신데렐라 맨 (Cinderella Man)

Not to be confused with the English movie, rather it is the Korean drama 신데렐라 맨 I'm talking about.

Yeah yeah I know it's another post about something out of date (this is a 2009 drama). But since I'm infatuated with Im Yoon Ah, so I decided to watch this after I finish 꽃 보다 남자-Boys Over Flowers (God that one was even older).

I won't spare you with the story outline, first of all because I'm only half way through the 16 episodes, and two it's better to watch yourself, and three, it is not the purpose why this post is about the drama.

But I would outline the story roughly. This story is roughly something like the Prince and the Pauper. Oh Dae San (starred by Kwon Sang Woo) works as a fashion copycat. His job is to get copies of merchandise and reproduce them and sell them (just think of pirated goods). He has a dream since small, that is to earn 1 billion won and own Dongdae moon, one of Korea's biggest shopping heavens. Never knew that when he met Seo Yoojin (starred by Im Yoon Ah), his dream has taken a change in course...

After watching up till episode 8, which is already half way through, I just can't help but notice, that Oh Dae San and me have a lot in common. We both have big dreams (I don't know whether my dream now is considered legit or not. Probably it's just another childhood fantasy which shouldn't happen to a 22 year old guy). We're both cheerful and funny, sometimes a bit happy go lucky. We both yearn and hunger for success. So little bit or not I do see myself as Oh Dae San.

Oh yea during the ending part of episode 8, Seo Yoojin almost kissed with her manager, with Oh Dae San standing rooted helplessly as he is in love with Yoojin. It kinda brings me back to the days where I stupidly and unconditionally did so much for a girl, and yet she went for another guy...

But one thing Oh Dae San did was he stopped them from kissing by yelling at them.

If I were at the same situation, I'd probably stood still, watched them kissed, and then walk away...

Coming back to the present, yes I have been burden free for almost 3 months now, with no one on my mind. I can't deny not having a girl to spin my life out of control does seem comfortable and acceptable, even for the rest of my life...

But damn, when this scene come up, it really does bring me back to the emo days...

Another thing different is, Oh Dae San got a happy ending in that drama.

God my ending in my life is still as unclear. Dae San turned into Cinderella Man, went from pauper to prince. I may end up as a pauper forever. I may even die as a pauper life.

Will I be like Cinderella Man? If yes, when will it happen? :/

Yeah. I CAN be that crazy and gila by wearing a hair band. HAHA!

不公平？

学期也已快迈向第三个礼拜了。很奇迹的是，两个礼拜前的我很现在的我的心情，大有不同。

两个礼拜前还在担心FYP会死到哪里去。当别人已在假期中埋头苦干地做着FYP, 老子可还在家里摸来摸去。

但很难以想象的是，如今的我，可说是把FYP 实验做到七七八八了。天天早睡早起，早上八点做到下午五点。无时无刻都在冲。

和别人比起来，还真的是变态的快。和别人比起来，工作上的份量或许也真的比较少。

如果我是现在做不出"result"的学生，也多多少少会嫉妒那些以做到七七八八的人。

问题是出在，我最终也只花了一个月的时间做完我的experiment. 假期也放比任何人长。很多人也吓到我为何可以那么快赶上来。因为怎么说都好，我少做两个礼拜的lab, 却可以那么快catch up.

在coursemates中出了名steady. Steady 这个字，未必100% 是称赞。聪明的人临考前不读死书，依然可以考好成绩，叫steady。人家在打拼的时候在家里摇脚，也是steady。但这个steady到来，人家不会欣赏，反而还会以为你不会安排时间，不会分辨，什么是important, 什么不是。

褒义还是贬义？

所以如果真的有人不爽我，我能理解。但我也不能做什么。我也是一个在尽着力奋斗的一个学生。我也是在赶着FYP。对，论OT, 论quantity and duration spent on lab, 我一定是排最后，做最少。我只能说，上天还真是把我目前一切安排得非常周到。要不是我拿了这位supervisor, 还多拿那么多额外的subjects, 我一定死到很惨。

我做lab 的duration不多。而且一些没做过的tests还真的是什么都不会。连procedure也是用别人的。而且还真的是有很多朋友在guide我，教我。甚至在我上课无法完成tests时，帮我。甚至是我千呼万呼说我会自己做，还是帮我做了那些tests.

做起lab来“鸡手鸭脚”。还那么多人帮和指导。还有一位那么好的supervisor。再加一臂自己的奋斗和努力，progress自然快到非凡。

对，我再此承认，很不公平。但我也无能为力。我也知道，自己是没有资格说我做lab做到很累。因为我做的，和别人做了什么，根本是没得比。

你们可以羡慕我。但可不可以不要讨厌或者不爽我？




*或许真的没有人不爽我啦。可能是自己想太多。想太多，也是因为有把自己放在别人的情况下来看待这一切。若是真的有人不爽，希望看了这篇文章后，您能明白我心里是在想什么。也在此感谢帮助和教导我的coursemates. 小弟没了你们，今天也不会在这个情况下，把这个post打出来。

Passion & Interest

Everyone has their own passion and interest. And it's by doing them or having them, we feel alive and satisfied.

I don't know why I got the passion for learning Korean. It's started just by listening to K-pop songs. Then it spread to K-drama. And then last semester, it became Korean lessons. And it became my hobby too, self learning Korean during my free time.

You could probably say that I have fallen in love with the language. But if you ask me why did it happened, I can honestly tell you that I have no specific answer myself. It just grew inside me. Guess it's passion huh?

One more thing that I like doing revolves around music... It started way back since a piano was acquired... Too bad at that moment only one of us (me and my bro) were given the one shot to learn it. We have to draw lots to determine who was the one to take music lessons. Luck favoured my brother and he went on and got all the levels completed...


But one special thing that happened was, with all the materials there ready, I took up my own initiative and self learned playing the piano. Of course learning something new isn't easy. But once you get hold of something, playing it becomes magical and you get so much satisfaction and self realization.

I think that learning something new, with that particular interest at hand, not only the soon to be achievements fulfill us. Even the learning process is so enjoyable, that one will never feel tortured and bored while doing it. This is the what having a passion and interest is about.

I'd be lying to say that I really enjoyed my 4 year degree's courses. Yes, they do make me feel excited and awed that so much can be done in the name of science. But I'll never see myself working in a lab for the rest of my life, nor supervise production lines. That's just not my style...

Probably if I were to choose my degree 4 years ago with this kind of mentality, I would have chosen an art course. And most likely, it will be related to music, although then again, I wouldn't say that I have any talent in it...

But I would say that the passion for it, will definitely count...

So that kind of explains why, my course mates just took a mandatory core course, a mandatory minor course, and a mandatory FYP, while I, being engrossed in what I like doing, took up additional courses - Korean level 2, guitar lessons as a co-curriculum activity, and my mandatory English, which have to be postponed to this final semester as I chose to take Korean level 1 last semester.

My fellow friends might probably call me crazy, stupid, or disciplined to be able to manage all these self torturing and piling of so many workload on myself. I agree that all of this comes with a price - I have less free time compared to them. It doesn't mean that my life would be less happier than them, but it may as well mean that I will live my final semester to the fullest, compared to them.

I am happy to be able to do what I want and what I like. It is the sacrifice of time and energy that I am willing to give. It is the passion and interest, that makes every hardship I face in this final semester, something that is really worth a trade.

孙悟空

最近 8TV 播着张纪中版《西游记》. 也不是说有追着看。只是有时候坐下来陪弟弟看。而且看的话也没说从头看到尾。

《西游记》又不是说没看过。而且，就拿其他版本拿来比一比，也还不是半斤八两？或许香港版的比较喜剧化吧。

但是，就好象每本书，每个故事，它有他自己的内涵。但别谈这一些。还是谈一谈孙悟空吧。

我本人非常喜欢悟空。敬佩他那不怕天，不怕地的精神。也欣赏他坚持自己看法这一点。是妖怪就打。就算有几次把师父气到被送走，他仍然相信，有企图想要抓师父的妖怪，都必被打。

长大了，也会觉得《西游记》其实故事内容也是来来去去那样。师父被抓，然后一次又一次被悟空救出来。一直那样，直到取得西经为止...

.......................................................................................................................................................................

其实，人生就好像《西游记》那样。取经路上，时而不时都会有妖怪出现。人生路上也是时而不时难免有问题和困难。就是要解决问题和困难，才能再度前进。

论文和FYP也难免是我二十二年碰到最大的一个问题吧。害怕也难免。在此想为大家和自己加油，努力地冲吧！加把劲！

没有什么是做不到的

*捡起金箍棒，拍一拍胸口，大声地呐喊：“论文而已吧～！怕什么！？”

*注： 虽然这张纪中版的《西游记》也没好到哪里去，但主题曲还蛮不错一下。在此献上主题曲。


刀郎-《敢问路在何方》

你挑着担,我牵着马
迎来日出,送走万霞
踏平坎坷,成大道
斗罢艰险,又出发,又出发
啦啦............
几番番春秋 冬夏.
你尝尝酸甜 苦辣.
敢问路在何方路在脚下.
你挑着担,我牵着马
翻山涉水两肩双滑
这里累点人记常
一路嚎歌,向天涯,向天涯
啦啦............
几番番春秋 冬夏.
你尝尝酸甜 苦辣.
敢问路在何方路在脚下

Brace Yourselves!

I know I'm not alone in this FYP. Yes our titles may be different. But all of us have to brave ourselves through the uncharted waters ahead of our semester. We may have different captains, sail on different seas, but we are heading towards the same destination nonetheless.


Yes I have been terrified for the last few days. Because I'm the one of the few students, if not the only one who stayed at home to the max during the holidays, while my friends have already started their FYP journey.

I was tormented, my soul chastised, my mood abused and tortured. I had brief insomniac nights. I tossed and turned on my bed, afraid of having insufficient time to finish my FYP lab work.

However, I finally got some sense in after chatting with my seniors and using a bit of common sense. I have been comparing my project, where it has relatively easier tests and less preparation steps with my other friends who have a much much more complicated preparation of samples. There is where the tension and self inflict pain lies.

Yes you may think that I am complacent or trying to calm myself down (complacent a little, but trying to calm myself yes), but the point is, after going through what I have to do for my lab work over and over again, I see there is no way that I cannot finish my lab work in time and maybe ahead of my estimated time.

Maybe I'm being too over confident. Maybe I'm ignorant. But since I always have this proverb or saying in my mind every time an obstacle stand in my way, I guess like always and most of the time, I will definitely brave through this storm..

Impossible is nothing

Self Inflict Tension

Yes. Maybe I am the one to be blame by putting my own self for being in the current situation. For not making an extra initiative to book equipments vital for my Final Year Project.

That leaves me stranded. On and island. Or perhaps a better scenario. Hanging onto a floating log, without a paddle, as the river slowly flows toward the edge - the waterfall and sapphire abyss waiting below me.

This may be the biggest hurdle that I have come across in my life. Yes there is hope. There is always hope. But one can never be sane enough or brave enough and not shudder at the future that lies ahead.

But there is no time to regret. I put myself in this circumstance. I have to live with it, beat it, and raise from the hell hole I'm in now...

Ah please let me chill for a further of 7 days more... I promise I'll work my life off when semester starts...

Pleas take away this anxiety.. It's killing me T^T

Bel19VE and In Your Face, HATERS!

Sometimes, it's just a simple believe, that makes miracle come true.

I've had enough of rival fans' bickering on my team. Heck since when was it I started defaming your team? Compared to you guys, I have EVERY SINGLE REASON to belittle your team and cooked them up into ashes, should I want to...

Arsenal is a great club don't get me wrong. Their attacking football are splendid to watch. If there was to be an English Barcelona, it would be Arsenal. No doubt. But Gunner fans, who are you to criticize Man Utd when your team have gone trophy-less for even I-lost-track-of-the- barren years?

Liverpool are still England's top European team. In terms of history though. Yes 5 European cups, a feat that still stands till today. But no longer England's champions and a barren run second to Arsenal. Yeah bask in history Anfield fans. And sorry to say that among the top 5 team, Liverpool's squad is the worst. Yes. Tottenham's squad is better by Liverpool's by MILES!

Only Manchester City fans have the rights to brag, if they wanted to. Kicked out of every cup competitions, with the same situation as Manchester United, well the only thing to brag about is 2 points above us... 1-6? Jeez that's history! Even I never mention 8-2 to our dear fan up up there XP

Chelsea. Probably the second rotten tomato next to Liverpool. Face it. AVB just isn't the manager who can cope with BPL's stress. And with majority of the players older than him, it's hard to maintain the team without that seniority punch...

Tottenham are relatively new comers to English football's powerhouse. All of their players improved drastically over the years and some really shrewd buying really galvanize the team, making them a challenger for the top 4 places.

There. FACT. I still cannot accept why are there so many biased and crazy fans out there who are singing hatred and racism on football. You love your club till your death. Fine. But belittle and dismiss Manchester United as a great club? That's even worse than not knowing the ABC's and 123's

Seriously. If you hate Manchester United that much, better go get a medical check up. You could be suffering from disillusionment or ManUtdphobia... Of course they don't really bring you any harm, but if you wanna be happy, I'll suggest stop watching football... You are gonna burst your balls everytime Manchester United wins... Seriously... :)