My Golf Notes - The Swing

This is a bumper harvest for my fans (if any) - TWO POSTS IN A NIGHT!!!

Sorry to disappoint you, but this one's for me.

1. Address the ball with clubface facing the target. Position straight left arm in line with club. Relax right arm and drop right shoulders slightly.

2. Clasp both hands closer to each other to ensure good contact with the club. But don't grasp the club too tightly.

3. Relax.

4. Before proceeding with swing, "look down" on the ball to make sure that the neck is straighten and in line with spine.

5. During test swing do a 4 o'clock towards the target before backswing. This will get body to "feel" the targeted direction before the swing.

6. Always swing outwards to the target.

7. SLOOOOOWW backswing.

8. Drag the clubface along the ground for a few inches before lifting.

9. Cock wrist only after halfswing point.

10. Lift arm upwards, not backwards.

11. Maintain the left arm-right arm-body triangle.

12. Hold and pause for a second at the end of backswing. Count in head "one thousand" before proceeding with downswing.

13. At the end of backswing, remember to tuck right biceps/triceps in and position forearm perpendicular to the ground.

14. Begin downswing with a pull to the direction of elbow towards the direction where forearm is pointing at the end of backswing.

15. Drop right shoulders, do not look up and do not turn body before clubface contacts the ball.

16. Uncock wrist and unleash clubface towards the ball. Rotate and close left and right wrist to square as clubface approaches the ball.

17. Again, maintain the left arm-right arm-body triangle.

18. Open hips towards the target just about time when clubface contacts the ball and begin body rotation after clubface contacts the ball. Still, do not look up.

19. Follow through and swing outwards to the target. Let the momentum carry club forward and rotate the body.

20. Let the momentum carry through and allow arms fold back to finishing posture gradually.

21. Hold finishing posture... Just hold it... Enjoy the flight of the ball... Smell the clean air...

See how easy the swing actually is?

Let's talk about something boring...

Yes, let's talk about something really boring to most people out there (of course that depends on which side of the fence you are on). GOLF.

For friends who are close to me, you will know the reason why I don't blog a lot these days. Most time I can find during evenings and weekends are spent on the range, and more recently, the course.

Golf is such a wierd game. It's hard to describe the pleasure of getting a tiny white ball into a little hole a few hundred meters away in the middle of nowhere with a steel stick. Afterall, getting a steely stick into a tight hole is obviously going to bring much more pleasure.

If you ask most women, golf makes soccer look like the most interesting sports on TV. Of course, cute young men with lean muscular physiques sure beats the likes of John Daly (google the name and you'll know what I mean).

But hey, golf is golf is golf. It's a perverse game and Robin Williams describes it best (go youtube and search for Robin Williams on golf). Many good men have given up their sex life for it. Three months into the game and I am already feeling my libido waning. Not to mention that with golf, you can do it at any time you want, if you can afford the time. And you can do it as many times you want, if you can afford the game.

There is nothing like the "whack" from a good clean contact on the ball with your irons, or the "ping" from a fantastic swing with your driver. It makes you feel larger than life, and for that moment you feel like Tiger, as you hold your finishing pose three seconds longer for effect... Although you know from the pain that you just sprained that rusty back of yours.

Yes, golf. The game where many quality hours with family and friends are lost over bucket loads of balls. Only in golf would a clumsy looking stick command lustfilled stares of connoisseurs and brands like Callaway and Ping stand shoulder to shoulder with the likes of Nike and Addidas. I mean, come on, which man, other than a golfer, would want to be caught dead in an oversized pink polo-tee with funny flower patterns having a sissy sound for a brand name.

Imagine this, man walks up to guy in that pinky polo-tee ready to tee off. He asks, "Hey, nice shirt, what brand is that?"

Guy in pinky polo-tee looks up with a smirk and then swings his driver at the tee-ed up ball.

"PING!!!!"

Their eyes met with a knowing look.

"Good choice. That's quality stuff you got there..." Man tells guy with pinky polo-tee and walks away into the sunset.

See! Wierd right? That's why no golfer can describe the excitment and passion for this perverse game to a non-golfer. Just like great sex, you have to try it to know it.

Doing the RIGHT Things at the WRONG Time

Have you ever noticed how some people would always want to do things by the book at the worse possible time and hinder progress? Yes, I can see those thought bubbles forming above your head now.

To put it in an easily understood scenario, think of it this way.

You are a soldier in a war zone, let's say somewhere like Hamburger Hill. You are a store man with an Infantry Regiment stationed with the HQ Company. On a particularly dry and hot day, a bunch of VC decided to come out from their little holes and play.

The VCs are ferocious, they attack in human waves, sacrificing men at the rate of 10 KIA to 1 kill. After thousands of VCs later, most of your unit's defenses have crumbled and it's down to HQ Company. There is no hiding now and no surrendering. After shooting up several thousands of VCs, you can only pray for a speedy death if captured.

You are in your trench, firing away at the approaching VCs, trying to hose as many down as possible before they reach your defensive line. You can see a new wave of VCs approaching from the tree line of what is left of the heavily motared forest. From your vantage at the top of the hill you ready yourself for the onslaught.

450m... Too far for your M16 to cause any real damage. Better conserve your fast depleting ammunitions.

400m... You grip your rifle barrel and start to take aim. Damn! The small frame of the VCs makes them a hard target to hit at long range without a scope.

350m... You start to make a mental note of the sequence of shots you are going to make to take down as many VCs as possible with minimum ammunition expended.

300m... "Plat.. Plat, plat, plat..." That all familiar sound of AK47 rings out from a distance. You line up your sights, ready to take a shot. Just as you are about to squeeze the trigger, you heard footsteps scuttling from behind and a huge heavy body crashes into your trench.

"Corporal Joe! What are you doing here!"

Damn it's your CQMS, or Company Quarter Master Sergeant, your direct supervisor. What the hell is he doing here instead of defending his area?

250m... You squeeze off a few rounds taking a few VCs down. Not fast enough though. You switch to full auto and start hosing the oncoming VCs.

"Corporal Joe, I expect you to give me your full attention when I am addressing you! DAMMITT!!!"

"I have to speak to you on urgent matters regarding our Company's acquisition of the new bullet proof jerry cans. As you are the assigned "Project Manager" I need to make it clear that as in all projects, we adhere to a procedure that comprises of comparative quotes, outline of scope of work by project manager assigned to the job. We would like to continue with this procedure and would appreciate if you could provide us with due documentation for our records and financial reporting purpose!!"

"So far I have not seen anything concrete in the project file. Can you please explain to me why you have not done the paperwork as instructed?"

200m... You coolly ignore the bothersome vermin ranting beside you. You have a good mind to put a bullet between his eyes if not for the thought that the bullet can possibly the difference between your life and the life of the VC charging at you. "Plat, plat, plat... Whizzz..." Damn, those AK shots are getting more intense and bullets flying closer.

"Corporal Joe, I expect an explanation from you immediately! Being in a hotzone attacked by thousands of VCs is still not good enough an excuse for you not to follow proper protocols and produce the required documentations!"

"Answer me, Corporal Joe!!! I deserve some respect!!! See, I got three chevrons and you got just two. That makes me your senior!! May I remind you that I've been doing this for 16 years; my experience is invaluable to this organization!!! I deserve some goddddddaaaammmmnnn respect from a pea-brained baboon, worthless piece of cow dung like you!!!"

150m... "Bang... Bang, bang!!!" Great! Some VCs just tripped over the claymores set up at the killing zone. "AMMO!!!" You need more bullets! "AMMO!!" You squeezed off another few precious round.

"Corporal Joe!!! It seems apparent that you are not delighted to have to work with me on certain aspects (plat, plat, plat) you find my basic queries and process (bang, bang, bang) imposing and inhibiting?"

"In fact your tone and remarks (plat, plat, plat) have been personal and condescending on my duties and profession."

"If you feel that you are the integral part in the successes of (plat, plat, plat) in the past one year since you came on board, perhaps you like to recall that all event nitty gritty work that had to be worked on like databases for (plat, plat, plat) I was asked to do the ground first before you start your logistics development."

"Since you clearly indicated your preference not to deal with me, please let my boss or my senior be aware of this. I am an (bang, bang, bang) assigned to follow through the basic of these items, I will do what is required with due diligence; as indicated in your comments during (plat, plat, plat), you mentioned that I cannot pay the due diligence - I am now wondering what I am doing when I ask for specification of work from a (bang, bang, bang)."

100m... The VCs are still advancing despite heavy casualties. You can barely hear the CQ rant in between the sound of gunfire and explosion. Yet, you can feel his hog breath baring down on your neck. Surely this can't be happening to you. Fighting for your life and the lives of your comrades and having to deal with this talk about protocol, documentations, respect, etc, at the same time. This is the stuff nightmares are made of!!! In fact, you have a feeling CQ might just be Freddy in one of his Elm street masquerade.

"Corporal Joe!! I am done with you!!! In fact, I am recommending you for Court Martial for disrespecting me and for lack of proper documentation!!"

50m... You lobbed a few grenades at the VCs. Sick as it sounds, the moans and cries of the dying VCs, which can now be heard, brings you such pleasure. Hey, it's war, it's kill or be killed, right? "PLAT" You felt something hit your chest and fall over into your trench. The next thing you know, your buddy is over you and pressing down onto your chest. "Am I hit?" you asked. "Yeah, but you're gonna be fine. Here, hold this..." Your buddy placed your hand over the FAD over that gaping AK wound on your torso.

"Corporal Joe!!! Don’t you dare die on me!!! I am not done with you yet!!! You still owe me six jerry can caps that you lost during last months field exercise!!!”

“Here…” CQ magically whips out a ‘Lost Item Form’

“Sign here to agree to bare the cost for the replacement of the six jerry can caps!!!”

“And sign in the box!!! Don’t mess up my paperwork!!!”

25m… Although you can’t see what’s happening over the trench, you can already smell death coming at you. “Thud” you saw a VC grenade land right behind the hollering CQ. You can’t believe the last thing you see in your life would be of a fat old disgruntle sex starved geezer waving a form over your face…

War…

“Beware of the survival instinct when danger lurks in every corner. Who do you think you are, better watch your steps!!!"

Another sleepless night

Here I am again, another sleepless night. Rolling around in bed, I started to think about how my life has turned out to be at 27. It is funny that when you are young, you always thought life will get better, easier, or more exciting when you get older. For most of us who have managed to have put more than two decades behind us, we know that the truth is cannot be further.

I also thought about how I should be more forgiving and magnanimous as I grow older. After all, we do get wiser as we age, right? Instead, rather than becoming more forgiving and magnanimous, I found myself to be easily agitated these days by toxic people around me. I certainly do find it more and more difficult to “forgive and forget”.

I do understand that it only hurts me more to stress myself out over some worthless toxic people. I do try to let go. However, when the lights are off, or when I find myself alone and pondering over these problematic humans I am facing, I just feel angry and my blood pressure just skyrocket.

Just in case you get the wrong idea, I am not an angry person by nature who lashes out at anyone over anything. Quite the contrary, I am, in fact, a very tolerant person. I have always been a cool and composed one, not easily excited or offended. So why is it getting more and more difficult to control my anger these days?

Perhaps after years and years of being an accommodating person who does not anger easily, I have finally come to realize that enough is enough. As such, my subconscious may be amplifying my feelings, so that I can take notice of my emotional health and start to take care of myself (like committing my thoughts to this blog).

Or maybe, I have grown into such an accommodating person that some people whom I work with take it for granted that I will not be aggrieved easily, and therefore, will try to take advantage of me whenever they can.

Recently, after one of our conversations, my friend, Ms. TNT suggested that I should go for anger management after I told her a long list of people and situations that have angered me. Perhaps I would, if I have enough money. I really do not enjoy being angry. I just cannot brush it off with a laugh like I used to.

Sometimes, during a long sleepless night like this, I wonder if the solution may be to occasionaly unleash my wrath at the toxic people wrecking my life. It may throw them off balance and turn the situation around. They may not be so willing to take advantage of my pleasant disposition if they know that there is a bite reserved for them behind the smile.

That said (or in this case, thought), I have been brought up in a family influenced by Taoist and Buddhist thinking and have grown up studying in a Chinese Catholic mission school (huh?). Being confrontational goes against my nature. Therefore, it would take a lot of prodding and aggravation to bring out my "dark side".

However, should I start to adopt a direct and confrontational approach to my dealings at work, I would probably gain a reputation as an aggressive asshole, becoming difficult to work with.

Perhaps the truth is, I do not know how to be effectively assertive when needed. Maybe there may come a day when I can grasp the fine line between aggressiveness and assertiveness. In the meantime, I would just have to find an outlet for my emotions, to ease those knotted guts of mine when I have to deal with undesirable toxic people and difficult situations in my life.

Golf anyone?

A few cents a day actually makes a lot of sense

While checking my coin box this morning, I came to the sudden realization that it was overflowing with money. It wasn't too long ago that I just cleared it out and it is again spilling at the brim with loose change.



I must admit I was pleasantly surprised. For the past six months since I cleared out the last batch, I have been throwing all my daily loose change into this box. And voila! More than $600 in coins. It's amazing what a few dollars or cents each day can do over time.



Don't you think they look simply fantastic? Nothing beats the awesome feeling of solid metal currency. It seems to trigger some primitive genetic memory that stretches all the way back to the days when shells were used.

Once upon a time... In a previous life...

I have always felt out of place in the 21st Century. Sometimes, I wonder if I would fit in better in some bygone time. I wonder what I may have been in a previous life.

In recent weeks, during one of my insomnia spells, my imagination ran amok and I was offered a glimpse into a past incarnation of J. Argon.



Well...

Speeding Kills

A few nights ago, while trying to clear a mental block during some mind numbing work, I decided that I should be a responsible and participative citizen by engaging in some public service work through this blog.

So to you clueless naughty speed demons out there, take a hint from the guys at MASK. VENOM was not the one that did them in... Speeding did.

Black Leather Shoes

We have an agreement, me and my black leather shoes. "You take care of me and we'll take care of you." they told me. I said okay. Afterall, we will be travelling quite a lot together.

I clean them, I polish and buff them, I moisturise them. In return, they try to be as comfortable as black leather shoes can be. They protect my feet and toes from danger that comes from beyond.

Yes, me and my black leather shoes. Together we go. In search of a direction to the destination that I am still searching for.

First world country with a first world government

This is my land, an island where I wonder free. Land of my birth, where my heart longs to be. Her friendly shores welcomed our fathers long ago. My spirit sore, as strength to strength, I saw her grow!



My homeland! A first world country with a first world government!

Why am I still unhappy?

Unhappiness

If you ask how I feel these days and the answer would be “Unhappy”.

“Why is that so?” you ask, “Look at you. You live in a first world country with a first world government. You have a nice home, you have wonderful parents, you have food on the table, you do not have fear if the water you just drank contained some radioactive elements.”

“You have a business degree. You should have no problem getting a job in just about any company, working in a nice clean office environment, no sweat or grime, full benefits and a nice paycheck to take home at the end of the month.”

“You should be dating an intelligent and beautiful woman with similar background and education. You should be thinking of settling down soon, you can afford your own home and you can afford to start a family.”

You tell me, “YOU SHOULD BE HAPPY!”

You cannot understand why a person in my shoes would be unhappy. Why would someone who seems to have his whole life and a bright future ahead be unhappy?

“So, tell me why? Why?” you sighed.

My answer is confounding - "I do not know the direction to the destination that I am searching for."

“What?”

I do not know the direction to the destination that I am searching for. I am still searching for that destination to strive towards and I am desperately looking for a direction. This is making me unhappy.

To most people, it may seem obvious what they should do after they finish their education. Just get a job, right? Either gets a job related to what one studied, or if times are bad, just get any job to survive. If you want to earn big bucks, there is nothing better for a 20 something than to do sales or account management.

Speaking of which, sales seems to be the profession of choice for one without any technical education (i.e. those without Engineering, IT, Designing background etc.). Everyone is a salesperson nowadays. Retail sales, Channel sales, Direct sales, Multi-level sales, G2G sales, B2B sales, you name it. Profit is what drives a business and the salesperson is king. Even the guy peddling vegetable in the market considers himself a sales professional.

Living in an environment like this and not having any technical skills and or professional qualification. It seems natural that I should be a salesperson. I am educated in how businesses function, I speak well, I have a pleasant disposition (well, most of the time), sales is THE job that pays the best for anyone with my background.

After my degree, I should aim to join a Fortune 500 company and work my way up from a sales executive (or accounts executive). I can start off with a $2000 monthly salary and if times are good, within two to three years, I can take home a $5000 paycheck every month. Not to mention, it is considered as one of the most rewarding and satisfying career one can embark on. So what is so bad about being a salesperson?

Well, it may seem the best job in the world for many of my peers. It may be a dream job for another. However, to me, sales, dealing with clients, strangers, being friendly and having to be able to muster up a chat in a blink of any eyelid are just about the least enjoyable things I have to do.

Firstly, I hate talking to strangers. Yes, I am capable of holding a conversation, I can interact and work with people in a team and I can joke and even be rowdy with friends. But that does not make me extroverted natural talkatoo, capable of 10,000 words per minute sales pitches. In fact, I hate to talk to strangers, I hate even to be in a place where there are many people around me.

I also hate it when the client I have to deal with is an ego-centric dumbass. You know what I am talking about. You may even have to deal with such people all the time. Some clients just want to make you feel horrid, feel used, feel like you owe it to them. They think that you have to accede to every of their request, just because they are the client. They demand that you give them everything and make you chase and beg for payment. I especially hate it when they harbor this attitude that every vendor is just out to cheat their money. Why don’t they come do my work and see if I am worth the money? Hey, I can bend backwards over, but how far can I bend? Bend backwards through my legs?

It is probably pure bad luck or that I am cursed, but in my three years as a freelance events organizer, I have only met one decent client. Just one client who pays reasonably for the work I have done. Just one who does not try to slash my quote to the extent where I am better off being a dishwasher. In three years, just this one client who genuinely appreciated that I have shouldered part of their workload and my efforts have benefited them. Just that one client, whom I am thankful for.

So there, me and sales. My utter distaste for being a salesperson. A job that everyone seems to think I should be able to do, to make a career of. A job that I know I do not enjoy and a career that I refuse to embark on. A decision that I am criticized for by friends and family. Not being a salesperson.

"But what would you do, if not sales?" you ask. Many have asked before you.

I do not have an answer to that. I do not have an answer to that and it's killing me.

I am unhappy.