Meritocracy: Non-existence in Lewiston

Life's short, but it is never a steal..Make a run for it, make your life the most wonderful and beautiful it can be..You only have one life, don't you want it to be the best life ever?

According to Wikipedia, meritocracy is defined as:
A system of a government or other organization where in appointments are made and responsibilities assigned to individuals based upon demonstrated talent and ability (merit).[1] In a meritocracy, society rewards (via wealth, position, and social status) those who show talent and competence as demonstrated by past actions or by competition. Evaluation systems, such as formal education, are closely linked to notions of meritocracy.

Let me tell you this: the whole system of rewarding based on talent and ability does not exist here in Lewiston! Allow me to justify my claim.

In an average case involving an average person, notwithstanding other variables such as family background, he is entitled to a compliment or a reward if he does well in a certain area. His effort and his hard work deserve to be recognized, and in a meritocratic society, that's exactly what happens.

In our Lewiston society however, life is not all birds and butterflies. Say, for example, a girl works hard and beats her teammate in a ranking match, usually one would expect no less of a compliment or at least a "good job" in recognition of her accomplishment. Sadly, we here in Lewiston do not live in such luxury. All she gets is "why didn't you hit that forehand crosscourt?" This is utterly mind-boggling, as I feel that no matter what she did in the game, or lackthereof, should not be shadowed by the fact she won.

Interesting point to note here: does continuous criticism serve any purpose in promoting self-improvement? Sure, one can argue it works in wonderful ways. But in hindsight, she needs motivation to even continue to play. A continuous, progressive self-improvement will not be under way if there is no fuel to continue at all. This is something critical, albeit subtle in a way that skips "The Man"s notice, that should be given more attention.

The team is in a bad shape right now. Everyone's in bad mood all the time, there's no motivation, and there are some in the team who stir up sensitive sentiments that cause everyone else to feel even worse than they already are. Ugh...Cause? Non-existence of Meritocracy.

To sum it all up, it's time for some serious mental revamp.. Not for us though, because we are just human beings who crave for attention and recognition. Nonetheless, many are still quietly enduring the mental torture every time they step on the court. Who can change this situation?

It's all up to you, Toby :D

Love Scam!

Life's short, but it is never a steal..Make a run for it, make your life the most wonderful and beautiful it can be..You only have one life, don't you want it to be the best life ever?


Spurred by some curious questions from friends and family, I feel like writing this post to address(:p) what's been going on..

Good love gone bad? Just like Chris Brown and Rihanna? hahaha..Not exactly, but there's a lot of rumor and speculation probably swirling about..So just in case I'm not aware of any new "conspiracy" theories out there, please let me know..haha..I'd really like to know how many perspectives the world can have on 1 issue..

To make things simple, it's just that things have run it's course, and of course, not every ending would be as pleasant or wonderful as the beginning. Take a look at Rihanna and C.B, certainly things ended very ugly for Rihanna. Ain't that sure about C.B, cuz at least that guy's still hanging around apologizing. I'm sure there's an explanation for that..

There are many things that cause the collapse of a certain relationship. Money. Love. Scandal. Time. Security. Communication. Privacy. Countless things can trigger or even accelerate the whole process. Another analogy: look at HYIPs (short for High Yield Investment Programs). A program may start off with a lot of enthusiasm and positive speculation from prospective investors. Everything is in place and perfectly set up from the get-go. Money rolls in constantly, and people are getting paid for what they put in. These are considered financial requition for their money and time invested. In a relationship, that would be requited love? haha..Then, some members start to complaint of slow or pending payment, even though the program is still regularly paying others. Admin tries to save the situation by addressing member's concern. Member is satisfied.

But that doesn't last.

The whole cycle continues after a few days, and the member starts to break down and complaints hysterically about the program. Admin starts to get frustrated. Member is still not getting paid. Everyone else starts to panic, thinking admin is not paying everyone else. How typical of human beings..Jumping after one another into a self-destructing whirlpool that was initially stirred by one single member..

Frustration + pressure start to mount. Things start getting ugly. Admin cracks back at the member openly, and member, being stubborn and hard-headed as always, feels indignant at admin's approach, starts clawing back as well. What happens then? Quarrels and fights and endless open dispute start to unveil. Over time, program's status starts to disintegrate and this inevitably leads to the foreclosure of the program.

This is not so much an issue of members shifting their interest into other programs, such as the all popular Imoneyreserve which is on fayahhhh right now, as it is an issue of misunderstanding and impatience. If only member and admin allowed more time to let things fall into place, the program would've lasted at least a few cycles more. Then it would've been a win-win situation for everyone, isn't it?

But of course, I won't rule out that there's a possibility of the members pulling out their deposits and perform a classic hit-and-run investment though..So what happens to that member now? Happily earning in another popular investment program I bet. haha..And what happens to the admin?



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Happily plotting the next successful program :D

Tired

Life's short, but it is never a steal..Make a run for it, make your life the most wonderful and beautiful it can be..You only have one life, don't you want it to be the best life ever?


Argh..I'm so tired...I guess I'll sleep in a few minutes time..Someone's been writing to me on MSN, it's keeping me awake!!!!! LOl..hahaha...Jk...

Been listening to some jiwang songs recently, dang it's bringing my mood down..hahaha...I need to listen to some techno and digitally rendered junk to pump myself..And I plan to get a new laptop!!!!!

I've been eyeing this Asus X5 model for quite a while already..Even though the model name (X5) has nothing to do with BMW X5, both are quite the leaders in their respective industries..Haha..It costs 700$ though..Sigh..Guess it'll take a while before I can cough out the dough for it..I love that computer!!! It's everything I want..haha..I think that small, slim, sexy beast hidden in a small 13.3 inch cover is perfect in every sense!!!!

A must-get before this year ends I hope! hahaha..(gleeful)..

Here's the link to the great laptop: People who support me, say YES on my right-hand sidebar chatbox please! hahaha..or I could just go for the new macbook that was released few days ago or something..hahaha..Both are soo alluring~~~~

Look at the so-called Elites!

Life's short, but it is never a steal..Make a run for it, make your life the most wonderful and beautiful it can be..You only have one life, don't you want it to be the best life ever?


My dad forwarded this email to me, and left me contemplating: Is this the government's fault, or is it the education system? I think it's a combination of both--the government's ignorance, failure to realize we are living in a competitive global ambience, and the education system, although it is highly effective in generating number-crunchers, simply is not adequate to produce leaders.

Anyway, here's the email:

Dear all

This is what “Boleh-land” can produce, students with straight A’s for up to 17 subjects but fail at university 2nd year exams. If she ever gets to be a medical doctor, don’t know who wants to be her patients. No wonder my elder son was sent on a wild goose chase just for a simple leg ligament tear case! 3 doctors had a look at his X-ray but all could not or dare not give a correct diagnosis of his case. Only the doctor at the private hospital could give us the assurance.


17 A's student failed 2nd-year university exam

"The roots of true achievement lie in the will to become the best that you can become..."

The Failure of Nur Who Scored 17 A's!

I was really shocked and speechless to be informed about Nur Amalina Che Bakri.

Nur Amalina had held briefly the record of the most A's scored in the Sijil Pelajaran
Malaysia. Upon the announcement of results of SPM 2004 on 26 March 2005, she received 17 1As - a record for number of A's received by a student in the history of Malaysian education back then. She was sponsored by Bank Negara Malaysia to study medicine in the United Kingdom, and did her A-levels at the CheltenhamLadies College in the UK
.

Now I am informed that she had failed her second year medical study at the
University of Edinburgh
. What went wrong?

Could English language be the problem? We are going back to Malay medium again and that means trouble.

Another article by Dr. Hsu

I was told that one of the girls with the most number of A's, 17 A1's, in SPM and who is currently on a scholarship in UK to study medicine failed in her second year examination.

While passing and failing examination is part and parcel of a student’s life, this case is particularly alarming, as this is supposed to be our cream of the cream. There may be other reasons why she failed , but this case typifies the trend of many of our so-called ‘top scholars’ failing in overseas universities.

I have mentioned before that among my daughter ’s year doing medicine in
University of Auckland
, there were many JPA's scholars (more than 10). Only one graduated with the class. The rest have failed along the way and have to repeat the year which they have failed. Some have failed one year, passed on second attempt and then failed again in another year. It is not uncommon to have someone who failed a few times along the way.

These scholars are supposed to represent the cream of our students, and yet they struggled to get through the course.

We must find out the reasons why so many of these scholars fail when they are supposed to be the our top students.

Granted that in an examination, even a good student can do badly sometimes, but to have a disproportional high failure rate among the so called top students is alarming and cannot be attributed to ‘luck’ or the lack of it. Compare this with those on their fathers’ scholarship, very few of the latter group failed.

Is it because our marking system is at fault? Is there any differential markings of papers? Is our education system at fault?

I think the time has come to have a thorough re-examination of the whole education as well as the examination system.

It really reflects badly on our country when scholarship holders fail in their examinations at an alarming rate.



P.S. When a scholarship holder fails and has to repeat a year, it would cost the Country a lot of money which can actually be used to finance more students for study. Scholarship holders also live a life of relative luxury, compared to self-financed students, and they normally stay in the best hostels and many of them have cars and so on… SO the whole system of awarding scholarship should be reviewed too…


If the students scores an exemplary number of distinctions (A's in
Malaysia
) in a public exam, they are considered the pinnacle of what the Country's education system is capable of producing. They are expected to go through tertiary education anywhere in the world with flushing success. So what could possibly have happened if they fail abroad?

Malaysia
's education system has always been a laughing stock. Based purely on numeric superiority and mindless rote learning methods that even the British has long abandoned decades earlier, Malaysia continues to believe that the more A's the students attain, the better equipped they are. It doesn't matter how they get the A's so long as the aim is to get them and get as many in the process. So if the students were to labour over numerous past year exam papers in the library, memorise the answers and focus only on what the teacher 'suggests' are likely to come out for the exam, that's all right by everyone. The education system doesn't teach the students to UNDERSTAND the material. It doesn't encourage proactive teaching methods that encourage students to discover knowledge but to merely be taught.


When a student with 17 Distinctions fail in the real world, it is not a surprise. Perhaps it is to many Malaysians, but it's a system that is waiting to reward its students with spectacular failure when they leave the shores and compete overseas or when they enter the workforce. Many organisations in the private sector have continued to be horrified at the performance of such students during interviews. Communication skills are absent. Standard ethics are absent. Common courtesy codes are absent. Presentation skills as well as personal grooming are absent. What has the education system taught them?

If
Malaysia continue to embark on the road of plain numeric superiority instead of to challenge the students to think, provoke them to create their own opinions and to communicate expressively, to eloquently define their standing in the world, there can never be an international leader in any field or industry emanating from Malaysia. It never produced one in the last 20 years. It never will for the next 100 years.





--
QUOTATION OF THE DAY

"Everyone thinks of changing the world but no one thinks of changing himself"
Leo Tolstoy

Close Shave


Life's short, but it is never a steal..Make a run for it, make your life the most wonderful and beautiful it can be..You only have one life, don't you want it to be the best life ever?


I shaved this morning. And I feel like I had a close shave, in life. Haha..

Yesterday was a very emotionally intense day, I was tired, exhausted, physically drained, mentally drained..I guess it's burnout period, because I have not taken a day off for the past 2 weeks..Weeks of long, arduous hours really are taking a toll on my body. Quite a late toll though.

Anyway, I am elated today, even though waking up was the hardest part..Dreaming with a broken heart~~~ Oops, sorry to digress :p But I just had a stark realization: I am free! I have the liberty to do what I want to do now, and that sort of gives me a sense of relief. No obligations to do whatever, although I still am responsible for making my life as good as it can be. A male-version of emancipation! hahaha...

Golly, I wanted to scream "YOU WxxRE!" so badly. But I didn't, because it doesn't help or do anything, other than satisfy my thirst to emotionally torment someone..(OK, I don't do that, just a metaphor..Of what, that I'm not sure :p) I needed to vent my anger!!! But it's all ok now, even though it still has this prickling pain whenever I think about it, ut it's for the best! And I'm just glad I'm not with a emo-filled, men-thirsty xxxx. Pardon for the language today, but I'm just coming clean..

I mean, how great can a person be who claims to be in "love", to find sanctuary in someone else in such short time? Obviously, not too great. Haha..It's ok, I've wanted this for a loooong time...I'm not gona rant here anymore, but I do feel a need to vent this anguish..Not anguish probably, wrong word to use..Ah..Who cares...

RANT AS MUCH AS YOU WANT
BUT YOU CAN'T HAVE IT BACK
HUB OF ALL EMOTIONS IS
SASSY BUT,
FEMINISTIC UNDERTAKING
IS SIMPLY OUT OF MY REACH
AAHHH...THIS FEELS GOOD
BREATHING OUT ALL THE BAD EMOTIONS
WINGS OF ANGER SPREAD FAR
PITCH A BALL
BITCH YER SOUL
DITCH, IS WHAT YOU'VE RECEIVED!

let's play word game :D hahaa..

If you can read properly, you can decipher what's written. haha.

Clue: Add 1 from 1, Add 2 from 2, Add 3 from 3, Add 5 from 4, Add 4 from 5, Add 3 from 6....

Just add those together and the truth will be revealed..... :D
H

Sing-a-Song time!!

Life's short, but it is never a steal..Make a run for it, make your life the most wonderful and beautiful it can be..You only have one life, don't you want it to be the best life ever?


I was listening to this song through my Zen V M this morning while I was pacing myself through 1-mile of icy-cold path towards LCSC. I've always loved John Mayer, especially his song "Gravity"..Wow..Amazing...

And then this song came. "Dreaming With A Broken Heart". I've heard of that prior probably, but was never aware of the lyrics or what the song means..

Here's the lyrics :D


When you're dreaming with a broken heart
Then waking up is the hardest part
You roll outta bed and down on your knees
And for a moment you can hardly breathe
Wondering was she really here?
Is she standing in my room?
No she's not, 'cause she's gone, gone, gone, gone, gone....

When you're dreaming with a broken heart
The giving up is the hardest part
She takes you in with her crying eyes
Then all at once you have to say goodbye
Wondering could you stay my love?
Will you wake up by my side?
No she can't, 'cause she's gone, gone, gone, gone, gone....

Now do i have to fall asleep with roses in my hands
Do i have to fall asleep with roses in my hands?
Do i have to fall asleep with roses in my hands?
Do i have to fall asleep with roses in my , roses in my hands?

Would you get them if i did?
No you won't, 'cause you're gone, gone, gone, gone, gone....

When you're dreaming with a broken heart
Then waking up is the hardest part

Wow...How much better can a song get? :p

Oh, if you have probably noticed by now, I changed my blog's layout while I was in History class this morning at 7.30 am..zzzz --" hahaha..

I love this layout! Whoever thinks the previous was better, to your closet because I don't! hahaa..

Finally freeeeeeee~~~~~

好怀念家。。。

Life's short, but it is never a steal..Make a run for it, make your life the most wonderful and beautiful it can be..You only have one life, don't you want it to be the best life ever?


第一次用中文写部落格。。。哈哈。。感觉好难写哦。。写这一段句子要花5分钟。靠。。。

佩服那些写中文不咯个的人。。

今天想写一写怀念“家乡”,眷恋“家香” 的浓情。

浪子身在他乡已有一年半载, 虽说生活过得十分冲实,难免在孤单一人时想起家里温暖的床铺,美味的家肴,亲爱的家人,美丽的家圆。。

哎,亲身体验了李白“床前明月光”的真谛。。

好怀念大家哦。。。

Box4Thoughts

Number of "Heads" Arrived