Singapore team won Silver!

For the past 3 days, the TV has been broadcasting a lot of Table Tennis matches and I'm glad that I managed to catch a few of those. My most memorable to date was actually the final match of women's team between Korea's PARK Mi-Young and FENG Tianwei. I was actually on the bus back to NTU for AIESEC Welcome Tea when I had the luck to actually view the fianl few game plays.

The players are really quite even in terms of skills - MiYoung defensive player while Tianwei is a bit on the agressive side. Each attack beautifully returned, either by a smash or an under-cut. And each hard earned point was fought over a rally of 10 or more strokes - building up the tense atmosphere and supporters of each side tensing up their fists while sweating in the cold while waiting for that precious one point to be gained.

The determination in the players can be seen in the way they are fighting till the last point. Equally skills and being crucial match made the match even more exciting to watch. I really held my breath when each player starts the serve. Within that short ride to NTU, I witness a new page of history made with MiYoung finally gave in to the stress, serving a foul ball and giving Singapore it's first Olympic medal since 1960s. More importantly, it was a good match fought under intense stress yet the players demostrating a superb play.

Memorable in the years to come.

P.S. Singapore received a trashing from China earlier on - Good fight by Singapore players but China is still top leader in the sport.

Inspirational Article for Sharing

Well, just so happened to read something which is what I'm feeling currently. Since sharing is caring, here's the article. ;)

Personal Philosophy is Like the Set of the Sail by Jim Rohn

In the process of living, the winds of circumstances blow on us all in an unending flow that touches each of our lives.

We have all experienced the blowing winds of disappointment, despair and heartbreak. Why, then, would each of us, in our own individual ship of life, all beginning at the same point, with the same intended destination in mind, arrive at such different places at the end of the journey? Have we not all been blown by the winds of circumstances and buffeted by the turbulent storms of discontent?

What guides us to different destinations in life is determined by the way we have chosen to set our sail. The way that each of us thinks makes the major difference in where each of us arrive. The major difference is the set of the sail.

The same circumstances happen to us all. We have disappointments and challenges. We all have reversals and those moments when, in spite of our best plans and efforts, things just seem to fall apart. Challenging circumstances are not events reserved for the poor, the uneducated or the destitute. The rich and the poor have marital problems. The rich and the poor have the same challenges that can lead to financial ruin and personal despair. In the final analysis, it is not what happens that determines the quality of our lives, it is what we choose to do when we have struggled to set the sail and then discover, after all of our efforts, that the wind has changed directions.

When the winds change, we must change. We must struggle to our feet once more and reset the sail in the manner that will steer us toward the destination of our own deliberate choosing. The set of the sail, how we think and how we respond, has a far greater capacity to destroy our lives than any challenges we face. How quickly and responsibly we react to adversity is far more important than the adversity itself. Once we discipline ourselves to understand this, we will finally and willingly conclude that the great challenge of life is to control the process of our thinking.

Learning to reset the sail with the changing winds rather than permitting ourselves to be blown in a direction we did not purposely choose requires the development of a whole new discipline. It involves going to work on establishing a powerful, personal philosophy that will help to influence in a positive way all that we do and that we think and decide. If we can succeed in this worthy endeavor, the result will be a change in the course of our income, lifestyle and relationships, and in how we feel about the things of value as well as the times of challenge. If we can alter the way we perceive, judge and decide upon the main issues of life, then we can dramatically change our lives.

A quick summary for Jul

Well, here's a quick summary to what has happened in July.

1.) I went down-under to Sydney. Why? Obviously not from my own pocket. Was there for work, to meet up the colleagues there to form better work relationship, I even had the chance to attend a service meeting with the Client. Quite neat learning experience.

2.) In my visit down-under, there was this World Youth Day going on. The Pope was there too~ Too bad I didn't register as a pilgrim hence didn't manage to attend the Mass that he ministered. Oh well, it still somehow seemed to be a calling from above for me to stay near to him. Oh, and I did managed to join one major activity which is the pilgrimage walk that starts from North Sydney, I stopped earlier though at Darling Habour to proceed on to traveling Sydney.

3.) Visited some popular tourist attractions in Sydney. Mostly free ones - the church, Hay Market, darling habour, habour bridge, etc. Think I'll post up some photos. They will say more than I could type.

4.) Met up with some Australian AIESECers. Well, the fun part about this is that I know none of them. It's just so cool to just e-mail some AIESECers on random, meet up and seemed to share endless topics with them. A good experience to remember.

5.) Upon returning from the trip, took MC the following day at work. Got sick during the trip there. Not used to the chilly weather that I experienced there. But when I came back to Singapore, I felt even worst since I was about getting used to the fine weather there.

6.) Well, that somehow ends my experience in the month of Aug. Time to grab some rest. ;-)