EP has been a busy little boy in the last one month, and will be a very busy little boy in the next few months. He has now been officially elevated to "trainer" status, and will start offering mahjong workshops at selected community centres (CCs) from December on. Way to go, EP!
The CCs are moving fast now that official directive has been given. We are lucky that mahjong playing is already rather deeply entrenched among the masses, and it is now only a matter of throwing light on its previous "underground" status. I think other sports such as Contract Bridge might have a slightly more difficult time of it to spread and popularise the game on a grassroots level. I think they will have more success if they concentrate on spreading the game in schools, for Contract Bridge has a somewhat more academic appeal to my way of thinking.
In the meantime, the challenge for EP will be to try and promote the play of the MCR variant, which still does not stir much interest. We would like to attend the 2010 Netherlands MCR tournament if we are able, and I am hopeful that if we are successful in attending and the event gets some mention in the Singapore media, we may be able to convert more people to MCR. For who wouldn't want to have a chance to play on an international level, and the Singapore variant, at this point, does not provide that opportunity.
We have been playing with more regularity recently, and I have settled into some kind of comfortable groove regarding my playing. We are down to just four regular players, and are quite quite familiar with each other's playing style. I have stopped trying new playing strategies, and am just going along with what I am most comfortable with. The good thing is that I am less nervous and excitable about my game, which enables me to think more clearly and control my body language. But the situation is bad for exposure, which is why I am eager for MCR to take off in Singapore, and I have a larger pool of opponents sharpen my skills on.
The alternative is to play online, which EP has been doing. There are some issues with this for me, but nothing insurmountable. Most online MCR players are Europeans, and a time difference issue exist. In addition, I am having internet connection issues, and until I upgrade my internet connection speed, online play is out of the question.
But I will prevail yet.
PS: I have EP's blog (Singapore Sparrows) linked under Mahjong Links at the sidebar, if anyone is interested.
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