Language and to think...

etudiant? jamais "the end" pour quel qu'un dans notre année... mais le chose que un etudiant naive crois sera terminer! but c'est la vie!

student? never an end for someone born in our years but the things that a naive student think will finish (or terminate)... but this is life...

What an earth does this mean? Let's start with "Experimentez-vous"!

Experienced those days when the innocent little minded you go to school with the smile and laughters? Remember how you chase around the school with your friends for a simple "hide and seek"? Those days where you argued with your friends / teachers / family on all those?

Experiencing the present when the mature carefully-spoken minded you go to work with the smart-smile and paraphrased words? Remember how you chase around the office with your colleagues for a task that you desire? The other day where you know your colleague was wrong but you kept silence?

Now, I am not saying that my work is bad at all! It is just what many observation I found in our society wanted - a matured and a man knowing how to talk. But another lens come into my mind. What about thinking it as a way to explore the wonders inside language? Of course your work will be filled with people saying different things requiring multiple thoughts, but start appreciating the language used, perhaps it will explore you to another level of that word.

This week will be a lot of presentations and PowerPoints... let's hope I am using the correct language!

Capturing a religious sharing from Fr. Gabriel of SMC... He is the mediator but the mediator was given birth from the virgin Mary. Our Lady carried Christ, whom turned himself to man to save the world. How can we deviate Mary from Christ then? Christ is definitely the mediator to our world but Mary is the Mother of Him and therefore we shall learn from her. Now notice with the language here... never are Catholics "worshipping" Mary. We are learning the model that Mary has established on serving God. Again... experience the language that the Bible may deliver!

Intellect thought of the day: After reading the Prophet, I think I have to re-organize myself to what love really means... let's see how it goes...

The essence of travel

To travel is a means to enjoy life. But let's start with the flower which can derives many wonders from our life.

Flowers give the following appreciation :

- scent

- colour

But a flower itself simply doesn’t give you the taste of what it really can blossom. The combination of light, surrounding environment and above all, your sense to appreciate gives you maximum appre

ciation.

This was taken in Nagoya, Japan. A lot of people asked me lately why I always opt the choices to travel when I can. Well, making one of the most important things constant first – an earning for a living, travelling can assist one to revitalize, learn new things and appreciate life, hence derive my theory of enjoying life.

Revitalize: the ability for one to rethink of life or what he/she has forgotten, whether it is life issues, family issues, values in life, etc. The travelling experience revitalize one’s thought. A little point to move forward is simply to make your experience an unforgettable one. Making funny faces or making fun of the one taking the same picture as you. This can enhance relationship and move away the tension from life.

Learn new things: no better can the Japanese be the best example in my case. Every time landing into a Japanese airport, you will find new things flying into your ears. Besides, getting into another culture explores yourself to the differences in your own culture and makes you understand why things must not be done “your way” but echoes to what “balance in life / yin yang” is deriving.

Appreciate life: the ability to appreciate is daunting if negative impacts from your walk around are present. Now, the ability to do this is really to sit and read. Long have I misunderstood the meaning to read. But now I slowly understand its importance to life. The appreciation of life can purely come from a book. But what is better is you can learn to appreciate life when you read.

So next time, when you see this Boeing 747-400 cockpit or any flights of any model, try not to rush into the gate and get onto the flight. As the flight hostress always say, "we wish you a pleasant journey". This means "your traveling experience starts here and so, make good use of it to enjoy life". Start exploring life from the moment you step on to this flight! I am trying to, are you?

Language appreciation

Learning curve comes from the point where one decides the strength of a word. However, the British education differs from that of the one in Hong Kong in terms of the usage of vague words to cover the range of perception. On one side, the critque goes to the Hong Kong layman who are absolutely illiterate but reads English as a second language. No offense here - but this is the fact. The other side goes to the point of seeking absolute truth through deriving facts. Now, my point here is not to derive any positive or negative points from the above, but more so to express the fact in our society. The adoption of languages in Hong Kong goes by three - Traditional Chinese in Hong Kong context, English language (more so à la Britrish) and Simplified Chinese à la Chinese (i.e. in the Chinese context). Hong Kong people are very smart in this sense in which they know three ways of language from deriving two neutral languages. However, this also brings us to the point to rethink what language is all about! Is language based on culture or is culture based on language? (or simply is this a question of chicken and the egg?)

One thing I know for sure is that one way to learn foreign culture from language and the experiences from exchanging with foreign culture will bring our language to another point of appreciation to the language. This is how I study French till date.

So, that brings an end to the intellectual writing of the week. Thunderstorm I saw today is coming today. A time to sleep, but a time to rethink of how appreciation to literature should be. Long have I rejected the notion of accepting literature due to past education limitation. But past is gone and present it is, I guess I should start reading again.

My dear friends, how much do you like your language? And how much are you into its literature, give me your thoughts and how you are enjoying it!

"Stop talking and start working" and intellectual writing 1

Perhaps life always goes to the time when people have to think what they are talking about. I recall an old colleague who always say that "If you say it and it's wrong, then it's wrong! Forget about it!". I realised how difficult it is to forget what you've done wrong... a simple slip of mouth or hand can cause a long-lasting pain in front of you. But as the good old Chinese saying goes, "the ginger gets better when it gets old". I hope I can be more matured and experienced soon.

But never should I forget this...
- Memorize the surnames of people well! Chinese surname is always: Chau, Au, Chan, Lee, Wong, Ho, Cheung, Leung... at least memorize these first... it should be better
- Improvise in the planning process! Follow the book when you are following a procedure.
- Shut the bluffing mouth up and try to contribute from work (easy to say but hard for talkable people like me to do so... it's the way to enhance an intellectual mind)

Intellectual writing of the day:
A novel may just a pile of sheets but when it comes to a novel given with passion and livelihood, the eagerness to read is something you will never forget. The friendship from whom has given this book is never forgotten. Yet when that time comes to expressing a thanks or gratitude, don't forget that it is the lessons learnt from all these that you should be thankful for, not simply the novel. Thanks to you my dear friend!

Visit to my secondary school

A return to my secondary school gives me a feeling of loneliness and warmth. Yes, the framework of this school has not changed, teachers I know allow me to chat with them, but many inside seems to have changed. The beautifully decorated entrance to the school, the new teachers you have come across to (in which they are even more scared talking to you because they have no clue who you are...), the extraordinary behaviour of the kids sticking the finger at the security guard. We used to be very behaved students... where did all these go? But thinking forward, we are sometimes naughty and so, let's forgive them for now...

Yet, 7 years of my life in Hong Kong is in this school and never shall I forget the days when I eat lunch with my school's friends from the McDonald's (it cost only HKD 20 then for a meal!!), how I talked with the teachers so naively and in such a bossy mode, the leads I have taken in so and so societies, and how I played the Kawaii piano or the Yamaha Grand during special events of the school. My memories are there and hopefully people won't forget my presence in all those floors @ Hong Kong Tang King Po College shall never be forgotten because this is my Almar Mater and I shall bring honour to thy name!

ITC Meeting tomorrow and how to enjoy life via writing

Don't know how it goes but I am meeting the government for the very first time on behalf of this company... scared but let's just see how it goes...

Thy shall stay calm and adopt the "flow theory" (simple meaning: don't think what shall be done... go with the flow!)... shall I?

A little bit more from today's inspiration... as I was eating under the sunlight at Science Park, I started to ask my senior if I was writing badly and he was staying that I should stick to the format of the government. Now implication from that shall not be delivered but I started to understand that the way to write things in order to live is totally different to those for intellectual appreciation. However, IT DOES NOT MEAN that one should choose, but rather learn both ways. You can't live to write in your own way. You won't have your bread. But you can't write only via formatted rules. This will lead to devastation and madness, which lead to lost of intellectual property. So, to stay "healthy" in writing, how about a balanced one? Applying the Yin Yang perception of the Chinese, I guess the differentiation is clear cut but don't forget the appreciation of life can come from both sorts of writing...

Enjoy life via traveling!

Little do I talk about trips in my blog because I have this embedded theory that “travel = getting out of Hong Kong + sightseeing + eating +leisure”. However, the more you grow up, the less chances you travel. Recalling the days that I studied in Nice, the South of France, every week is a holiday – from Paris to London, from Rome to Venice, or simply an aller-retour around Monte Carlo or Cannes – all those seemed so far away from me now. So, as I always say to my friends who are still studying – make the most of traveling when you study!

Working in a room, surrounded by a spectacular view of buildings (well, it’s the Science Park already so I am not complaining at all), the desire of “sortir” (literal translation to English is “exit” but “exit” simply completes the conveying message…) is high. Not only am I doing the traveling for the sake of getting miles and renewing membership, which is a fact for me and another excuse for another trip asap after the Swine Flu, but also is it an experience to relax and reach that “perception change” in a different environment which will revitalize and relax yourself.

Right, so this trip – Beijing. Sight-seeing was the theme this time because my dad had never been there and mum has not been in the place since the 70s. But this time it was a dead Citroen taxi that I want to share with you. We were at the top of Mu Ting Yuan, Great Wall – spectacular views of the Great Wall with green trees… but as we were hoping to descend and get back to the city, the internal electronics of the car system crashed and we were strained for 4 hours up in the mountain (from 2pm to 6pm). Lost is the time and the chance to view the night-time view Olympic stadium due to pre-appointments, but more do we see the beautiful sights of our great nature that we must not have been able to see and feel if we were to leave according to schedule. Lesson we learnt? Stop doing “check-point” visitation and admire what nature is trying to show you. C'est la vie!