centennary! (:

Dear Readers,



initially, the editor wanted to compile tkwek's five latest poems, essays and stories into a jumbo post to celebrate this blog's centennary, but an idea for an essay popped up, and on this special post, tkwek would like to share with you a few takeaways about his life so far, from the point of view of what tkwek is least known for - sports.



Focusing on showing some of tkwek's less well-known sides, he has also decided to do a quiz on this blog. Not the extremely coincidental one that he's been telling some of his friends about, but one that music-lovers would find interesting, and that he hopes others will do too.



As for the planned jumbo post, i guess it'll just have to come in the 101th post. Oh well. that's a special number too ain't it (FANGYING: number theory :) )



Anyway, here's to a platinum jubilee!



The hope of a better (webp)age!



The Straight Times Editor

First, the quiz, which was koped from Grace's blog, where you're supposed to reshuffle your music playlist and fill in song titles as answers to the questions. Here's proof that classical music lovers can potentially do this to, if we have just the right playlist. These answers aren't random, though. But still.

YOU

what is your town like? ----------- “SYMPHONIC SUITE ON A SET OF LOCAL TUNES”, Kelly tang

what mood are you in? -------“Serenata Notturna”, Pablo de Sarasate

how's your love life?--------------HAHA “Sanctus”, Prizeman-Pachelbel. Just kidding. Maybe “Salut d’Amor”, Elgar

what will you grow up to be?------“24 Caprices”, Paganini (fat hope)

what are you afraid of?------------“Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”, Tan Dun

best place you've ever been?-------“Silence, Night and Dreams”, Zbigniew Priesner

what do you first think in the morning?---------“You Raise Me Up”, Lovland (yeah, maybe the alarm clock)

LIFE

what was your birth like?-------------------------“First Impressions”, Edgar Meyer

how did you feel about life in the early years?------“Going to School”, John Williams

what was your first crush like?--------------------“All I ask of You”, Andrew Lloyd Webber

your worst fears?---------------------------------“Time to Say Goodbye”, Quarantotto

your dream job as a child?-------------------------“Aida – Triumphal March”, Verdi

what will your first job be?-------------------------“The Flight of the Bumblebee”, Rimsky-Korsakov (I just know it’s gonna be busy)

how will your first love be?------------------------“Somewhere”, Leonard Bernstein

favourite hobby?----------------------------------“Thinking of You”, Hilary Stagg. Right I take that back. “Dinner”, Ennio Morricone!

something you HATE?-----------------------------“Going to School”, John Williams

something you LOVE?-----------------------------“Homeward Bound”, Hilary Stagg

your wedding will be like:---------------------------“Dance beyond the frontier”, Ma Si-Cong
(some quiet place)

how will you die?-----------------------------------“Final Waltz and Apotheosis”, Peter Tchaikovsky (from The Nutcracker)

And now for the essay. Presenting...

LIFE IN A BADMINTON GAME

The past holidays have been moderately busy, and amidst the hustle and bustle of orchestral practices, project meetings, overseas competitions and the stacks of homework designed to upkeep our mental faculties during this period, I’ve managed to catch some time off to play a few games of badminton with Dad. Though neither of us are pros in the sport, Dad’s knowledge and experience in the game far outshine mine by close to 30 years, and in playing with him, I’ve gleaned a number of observations. And I’ve realized,, over the course of the past few matches, (however infrequent they were), that sometimes life seems like a cosmic badminton game.

Starting from when we are born, we are thrown into the world like the toss before a serve, soaring from the dark and monotonous box into a bright new world. Around us we see buildings, nature and people – people who, when we are first born, have little or no relation to us, but soon come to shape our lives. A shuttlecock, when first used, knows not the player; though every shuttlecock is intrinsically different in itself, despite the pains of mass-production, it still has yet to be carved and thwacked by the strokes of its new master.

First impacts come when we are pushed forward into a headlong flight by the wire-mesh. This netting is like the firm community that we spring from, that close circle of trusted ones where we, as children, run to for a glass of lemonade, a word of advice or a handy Kleenex when the tears come. Most of the time, it is these close ones who give us the lasting impetus to continue on our lifelong journeys, and more often than not, we find ourselves bouncing back to these ‘comfort surroundings’. Though conflicts may occur, causing us to knock against the cold and hard frames of those racquets, nothing is a dead end, and we fly back the next round to find a warm embrace.
Once launched into the air, obstacles seem to close in from all directions, and we hurtle towards, but not necessarily into, a huge web of life. Here, we may chance upon colleagues, classmates, neighbors, pen-pals and other hi-bye acquaintances. But these persons are just a few knots in the net – those who are really out there are the six billion strangers whom we have yet to meet. Some seek to ensnare us – for better or for worse – while some beg nothing to do with us, and on the whole, they compose a confusing cacophony of nations, tongues and tribes.

However, in life there are no nets with nothing on the other side. As we take flight, we learn how to cross these baffling boundaries of social differences, navigating our way above cliques, gangs and whatever else there is in that ‘madding crowd’, and emerging to find another close circle of buddies and confidants that are always willing to lend a listening ear. No matter whether we bounce ideas off them, hurl pent-up frustrations at them or send a question their way, they are always ready with a quick reply, deflecting our difficulties and accepting our many flaws. It doesn’t matter where we meet them – their unique closeness and ability to click with us makes them instantly special.

Although these two groups – our families and our friends – clash with each other once in a while, it is never always one side that wins. And if we be fair shuttlecocks, they hold equal places in our hearts. Many games, therefore, come not as a fight between the two, but as a friendly coexistence of both, where wisdom flows with cordiality and everyone’s lives are enriched in the process.

One shuttlecock may be used by many masters, and just as there are different types of sportsmen, the people who come to control different parts of our lives are just as diverse. Of the multitudes of individuals who leave an indelible effect on our lives, there are some with a strong winning obsession, who in life focus on getting the best out of every situation, and thus use us – sometimes forcefully, by tricks of the hand – to this end. There are also those who play every move as a gamble, testing life, testing the society, testing those around them. Interspersing light passes with lightning shots, they play an endless psychological game with the racquet and the world. There are even those who play just for family leisure, the stereotypical Dads who bring wife and son for an evening of unwinding on the badminton court. Putting in the best – and their all – for family and friends, the strokes that these deal on us are often steady, occasionally gentle and even loving, but it is these strokes that go the furthest.

As we grow old, our bodies naturally wear and tear. Be it a snapped feather, a dented base or a couple of broken bones, signs of fatigue coupled with experience come to take over that which was once young and fresh. Yet these scars are nothing to be wary of – by them we have redeemed family, found friends and gained a zest for life, the process of which has left a few inevitable souvenirs.

It is often said that in such a game of badminton there is no winner, save the shuttlecock; and indeed, it is the man who has seen life and love, tasted Faith and fortune, and is content, who has lived a full life.