One more year part 2

Today's a really simple day.

Spent the morning waiting... just for a simple 5-minute performance, I was waiting for hours. But I gave my word to my teacher that I would help him, and thus I held on to the end. Looking at the aikido people around me, they had the martial spirit. We were all waiting, yet they never complained. I also need to thank some of my fellow taiji students for helping out today. The day was hot, but somehow we managed to pull through.

The rest of the day was simple. Got some rest before the next taiji class, which was a pushing hands class in the evening. And after the class? MacDonald's for dinner.

At least I got to catch a bit of the Singapore F1 on-and-off. I never knew that F1 is such a big event... they had the Prime Minister giving out the champion's trophy!

One more year

Yet another year, yet one more candle.

If only I really had a chocolate cake... but then, I won't be able to finish it!

Self-confidence vs over-confidence

According to this post here, with my score of 7 out of 10, which puts me at the upper end of the norm. People usually score 4 to 7, with 1 being a lack of confidence, and 10 being the uber egoistic.

Self-confidence comes when you know yourself, know your limits, know what you know and what your don't know.

Over-confidence comes when you don't know yourself, think too highly of yourself (not being realistic), don't know your limits, don't know what you don't know.

It is easy to slip from self-confidence to over-confidence. The key to preventing that from happening is to be self-aware. But you must also realise that self-confidence is not a bad thing. We need to believe in ourselves, otherwise we will lose hope. Self-confidence earns you the trust of others (who would believe in a guy who wouldn't believe in himself?) and prevents worries (which clouds your thinking) from getting in the way of execution.

So some confidence is good, but not too much of it. The key is to learn more about yourself.

我还是爱你到老 by 林隆璇

I like songs by 林隆璇, so here is one more.

我怎么会舍得你走,
这一去竟是几个秋冬,
请你好好珍重,
无须挂念我太多.
我的爱和从前一样,
这承诺当是万般重要,
尽管容颜会老,
这一生无以为靠.
我还是爱你到老,
我不会让你苦恼,
也许我始终无法释怀,
我会假装一切都好.
我还是爱你到老,
我不会让你苦恼,
也许你已经把我忘掉.
我还苦苦地寻找,寻找到老.

我爱你这样深 by 林隆璇

I like 林隆璇 (Lin Longxuan) for his love songs. Here is one of his older songs that brings back lots of memories.

我爱你有多深
你能够对我几分
仿佛前世接今生
痴情等待不必问
我爱你有多深
你能够还我几分
惟恐我会痴痴等
你竟冷漠转过身
我爱你这样深
日月星辰可为证
一朝决心不在为你等
情难灭霜雪难分
我爱你这样深,
哪怕夏雨冬雷震,
一朝决心不在为你等,
情(义)难灭霜雪难分

Teething baby

An updated picture of the baby.
And he has teeth now.

Baby 5.5 months

The baby is growing bigger and bigger... at 5.5 months, he is already more than 10kg, heavier than his cousin (who is 1 year older...) Here's a photo of him.
His face is rounder, he looks even more cubby (meaty) than before. And he is starting to grow teeth (you can start to see a bit of white on his lower gums).

Japanese politics - time for change?

Some of my colleagues have been asking me what I think about the change in ruling party for Japan. Will it really bring about the changes promised by the DPJ during the election campaign? Or will the DPJ be unable to make good their promises?

Personally, I feel that it will be hard to bring about some of the changes promised by the DPJ. Japan is not a country whereby things can easily change. Yes, the outside may change, but the core remains the same. The people who have been in power since the times of the samurai put on new clothes (coat and ties) after the Meiji Restoration. They continue to be in power after WW2. Koizumi's father and grandfather were ministers. Tanaka Kakuei's daughter was a minister herself. The next PM in line, Hatoyama, has a grandfather who was a prime minister under the LDP.

If you ask me, nothing has really changed. The DPJ is like a splinter group from the LDP. The party name may change, but the people (or rather, the families) in power remain the same. And while the politicians spend time fighting each other, the real people in power, the bureaucrats, stay in power, guarding their turfs, and it will be hard to ever get them to change.

So if you ask me, will there be changes with the DPJ in power? Yes, there will be changes to the outside (appearances), but the core will remain the same, just as it has for the past few hundred years.