In Chains

I can't keep still no longer,
My body aches for movement,
My soul longs for freedom.
So close, yet so far.
The green plains beckon me,
The sandy beaches call upon me.
Sadly, I can only stand and watch.
Freedom but miles away.
I wish it would end right now,
For I no longer wish to go on.
I have not the strength,
I have not the mind,
I have not the will.
But yet,
Stopping would be suicide.

I Love Rock And Roll

All Asian Debate Championship

The debate championship is finally over. A couple of hours ago that is. And just to mention it, Team ICSJ 4 a.k.a "The Intellectuals" won the president's cup. ICSJ 4 was of course one of the teams in our contingent. And in case you were wondering, my team, ICSJ 2, finished in 6th place. 3 points short or rather 1 win short of the finalists. But I am nonetheless proud of our achievement because the chief judge Mr. Omar said that one of the main reasons why we lost was because of our relative lack of experience in our first match up. What happened was that, during our first motion, we were pitted against a team from Sarawak, a team which had just returned from another debating championship. The motion which was to be contested was Euthanasia. Based on the draw, our team was awarded the position of the Opposition while the Sarawakians were awarded the position of the Government. So, naturally, we got down to business and came up with killer points as to why we should not legalize Euthanasia. Then, as the time to debate came, we confidently took our place and proceeded to give the Sarawakians a good whipping. The Sarawakians of course, albeit having style, were extremely rude, disrespectful, and above all highly unintelligent. In fact, they couldn't answer almost all of our questions and challenges without screwing up or even displaying their lack of intelligence. But the fact remains, we lost that round. The reason was because, according to the judge, if the debate was based on points of argument, our team would have beaten the Sarawakians by miles. But because of our vague understanding of the rules that the definition which the Government accorded to the topic was absolute and unchallengeable, we lost by a hair thin margin. Which of course proved to be the main factor of our demise in the draw for the Semifinals. We had won 2 out of the three rounds but it was not enough to get us to where we wanted. But I am glad, in a twisted way of course that we lost because, the lessons learnt from our mistakes in the first round allowed us to use it to the advantage of team ICSJ 4, the eventual winners.

The most memorable debate which my team had was in round three. We were up against a team from Metropolitan College and the motion was that all the foreign troops should not be pulled out from Iraq. We were the Government for this one. So, with the lessons learnt from the previous round, we used the rules to our advantage and created a definition so tight that no matter how hard the oppositions fought, they simply had no solid points to go against us and that most of their points were either wrong or simply done to gain the sympathy of the judge. During that round I was the second speaker. Fazlan did a good job opening the case. When it was my turn I got so annoyed by the ignorance of the opposition that I started screaming my lungs out rebutting them as well as to present new arguments. Imagine this, one of their speakers mentioned that the Cold War started in 1991 and that the Sunni and Shiite were in one team fighting against the USA. Preposterous isn't it? And to wrap it up, Ashvin, who served as the whip completely ridiculed the points and arguments of the opposition in such a humorous way that even the judge was laughing her hearts out. Scary eh?

But anyways, that was my first ever debating experience. We may not have won the gold but considering that we only had less that 5 days of practice and coming within less than striking distance of defeating and in one case completely annhilating teams with months of experience and training really gave me a sense of satisfaction. It was almost like a victory to me.

Back

Damn, it sure feels good to be back home. No, I've not been away or anything, but its just that the frequency at which I leave my home to engage in activities such as debate practice and getting prepared for examinations have indeed been on the rise for the past two weeks or so. Exhausting at the very least. But I can assure you that all has been for a very good reason indeed.

Well, the reason I say so is because, number one, over the past week, especially after today, I never knew that I was a reasonably good speaker. A good speaker in a sense that even a few of the more experienced judges were reasonably impressed with what I could do. BUt honestly, I seriously could not have done that without the amazing support of my teammates as well as lecturer, Kalai and Kamala.

Apart from that, I also realised how much of a coward I was when I was faced with certain challenges. Especiallly, the challenge of debating. Me being me, I often found solace in doubting my supposed capabilities. It was so bad to the point that I had to come up with so many fictitious stories just stay away from the challenge of debating. So much so, that I wanted to pull out. But I guess that I couldnt really do it because quite a few people were expecting my team to at least make it past the semi finals and at least wrap up the finals. Furthermore, my team just wouldn't let me go. This of course touched me as when it came to speaking, I doubt that anyone had pinned any hope on me. Strange eh?

But anyways, enough of speaking for me, for now.

Icky Thump

The Way I Am

3 Random Pictures