my left leg as the pivot foot to flip on top of the ramp! The volunteers and other people on top of the ramp saw me and quickly hold my whole body down preventing me from falling and ask me if I am okay. I replied with 'leg cramped man but at least I did it!' I couldnt say more with that super sore throat and that pain-rush :') But I did it... and... the happiness was short OTL (this is emoticon for being sad)

All it takes was me trying to help pulling up another participants, and right as I was stepping off the back of the ramp... the back part of the ramp with the stairs was made of steel. And it felt like my feet being burned at every mili-second I was standing there, I rushed down the stair while I saw a guy in front of me doing the same burn-hurt running with his bare feet shouting 'fug! fug! fug!' all the way until both of us hide at the shade behind the ramp and scream painfully hoping the pain would go away sooner...


quick ending journey
Let's not waste more time on how pathetic we became... we took another 1 hour hanging out around there greeting friends under the hot sun while Kelvin tries to make a hopeful attempt at the lost and counter to recover his spec and hopefully by now as I am writing this he would have recovered his new but recently-lost spec. We didnt spend much time taking photos around nor did we stay long enough to chit chat with other ppl. sorree~

And thus my ViperC ends with a happy declaration to my station2.5 crew and all ViperC friends that I did it and I can now gladly say that "being part of the crew last year was 2.5 times harder than running through this year viper twice!! If you can survive as crew last year: 3 full days of  sunburn, rain, sleepless day and night, endless work, underappreciate effort and all that ranting from superior... you'd already won ViperC challenge!" To the friends made throughout that experience, you are the best!! (Y)

..and thus my weekend ends up with me not planning to meet up with most of my friends as even now I m still mid-way recovering my ready-to-get sick anytime body... geez. I wish I can just have a quiet 15 hours sleep and everything would be alright I m sure! XD

..till next time people! ciaoz  ;)

Viper Challenge 2015!! (Part.1/2) - Overview of the whole experience

This is a simple background write-ups about my Viper Challenge 2015 experience~

A little back-story

Back then when Viper Challenge first organised in Malaysia(Asia) two years ago, my friend Wai Leng told me about the event and urge me to go and give it a try for something that seems challengingly fun! After a little google-ing about the event, it seems a little bit too extreme for someone unfit like me D':

The evolution:

During the 2nd year inception of Viper Challenge into Asia, the event received an overwhelming respond due to the fun element instilled within the physical challenge itself. With the growing trend of physical event in Malaysia, many saw this as the golden opportunity to set another life goal on the line. To conquer Viper Challenge!!

The one-a-kind motivation:

As for me, I signed up as a volunteer of the event and got accepted to help out for this amazing event during last year October. It was nothing short of fun knowing all the amazing new friends around as we get along very well trying to survive various on-site hardship while trying endlessly to motivate and to help out the participants to go through the challenges despite many of us being fairly mistreated.

After the event, being the friendly one around Kelvin suggested that we join ViperC for the next coming year as a prove of the strength of our friendship, if we can survive the worst while helping ppl to win, so why can't we win? xD

ViperC tale 2015 prelude:

Being the scaredycat around, I steeled my heart and signed up for the event!! Hence the name Viper_Volunteer_14 was founded, we wanted to do it for our friends who couldn't make it or still wasn't ready for it yet.

By now I can say that.. it was an awesome and amazing experience!! Before I introduce to you what lies ahead on viper challenge 2015, the downside of it was that we kinda think that the management of event backfired and there wasn't many returning crew despite being offered as senior crew to help out. Kelvin talked to many on-site volunteers and they doesn't seems very happy... as for me, I was busy helping ppl around and was really surprise on different people's take on this event. 

Expectation Gap:

Many said that this is not a competition but keep urges us to run ahead, it was a good motivation however I think Kelvin is the one who truly comprehends the motto of ViperC: LEAVE NO ONE BEHIND. He is a truly impressive guy as we felt like part of the event trying to help each other out rather than leaving random participants behind who could use a little hand.

The other down part was that the planning of the entire tracks was made a little bit off-goal. It feels like last year viper was a 'essay exam question' and this year one on a 'multiple-choice question' level: with many accessible shortcuts to skip tracks, lack of volunteers motivating and helping in some obstacles, and more freedom of option to skip the obstacles, ViperChallenge seems like a ViperDare course for the new comers. It does make things alot easier! But I think the motivation level is comparatively lower compared to last year's one... if you were to push yourself ahead to beat something but the shortcut lies ahead of you, no one helps you to win and many just skip thru the obstacle not even having the thought of trying it, how motivated can you be?

That being said, if you are someone who is up for the challenges. This year ViperC is not a very merciful one for the one who seeks achievement! =D

——人生观——

你的人生 - 你的梦想 - 在于你的。价值观。

所谓的价值观，就是你对人生中的人与事：给予的价值。
人生中的所有事物，我们生不带来，死不带走。 那么我们的执著，无论是属于犯贱，或是一种坚定；都是因为那是对我们人生中-重要的东西-重要的人- 《一个对我们人生中价值非凡的人或事。

华文文学里也有一句爱情金句：恋人在一起是因为“性器官”，分手是因为“价值观”。
当然我对同性恋没特别看法，在这里可见的重点就是”价值观“——也就是生活里你认为重要的东西。

如果你看透了一点，就会发现：无论是家人，朋友，恋人。都会因为这个”价值观“而改变了谁会在你的生活里面编写故事。有人相信你的梦想不值钱，不是不信你，而是信钱多过信你，所以对它们来说：钱比梦想重要。　《如果不赞同，那么你的价值观就跟它们的有出入了。

所谓的重要——就是不同的人，事情，或者观点的对比而造成的价值。
有人认为好的工作是生活一切，踏上社会前流才是人生巅峰。。。　这是比一切都来得重要的。
有人认为社交最重要，做人的价值不在于自己，而在于别人的肯定。。。　别人不肯肯定你的努力，你再用功也是白费心机。

有人认为爱情最重要，人生嫁得风光最幸福；有人认为海枯石烂永远比不上天长地久；有人认为人生苦短，爱过就好；有人认为真正的爱情就是让你成为主人／公主／女王。

然而再多的字眼，也比不上一个“价值观”。
当价值观不同了，他觉得你认为重要的东西不重要了，那么久而久之你的人生也会越来越不重要了；无论是家人觉得你人生颓废中，朋友看不起你抹黑你，或是觉得越来越很难和你合得来的伴侣，都是因为价值观的不同而离你的心越走越远。

同时。。。　你们发现了吗？最好的朋友，最真的爱情，都是接受——开始的。一个把价值观拉近的方法。

对于努力着的朋友们：
你的人生价值就在于你的梦想多么的重要。或许很多人会因为不同的看法不同的价值关而与你失去联络。但就像每个故事书的情节一样。。。
If its not a happy Ending... its not the End.

对于执着的某些人：

有人认为过去是一切，每次的跌倒毁了你的人生观。。。
If you let the world change you, don't blame the world for who you are.
If you let other ppl change you, don't blame other ppl for who you are.
你就是现在的你。这是你心甘情愿的。
如果你想有所不同，自然就会从现在开始力图改变。

谢谢相信与不相信我的朋友们。今年即将结束了。。。　我们未来见！　= )

Footprints over the 5 years.

在离开了‘鸟笼’的这五年里。。。素来我行我素的自己也没经过什么大风大浪；没有大鱼大肉的日子里也不算让自己粗茶淡饭，但是遇到的人和事也能算是充满色彩的吧。。。

这些颜色，都是我在许许多多人生抉择中走出的道路上，遇到的人：

近来不少人问我：“过去真的重要吗？”
对我来说：重要。　
我没资格选择一个没有错误与失败的人生，可是对我来说，过去的选择，造就了今天的我。我当然不满意现况的自己，但如果再给我选择，我的决定会一样；如果没有那样的选择，就没有今天的我，更没有我这路上遇到的这些我非常珍惜的人与事。。。　包袱越重，就让我越来越强大地走下去！

这里分享一些不少好友留下的立志言语吧～　= )

——————————————————————————————————

旅程的开始是在沙登的一所大学与一群好友乱来～ K5是这里故事的开始！

后来我决定申请奖学金去读别的大学念别的科系后，一帮可爱的‘老友’与‘老婆’们就送了我一张大大的纪念卡。过后我叫这大学的朋友们在一本纪念册上留言，当中出现一些了还蛮不错的回忆笔迹～

“我只知道你时常弹钢琴，所以对你印象蛮深刻の。。哈哈。。”

“不要轻言放弃，否则对不起自己！！”

其实如果你察觉到，我的钢琴level是 -1的！ xD 

这也许听起来好像很孤独，可是我就是没事自动找事做的那种小子。喜欢就爽爽地去乱按宿舍大厅那架烂琴。。。结果反而跟不少朋友有更多的交流，而且我还‘逼’她们教我弹钢琴呢！ xD

后来怎么了？　后来嘛。。。渐渐地大伙们也越来越少联络了。。可是我却看到了很多很好的情节：朋友们之间突然拍拖的，失恋的，粘家的，天天去pou的，无书不出门的。。让我深深觉得，如果当初我没转校：这就会是我的生活了。

后来在念专业会计的路程中，我常常都是班上那个少数群族的一分子；虽然是班上出了名常常睡着的小子 :X 可是在这么多不同的班上，却认识了很多很可爱很爽快很友善的朋友们。

我觉得我最享受的的过程就是在一个这么要求认真的环境下认识这些人。。。这些人，这些不同的认真，却有一个共同点：就是他们知道自己想要打造的未来是怎样的。

无论是5年，3年，或甚至是1年的计划而已，他们都有自己的人生战略。

。。怎样去赢的人生战略，而不是接下来去哪里玩的游戏玩略。

(佛光山东禅寺所得静思语) 

看着每个人毕业了，我的好学姐好姐姐好死党们等等等一个个地离开大学了。

慢慢地也看着一班好胜的帅气小伙子们一个一个地毕业，想当初我是自己贪玩在草场玩飞碟frisbee时认识的一班学弟学妹们，过后无端端却变成我是教他们运动与一些考试解压技巧的‘师父’了。虽然这只是短短的一两个学期而已，看着这班伙子不停的长大，不停地变，感触也不少的说～ （上图那张卡就是他们给的 xD 不知道为啥他们也这么多感触）XP

再转一个方向看，以前的大学伙伴们也都毕业了。大家踏入了工作的世界后，我从一间很不错的会计服务公司‘走了’一趟后，从一间大公司跑去了另一间。。。做了几个月的查帐员。。

 到了今天，似乎转了一大圈又～～回到了原点。
让我想起了我housemate那漂亮认真的护士小姐问过我的问题。。。
至于我的答案嘛。。。其实念旧，是好事来的。至少对我来说是的 : )

因为‘念旧’，所以我会不时看回头走过的路，错过的人，错过的人生。如果我没下定决心辞掉那份工，就不会知道原来对我的housemate来说我是一个做完工三更半夜回到家就锁自己在房间的人；就不会知道从你们的角度来说我是一个怎样的人；就不会知道从你的角度看世界是怎样的。从别人角度看世界，这才是这整年里我最珍惜的回忆。
看回去，才能前进：因为对认真的人来说，我们有时走了走，走远了，走久了，却忘了我们要寻找的答案是什么。。看回去，寻找我们一开始前进的理由，你会知道你现在比以前活到更好，你会得到更多前进的力量：就像是一道很复杂的数学题，看回去问题，才知道现在的答案变得很简单了。

对于朋友，对于对的人在我们的人生里，所谓的缘分只是限定于惜缘的人。
不惜缘的人，在你的未来里跟你没有缘分。
这里引用一句非常有意思的言句：
Friends are made throughout your life but true friends will always be in touch wherever you are.

——————————————————————————————————
Allow me to end this with another quote I found on a random school in Klang. A small motivation for us to realised how powerless we are, yet how resilient we need to be to learn more and to be better to move forward. To all my friends, Hwaiting! = )

别让每阵风吹着走

四年前，我偶然读到了一本蛮有意思的书。。。 《别让每阵风吹着走》
顾名思义的，就是把握自己的人生，成为最好最真实的自己，抓住世界的机会，别轻易让别人影响你，别让每阵风吹着走。

http://tsub4sa.blogspot.com/2010/12/learners-life-ii.html
当时，我在这部落格上记载了一些蛮不错的生活金言。 四年后，我又找回了藏在我房间某个角落的小本子，里头写了我从这本书里身同感受的一些哲理~  现在就来分享分享吧！ =)

____________________________________________________

决定一个人成功与否的，

不是你知道什么，

或是拥有什么，

而在于你是否做一个最好的自己。

你就是现在的你，

因为这是你心甘情愿的。

如果你想有所不同，

自然就会从现在开始力图改变。

我们的迟疑乃是我们的叛徒，

由于畏惧去尝试，

它使我们失掉了我们可能赢取的东西。

最值得信赖的一只手，

就在你手腕的尽头；

一个信不了自己的人，

信谁也没用。

今天某件看来是得的事物，

可能种下明天失的因子，

相对来说；

明天之失，

也可能是后日之得。

悲观的人，

总是绞尽脑汁要为自己找到痛苦的理由，

你是不是过于保护自己，

以至于忘了，

别人也有对的时候。

孩子需要的是爱，

不是礼物。

“付账” 固然重要，

“付出” 自己却更需要。

每个人的行为都是内心想法所造成，

外在的表现只是内心状况的投射。

湖水搅动，

一无所见；

湖水静默，

一览无遗。

你有自由选择你要抓住的任何想法，

但是不要忘了伸手去抓住的人是你自己。

大家都知道要 “提得起”，

其实更重要的是要 “放得下”，

比 “想得通” 更重要的是要 “想得开” 。

最快乐的人既是那些不需要特殊理由就快乐的人——只因快乐而快乐。

而这无疑是个非常好的理由。

危机即转机，

当最坏的情况出现时，

往往也是最好的情况将要发生之际。

困难只不过是披着面纱的机遇。

人们总是扭曲自己来迎合别人，

我们常以为自己跟别人很 “合得来”，

却没有察觉我们大都是为了配合别人而放弃了自己。

许多人最大的愚蠢，

就是在可以自己可以做主时，

却没有主见，

盲从的跟随别人，

任人摆布，

这是相当可悲的。

在人生中，

赢家跟输家最重要的分野，

大概就是 “自尊”，

一个人内心深处的价值感。

原来你就是自己期望下最大的受害者。

我们想控制的东西，

控制了我们的生命。

我们并不了解别人的真实面，

即使是我们自以为了解通常也都只是误解而已。

对事不了解而妄加论断，

是不客观；

对人不了解，而妄加论断，

则不但不客观，

更不道德。

当你不知道该听谁的，

那就听自己的吧！

半冷不熟的水无法升华成蒸气，

三心两意，

见风转舵和半吊子的结果往往也注定会失败的。

即使杀了狗，

也治不好你的咬伤。

责任是让我们拥有力量，

而责怪却是送走力量。

只有当别人不在的时候，

你才能自在，

你才能真正在存在。

你并不傻，

但是如果你光听别人的话，

你就是名副其实的傻瓜！

许多生活中的失败者，

就是他们固不知道自己已经经过多接近成功而放弃了努力。

忙这个字，

是由 “心” 和 “亡” 两字所组成，

也就是说，

当我们忙忙碌碌，

忙死了其实心也跟着死了。

_______________________________________________________

祝大家活在当下，成为最好的自己！ = )

-良