Real Competition

Today, I learned of someone who deliberately went to a worse school despite qualifying for better ones just so that he could emerge top and win scholarships. After getting into a prestigious university overseas, he continued to enroll in courses he thought he could beat everyone else at. That was supposed to be the smart method.

A clever way to get the credentials, maybe. But where is the thrill in winning people obviously weaker than you?

I thought life is enjoyable only when you live and work with people smarter, more experienced and more knowledgeable than you. With people better than you as role models, you will be able to set a higher benchmark to better yourself with. Only when you realize that your best is not good enough, will you become better than your best. Besides, winning is fun only when you beat someone at least as good, if not better than you.

Although many things in life is relative, it is also relative depending on what you choose to compare yourself against. After all, just because you are smarter than idiots doesn’t make you smart.

Ultimately, what matters is giving yourself the opportunity to be better than yourself, not better than others.

All my love

Chopin is beauty epitomized.

All you hear in his music is beauty, all the loveliness that music is. His pieces are not simple. They are intricate and delicate, but they remain accessible, and personal. It’s the sort of music you play alone at home for your personal enjoyment. Yet, it has the level of sophistication for a grand performance in a large concert hall that will leave its audience touched, captivated and spellbound by his ingenuity.

Where on earth did someone find inspiration for music like that?

—

Beethoven is fascinating.

It doesn’t take a lot to realize that he puts his heart and soul into his music. His music is original, because it is him – his thoughts, his emotions, his life. You hear him being angry, or sad, or mischievous. The music changes from moment to moment, exactly like the thoughts in someone’s head. It’s almost as though he thinks in music.

If someone could write a diary in music, it would be Beethoven.

—

Mostly, I love Chopin and Beethoven for their honesty. Their pieces are not elaborately constructed show pieces (like Liszt), arrogantly masterful definitions of music (like Mozart), or hopelessly romantic cliches (like Mendelssohn).

They are brilliant, yet natural, works of art.

High and Dry

I’m amused and slightly disturbed by how much the phrase “high and dry” is misunderstood, especially since it’s been popularized in the Radiohead song where its meaning is evident.

In fact, it is so commonly misunderstood in my office, that people understood each other perfectly, leaving me bewildered.

“Hey! I realized if we do this we’ll be high and dry!” I frowned and thought, Oh no… but why does he sound so excited? That was when the person who was directed the phrase responded with an enthusiastic, “WOW! Really, that’s great!”

Huh?

A while later I realized they both happened to misunderstand the phrase in exactly the same manner. The good news was then related to a third person, “Actually, if we do this, we’ll be high and dry!”. And the response?

“Really, that’s great!”

What are the chances?