Heavy is the head that wears the crown

I am not King Henry, so I need not resort to murder. However, circumstances may make me change into the person that I do not want to be.

Was tasked to lead my group come up with new initiatives and present to the management. In the end, I felt it was easier to do everything myself. The coming up of ideas, the design of the slides, even the presentation itself. I will be presenting tomorrow. I am not begrudging anybody. Neither do I feel that it is unfair. In fact, I do not mind doing everything because it is difficult to get everyone to meet up and discuss and with our primary duties to perform every day, I try to lessen everyone's burden. I guess that's what being a group leader should do. Not just to harness the talents of all the members but also to look after their welfare. Should the presentation go well tomorrow, I will credit it to my group. Should it fail to achieve the desired results, I will accept all responsibilities. How phony can my nobility get?

He says I have to be on top of things and that I have to make sure that instructions passed down are followed and not misinterpreted. I guess I should be more observant and alert to stop things that are not in concordance with logic or common sense.


More and more responsibilities on my shoulder. Are they challenges or burdens? Is it a crown of swords then?

Of reunions and partings

"All of life's journeys come with meetings, and partings, and reunions."
- Meryl Stryfe, Trigun

National Day Dinner at YT yesterday brought back many fond memories. Was glad to see old friends and ex-colleagues at the dinner. Managed to catch up with them and rubbed shoulders with the MP. The performances were not bad either.

Two friends flew off today. One to a track and field meet in Thailand and another to work in HongKong. I guess with the interconnectedness of the world brought about by the advances in transportation and telecommunications, no matter where we are in the world, we are all not too far from one another.

"Every parting is a form of death, as every reunion is a type of heaven."
- Tryon Edwards

ND Dinner at YT

Checked my detail today. Tentatively working in the morning on Saturday. That means I am able to attend the ND dinner in the evening. Rather looking forward to it because I will be attending as an invited guest and not as a staff anymore. Ex-colleagues will be there too. Sort of like a mini-reunion. I guess my YEC members will be there too. Will be catching up with them.

That, however, also means that I will be missing KQ's farewell dinner on the same evening.

Blucerchiati storming Serie A

After a successful spell at Juventus, Leo makes an emotional return to the club that he began his managerial career with. Sited at Genoa, Sampdoria had been languishing in mid-table obscurity for the past few seasons. The arrival of Leo was initially greeted with scepticism by the fans. The board did not have much faith in Leo either, setting him a modest target of leading the team to a respectable position. Qualification for Europe would have been a mighty bonus.


37 games into the season, Sampdoria is the highest scoring team in the league, has Champions League qualification sealed, and the UEFA Cup in the bag. One more league game to go before the season ends. Trailing by one point to third-placed Milan, the Blucerchiati have every chance of overtaking the Rossoneri. Sampdoria faces already-relegated Parma in the season closing match. However, before that, they have to overcome their bogey team, Palermo, at home, in the Copa Italia final. Sampdoria have not beaten Palermo in this season yet. The first leg of the Copa Italia saw a lacklustre Sampdoria went down 1-2.

With young stars Tavano and Simonetta arriving next season, things are looking good for the Blucerchiati. A more pressing issue, however, is to find the defensive replacement for the departing Castellini. Although the promising Anton Ferdinand provides some sort of cover at the back, the team still needs one more decent defender. Mellberg has been signed but the ideal signing will be Bonera. With Parma relegating, securing the services of Bonera can be done at an affordable price.

Top-scorer Flachi has renewed his contract and Gasbarroni will be a permanent Sampdoria player come next season. It may be more difficult to secure the services of want-away midfielder Palombo though.

Will Sampdoria finish the season on a high? Watch this space.

The Illuminators are at work again!

The squeezing and waiting were terrible. It was all done in the name of the pursuit of beauty and splendour. In the end, it was worth every single effort. The brillant display of pyrotechnics never for once throughout the 15-minute performance, failed to elicit appreciative sighs and wild cries. It was one pleasant surprise after another.

Best succinctly described by a friend and fellow fireworks-gazer, "Woo! What a night. The fireworks were a blast!"

Our Global City Our Home

An awesome psychedelic display of sights and sounds. Bringing the smorgasbord to a fitting end was the perennial crowd favourite, fireworks display. In fact, all of us were looking forward to the fireworks display.


I believe none of the spectators were paying attention to the performances at the centre of the stadium. Quite disappointing towards the end. The performances after the parade did not really excite or evoke much emotions. I guess the pledge recital and national anthem at the end were more successful in rousing the nationalistic fervour.

Shock and awe

How much shocking news can a normal person handle? Over the past few weeks, the stories and news that I hear from people around me make me wonder if soap operas are unfolding right before my eyes.

We live in an uninteresting world and we are in desperate need of external stimuli to excite our senses and mind. Simple facts and cognitive knowledge no longer suffice. We need to probe and satisfy our curiosity. To unveil the mysterious and unknown.

The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science. He to whom this is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand wrapt in awe, is as good as dead.
- Einstein

The World Today in History
On Aug. 6, 1945, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, that instantly killed an estimated 66,000 people in the first use of a nuclear weapon in warfare.

A good pun is its own reword

Energizer Bunny arrested - charged with battery.

A pessimist's blood type is always b-negative.

Practice safe eating - always use condiments.

Shotgun wedding: A case of wife or death.

I used to work in a blanket factory, but it folded.

If electricity comes from electrons... does that mean that morality comes from morons?

Marriage is the mourning after the knot before.

A hangover is the wrath of grapes.

Corduroy pillows are making headlines.

Sea captains don't like crew cuts.

Does the name Pavlov ring a bell?

A successful diet is the triumph of mind over platter.

A gossip is someone with a great sense of rumor.

Without geometry, life is pointless.

When you dream in color, it's a pigment of your imagination.

Reading whilst sunbathing makes you well-red.

When two egotists meet, it's an I for an I.