The lowdown

Well hello there! I have officially given up on making sure I write a blog entry every 10 days of my life. Why? Well I've been on a mission to simplify my life and just accept that I'm no longer superman

That doesn't mean I'm retiring the suit, just saying that I have to realize that even Superman couldn't save every single person. On a brighter note, I've been able to slow things down a bit and finally focus on the things I want to be doing. I suppose it all started when I had a little spare time and I looked at my past few week's daily schedule and realized I was back in a SSDD life (Same Shit Different Day). It was one of those moments where you kind of go "you know what? Things will just happen, it's my choice that these things are the things that I want to have happen around me". I guess anyone who is living a full life will realize that they'll always be busy but it's really a matter of are you busy doing things you want to be busy doing?

Well this last few weeks has seen a big change in my life. First, I powered through Legend Fighting Championship 11 in Kuala Lumpur. I managed to get my suitcase stolen on my way back to HK but heck, this is why I bought travel insurance right? I saw myself lift the heaviest I ever have at the gym and also suffered through an annoying throat infection. I finally managed to get my email inbox at zero. Yes, zero. This is a huge milestone for me and my to do list is almost clear. I'm currently sitting at City University of Hong Kong typing this because I realized as long as I was in my workplace, I'd somehow find something to do and never get to doing this entry. Speaking of CityU, I wrote an article for the eAlumNet newsletter (I'm a CityU alumni by the way) and have been asked to write 2 more :) The only thing I have yet to accomplish (that I really want to be doing) is working on my new comedy bits. I have so many work-in-progress comedy bits it's annoying because it's like a tiny little voice at the back of my head saying "and then?" that I want to silence with a good punch line.

At least on a brighter note, the Chinese comedy crew is getting bigger and better. There are a lot of rookies and open-mic'ers that just need a bit more time to refine their material and become a regular performing comedian. Having to work with the Chinese comedians and kind of lead them has really taught me a lot about leadership and inter-personal skills. I recently came across a picture and I think it totally summarizes my thoughts:

I'm sure many people who run a business and work with a team have this feeling. I mean, I've come across so many "leaders" who actually end up being like a "boss" and lead by directing rather than inspiring. The more I read about leadership skills, the more I realize it's not so much about doing the job with others, it's more about inspiring others about the direction we're heading and the reward that lies ahead and then working in parallel with them rather than dragging them back because it's your way or the highway. It's interesting because as a leader the hardest thing to do is realize you're not always in the driving seat. Sure you're often the decision maker but man it is tough when you make the wrong decision and now you have to not only fix your problem but also make sure your team is ready to help you pick up  your mess. Poof.

I guess it brings me back to full circle in what I've always believed about leaders. Leaders are always happy to listen to their team's views and suggestions. Then process that information and make the best decision he/she can make based on his/her judgement about the case.

Speaking of listening, I'm currently co-hosting a radio show with RTHK Radio 3 called Hong Kong Lowdown. It's not on air yet but it's a show about interesting aspects of Hong Kong. The coolest part is both myself and my co-host Cruzanne Macalister are very pro-active people so the show has been quite smooth sailing. We've finally found our rhythm working together and know each other's style. The best part about this show is the information I've learned about Hong Kong. Man! This is awesome stuff! After typing this entry, I'm off to RTHK to record about HK Population and I have been going crazy looking at the HK Census statistics. It is complicated but very, very fascinating, learning so much about Hong Kong in general. Want to get in on the fun? Go check out the Build your own table section on the HK Census website.

And that's it for this episode of my entry. It's been a great 30 minutes typing this, enjoying the university atmosphere and for once, not being swamped by emails. Enjoy your next 10 days! :)

It's rumbling, it's heavy and it's rollin'

Well first things first, I just want to say how refreshing it is to be able to have a Sunday all to myself. I'm looking at the clock and it says 10:22pm, my brain still can't believe it's still Sunday. I hope everyone had a great day, the weather's finally nice and definitely worth enjoying.

Well a lot has happened since my last entry, namely, my dear sister came to Hong Kong! Woohooo! And she's apparently become a powerlifter! Yes exactly, when I first heard/saw photos, I was like "don't give me this crap, you are not squatting 100kg, it's at most 100lb.. and well she has completely proven me wrong by doing a 100kg squat, a 55kg bench press and a 140kg deadlift right in my face. Apparently my sister now holds the record for all 3 categories for the Hong Kong Powerlifting Open categoriy for under 52kg. So er, OK fine, you can have your stuff back and you don't need to get out of my room if you don't want to? :P

My sister brought with her the Rumble Roller. I've always been a fan of foam rolling. But when I saw the Rumble Roller, I was fascinated. And after trying it, I was blown away. Very good stuff. I managed to get my sister to leave it behind so I could play with it. Well I'm currently eye-ing it as I type this, because the next item on my to do list is to do a massage and stretch. Speaking of which, I went for a Chinese deep tissue massage yesterday and I was feeling extra brave and told the therapist that she could go harder on me... and well, 1:30 hr of cringing later, I survived but today my muscles are sore, in a good way. Hopefully by tomorrow I'll be good to go again.

I recently watched a documentary called Waiting for 'Superman' that talks about education in America and man, that is quite a dark side to the situation there. I guess I should be quite thankful for my education experience growing up, but then again, I've visited many schools here and similar things do happen in Hong Kong as well. Being the son of a teacher, I've always been taught to better express myself and that learning isn't just about grades, it's about... learning. My parents have always been big education enthusiasts and that was ranked number 1 in our families resource allocation. They'd rather I go to school than anything else. I suppose that's rubbed off onto me so much that if I'm not learning something new each day, I actually feel bad because I've wasted an opportunity to enrich myself. For those of you who are like me, you know that no matter how disciplined and determined you are, there are only a certain number of hours you can concentrate on absorbing new information/knowledge because I'm a firm believer that to ultimately learn something, you have to give yourself time to assimilate the new information. I remember reading a book in university that talked about how things go from information -> exposure to this info -> assimilation -> knowledge and it is only from that can you find new knowledge.

Hmm, speaking of new information, we're already in April and I'm going through my list of ultimate to do's of 2013. So far so good, things are on track except for the learn to just switch off. This has proven to be the hardest part. Well, maybe good ol' rumble roller will do the trick? Let's see, time for a little rollin' and maybe switching off.

Enjoy!

The inability to stop

Well hello there and welcome to Easter weekend! For all of you who got to see Russell Peters last week, congratulations, it sure as hell was a milestone for me to experience him live (and get a photo with him). I don't think I'd ever have dreamed this day would come.

Oh and for those of you who don't know, the other person in the photo is the very funny Ruben Paul (not to be confused with Paul Reubens aka Pee Wee Herman).

Well getting back to life. This last 1 month has been a very, and I mean very life-changing month for me. The major thing was I got sick, I got overwhelmed, I got stressed out, I got to do things I only dreamed about and last but not least, I survived.

I also got myself hooked to the TV show Arrested Development. Man, that is some very, very good writing. If you don't know what to watch, I strongly suggest Arrested Development.

Anyway, in the last month I also officially had the honor of becoming the KELY Support ambassador.

I've always been pro-the-youth-just-needs-a-chance-and-a-mentor because of all the great people that have been in my life and now I have the chance to work with this organization.

The truth is, on the same day as the "official-ization", I was feeling like shit. I mean I wasn't feeling well (look at my eyes in the photo) and I was literally powering-through everything. After the ceremony, I had to rush to a Chinese comedy show that night, and finally by the end of the day I was done. I mean, I was really, really burnt out. A few days after that I hit a point where my mind just crashed and needed a proper reboot. I decided to just take half a day off from the world where I accepted that I needed a break. I treated myself to a Chinese/Thai (fusion) massage and that was what I needed. I just needed a moment to stop, breathe and let my body take a break.

I'm happy to say, I'm back on track, not sick and at 90% normal again. I went for a couple of workouts and clearly I am not at 100% yet but it's just a matter of time. With the Easter weekend, I'm expecting to get fully back on track after these holidays and have more great news to share :)

Oh and if you were at the Esperanza Spalding concert at HK Cultural Centre, was it me or were the acoustics absolutely terrible!? Oh well, thank goodness for good speakers and her albums.

Happy Easter!

Happy 6th year...I still need to remind myself

...that If a Sick Day is the first break you've had in months, you need to slow down.

Time and time again I've managed to deal with a cold, a cough, headache, fever but the moment my stomach goes. I am completely gone. It's reaching 48 hours now but I've been enjoying some serious food poisoning thanks to a mad schedule combined with insufficient rest, crazy stress from many angles and you guessed it, poisonous food. I have a feeling it wasn't any particular food that was bad, but a combination of everything that just piled up and hit me. Sadly, we're reaching the end of Feb and I've found myself like this twice this year already.

Anyway, so future me who will probably re-read this article a year later, if you find yourself sick from overworking yourself, chances are you need to stop and reflect exactly what you're doing with your life. Otherwise, bravo! You're a better man!

Yep, I overtrained

Well, well, well, I've finally done it. I officially overdid myself and have had to accept that I got sick and caved to the powers of anti-biotics. I hate throat infections that don't go away and ruin your whole mood, appetite and energy level. I definitely overtrained because my body ached more than usual, my mood was worse than ever and my motivation got so low, even Hitman: Absolution seemed like a chore. Woah! That's a real warning sign.

It's Chinese New Year in a few days and the vibe to celebrate is everywhere. I pulled myself out of my room to get a change and I've seen nothing but red and gold everywhere. This time of year is honestly my favorite because even the workaholic in me has to stop as many shops and businesses literally shut down completely. In fact, every Chinese New Year is when I literally disappear in general, the whole world is ignored and I get a chance to just sit and enjoy life.

I must say, living in Asia does have a perk when it comes to double-new year celebrations :)

And on that note, I wish everyone a fantastic New Year (again). Get some rest and recharge because after this, the insanity of life comes back.

Timing

Well hello again. I hope you've been enjoying 2013 as much as me. So far, the year has turned out to be very... normal. You know how sometimes things go too smoothly and you start worrying because it feels too unreal? Well this year has already had its bumps and twists so I'm liking it very much because that's how I think things should be. If things get too hectic, that means I'm back at where I was before, chaos and if things go too well, chances are I'm not really doing much with myself.

Today I had the honor of moderating a discussion session at this year's MaD event. I've had the pleasure of attending the event for the last 3 years, going from performer, to facilitator to moderator....hopefully one day..speaker? :P Anyway, it was great taking care of a bunch of open-minded youngsters who were ready to open their eyes to new things. It made me realize I still very much have that hunger to constantly absorb new ideas.

Speaking of new ideas, I got my hands on the Belkin WeMo Switch and have set up one of the two devices and can't wait to tweak it around with the absolutely awesome ifttt.com. I still have yet to fully work out how I can best maximize this device but heck, it took me years to set up my work desk so the lighting, height, etc. were perfect (well near perfect, nothing's ever perfect for me).

Yep, when I read this, it totally blew my mind because it's something I've thought about a lot and this just makes it even more worthy. The older I get, the more I realize, it's so much about the journey not the goal itself. My obsession about logging everything is because I want to be able to retrace my journey not to see "oh look, I slept 8 hours on Monday and 7 hours on Tuesday, yay".

Speaking of journeys, I've been having one heck of a wild time playing Hitman Absolution.

 

Seriously though, I am absolutely loving this game mostly because it's so...open. Like there's no fixed way to win and get through a level. It depends on your personal style and patience. I find myself sitting and hiding in corners, waiting things out because timing is everything in this game (well at least at the hard level that I'm playing on).

Timing. This is another thing I'm slowly growing so very fond of recently. I think I love challenges that involve timing. My drumming, my stand up comedy, hitman, it's not the action, or the storyline or the graphics that get me hooked. It's the need for precise timing. I think a lot of my obsession with logging things down is for me to see how things fit together best, and yield the optimum results.
For example, I work for 45 minutes, then rest for around 10 minutes, but this is a constantly changing number because if it's during the day, I actually require more rest time because in those 45 minutes, I'm dealing with a group of issues (phone calls, emails, work, designs, etc.) whereas at night, distractions are less and so I can work for 45 minutes, rest for 10 minutes and be fully recharged. Hmm.... timing?

The other day, I had an MC gig, and the organizers asked me to make a quick announcement at the end to please remind the guests not to take the ornaments on the table, they are not meant to be souvenirs. I actually wracked my brain to come up with funny ways or stories to use to say that message... but when it came time to execute and make the announcement, I went with the most basic "you see the beautiful ornament on the table" *pause* "please don't take it with you" and the audience laughed because they all were thinking of taking it. After the gig, the organizer complimented me on delivering the message perfectly (they wanted to make sure no one felt like they were being accused of being a thief). Someone asked me what I said and I resaid it and the organizer said "no, it was much smoother earlier, you had just the right timing and tone to make it really funny". It was true, I can't redo it now, I think everything aligned and it worked out.

Timing. And speaking of timing, I think it's time I get my butt away from my computer for a bit and finish some of my to do list so I can complete my final goal of the day: to play Hitman until my eyes pop. Yes, this is how I enjoy my Saturday nights. It's a good time to me :)

We don't like to lose

Happy New Year everybody! I hope 2013 has been kind to you! It's been great to me so far and I'm trying my best to stay focused and balanced without burning out. So far so good.

So I've started reading (well listening to, since it's an Audiobook) Sway and I think I'm growing more and more fascinated with human psychology. I literally look forward to plugging this into my ears and listening to how people become irrational under different circumstances and theories behind why.

It talks about how powerful the fear of losing is that we easily end up digging ourselves a deeper hole than we started out. It makes you rethink a lot of things, about how you commitments are like 2-edged swords where it can either become a great motivator or literally make you crash and burn voluntarily. The more successful people I meet, the more I learn that their biggest challenges aren't really their work or what needs to be done, but the balance in trying to be realistic while still embracing the world of the unknown. Speaking of the unknown, I've recently started playing Hitman: Blood Money (yes it's been out a while) and I've got Hitman: Absolution lined up followed by Dishonored (thank you Steam Holiday Sale, you have burned my wallet once again). The game is both hard and difficult, depending on how you want to play it. I am absolutely loving it because it totally fits into the human psychology that I am growing so fond of, along with that every problem has many ways of being solved, depending on what style you prefer. In the games, I could be a violent, just-get-the-job-done-at-all-costs and just go out with guns, kill everyone and run off, or try to stay focused and only work towards eliminating my assigned targets (that's the cool thing about the game, it's possible to go in, not get noticed, do your job, and leave).

Along with my obsession to log stuff down and my need to find the absolutely most efficient/productive method in what I do, I'm getting obsessed reading about how humans form impressions (especially first ones) and how they have such a strong impact on the rest of your decision making process that it could totally sway you for the rest of your life.

This is exactly like the thesis I wrote in University where I talked about how a lot of art and artists have this impression around them that makes people value them at a different level, regardless of the quality of their artwork. I suppose this applies to all forms of artistic expression. Heck, as a comedian, I get this as well. Just last night, I was on as the closing act of the show and I suppose this both gives me an edge because people have this impression that the closing act is going to be good, but also giving me extra pressure because now people are expecting you to be good. I had a bunch of new stuff I wanted to use but it's always a tough call how to interleave my material with new stuff so the audience isn't left there checking their tickets to see if tonight was actually an open mic.

Well, I guess at the end of the day, whatever impression you have around you through whatever means, it boils down to your integrity as a person to quality control your creative outlet. As long as you approve of what you're producing, I suppose at the end of the day, if no one likes what you're doing, you can still smile while you enjoy it.

Speaking of enjoying it, it's Saturday, I got a bunch of commitments that I should tend to (so I can play Hitman in absolution later tonight before bed). Oh gaming addiction, you are such a great motivator and time waster, but at least you make me think and no one gets hurt.