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| I went to my friend's place a couple of nights ago. I haven't seen her for a few months so there were some catching up to do. Her mother loved my presence, and her dad was indifferent, which is weird because I knew her father before her. Her mother asked whether I'd like to join them for supper. I declined because I already had. My friend, however, had supper before her family so we sat in the living room. We talked about what happened to us lately, and talked about my flu that happened a couple weeks ago. From her, I learned a rather disturbing truth that I saw coming. It made me felt more pessimistic about my surrounding, and made me thinking about lots of things.
When can we say with absolute confidence that we are "GOOD" in something? Is it coming out alive after brutally forcing your way through with raw charisma and energy; is it toughing out from a challenge, regardless of the danger and the consequences, laid out by your surrounding, friend or foe; is it showing how much better you are compare to the rest of your surrounding simply because you can, or is it because your surrounding tells you that your good in it? My friend informed me that one of our friends, let's call her B*, has become obsessed with THIS THING and is blinding approaching it.
Personally, I believe that being "GOOD" in something is to fully understand and to acknowledge all aspects and consequences in a conscious and responsible way of the skill you are acquiring. For example, you practice martial arts and enter international competitions. You win every single tournament. You might think that you're really good and all, but are you? It depends on how you think and it is more complex than you can imagine. At the tournament, if you only think about KO your opponent, that alone makes you a poor martial artist regardless of the outcome. If you're thinking about how to approach your opponent to earn as many points as possible, then you're a little bit better, but not necessarily "GOOD" in martial arts either. Outside the competition, when someone mocks you or threaten you, will you respond with martial arts? If so, how will you respond? Do you break that person's teeth or do you beat him down until you can put your foot on top of his head effortlessly? That's when "consequences" and "responsibility" comes in, and if you act on these impulses, then the right way should be revealed. If not, you're nothing but "a wild beast".
Some people say that I'm good in programming. I tell them that I seem to be good, but I'm still very much a beginner in this field. I know a lot but that does not necessarily means that I'm good. To me, being able to think and write out efficient and easily maintainable code is a skill to be mastered. Every language has its own efficient way to do things, and until you know and applied them, you're not that "GOOD". Writing and compressing every line of code into a single function does not make you "GOOD" at all.
THIS THING is alcohol, and B* is really not responsible at all. Apparently, B* has been obsessed with drinking, so much that she'd drink other people's cup if they cannot finish them. Upon leaving a restaurant, if she sees alcohol that has not been consumed, she'd chuck it before leaving. "Hey B*, you know you don't have to drink that last cup, right?" "Yeah, but it's such a waste and it's not even strong." No alcohol, according to B*, is not "strong" enough and that's why she drinks so much. I ask you Xangans this: Is B* good in drinking because she can drink a lot without falling down? She thinks she can drink a lot. Mind you that B* is around my age, and if she doesn't drink responsibly, she can be in serious trouble. If no one keeps an eye on her, she'll drink and drive, and I can be 100% certain of it. I remember what AC* told me about drinking: A GIRL ABSOLUTELY NEEDS TO "KNOW" HOW TO DRINK RESPONSIBLY. IF ANYTHING HAPPENS, A GIRL WILL ALWAYS BE AT A MAJOR DISADVANTAGE. AC* is indeed correct. B* drinks with people she thinks she knows well. I've seen them before, and they are still very young, immature, and irresponsible. She even drank red wine, and then a bottle of beer. Mixing alcohol is very dangerous because you can be knocked out cold when the effect hits you. Although I kept saying "I don't care and she'll have her lesson", I'm actually worried about B*. I'll keep an eye on B* and even stop her from drinking if necessary. I know her since grade two, that's almost two decades. I'd like to see my friends, responsible or not, "intact". If B* is still so stubborn, like me in so many ways, then I have two remaining choices:
- Hold a drinking competition between her and myself.
- Let her suffer the consequences that'll affect the rest of her life.
Next question: Am I good in drinking alcohol?
My Answer: I drink so much coffee and I'm not even good at it, how can I be good in drinking alcohol? | | |
| I asked whether my friends were interested to attend the "10th Annual Craft and Bake Sale" at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Center in Montreal, and 3 of them showed interests. I put down the time the event was going to take place and what the event was about almost a week in advance. However, I'm really annoyed with a passion. One of them couldn't make it because she's spending time with family. Another one got home really early in the morning. The last one had something to do. The one who had to work is really not reading anything: "I want to go there early so that I can leave early." I replied her "it starts at 1pm and finishes at 4pm." Last minute: "Oh, I just noticed that it starts at 1pm and I'm rushing in the afternoon. I won't be able to go." How could you have "just noticed" when I've put down the event's time almost a week in advance and you replied around that time?
Anyway, I went there and met up with WY* and VY*. There were food and drinks. WY* bought a little bit of everything while VY* was mostly food on the spot. All of the food were homemade, which tasted kind of funny in a good way. The crafts were homemade as well: bracelets, pendants, earrings, bookmarks and bamboo posters with calligraphy made on the spot, Christmas cards, wine pouches... The place was small so it was pretty packed. I didn't get anything aside from food. It was hilarious. We started talking about what we can do with the things WY* bought and so on, and how to use them to decorate a room with them. VY* and I left around 3pm while WY* stayed because she's going out with her friends who came a little bit later after us. VY* and I just went to have drink at a coffee shop until the sun disappeared completely.
I gave VY* a lift home, and went to a restaurant to pick up take-out for home. After that, I went online to help out my friend with her assignment. One of my friends asked what she missed and I told her what was there. Another one asked me the same thing. Funny but frustrating question was "there's no manga?" Which part of "Craft and Bake Sale" can you fit "manga" in there? I admit, I've become a maniac with everything related to technology and Japanese-related stuff, but I would still READ what I'm getting into. But some just don't care, they get blinded with "Japanese, buffet, free" and they'll just head there at full swing. If there's a higher being, please correct this mistake among humans...
On a side note, Murray did not make it to the ATP World Tour. Del Potro defeated Federer again last Friday, but because all 3 men has the same set win-loss ratio (2-1), the stats decided who gets to play in the semi-finals. It was Federer and Del Potro. Murray was out by only 1 game, so close. Nadal lost 6 straight sets, which was very unusual. Djokovic was out as well. Soderling went on to the semis along with Davydenko. The semi-final battle was Federer VS Davydenko and Del Potro VS Soderling. Davydenko and Del Potro came out victors and became adversaries for the ATP World Tour Finals Championship Match. I bought Davydenko for the win, and he came out as the ATP World Tour Final Champion. YES! That was Davydenko's greatest title in his career. Del Potro played okay, but I still dislike him. He wasn't pleased after being beaten, while Davydenko was calm and concentrated throughout the tournament. His focus was so intense. In this last tournament, he defeated this year's all 4 majors' title holder. Davydenko, you truly deserve the win. Here's the final top 10 ranking of the year:
- Roger Federer: 10550 (French Open and Wimbledon 2009 Champion)
- Rafael Nadal: 9205 (Australian Open 2009 Champion)
- Novak Djokovic: 8310
- Andy Murray: 7030
- Juan Martin Del Potro: 6785 (US Open 2009 Champion)
- Nikolay Davydenko: 4930 (ATP World Tour 2009 Champion)
- Andy Roddick: 4410
- Robin Soderling: 3410
- Fernando Verdasco: 3300
- Jo-Wilfried Tsonga: 2875
I got interested with my friend's assignment to come up with a good hash table abstract data structure (ADT). It's basically an associative array and I love using those when they are efficient. I liked it so much that I was doing the assignment on the side and reinstalled VS.NET. My friend had to do it in C and I was doing it in C++. I've never done anything like this before, so I decided to enhance my programming skills by trying her assignment out. It's HARD!!!! | | |
| My predictions were off and some of the results really opened my eyes. As mentioned in previous posts, Soderling is very lucky to be in this event and proved that he is not someone to be taken lightly. Now, he booked his place into the semi-finals with his current PERFECT "set win-loss" percentage. Nadal, however, did not make it after losing to Davydenko in straight sets, meaning that Nadal lost 4 straight sets.
Verdasco was defeated by Murray and also lost his chance for the semi-finals. Murray now must wait for the match at 2:00pm EST between World #1 Roger "Fiery" Federer and US Open 2009 Champion Juan Martin "Gorilla" Del Potro. I'll probably be able to watch the final set at the gym tonight, and I hope Federer wins.
ATP World Tour Finals Current Result:
1st Round Robin:
Group A
- Murray VS Del Potro (Prediction: Murray. Result: Murray (2/3))
- Federer VS Verdasco (Prediction: Federer. Result: Federer (2/3))
Group B
- Djokovic VS Davydenko (Prediction: Djokovic. Result: Djokovic (2/3))
- Nadal VS Soderling (Prediction: Nadal. Result: Soderling (2/2))
2nd Round Robin:
Group A
- Del Potro VS Verdasco (Prediction: Del Potro. Result: Del Potro (4/6))
- Federer VS Murray (Prediction: Federer. Result: Federer (4/6) (claiming #1 from here))
Group B
- Djokovic VS Soderling (Prediction: Djokovic. Result: Soderling (4/4) (Soderling advances to semis))
- Nadal VS Davydenko (Prediction: Nadal. Result: Davydenko (3/5) (Nadal will not reach semis from here))
3rd Round Robin:
Group A
- Murray VS Verdasco (Prediction: Murray. Result: Murray (5/9))
- Federer VS Del Potro (Prediction: Federer. Result: )
Group B
- Soderling VS Davydenko (Prediction: Soderling. Result: )
- Nadal VS Djokovic (Prediction: Djokovic. Result: )
Semi-Finals (based on "set win-loss ratio"):
Group A
- ? VS ?
Group B
- Soderling VS ? (Prediction: Soderling. Result: )
Finals:
- ? VS ? | | |
| In order to be crowned ATP World Tour Finals, you must have the most ranking points regardless of whether you managed to enter the semis or finals. You get ranking points for every match you win, and with last night's victory, my all-time favourite from Switzerland, Mr. FedEx, Roger Federer reclaimed his throne after losing that spot to the Spaniard Rafael Nadal. This means that he doesn't even have to play for the rest of the tournament since no one can surpass his ranking points. However, the tournament must continue and I don't think Federer will let go this easily. There are unfinished businesses:
- Avenge his defeat from the US Open.
- Defeat his opponent in the finals.
For more information, you can check the following website: ATP WORLD TOUR | | |
| ATP World Tour Finals:
So the top 8 players started competing since last Sunday. Here's how it works. There are 2 groups:
- Group A: Federer(1), Murray(4), Del Potro(5), Verdasco(8)
- Group B: Nadal(2), Djokovic(3), Davydenko(7), Soderling(9)
In each group, each player will play all other players. The 2 players with the best record will play against each other again as a semi-final. The winner of this semi-final in each group will meet in the finals. Each match is best 2 out of 3 sets, so it's quite short. So far, Soderling is the only player who won against his opponent in 2 straight sets, and he should be very excited because his opponent was Rafael Nadal. He repeated his victory over Nadal from Roland Garros this year that allowed Federer to capture "The Musketeers Cup" that eluded him for 5 years, tying Pete Sampras' Grand Slam record, and to become the 5th player in tennis history to capture all 4 major titles at that time. Back to ATP Finals, the rest of the players who won their matches needed 3 sets. There's something in Soderling that makes him a very good player. Although he got here because of Roddick's(5) injury, this event is a great opportunity for Soderling to prove himself to the top players.
So far, here are the results so far:
- Federer defeated Verdasco
- Murray defeated Del Potro
- Soderling defeated Nadal
- Djokovic defeated Davydenko
Next Up (today):
- Federer VS Murray (predicting winner: Federer)
- Del Potro VS Verdasco (predicted winner: Del Potro)
- Nadal VS Davydenko (predicted winner: Nadal)
- Djokovic VS Soderling (predicted winner: Djokovic)
Last "round-robin" match
- Federer VS Del Potro (predicted winner: Fiery Federer)
- Murray VS Verdasco (predicted winner: Murray)
- Nadal VS Djokovic (predicted winner: Djokovic)
- Soderling VS Davydenko (predicted winner: Davydenko)
Semi-Final:
- Federer VS Murray (predicting winner: Federer)
- Nadal VS Djokovic (predicting winner: Djokovic)
Final:
- Federer VS Djokovic (predicting winner: Djokovic).
That's my prediction for this whole event. If Federer keeps it up, he'll end this year being ranked #1 again after losing his spot last year and to become the 2nd player in tennis history to achieve this. Honestly, I just want to see him demolish Del Potro after this year's unfair US Open finals that took place at Flushing Meadows at Queens, New York.
My Health:
I've felt better in my life, but I can't really complain. I still remember my dream while I was burning up that night. It was weird, geeky, and out of control: digital circuits, alien artifact, software programming, design synthesis, heat dissipation... That sounds like my work in the real world. Right now, I'm only left with a few cough because of some little sticky thing in my throat, but other than that, I feel tired as usual, which is my way of saying "I'm fine". I know I've gone weaker over the past week, so I'm going back to train a little bit tonight.
Leisure:
Over the past week, I wrapped up "Slayers Try", the third season of the entire series. It was ridiculously funny and outstanding. I can't get enough of Lina Inverse, the main character of the series. She kept on eating, screaming, and recklessly using her magic against anybody, anywhere, and anytime. In each season, you'll always hear this: "Lina is a reckless sorceress, who is short, and has small breasts". She'll go berserk whenever she hears this since she's been treated like a little girl (because she's short). Despite this, she'll always have a plan in the end to defeat her enemies recklessly, admirably, and if sorcery is a profession, professionally. I'm now watching the special Slayers movies (6 or 7 of them in total), and I'll re-watch seasons 4 and 5 later on.
I'm hoping to hold the weekly Japanese practice session with WY* this Friday. I want to practice as much as I can right now before next semester starts, if there's one. Also, I have a small surprise for WY* because she's a fan of Slayers, and I just finished downloading the entire Slayers' Music Collection from OSTs to Singles to DramaCDs.
On the 29th this month, there's a small Japanese bakery and craft event at the Japanese cultural center from 1:00pm to 4:00pm. I would want to go, but I keep getting the impression that I have something to do on that day.
While I was sick, I couldn't just do nothing. I wanted to clean my room but I quickly fell asleep. So, what did I do? I changed the outdoor wall-mount lights. Not the light bulbs, the lights themselves. I thought it was going to be complicated, but it turned out to be the easiest things I've done in my life. I had to clean the spider webs within those little electrical box, and that was the hard part. My sister helped by handing me the things I asked her to when the time comes. She helped from a distance because she was afraid of the cold, of the spider web, and of the dead bugs. Because the brick wall was slightly uneven, I had to add an extra screw I had in my own screw box to hold the light tightly. That took a bit of time but was nothing that I cannot handle. I wish I had 2 more of those because the one in the backyard is a little bit loose too. | | |
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