Oh no, we didn't qualify today. Got our behinds whooped and lost the first match by 18, then won the second match by 2 and lost the last one by the same amount. It may look like we sucked but the last match was really close. If not for those two lucky 3 pointers we would have been the ones playing on Wednesday. Oh well, its no big deal, really was very ad hoc anyway.

Anyway the point is, I miss playing competition ball. If I could I would like to play our zone and national tournaments again. I know now what that crucial factor was that was missing through most of the tournaments. Its confidence. Really. As the saying goes, you miss 100% of the shots you don't take. Also as tattoo tan used to say, every shot has a 50% chance of going in because there are only two probable outcomes; in or out. Looking back now I would say that I have wasted so many opportunities. It was only in JC, in the later part of the tournament that I found the doorway to success. Must have been because there were so many ex zhonghuarians playing in the second round that I felt more at home. That's also where I played my most unforgettable match against Innova. You know I always have this way of measuring how much I have contributed to the team which is like this: If we win, I'll take our score and subtract the amount I scored and see if we still won. If we did, I'll feel like I didn't contribute to my team at all. I know that its a very inaccurate measurement but I couldn't help judging myself by it.

Anyway the point is that I felt that I did my team proud that day.

Have I mentioned that my Ipod has been back for a couple of weeks already? Really good stuff. Some songs still cut off early though.

I never like to waste my time and to see people having so much free time outside of NS can be really quite depressing. Especially when you're in camp most of the time. As such, I think that its time to make my in-unit experience as enriching as possible.

An organisation doesn't just become Cui overnight. It always happens from the top. Maybe someone got too high handed, too uncaring to his subordinates or too unreasonable. Whatever it is, the things he does causes those directly under him to feel stressed and fearful. Under this conditions it is inevitable that morale goes down. When that happens, all those that interact with these subordinates, namely their department staff will feel their commanders' drop in morale. This inevitably rubs off on those around them and consequently, their workers. Eventually when those on the ground lose faith, they go about their job with much lesser conviction than before, and they develop a couldn't-care-less attitude. When this happens, their directly bosses suffer from their lessened productivity. This pressures their superiors who in turn is punished or reprimanded by the big boss without bothering to listen to their troubles which in turn creates an even bigger divide between the levels. This bouncing shock wave effect will continue to reverberate throughout the organisation until it becomes truly Cui.

For anyone who's unfamiliar with the serenity prayer, most commonly attributed to the theologian Reinhold Niebuhr here's how it goes:

God,
Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference.

Aside from the first word, the prayer sums up very efficiently how to achieve peace in life.

Now I know I cannot change the bosses above me and who the people are together with me. But though the proper channels, I think that I can change just about anything else. I only hope that I am wise enough.

Basic
Instructions
Before
Leaving
Earth

I love mike myers' movies.

TM