Bluntly Speaking 2

How are you going to spend your holidays?
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Yes, I know. Unwind, relax, seat back, space out, daydream, do whatever you want to do, etc.

But what EXACTLY do you want to do?

Uh-huh, you can chill out, go out, watch movies, hang out, party, sleepover, stay up all night and all that...but don't tell me that's all you have for 100+ days. If so, that's very sad.

Honestly, if you don't really have any plans for the holidays, I can assure you that you won't really be doing and accomplishing much.

At the end of the day, ask yourself, "How can I effectively maximise my free time?"

To be frank, count the number of days in your holidays, remove 1/3 (that's for sleeping) and the remainder is what you have left. Not really that much, right?

The Inevitable Holidays

Put it this way: Exams are inevitable, so are the holidays. Have we ever thought of this as well?

I'm kind of having mixed feelings this time, before I start my holidays tomorrow (after I finish my last paper in the morning).

One thing is that I'm glad that I can finally do what I really what to, but the other thing is that I fear I may not have planned adequately for the vacation period.

And for myself, bad planning means a great deal of inefficiency - wasted time, too much staring at the ceiling, too much slacking, etc. All this mean a rather wasted holiday.

On the other hand, I need space and time to unwind and catch up on my other hobbies and commitments without burning myself out.

So what I'll do is to spend the first few days coming up with a more concrete plan for the holidays, and also to purely relax and unwind.

Currently, the things I have in mind and have in store are (not in order of importance):

1. learn more styles, techniques and tricks on the acoustic guitar
2. try being a supporting/backup guitarist in my and my parents' cell
3. pick up the bass guitar
4. resume learning driving
5. some personal graphic design project(s)
6. jam sessions (many many!)
7. varsity outreach programmes
8. secondary school camp (logistics)
9. varsity camp
10. conference and mission trip to South Korea
11. campus crusades' training for group leaders
12. vacation to Australia to visit friends down there (hopefully)
13. thoroughly tidying up the many shelves in my house
14. doing my quiet time and worship in the park very early in the morning
15. training and taking IPPT
16. cycling around the estates
17. teaching some of my cellmate(s) the guitar (but seriously, I don't know how to start)
18. and all the usual chilling out, going out, movies, shopping, etc.

Yup. 102 days to do all these. It's really gonna be an experience.

Am almost there. 1 more paper to go.

Was practising for my song presentation this afternoon. To say the truth, "Holy is the Lord" isn't a difficult song to play. The key is in G major and the chords are easy to handle.

Am going to use that song....but the thing is, I'll be playing it differently this time.

In the past, I can just grab the guitar and the pick and hit it. Not really a big issue.

But for now, I'll be presenting the song without using the pick. Just the guitar and my fingers. I'm doing this because:

• I can fingerpick, then strum
• I can vary the dynamics
• I can feel for the strings

The 3 above-mentioned points is (honestly) enough to shake the way I play that instrument. But it takes a lot of practice, patience and perseverance.

Simple to say, but not easy to press on with it.

They say musicians learn faster by seeing, hearing and watching other people play. VERY TRUE!

During the previous guitar lesson, one of the teachers screened a short segment of the Hillsongs "Mighty to Save" DVD. The song "None but Jesus" was shown. It had Darlene Zschech as the lead singer and Reuben Morgan as the acoustic guitarist - that's all.

The way Reuben played the guitar simply inspired me to take my playing to a higher level. There was just such a nice touch to his playing and it really set the mood and atmosphere right for the song.

Furthermore, Reuben was strumming with his fingers! Which is why I need to get that technique right. Also, my guitar teacher is 'pick-free' and his plays exceptionally well.

So much things to pick up and so many people to learn from. I know what I'm gonna do during the holidays...hee...

Bluntly Speaking 1

Punctuality
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It is a matter of discipline. It is a reflection of how important you place that particular meeting, gathering or event in your heart.

If you are late or going to be late, make an effort to inform the respective organisers about it, and apologise when you arrive. Don't even think of acting as if nothing happened when you arrive late.

If you are consistently late, examine yourself. Observe your tendencies and scrutinize the way you plan your schedule and time.

If you tend to dilly-dally, prepare in advance so that you have more time as buffer just in case anything unexpected pops up along the way.

By the way, don't expect others (who came earlier) to wait for you, to prepare a grand ceremony for your arrival, etc.

Instead, you should respect those who came on time. Respect them for making the effort to observe punctuality and be fair to them. So, blame no one if you miss out on any parts of the event.

Remember, it starts with us.

I do have severe tendencies to be late. I think I have set aside sufficient time to make my way there, but many times, I'm wrong.

Therefore, (like what I said), I prepare in advance, I wake up earlier, I allocate buffer time. I need to do all this so that not only we can start things on time, but we can also end it on time.

Let's be punctual, shall we?