Attaining perfection through the coffee process (prelude to thesis by guowen)

watched the last samurai the other night, not bad....but what i really remembered was a sentence that Tom Cruise said. He was talking
about how unique the samurais were, " ....from the moment they wake up in the morning, they would train to perfect their craft, every little
detail, hon to perfection...." i dun think that was an exact quote....forgot the exact words but i think i got the general idea....Its wonderful dun you think? to be so discipline, to have so much determination. At the same time its seems that they have nothing to worry
at all, just doing what they do and concentrating on that alone, each and every person in the village has a role, and they would perfect that
job that they were born to.Translated into my context, it would be bliss, to just take photos and perfect the craft. Technical excellence. But in todays society, where
everything is so much more fast paced, you need to know more, do more, live less. Where there will be technological advancement to help
take some load of men, but that also means men have to know more and do more to stay relevant to the society. Where does it end? But
amongst all these chaos and rush, there would always be a grp of ppl who stands out, people who manage to achieve perfection in their craft
whatever craft it may be....i was told once by a fren, that there are 3 different kinds of people in the world, the Carrot, the Egg and the
Coffee.The people who come under the catogory of carrot are the weakest of people, they are hard in normal days but when you soak them
in water, they turn soft. Put them in a pressured environment and watch them crumble. Then comes the Egg people. These people are the
underdogs, looking weak and fragile.......but when you soak them, they turn hard as a rock. Now for the people that rise above the rest, the
coffee people. looking at them, they dun seem like anything, but you smell the aroma, a subtle potential. Then soak them in boiling
water.....they dun crumble neither do they turn hard....they change the color of the water...Where do i belong? Wat kind of person am i? I would love to be part of the coffee people, i want so much to be like that....but truth be told, i
think there is three of these groups in everyone of us. We are the choices we make in life and i am not about to become a carrot, futhermore
....i love coffee....thats a start. isn't it? LOL
wen.
a coffee person.
ps. thx joe. best advice giver. i added the aroma part in myself....more drama....

the List!

This is my list of to-do and to buy. Its constantly changing but its more or less there...

To buy list:
. tripod legs.
. tripod head (1.ball head, 2.pantilt head)
. Ipod Shuffle
. Large format Camera

To do list:
. print foto for frame bought from Ikea
. scan fotos for archieving
. do logo, namecard, website and portfolio.
. learn a new song for my harmonica
. take portraits of frens.
. sign up for monochrome courses
. learn and try to understand 'The Zone System' by Ansel Adams
. learn how to write basic Calligraphy

ok guys.....lets hope i have to determination and persistance to do all of the above....i will update you guys on my progress....wish me luck ok?

wen

The adventures of poolopingdays.

daydreams.......thats where all the adventures takes place....its like a private club where the world revoles arnd 1 person, the dreamer....i am that person. There are various kinds of people, the dreamers..(yours truly)....the do'ers.....the thinkers....the speakers....the socialist.....the lovers....the haters......and the people who just dun give a damn(rockers)
There are of cause similar intersecting trades in each and everyone of these personas....and all these are simply my own catogorization here, its not carved in stone or anything.
In many nice heart warming movies and poems or songs....the role of the dreamer seem to take on a very misunderstood, underdog role that wins the day eventually, which i feel is great, only that it might be a little over-glamorized....to me .....the dreamers almost always never amount to anything in life.....they dun do big things, they dun go nice places and they dun meet great people..
in order for the dreamers to accomplished any of the above....they would have to change their personas....the questions here is...can they remain the dreamer and accomplish things that they dream about?
If one would have a chance to peek into my report card from primary school all the way to secondary school, one would be able to see a host of different teachers from different years saying to exact same thing...."....he tends to dream to much in class....." Ladies and gentlemen....the dreamer still dreams......the adventures of poolopingdays still is happening....its all in my head...a world where anything is possible, where the person i want to be is the person that is......the trick here is .....where do you stop dreaming. and start turning dreams into goals...and then turning goals into achievements! lol....easy to put that down on writing....i believe there are only 2 things stopping a dreamer from achieving...Fear and laziness. They speak for themselves, these two traits....there is actually one more which i refuse to admit.....erm...thats being talentless....lol...

cya

valentine gifts

Helo,

Valentine just passed….and I actually did not really plan anything……had a lot of things on my mind recently, did not really think about what new surprises I should spring on her. I still owe her the valentine present too, haha wat a joke…..this whole gift and surprises stuff in relationship can be real taxing at times aye? Hard to always be special and new… I think I got carried away sometimes when I keep trying to better the last present I gave her…trying to make it more special, more ‘sweet’ but in the end, I tend to always fail to actually finish it….lol, so she ends up with a last minute present to replace the one I failed to finish…at times not getting any….haha
But recently when I was telling my friend about the troubles I am having with coming out with some cool new gift for her, he replied very simply by saying ‘just gets a gift that makes her happy, isn’t that the whole point?’ That sorta stuck a nail in me, I failed to see that for quite some time now….maybe if I did not try so hard in coming up with some elaborate gift I could find something simple that might be common but who cares right? It’s the thought that counts….haha. Ok guys…..i need help here.
Oh yeah! I just chged my name! muahahaha, my mom went to a Chinese master to change them, I am no longer called glenn, so dun call me that! Just call me guowen or wen for short…..my Chinese character has changed to some old-time writing so no one knows how to read it….but its ok…looks kinda cool….as for the new Christian name….i prefer not to be called by that cause I dun really like it….sounds like some superhero.
Anyways, I am going Adelaide this arpil, get a break from everything, I think I really need it….maybe I will come back a wee bit more cheerful and optimistic and she is going with me too, I really wanted her to go with me, but now I am questioning if it was such a good idea…money, or the lack of ….cant help her much there, have been eating off her plate recently….money, the source of everyone’s problem, should I let it be mine? Maybe I should just not think about it and be happy for the fact that she is willing to come along?
Hmmm….

Wen

Back to aus for my sista

Hello,

my sis went back to australia just yesterday night. it would be another year b4 she comes back, and when she does I would be out of the army!!! PRAISE THE LORD!!! (I’m not really a Christian.....but I thought it’s rather catchy)
A little worried about kim though(my dog), she is rather old….12 this yr, she is most likely deaf and getting blind….and she tires very easily. My mom was telling me that there was an occasion, she saw kim walking half way and just crumbling down on the floor, then getting back up again…..hmmmm poor dog. Anyways I will be bringing her to the Vet this Sat. I hope it would make her a wee bit better….
Anyways, this Chinese new year wasn’t very eventful for me. Did nothing and nothing happened….well at least I got double the hong bao, mine share plus abit of my sis’s share(she figured she did not need Singapore currency in aus) good for me aye?
Ok….i have nothing much to write for today, cause like I said, nothing happened for me to write about. So I am signing off with the promise to myself to work hard and not slack off.

wen