In 1985, I started Form One. This was when the gambling begins. Meeting so many new faces from wider span of community, at first made me nervous and somehow inadequate. It was like a stranger strolled into a cowboy bar and tried to join a group of guests at the poker game. It was scary.
The secondary school was located about 5 miles from my kampong. Sometimes I have to walk to school but for most of the time there were pick-up trucks passing along the road and therefore I could hitch hike. At some stages in my Form 1, I stayed with relatives and friends. Staying with them was difficult, not only for me but also for the people I stayed with. There were many issues spoken and unspoken between me, them and my parents. It was definitely not conducive for learning. I was glad that toward Form Two my dad built a house (or rather a hut) on a piece of land belonged to him. The hut was located about 2 miles from the school. I stayed there until I was in Form Three. If my dad did not do that and if I continued staying with other people, I knew I would have failed miserably.
This is first and foremost rule you have to tackle in playing the game. You got to have a place you are comfortable with. Staying with some uncle or friends of your dad is like playing cards while sitting on a wobbly chair. You soon fall and all your cards will be scattered for everyone to see.
To this date, I oppose staying with other people. I always make a point to stay on my own whenever I am traveling. Even if I have a relative in town, I would still stay in a hotel or cheap boarding place. To this day, I have always oppose having student staying with me (even if they are our relatives), it will be difficult for me, but more so for them. I know. I have tasted it.
Again, despite new faces and new environment, I soon started enjoying school again. Somehow, without putting to much effort, I managed to secure the top position in my class. I believe this seemingly inherent ability to secure top position was due to my enthusiasm for the school activities. I was happy and having fun, so learning became easy. I cannot stress this point enough, if you are having difficult time (or having no fun) in your schools, you better forget all the overly promoted study techniques and skills. To all the parents out there, please provide the best learning environment for your kids FIRST and then start thinking about buying computer, sending to tuition and all the other craps. A poker player who is sitting on a spiky chair with thorns in his shoes and unbearable heat on his back has very little chance of winning.
Slowly however I became aware of the spirit of competition (or should I say the spirit of jealousy) which was shown by my colleagues whenever they were heaping praises on me. Before I realized it, I fell to a third place in the third term exam of Form One. It did not struck me as anything unusual until we got back to school in Form Two. A friend of mine, J, kept teasing me for losing my position in number one. Again, at first I was wondering what was the big deal with slipping from first to third place. It took me a while to realize that he was subtly implying that I have been defeated. It then dawned on me that he was actually indirectly giving me a mockery. Initially, I did not even care to find out who was in the number one position. After finding out that it was him (J) who defeated me, I realized now that I have a reason to study. I now have a goal to achieve. This probably was the first time I took my study very seriously! (By the way, J and I soon became a very close friend and we became study partner all the way to Form Five).
That is the second lesson I did learn in playing the game. When winning was so easy, you do not appreciate it. You do not even feel the loss when you are defeated, thinking that the winning number will come back to you again as it did in the past. Once you have realized that other players are aiming and working hard to win against you, you know that playing hard and smart is the only way to go. A goal and a plan must be in place to win the bet again. Winning a trophy is easy only when nobody else wants it.
I was surely fortunate to have been challenged by a determined player at that point of time. Soon in Form Three I was studying like I never studied before. Not for defeating anybody, but to do the best I could for my SRP (now PMR). In fact I did not care less about beating anybody any more. My utmost vengeance was to beat the best result ever achieved in that school. That was in 1987, the year I sat for SRP. I remembered it well because that was the year I broke the school record of SRP achievement. Not only I have beaten my arch rival, I have beaten every best student ever in that school before me! My vengeance was fulfilled beyond any measurable level.
I won my poker game that year. I won big time. I hit the jackpot. Do you want to know what my bet was? My bet was one whole year of my life in Form Three which I sacrificed to become essentially a hermit (bookworm). Yes I became the ‘no other extra curricula activities guy’. I meant business and studied like death is hanging on my neck. I had the goal and I want it. Surely, most people including my teacher did not like my bet. Toward the end of Form Three, the best student award was given to another student who was behind me in academics but did show some respectable achievements in sports. Somehow it was difficult to find one person who truly excels in both. He won the best student award for the school while poor me with no award broke the academic record. I had no regrets. That was my bet. That was the price I had to pay. I won what I wanted. That was the bottom line.
The secondary school was located about 5 miles from my kampong. Sometimes I have to walk to school but for most of the time there were pick-up trucks passing along the road and therefore I could hitch hike. At some stages in my Form 1, I stayed with relatives and friends. Staying with them was difficult, not only for me but also for the people I stayed with. There were many issues spoken and unspoken between me, them and my parents. It was definitely not conducive for learning. I was glad that toward Form Two my dad built a house (or rather a hut) on a piece of land belonged to him. The hut was located about 2 miles from the school. I stayed there until I was in Form Three. If my dad did not do that and if I continued staying with other people, I knew I would have failed miserably.
This is first and foremost rule you have to tackle in playing the game. You got to have a place you are comfortable with. Staying with some uncle or friends of your dad is like playing cards while sitting on a wobbly chair. You soon fall and all your cards will be scattered for everyone to see.
To this date, I oppose staying with other people. I always make a point to stay on my own whenever I am traveling. Even if I have a relative in town, I would still stay in a hotel or cheap boarding place. To this day, I have always oppose having student staying with me (even if they are our relatives), it will be difficult for me, but more so for them. I know. I have tasted it.
Again, despite new faces and new environment, I soon started enjoying school again. Somehow, without putting to much effort, I managed to secure the top position in my class. I believe this seemingly inherent ability to secure top position was due to my enthusiasm for the school activities. I was happy and having fun, so learning became easy. I cannot stress this point enough, if you are having difficult time (or having no fun) in your schools, you better forget all the overly promoted study techniques and skills. To all the parents out there, please provide the best learning environment for your kids FIRST and then start thinking about buying computer, sending to tuition and all the other craps. A poker player who is sitting on a spiky chair with thorns in his shoes and unbearable heat on his back has very little chance of winning.
Slowly however I became aware of the spirit of competition (or should I say the spirit of jealousy) which was shown by my colleagues whenever they were heaping praises on me. Before I realized it, I fell to a third place in the third term exam of Form One. It did not struck me as anything unusual until we got back to school in Form Two. A friend of mine, J, kept teasing me for losing my position in number one. Again, at first I was wondering what was the big deal with slipping from first to third place. It took me a while to realize that he was subtly implying that I have been defeated. It then dawned on me that he was actually indirectly giving me a mockery. Initially, I did not even care to find out who was in the number one position. After finding out that it was him (J) who defeated me, I realized now that I have a reason to study. I now have a goal to achieve. This probably was the first time I took my study very seriously! (By the way, J and I soon became a very close friend and we became study partner all the way to Form Five).
That is the second lesson I did learn in playing the game. When winning was so easy, you do not appreciate it. You do not even feel the loss when you are defeated, thinking that the winning number will come back to you again as it did in the past. Once you have realized that other players are aiming and working hard to win against you, you know that playing hard and smart is the only way to go. A goal and a plan must be in place to win the bet again. Winning a trophy is easy only when nobody else wants it.
I was surely fortunate to have been challenged by a determined player at that point of time. Soon in Form Three I was studying like I never studied before. Not for defeating anybody, but to do the best I could for my SRP (now PMR). In fact I did not care less about beating anybody any more. My utmost vengeance was to beat the best result ever achieved in that school. That was in 1987, the year I sat for SRP. I remembered it well because that was the year I broke the school record of SRP achievement. Not only I have beaten my arch rival, I have beaten every best student ever in that school before me! My vengeance was fulfilled beyond any measurable level.
I won my poker game that year. I won big time. I hit the jackpot. Do you want to know what my bet was? My bet was one whole year of my life in Form Three which I sacrificed to become essentially a hermit (bookworm). Yes I became the ‘no other extra curricula activities guy’. I meant business and studied like death is hanging on my neck. I had the goal and I want it. Surely, most people including my teacher did not like my bet. Toward the end of Form Three, the best student award was given to another student who was behind me in academics but did show some respectable achievements in sports. Somehow it was difficult to find one person who truly excels in both. He won the best student award for the school while poor me with no award broke the academic record. I had no regrets. That was my bet. That was the price I had to pay. I won what I wanted. That was the bottom line.
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