Alex's Diary

14-year-old Maths Genius

2010-02-20T12:11:00.003+08:00

I have ever read an article about a 14 year old boy who is trying to apply for several universities in Britain, one including Cambridge, but either got rejected or no response. His love for mathematics began from an early age and he dreams of becoming a math professor. In 2008, he had a taste of the English teaching method from a two-week mathematic course scholarship he’d won. Although rejected by Cambridge last year, he is determined to re-apply again.

After reading the article, I asked myself, what's the rush? He is only 14 years old, and unlike typical families with gifted children, it is fortunate that he enjoys mathematics and is not given pressure by his family.

Many educators believe that skipping grades causes more problems than it solves. It may also cause social problems and lead to academic failures. If I was fortunate to be gifted in a certain subject, to me it would mean extra play time and one less subject to study.

In a Relationship

2010-02-19T09:11:00.003+08:00

Although my attitudes are very conventional, I think that age is not such a big issue when people come into a relationship. Do men have to be older than the girl? Why is it okay when a man dates an older woman but socially unacceptable when a woman dates younger man? Isn't it the same thing?

Living in society often places its demands on us, trying to make us conform to accepted norms of behavior. At least, age is not just a number. In most people's point of view, men are generally less mature than women, so women prefer to date men who are a few years older than themselves. Some also believe that it boosts men's ego when they date older women as they see that they are able to attract someone older and more mature. Women on the other hand are also content to find themselves being able to attract younger men.

The two individuals involved should have chemistry and should click on a fundamental level. There are always advantages and disadvantages in all types of relationships. When two individuals decide to make it work and are committed to the relationship, nothing should be able to get in the way.

Chinese New Year vs. Valentine's Day

2010-02-10T05:44:00.002+08:00

What to do? Is celebrating Chinese New Year more important or Valentine 's Day?Apparently, this is the first clash of the two days since 1900 and the next one will be in 2030. Is this overlap of the two days a good thing or a bad thing? Debatable.

You can take advantage of both holidays falling on the same day to express love to family and friends or deepen love with spouses or partners. It's also a good chance to take your boyfriend or girlfriend to meet 'the family'. Even if you are not Chinese, the day can be full of fun and love. In addition, a good chance to learn about the Chinese culture. In another view, for couples who were looking forward to spending their first Valentine's Day together can feel somewhat disappointed.

What to do? Possibly family gathering in the morning and celebrate Valentine's Day in the evening.

Why do women cut their hair after a break up?

2010-02-09T14:55:00.003+08:00

It is well-observed that women cut their hair after a break up. Is it actually a good idea or a bad one? A few good points I can think of after a nasty break up.

The first point is that a drastic change would mean it’s time to move on with boost of confidence. But is it too impulsive? Are you rational enough to know what you want?

The second point is to tell the world that you’re newly single. But is that a good thing? It does show guys around you that you’re available, but on the other hand, guys may perceive that you’re emotionally unstable.

Anyway, it’s matter of individual preference. As long as it makes one feel well, why bother not doing that!

Over-protective Dads

2010-02-07T08:43:00.002+08:00

Some female students ever shared with me that when they got a boyfriend, their father often react irrationally to dislike that relationship.

I guess it's not difficult to comprehend. In the fathers' point of view, just a few years ago their daughters used to do everything with them. It could be very heartbreaking for them to watch their daughters grow up and drift away towards adulthood. Fathers don't want them to go and even share with another guy. They think no guy will ever be good enough for their little girl.

Another reason fathers are so protective is that they were also once hormone-driven teens. All guys were. His friends were all hormone-driven teens as well. They know better than anyone what guys are thinking and what they will do to get lucky from her daughter.

At the end of the day, dads have their daughters' best interests in mind. All the daughters need to do is to convince their dads that they can be trusted and are making the right choices.

Increase in drivers' texting

2010-02-06T11:46:00.002+08:00

Although many countries have banned speaking on mobile phones whilst driving, has the usage of them actually decreased? No! It only changes the way to use.

The Christchurch Strategic Traffic Unit in New Zealand had the following experience: After the law changed last year, the use of mobile phones to talk has dropped drastically. However, lately it has been noticed that there is a gradual increase in phone texting whilst driving. Drivers are trying to text covertly, which consequently leads them to take their eyes off the road to look down to text.

It has been shown in multiple studies that it isn't holding the phone that is the problem but talking during driving. It's because some of your attention is dedicated to speaking on the phone, taking away your attention on the road. Now, drivers turn to concentrating more on texting. Is this turning the matter worse than before?

Is online dating a good idea?

2010-02-05T08:28:00.003+08:00

Approximately 40 million people around the globe have turned to the internet for love. Even some of my friends have met their partners through the Internet. A cousin of mine actually met her husband through the Internet. What does actually draw people to online dating in such a vast number?

In fact, there is limitless supply of people online, from everywhere around the globe, who also have a common goal. They're obviously on a dating site to find a partner so there's no guess whether the other person is available for a relationship or not. Then there're speed and convenience, where it is designed towards fast and efficient contact whenever and wherever you want. Also, information, you know to a certain extent (given that the person you meet online is being honest) of your prospective date's physical appearance and background.

Of course, you cannot be oblivious to the fact that there may be people out there who don't necessarily have the same purpose as you. Even in real life, there are people who aren't as honest as you think they are. I personally enjoy meeting people in person rather than through the Internet. Meeting in person just seems more realistic and more exciting. I like to observe people's body language, facial expressions and their mannerism.

Should human cloning be allowed?

2010-02-04T07:00:00.002+08:00

Somtimes when I'm overloaded with work, my mind comes with the following idea: if there existed the same guy of me, how wonderful it would be! This makes me think about the human cloning.

You can conceive many advantages of human cloning. The idea of losing a loved one and then being able to bring the person back to life with the same memories sounds rather tempting. People wouldn't need to donate their organs. New organs such as hearts, livers, kidneys and other vital organs can be cloned. If you needed a new organ, all you would have to do is to clone a new one. Just think of patients who are waiting on organ donor lists. By the time the organ is available it may be too late. However, a lot of people don't accept human cloning due to religious beliefs and think it's ethically wrong. In addition, there are still some flaws in the process that are yet to be improved.

Then are religious beliefs and ethics more important than the human life? In my opinion there is no reason why cloning should be banned. People who have never faced the loss of a loved one may change their minds when the situation arises where they are given the option to revive or save a loved one. The decision to clone should be made by the family of the patient. However, they should be fully aware of the consequences of the process and should be ready to take full responsibility for their decision.

Kids' obsession with Facebook

2010-02-02T19:00:00.002+08:00

Facebook was initially created and limited for Harvard students to keep in touch with each other. However, the site later expanded further to other universities and then members of the public around the globe including kids. There's a great deal of controversy on the topic whether Facebook is safe for kids.

Facebook, in particular, is very popular amongst people these days. Young kids who see older kids or adults access Facebook grow curious and want to have their own accounts. Many things evolve around Facebook such as photo-posting, which can be accessed and passed on to others rather than using email. Also, although privacy can be set, it is still easy to be found by the public via random search. As children see other kids with their own accounts, they also want one of their own. Young kids are mainly the ones who go on and add random people and may even meet them online. Competing with other friends to see who has the most number of friends and even challenging them to meet strangers online who they perceive to be attractive are not surprising acts. The recent news reported that gangsters even gathered their evil peers by Facebook. In avoiding young kids' obsession with Facebook, strict supervision and parental guidance is a must.

Pretty Wild in Drinking

2010-02-02T08:05:00.005+08:00

My colleague, Emily, share with me a bit about her wine drinking culture.

She said when she was still in Korea, every weekend she would meet up with her friends to drink in a non-stop manner until at least 5 am in the following morning, whilst, in Hong Kong, she realised that when people start drinking at a certain place, they tend to stay there until the end of the night. But as for her and her friends in Korea, they go 'bar-hopping', i.e. they don't stay at one place for the entire evening. They would drink for around 2 hours in a bar and then leave for another place. They would do that continuously until home time. But, in most cases, in between bars, they would hop into a club and dance for 2 or 3 hours before they go back to drinking again. By the end of the night, they would have had gone to 4-5 different places.

I said, 'Emily, your life was pretty wild in drinking. My life is oriented toward differently: I like to be pretty hard in working!'

Plastic Surgery

2010-02-01T08:25:00.004+08:00

I find that plastic surgery has been increasingly a hot topic among different levels of working class. 'What do you think of plastic surgery?' or 'Would you ever get plastic surgery?' This phenomenon thanks to the constant technological innovation of such professional field.

I think plastic surgery can help those who have facial scars or damage, genetic defects and so on. For those who want to gain their confidence back and cannot bear stares from the public and want to go with the procedure, I do not condemn it. However there are some people who get plastic surgery just for the fun of it or want to look like certain celebrities. It is especially prevalent in other countries such as Korea and the United States. There are risks in all kinds of surgical procedures and it's not worth taking that risk. Beauty is in the heart and there is no point in being 'fake'. Just for a thought, what if your kids look neither like you nor your spouse but inherit the looks of some non-kindred famous people? The feeling is very weird. But then again, this might not be an issue to some people.

I, myself, believe that plastic surgery is a kind of denial, showing the world what you are not. But in the end, of course, every person has the choice and the right to make their own decisions and I respect that. Just do what makes you feel good, but don't overdo it.

Korea's greeting culture

2010-01-31T08:31:00.003+08:00

I've been long interested in how different countries came up with their own norms. In respect of greeting manner, the Japanese, across the Asian regions, is well-known to behave most politely to others however they are unfamiliar with. In some other Asian countries, people's greeting even adheres to particular codes of conduct.

In the Korean language, the formal and the informal forms of speech are strictly differentiated. When you meet someone for the first time you're most likely to be asked for your age (unless the age difference is obvious). You use the formal form of speech when you talk to someone who is older than you, whose position/status is higher than yours, and who is about the same age as, or younger than, you except for a stranger. Of course, the informal form of speech is for the opposite case. It is extremely rude if you do not follow their examples.

Sign of 'seven'

2009-10-03T19:19:00.000+08:00

As said before, youngsters' mischievous ideas sometime come as a surprise to me, sharing a sense of humor. To describe people as stupid is a case in point. Younger generations usually express a guy’s embarrassment by making a ‘seven’ sign with their fingers. But there is something more interesting than it. They turn around their ‘seven’ sign at all angles to illustrate how complete a guy’s stupidness turns out. What’s more, they move the 'seven’ sign from right to left horizontally to show the meaning of ‘stupid again(又seven左)’. I burst into laughter when I learn it.

It is well-known to all my students that I have a ‘classic’ phrase to describe a dullhead. Do you want to know it? I won’t tell! There is something related to ice-cream cone. Ha………………

Hooked on English teaching

2009-09-21T19:04:00.004+08:00

I get hooked on English teaching. I can think around the clock about how to teach well these two weeks. Perhaps I have fully explored the methods of Economics teaching over the past seventeen years and really find nothing novel to impart. English turns out different. It seems like a new mine for me, from which I can dig out many fresh things. At least, its teaching methods are quite different from those of Economics. In Economics teaching, I manage to find a way to ignite students’ power of critical thinking. Once inspired, students can make a great leap in this subject’s performance. However, it takes a long time for students to learn English step by step, and there is no short-cut ways to attain the proficiency level.

So, I always doubt that some students repeating the public exam can make such a rapid progress in English within a very brief period as described in some tuition advertisements. Maybe the students are good at English already but are not lucky enough in their first exam attempts.

A mischievous amendment!

2009-09-14T15:35:00.007+08:00

Sometimes I highly appreciate young people’s creativity. This is a banner amended by my student on the basis of our recent advertisements. This is funny! Our staff all burst into tears upon seeing it. To me, it is a work of art. How come my student can relate a boy to me in such a picture that it sets right the comedic chemistry! Actually, when you compare this amended advertisement with the original one in terms of teachers’ pictures, you cannot repress your smile.

Thank my student for her mischievous ideas!

Take a guess!

2009-09-12T22:14:00.008+08:00

Did you get this experience in your youth? When you were a fresh English learner, your mentor told you that you would check up your unknown words with the English dictionary devoid of any Chinese explanations. You followed suit and ended up with a lasting task. It was because, upon looking into a word, you found some other difficult words in the explanation. Then, you went to wade through several pages and finally you were led to the entries where you almost forgot your initial word you wished to pin down.

This embarrassment also holds for you to consult grammar books. The kind of books usually has other links to the grammar you are currently interested in. Don’t go to those links! This only renders your mind mixed without learning any real stuff. You simply focus on what you don’t understand and try not to go over other seem-to-be relevant pages.

While encountering something you don’t know, you can make a guess. Go on! take a guess! Your guess is one of the solutions.

Data has its life

2009-09-11T11:23:00.008+08:00

We live in an information era, so the data bank of a company is of vital importance to its foundation and development. This holds in particular true of our education business. Every day we impart information. As a result, I'm annoyed and even irritated by the staff who have inadvertent malpractices with the company's data. When I find in the computers that the staff haven't placed the data in a well-ordered manner, it seems as though I lost a huge fortune.

It's no exaggeration to say the above! Do my staff understand that if we rebuild the data bank, it can take a very long time to accomplish with costly manual effort? If my staff still fail to acknowledge the problem, they had better think about in this way: the current data bank is a history of the past twenty-year development of our company. No company can move forward to success in the absence of its history!

My dear staff! Data has its life! Don't put a death sentence to it by making it in total chaos. Please cherish and husband our company's data bank as you do for your love. Best wish!

Fall in peace

2009-09-10T13:32:00.002+08:00

These days I can sense a hint of autumn in the morning. It’s my favorite season but unfortunately the autumn turns shorter and milder year by year in Hong Kong. The climate of autumn seems to give me a break for true reflection. Actually, we cannot always stay high in emotion and sometimes we need time to cool off. Autumn, like a children’s slide, lets our mood fall down to the level ground. Perhaps this explains why autumn has another name of 'fall’.

Human life is also in a high degree of seasonality. Like a business cycle involving recovery, peak, recession and trough, life has us undergo its ups and downs more frequently. So, it is natural for us in a downturn, and what we are kindly expecting is the coming of peacetime .

Examination techniques versus general principles

2009-09-09T09:51:00.006+08:00

Many people denounce private tutors’ teaching methods. They claim that we focus too much on the so-called ‘examination techniques’ without caring about students' independent thinking. Firstly, it is not true! It is very imprecise to deduce our ways of teaching merely from some advertisement slogans. In fact, there are many teachers in the private tuition sector share insights with student sincerely and assist them in developing logical and critical thinking.

Secondly, the impartation of examination techniques is not totally nonsense. It cannot be denied that some tutors create some techniques on a very ad hoc basis to solicit students. However, there are some general principles genuinely helpful for problem solving, and exist some meaningful things to learn. For example, one of the elementary comprehension techniques is to take a look at the first sentence of every paragraph. It holds especially useful when the question is about the paragraphs’ main themes. Obviously, this technique comes from the traditional and formal ways of organizing ideas: You must have the topic sentence in your first line of the paragraph, a general statement of what you plan to say.

Of course, students should not rely completely on examination techniques. Every question has its distinct features, demanding students’ evaluations and judgements.

'King of Tuition’

2009-09-08T11:16:00.006+08:00

The term ‘King of Tuition’ first appeared in a youth magazine about twelve years ago and was used to describe the guy called ‘Sze Sir’, whose massive advertisements had drawn the public’s attention at that time. Thereafter, the term has been in wider use. At first, it applied to some celebrity tutors specifically but later it has been adopted extensively to cover all tutors including very ordinary ones. Until now, the mass media even abuses the term to address any newcomers and freshmen in the private tuition sector. The term no longer shows discrimination between levels of tutors.

Worst of all, the term evolves from a neutral name into a disapproving title. It is never an honor to own such a name for your teaching profession. It bears negative connotations of rapaciousness, arrogance and vulgarity. I have managed hard to keep away from this label for years.

A world of newspapers

2009-09-07T12:21:00.003+08:00

Every morning there is a queue of elderly waiting for the free-of-charge newspapers. Along the road, we can see some maids use the newspapers to help pick up the faeces of their masters’ pets. On public transports, passengers either propping up their drowsy eyes read the newspapers or holding newspapers fall into unintended sleep. In the restaurants, most customers are digesting the newspaper articles, leaving the food intact on the tables.

Before ten o’clock every day, we are surrounded by newspapers.

Explanation for hottest days

2009-09-06T06:47:00.006+08:00

Recently, there has been a record-breaking in HK that we have the largest number of the hottest day consecutively. I have a specious but interesting explanation by putting the abnormal weather down to the government mis-policy rather than anomalies in climate. This financial year the government provides subsidy on resident units’ electricity bills. This unfortunately slashes the cost of keeping the air-conditioners on for indoor comfort. It turns out to be a push for people acting in unison to hike up outdoor temperature. Although my point seems not quite convincing, I contend the policy does contribute a bit to the hottest summer.

The government policies often end up terrible outcomes against their original benevolent intention and purpose. It is the main lesson taught in Economics.

Generation time gap

2009-09-05T07:00:00.004+08:00

Youngsters nowadays never know how fabulous the morning is. While I am waking up with vigorous and energetic minds, most youngsters just drag their fatigued bodies into bed; when I enjoy a nice breakfast, perhaps they are barely partaking of harmful recreational drugs; at the time I am working hard, they are sleeping fast. Obviously, we are doing completely opposite things in most time periods.

I wonder how many hours it leaves for me to meet a youngster a day. What a coincidence! There are only several hours during the evening. How wide the generation time gap is!

Emotional figures

2009-09-04T09:59:00.005+08:00

Google has a function to translate English into Chinese. The result is far from satisfactory. It simply transforms the words superficially without keeping the intrinsic verbal meaning as well as the main thread of the articles. Computers are able to do well with 'scientific’ figures but in dealing with something related to human feeling, they show their limitations.

I stress the word ‘scientific’ because not all figures computers are good at tackling. Some figures connote strong human emotion and passion. Stock prices, which reflect the market ups and downs, are a case in point. Unlike the data derived from the physical laws, financial data can go wildly in directions and magnitudes, reflecting people’s perceptions and expectations. So, I’m often in doubt as to whether the financial transactions governed by computer programming can outperform the investment made by human brains and intuitions. The former adopts an institutionalized approach without caring the market emotion while the latter exercises a more adaptable strategy to the market mood.

To me, investment is a work of art. Without feeling, you cannot work best in it. Have you ever seen your computer not in the mood for serving you? Negative! Computers have no emotion. Then, how can I trust a computer to solve the problems with strong collective sentiments?

Show off my celebrity statue

2009-09-03T08:09:00.004+08:00

A Singapore newspaper had a report about the Hong Kong tuition industry (THE NEW PAPER, 31st August 2009). There was an interesting statement about me. It said, ‘tutor Alex Lam showed off his celebrity statue by becoming an actor in a web-based soap opera.’ Obviously, this information was provided by those receiving the interviews --- some are renowned tutors while some are newcomers to our industry. Having read the description, I uttered a wry smile. How come some people still thought about that my website films are a means to promote tuition business! I have reiterated thousands of times on different occasions that my artistic performance is totally unrelated to my tuition career path. I have managed to prove they are two separate things over years but it seemed to be doomed from the start. Frankly speaking, I wish to cease my tutor’s roles after 2012 and to start my professional performance in talk shows and stage operas. Now I’m paving the way.

My artistic performance is not an amateur interest, nor is a con game to lure students. This is the very fact that I want the public to know, especially those people in the tuition field.

http://www.asiaone.com/News/Education/Story/A1Story20090901-164882.html

In noble style with us

2009-09-02T07:00:00.000+08:00

Yesterday I took a short walk for relaxation. At the street corner, I saw a girl standing at a temporary counter applied for something seeming to be the cellphone number. While the girl was filling out the application form, the staff did his best to sound her out. The questions were all amidst whether the girl got a boyfriend. He said,

'Do you want to join the same platform with your boyfriend?'

'Is your credit card applied by your boyfriend for you?'

'You look gorgeous! have a date with your boyfriend later?'

'Isn't the purse bought by your boyfriend? It suits you!'

I guess our econexp staff would rarely behave in the way as the boy did. Why? Econexp always keeps away from lowbrow styles! Ha...................... We are very noble!

Road

2009-09-01T07:00:00.002+08:00

Today is the first day of September. Nineteen years ago, it was also my first day to work after completing the tertiary study. I woke up very early that day and left home at about six o'clock. On the way, I was unable to hold my exhilaration by setting myself aimless toward the seem-to-be distinction. Not much to my surprise, I lost my way and asked an old lady for directions. She lifted her finger pointing to a road and said, 'it’s your way!'

Yes! It’s my way, a long road to go! I have been walking with long steps in that direction for nineteen years. Sometimes I lost ways again; sometimes I stumbled over obstacles and fell; sometimes I sank into traps. After all, I keep going, with a wish to make a nicer account of my life.

In defence of our teaching profession

2009-08-31T09:45:00.006+08:00

The public’s ideas about our private-tutor sector are: there exist some celebrity tutors which salaries are astronomically high, multiples of what the secondary teacher can earn. They are not good at genuine teaching but, by means of promotional gimmicks and fashionable images, they know perfectly how to cash in on students’ desire to get the best exam results.

Can a con game last such a long time? The private tuition market has got prosperous and vibrant for more than twenty years. Is it that so far parents and students have not been smart and shrewd enough to figure out the tricks we play on them? Actually, in our industry, not all teachers are purely money-minded. There are some elite people teaching with total sincerity and great diligence. They not only impart the exam materials to students, but also share their insights into life. We contribute a lot to the students’ critical personal development and deserve a little bit of appreciation and respect from students.

In the new education reform, our roles will never be undermined even though critical thinking, communication power and creative abilities are more emphasized. It is because we have not been teaching the so-called 'exam techniques' alone!

I wanna eat a hamburger!

2009-08-30T10:55:00.001+08:00

I remember that, a few years ago, a TV screen displayed a reporter. She asked a kid, from a family receiving public assistance, what she wanted to have. The kid replied wishfully, ' I wanna eat a hamburger!' Also several years ago, my younger sister went on a business trip to Vietnam. At the streets, many kids ran after her to request pencils and pens for study.

What are the implications from the above two cases? You can see the different potentials from two younger generations living in the same poverty but under different economic environments. It is not difficult to explain why the economic growth rate of well-developed countries far lags behind and way below those of under-developed countries.

Directional change in love

2009-08-29T22:59:00.001+08:00

There were two distinct stories in the newspaper but they ended up with the same outcome: the tragedy. On the one hand, one man poured out acid to his sleeping wife's face. On the other, another man using his body protected his wife from a vehicle crash. I wonder whether in the initial stage of love perhaps the former man fell in a deep love with his wife whereas the latter man was forced to marry his wife because of their parents' designation.

Today's love is more unpredictable not only in degree but also in direction. So you should ask your lover not only if his (or her) love could last forever, but also whether he (or she) would hack me to death.

It is necessary to address the above extra question ..........for a safety reason!

Convenience and loneliness

2009-08-28T12:27:00.004+08:00

Are you feeling unwell psychologically when you go out without the cell phone? I guess this would most likely be happening to youngsters. Surely our generations rarely bear this weird experience as we used to have no such kind of social technology. To us, the use of cell phone is a surplus to our daily life by bolstering convenience merely. However, to younger people cell phone is of a necessity that it's a means to remove the extreme loneliness inside their hearts.

Today's youngsters, born into technology, seem not to let themselves have a moment of peaceful mind. They enjoy being bombarded (or moderately "annoyed") by friends' unsolicited calls at any time. On public transport younger generations keep doing or playing something with their cell phones upon off the calls. What makes matters worse is the introduction of I-phones embracing more amazing features and functions, to which youngsters' minds are tied up closer and more frequently.

The increasing convenience afforded by mobile phones carries further hidden psychological problems. Does it pay?

Teacher morale vital for reforms

2009-08-27T11:54:00.005+08:00

The education reforms starting this academic year have been a major project. However, I am concerned that some of the people who must make these reforms work may not be very enthusiastic about them. The new system cannot work without their full co-operation.

I have particular concerns about some secondary school teachers who appear to be reluctant to make the necessary changes. If they do not fully embrace the new set-up and simply follow instructions from superiors, the reforms will not be a total success. There will be many technical problems to overcome, so teacher morale needs to be high. Often when people try to introduce changes in education they come up against red tape.

A friend of mine who has been teaching for many years has proposed that in Chinese literature lessons the medium of instruction be changed to Putonghua. His proposal has met with opposition from colleagues who keep arguing that it would face 'technical difficulties'. This illustrates how tough it can be to get new policies implemented in schools. In seeking to ensure the reforms are a success, the government should not overlook the importance of teacher morale.

(This piece of article can also be found in the column of the letters to the editor of SCMP on 4 September 2009.)

A place liberalizes yourself

2009-08-25T23:00:00.012+08:00

Fishballs, siu mai and meat balls, non-hygienic and unhealthy as they are, get popular with people of all ages. They are part of our city's daily fare. In particular, the cuisine holds special for those peddled by sideway stalls. It brings us a feel of rougeness and closeness. When I was a student, after school I used to grab a bunch of fishballs on the street to munch on my way home. Now I still keep the habit of swallowing 'fishballs’ in front of floating food stalls. It has not been a single incident that I bumped into my students on such occasions and invited them to eat together. We all ate with laughter, like those shown in the Pizza Hut’s and Cafe De Coral's advertisements, at the street.

Ordinarily, social norms force us to behave ourselves and adhere to some implicit codes of conduct. Sometimes these noble restrictions go in conflict with our primary will. Then, the area where junk food stalls flocking together is a nice place for us to visit. You can release and liberalize yourself there without any guilty feeling.

I got addicted to teaching English

2009-08-25T11:22:00.003+08:00

The recent grammar short course, which began two weeks before, has hiked up my interest in teaching English. Practice makes perfect. For the past three years, I have continually taught written English and have somewhat grasped the way to teach, namely the arrangement of teaching materials, the skills of presentation and the control of atmosphere. It never means that I can outperform my English teaching rivals for their well-established regular courses. But I can take a more roundabout step by providing side products to seize the market niches. In fact, it does work! My grammar short course has enrolled more than two hundred students. It is beyond my conservative expectation. In the forthcoming year, I still keep adopting this piecemeal approach to offer courses, including writing, oral, listening and all other aspects that can make up a full English product.

Frankly speaking, I dare not think about how much we can earn from English teaching and how far this subject extends our business. Only God has a say in it. What I can confirm myself is that English teaching has become my habitual behavior. Every morning I get used to preparing English teaching and writing the current English blog. Without doing so, my mind seems to be very unsettled.........I got addicted!

Talent vesus interest

2009-08-24T08:52:00.006+08:00

My opinion holds that a task can be accomplished by either your talent or interest. Of course, talent allows you to attain a goal at shorter time but you can still achieve more or less the same level without any talent as long as you are willing to take time developing the corresponding interest.

Unfortunately, most people often make confusion between curiosity and interest. The former is merely an impulse need. Upon being satisfied, the wants fade out swiftly. Interest is a personal quality and is accumulated in nature. The deeper the drilling you have, the stronger the interest you possess. We have curiosity simply because of instant excitement while we develop interest from a long-term struggle and hardship in study. A stark difference they do bear!

I don't know whether talent is a gift from God -- i.e. inborn from nature. I would contend that interest is inherent in our perseverance and is a perfect substitute for talent, as philosopher Friedrich ever said that a genius is a person with great perseverance.

Success needs a peaceful mind

2009-08-23T21:09:00.003+08:00

I often meet some ambitious youngsters who are desperate to earn the first million dollars at a certain age. I suggest that younger people not have this idea. It is a curse at yourself! My observation is that people who ever said these aggressive words have fared no better than those in an ordinary life.

It is heard that some people want to be a private tutor because this field has some easy money. If these guys' minds are really targeted solely at this motive, they are doomed to fail. In fact, many famous tutors, in their earlier stage of development, focused on the product quality, without thinking about how impressive the returns they would get. All fame comes to a surprise and is a surplus to them. This also holds for other industries. Initially people only had a pure interest and did their best in the work. Fortunately, their works were good enough to attract customers and then they gradually won popularity. Typical examples include artists, singers, cartoonists and fictionist. The author of Harry Porter, J. K. Rowling, is a case in point.

A successful business needs a peaceful life. With a mind to be rich, your emotion goes up and down much more frequently and can't do anything good in your work.

Who feeds the further generations?

2009-08-22T08:15:00.005+08:00

The consensus that the X-generation has to feed up to three generations has gradually been developed in society. Most friends amidst me not only care for their parents, but also contemplate financial plans for their children. In fact, we can see many parents nowadays assist their children in paying the first installment for the apartment purchase. This practice comes up with an interesting question: How to keep the generation continuity when this trend gets more prevalent?

Human being, especially the Chinese culture, has a long tradition that one generation depends on the next generation to look after. The above seem-to-be convention disrupts the balance by breaking the chain of generation development and reversing the order of nurturance. Then, who is held financially accountable to further generations? Is it that we lump all responsibilities together and add them to the X-generation only? It's impossible! Unless you are a business tycoon, I guess no one could afford the generations to such extent.

I also fall into the category of the X-generation. But it is not unlucky. At least, I'm capable to feed myself. Unfortune may be the human history, especially of Hong Kong. It is worth worrying whether our society ends up with a generation that is unable to afford themselves. I wish that we did not evolve into this desperate result – touch wood!

Set free for peace

2009-08-20T20:34:00.004+08:00

A friend is upset and sad these days because he goes separated from his girlfriend. Although it was he that took the initiative to bring up the parting, his girlfriend had early expressed this inclination in actions. ‘Over the past months, she has turned very apathetic to him. She seemed very uninterested in any of my private affairs and whereabouts every day’, he sighed. ‘There appeared to be two distinct persons to me…......I thought it was meaningless to keep us to tolerate and finally .......... made up my mind to say bye forever’, he started to sob. I tapped him on his shoulder, showing my understanding of his lingering feel.

I always think that the best way to solve the conflict between people is to set free the relationship. It is true that we have to put through a cold spell of misery, but it is worthwhile. In the long term, it returns a peaceful mind to us. Agree?

Dignity of Teaching

2009-08-20T11:23:00.001+08:00

For the past twenty years, the social status of teachers has been keeping in deterioration. I don’t know what factors contribute mainly to this decline, which is perhaps caused by the chaotic reforming of the education system, lack of best people for this field and even the polluted image of the teachers in private tuition. What I understand is that the dignity of teaching is so undermined that this occupation is no longer treated as a profession in society.

If you say you are a teacher, you cannot earn any trust and appreciation more nowadays. I ever heard a story that a girl turned down a boy’s love because of his occupation as a secondary school teacher. She said, ‘A secondary school teacher is really secondary in position. Only those without any ambition in career path will take this job!’ Notice! She used the word ‘job’ rather 'occupation' and even 'profession'. You can see how terrible our teaching comes to the public’s impression!

In spite of the above, I still have passion for teaching. I regard long my work as an art, a performance art! Teaching lets me know the value of myself though many people look down upon it.

Isn’t it a very cruel thing to me!

2009-08-19T09:15:00.003+08:00

In one F.5 Economics lesson, while I was talking about some funny stuff, some words slipped out from a student and it made me burst into laughter. She said, ‘Alex, you are like my father very much. Both are interesting!’ Oh! My God! I’m no longer like my students’ older brother or younger uncle, but exactly resemble their father….I can’t help show sympathy for myself! Although I knew early that I had ran out of my youth already, I hid this idea into my subconscious only and never told others. Now, the student’s words dug it out and forced me to face my oldness. Isn’t it a very cruel thing to me! Woo………….

Every morning I see some elderly peddle jasmine at the streets. It comes with a delicate fragrance and seems to remind me that I will be in the same peer soon. Damn!

Swing your life to strike a balance

2009-08-18T08:39:00.005+08:00

A lady wanted to reduce weight and went to a pharmacy to ask for a medicine. The shop assistant recommended a medicine but stressed that she might bear some side effects including insomnia, depression, and even a violent temper after partaking of the medicine. The lady finally turned down the medicine. It was because the reason she got fat is that she had been treated by another medicine over several years for her depression. Now the symptoms of depression - sleeplessness, panic attacks and loss of emotion control- are all gone. Ironically, the recommended medicine will bring back all of them to her. It is a dilemma.

Life often throws us in a catch-22 situation. You want fame then you have to forgo privacy; you get wealthy then you have no genuine love; you enjoy authority then you must suffer loneliness. We cannot possess all things perfectly nice.

However, we can strike a balance. A pendulum does not swing to the either extreme necessarily. The lady can choose a little fatness with some emotions; an artist can secure some private affairs at the expense of his popularity; a rich man can seize less wealth for more family love; a leader can act kindly to develop friendship and network. life always leaves room for us to perform such a great art!

Expect the unexpected

2009-08-17T08:24:00.003+08:00

Life is meaningful for all of us because it allows us to savor many marvelous things. If the late superstar Bruce Lee had not died so early, he would have experienced the use of mobile phones, the travelling by the MTR, the surfing on the websites and perhaps the loss from several financial crises - all of them happened after he had passed away. How pity too short a life is! So, I don’t understand why some people easily come to a decision to end up their life.

Life is full of success, meanwhile, intertwined with fair chances of frustrations, as Forrest Gump said, ‘Life is like a chocolate so you never know what you are going to get inside it.’ But this is just the point we wish to cherish. There are no things more intriguing than we expect the unexpected!

Even a doggie will struggle for survival. I ever had a dog falling into serious sick. She seemed to know that without any eating, she could not survive. She kept eating but continued vomiting. Her resilience reserves in keeping survived touched me and moved me to tears. Life is precious even though a small animal don’t let it go with ease!

Restaurant and lady

2009-08-15T10:32:00.005+08:00

This morning I am in a good mood for a stroll. I walk into a public estate where I ever worked for a restaurant as a part-time waiter in my early adolescent years. The restaurant is no longer there but it still leaves some memories to me. All floors above the restaurant were dwelling units. I remember that there was a pretty lady living on the upper floors and she always went to the restaurant to buy breakfast. It has been twenty years more from now. I gaze at the flat she lived and wonder whether she is still living there. How far has time washed away her youth and prettiness? Is it that she has been many children’s mother? Huh.............All are gone: the restaurant, the pretty lady and, more importantly, my youthful enthusiasm and inexperience.

I utter a relieved sigh, with a wry smile at how time files!

Ridiculous gimmicks do pay!

2009-08-14T21:52:00.006+08:00

Our world is crazy and absurd, and so markets sometime don’t buy the traditional and conservative marketing strategies. The plain presentation of product details with some eye-catching slogans is naturally not enough. But even if you treat the advertising as a work of art by making further embellishment and adornment, you still can't get the outcome you want. On some occasions, we need ridiculous gimmicks!

I remember several years ago when the fifth volume of "Harry Potter" was put onto the market, the publisher sent copies to bookstores with the help of armed escorts. This was absolutely nonsense! I hardly believed that some people could be so foolish as to rob such a bulky stuff; In doing so, the men found no chance to be at large. But this was a gimmick! At least this security measure attracted the mass media’s interest in reporting it.

When the final volume of "Harry Potter" was about to be published, the publisher claimed that its computer network had been hacked, making the story leak out. Again, I suspected that it was part of marketing strategy.

In fact, I got fame from tuition because of a rather ignominious short film posted on our company’s website years ago. Netizens found the firm funny and let it circulate extensively on the Web. Thereafter, I have got more well-known to students.

To be a smart marketer, boldness and a moment of madness are essential!

A matter of style

2009-08-13T15:34:00.008+08:00

From my perspective, the films from Hollywood no longer deserve any extra credits. Over the past ten years, they have focused heavily on how advance the computer graphic special effects and how grand the scenes are adopted and managed. The story lines, on the other hand, have turned out very weak. You can compare ‘Die Hard 4’ with ‘Die Hard 1”. Although the latter has fewer special effects, its story gets more intriguing and absorbing to audiences. Conversely, the films from Asian Countries, especially from Hong Kong, seemed to get rid of their past decline recently. Their progress in production comes to many audiences’ notice and appreciation, and their international status is getting augmented.

I still heard someone occasionally say that they prefer Hollywood firms to Hong Kong films because of seriousness and sincerity in the former production. I have some reservation, or rather, I think it’s a matter of style. The Hollywood firms tend to focus on sensory stimulus while the Hong Kong films appeal more to human's sensation. There are two distinct lines of development. To widen our choice and vision, we, as audience, need both!

Stay close behind her back

2009-08-13T08:29:00.002+08:00

In my dim childhood memories, every time I yelled at eating some junk snacks. My grandma always turned a stern face to reject my request and then went out. But I took it easy because she would return home bringing what I wanted. I also remember that my grandma often shouldered me to the market to buy food. To me, no stronger sense of security can be found than hiding myself behind the grandma’s back. This was the most safe place that I ever sheltered in yet.

Grandma’s tenderness is special. It is devoted with a bit of spoiling. The same kind of love you cannot find from anyone. You girlfriend will leave you when you are in a helpless state. But I surely know that even today, in the face of any crisis, my grandma is still kind enough to stand in front of me and wag the hand at her back to tell me staying close behind!

An amazing place!

2009-08-11T16:53:00.005+08:00

Have you ever visited the Mongkok branch of the ‘China Travel Agency (中旅社)'? This is an amazing place! Once your foot steps into the premises, it looks as if you just crossed the border and returned to the mainland China. Not only do the surroundings embrace you with a strong sense of old China fashion, but the staff also reveals the same stuff of feel. Their uniforms are poor and antiquated in cutting and colour. By adding a hint of apathy to their faces, all of them successfully keep you staying in the seventies of China, a good dating-back of time!

Following the dynamic economic development of China, I guess ten years later we will be even unable to find a place like this in mainland. Then, the place in Hong Kong will turn out to be part of cultural heritage, subject to the high conservation.

Things can stay put for such a long time without any changes . Economics tells me that the China Travel Agency must have some monopoly power in the market; otherwise, the company would be forced out of the business already.

Japan: Superior or Superficial?

2009-08-11T07:00:00.006+08:00

It’s a long tradition that Hong Kong youngsters adore the Japanese culture. It seems that this country in all dimensions gets blindly superior to ours. I remember a young artist ever said Japanese people are friendly and courteous. I don’t think so! The Japanese do good for you only when they are serving in their workplace; however, upon off-work, they turn another face to you and behave differently. Their good manners are vastly superficial.

My general perception of the Japanese youth culture is very low-brow. At the main streets, boys try their best to fall into talk to strange girls. If your friends are pretty enough to take a walk in any Japanese cities, I guarantee that she is tied up with, as well as tired of, boys’ disturbance. Of course, the reason Japanese boys behave in this way is that Japanese girls let them have successful cases. Japanese girls are so open-minded that they can accept any strangers to be their only-one-day boyfriends.

Besides, most of the Japanese hardware is outmoded. Perhaps Japan has advanced earlier than other Asian countries over the past half century but suffers from economic downturn these decades, so not much social capital can be allocated for renovation. The Japanese airports let me recall the past days of the Hong Kong's Kai Tak airport. In addition, you cannot find a commercial center as giant and grand as those in Hong Kong such as the Harbour City and Elements. Most cinemas have gone obsolete in equipment, holding very little appeal for Hong Kong people.

Only the Japanese fashion and design. with a strong aesthetic sense, leave some value to me. My remark is: Japan is a good place for shopping, but not a paradise to live!

Is it a good 'wish'?

2009-08-09T21:59:00.004+08:00

Whenever visiting the vet’s, I’m attracted by a name list on the board which grows longer and longer every time. What matter are these posted names involved with? Simply! They owe the vet’s consultation and treatment fee. I frown with anxiety, worrying that their pets might have been abandoned at the streets now. It makes sense for me to have this belief. The list has proven enough that these people are seldom held responsible for their decisions made.

The vet’s assistants shared with me their bad experience. They ever made calls to those people on the list and their responses are odd and brutal. ‘There was a case in which the girl screamed with tears she had no money as her boyfriend had left her,’ the assistant smiled bitterly to me. I nodded to show I got the sense.

Frankly speaking, I hate to hear girls at the pet shop say, ‘The doggie is so cute I wish to buy it! Perhaps it may not be a good wish to the dog!

Crying baby for relationships

2009-06-27T21:26:00.013+08:00

Whether we are amused or annoyed by Tony Chan’s words in defending his claims on Nina Wang’s, it leaves an undeniable fact. The whole story has nothing to do with genuine love but with only an array of weird relationships. You would wonder how come Chan’s wife can be totally apathetic to her husband’s affairs in such ways! It seems as if she were only a pedestrian witnessing a very ordinary happening in the court. What’s more, Chan’s love with Nina Wang was so spacious that Chan should keep all his words in past tense because of their unreal situations. To my surprise, Chan can be multi-functional to the extent that even an i-phone is never comparable with! As a fung shui master, an eunuch, a husband as well as a babysitter playing with Nina Wang every day, there exist multi-subrelationships within one relationship.

It is a farce of relationships! The sacred Lord disapproves but the secular laws let it play in the court!

Keening on struggle with life!

2009-06-23T13:08:00.001+08:00

Bygone is time; yet the experience accumulated has got more and more solid year by year. It happens to have been sixteen years from now that I took the pen to write the first economics reference book. Now, I do it again because of the pending education reform. Things turn out well and different! Firstly, my English writing has made progress to a higher proficiency level. Secondly, I’m more able to present economic idea in simpler and precise ways. The final credit is I’m given more legitimacy of economics teaching in the market. Those days, where teachers and students had dubious attitude towards my economics profession, still come into my mind distinctly!

Thanks to those sixteen years, I have been polished to be a more capable man in the face of challenges.