2011 - Resolutions

         Many people who set resolutions or goals each coming year do so in an attempt to better oneself. I have been doing so since 2002 when I took up running seriously and it has enriched my life in many ways.
         By setting goals, I am forcing myself to make sacrifices to improve on certain aspects of my life, but the trick in setting goals is this ; set them too high or too vague and you will break it or not achieve it very quickly and come down to earth. Setting it too low, and you will feel that you have not really achieved anything. So the main essence of setting resolutions are :


1. Set real, achievable goals within this year 2011. 


2. Break them down into personal, family, business and financial


3. DO NOT set vague goals such as "I want to lose weight" this year. Set measurable goals 
    such as "I want to lose 3,4 or 5 kg" this year and with that goal in mind, then break it down 
   further into current weight, monthly reduction (say 1/2 kg), quarterly reduction (1 kg) and 
   yearly  reduction (4 kg).


   Coupled with the goal of, say, losing 4 kg in 1 year, you should then make real plans to lose 
   that 4 kg. For me, it would be a combination and reinforcement every meal to eat 1/2 a 
   bowl or rice when previously it was 1 bowl.


   Then, I would start a walk/run program for 4 to 5 times a week each alternate day, no 
   excuses. Starting with1/2 hour walk, each day to slowly making it to 1/2 hour run and   
   increasing the run time and distance time slowly bit by bit. 


   Do a run log and write how your run went. What was the weather like and were you  
   struggling or pleased with the run after you finished it ? Find a partner to motivate you and 
   you have no excuses not to wake up early to go for that run. 


4. Set up these  realistic goals and review them every week, fortnight and month and so on.


5. Give yourself a small reward once you hit the small goals. Go and have a pizza once you 
    have lost say 2 kg. Stay off alcohol and binge parties. They do you no good. !! 


6. Surround yourself with people who will motivate you or like minded people. If you want to 
    quit smoking, do not hang out so much with your smoker friends and try to go to the gym or 
    sports center and make new friends there.


7. Convince yourself by finding role models who have successfully achieved the goal of 
    losing 5kg or quit smoking and ask them for reassurance or moral support.


8. Can you 'backslide', well that depends on the circumstance, for sure, it is never easy to quit   
    smoking and then BANG, once Chinese New Year or a stressful period comes, you hit the   
    packs again.


9. Find another activity to do - instead of snacking, or smoking go and read a book or go for a 
    run -  this replaces your focus point with another activity ; convince yourself that the new 
    activity is much better and REINFORCE that belief.


     Since I lost weight by running, I have looked better, am more healthy, suffer less gastric problems and made many more new friends through running groups, marathons and also like minded colleagues. So, I can say that my resolution to start running and lose 5 kg around 10 years ago has reaped benefits. 

     Go for it friends.  Have  a Great 2011 !! 

Only one Tina Turner

This is the Song of the Year 1999 from Tina's award winning album "Steamy Windows". Man you young people don't know what great artistes are until you see the likes of the Stones, Tina Turner, Eric Clapton and Phil Collins.

Long Live Rock and Roll !

Geat New Song from Adam Lambert

This is the first song off his "For your Entertainment" album ; its on its way up the charts.

Take nothing away from the guy, his orientation, his heavily made up, mascara lined eyes. He is an awesome
rocker.

Video Highlights of the Liverpool - Wolves Game

l0-1w

Simão | Myspace Video

Historic win for Wolves never having beaten Liverpool at Anfied for 27 years.

Why I support a no-hope team like Wolves ?

This is the $ 64 million question I think I need to answer. My formative teenage years were in the 1970s and the top entertainment during those times was the colour TV (introduced during the 1974 World Cup Final between Germany and Holland). Oh how, it changed people's lives forever. We could actually see in S.E.Asia what was going on 'live' as it happened halfway around the world. There was no Internet, no Facebook,Twitter, no PCs (first introduced in the early 80s), no mobile phones, no IPhones etc. It was really like living in the Stone Age !

Every week, Singapore would get the English Premier league shown on Channel 5 maybe delayed telecast (2 - 3 weeks later) IN COLOUR. And the games then were played in a very passionate and rough and tumble manner, and of course being part of the Commonwealth, English football took a firm hold in the hearts and minds of many ordinary Singaporeans and Malaysians. The games were less skillful than those today and we had no Serie A, La Liga, Bundesliga etc. to watch.

So, in those days, one of the more unique sounding teams was Wolverhampton Wanderers, or Wolves for short and I kind of fancied myself like their chief striker John Richards, who played once or twice for the English national team. I had no idea where they were or if they were even champions. But I faithfully bought the SHOOT ! magazine every week after school (it was available at the neighbourhood shop for about S$ 1 a copy, a princely sum then) and followed their fortunes. I was kind of naive, not wanting to follow a big name team like Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester United etc. but the uniqueness of supporting an obscure Midlands team had its appeal. So I stuck with them, even though their glory days of winning the league twice in the 1950s to early 60s were long gone, even before I was born.

Since I followed them (say around 1976), they have only won the League Cup ONCE in 1980. That's IT. Andy Gray headed in a solitary goal against Nottingham Forest and it was 1-0. That's the ONLY major silverware they have won in the last 30 years. Very Pathetic YES. They have been relegated several times since the 1980s and their last stay in the lower regions has been almost 15 years. I forgot them altogether, although I visited the stadium Molineux in 1987 (23 years ago) with some University friends. So I am not a true blue die hard supporter. I am just a FAIR WEATHERED SUPPORTER.

Call me a romantic, but the PLUS POINT of supporting a no-hope team is that :

Whenever they win a game against any other Premier league team, its like WINNING THE CUP FINAL .No one expects them to win anything, let alone stay in the top flight of the Premier League, so their being in the top 20 for  2 years (2008 till now) is already a cause for celebration.

They invest a miniscule amount of money on players, have no brand name stars, and have been using their stadium for 30 years with little upgrade. Money is tight. I have been to the town of Wolverhampton and it is woefully sad and run down many factories have closed shop decades ago (it is an industrial town) and the onlyrevenue is from their university and polytechnics which offer decent degrees and diplomas in Engineering.

So when they win a match I celebrate like they have WON THE CUP FINAL  !

Compare that to someone who supports Arsenal, Liverpool,Man U or Chelsea,their supporters expect them to WIN A TROPHY EACH YEAR. When the do, its EXPECTED. When they don't its a massive DISAPPOINTMENT. So the supporters are JADED, winning is like so boring. So when a team like Liverpool loses a match to Wolves, its a MAJOR DISASTER.  So their emotions are OK we won (this week), BOO we lost to XXX.

Life must be quite torturous for those fans, the expectations are always rising each season.

My approach with Wolves is this ; They lost last week (OK) ; This week they won (YEAH, OLE,OLE, OLE !!! )

 So I am a FOREVER OPTIMIST.

 So on 30th Dec 2010,  Liverpool  0    Wolves 1.

 Its TIME TO PARTY !  OLE ! OLE ! OLE !

What goes through the mind of a Skier

                                                                      Chilling in ChunCheon Korea

  I have been to ski resorts a total of 3 times and been skiing for the last 5 years on and off, and I can  say that it is one of the most satisfying sports I have tried. It is also a very terrifying sport, especially when you are on the chairlift or ski-lift on the way up to the top of the hill or mountain as the only way down the hill or mountain is through your skis and one mistaken slip, overly fast downhill or uncontrollable speed can land one crashing and landing awkwardly can cause injuries amounting to broken limbs,or even loss of life.

 Having said that, it is as safe as driving, if one takes lessons from qualified ski instructors and undergo fitness training before attempting the slopes.  My son Andrew fractured his wrist when another snowborder knocked into him and I myself tore some ligaments when I fell awkwardly, in all places, at the ski training centre in Singapore. So it is best to come to the slopes trained and well prepared.

 What goes on in the minds of a skiier. I am going to say these  :

a) a prayer to God to help me ski down that damn mother of all mountains and not break a leg or worse.

b) a self assured mantra (repetitive chanting) that I can conquer the steepest slope because I can swerve
    and stop and control my speed and its not so difficult after all. Looking at all those young kids who ski
   with no fear in their eyes and going at 60 km/h downhill makes my attempt feel quite pedestrian.

    Its true that the older you are, the greater the fear of failure, danger and death. Its called 'KIASU' and 'KIASI' in Singapore.

c) Telling everyone in my group that each day I will attempt a tougher and steeper (bigger objective) hill.
    After that I have no face but to conquer my fears by attempting the bigger objective because I said so.

   That are the 3 things that go through my mind. It works well for those with a big ego, but the true test comes when you have to prove that YOU CAN DO IT !

   When I am skiing down, I am terrified as well as exhilarated at the same time. The rush is quite
unbelieveable.

    I should try sky diving next time, and see whether the adrenalin and endorphin (body's natural feel good chemicals released during high activity sport) high is the same.

  Carpe Diem.

Another Blast from the Past

Rolling Stones and Tina Turner singing

Its Only Rock and Roll"