Did your pretty face see what he's worth?

Too bad that you couldn't see
See the man that boy could be
There is more than meets the eye
I see the soul that is inside
- Sk8er Boi (2002, Avril Lavigne)

A professor whom I highly respect recounted some stories with the class. He told us about his meandering past and the lessons he learned along the way. Among the many tales, a particular one struck a chord within me. In fact, it rang out with a resounding GONG. It was a story of substance versus style - an issue I'm struggling with.

An experiment was conducted on one of his classes. Wearing singlet, shorts and slippers, he pushed a rickety trolley into class. On the teetering trolley was a plain looking cake, unadorned and unfancied. Lets refer to it as Cake A. Unbeknownst to the students, Cake A was actually baked by the most highly regarded chef in the culinary establishment. In his sloppy attire, the professor walked up the aisles, offering a piece of Cake A to the students. They all politely declined.

He left. He returned shortly after, this time dressed smartly in a crisp attire. Accompanying him were several pretty female waitresses, in charge of pushing the shiny trolley in. This time, the cake was done up differently. Lets refer to it as Cake B. Cake B was displayed prominently as the centrepiece of the gleaming trolley. The package containing Cake B was left casually beside, as if chucked there carelessly. But ah hah, upon closer inspection you notice that it was actually surreptitiously positioned in such a way that the brand of the avant garde cake shop was obvious for all to see. The freshest strawberries were arranged aesthetically across the top, with fine frost icing sprinkled evenly across. Luxurious porcelain plates with the finest stainless-steel wrought cutlery were provided. The waitresses sashayed up the aisles to offer a slice, and this time, nobody refused.

Grinning themselves silly, the students bit into the succulent piece of morsel laid out in front of their eyes. They greedily chomped into it. PUI! They spat the debris out. It tasted of stale eggs and low grade flour! The cream was acrid and bitter, as if whipped out of the sweat and stank scrapped off the walls of ancient dungeons. The stringy yellow patterns swirling across the sides now looked suspiciously like someone's spit. The juicy-looking strawberries were actually choke full of pungent preservatives. The icing sugar that previously looked so inviting turned out to be sickeningly sweet. To add insult to injury, the make up on the waitresses started to cake off (pardon the pun), revealing the flaws they painstakingly tried to hide, strangely reminiscent of the way preservatives were utilized to deceive the students into thinking the rotten strawberries fresh! Your desires are elevated up to the highest pinnacle, but there is no fulfillment. You're left high and dry!

The professor was grinning too. He was indulging in a slice of Cake A: the cake nobody fancied. When cut opened, the aroma of freshest fruits wafted across the air. Sure the outside looked boring and mundane, but inside yielded a hypnotic concoction of the most extravagant ingredients, sourced from the most exotic corners of the world. Upon sinking your teeth in, your taste buds explode in exaltation. With each bite springs forth more delights, as if the symphony of musical flavours dancing across the caverns of your mouth. You can taste a hint of literature, you can revel in a dash of poetry; you understand arcane history, you appreciate current affairs; you are held spellbound by pristine geography, you are thoroughly astounded by financial wizardry. The intellectual leanings gleaned from your books has freed you from the flippant pursuits of the material world. You are satiated! What a balanced flavour! The whole experience is all too gratifying. You had stuck to your choice of a rough, unembellished stone and after some polishing, is eventually rewarded with a rare, sparkling gem. Pitiable that this concept continues to elude some people.

To the question of whether style or substance, I think I've already found the answer in an earlier blog post.. "..forceful reasoning on its own is insufficient. Only when weaved together with tactful persuasion, then can it create lasting impact." Those who fall prey to the glittery, illusionary world of style and style only, probably aren't worth your time anyway.

Round 5.. FIGHT!

Only after scanning through my previous entries, did I realise that I've been to Krabi 5 times now. Can be considered a veteran already? I started writing a generic entry, detailing accomplishments and experiences, in much the same way as done previously. After some consideration I scrapped that writing style. All too often I've looked inside myself for the answers. Perhaps part of that truth lies concealed in the experiences of others as well. To my friends, I salute you and humbly submit this post in honour of the lessons you've taught me.

To Mr Lwee Jia Wei
You are not called the 'psyche monster' for nothing. You have a precious gift, one to stir, to influence. You inspire while aspiring, rousing others around you to climb harder. Your boyish enthusiasm at jumping on routes several levels above your current ability, screaming your way up the problem, brings back fond memories of myself some years back. May your self belief never waver. And don't stop looking for that one hardest move.

















To Mr Aaron Ng
I've walked a little bit of the way with you on your journey of Tantrum. To say the route is tough is an understatement. I know, I've tried. I've watched you get repeatedly shut down by the route, despite your best efforts. Yet, you share beta without hesitation with new aspirants. You've engram-ed the moves so perfectly that your redpoint attempts have become mesmerizing to watch. A maelstrom of speed and precision. I really wish for you to send that route soon. Surpass the negativity of anxiety, frustrations, exasperation, depression. You are greater than that.

To Mr Winfred Goh
When you finished ASP first, I was so happy for you. I could feel your elation, I could sense your relief. I know, I trekked there with you everyday, belaying you on your attempts, watching you painstakingly work out the beta. We got shut out by the weather, by the rising tides, by diminishing supply of fingertip skin. But you've already made up your mind. The route must go. And the body will follow. The obsession has sunk in and pressure was mounting. You can even easily recall the number of moves - 23 hand and 35 feet movements. Following your successful send, I somehow managed to clip the chains too. You thoughtfully lowered me unhurriedly to the ground, as if letting me soak up that intoxicating sweetness. You extended your hand with a firm handshake, I took it up and returned it with heartfelt gratitude. Task accomplished. Between 2 men on a mission, nothing more needs to be said.















To Mr Hwa Soong Yi
11 routes over 2 days was only possible because of you. The second day was especially trying, what with five 30m grade 7 routes. That adds up to about 150m of hard climbing! Your willingness to trek to the toughest crags, to belay off dodgy ledges, to free solo routes with insanely high first bolts, to exploit cheeky hands-free positions, is nothing short of amazing. There was something in the Captain America movie about waiting for the right partner. I'm lucky you came along (on crutches hobbling down the beach no less) But no backside poking please. I went up GillesNoLimits on Cat Wall, expelling old demons in the process. Previously I was so intimidated by the route. But this time, with your encouragement, I've surpassed that irrational fear. Bro, hard multi-pitches next?

*The author is not as talented as his friends. Since he cannot crank down hard like they can, he resigns to being a scribe, writing down their remarkable stories, for all to read.

The Intelligent Climber

Senior Associate Director (SAD) Intern Ko ended his internship last Friday and with that, a heavy load was lifted off his shoulders.

He has seen much, heard a lot and learned plenty. A friend posted the question as to whether Intern Ko loved his internship. The question was posited in a smirking sort of way, as if from high horse, deriding those poor servitiles who lack courage and unquestioning conviction (or passion) to do whatever 'makes them happy'. Perhaps the questioner was half expecting Intern Ko to supply him a pained 'I hate my life and I would rather be climbing' answer.

Closing his eyes, he gave the question some thought. When the knot around his forehead eased and the eyelids unfastened themselves, the answer was clear. "I don't love my job, but I like it. It provides me with opportunities to learn, to become a contributing member of that industry. Nobody else would bother to teach me otherwise."

All those resumes Intern Ko sent out writing about how he has no prior experience but is humble and willing to learn, that he is willing to put in those extra hours if necessary, blah blah? He laughs at himself now. What naivety. The sad truth is that no company is willing to take in someone without experience and train him up from scratch. Employers want their recruits to be able to hit the ground running. Intern Ko has little prior experience. Neither does he have any strings to pull. Even if the latter option was available to him, he would detest to exercise it, for he thinks himself a principled man.

Intern Ko is inquisitive. He went around asking his colleagues whether they liked their jobs. He received a plethora of replies, ranging from the "Sheesh I can't wait for the day to end" to the "I want to climb the ladder quickly" responses. Of these replies, one was particularly memorable. In fact, it was more than that. It was epic, mind-numbing and enlightening. It certainly taught him a thing or two about life. The grizzled, battle-hardened veteran (construction industry) of some 20 years replied, "This is my job. There is no like or don't like. I've got 2 young children to feed".

Intern Ko finds it funny that some people think passion is about adorning it proudly on their chests and shouting about it. It is immensely amusing how it has recently become fashionable for passion to take center-stage and for sustainability to be shuttled to the back. Should it turn out that a majority of people concur that the frivolous and idealistic pursuit of passion is the proper way to go about doing things, then he must agree to disagree. He thinks that passion is not about recklessly throwing oneself into any endeavour without having done due diligence first. Passion is to be suffered for.

Intern Ko wonders if you have read the news recently. Did the news of an ex top Chinese gymnast forced to theft/buskering on the streets to earn a living, because he was unceremoniously dropped from the national team when he injured his tendon, shock you? Will the study revealing that ex top athletes being forced to meager existences following their illustrious careers, because their art has little transferability to the real world, scare you? He provides the example of an Olympic decathlon gold medallist, who could only find employment as a postman following his no-doubt remarkable career. There have also been reports of some even resorting to selling prized medals to eke out the green stuff when the going gets tough. Closer to home, superstar P's day job is an environmental officer - he checks train hygiene for a living. Intern Ko is not trying to pour frigid, dampening water on the blazing, indomitable dreams of his peers. But he urges them to exercise caution. Live the dream, but beware the consequences.

Intern Ko had a class gathering recently. At 24 years of age, some of his friends are growing up into fine young men. Already now the differences are becoming apparent. Some are scholarship holders, some started their own businesses, some already have the ability to provide for themselves. He may find it easy to holler about his passion now, but what about in 20 years' time? Imagine then, he sees his friends holding down successful careers, with happy, wholesome families. Will he still dare sit in that circle with other established businessmen/professionals, having nothing to his name yet still have that same school-boy conviction to preach about having fun at the expense of all else?

He doesn't know.


P.S. The title is taken after that of a book by Benjamin Graham, "The Intelligent Investor", which (Ex) Intern Ko is particularly fond of. A counsel of soundness, a recommendation of conservativeness, advice to employ judgement. And heh. They say imitation is the best form of flattery.

說好的幸福呢?

怎麽了 你累了 说好的 幸福呢
我懂了 不说了 爱淡了 梦远了

Cynicism

Step 1: Understanding

Working in an office, while conceived to be a dull and dreary activity by some, has interesting moments. More precisely, there are moments of revelation where you go, "Ahhh.. Now I see.."

I've had the privilege of observing, albeit from afar, an assortment of sales teams. They (in their various capacities with the investment, commercial, residential and industrial segments) work tirelessly to close deals.

The world of closing deals is a zero sum game. I win or you lose. There is no grey area. There is only have or have-not, has or has-been. I've watched a colleague working hard to close a deal (sale of a commercial property) for close to 2 years, only to have it snatched from him right under his nose. Needless to say, he was in a foul mood the entire morning. Eyes flashing and the veins at his temples pulsing, he looked ready to snap at the slightest provocation. I could sense his stormy aura a mile away. But by afternoon, he's already licked his wounds and gearing up for the next big deal.

Job Title: Competitive Competition Competitor

Perhaps no one can express the exasperation, frustration and angst better than Jon, second placed competitor for the Azimuth Hang Challenge. "6 hours of torture and nothing to show for it". This gutsy dude had the verve to bite the tile in a desperate bid to not let go. He wanted to win that badly. Dear Sir, I salute your audacity. For what it's worth, I would also like to say, "Try harder next time". But I know that he, like me, has little use for petty words of consolation. That we do not say such things to each other is a testament to our friendship.

It's so obvious to see. Typically they plod along as they walk, but when they seal the deal, they prance about with a little skip in their steps. Before is a customary stiff disposition and a stern countenance, after yields a distinguishable swagger and an uncharacteristic grin. They issue press releases about it (the adult version of bragging).

The one conclusion that I've drawn from my observations, is that the 'It's okay to fail. It's not about the results, it's all about the process/journey' is a lie told by teachers to school children. In the business world, there is no such moddle-coddlying. Companies have to answer to their shareholders, and this necessarily makes them profit-driven. There is little room for error. To put it harshly, 'it's the journey, not the result' may well just be a convenient front the failures seek refuge behind.

Shouldn't there be some reward for effort?

Some tangible form of reward for those people who toil, sweat and slave? When I voiced my idealism to a senior in the company, he replied curtly, "This is a result-oriented society. Deal with it." In the world of sales, it's all about the results. I wonder why - what with commissions and promotions tied to it. What value-add do you bring to the company? Get revenue or get out.

It's a harsh world. Grow up Jansen.


若是英雄 怎麼能　不懂寂寞 If you claim to be a hero, how can you not understand loneliness?
- Lin Jun Jie (曹操) (Cao Cao)