the•truth•shall•set•you•free

PRSSCO - Batch of 08/09

2009-08-25T00:01:00.008+08:00

Warning: You will see ALOT of me in the slideshow below. You have been warned.

To my dear CO students of 08/09, I wish you all the best in your coming O level examinations. Just like how you all led us to a victorious showing at this year's SYF, show us again how you are going to lead yourselves into the next battle that is ahead and emerge as conquerors once again.

Remember: Attitude Matters More Than Talent.

God bless.

Thank God!

2009-08-21T23:27:00.004+08:00

Hi all. It has been a long while. I hope you are doing fine and God is blessing your life, just like how He is always looking for ways to do so in mine (and yours too).

Over the years, since 2006, I have always been blessed with graduating classes that are unique in their own ways. Each year, through countless prayers since the start of the preparations for the chinese o levels examinations, the Lord has never failed to bless these classes with unimaginable results.

The 2006 cohort set the record for the highest distinction rate ever, until the record was broken in 2008. In 2007, though I took the middle and tail-end classes, both classes came in second amongst their respective cohorts (express and normal academic). 2008 was the first time my secondary 4 class did not do particularly well. However, my secondary 5 class did extremely well and has set the record for the highest distinction rate amongst normal academic classes over the years.

This year, I was also blessed with an amazing class which is very very diligent and willing to put in the hard work and strive for good results. I have never met with a more hardworking class. Not only did they spend many hours poring through the notes the class came up with themselves, they also spent a good amount of time on their own extracting good phrases and words from many different sources. Then they spent yet another huge chunk of time committing them to memory. Such determination is indeed commendable. They are always willing to come for extra lessons and even though they did not start out with good chinese results, they did not give up on themselves and were always willing to give their best shot. It has been a great privilege and pleasure to fight the battle alongside them this year.

As I always tell my students, 'you reap what you sow'. In chinese, it is '一份耕耘，一份收获'. Their hard work really paid off. But what is more amazing is how the Lord really chose to bless us so greatly, far more than what we could ever have thought of or imagined.

Since preparations began end of their secondary 3 year, I have been praying for them. Be it the way I should teach the class, or the questions I should set for their examinations, or the topics that I should spot, or grace from the oral examiners, or favour from the markers, or simply the Lord rewarding them for their hard work, which is in line with the biblical principle of reaping and sowing, the Lord truly answered each of my prayers in His very own special ways:

1. We spotted 2 questions for the oral examinations.

2. Our class took the only day where only 1 class was taking the oral examinations and the question for that day was one of the spot-on ones.

3. Many of them scored a distinction for their oral examinations.

4. We focussed on the analysis of essay questions during the intensive revision period just before the o level examinations and that was crucial in scoring beyond a certain score in paper 1.

5. We moved forward as a united class during the last few days before the battle and the fighting spirit in the class was exhilarating.

6. Save for a C6 and 2 B4, the rest of the class scored at least a B3.

7. Many students who previously were not good in Chinese managed to do a lot better this time. Some even wanted to give up right in the beginning and switch to take syllabus B.

I prayed for 3 things in particular with regards to their results this year:

1. 100% passing rate.

2. Highest distinction rate in their cohort.

3. Highest distinction rate ever, beating the record set in 2008.

The Lord answered all 3! Our entire class passed and the 50% distinction rate was indeed the highest in the cohort (the second highest being around 40%). Though they did not break the previous year's record of close to 70%, their mean subject grade was the best ever since 2005 - 2.20.

What more can I say? I am truly humbled by how the Lord really answered my prayers so beautifully. I thank God for His favour and hands upon this class. It was truly the Lord's hands and what you have just read is nothing short of a miracle. Praise the Lord!

I pray the Lord will continue to bless this class in their remaining subjects and that they will continue to press on in their perseverance and grit and be rewarded with a sweet and bountiful harvest for the hard work, come January 2010.

All glory to God!

PRSSCO ALUMNI

2008-12-09T01:44:00.003+08:00

PRSSCO ALUMNI - Matsuri

Brush with the Law

2008-11-23T01:58:00.003+08:00

If it is anything to boast of at all, I received my first and second lawyer's letters recently. They look something like this:

Lawyer's letter 1

Advent Law Corporation

[blah blah blah]

We act for ...

We are instructed to inform that ...

Our clients require you to make payment of the said sum ... within five (5) days from date hereof, failing which our clients shall be at liberty to terminate and recall the above facilities (as well as other facilities which you may have with our clients) without further reference to you. Under the contractual Terms and Conditions governing the above facilities, you shall be liable to our clients for all costs and expenses incurred on a full indemnity basis.

Lawyer's letter 2

Yeo-Leong & Peh LLC

[blah blah blah]

We act for ...

We are instructed that ...

FORMAL DEMAND is hereby made ...

TAKE NOTICE that unless the said sum ... is paid to our clients directly within three (3) days from the date hereof, the facility given under the above account shall be withdrawn. We also have strict instructions to commence legal proceedings against you to recover the total outstanding balance ... without further reference to you. In that event, you will also be liable for any interest, charges, fees and legal costs accruing thereon.

Verdict: The 2nd lawyer's letter sounds more serious and threatening. Is it any wonder, then, that things have been looking gloomier than it already is for me..? God save me.

Shark Tale

2008-11-12T23:10:00.003+08:00

Right now, I'm not sure what I'm feeling. I should feel angry but amazingly, I feel rather alright. I should have slammed the phone down in anger having not been able to get through the call after multiple tries, but instead I took it in a rather good stride. I should be extremely upset but I think perhaps to summon up the emotions would have been more tiring/painful than to just let things be, at least for now.

This has been/will be a busy week and the tight schedule will overflow all the way till next thursday and I hope it ends there. Sunday, I went, for the first time, to Boon Lay to do some assurance of salvation materials with new converts who are mostly foreign workers from a nearby site. I wasn't feeling too up to it that day but I went anyway, since I promised to. As usual, God has His special way of perking people up whenever the Word is brought in and His Spirit in around. Indeed, His Word is alive. Yet, with the same mouth that confessed His faithfulness and sovereignty, it also, especially this week, uttered accusations at God, for not answering a prayer as simple as keeping them away. Yesterday, I was left with just a little more than 4 bucks in my bank account and when I wanted to buy food, I realized I couldn't. This might sound a tad too pitiful but when I stared at the ATM screen, I was quite sure I took longer than usual, staring at that meagre amount. But I know God will provide. In a timely manner, today is pay day. However, it must have just taken a flick of God's fingers to keep those people at bay, yet that did not happen time and again. Anger and exasperation crept in, even after I had fully experienced God's provision and faithfulness all these years - He never once failed to be my help in my times of need. So it was a confused mind I had up there these couple of days. As if to remind me my folly and distrust, just this morning, God reminded me that, indeed, I had forgotten what He had done for me in the past and had allowed a huge chasm of doubt to separate Him and I this time round. I felt guilty, yet I still could not dispel the helplessness I felt within.

Back to my week. So Monday morning I brought students down to Dunman High, which is now located far away at Mount Sinai. The reward for the morning was, however, a nice and cosy breakfast at Starbucks, tucked away in idyllic Holland Village on a rainy, misty and perhaps a little blue Monday morning. I enjoyed every bit of it, imbibing my food and beverage slowly and reading my book and Bible. Reality and monotony revisited when I had to go back to school do clock my hours. Then I went for my usual 15km run and end up preparing work for the deadlines littered all over the rest of this week and next.

Tuesday morning I went to school to clock in more hours and work, only to have to bring students down to Dunman High again in the afternoon. I spent the afternoon there preparing the emcee script for Saturday's concert. And mind you, I have 2 emcee-ing jobs to do on Saturday - one for my university friend's wedding and the other is to prepare the student emcees for the concert on Saturday. In fact, I actually have 2 weddings to attend on Saturday, but by the look of it, I don't think I can attend the other one. Had it not been for a helpful colleague, I would have to split myself up between emcee-ing at a wedding and helping out at the rehearsals at Victoria Concert Hall. So I feel its quite a lot of work done here for the concert. Yet just today, I felt like I was suddenly made to buy 80 tickets and before I could say 'What?!', the phone rang again and the voice on the other end already wanted to send the tickets down to me! And all I did was to say I'll try to get more students to buy but I did not say I'll grab all 80! As to how I will deal with this, I shall not write it here, lest the people involved get angry. Anyhow, I was not too pleased tickets were just shoved down my throat like this. The rest of Tuesday night was spent swimming and doing up the scripts. And though I was feeling down already, I met up with my ex-tuition kid and listened to him talk about army woes. I thought to myself 'Woah, I'm up to my neck in sh*t and here I am listening to another's problems.' But thankfully, God used that fellowship to cheer me up a little.

Wednesday morning - showed up in school for a meeting and was arrowed more work. But I'm already feeling the strain from all that's happening at home and having to deal with it incessantly, plus the camp this whole week and concert at the end of the week. But I did not voice out, for I did not want people to think I was shirking my responsibility. But the truth is, I think they do not know I do have legitimate commitments outside school - the camp, that is. Not my personal problems. This line I still know how to draw. So anyway, the rest of today was spent rather fruitfully, thank God. I coughed out some scheme of work for next year. Then I went for my run and had dinner with my brother - a rather sumptuous one in a while. I even bought some tidbits home, thinking I could relax a little tonight and watch some television while chewing on cuttlefish.

Little did I realize that I was to be squatting and cleaning my neighbour's floor because the paint that tainted the ceremaic was meant for my house. Yes, you heard it right - paint on my neighbour's floor. And this was not the first time. Naturally, you could expect them to be angry. But they were very nice and I remember thanking God for such understanding neighbours and the thankful thing is so far, the paint has only been splashed on the doors of neighbours whom we are quite close to, so they offered us their sympathy while trying to hide their anger. As I squatted there scrubbing, turpentine and paint on my hand, my mind went 'What am I doing here..?'. It was a humbling experience, no doubt, to have to be a cleaner and if others scorn you or scold you, you can't retaliate, because they have every right to do so. It kinda hurts until my tears can't come out. And that's not the worse. One night, they came to chain our neighbour's door. We lodged a police complaint but all they could do was to take down our statement and then remind us of a fact we had already knew - pay up.

The biggest concern now is not really the paint or chain or threats. I think I've spoken to enough of those sharks to not fear them. The biggest concern is how my neighbours are suffering the brunt of our misdeeds. Truth be told, some days, I walked out of my door more quickly than usual, hoping not to see any neighbours so I don't have to look them in the eye and yet have no more consolation/compensation for than remorse and sorry. But alas, on Tuesday night and tonight, I had to face them and really, all I could say was 'Sorry' and all they could offer was also 'Why like that..?', short of hurling vulgarities at us.

I just needed to get this off my chest. Now, I need to get the turpentine smell off my hands.

New Zealand Day 4

2008-11-10T01:32:00.004+08:00

This was the day of many unfortunate events, through which we saw God's hand of provision and protection upon us:

- Burnt muffin which set off the hotel room alarm early in the morning, and I mean really early.

- Towed-away rented car, which left us scampering around to get back the towed car.

- Late arrival for our flight due to waiting for those who went to finally return the rented car. In between, there was yet another frenzy trying to call each other using the IDD card but to no avail. Frenz-o-meter hit a record high.

- A very nice lady taxi driver returned our lost-and-found item. She patiently took a huge detour back to the airport after dropping some of us off and even waited for them there.

- One of our trip-mate lost her luggage at the Queenstown airport. Thankfully, it was retrieved thereafter.

- One of our 2 cars skidded while turning right in the slightly rainy and misty weather, causing the car to stop right in front of some visibly shocked cows, who could only express their fear with their deep, low droans of 'Moo's.

Pictorial updates

2008-10-09T22:51:00.012+08:00

Since my last blog entry, which was in August, many things have happened. I'm just gonna update with pictures here.

On 8th August, 2008, my school had its official opening of the re-furnished campus and my CO students performed. Very well, as usual. Well done, guys.

Then there was the nonsense on the lift doors, my neighbours' walls and my door.

This year, my students also took part in some competitions and they did well. Great job.

Then I went to the Singapore Flyer.

And the Istana.

In between, my grandmother passed away.

I also managed to find some of my cute baby photos.

Ok, enough photos uploaded in one night. Uploading photos is tiring.

Next up, I'll post something about teacher's day, my sec 4E/5N O levels mother tongue results and perhaps grad day as well.

Meanwhile, enjoy.

P/S: Photos courtesy of my humble Sony Ericsson K850i phone.

On Your Way, 4E4

2008-08-11T23:47:00.001+08:00

To 4E4: I hope this encourages you.

We all need to press on together.

On My Way

2008-08-11T23:30:00.004+08:00

On My Way

(for some self-encouragement, after that depressing previous post, italics mine..)

I'm far away from what I've known

And there's static on the radio

Just a girl (boy) in a car on a lonely highway
I've been up and down this winding road

It's getting dark, the stores are closed
The map is wrinkled, my coffee's turned to grey

But I'm on my way, I'm on my way

There seems to be no end in sight

But I know I'll be alright

'Cos I'm on my way, I'm on my way

Sweet embrace, I'm on my way

So many beat-up cars on this dirt road

I see them sputter and start to choke

How many miles must I go till I rest in your grace

I feel like giving up and letting go

Let the world invade my mind, my soul

Will this road make me, a sinner or a saint

But I'm on my way, I'm on my way

There seems to be no end in sight

But I know I'll be alright

'Cos I'm on my way, I'm on my way

Don't give up on me, I'm on my way

I can picture your smiling face

Your arms stretched to hold me

Waiting there by the gate

If I ever get lost

I know that you'll find me

There's a cross on a hill saying

"Do not be afraid."

I'm on my way

If I keep you in my sight
I know I'll be alright

~ Corrinne May ~

Ramblings

2008-08-11T00:38:00.004+08:00

If it has been an especially bright and cheery day for you and you are exhilarated that Tao Li is possibly gonna make history for singapore, I suggest you leave this blog now for more palatable reads elsewhere. Otherwise, be warned.

It has been a long long while and I'm writing now not having any idea what is the message I want to put across via this post. I'm not even sure what I'm gonna write about, thus the title. Many months have come and gone and many things have happened in my life that on one hand, I wish I'd forget them, yet on the other, they've all taught me invaluable lessons and helped shape a certain part of me. I searched at length for a suitable title for this post, or rather, a word that can aptly embody all that has transpired within the past few months. Well, for want of a better word, Exasperation comes the closest. And before we carry on, let me forewarn you that this post might leave you exasperated, because I'm just gonna write what comes to my mind at the point of typing.

The year began without much aplomb and continued its monotonous journey through January, February and their counterparts. It threatened to stretch me to the limits when I had to take half of the secondary 4 graduating classes and the entire secondary 5 cohort for mother tongue. It was a truly stressful period, what with lazier students who, ironically, think they are smarter than my previous batches of students. For those who've been paying attention in my class, I've always shared this idiom “勤能补拙”. So for slower folks like me, I work hard. Very hard. And I did slog my way through my secondary school years to attain the not-too-bad results I had. But some students just refused to face the fact that they might not be that smart, yet they still stubbornly chose to tread on sluggish waters.

It left me both worn out and exasperated trying to get many, not a few, to come for remedials or do their work properly or study for their tests. At the end of it all, a certain part of me felt I've wasted my efforts. I might as well have spent my precious mornings and afternoons either arriving in school later or going back home earlier. I'm writing all these just before the release of the mother tongue o levels results just so that people do not think I'm trying to shirk my responsibility should these intelligent folks fail to do well. And for the record, not all who came for remedials gave trouble. There were the few who made it seem all worthwhile and I've already expressed my compliments for their efforts and I sincerely pray and hope they will receive due rewards for their hard work.

And to the rest receiving their first set of o levels results, my prayers have been with you, since the beginning of last year, when we began the journey to the Os and the prayers never stopped right up to this moment. I must admit there were many moments when I was gripped with fear and a severe lack of faith that we might not do well when I looked at the physical side of things. But I feverishly held on to the belief that you reap what you sow, which is biblical. Thus, with my ultra shaky faith and God's mighty intervention, favour and blessings, we shall look forward to excellent results. Amen!

Students also disappoint me when they fail to turn up for cca without any valid excuse, or worse still, an indecent sense of responsibility. Many sms-es were spent persuading a certain individual to come. Options, compromises and leeways were made available to him and yet all he could manage was a disgustingly irritating 'i dunwan 2 go lah.. why muz u keep forcing me?!' At those moments, I felt 'man, wat am i doing.. begging students 2 come 4 cca..' And we are talking about a niche cca here. Hey, c'mon, people should be fighting to join such an excellent cca! But no, that was not to be. Another group of students decided to back out of a camp last minute and I questioned their sense of priority and commitment. Why? Because all three were my student leaders. And there I questioned myself: Have I failed that badly as a teacher-in-charge? Things seemed to be getting out of hand after I took over. I tried to pacify my pride by suggesting maybe it is just the cohort of students, which I'm beginning to think so more and more.

So at the beginning of the 2nd semester, I chided the entire cca, if all bothered to be present, especially those who thought they are the world that the cca's existence depended on them. (Please dream on.) I shared my heart and my life with them, yet in the end I wasn't sure how much of that stuck on them. Really, I think I worked really hard for the cca. I poured my heart and soul into everywhere I could possibly be involved in. This is not to say the other teachers did not pour their hearts and souls into the cca. I have an excellent team of teachers who are highly committed and they never shy away from challenges and last minute arrows and I'm really thankful to them, for in their absence, I would cease to function effectively as well.

And the part of my life that I shared with them, I shall now share it here. There was one night I sent out an sms to some close friends who've stood by me all these years. In it, I wrote that I felt really under the fire and my faith was waning and things at home are really tearing me apart. All I asked for was a sincere desire to change for the better, even if it is in the smallest way possible. Yet even that was too much to ask for. I felt my heart really aching (and I now truly know the meaning of 心痛) and I felt helpless that all I could do was raise money and be a loan-paying machine.

So the onslaught of attacks on my faith and inner man came like the splashes of paint and writings outside my house - waves after waves, in increasing intensity. First, they splashed blue paint. (It was yellow and red previously.) Then they wrote on the walls. Not just our wall, but our neighbours' as well. And not just on walls, but the elevators as well. I knew I was not that bothered about my flat number being exposed to everyone who passed by the lift landing, which was, well, everyone. I was irate and furious that there was no attempt at trying to better the situation, in whichever way possible. No, the person in question just chose to be silent and extremely unloveable.

And then the hardening of my heart began. Indifference set in. It was too much pain to try to appeal through emotions and relationships each time. It was easier to stay silent. Maybe that is why the protagonist chose to do that. But really, just by thinking that it is all your fault and saying useless things like 'just leave me alone and get on with your life lah..' DOES NOT SOLVE THE PROBLEM AT ALL! But I could not make the person see that. And that was when I felt my prayers weren't going anywhere and there was a crisis of faith.

So to those who've seen me without a smile on my face recently, to which I gave the excuse that I was tired, which was highly believeable, I apologise for my half-truth and the fact that if I had to explain to you, it would dig up alot of emotions all over again and I would feel very agitated. But not that I'm ashamed to share with you. If you are genuinely concerned and ask me, and we have time, I would much covet your prayers, if we are brothers or sisters in Christ. Otherwise, I do not usually mind sharing my life anyway.

And to the students who think life is hard just because you are scaling Mount Os, wake up. When I was in school delivering a boring lesson or a well-prepared one, or trying to get the cca up and running well again and scolding people during practice, I had many boulders on my shoulders you could not see. But so what? Life goes on and you just learn to tackle life's challenges as they come. Not by giving lousy excuses that you are tired or you have a headache or some lousy stomachache.

It has been tough. And my faith has indeed wavered. But I'm thankful God has not. He is faithful and just. And He has seen me through the past 8 months. And I'm thankful He works inspite of me and in ways I cannot see.

Pardon me for this long and depressing post. I wish you had not read it but if you are reading this right now, thank you for your time and have a good day. We have many more battles ahead.

彩虹（PRSSCO版）

2008-06-16T00:07:00.012+08:00

《彩虹》

哪里有彩虹告诉我
能不能不要这么快离开我
为什么你们酱安静
是不是我唱得非常好听

有没有tissue一张给我
Goodbye说了太多眼睛就红了
也许时间是一种解药

但是我现在不希望你走掉

看不见你的笑 Practice怎会好玩
你的声音这么近假装听不到
没有地球太阳还是会绕

没有你在我怎么走下去

你要离开我知道不简单
要说goodbye 现在真的很难
不要放开我能不能再请你留下来
Seniors 我们真的爱你

I guess it is time to say goodbye
And we hereby wish you all the very best
Thank you for giving us all you have
So that you bring out the very best in us

看不见你的笑 Combine怎么熬过
你说“安静！”的样子我不会忘记
没有地球太阳还是会绕
请慢慢走不送你到门口

你要离开其实也不简单
在你未来记得我们的爱
我们要在阿佤山上吹渐快的凉风
希望明年你能回来

Farewell goodbye my seniors please don’t cry
We’ll fly up high till we soar to the sky
过多几拍这首歌就要跟你说bye bye
把垃圾丢掉才离开

X X X X X X X

In the days of old, whenever God saw the rainbow that He put in the sky, He will remember the covenant He set with His people. Even till today, He remains faithful and never forgets.

In the same spirit, dear PRSSCO seniors of batch 07/08, we will remember you and we hope you will never forget PRSSCO and the wonderful days you spent here.

May your days ahead be like the rainbow -

colourful, refreshing, full of hope.

We will miss you. Take care.

In Conversation..

2008-06-16T00:02:00.002+08:00

hahahihaveablogtoo: [knock, knock] Hi there. Anyone seen gnoliew around?
hahahihaveablogtoo: Gnoliew, gnoliew, hello, are you there? Where are you?
hahahihaveablogtoo: ... ...
hahahihaveablogtoo: It has been quite a long while now. Missed you, gnoliew. Hope you are well.

New Zealand Day 3

2008-01-03T21:12:00.000+08:00

Arriving at the airport.

The moment we reached, we checked in at the Empire Apartments. As our friends were still out there playing, we decided to go for a tour around the Auckland city centre. Here's what we found out.

When we finally met up with the 7, we went for fine dining at a very nice restaurant, the picture of which is very blur though, so I shall not put it up. Anyhow, we drank wine (and alot of it throughout the trip!) and had very good food (steak!).

It was, in a word, SHIOK! What a great start to the trip for me!

New Zealand Day 1 & 2

2008-01-03T20:41:00.000+08:00

Finally, the much-awaited update on my recent NZ escapade.

This NZ trip was planned well in advance, since October (I think). After we dilly-dallied on where to go (Hokkaido was the initial destination and I was looking forward more to it than NZ as I had been to NZ in 1997), we finally booked our air tickets somewhere in Oct/Nov. We then spent much time and effort poring through many guide books and websites to decide on the itinerary & acommodation and book tickets for the domestic flights. However, as I had to stay in S'pore till 8 Dec to emcee a friend's wedding, I could only leave on 9 Dec. (I was actually very excited to travel alone, however in the end my wish was unfulfilled) The rest of my trip-mates, save for one (who had work commitments till 8 Dec), set forth for the Land of many Sheeps and Parks on 7 Dec and I actually went down to send them off.

That's Stanley beside me, then Jiaying, Joyce, Shini, Jeff, Mun & Po Boon.

They did many things in the 2 initial days - Zorbing, visiting Rotorua and glow-worm caves, soaking in a mud spa, wearing tight and old wetsuits etc etc.. I had personally been to Rotorua before 10 years ago, so I was not too envious. However, I was not sure about my other trip-mate who missed all the fun the first 2 days.

That's Diana.

So there, the 9 of us who travelled to NZ together last Dec.

what I have been up to

2007-12-23T21:56:00.000+08:00

Ok, before the NZ photos come in, I shall give a brief update of what I've been doing since 21st Nov (a continuation of the '我很忙' post).

21 - 22/11: photoshop course - full day. learnt quite abit abt photoshop, layers and stuff, considering how the little i know abt photoshop all came fr my own trial-and-error and some crash cses fr friends over the msn. also learnt how to add shadows to an object dat is photoshopped into a pic. the teacher waz an italian guy who is rather interesting. he has this online forum dat allows pple to ask and answer qns pertaining to probs faced during photoshopping. also has some rather gd recommendations on where to get nice brushes or how to attain certain special effects. check it out.

21/11: cousin got married. i waz duely impressed by the flash and video montages shown. quite well done. recently into all these photoshop/flash stuff, since i waz in the midst of a photoshop cse. hah. my bro waz duely excited, since he said it waz his first time attending a wedding dinner of someone he actually knows. for me, i waz quite sure i wasnt excited as dat muz have been like the nth wedding ive attended over the years (where n>25) and considering how i waz gonna attend another wedding really soon.

23/11: open house rehearsal. dept move. prayer for a friend's wedding. [this entire week spent doing budget and all the instructor stuff]

24/11: open house. wedding. outreach waz cancelled in the end and we had a time of thanksgiving instead.

25/11: friend's bday dinner.

26 - 30/11: 'I HOPE I GET TO REST THIS WEEK. (READ: NUAH, WAKE UP LATE, DO WHAT I WANT, NO TIMINGS TO FIT INTO)' well, i din really got wat i had hoped for. had class chalet fr 27 - 30/11. however, as many of my students were working, none stayed over the first night. i went down to check-in, students hadnt appeared. went out to get some groceries for them. students hadnt appeared. finally when they appeared, i needed to go. so they hung ard and then went home. 2nd night waz the bbq. went down with another teacher. stayed for awhile. went off, only to realize i waz holding onto the belongings of a student. went back to return and also to chat with another student i had not seen in a while. 3rd night none stayed over as well, so i had to grab the keys fr a student at night and went down to check out the following morn. i felt much like a butler, checking in and out and doing stuff but not staying for the chalet. i wish my 5a2 students all the best.

1/12: friend's wedding in jb. gosh, this waz like 跋山涉水 juz to attend a wedding. like wat my other friend who went with me said, 我们真的是给足了面子. hahah. we met at woodlands to take a bus into jb. i waz late. the buses were crowded. when we reached jb, we took a cab to the restaurant, thinking it waz juz a short journey. we even bargained with the taxi driver for 12 ringgits instead of the 15 he wanted. however, we were to find out dat it waz indeed a rather long journey, much further than the tebrau market i usu only travel to when i go to jb. it waz an arduous journey to the country club - the journey waz so long we thought the driver waz taking us via a roundabout way. even when we reached the country club, there waz still quite a long way in till we reached the restaurant lor. and when we arrived, we realized we were one of the earliest and most punctual ones. the dinner started ard 1.5 hrs later. interestingly, tho, i met one of my crusade friends and we cld catch up a little. and thankfully, there waz a chartered bus to bring us back to the causeway, if not i dinno how we were gonna hail a cab in dat ulu place.

2/12: 21km standard chartered run. status: completed. timing: 2:20:02. it waz a (very) slow but gd run for me. i enjoyed the whole process and actually felt quite gd thru'out the run - at least i wasnt like dying as i reached the finish line. in fact, it waz one of the betta runs, compared to all the practices i had been having with my friend at ecp the past couple of mths. altho the longest we trained up to waz only 16km, physically i actually felt betta during the 21km run itself. i waz able to enjoy the sights and sounds along the way (i liked the route this yr) - the beautiful sunrise, the pumping muscles of the marathon runners, their grit and will, the guy who ran with a tyre (yes, the real bulky clumsy tyre), my friend whom i waz pleasantly surprised to see..

3 - 7/12: 'I HOPE I GET TO REST AGAIN THIS WEEK. (ditto)' well, i din get to rest. again. instead, i think i did alot alot of things. co chalet fr 4 - 6/12. stayed overnight on both nights, tho i did go back to sch the 2nd morn to do work and then home for a little rest before heading back at night. the bbq food waz gd and we actually finished all the food. in fact, we even bbq-ed on the 2nd night and the food tasted as gd. it waz gd fun with the students and seeing all the alumni coming back. oh, and i went to shashlik on 3/12 to have dinner and thereafter to black angus for desserts with my gd friends. yummy! and i accompanied my student for his check-up on 6/12. it waz a rather gd time to catch up and talk. praying dat his leg heals well and fast. and i went for reachlight on 7/12.

8/12: emcee and translator for colleague's wedding. thank God everything went on smoothly. really thank God, for w/o Him, i wldnt have been able to do it well - i wasnt gan jiong, i din trip on my words and i got my script out (of my mouth) properly, even the throat irritation which i had been having dat kept causing me to cough wasnt apparent at all during the translation, i waz able to speak clearly and loudly, and i waz very sure all these were not by my own efforts. so all glory to Him!

9 - 18/12: OFF TO NEW ZEALAND! (photos will be up soon! watch this space!)

19 - 24/12: x'mas shopping! i had wanted to get x'mas gifts for dear ones this year! but but but the sheer crowd and squeeziness waz too daunting for me. so no x'mas gifts. hahah. i did go down to the book fair at suntec tho. however, cldnt find any gd buys. waz actually looking out for gd chinese books. so instead of shopping for x'mas gifts, i spent the time packing my room and trying to get the old stuff out and create space for new stuff. it waz quite a fulfilling experience, and i took the chance to take stock of my life as i pored thru the things ive been receiving and keeping over the years - cards, gifts, books, photos, cds etc etc.. then one of my army friend's mum passed away. i pray he will be strong in the Lord, coz the Lord is faithful and He works in miraculous ways. ooh ooh ooh, and the latest update fr the iama42scout family (had lunch with a few of them on 21/12): danny is the proud father of a new baby boy, lucas! praise the Lord!

[gosh, i did so many things within the span of juz 1 mth]

[future]

25/12: CHRISTMAS!

26/12 onwards: SCHOOL STARTING REAL SOON! ARGH!

'tis the seasong for giving II..

2007-12-22T11:52:00.000+08:00

Here comes the Chinese books..

1. 东滨北原：东区北区中学学生作品选集
2. 看图念三字经
3. 可爱的花与昆虫 (origami) - 蔡佩伦 (reserved)
4. 漫画选读与习作 (comics) - 吴国雄
5. O Level 华文题解 (pseudo 10-yr series fr a long time ago)
6. 人物表情书法 (how to draw)
7. 微型小说季刊15
8. 微型小说季刊17
9. 文学创作与欣赏
10. 中学好作文：第7集

Keep the orders coming in!

'tis the season for giving..

2007-12-20T16:28:00.002+08:00

Hi all. I'm back, finally. (Ooh, it's exactly a month away from the previous post) From New Zealand and to bloggin'. I'm tempted to continue with my previous post and list down the things I did under [future], some of which have now become [past]. However, I'm too lazy to pore through all that I did in the past couple of weeks. So I shall type in a random post before the NZ photos are up, just like how the activity that inspired this post started randomly too.

I was suddenly inspired to pack my cupboards today. As I started to pack one, I was more and more onz about packing the rest. So from my gifts cupboard, I went on to my cards cupboard. Then I proceeded a little to my CD shelf, got bored with it and went over to my books cupboard. And therein lies the motive for this little post. I have many books I want to throw away but are still in rather good (read: covers intact, pages untorn, albeit a little yellow-ish due to age) conditions. So I hereby announce they are up for grabs. If I don't hear from anyone, I shall donate them away by the end of the year.

Anyway, the undermentioned list is more for laughs (looking at the rather hilarious collection of books I've stashed away over the years) than to really must die die get them into the hands of anyone. So here goes..

1. Action! The 3rd Collection (comics) - Chee Chew
2. Advanced Theory of Driving: 5th edition
3. A Level Economics: 1983 - 1996 (assessment book)
4. Atlas for Singapore (for sec sch geog)
5. Basic Theory of Driving: 4th edition
6. Believe it or not! - Bookworm
7. Best Puzzle Challenger 21: Search & Find
8. Best Puzzle Challenger 24: All Fill-ins
9. Bookworm Adventures - Bookworm
10. Bookworm Adventures III - Bookworm
11. Bookworm Brain Boosters - Bookworm
12. Bookworm Busybody - Bookworm
13. Bookworm Great People - Bookworm
14. Bookworm Magic Crazy III - Bookworm
15. Bookworm Magic Crazy IV - Bookworm
16. Bookworm Short Stories 38 - Bookworm
17. Bookworm Short Stories 39 - Bookworm
18. Creation: Temasek Junior College GP Bulletin 1997 (for jc students)
19. Defining Moments: our Army Experience (I really don't know why I have this)
20. Designing with House Plants - Alan Toogood
21. Developing Data Response Skills in GCE A Level Economics - Malcolm Frost (for jc students, tho this author killed my interest in economics, totally) (reserved)
22. Did You Know?
23. Fundamental Civics: Growing Up Happily - Educational Guidance Series (I really don't know why I have this either)
24. Gotcha! Joke Book - Bookworm
25. Heinemann Singapore Atlas (for sec sch geog)
26. How to survive your IPPT - Ker Cheng Lik
27. Images III: The General Paper Bulletin 1995 (for jc students)
28. Insights: The General Paper Bulletin 1996 (for jc students)
29. In the Beginning - Bookworm
30. Love Sent A Sacrifice (music scores) - Geron Davis, Tom Hartley & Dave Williamson (reserved)
31. Microcosm Megabyte: Nanyang Junior College The General Paper Bulletin 2001 (for jc students)
32. More Brain Boosters - Bookworm
33. Mr Kiasu: Everything I Also Want (comics) - the Kuppies
34. Ours to Protect: Nature in Singapore - Chua Ee Kiam
35. Principles of Accounts: 3rd edition - Betsy Li, Tan Sai Kim, Goh Ling Chin (reserved)
36. Shoulder to Shoulder: Our National Service Journal
37. Soccer Joy (comics)
38. Soccer Joy 2 (comics)
39. Social Etiquette with Kool & Ezee - Flora Han, Fiona Tan, Philip Lim
40. The Living Earth Part 3 (encyclopedia-y) - Christine Back
41. The Living Earth Part 4 (encyclopedia-y) - Christine Back
42. Wacky World - Bookworm
43. Wild Birds of Singapore: The Migratory Season (pictorial) - Chew Yen Fook (reserved)
44. World's Greatest Puzzles - Charles Barry Townsend

Yes, yes, I know the list sounds extremely boring. You are probably going like 'What the heck! Who reads such stuff at all?!' I also don't know why I kept them for so long. Looking at the Bookworm series, you can know for sure I once was definitely a bookworm and a Bookworm fan and that these books have been gathering dust and taking up space in my book shelves for a couple of decades (the Bookworm series is really good though - interesting and funny). However, they betray the fact that we (my bro and I) do have quite a good library of good reads from varied authors and genres in our current book shelf. If you do pop over my house, you can ask to take a look at our treasure trove or even borrow a book or two.

By the way, if you seriously want any of these books (I'd be like 'What the heck!'), you can tell me (secretly, if you are afraid people will laugh at your choice of reads) and they are all FREE. So spread the word! And the love!

P/S: Some Chinese books coming up soon.. :)

我很忙

2007-11-20T01:13:00.000+08:00

2 entries ago, which was a month and 20 days ago, i borrowed one of jay chou's song title as my entry title. now, 2 entries later, im gonna do that again, albeit not entirely - its the name of his latest album (which is good!). well, apparently, it seems jay's songs seem to have an uncanny way of describing my life in an apt manner.

5 - 14/11: o lvls higher chinese marking. 830am - 430pm daily. non-stop marking of long (and not entirely making sense) essays. the only good thing was that i got to eat the different kinds of breakfast that i normally did not get the chance to - macs, yakun, breadtalk.

8/11: watched 'lust, caution'. r21 version.

11/11: very very good female friend got married. for once, i got to be on the jie-mei's side, but i din have to execute the tortures. phew.

12 - 16/11: fell very sick. nose ran non-stop. coughed like mad. phlegm super irritating. nose super blocked. used up so much tissue. all these while marking. and filling in alot alot of forms throughout the week.

15/11: meeting in the morn in school. meeting over lunch. ran ard doing co stuff in the afternoon.

16/11: meeting the whole day - 830am - 530pm. info overload.

17/11: wedding - 1030am. try on suit for another wedding for which im the emcee. another wedding - 2pm - for which i arrived just in time for photo-taking and the reception. lazed around the rest of the afternoon. watched 'stardust' at night. it was fairly enjoyable.

18/11: wedding at night. food was not bad.

19/11: meeting in the morn in school. farewell lunch for some colleagues. went ikea to get frames. hung out with friends.

20/11: co move.

[future]

21 - 22/11: photoshop course - full day.

21/11: cousin getting married.

23/11: open house rehearsal. dept move. prayer for a friend's wedding.
[this entire week will be spent doing budget and all the instructor stuff]

24/11: open house. wedding. outreach.

25/11: friend's bday dinner.

26 - 30/11: I HOPE I GET TO REST THIS WEEK. (READ: NUAH, WAKE UP LATE, DO WHAT I WANT, NO TIMINGS TO FIT INTO)

1/12: friend's wedding in jb.

2/12: 21km standard chartered run.

3 - 7/12: I HOPE I GET TO REST AGAIN THIS WEEK. (ditto)

8/12: emcee for friend's wedding.

9 - 18/12: OFF TO NEW ZEALAND!

19 - 24/12: x'mas shopping! i want to get x'mas gifts for dear ones this year!

25/12: CHRISTMAS!

26/12 onwards: SCHOOL STARTING REAL SOON! ARGH!

our NEW co room!

2007-10-01T00:36:00.000+08:00

For the uninformed..

Tampines Quarry Park

2007-10-01T00:26:00.001+08:00

I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately.. and not, when I came to die, to discover that I had not lived..
Henry David Thoreau

不能说的秘密

2007-09-28T22:14:00.000+08:00

Shh.. what I am going to tell you and what you are going to see is of top secrecy. It belongs to the for-your-eyes-only level of confidentiality.

It is this secret water body that I chanced upon many years ago. I was gazing afar from the corridor outside my aunt's house then and I made this amazing discovery which I initially took to be bedok reservoir. However, it looked too raw and untouched to be bedok reservoir (you should seriously check out bedok reservoir these days - totally changed). Thus on one of those days when I felt adventurous, I ventured out into the unknown and 发现新大陆. Today, many years later, I retraced my steps and stepped foot onto this land unknown to many once again.

Well, to further keep you guys in suspense, I shall provide the directions first. Here's the exact location: (remember, shh..)

As you orientate yourself to the map, you should see Temasek Polytechnic. On its left, you should locate Tampines Avenue 10. That is the amazing shortcut that links bedok reservoir to tampines. At the junction of Tampines Avenue 10 and Tampines Avenue 1 (along which Temasek Polytechnic lies), you will find a 'bashed-through' path. There will be no roads nor pathways entering this secret place. Neither will there be signboards (except those of the same nature as the one shown above) giving you directions. You'll have to use your intuition. In any case, if you go in the evening (which I highly recommend, for the beautiful views), the sun glistening in the water can be seen as you draw near. So its quite easily found. That's one of the 'ENTER HERE's on the map. The 2nd 'ENTER HERE' is found on Tampines Industrial Avenue 1. Now, this road is not found on the map - it wasn't there until recently. Its not even in use yet. That is why I can take photos like these:

So as you turn into Tampines Industrial Avenue 1, you'll have to walk (though I recommend cycling, coz then you'll feel like you are cycling through the countryside some summer evening - very cool) about 100m before turning left into the vegetation. You'll have to bash a little and there you'll gaze upon the following beautiful sight, with the evening breeze blowing in your face, guaranteed: (in fact, you can even hear the wind in the clip)

For the rest of the pix, check back here again soon!
Hahah, 吊胃口.

Do W.I.S.H.es really come true?

2007-09-26T23:05:00.000+08:00

Reader, brace yourself for another long but highly entertaining & interesting read.

First of all, refresh your memory by referring to this.

THE TANGIBLES

1. A new phone. For instance, Nokia N95 or Sony Ericsson K800i. Old but nice models.
- I have already embarked on my quest for a new phone. My present one is giving me loads of nonsense. Whenever I make a call, my battery will immediately go on low batt mode. And that is very very irritating. So, I've since called up Starhub to send me some vouchers (they haven given me any since I signed up with them 3-4 years ago). However, other than the 2 models mentioned, I'm starting to look at other chio-er ones. So we shall see.

2. Some new albums. For instance, Beautiful Seed by Corrinne May, OK by Zhang Zhen Yue, Milubing by Milubing.　
- I bought the Zhang Zhen Yue album. Its quite 'OK'. Some nice sounds there. However, in recent albums, Lee Hom's Gai Bian Zi Ji is still the best. Though you won't find another 'Forever Love' or 'Kiss Goodbye' here, there are some rather catchy yet refreshing tunes. Preaches the message of environment-friendliness as well. A credible attempt, on all counts. JJ's Xi Jie, on the other hand, pales in comparison. Too much (failed) experimentation, I feel. Was gonna get the Corrinne May's album together with Zhang's but it was sold out. Ooh. All the more must get it then.

3. A new watch. For instance, Skin by Swatch.

- 2 (!) new watches!

- Thank you, May-Ann!
- Thank you, Jx, Sl, Wj. Many many pple say its really nice! And I like it lots too.

4. A new book. For instance, Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt, any good Chinese book (fiction).

- Thanks, Lao Mu. I actually quite like essays by some of these authors. Brings me back to my uni days when I had to do a particular module on authors from this era. I enjoyed reading their works, understanding the socio-historical background during the time of writing and how the written word was wielded as a weapon during those times when pple's minds really needed to be set free from age-old customs and traditions that had become obsolete and detrimental to advancement. And I like it that they are short and I can even use them to set exam papers! Also reminded me that I've lost Lu Xun's Na Han and I seriously need to get another copy of it again. (whoever borrowed it from me - return it NOW!)

5. A new pair of sneakers. For instance, good running shoes from Asics. (I should invest in one since I like to run and have signed up for the Sheares Bridge Run and Standard Chartered Run.)

- My foot ached from the present worn-out pair of adidas after my Sheares Bridge Run (12km). Not bad eh, my timing. My overall postition was 241/744. I'll be starting to train for the Std Chart Run next week with my buddy, Jeffrey. I hope we press on. And I will purchase my new shoes. Soon.

THE inTANGIBLES

6. No more paint or scribblings of my house number outside my flat.

- Well, God did sort of 'drop' money from heaven. Hallelujah! I got a bank loan (finally, given my credit history) and it helped loads to pay off a large part of the debts. So things are easing up a little. Thank you, everyone, who showed concern and wanted to lend me money. It also allowed my dad, mum and I to sit down and discuss amicably how we want to join hands to settle this problem once and for all - together. So I'm thankful to God things are moving and there are mini breakthroughs here and there. And its testament to God's wonderful and timely provision once again.

7. My students who are re-taking the mother tongue o level paper to score the grade they truly deserve.

- Wish Delivery on its way. Will be granted on 31st Oct. Revealed in early Feb 2008. Watch this space.

8. PRSSCO to turn into a fun and warm place to learn and grow in.

- Brought CO student leaders to MacRitchie Reservoir recently. They were tasked to find their way to the tree-top walk. It was supposed to be a test of their grit, determination and teamwork. It is hoped that thru' such team-building activities amongst the leaders in CO, unity and camaraderie will be cascaded down to the members and this wish will be fulfilled in due time. Coz Every CO Member Matters (our theme for 07/08). Yeah.

9. Students to truly appreciate their teachers and not turn into nasty devils who think teachers are there for them to play with. (Wake up lah!)

- Erm.. Wish under construction. Sorry for the inconvenience caused (to teachers). Indeed.

10. An authentic and deep hunger for the Word and the Lord's presence.

- Which I hope will grow on me and impassion me further for the following >> http://gbs2002.blogspot.com/

Such simple wants I have.

And YES, contrary to what you may believe, W.I.S.H.es do come true.

For all graduating students taking their Os this year..

2007-09-26T00:19:00.000+08:00

爱的鼓励
(song no. 1)

Hey, 太阳会出现
只要给一次机会
心情一飞冲天
带你的烦恼Away
每一次在谷底跌倒
Ooh, 来一点高潮
Baby, 想给你爱的鼓励 Hey
在你需要的时候加油打气 Ho
Baby, 想给你爱的鼓励 Wusa
雨后还能有彩虹
别放弃
Oh
Hey, 太阳出现了
感谢你给我机会
心情哼出来是一首歌
让你听的好甜美

This is a nice song with an upbeat tempo that will, hopefully, lighten your mood. Its uplifting and jazzy and snazzy. The lyrics speak of the sun coming out after the rain, when the rainbow appears and troubles go away. One particular line says, "Everytime there is a valley, there will be a mountaintop." (something to this effect). So my 鼓励 to you is as what the song finally says - 别放弃! Press on, guyz! Yes, you can be discouraged by your prelims results, but only for awhile. Continue reaping and you will sow at the appointed time. WE are praying for you guyz! Our hope is in the Lord.

Thank you, May-Ann!

2007-09-09T22:17:00.000+08:00

T H A N K Y O U , M A Y - A N N !

for giving my blog a timely makeover

for specially taking a photo of the nus park

i like it alot!

thank you!

Thank You.

2007-09-03T18:10:00.000+08:00

*flowers from 4E4 & percussion missing (sitting prettily on my table)

!Thank You!

God - for students, good and/or bad

Chuanmin, Dingwei, Enni, Huimin, Jiaxin, Jingning, Qiaohui, Qinfang, Xinying

Bingkun, Yijie

Junxuan, Songlin, Wenjin, Wenxian, 4E4

Weilin, Yinyou

Huijun
Aimei, Peiyun, Yanping, Jingxiong, Percussion

Kelvin, Sadrina

Ex-students who came back - it waz really gd to see you again

And every student who gave your well-wishes and blessings

Thanksgiving

2007-08-15T00:19:00.000+08:00

This same time last year, I wrote on this blog of how God gloriously blessed my students to score well for their mid-year Mother Tongue O Level Paper. This year, though history did not repeat itself (but that is not to say it will not come next February, mind you), I still have to/want to thank God. Coz if I do not, I am simply disregarding God's sovereignty and His perfect plans - that I am only proud of His works when He 'delivers' but keep silent when He seemingly chooses not to bless.

As with last year, my anxiety was growing in intensity as the date of release of the results drew closer. I started praying for my classes since the beginning of this year, when we embarked on the arduous journey called Mother Tongue Exams Preparations. It was a half-year full of ups and downs, no doubt. But I prayed unceasingly, more due to the fact that I had little faith in my prayers and in God and that those prayers seemed to provide some sort of consolation and solace for my constantly anxious heart.

Anyhow, in the days leading up to the release date of the results, there was much unrest in my heart, in part due to the immense amount of pressure bouldered upon our shoulders coz of last year's amazing results, both from the school and from myself (I wanted to prove that last year was not just a fluke); and in part due to the fact I was the only teacher taking 2 O level classes, which was a great challenge for me.

So I prayed. And prayed. And prayed. And prayed. And the Lord reminded me how little faith I have. And how little I trusted Him. I was worried He might not deliver this year, which also meant I had somehow subconsciously believed it was a fluke last year, such that this year He might not 'deliver', no guarantee. Coz if I did trust in His provision and know He is a faithful and never-changing God who likes to bless, then there really wasn't anything for me to be worried about. He will deliver this year. I also forgot the fact that His plans are always sovereign, perfect and the best. Never to harm but always to prosper. And if, for whatever reasons, He chooses to withhold this time round, He is the Creator of all things and is free to give and free to take away as He pleases.

And withheld He did. As my faith increased a little, I went around telling people and my students that we would do very well, like last year. But we did not. However, amazingly, on the day before the results were released and on the day of the release of results itself, I had this peace in my heart that I knew only Jesus could give. It was completely different from the anxiety I had experienced just days before. Somehow, I had this quiet assurance that God knows exactly what He is doing. And I guess that was the way He chose to prepare my heart for the not-so-good news, which thankfully, I was able to take in stride coz of the peace of Jesus in my heart and sadly, many students could not. In fact, I was able to do this, like last year:

The Lord increased my faith, only to test it immediately. It reminded me of Daniel's 3 friends who said those famous words - (speaking to King Nebuchadnezzar) If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and He will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if He does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up. Such faith! And indeed, God did not abandon them.

Likewise, God did not/have not/will not abandon us this time round. I have faith we will come out tops again come year end. Perhaps its a time to wait, perhaps its a test of our perseverance, I do not know. But I was able to tell my students, with confidence, that I'm very sure many will see their results improve as they re-take their paper again this November. They need to believe that it will happen. Coz I really do have this indescribable faith that the efforts sown will reap its rightful harvest at the appointed time, as I constantly reiterate to my students.

Thank You, Lord for this lesson on faith. That faith as small as a mustard seed, which can be as small as, or even smaller than this full-stop (.) can say to a mountain "Go throw yourself into the sea" and it will. Only if we believe. Thank You, Lord for this precious lesson.

On a lighter note, we really did not perform that badly.
1. For both my classes, they came in 2nd amongst their individual cohort. Which is highly commendable.
2. For 4E4, they got their 100% passes. (Good job, Mr V)
3. For 5A2, they have the lowest Mean Subject Grade and highest passing rate amongst the 3 classes.
4. For both my classes, they have a fair amount of B3s that are just waiting to jump back into their rightful places in the A1/A2 categories.

*End-note I: Dear students of WWL, take heart. Be encouraged.
*End-note II: Dear WWL, this entry is a reminder to yourself that God is faithful and you know it. If you only thanked Him last year coz everything was glorious and perfect and do not dare to make any sound this year coz it is otherwise, then you would made an utter mockery out of His sovereignty and faithfulness. So, remember this lesson well and hard. In your heart.

The 3rd Annual Gnoliew W.I.S.H. List

2007-08-14T23:42:00.000+08:00

This list is kinda late this year, usually its a month before, but anyhow..

Here it goes: (in no particular order of merit or importance or intensity of desire)

1. A new phone. For instance, Nokia N95 or Sony Ericsson K800i. Old but nice models.

2. Some new albums. For instance, Beautiful Seed by Corrinne May, OK by Zhang Zhen Yue, Milubing by Milubing.　

3. A new watch. For instance, Skin by Swatch.

4. A new book. For instance, Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt, any good Chinese book (fiction).

5. A new pair of sneakers. For instance, good running shoes from Asics. (I should invest in one since I like to run and have signed up for the Sheares Bridge Run and Standard Chartered Run.)

6. No more paint or scribblings of my house number outside my flat.

7. My students who are re-taking the mother tongue o level paper to score the grade they truly deserve.

8. PRSSCO to turn into a fun and warm place to learn and grow in.

9. Students to truly appreciate their teachers and not turn into nasty devils who think teachers are there for them to play with. (Wake up lah!)

10. An authentic and deep hunger for the Word and the Lord's presence.

Such simple wants I have.

*Oh, btw, if you guyz forgot, W.I.S.H.List is simply the WhatIShouldHaveList.

4E4

2007-08-10T01:08:00.000+08:00

MAY YOU ACHIEVE EXCELLENT MOTHER TONGUE O LEVELS RESULTS!

Blackle

2007-08-01T16:23:00.000+08:00

Apparently, my blog helps to save energy.

Hahah.

"Image displayed is primarily a function of the user's color settings and desktop graphics, as well as the color and size of open application windows; a given monitor requires more power to display a white (or light) screen than a black (or dark) screen." Roberson et al, 2002

Let's be-friend our environment once again!

Disappointments

2007-07-19T20:33:00.000+08:00

I realized there are more people than I expect who read my blog. Students can come up to me and make fun of my url. Even students I least expect to read actually confess they read my blog. Flattered, I truly am, no matter for whatever reason you visit my blog.

If you notice, its been awhile since I mused about life. My previous few posts have been nothing short of just superficial details (oxymoron) of what's going on in my life recently. If I may attempt to dig deeper now, I believe the Lord has been ploughing the soil of my heart recently and sowing some seeds, which I hope will germinate and blossom in due time and make me more like Jesus. One of these seeds is the idea of utilizing my God-given talents, gifts, time, resources, etc wisely, lest I become the man with one talent but who did not invest even his single talent wisely. In the end, even what he had was taken away from him. [Read The Story of the Talents here] Indeed, I gleaned from the Word of God recently some words of wisdom to explain why things work in a certain way even in our fallen world - For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. (Matt 25: 29)

Being made in God's image and therefore having traces of God all over us, we too have felt the souring of our noses or aching of our hearts if we were to see someone with such potential, yet squandering it all away. Humans term this inexplicable emotion as Disappointment. And this post is inspired by a couple of my friends who got quite affected by Disappointments recently.

Sometimes, I do not feel like going home to eat the same kind of fried rice with prawns and sausages for dinner. However, because I do not want to disappoint my mum who, I believe, sees cooking for me as a way to show her love and me reciprocating means alot to her, I trod home to gobble up the rice. Otherwise, she might feel that her efforts are being despised. The Fear of Causing Disappointment compels. Or rather, the Fear of Causing Disappointment undergirded by Love compels. Because Love compels.

Yet most of the time, due to the lack of the Fear of Causing Disappointment (or Love - for those with a stronger threshold for mushy words), Disappointment on its own cuts like a sashimi knife - slowly but surely. If you choose to dabble with education, like me, Disappointment comes as frequent as the MRT during peak hours in the morning rush. For me, the greatest Disappointment (which I never fail to reiterate to my students), and therefore the deepest cut (which is not the first one, Sheryl), is seeing someone with potential squandering it away. Sounds familiar? Consider the following cases:

1. Student A dazzles many with the ability to accomplish tasks efficiently and beautifully but Student A also fazes many more others with his uncanny ability to cause trouble for any poor teacher standing in his path of behavioural destruction. I thought he could be a great leader, with the humility to listen to advice and the self-discipline to control his emotions and tongue. But he chose to ignore. I was very disappointed. I gave up caring and told Student A in his face his biggest issue is pride.

2. Student B has the potential to do very well in a certain subject. Yet Student B chooses to just wallow in mediocrity, giving the bare minimum, refusing to utilize his gifting wisely. My heart pained each time I see his talent go to waste - it is akin to holding the treasure in his hands, yet allowing it to slip through his fingers and not being able to keep it within his palms anymore. Yet sometimes, despite the disappointment, I choose to egg him on further, just to try my luck in desperation, only to receive unreciprocative, and sometimes hurtful, words and attitude. This, I call myself 自做贱.

What about hoping for something, yet missing it totally ultimately? That kind of Disappointment can sometimes kill. It kills the hope. It kills the motivation. It kills the desire. It kills the interest. To Students C & D (if you read this, that is), my sincerest apologies. I can only say sometimes, it takes time. Perhaps now is just not the right time for you yet. In due time, I believe you will be prepared and ready.

The amazing thing about Disappointment is that it can be inflicted with such ease and simplicity, yet the damage it can cause can be very major. Recently, Student E did not want to take part in a certain event. I pleaded with Student E, almost to the point of begging, just short of kneeling down and even to the extent of engaging help from Student E's good friends. However, Student E chose to stab knife after knife of Disappointment. I banked on our relationship as bargaining chips to garner Student E's participation, yet even that did not work. Then I proposed to Student E that perhaps Student E can take it as showing grace to a stranger (since apparently there was no relationship to fall back on already) - even when we see someone needy along the roadside, we might be very tempted to help. I really retreated back to where I could reverse no more. Even then, that did not help. [In the end, Student E did relent and I can only attribute it to God moving his heart, because in my desperation, all I could do was pray.] This incident really left a deep cut in my life, causing me and many others to be really Disappointed.

Finally, from the point of view of a teacher and speaking to all students out there and this is not a desperate attempt to earn any sympathy vote, I have this to conclude: Granted, you have your low points of your life and BGR problems and sticky family situations and financial problems and lousy (that's what you think) teachers and piles of irritating homework and what not. But hey, guess what? So do we teachers! I can safely say my (and some, if not many, of your teachers') life is not any less thorny than any of yours out there (For one, I too grew up with my parents apart, like many of you). Yet each day, I pray (and I'm eternally grateful to God for constantly sustaining me) and brace myself for school, only to get Disappointed, Disregarded, Disenchanted many times over (by the same people, no less) and when I reach home, I have to face my own share of Disappointments. It sucks, really. But what do we teachers do? We 自做贱; we return the next day, with softened hearts, to try to help you guys to see and unleash your potential, only to be Disappointed, Disregarded and Disenchanted all over again. Its like being slashed on the same spot over and over and over and over again.

And what do YOU do? You decide.

Cambodia.Village.Homestay

2007-07-12T18:32:00.000+08:00

Saw red again today..

2007-07-12T18:24:00.000+08:00

Cambodia.Angkor.Wat

2007-07-08T19:42:00.000+08:00

A Week of Blunders (with Daniel Powter's Bad Day playing in the background)

2007-07-08T17:13:00.000+08:00

Friday, the 13th is supposed to happen next week, on the 13th July. However, it seemed a series of unfortunate events just decided to spring earlier on me this week.
1. (Thankfully,) Monday was a school holiday. If not, God knows what other stunts could have befallen me. Tuesday, I arrived in school to find a post-it on the office desktop - 'Students are not allowed to use this computer'. Apparently, while diligently trying to practise for Oral Examinations with some of my students, I forgot that students should not be allowed into the staffroom. Even if they should be, not so many of them should be let in at one go. Even if only a few come in each time, they should not be allowed to anyhow sit on and leave anywhere the teachers' chairs. And even if they put everything in their proper places before they leave, they should not be allowed to touch things that do not move, ie. the desktop and things on teachers' tables, which translates to no watching of videos on the computers. If anything, it was my fault for not informing the students the undesirable consequences of the actions mentioned above, all of which I did not disallow. So I had to apologise to some of the teachers in my staffroom. Thankfully they were gracious enough to allow me to learn from my mistakes and not make a big hooha out of it.
2. Then, my CCA students did not put up a good show during their rehearsal for a performance. Everyone was downcast and disappointed with themselves. But I have this to say to them:-

Bad Day

Oops, I heard we missed a beat that day
We were so stunned we froze like clay
The mistake threw us into disarray
From then on we just couldn't play

For a moment, I thought I heard 'hurray'
Why they so un-pro, I dunno leh
I thought we could pick up along the way
But alas, we had to end in dismay

Well, sometimes mistakes are like tau huay
You just have to gulp them down either way
Mashed-up or as it's laid on the tray
As long as you do it with seh

So listen up folks, as you now lay
Down whatever happened on Thursday
Pick up your spirits and just say 'chey'
Take it that you had a bad day

Come Tuesday, 10th of two months after May
We'll be gathered in much the same way
This time round, we'll show them who has the final say
Don't play play, I repeat ah, don't play play

3. Then when the students returned late from their rehearsal on Thursday, I could not return the keys to MANY rooms in time. So I decided I will remember to return the following day, which I did - but a tad too late. I arrived in school on Friday morning and returned only SOME of the keys. The rest? I saw them on my table, but decided, against better judgement, that practising for Oral Examinations (again) with my students was more important. So I left the keys there happily and proceeded on with practising for the Oral Exams and then my lessons. By the time my whole slew of lessons ended at 11am, meteorites had already struck earth, bounced off and struck earth again, ie disaster had struck, without me knowing, many times over liaoz. Apparently, and obviously, some teacher(s) needed the keys which I were holding to open rooms so they could conduct lessons. And we are talking about formal, in-the-timetable, takes-precedence-before-all-things lessons here. And there began a frantic search for the keys, but to no avail, obviously. To cut the long story short, it was only when I returned the keys that I realized the gravity of the situation. The VP was duely unhappy and she made a mention of this fiasco during the staff meeting in the afternoon, which I did not attend due to Oral Examinations (again!) commitments. However, I did 'confess my sins' to her the moment I found out my mistake. My bad, I admit. I should have returned ALL the keys the first thing in the morning.

4. And while 'confessing my sins', I realized I made another boo-boo by applying for a course that will take place during lesson time, which means I'll have to miss school in order to attend the course. Actually, I know very clearly in my mind that I should only apply for courses after lesson time, so I'm still bewildered why I did not do that. Its either the timing of the course was not clearly stated and I assumed or I was just in a daze when I was applying for the course. And to think I was still excited about the happening course. Now I just feel rather guilty.

5. To top it all off, I had to be at 2 places at the same time on Saturday - my home class' CIP and CO practice. Initially the plan was to go for CO first, then rush down to CIP. However, something cropped up and I had to go for CIP AND CO at the same time. But according to all natural laws, I could not do that (and I also, sadly, do not live in a fairytale world). So I had to rush down to school to open doors for CO practice and then rush off for CIP. And it definitely did not help that it was pouring extremely heavily (and irritatingly, especially for that morning), which meant I could not leave my students alone for CIP. So I rushed to school in the heavy rain and then rushed to Pasir Ris in the heavy rain too. And it also did not help that some reporter was coming down to take photos of CO in action, which meant I had to be around. In a nutshell? Just an amazingly mis-matched basket of activities that decided to happen on the same day, amalgamating in a wonderfully disgusting pile of nonsense for me. Thankfully, God is good. He provided a colleague to help stand in for me for CO for that couple of hours. He also provided able student leaders, both in my class and CO, to maintain the situations while I was rushing to reach either sides. Phew.

The lesson learnt here - God definitely has to be in control of all things lah.. If not how to survive such dreadful days (and weeks). So if you still think everything just happens in a chaotic fashion, you've got to be kidding. Wake up! Thank You, Lord, for Your wonderful provision, for watching over me in my sleeping and waking up (I totally did not hear my alarm clock ring one morning - thank God He woke me up in time at 614am), in my coming in and going out. I know for sure all things are held in Your hands and that Your plans are sovereign, at all times.

Disclaimer: I do not believe in superstitions. They are added in for fun.

Cambodia.Outreach@MSC

2007-07-03T19:01:00.000+08:00

Cambodia.Building@COSi

2007-07-03T18:37:00.000+08:00

this is wat i call real singing..

2007-06-29T21:38:00.000+08:00

After commemorating my blog's 100th post anniversary with a video-audio edit, its time to add new stuff to my blog again.. whee! It seemed only not too long ago dat i waz dabbling with pix on my blog, then i moved on to designing my own 'posters'. Then i started posting videos on my blog. Today is the dawn (or yawn, depending on how you see it) of a new era - the addition of an audio clip on my blog! It might juz develop into a podcast in the near future and who knows, i might become the nxt mr brown! (i wld much prefer mr green tho..)

This song waz sung (live! during their stint here early this yr) by Ukulele, the famous 2-men singing duo in the early 90s. Its called 《少年游》and i dedicate the first few lines of the song to my sec 4s, who are graduating really soon (and i think i will miss them all, including those who've been taught and those who've not been taught by me)..

For you, my dear Friends
I'll be always on your side
当你很想远离痛苦寻找爱
With you, my dear Friends
越过高山和大海
勇敢面对危险
We're on the road again..

Msg to listeners (esp the css wannabes): eat your hearts out, this is wat i call real singing, dudes and dudettes..

Click here to get your own player.

disclaimer: any audio crap is due, purely, to the poor recording, and not the singing.

A milestone - the 101st post

2007-06-18T00:30:00.000+08:00

It is a milestone for any decent blog to register its 100th post. So, "Congratulations!" to hahahihaveablogtoo.

In celebration of this great event, we have, in the words of channel 5's trailer adverts, "The Greatest Movie Event of the Year" - Spiderman, played to the melodious tune of A-Va Mountain.

Critics call it "the fusion of one of the finest movie sequence in cinema history and one of the most haunting tunes ever played on the soil of our little red dot."

Elsewhere, it is being hailed as "the one movie clip you must watch in 2007!"

Talk being cheap, you'll have to check it out for yourself to see if its really that good.

Enjoy.

写给4E4的一封信

2007-05-02T18:36:00.000+08:00

click to enlarge.

p/s: keep a lookout for the 100th post celebrations!

China Trip III

2007-04-28T01:41:00.000+08:00

As the Chinese saying goes, "不到长城非好汉". In Xi'an, if you do not go to 华山, then you most probably have made a wasted trip there. Well, I wouldn't have found out this very important truth if I did not step foot on the mountain myself. It wasn't really a must-go in all the travel guides I pored through - most focussed their attention more on the Terracotta Warriors. However, as you shall see later, 华山 is infinitely more magnificent than the Terracotta Warriors, which, to say the least, are rather disappointing after the first breathtaking view. You would need some imagination to make the trip to the Terracotta Warriors worthwhile.

And now for the heart-stopping views of 华山 - you'll have to see it for yourself. A picture speaks a thousand words. And eight thousand, therefore, if I have eight pictures. Hah.

Stairway to heaven.

The steps were really slippery and contrary to popular belief, it was actually more arduous a journey to go down than to climb up. Coz you had to control your leg muscles and land carefully on each step down in order not to slip. I almost did and would have fallen into an abyss, if not for my friend who 拉了我一把 and keeps harping on her great deed of 'saving my life'.

These 'lovers locks' appeared in Amazing Race before. The contestants had to use a key to find the fitting lock and unlock it. I think one team got delayed really badly coz of this station. The red strips you see are actually used by amateur mountain climbers to tie around their shoes, thus increasing friction so they wouldn't slip so easily. We thought it looked silly, so none of us did likewise.

Its like being in heaven among the clouds. 漫步云端. This picture now resides proudly on my laptop as the resident wallpaper.

Behold. Beauty. Bo way gong.

Behind those red doors, you'll actually find a Macs. Imagine all the hard labour they went thru juz to put the world's most popular fast-food chain on this mountain. Which explains the pix below.

McIce, they call it. Free-flow, self-service as well, like in S'pore. Coupled with soggy fries, they taste fantastic. Hahah, gotcha! You just got 'lame-d'. Those were leftover fries from the morning's breakfast. We brought them there to pose.

~ ~ ~

And finally, a picture of the, erm.. Terracotta Warriors. 兵马俑. This is the actual site where the Terracotta army was first excavated. Legend has it that each sculpture is different from the one beside it and they were modelled after real soldiers during 秦始皇's times. Some even went as far to say that real humans were 'mummified' alive in clay in order to get the different facial expressions. These were expressed in such great details that even the creases on their foreheads and clothing, the way their hair was bun up and the direction their moustaches were pointing were all different. However, (overheard from a guide) its probably more believeable that the faces were modelled after fellow sculptors of those days - they couldn't have gotten a whole army to stand there all day long just to be sculpted. It was a lot more easier for the sculptors - the creme of the crop in those days - to use each other as models. Makes sense.

China Trip II

2007-04-15T20:48:00.000+08:00

(Actually, I cannot, for the life of me, remember the details of the trip - itinerary-wise, that is, but I think) we had to take a shuttle flight at Shenzhen to finally reach Xi'an. And if you add up all the hours, you'll realize we took a whole 24 hours to fly from S'pore to Xi'an.

And as you can see here, the food on the china airlines.. erm, isn't that palatable eh.. (esp after eating the sumptuous feast on SIA)

Finally, we reached Xi'an. A very beautiful place - everywhere, you could see ancient buildings from days of old juxtaposed with modern skyscrapers. It was truly a modern city, no doubt, with its fair share of Macs and Starbucks and night markets and shopping malls. Yet it also presented a certain sense of mystery and antiquity, with its hundreds-of-years-old city gates still intact and folks still residing in houses with carved stone roofs. Truly amazing. You know how I marvel at the beauty of the Forbidden City. However, the Xi'an skyline of the old and new comes a very close second, if not first. Above: 2 important landmarks of Xi'an city - Bell Tower (above) & Drum Tower (below). [There are many other towers to behold, like the famous (big and small) Goose Pagoda. However, our itinerary was too tight to allow us to visit them all.]

As mentioned, they have night markets with very happening food. Here we are at the Muslim street. Yes, you heard me right - a Muslim street. They actually have quite a no. of Muslim folks over there and you can actually see some mosques standing blatantly along the streets. So Xi'an is probably one of the few places in China where you can buy halal food back for your Muslim friends at home.

Yup, these are the old buildings I described earlier on. The bottom pix shows my tripmates walking on top of the city gates - where generals and infantry and calvary and artillery used to set foot on eons ago. It stretches for hundreds of metres and is actually quite well-preserved.

Ok, more to come.. soon.

China Trip I

2007-04-15T01:55:00.000+08:00

After going to China with my students last June (which was a great deal of fun), I went back to the Middle Kingdom again last Dec, this time with my uni friends. It was a great deal of fun yet again, and our eyes feasted on many a magnificent sight. We went first to Xi'an, then to Guilin, where we spent most of our time in Yang Shuo. Here are some of the highlights.

Did you know? That you can actually check in at the Changi Airport without having to queue at the counters anymore? You can just print out your acknowledgement slip for your air tix, and with your passport, you can just check-in at one of the stations in the pix! Then you juz need to send in your luggage at the counter. Amazing. Talk about e-travelling!

Singapore Airlines - the luxurious home-made airlines that most s'poreans are unable to/do not want to pay for. Well, I sat on one this time round. Cool!

Well, high class means high class - you get your personal tv screen ( I was watching pirates of the caribbean 2.. and many other shows! I kept channel-surfing)..

And marvellicious food (check out the clean-ed out plate!)! With Magnum!

And because we had to transit at the Hong Kong Airport, we had to sleep right in the airport..

Until everyone was still very sleepy the morning after.

And then we had to transit again at Shenzhen. Squeezy, squeezy. And here are my happening trip mates - (from left) Jeffrey, Fang Ting (aka Fang Tai/FT), Diana (aka Na-Jie), Wai Mun (aka Mun1/Mun4, as in 慢条斯理, 漫不经心..).

Stay tuned for more!

Backtracking

2007-04-14T15:38:00.000+08:00

Hi everyone.

Let me attempt to provide some valid reasons to explain my prolonged absence on this plot of virtual territory called thetruthshallsetyoufree.

Well, it may sound cliche and lame, but I was indeed bz bz bz, like a bee. （忙得像个无头苍蝇，蜜蜂, whatever..）I had work right up to my nose and I could barely breathe. （真是忙得喘不过气来）

In fact, I was swarmed with work all the way since the Chinese New Year period.

Prior to CNY, my dept had to plan for the cny prog. I was tasked to train the emcees. So I had to meet them for quite a couple of times to get the loose ends tied up. In the end, though there were many hiccups and they had to react on the spot, they did well (and I'm supposed to owe them a drink each, according to sz. hah). Then during cny itself, it was a whirlwind of visiting pple and pple visiting me. Students came to my hse, so I had to prepare food and entertain them (though the entertainment part largely came from themselves). It was good fun and I was very happy to see some of my old students. They are prolly juz into their 2nd term of jc life or the 1st few wks of poly life. I wish them all the best.

Upon coming back from the cny break, I was being thrown in to a whirlwind of work. I had to plan and co-ordinate the chinese oral exams schedule for the sec 3 and 4 students. It was no easy task as there were many restrictions. First, there was the english oral exams on the same days, so we could not clash with them. Then certain students could only do the oral exams on certain days due to syf practices. That presented another layer of constraint for us. Thankfully, my very helpful colleague helped me, and we could roll out the oral exams as scheduled (with many changes and relocation of venues, examiners and students in between due to teachers/students being absent, etc.. Phew).

Then it was the march holidays. Which was no holidays at all. I had to set exam papers. I had to prepare a whole week's worth of relief materials, as I had to go for reservist come the first week of term 2. That meant I had to churn out alot of worksheets for different classes for the whole week (of which a large part was not really completed upon my return, which is why I do not like to miss school for any reasons, coz I had to spend the following 2 weeks trying to chase back all my work.. argh). Thankfully, however, I had my colleague to help take one of my classes, so I did not have to prepare work for that class. I also had a CCA camp, during which I did not really sleep for the 2 nights. It was good fun, though I was upset as certain parts of the camp went out of hand. And back to the topic of exam papers, I was glad I was able to churn out my papers on time. I realised I like to set papers - I like the idea of searching for good passages (I actually went to the lib to borrow books and magazines juz to set the papers, and my house has newspapers lying around everywhere - I actually flipped through weeks of newspapers) and churning out good questions with challenging answers to befuddle students. Hahah. My papers were also well-received and I give God glory for the compliments I received for my exam papers. Coz He led me through the many sleepless nights at Macs, and gave me the strength to pore thru' the materials and squeeze my brain juices to come up with the million questions.

As school reopened, off I went into the far and ulu army camp that I had to call my home for close to 2 years of my life. It was fairly light training, (shooting and ippt, which I passed!) with loads of time for catching up with my old buddies from long ago. It was good seeing everyone again, doing well in their lives. I wish they would know Jesus (for some of them) - that would make everything complete.

SYF. That was the main thing on everyone's and my mind as I returned to school the 2nd week of term 2. It was barely 2 weeks away from the big event, and my cca was into its final burst of fire, with practices into the night, students calling for their own extra practices, teachers trying their best to provide encouragement and support and morale rising to an all-time high. Personally, I was touched to see the students putting in alot alot of hard work to pursue their dreams. Everyone came together, including the school population in general. I was pleasantly impressed by the support the school gave this time round, from the principal to the heads to the teachers to the students from other syf groups. I think this support made a difference. It sent a strong message to the students - they were not alone in doing this. And in the end, they delivered. Thank God. Unless the Lord builds the house, we labour in vain. He alone saw us thru' the whole process, right from the balloting of rehearsal slot and the actual competition slot (we were the last team to perform) to the choosing of the pieces to giving us all the strength to carry on amidst homework and other commitments to granting us favour to blessing us with such sterling results.

Phew.. What a whole string of events that happened. Things have since slowed down to a breathe-able pace 1 wk after the syf for my cca (other syf groups are still working towards their dreams), which I believe will pick up soon, as the exams are round the corner, and my beloved 4E4 and 5A2 are taking their O level chinese exams come 28/5.

God (will) bless you and me (coz He is good and kind).

p/s: Thanks for reading, its quite a long post. Thanks to all my readers, who constantly come here, only to be disappointed by the same old post. Thanks for bugging me to write, and for being interested in my meagre (and sometimes boring) existence.

SYF (Gold) 2007 CO - PRSSCO

2007-04-08T20:39:00.000+08:00

(Click here before you read on)

A familiar blog title?
Inspiration on a low?
Frying cold rice? (炒冷饭?)
Due to brains being fried by endless work?

Apologies for the hiatus/hibernation..
I could almost hear the spiders yawning as they awoke from their cobwebs.. (darn, he's finally back.. time to search for a new home..)
Finally, the engine is re-ignited..
Don't worry, the next wait wouldn't be as long..

Praise be to God, who brought us thru the whole syf preps
Really, it was no easy task pulling the whole thing off
Sometimes, we wanted to give up
Sometimes, we thought 'what the heck, i don't want the gold (honours) anymore - its too tough'
Closed in on our dream, we did
Ousting our opponents, we emerged - VICTORIOUS!

Presenting to you
* the ONLY neighbourhood school to get Gold (honours) at SYF '07
* the FIRST neighbourhood school to get Gold (honours) at SYF
* the BEST neighbourhood school CO
* the ONE & ONLY friendly (in the words of my colleague) neighbourhood school CO - PRSSCO

disclaimer: this isn't this year's photo. its '05's. '07's will be out soon.

Students make me think

2007-01-19T17:12:00.000+08:00

It is apt that I am writing this in school, given the topic at hand. The past week saw a spate of events that made me think. And I guess it is by no coincidence that they all revolved around students.

* * * * * *

Over the weekend, I brought students out for a performance. Two of them were very late, and their reasons, among others, were that they had lost interest and passion for their craft and that asking them to miss church on a Sunday was unreasonable (and they had an important seminar on that Sunday). Being a fellow brother-in-Christ myself, I explained the rationale of being a good testimony at work (school, in their case) versus attending church. I missed church myself that day, but that did not seem to bother me as much as it did them. Was I wrong in chiding them for their irresponsibility in being late for almost 2 hours (to which they duely admitted was their mistake and apologized, which I thought was commendable and christian-like) and telling them the whole big theory of having to sacrifice church at times for work in order that we might be a good testimony to others? Or could it be that perhaps they were the ones on the right track in thinking that nothing else should supercede our precious Sundays with the Lord? Could it be that they are the ones living the sold-out and surrendered life that Jesus really wants from us? And I'm really the one stuck in this silly rat race of work, work and more work? Should I have turned down this Sunday duty in the first place? I don't know. This really bugged me and I've been praying for the Lord's wisdom in this. Wise words, anyone? End-note: During the conversation, one of the students I spoke to cried as she recounted how she had lost her passion over the years. To have to lose something and cry over it, it must have been something precious to her. And I pondered further how the students' passion for the CCA had dwindled over the years, just as everyone had been trying to convince me.

* * * * * *

A student was stressed out by many things happening around him all at once and in a pique of anger, he punched the wall (yes, the real hard, cement wall) till his hands bled. Both his hands. The next day, he came to school looking like he was getting ready for the boxing ring - both his hands were bandaged and his right middle and fourth finger were even bundled together like they had broken. I was aghast. Thankfully, no serious damage was sustained. Or was there? As you might know, sometimes things can get tough on my side and truth be told, I recently did the exact same foolish act of punching my right fist against the lift door. By God's grace, I did not sustain any injury but it led me think realize how angry/hurt/painful/bitter the student might have been to cause him to hit the wall so hard and so many times till he actually bled. And I thought to myself, "Are our kids really living in such stressful times?" I don't remember myself being so angry when I was younger to have to release my anger in such a violent way. End-note: Just as I was typing this, a colleague's child asked me how to read a Chinese character, and it looked like this: 拳. Gosh, talk about timing.

* * * * * *

I hope there are enough people out there to know me well enough as I write this. Inasmuch as I should be placing my self-worth in Christ (which I'm frantically trying to do on a daily basis), I can't help it many a time when I seek for man to affirm who I really am. Also in the same week, I was commenting casually to my colleagues over breakfast that a student had been making undesirable comments in class. I joked to the student then that the matter would be brought to the attention of another teacher if he continued doing so. All these (the events in the classroom, not the canteen) transpired in a light-hearted manner, with the class and I laughing at his antics, for we knew he meant no harm. At all. However, according to all sensible laws of communication, what we hope to transmit through our words and actions might not be received in the same way as it was intended to be. The news soon spread, and finally entered the ears of another teacher who, in the end, threatened to take the student out of representing the school in competitions and denying him of his testimonial at the end of the year. I was in shock as I had no intention of reporting whatever that had happened in class to anyone. And I definitely had no intention whatsoever in 'back-stabbing' him by reporting this (or any) incident to anyone behind his back underhandedly. (And even while I'm typing this, I'm worrying that people might think I'm trying to sound nice and earn pity votes. Haiz..) Furthermore, it has to be given to the child that he has indeed changed (much) for the better over the years. And I personally like the child for the way he is crappy but yet gives due respect to teachers. And I also know for sure he is one kind-hearted and non-malicious child. So the first thing I did the next morning was to inform the teacher that the child does not deserve anything less than being sent for the competitions and his testimonial. I also spoke to the child but he did not say anything. The last I tried to do that, he didn't seem too pleased to see me. I guessed the only thing I did wrong, if any, was to talk about students in the canteen. What seemed casual to me had actually caused harm. Granted, teacher talk always revolved around students, but I thought most would be forgotten the minute they were spoken. Alas, I was utterly wrong. I was and am still quite affected by the whole fiasco. I had to take some time to gather my thoughts when I entered my next class after that incident. And I'm still thinking how to resolve the problem, coz it might affect the whole class' morale and that does not bode well. Given my character, I don't like things to lay hidden, so I guess I'll talk to the kid again, though I don't know when yet. Should I even think so much about it? Or am I making a mountain out of a molehill? Well, I can only pray on and trust that the Lord knows my heart and will help me to make sense of all these and the role they play in His sovereign plan. End-note: As I'm typing this, the student-in-question is still running around outside my staff room.

Beware - SYF (Gold) 2007 CO coming your way!

2006-12-20T12:49:00.000+08:00

Be scared. Be very scared. Muahahah.

truthiness

2006-12-20T02:00:00.000+08:00

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Year (2006):

TRUTHINESS (noun):

1. truth that comes from the gut, not books

(Stephen Colbert, The Colbert Report, October 2005)

2. the quality of preferring concepts or facts one wishes to be true, rather than concepts or facts known to be true

(American Dialect Society, January 2006)

how very true.

".. and the truth will set you free." - John 8:32.

I passed my IPPT!

2006-12-14T01:11:00.000+08:00

Weather: A wintry evening, where I'm all snuggled up in my blankets, with a cup of hot chocolate by my desktop and the firewood cackling away in the nicely done-up fireplace behind me.. Yeah, right.. its just that the wind and rain that flew through my panes just now sorta gave this winter feeling, which I like. Plus it IS the christmas season! I can finally don some of my less heavy duty 'winter wear' (read: thin thin jacket).
Topic: Individual Physical Proficiency Test (IPPT).

I finally passed my IPPT! Which means - no more the nonsense of wasting my precious Monday, Wednesday and Saturday evenings trodding down to camp for RT, and thus missing happening programmes like Superstar, the 7 & 9 pm Channel 8 serials, etc.. Although I must add that the RTs actually made me fitter and expanded my knowledge of fitness training. The officers at my camp (there are only 2 RT camps, and I stay in the east - you can make the rest of the deduction yourself) were fairly nice as well, helping me with my make-up training sessions and thus allowing me to go to China (photos coming up soon!) at ease. The RTs also re-ignited my desire to keep fit. I've since been inspired to keep up with my current exercise regime, which includes skipping too and I'm adding swimming to it soon (for next year's NUS Biathlon, hee..). It feels good to know that I'm able to run.. fast. Or at least fast enough.
By the way, RT stands for Remedial Training. Its for people who fail their IPPT. Its like if you fail or do badly for your Biology tests, you'll need to go for remediation. Likewise for IPPT.

Which brings me to why I had to go for RT. Not that I failed my IPPT, but that I did not even go for it. I did not apply for a test date. I did not go for any IPPT. And that, was a BAD BAD move. It caused me a slew of problems, which made me decide never will I miss (or fail, if possible) my IPPT ever again.

Firstly, coz I did not go for IPPT, which is warranted by law for all active NSmen, I was charged. Which means it'll leave a bad record. Which might be detrimental to me, considering I'm in the civil service and Mindef and MOE are probably good friends. But I think I don't really care lah.. It was precisely I didn't care much in the first place that I just totally missed IPPT. Anyhow, back to story of being charged. I was fined $50. And I had to go down all the way to Sungei Gedong camp to be charged. And I had to wear the army uniform somemore! And I had to misplace my boots. In the end, I had to borrow a pair of boots from a guy who was there for his In-Camp Training. Thank God for him being willing to lend his boots to an utter stranger.
On a side note, my friend was in the same dire straits as me. He was charged in CMPB and he actually got away with just a warning letter! I had wanted to ask my officer-in-charge (pun intended) the reason for the discrepancy in treatment, but I decided it would be better for me to juz shuddup and be contented with (in his words) "the lowest fine possible". And and and while I was trying to use my credit card to pay for the fine, the transaction was not approved and the reason stated was: stolen card. What the ^%"£@!

Not only was I charged, I had to go for RT. Which proved a lot of hassle as I had to miss many night appointments with friends just to attend RTs. Argh. Anyhow, a test was slated on the fourth week, and I thought 'boy, that's a chance for me to prove myself and pass it'. But alas, I had to schedule my China trip then and miss my IPPT. Which was actually good for me on hindsight, coz apparently I wasn't that ready to pass my IPPT (silly chin-ups). As yet.

So I went on about my RT, and finally passed IPPT last night. I must add that they are less strict with NSmen (I think), coz my arms weren't fully straightened while doing my chin-ups but they let me pass anyway. Sit-up and shuttle run were ok, though I didn't manage to clock under 10 for shuttle run, which I always used to do. With ease. As for standing board jump, I had just failed a practice on Monday, but thankfully, by the grace of God, I managed a 3 points (my failure on Monday got me only 1 point) in the test! As for the 2.4km run, I had to run it in the rain. It began to rain after I had completed all my static stations, and I was thinking what's going to happen to my static stations results if I can't take my 2.4km test today. I wasn't going to redo the whole test again lor.. In the end, however, those who had hopes of passing were allowed to take the 2.4km test. I ran and kept praying along the way, even to the extent of smiling (while I was running, yes!) and thanking the Lord that I'm finally passing and getting outta here! And God really answered my prayers as I ran. It was a good run. My thighs and lungs did their jobs well. I did not have stitches. In fact, my timing for each round got faster and faster. By the fifth round, I was taking around 2 mins/round. But my last round took only about 1 mins 50 sec, and I finished my 2.4km test in 11 mins 20 secs! Which is a whopping 30 secs shaved off from my previous timed practice. And I attained 4 (out of 5) points for this station!

The last I checked, I am only a mere 1 point away from attaining the Silver award, all because of the silly chin-ups. I must go work on them and take the test for next year again soon and get a Silver! ($200!)

In loving memory..

2006-12-11T11:59:00.000+08:00

Yesterday saw the demise of my beloved Adidas, which has served me very well since its inception (its really comfy!). It died on me, thankfully only when I was juz a few steps away from home - at my void deck.

Sometimes, I wonder when I myself will throw in the towel as well..

Then today, they came again..

I'm tired, really tired. No, I'm sick and tired, really.

Musings about (work) life

2006-11-14T23:53:00.000+08:00

Today was a rather eventful day. As I was discussing work with one of my colleague, the conversation gradually veered off into the place God has in terms of her work. She shared about how God opened and closed the necessary doors for her to come into our school. She also retold at length how she prayer-walked around the classroom of a difficult class and how that germinated results as time went by. In our own staffroom, away from hers, some of my colleagues and I have been marvelling at how she is able to tackle this really difficult class so well this year. And now I'm hearing her in person giving glory to God for she acknowledged that only He alone could have effected the changes in the children. When she shared about how she prayed for the Chinese O level results this year, my mind leapt back to those times when I too was praying for my class and I thought to myself, "God is indeed wonderful, and we are so blessed in this school to receive His favour and blessings, none by our own merits." Her sharing was mainly to encourage me to press on in my classroom management, an area identified as my weakness at the moment. Her surrenderedness, even in terms of taming her tongue and the way she chooses to react in potentially ungodly situations, really made me see how important it is to be constantly dependant on the Lord in the battlefield called The Marketplace. Though all this while we have a prayer group among colleagues, it is the first time I felt I was conversing with someone who really dealt with the crux of real-life situations in a godly manner and choosing to submit to and glorify the Lord in whatever she does. I'm glad God provided a good example to learn from and I'm challenged to lead a sold-out life to God in my workplace as well. It is indeed a blessing to have a fellow soldier who can remind me about such simple-yet-easy-to-forget truths like the importance of prayer in all things.

Money and Faith

2006-11-08T23:53:00.000+08:00

Recently, my financial problems caught up with me again, and I was left to survive on $3.42 for the remaining 2 weeks of the month. Truth be told, I'm not sure where I spent all the money, but one thing is for sure - a large part of it went into the payment of all the bills and debts.

Anyhow, recently, a lady from a certain bank (which organizes marathons, one coming up in Dec) called me. In fact, 2 of them (from the same bank) called me at different times, which made me wonder if they really did know I needed the cash. Incidentally, the package they offered me was practically catered for me - akin to an oasis in the desert called Debts, it offers the (much-welcomed) cashflow to pay off credit card bills and the like. Initially, I turned down the lady quite adamantly, coz I never really had faith in such phonecall deals. However, after thinking about it, I thought, 'Why not?' So I called her up again and took up the offer and had her send me the necessary documents, albeit knowing that my poor (read: ridiculously bad) credit history would somehow set me back.

However, I also somehow felt a certain sense of confidence that I might get it, since it seemed to have dropped onto my lap at such a time when I really needed the money. I had been rather late in my payment of another bank's bills, and they are threatening to take legal actions*. Plus I also wanted the extra cashflow to pay for my upcoming trip. (Well, you might be asking why am I going for a trip [to china, no less] when I'm barely surviving my debts/bills. Well, my answer to that would be - sometimes, I just feel like heck-ing it, and this happens to be one of those times).

With the (un)founded confidence, I prayed to God, thinking it might be Him who is providing for me in this manner. I really was trusting the Lord for a miracle, coz I knew w/o His intervention, I was never going to get past my lousy credit history. And pray I did, for many days, confidence still unshaken, until the day the rejection letter came in. Though I was kinda disappointed, I knew its all in God's plan and provision, and that it was never mine to begin with. So in that sense, I wasn't too worked up when I realized I was not going to get a lump sum in my bank any time soon. But it did lead me to think about my finances for the rest of the month.

So I turned my attention to the paycheck for the N levels marking I went for. Many times before, when I was down to my last penny, God came through in the most amazing ways by providing finances that literally popped up out of nowhere. He is that amazing. So I was rather unfazed by the fact that I was walking around w/o cash. I knew my Lord provides in His own special ways. Thus, I thank God that I was not panicking, but was instead learning to trust Him more and more and have Him increase my faith more and more too. Thus, even when my friends told me the paycheck wouldn't come in so soon, in my heart, I was still trusting and holding on to my very present help in my times of need - God.

So I continued to pray for my finances, and lo and behold, the paycheck came in this week, the 2nd of the 2 weeks I had to survive with $3.42. Usually, when money comes in at my needy times, I would draw out almost all the money to prevent any amount from being deducted further. However, this time round, God chose to bank in the money on the same day as the deduction of some payment - a whopping (at least to me, now) $250 out of the $374.50#. As such, I was not in time to withdraw the money to prevent the $250 from being deducted. In my mind, I was like, 'No!', and I was quite sianz that that money got deducted. If not, I would be able to live quite comfortably on $300+ in the coming week (though I am still able to live comfortably on the remaining $124.50). I guess I just wanted to feel that much more secure with more money in my bank.

Which led me to realize I seem to feel 'happier' when my pay comes in each month, when I have money in my bank. I feel more secure. And when my cash starts to dwindle, I feel less secure, even to the extent of feeling less confident of myself. I was placing my confidence in how much money I have in my bank! Ooh, what a shocking revelation. How shallow can I be. And there was still all that talk about increased faith in God. And I constantly feel this way, even though time and again, I've experienced God providing in very timely ways during my times of need.

Oh Lord, I need a greater revelation of Your great love and Your sovereign plan for me!

*Incidentally, the legal letter just came in, telling me to pay up, or they'll start charging me (in court, that is).
#The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised. ~ Job 1:20.

Metamorphosis@Work: Alumni

2006-11-01T16:41:00.000+08:00

Then He (Jesus) got into the boat and his disciples followed him.

~ Matt 8:23 ~

Are you still following Jesus now that you are in the boat (of life) and (life's) storms are rockin' it?

Announcement: My Cholesterol Level has dipped!

2006-10-03T14:50:00.000+08:00

hahah, this calls for celebration.. my cholesterol level has dipped..

check this out..

my previous (oct '05) readings:
Total Cholesterol: 233 mg/dl
HDL (good) Cholesterol: 63 mg/dl
LDL (bad) Cholesterol: 162 mg/dl
Tchol/hdl Ratio: 3.7

my present (oct '06) readings:
Total Cholesterol: 201 mg/dl (altho this level still borders on high; anything > or = 200 is high)
HDL (good) Cholesterol: 64 mg/dl
LDL (bad) Cholesterol: 128 mg/dl
Tchol/hdl Ratio: 3.1

how to read the stats: the total amt of cholesterol in my body has dropped by 32 mg/dl. altho my good cholesterol has only increased by a mere 1 mg/dl, my bad (read: lousy, disgusting, heart attack-causing) cholesterol level has since plunged by 34 mg/dl, causing the overall gd (vs) bad cholesterol ratio to fall from 3.7 to 3.1. whoppie! praise the Lord! seems like the oolong tea fr china and my efforts to consume a reduced amt of eggs and seafood are paying off..

so the nxt time you see my lipid profile, it shld read something like this..

my predicted (oct '07) readings:
Total Cholesterol: 190 mg/dl
HDL (good) Cholesterol: 70 mg/dl
LDL (bad) Cholesterol: 120 mg/dl
Tchol/hdl Ratio: 2.8

hmm, the celebration seems to call for some succulent seafood with double egg yolk.. :p~~

p/s: highlight entry for hidden msg.

ta-da!

2006-09-24T16:01:00.000+08:00

ok, this post might sound as durh as the previous one to some of you, but when it happened, i waz actually quite amazed. most of you readers are prolly very well-verse with the skills involved, but i waz juz rather impressed by the fact dat pple like to do such things in their free time. its rather interesting actually. considering dat i like to dabble in such creative stuff, i might actually be intd in it soon (ive already got my copy of the adobe photoshop). :) and there are so many cool fonts ard! (ok, i sound sua gu..)

anyway, my student noted dat my msn pic is rather dark, so he decided to spruce it up for me. however, he not only made it brighter, he also embellished it with some patterns. here's how it happened:

from this..

to this..

to this.. ta-da!

credits: design - syx . caption - my own

p/s: ok, im suddenly inspired to do up my other pix. watch this space!

Raffles Link Pacific Coffee Company

2006-09-23T19:22:00.000+08:00

Ok, this probably counts as one of my durh-est posts. I just want to say that I'M AT RAFFLES LINK PACIFIC COFFEE COMPANY NOW. They have 2 computers here for customers to use, and its kinda not crowded here, so I just logged on to MSN and Blogger to commemorate the event. Hahah. I've been here the whole afternoon, marking and helping my friend to mark, and I'm feeling super hungry now but we are still waiting for more friends to come so we can go eat dinner at either Suntec or Marina Square - both of which have many many happening food places. Anyway, in a rather random fashion, I witnessed 3 smoking students yesterday. Although I already knew way before that they smoke, it was still sad and sianz to see them in action right before my eyes. Ok, I hope my friend comes soon. I'm famished. Ok, end of durh post.

the auspicious date

2006-09-12T22:51:00.000+08:00

well, if you muz know, the auspicious date dat ive been mentioning is today - 12th sept. and if you muz ask why, here's the reason, which also accounts for my msn nick recently - pple usu look fwd to the 12th of each mth, esp sept..

happy birthday*, gnoliew.

*last yr, i felt dat the bday waz rather un-bdaylike (coz of the huge amt of work i had. go search for the relevant entry if you are intd). this yr (tho much less work), i dun feel much betta, actually.

some random pictorial updates

2006-09-11T19:52:00.000+08:00

As mentioned (in my tag replies), there is an appointed time for my next blog entry. As that auspicious date draws near, I thought perhaps I should break the hiatus with some random updates on my life recently, with pictures, no less.

Activity 1
There was this day where I had to trod down a long lonely lifeless road..
Along a green grim stretch of fences..
Along this road less travelled, I was greeted by signs that threatened to put some bullets through my head if I only trespassed the premises behind those green fences which, all these while, were only centimetres within my reach..
As such, as I was sneakily snapping away, I was totally unaware that, all these while, I was being watched..

And after that arduous journey, I finally arrived at my destination >>
KAKI BUKIT CENTRE (PRISON SCHOOL)!
Well, whatever you are thinking now, you are totally wrong! I have not been sentenced there for slapping some student or for blogging incessantly about students' (mis)behaviour. I was assigned to give oral exam to a candidate there.
It was a place of many many many gates, as foretold by the heavily-fenced barricades. Every corridor had 2, one on each end, and as we passed through each gate, it had to be locked before we could proceed on. Thus, there were alot of opening-crossing-locking of gates until we finally reached the designated classroom. The arena was well-kept and neat and everything looked prim and proper and in their place while we were there. Everyone was courteous and knew their place, greeting the teacher i/c as we walked by. The candidate actually performed quite well, much betta than many of our other candidates from other schools.

Activity 2
Recently, I also went to the k-box at marina square - famed for being one of the newer outlets and having one of the more excellent lunch sets. However, even though we made a prior booking, we had to queue to get in (which does not make sense at all). Finally, when they realized it was a bad idea to get customers to queue for no logical reason whatsoever, they also realized they had no more rooms for us. I would have stormed into a rage if not for the following:

Our own bar counter, pool table (but you have to pay a whopping 80 bucks to use it), super big screen (with a small stage to boot - we can finally live out our dreams of being a star! - staging a concert! that is the reason pple frequent ktvs wat..), and super comfy and spacious sofa - ALL FOR THE PRICE OF A NORMAL ROOM.
However, it was to our utter aghast and horror when the attendant came in to tell us that there were no longer anymore happz lunch sets for us (even tho we had made prior reservations). Isn't that atrocious? What's the point of making reservations then? In the end, we had to da bao our own bk from downstairs. Altho they did give us another free drink and charged us half price for the room ultimately, it was no doubt a staging of yet another fiasco of the cmi service industry of our beloved sunny island.

Activity 3
Ok, for the next segment, I cannot post too many pix, if not pple might think that I am proud.

Thank you, guys and gals, for the kind words and gestures.

Some worthy mentions..

Erm.. yes, a pail from my form class..

and erm..

yes, the thingy you use to pump your sink when it gets stuck..

I'm still bewildered why I got them for Teacher's Day.

And of coz, finally, not forgetting this..

To those who paid to vote, thank you very much. Pls do not spend such money next time again. To those from the class who paid to vote, I'm thankful for your support. I know you guys spent alot of money on this. Pls do not spend such money next time again. I was kinda in a dilemma as you guys voted just after I scolded you guys. I was deciding if I should talk about this in class the next day and forget about making everyone stand outside the classroom. Its truly a love-hate relationship I have with you guys. And my greatest wish is that you guys will blossom to become like this one below..

Activity 4

To make sense of the following pix, you'll have to read about the FourESixers first.

It was great to see you guys at the dinner. Thanks for coming. It meant alot to me and it was fun.

the quintessential gnoliew W.I.S.H.*List

2006-08-12T21:47:00.000+08:00

1. happening shirts (from springfield or zara or both. i need to qualify: i dun usually (in fact i have nvr) buy clothes fr these atas (read: high-class and expensive) shops, but its a WISH mah, wishes are supposed to be more difficult to attain and exorbitant. if not wish for wat..)

2. $10, 000 loan, interest-free.

3. cds (upcoming jay chou's new album [sept], tanya's latest compilation, david tao's new album [hmm, this one im not so sure yet, first 2 songs receiving airplay now dun sound dat gd.. we shall see], gary cao ge's album [which has been out a long time liaoz], fir's latest album [?], she's latest compilation [?]) {advice, anyone? on the [?] albums. or recommendations of any gd listening gems? pls feel free}

4. leather shoes (present one wearing out after juz a little more than a yr into its induction.. cannot make it)

5. cool sneakers (im beginning to like the nike ones more and more but they are so ex!)

6. birks

7. new nerd specs (present nerd pair on nose since 1999. can you beat dat?)

8. digital camera

9. new pair of levi's (present one been wearing since 98, i think..)

10. swatch (haven bought a watch for a long time liaoz..)

*W.I.S.H.List stands for the What I Should Have List.
** i actually really need a fresh stock of personal sundry items, but i shall not go into details here.
*** i realize im actually quite prudent in terms of spending - alot of the things i use, i use them for quite a long time. gd job. :)

FourESixers, You Guys Did Great!

2006-08-12T02:14:00.000+08:00

to set the record straight, im not trying to be a 马后炮 here, but i juz want to give God all the glory He truly deserves.

since the beginning of the year, when i took over this present sec 4 class, i started praying for their results. along the way, we all put in alot of hard work together, and i told them i believe in the law of sowing wat you reap. and today, on this glorious day of 11 aug 2006, the 4e6-ers saw the fruits of their labour.

as the date of the release of the results drew nearer, i waz actually feeling more and more anxious. i had hoped dat the efforts dat we all put in would be worth it and not in vain, and dat we wld all do really well. i began to keep praying for the results. i prayed mainly for 3 things:
(1) my class, which is 4e6, wld do very well, in fact, they wld have the best results in the whole cohort. (this might sound a tad selfish, but well, they are my class wat..)
(2) the whole cohort wld all do well together, in fact, they wld achieve the best results ever. (well, i thought pray also cannot so selfish, muz pray for everyone)
(3) all the students will perform much betta than their usu standard - they wld value-add.

i waz still praying right up to the moment i went to check out the results circa 0900 hrs in the morn, and you can juz guess the exhilaration when my hod told me my class performed the best among all the classes! (i had previously set a target of 40% distinction, but guess wat, we achieved a whopping 61% distinction! 61% distinction - can you beat dat?!) i cldnt contain my excitement, and my heart waz leaping abt inside me, but i had to be sensitive to the other teachers ard me. i knew i had to keep thanking the Lord and giving Him all the glory, coz its by no means a mere mortal feat. i started writing the words 'thank God!!' on my palm, juz to keep reminding myself dat its all coz of Him, and i have nothing to be proud of.

then i had to go for invigilation. my mind waz constantly thanking the Lord, thinking how the prayers are really being answered right before my eyes. i have such little faith - praying and yet not really believing.

thereafter, i went to have a closer look at the results, and i realized we had 100% passes for the whole cohort! dat meant dat nobody in my class failed, which also meant dat some of those who were bordering perilously along the passing mark had finally cleared! praise the Lord! most of the students performed up to, or betta than, their usual standards. there were a few who missed their usual mark, but still did well nonetheless. it waz another prayer answered.

and then there waz even betta news - we achieved one of the best results in recent 5-7 years! betta than quite a few other schs in our region. gosh, dat waz juz pure jubilation.

i knew i juz cldnt keep this glorious matter to myself, i had to testify to it. of coz, there cld be a million reasons my class did esp well. perhaps the oral qn waz much easier. perhaps we got a more lenient marker. wateva. or perhaps, our efforts did pay off afterall. i remembered i first got the class to come back for extra lessons during the march hols. altho they werent really paying attention, most of them came back. the many times i made different ones stay back either for essay or oral reinforcements, they did as told, albeit sometimes rather reluctantly. many of them even did extra work or came down for extra oral practices on their own. the last sat before the paper itself, almost (if not all) all of them came down for dat lesson. they were the only class among the rest to do dat. i waz really proud of them.

and all these wld not have happened if the Lord's hands were not on our class - His favour for dat easier oral qn or more lenient exam marker, His blessings for alot of them to value-add, His answered prayers to me, which stopped me in my steps, thinking: i dun deserve such a great blessing but the Lord chose to use me and bless me in spite of me. thank you, Lord, very much.

of coz, it helped very much dat the Lord blessed our class to 'click', to have the same frequency, to like each other enuff to move together. i truly enjoyed teaching this class, and i consider it one of the highlights in my short teaching career thus far. and it will prolly be one class i will miss in time to come when they graduate.

to the 4e6-ers, i waz, am, and will be proud of you guyz. thank you for running this race with me. your efforts have definitely paid off. the law of reaping wat you sow is proven true once again. i shook all of your hands today, no matter you got an A1, A2, B3, B4, C5 or C6, coz i know you guyz have put in your share of hard work and have achieved something - either by value-adding or doing very well. i guess dats wats most impt sometimes - to beat the 'opponent' dat is really ourselves many a times. congratulations, guyz. im really very very happy for you guyz.

post-note: we shall go eat together during the sept hols. yay!

birthday celebration - how's life?

2006-08-03T00:28:00.000+08:00

in celebration of the 2nd birthday of my bloggie, i shall present to you a guest writer, whose works ive read a couple of times, and on both occasions, he has proven to be a competent writer, his style characterized by a highly logical flow of thought and sincere life anecdotes, often shedding light on high-brow theological propositions and bringing clarity to an otherwise mind-boggling piece of prose. i din set him any restrictions or topic requirements; he decided to write wat you are going to read below.

ladies and gentlemen, pls put your k/b and mouse together to welcome our guest writer for today, mr kevin cheung, aka cheungster.

How’s life?

I’ve always disliked this question because I find it too vague. What do you want to know? Which part of my life are you really interested in? Finances, social life, physical health, etc. Suffice to say, I am an engineer and I like my world to be precise and sharp. Most of the time, I would just mouth off safe but forgettable replies like, “Oh fine, I just bought a new LCD monitor” or “Great, I got an A for my exams” to throw off my questioner.

The other reason why this question irritates me is because I don’t really know/have the answer. How do we measure the quality of our lives anyway? For some, it would be their own personal happiness while for others, it is all about a life of status and popularity. At the end of the day, most of us are still quite confused as to what we really want in life. I was reminded of this the other day when I caught Gayle Nerva singing “If I Ain’t Got You” on Singapore Idol:-

Some people live for the fortune

Some people live just for the fame

Some people live for the power yeah

Some people live just to play the game

Some people think that the physical things

Define what's within

I've been there before

But that life's a bore

So full of the superficial

Someone once said that before we can know what something is, we first have to know what it isn’t. Its like that in life sometimes, before we know what we want in life, we first have to know what we don’t want. I like this song because it is therapeutic to me in the above manner. It makes me reflect on my life and helps me identify the driving forces behind some of my most important decisions in life.

I do believe there is nothing wrong with fortune, fame and power. Life would be pretty much unbearable if we are to do without the above 3 entities. Picture an existence without money, popularity and control. Without money, we would have no food and life would be quite sad if no one likes me. And without a certain measure of control over our lives, we would live in fear, trembling at what tomorrow might bring. I don’t have a problem with these resources, the more the merrier. But the problem arises when I allow, as the song says, “the physical things to define what’s within”.

Now, I firmly believe that nobody of reasonable intelligence will define himself solely by his salary and status. We as human beings instinctively know that there is more to life than all these. But having said that, why is it so easy then to measure life by the externals alone? I guess there are a few reasons, the first one being that our society actively promotes a materialistic lifestyle. In a highly materialistic society like ours, our quality of life is measured by how much we have.

The second reason is the mistake of allowing our identities to be defined by the status symbols of this world. If we are not careful, we will start to measure our self-worth by our academic prowess, friends, or looks.

And the flip side of living life this way is that we end up “running on empty and running after emptiness*”. By exchanging what’s within for what’s without, our lives become rushed, bored and isolated. Our relationships turn shallow because we are no longer interested in loving people, but rather in using them to fulfill our material wants. We network to increase our business contacts, make friends only with the rich and the intelligent and spend time only with people who are useful in our climb up the status ladder. We forget to cherish people for who they are and are only concerned with what they can do for us. Children are judged on their academic grades, wives are judged on their looks and husbands are judged on their salary.

One of the things for which I am very grateful for ever since I started working is the fact that I am a Christian. I have lost count of the endless number of dinner meetings that basically revolves around money, women and position. If we are not talking about our paychecks, then it must be about our future marriage plans; if it is not about our marriage plans, then it is inevitably about so-and-so who has just been promoted to managerial level. These things aren’t bad in themselves and actually do enhance the quality of our lives but something inside me tells me that there is so much more to life than life itself.

And God offers me just that in the form of His Son Jesus Christ. He sent His Son Jesus to die on the cross for my sins while I was still a sinner. In Him, is forgiveness of sins through the shedding of blood. Even though I’m still messed up and have my ugly moments, but God still accepts me unconditionally through His everlasting love. And because I’m accepted by the almighty God of the universe, I no longer have to strive to merit the acceptance of this performance-obsessive world. I no longer have to define myself by what I do but by who I am in Christ.

If you would like to experience the freedom and joy that comes from following my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, you can do so by praying the following prayer:

Lord Jesus, I need You. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life and receive you as my Saviour and Lord. Thank You for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Take control of the throne of my life. Make me the kind of person You want me to be.**

If this prayer expresses the desire of your heart, I invite you to pray this prayer right now, and Christ will come into your life.

God bless!!!

Reference
* Quote by Pastor Edmund Chan
** Sinner’s prayer taken from the 4 Spiritual Laws

happy birthday, bloggie!

2006-08-03T00:04:00.000+08:00

did you guess it right?!

[in all gurmit-ish gusto] the lines are closed.

as of 0308060019, the votes stand at

off-in-lieu hol - 6 votes (50%)
my birthday - 1 vote (8%)
some birthday - 0 votes (0%)
release of chinese o level results - 5 votes (42%)

well, the countdown waz for..
[drum roll] the 2nd birthday of my bloggie!
(which means, sad to say, nobody guessed the purpose of the countdown correctly)

my blog has turned 2!

in all nostalgia, lets take a look at my inaugural blog entry on 3 aug 2004..

entry title: blogging..
entry: blogging has finally arrived for me.. after my bro and the whole world have been using it for millions of yrs, i am juz getting acquainted with it.. and i thot it waz juz one of those fads to fade away in 3 mths.. nvr did i realise that the classmate sitting beside me has been using it for 6(!!!) yrs already.. and i happily bochup a blog addy my friend sent me some yrs ago, thinking it too much of a hassle to have to go online juz to know abt the intricacies of pple's daily lives.. but now, here i am..

as can be seen, the blog has come a long way since its inception and has grown, both in terms of length and maturity of writing. over the past 2 yrs, the content, readership and IT-quotient* have also multiplied by quite a bit. all thanks to God and the many readers and fellow bloggers who have kept me motivated.

*now, im trying to further up the IT-quotient by learning how to embed music into my blog, both for my own, and for the class one im doing up. anyone care to teach? but b4 i have learnt dat, you will have to bear with the silent birthday song..

happy birthday to you
happy birthday to you
happy birthday to hahahihaveablogtoo
happy birthday to you!

A fool and his sorry

2006-08-02T23:33:00.000+08:00

You see a man curling up in pain and groaning incessantly along the pavement. What will you do? Naturally, you will walk over in hope of lending a helping hand and getting him on his feet. On turning him over, you realize his face shows much less agony than you had expected but you think nothing much of it, and its not until he finally stands up and asks you to look in a certain direction that you realize you’ve been on..

Gotcha!

You feel like a fool.

If this really happened to you, perhaps you would be appeased by the mere fact that you finally had your few seconds of limelight by being caught on national tv. But more often than not, most of us do not really take to the idea of being taken for a ride. We hate to look silly and make a fool of ourselves, privately or publicly. We have this immensely strong sense of pride that builds itself up around us, causing us to want to look all made-up and pretty all the time. We cannot afford to look any whee bit less than perfect.

He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose. – Jim Elliot.

Yet Jesus was made to look like a fool for us. He was made to wear a thorn of crowns. He was mocked. He was flogged in public. He was hung on the cross between 2 other criminals, for no obvious crimes whatsoever. He was made to suffer the most humiliating form of punishment in his time.

A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic - on the level with a man who says he is a poached egg - or he would be the devil of hell. You must take your choice. Either this was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. – C S Lewis.

However, deep down inside, you and I know that we can never really call Jesus a fool, whether you are a believer or not. Perhaps the one thing, if any, that Jesus did, which might be remotely classified as ‘foolish’, was to die for a bunch of fools who did not have the slightest idea what was good for them, and instead chose to trudge on in their own foolish (and sinful) ways. He chose to die for us in spite of the fact that he knew way beforehand that we, the fools, would take His grace for granted and continue to hurt and grieve Him. He loved unconditionally.

Now who is the real fool?

I had been the fool all along. Yourself?

~~~

I scolded some of my students today very angrily for lousy attitude, and I pre-empted their apologies by saying something to the effect of "don’t show me the guilty face now and apologize, only to put on the same behaviour the next day.” It got me really heated up and I put on my black face mode for my remaining 4 periods for the rest of the day, which, on hindsight, was kinda unfair to the other classes. (I kept reminding myself to compartmentalize my anger/disappointment but to no avail). My temper became much shorter that day and my patience was constantly put to the test. Students had to ask me why I was in such a bad mood and I could only manage a weak smile and said “nothing much.” As the day drew to an end, I was still rather affected by what had transpired earlier in the day, until suddenly, it dawned upon me (and therein lie some of the uncanny ironies of life) that I just might have been like some of my students – unrepentant, stubborn, prideful, always coming back to seek forgiveness for the same sin over and over again, making no effort to change whatsoever, totally taking God’s grace for granted. And that, IS utter foolishness.

A double fool. I am.
A fool and all his stories.
A fool with all his sorries.
To the great I Am.
To the throne on which sits the Lamb.
I humbly come.
I pray I truly repent.

countdown

2006-08-02T10:47:00.000+08:00

1 more day..

guess what?

2006-08-01T20:26:00.000+08:00

countdown

2006-08-01T18:11:00.000+08:00

2 more days..

countdown

2006-07-31T23:03:00.000+08:00

3 more days..

NUMB3RS II - cont'd

2006-07-19T19:20:00.000+08:00

as i waz saying yesterday..
today i got a

writ of seizure

under my door.

no house nvm, i still got fortress. betcha dinno.

the Lord is my fortress; my God is a mighty rock where i can hide - psa 94:22.

NUMB3RS II

2006-07-18T22:39:00.000+08:00

a certain bank - 9875.36

another bank - 4821.58

(another bank lurking dangerously somewhere. i pray it doesnt rear its head anytime)

a certain loanshark - 50/wk for nth no. of wks

[lets say its 1 yr (and dats prolly a conservative estimate, cld be more, much more) = 52 wks = 50 x 52 =] 2600.00

another loanshark 100/wk for nth no. of wks

[ditto top = 2600 x 2 =] 5200.00

(another loanshark hiding behind some dark alley, ready to strike)

yet another bank, but now its a bank loan - 10000.00

(before interest)

[an assortment of bills mthly: hp + house phone + waterelectric (水电费) + internet + insurances + etc etc..]

---------------------

total - 32496.94+++

dats why they call it in the red

and you might also realize dat there is really only a dangerously thin line between banks and loansharks. since we are on the subject of maths and numbers, when expressed in a formula, it looks like this:

bank = loanshark

but of coz, they have their subtle differences as well.

for instance, when the bank wants to demand money fr you, they call you incessantly or get a machine to call you incessantly (read: day after day, many times each day). then they'll send you a warning letter, threatening, in no uncertain terms, that they will 'commence legal proceedings against you without further notice'.

whereas for the less legal, their threats take the form of (alot of) vulgarities/hurlings/red paint/pig head [(?) - yet to experience. will report and take photos if/when i do].

victim: hello, ah [insert any loanshark-y name] ah..?

loanshark: ah, si mi dai ji? li xiang?

victim: wa si *** eh friend. (gives up trying to speak in hokkien) can *** pay the debt nxt wk or not?

loanshark: buay sai lah!

victim: can give more grace period or not? *** cannot pay by this wk lah. *** no money at all, you like dat force also still no money mah..

loanshark: mai luan luan gong hor, wa ma la wu force* li. li eh friend ga wa ya lui, do ai heng lah! si mi force. li gieo li eh friend ga gi ga wa gong. (slams down phone adamantly)

*if you are required to pay a certain amt every wk and when you dun, something bad will happen to you, ISNT DAT CALLED FORCE??!! 做贼心虚.

**vulgarities edited to maintain purity of blog.

变相的高利贷

(anybody knows the meaning of 变相?)

wits' end, sometimes.

NUMB3RS I - 编号36767

2006-07-12T23:54:00.000+08:00

*sms beeping tone*
[from 36767] You are reminded to PASS your IPPT before your next birthday. You should book your IPPT now if you have not done so. For query, call 1800-3676767.

dat, coupled with the fact dat i haven been exercising regularly (which is bad, considering i did very regularly when i waz in uni and nie, and dat i have high cholesterol and shld really be watching my health) for the past 1 yr (except for the occasional biathlon, sports day, jogathon, all of which i went for w/o much prior trg - courting death, they call it), sent me into a mini frenzy, and i decided to pull up those ankle socks and start hitting the jogging track in the park downstairs in my faithful and comfy adidas.

my results, so far..

27th june - 14:44

29th june - 14:19

4th july - 13:28

6th july - 13:17

11th july - 12:59

steady improvement, the best is yet to be..

to be eligible for the minimum (= $100) monetary reward (which is prolly one of the biggest, or the biggest, incentive for any of us NSMEN to train for and take the ippt), i need to hit at least a D-grade for every station. for running, dat translates into at least 12 minutes and 40 seconds, for a cat y (read: 25 - 29 yrs old) person like me.

so i need to shave off another 19 secs.
but of coz, it wld be gd to get more than a pass, coz a silver costs 200 bucks and a gold 400. and it does wonders for the pride and ego too, to know dat i can still run*.

lets hope the steady improvement continues tml.

*haiz, these timings are a far cry from the 10-minute ones back in my heydays in the army.

the irreversible and inevitable degeneration and deterioration of the human body.

China Trip III

2006-07-11T23:49:00.000+08:00

ok, enuff ramblings abt the china trip already. anyway, its almost close to a mth since we left for the land of cheap gd deals, and the initial enthusiasm is starting to simmer down, memories are beginning to fade, pple (me included) are beginning to settle back into their small little lives back in s'pore..

anyhow, a couple of anecdotes on how of the Lord demonstrated He was in control thru'out [fr the proposal to the quotations to the phonecalls to china to the agent to the students to the edusave forms to the cost to the air tix to the hiccups to the briefings to the trip to the fun to the smiles to the projs to the..] the trip.. (loosely translated as things you dinno abt the trip)

testimonial (1):
one of our students cldnt make it for the trip due to some personal probs (which i do sincerely hope will be resolved very soon). prior to dat, i had already sent the finalized namelist to the tour agent. thus, i sent another email informing the agent how we had dropped a student, and dat he had to remove a name from the list. however, as it turned out, as murphy's law suggests, wateva can go wrong will go wrong - the tour agent did not check dat email, and submitted the entire list (with the name of the student who's not going). nobody wld have found dat out (which wld result in us paying the full trip fees for a phantom tripper), except for the fact dat another tripper fell out of the trip, and i juz decided to re-check the entire list once again, after deleting the 2nd name, and found, to my utter aghast and gratitude, dat the first name was not even removed at all. i dinno why i wanted to check the namelist again, considering i did not do so the first time round. and if the 2nd person did not fall out, i wldnt have checked the namelist again, and as i mentioned, dat would have been disastrous (read: waste money). so i was really thankful at dat pt in time, knowing for sure the Lord was blessing as i was praying since i started preparing for the trip.

testimonial (2):
2 or 3 or 4 days prior to the departure date, one of my family members did not feel well, and was in a rather bad state, i wld say. i was really worried. i had to keep getting the person to promise to take care of herself while i was away, if not i really wld not be able to go with a peace of mind. i rallied my bro and relatives and friends to take care of and pray for her. during the trip, i called back to ensure dat everything was fine. now dat im back for a while, things seem to be getting betta, and her condition has improved alot. i really thank God for watching over her while i was away, and dat all my worries were unfounded, for everything is in the Lord's hands, and not mine. He fights all my battles, not me.

testimonial (3, 4, 5, ..., n, where n tends to infinity):
[insert thanksgiving itemsss]

there were many other happening things we did in china, including racing thru' the hutongs in rickshaws, visiting the beijing central conservatory of music, leaving a trail of angry but/and happy shopkeepers at happening shopping places like hong qiao/xiu shui/wang fu jin, sneaking to macs in the middle of the night even tho there was a curfew on humans belonging to the sub-category of students, etc etc.. to find out more, pls call 1800 - ask - around or sms 'ask' to 'around'.

of coz, i muz also acknowledge my 3 happening grps dat have made the nightly de-briefing sessions fun and enjoyable.
[overheard fr a fellow tripper] it was indeed a great pleasure and honour to be (part of) this group.

(front, l-r) raziff (ever-so-late and totally hilarious at times), kelvin (our resident photog with many a funny idea for poses), nicholas (covering.. ahem.. my face, an act-tough ah-beng who's really very nice at heart), vionna (quiet but ever-present), jan rick (daredevil when it comes to stunts, on the hair, dat is)

(back, l-r) lenard (super duper funny, totally unlike in sch), lilian (she doesnt eat fruits or something.. i cant remember), daphne (she has many, and i mean many, siblings), kaiping (prudent and thrifty - shopkeepers find it real hard to earn her money), huiling (tai tai in the making - with the handbag wherever she goes and those birks), daniel (top-shopper-cum-roommate), joanne (the mei-nv whom the uncle refuses to sell things to), jen an (too skinny, too skinny)

and of coz, with such gd students comes a sweet and happy ending..

thank you, Lord.

thank you, Guyz.

China Trip II

2006-07-02T21:25:00.000+08:00

ok, continuing from where we left off the previous post..

although you cant really see from this pic that we are at tiananmen square, we really were there. its a really enormous parade square that was made famous in that pic of a man blocking a squad of tanks by standing in their way during the infamous 1989 tiananmen square protests.

here, another pic of tiananmen square (can see more of it here). i juz dunno why i put on that face. guess i was trying to look tall. besides the tiananmen, we obviously went to the forbidden city as well. its a palace that occupies alot of land space - took us a whole morn juz to walk ard w/o entering the different palaces, not that we were allowed in anyway. due to the impending beijing olympics in 2008, many of the places we went were under renovation, likewise the forbidden city. when we were there, it reminded me of the previous time i went there - how my friend and i sneaked out w/o our teacher's permission and took a cab to the forbidden city to feast upon its magnificence under the stars. she waz like a stunning beauty shrouded in mystery, with thousands of unique stories behind her to tell. i was telling my students to imagine how the pple inside the palace lived during their times - having to spend a large part of their lives there, not knowing anything else beyond the palace walls, not that they would be intd anyway - the palace was so big that they could probably spend their whole lives exploring it. a must-go!

p/s: i din bring any camera, save for my hp's, and i haven received some pix from my students, so i dun have any for forbidden city. sad.
of the many things to get accustomed to in beijing, besides the dry and dusty weather and the mad traffic with traffic lights that pple dun follow, food and toilet were 2 other important elements we had to grapple with. food-wise, much of it was salty and oily and veggy. the meal on the left was by far the best meal i had in beijing, even betta than the peking duck one. (from left, clockwise) corn nibblets (like those from kenny rogers), kong ba (fatty meat), some soup (their soups* were usu the worst course), some veg, steamed egg (like those from sakae sushi), empty bao (they call them man tou), and rice (in the centre).

*: during one of the meals, we actually played 终极密码, where each of us ard the table had to guess a number that one of us had thought of. the person who guessed it had to eat something. you had to see the look of agony on nicholas' face when he was forced to drink the soup. in the end, he forced me to drink it too lor..

while i was in china in 1996, i had the honour of visting a toilet. the urinal wasnt like those you see in s'pore toilets - on its own. it was a long drain of many urinals combined together - it was like peeing into a drain. when you flush, it was a huge gush of water threatening to flood the 'urinal' and dethrone its banks. the sound of it? thunderous. anyhow, we met quite a couple of nasty toilets on our trip there this time round. sometimes it was the stench that kills, sometimes it was the (lack of) cleanliness that irks, but we did manage to find good ones, like the 4-star toilet on the left. worthy mention: the toilet at the peking duck place was modern and clean and stylo too.

China Trip I

2006-07-02T00:10:00.000+08:00

i haven been bloggin' for a long time. well, there are a couple of reasons for this. firstly, i blog only when i have the inspiration to write (i dun really like the idea of blabbering abt mundane daily stuff), and there's been a drought in my creative department recently. the reason, i suspect, is the ever-increasing workload that zaps away all my brain and creative juices. secondly, i have been rather lazy. i actually came to this page a week ago, but after typing in a few lines, i realized i dinno what i wanted to say with that entry, and that i was too lazy to complete the post. in the end, i deleted it all away. but i realized my blog does have readers - not that im writing for others though, as you shall see in later posts. (i hope)

however, this lack of entries does not mean my life has been all blank and boring since the last entry. in fact, many things have transpired in the course of the past few weeks, and perhaps, i just need more time to defragment my thoughts and churn them out into words here.

anyhow, i went to china recently - brought a group of 41 students there. it was fun overall, and i enjoyed myself playing and laughing with my students. china has always held a special place in my heart. ive been there twice, and i still have fond memories of the places i visited and i was looking forward to revisiting them again this time round. i first stepped foot on it in 1996, when i was in jc, and its kinda amazing that 10 years later, im going back again. i remembered all the fun i had when i was there, and i had a great time with my friends then. similarly, this time round, i think the memories shall stay with me for quite some time, and i sincerely hope my students enjoyed themselves as much as, if not more than, i did.

the photos are arranged not in any order of merit or chronology, coz i cant really remember when we did what - i can only remember we did certain things, as you shall see below..

at the airport - ready to go!..

up the plane!..

to eat the delicious airplane food!.. hahah.

a great start - as with all students, they are naturally careless sometimes - as with these 2 on the left. they brilliantly left their passport and wallet (respectively) on the plane the moment we got off. we haven even got past the immigration. it was only after much waiting and worrying before they BOTH got back what they had misplaced. super duper thank God lor.. i was like praying they find back their stuff.

i shant disclose who these 2 kids are.

BUT.. if you cant see clearly the person on the left up there, he happens to be my sitting partner on the coach, and he's in this pic. hahah.

we went to the great wall - of coz! - and here's a magnificent view of the valley from the wall.

many, if not all, of the students chose to commemorate their visit to the great wall by buying those certificates which says they are a 好汉 by climbing up the great wall. still others decided to engrave their names on mini plaques to show that they've been up this monument. i, on the other hand, still believe in the staying power of memories - both captured in my mind and in a photograph like this one here.

as with most big cities (bangkok, new york, etc..) jams (traffic, that is) are a common sight. no less in beijing. thankfully, we had a really skilful driver, whom we called 师傅 (seen here at the bottom left-hand corner of the pic) affectionately. he could really manoeuvre those sharp corners while turning into narrow lanes - sometimes, he was literally cms away from the vehicle parked illegally along the road. zai! most rides were smooth and safe, thank God.

dats why the students never failed to sleep ever so soundly WHENEVER they are on the bus..

especially when the tour guide starts to speak.. hahah. super diu lian lah - pple talk, we (even i slept, and was caught by the guide!) sleep, make pple think she is boring, when she is super not! it was our blessing to get such a kind-hearted, patient, cheerful, sporting, understanding guide. she's called betty. the kids absolutely adored her. they even made cards for her and the driver at the end of the tour. sweet.

we also went to the temple of heaven (天坛), where we learnt abt the emperor's no. of 9. see the circle we are standing on? the first round of tiles around it have 9 of them, the 2nd round 18, and so on.. there were also (if i remember correctly) 9 steps leading up to each level on our way up here. apparently, if you stand on where we are standing on and shout out your wish to heaven, it will hear you and answer your prayers. (coz emperor is the son of heaven - 天子) we shouted, "SYF GOLD 2007!"

EXtraordinarily Amazing Madness of Students

2006-06-03T20:46:00.000+08:00

Top 5 stunts students perform during exams - when they have finished their papers and yet refuse to check thru their answers or try to think of answers to questions they cannot answer:-

(a) roll up unused foolscap papers - length-wise - until it becomes a thin strip. then try to tie it into a ribbon. meticulously, pls.
(b) use the ruler and try to flatten the already flat or smoothen the already rough edge of the desk by scraping strips after strips of 'skin' off the table. 'ouch!', i could almost hear the table cry. terribly tormented table.
(c) doodle/graffitize/beautify/artify the otherwise plain and boring question paper - with pix of possible tattoo patterns, comic characters, gf/bf/dream-girl/dream-boy, profile of classmate/crush sitting 3 tables away, someone else's name, etc etc etc..
(d) sleep, with head on one hand, out-stretched. then try to ga jiao the person in front by 'accidentally' touching the chair or the shoulder or the head..
(e) fidgetfidgetfidgetfidgetfidgetfidgetfidgetfidgetfidgetfidgetfidgetfidgetfidget..

on the other hand..

Top 5 stunts students perform before exams - when they have yet to begin the papers but are eager to perfect their answers or try to think of answers to questions they think might come out in the exam:-

(a) sms-ing answers to teacher(s) to see if they have answered the question correctly.
(b) sending scanned pieces of work via email to teacher(s) for the teacher to grade and comment.
(c) meeting up teacher(s) on a sunday(!) for some last-minute work together.
(d) willing to do many many extra pieces of essays - much more than what is expected by the sch.
(e) diligentdiligentdiligentdiligentdiligentdiligentdiligentdiligentdiligent..

Of coz, any single student can belong to both of the abovementioned groups at the same time - they are not mutually exclusive. but as ive mentioned to quite couple of my classes - 勤能补拙. so its prolly betta to be in the 2nd grp rather than the 1st.

happy holidays.

PRSS CO CONCERT

2006-05-20T16:10:00.000+08:00

Shucks. Apparently, alot of pple cant load the video undermentioned. Failed attempt at trying to up the IT quotient on my blog. Anyway, try clicking on the title of this entry to see if you can view my masterpiece.

PRSS CO CONCERT

2006-05-09T00:01:00.000+08:00

PRSSCO

2006-04-30T00:05:00.000+08:00

its been a long time yet again ive really been up to my nose in work

have many things to write and say, but am too lazy to write

also, i think all my inspiration to write has been burnt off by my hectic work schedule

so i shall let pictures, which are supposed to mean a thousand words, speak

recently (actually not that recent also lah - 18th march), co concert

some noteworthy moments

first of all, WE WENT ON TV!!! really, we really did! see, isnt dat a tv in the pic?!

fighting students - now dats ssscccaaarrryyy!!! - over the pt of whether the pipa shld be played by only girls

my students are so conscientious - they practise everywhere, even beside a rubbish chute and on top of a rubbish bin - dun they look garang with the red bands?

remember the 斧头帮 in 功夫?

well, during the course of the concert, we met a new 帮

- the styrofoam box 帮.

their specialty? not dancing, like the 斧头帮, but eating - with their stylo styrofoam boxes in their faces.

how cool is dat?

finally, one of my students proposed! and is putting on the ring for his other half.. (aww.. how sweet)

the other one looks on with glee :)

post-blog note: hmm, will i be sued for putting students' pix on my blog, and adding silly subtitles..

post-blog note II: hope dat i will return soon enuff after this blog..

离开贫穷的日子

2006-03-10T18:44:00.000+08:00

its been a while.

life has been much different since the last time i blogged.

for the past 2 wks, ive been walking home fr sch. other than the fact dat sch is now much nearer to home, there's another reason.

i have no money to top up my fare card.

so whenever im asked to donate money or buy something for fund-raising or eat out at restaurants, i wld say i have no money, much to the unbelief of others.

"dun bluff lah, your pay so much.. how can no money..?"

kinder ones go, "actually your pay not bad rite.. how come you still no money..?"

dats why i have been rejecting invitations to dinner outings (and getting "crap" as a reply), and even the wedding of an old friend, of which i really wanted to attend. but i had to go for work in order to give a reason why i cant go.

as such, i have been eating alot of instant noodles recently, so as to cut costs.

i have been living on shillings, coz my bank account only has $4.09 the past 2 wks.

you might ask, "why?". the only clue i will give is dat there's red paint on the floor outside my hse.

thankfully, tml is the day where i can live normally again. not sure for how long tho..

i thank God
for bringing me thru this period of time.
for friends who chose to treat so i din have to pay.
for spare cash dat popped up when i waz down to my last cent.
for peace fr Jesus so i din have to live in self-pity and think my life is the most jialat in the whole world.
for the hope dat i can have in Him and His faithfulness and His plans (to prosper and never to harm).

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in time of trouble.

- Psa 46:1.

p/s: dear concerned reader, im sure this entry caught you by surprise. well, dat shows dat i haven been showing signs im living in poverty, which testifies to God's gdness in providing for and sustaining me. do not be alarmed after reading this entry. i am and will be fine. God is with me. dun worry.

historic moment: first time a photo is being uploaded to my blog

2006-01-30T00:57:00.000+08:00

(clockwise fr girl in green and denim in front): may-ann, fangting, pris quek, diana gwee, mun, ian, victor, kelvin, ziyou, sooj, vanessa, xiumei, tat, zibing, gnoliew.
(person taking photo): jeff.

cny outing, all 16 of us! proudly organized by yours truly.

新年快乐！

recently

2006-01-14T22:47:00.000+08:00

recently, i wanted to blog abt my trip to bangkok, and try to spice up my blog by adding pix for the first time..
recently, i wanted to blog abt how to have a MARY christmas..
recently, i wanted to blog abt all the different roles ive played in wedding preps, fr helping to pull the 'red string' to being part of the proposal, fr helping out in the wedding preps to being one of the brother, fr being a best man to putting up an item at the wedding, fr being the mc for the wedding dinner to saying a few words at the dinner, all save for being the groom..
recently, i wanted to blog abt many other things that have since slipped my mind..

but..

i haven had the time and energy to blog recently..

anyhow, here's how i have been feeling recently..

i feel like a little boy*

trying to conquer the whole wide world

everybody wants a piece of me

and i juz dunno where to run

ive got work piled up to my head

all i wanna do is jump into bed

and wash away my troubles with green tea (dun really like lemonade)

...

all i need is a gd disguise

one where nobody can recognize

that im feeling so small

all i need is a secret weapon

ive gotta have faith (increase my faith, oh Lord!)

zapping monsters into outer space

im gonna be a superhero

(the thing is, i dun even feel remotely like a superhero at all..)

~ extracted fr corrine's little superhero girl

but thankfully, becoz of Him#, i can feel like this..

sometimes i wonder what lies ahead

how long till my hunger is fed

they say it is hard to make it in this part of town

so many pple on this merry-go-round

some folks try astrology

some turn to crystal balls

to find an answer

to get thru it all

i juz fall on my knees and i try to pray

in the silence i can hear Him say

the river runs and the river hides

out to the ocean and under the sky

I promise you

the answer will come

hold on to patience and watch for the sign

everything in its time

i often feel like im two steps behind

somebody muz have moved that finish line

there are a thousand reasons

why i shld give up

but im stubborn in the things i believe

coz mabbe there's another plan

one i still cant see

a little surprise

like Your love in my life

funny how time changes how we see

~ extracted fr corrine's everything in its time

*blue for changes dat ive made
#red for Him

My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.

~ 2 Cor 12:9.

songs to belt out to when doing housework

2005-12-26T13:59:00.000+08:00

... (vacuum cleaner's sound) (vacuum cleaner's sound) forever love (vacuum cleaner's sound) forever love 我只想 (vacuum cleaner's sound) 用我这一辈 (vacuum cleaner's sound) 子去爱你从今以 (vacuum cleaner's sound) 后你会是所有幸 (vacuum cleaner's sound) 福的理 (vacuum cleaner's sound) 由 (vacuum cleaner's sound) ...

doing housework can be therapeutic.

- a certain friend, who nickname sounds like the noise a farm animal makes.

conditions necessary for a fulfilling housework session:

(1) empty house (read: void of any traces of homo sapiens, but not furniture. the house has to have furniture in order for housework to be done)

(2) dirty house (if the house has just been cleaned the day before, then no point lah.. not shiok)

(3) good stereo (to blast out happening music. this ties in with the title of this entry)

(4) inspiration to do housework (either translated from constant naggings by parents; or you juz feel like doing housework the moment you got up from [usu the wrong side] bed)

factors to be present in the songs-to-belt-out-to-when-doing-housework:

(1) not too noisy lah (ie. not rock songs - coz will fight with the vacuum cleaner sound to make the whole place very noisy. noisy + dirty (house) + sweaty (you) = doesnt dat make it seem very much like a construction site? so no no..)

(2) preferably chinese (juz a personal preference - more shiok when belting them out)

(3) muz have a crescendo (for the linguistically-challenged, go check it up yourself [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crescendo].. hahah. aiyah, it juz means the song builds up to a climax when its very shiok to sing and/or shout to. 高潮, you know.. like the abovementioned forever love by leehom)

how to sing to the songs-to-belt-out-to-when-doing-housework:

(1) basically, there's only ONE step - VACUUM. here's why..

(A) it creates the sound/noise necessary for you to belt out your songs - it makes it seem like you are holding a solo concert + your (not so) good singing will be appropriately drowned in the sound/noise of the vacuum cleaner, esp when you hit those high notes, usu at the crescendo.

(B) ever notice the presence of the tube dats part of the vacuum cleaner? know wat its for? yes, its for you to sing to - its your mike + mike stand.

imagine: bending down doing the back-breaking (literally) job of vacuuming the whole house's* floor, mumbling why you have to do this in between singing to the song dats playing. slowly, the song builds up and reaches the crescendo and you stand up straight (holding the mike + mike stand) in your hand and sing/shout/croak your lungs out at the top of your voice, ever so loudly and without reservations coz no one else can hear you (coz 1. no one's at home 2. the vacuum cleaner's sound drowns your voice), occasionally waving your hands to your imaginary fans for effect. shiok.

*you have to vacuum the whole house's floors and not juz your own room's, coz dat wld be selfish, and more imptly, you need to build a crescendo in your process of doing housework as well. if you vacuum only your puny room (unless your room is as big as my whole house), then before you know it, you've already finished vacuuming liaoz, even before the song reaches any crescendo.. so all the floors in the house.

finally, the songs to belt out to when doing housework:

(1) forever love - leehom

(2) 我爱你 - she

(3) 黑色幽默 - jay

(4) 超快感 - sunyanzi (recommended by a friend. haven tried it myself)

(5) inside your heaven - cant decide if the bo or carrie version is betta

p/s: for those of you who do housework, you wld know wat im talking abt eh? any good suggestions for songs-to-belt-out-to-when-doing-housework?

the 50th week of 2005

2005-12-18T00:27:00.000+08:00

monday

moved stuff from present school to holding school. both my department and cca were moving on the same day, so i waz in school the whole day. then went for josh mcdowell talk. he reminded me of the importance of relationships. hence, i waz re-motivated to prioritise the building of meaningful relationships, upon which all other things are built on. and not get swept away by the swarm of work and life's other pressures day in day out.

tuesday

had to prepare for the big move on wednesday - printing out all the movement plans and route maps for different classes, confirming all the transport arrangements and reminding all my student helpers to be on time. initially, i thought i would be able to leave in the afternoon. however, in the end, i only left school around 1930 hr, coz the cd-rom had some trouble, and we had to stay back to settle it. then one of my colleagues had to bring home the conference room keys, and he had to trot all the way back from hougang to bedok (he already reached home liaoz!) to lock up the room. then we had dinner.

wednesday

the big move. din really sleep well. kept waking up. woke up at 0500 hr in the end. reached school to paste masking tapes on the parade square to tell the kids where to sit. then i helped set up the reception and gave out the necessary stuff to the home teachers. the parade went on as planned. thank God the buses and london cabs came on time, and did not cause any hiccups to the parade. then it waz the move. thank God that the teachers and students were all co-operative and helpful (like taking classes which are not their home class) and the move went on smoothly - no one met with any mishaps or waz stranded or lost. then it waz over to the holding school, where everything waz fine except the cheers sounded really weak and lifeless. then it waz a whole afternoon of after action review (aar). till 1700 hr, after which i had to rush down to my cca chalet. thank God my colleague sent me there. i waz super late (they met at 1500 to go - i only arrived around 1800+). went to bbq pit for food. students did everything. im proud of them. thankful to the teachers for helping out too. mingled around with the students. had a mini ceremony thanking the secondary 4 students. students left. had a really long talk (0130 - 0630) with one of my students.

thursday

had breakfast at changi village. played frisbee. tried to sleep, but couldnt. went for lunch at changi village. went back, played some games and ultimate frisbee. ordered pizza for dinner. bought ice-cream for the kids. played frisbee again. had a meeting with committee members, of sorts. supposed to be bonding session, but alot werent around. went to buy food for kids. went cycling. packed up/cleaned up. slept for an hr+.

friday

checked out. really thankful for the students who had initiative and were helpful. went home, slept a little. went johor bahru. watched the chronicles of narnia. ate seafood. (i like crayfish!) came back. slept like mad till 1500 hr.

saturday

woke up. went to watch king kong. went block 85 for supper. came back. blogged.

sunday (predicted)

church. lunch. ntuc. pack room. dinner. chill out. sleep.

it waz a really hectic and eventful and stressful week. waz bz everyday of the week. had to plan for the move and the chalet, and made sure things went on as they were supposed to. had many things to look out for. waz praying really hard, and am really thankful that God brought me through each day of this week, with all its challenges and stresses. with my limited self, i cldnt have completed everything well. but God gave me the strength and wisdom, as well as the help from different pples ard me. waz really really thankful. ALL GLORY TO GOD!

for apart from me you can do nothing. - john 15:5.

逆鳞

2005-11-14T22:45:00.000+08:00

2 blogs ago - thou shalt not waylay.

the first 3 lines from a new song in jay chou's new album seem to have 异曲同工之妙:

而生命对每个人都不公平也没道理只能扑向泥泞迎向那阵骤雨由不得你

突来的骤雨这条街一路泥泞就像人生不过是一场即兴
整个世界正在对我们挑衅就算如此还是得无惧前进 -- 《逆鳞*》

*夫龙之为虫也，可扰狎而骑也。然其喉下有逆鳞径尺，人有婴之，则必杀人。

the revival of board games

2005-11-12T23:32:00.000+08:00

when i waz much younger, say in my primary school years, i used to like to play BOARD GAMES. during those days, i had a really nice auntie (who is still as nice now), and she would bring all her kids, nephews and nieces for christmas shopping w/o fail each year. and each year, almost w/o fail, i would choose to buy a BOARD GAME, over other 'lesser' toys that my bro and cousins would buy, like soft toys, remote control cars and the like. although the christmas gifts have since 'degenerated' to towels (with our names sewn on), pseudo-nalgene water bottles, eagle creek bags and the like since we grew up (read: able to generate income on our own), i still retain fond memories of those times when we gathered around the BOARD and played a GAME.

during the few years when i accumulated my wealth of BOARD GAMES (though i do remember there waz a year where i did not buy a BOARD GAME, but a "10 science labs in 1" set, which, till today, is still unopened and sitting pretty with all my BOARD GAMES. for those of you who know me, im a super non-science person, so i guess i chose the set out of a sudden lapse of curiousity, a hope against hope dat i might perhaps be more interested in science-y stuff once i start magnifying specimens through a microscope, and/or perhaps a boredom of BOARD GAMES), i managed the few below:

1. 50 great games
2. anti-monopoly
3. hamburger
4. holiday
5. monopoly
6. payday

and i also played many a BOARD GAME like cluedo (is it the kitchen? is it the dagger? is it the professor?), mad magazine (i can still remember doing the put-the-card-on-top-of-your-head-and-walk-backwards-around-the players forfeit), risk, career and the like. however, in the years from secondary school onwards, it seemed like the craze (waz there even one to begin with?) for playing BOARD GAMES died down. or juz died.

until recently.

it seems dat the fire of playing BOARD GAMES has been rekindled, and the blaze has swept across the world and reached our door-steps. not only is there a website (http://www.brettspielwelt.info/) where people get to play BOARD GAMES with people all around the world, the quantity and variety of BOARD GAMES seem to have increased by leaps and bounds as well. locally, BOARD GAMES cafes (http://www.settlerscafe.com/) have sprung up and they offer as many as a whopping 290+ BOARD GAMES for customers to spend their time at the cafe to play.

well, i have not been spared from the baptism of the BOARD GAME fire, and have gotten a taste of the new league of BOARD GAMES these days. this new generation of BOARD GAMES offer more than juz fun through luck, but instead is characterized by a need for the players to "use their blains" and really pit their skills and strategies against one another in order to play well and win. this is perhaps why BOARD GAMES nowadays no longer belong to the sole propriety of kids and youngsters, but to young adults as well. (or should i say they are actually only suitable for the young adults? kids and youngsters nowadays choose to occupy their time instead with computer games notwithstanding, these BOARD GAMES are also more suitable for young adults, coz they require more thinking and patience to complete the game - not suitable for the instant generation dat our kids and youngsters belong to)

anyway, amongst the array of BOARD GAMES available on the market, i have played a couple like settlers and puerto rico. both of them are similar in nature, requiring the players to gain victory points in order to win, and in order to do dat, players have to perform a multitude of tasks like gathering resources and using them to build different sorts of buildings so as to produce goods to trade and ship away, etc. there are also other games like cranium, taboo and pictionary (which is not juz the BOARD GAME version of "win, lose or draw"; they have alot of stunts now like drawing with eyes closed, drawing with non-master hand, drawing w/o lifting the pen off the paper, etc etc), which are really interesting as well.

and i think these BOARD GAMES really do make for good programmes during gatherings. everyone gets to work their brains and interact as they play the game, instead of juz settling into mindless banter dat is sometimes gossip masquerading as fellowship.

ok, go play your BOARD GAME.

Thou shalt not waylay

2005-10-26T22:27:00.000+08:00

yest, which waz a tues, i had decided i wanted to go home at 1600 after a meeting, since ive been having so many meetings within the span of 2 meagre days. juz mon, i had meetings from 0830 to 1530 (thereabouts, possibly later). so i decided enuff waz enuff, - i needed to get out of sch asap.

however, b4 i left, i decided to walk ard to check out my cca students, as i had been doing since i came onboard. so i went around, asking students to show me wat they've learnt, or juz to talk nonsense with them. prior to this, i had gone up once to walk ard, but i went a second time round coz i promised this one kid dat i would be back to listen to his 'flight of a bumble bee'. well, the bumble bee did fly. however, i was to find out that i wasnt going to be able to take flight like the fortunate bumble bee.

as i rounded up making my rounds, and waz abt to walk back to the office to grab my bag and zao, i waz stopped by a student who almost have the same name as me, save for the middle word. but his chinese standard is nowhere the same as mine, and leaves much to be desired. (he does speak good chinese tho.. so i dunno why. bewildered they leave me, these kids.. as alwaz)

the reason for him having to waylay me waz coz the lib happened to be closing early at 1600 dat day, as the librarian had to leave early. so the sec 4s pia-ing for their o levels inside had to evacuate its premises temporarily until 1800, when the teachers on duty would come and open up the library again. UNLESS SOME TEACHER VOLUNTEERS TO PLANT HIMSELF (in this case) IN THE LIBRARY FOR THE 2 HRS. well, this student, and another, decided i had the potential to do that, and they were right! coz i didnt want to see their diligence and enthusiasm to study being upsetted by the lack of a venue. so i plonked myself in the library to do my work, while they did theirs. waylay no. 1.

at 1800, finally, as i waz about to go to the office to grab my bag and zao (sounds familiar eh..), i received a call from one of my cca student. i usually do not bring my handphone with me when im in school, but that day i did, and i waz to find out that waz not a good idea at all. the student told me, to my utter aghast, that he had brought the cca room keys home! i had to make him come back and lock up the rooms as well as return the keys. this took around 45 min, and by the time the whole fiasco waz over, it waz 1900+++. waylay no. 2.

well, anyway, on my way back home, i went to macs to get fast food, tho i should really not be eating it, coz (1) i have high cholesterol (refer to 'lipid profile'), and (2) i waz already down with flu and sore throat and cracked lips. as i waz on the bus, one stop away from home, my friend called and told me one of our friend's dad had passed away, and asked if i waz interested to go for the wake that night. i said yes immediately coz (1) tho he's not a particularly close friend, i find a certain affinity with him, and its a pity we never got to become better friends, and (2) his mum had passed away not that long ago, and he's the only son. so i thought i should and muz go, and i did.

however, to my dismay, it became nothing short of a mini gathering of his school-mates (i waz his bmt mate) half hour into the visit. after hoping for around 2 hours there would be someone i know enuff to start a conversation with, i waz sorely disappointed and took off to take a walk around the estate. (the estate, w_ _mp_ _, is really quite a nice, quaint and self-sufficient little town. i actually quite liked it!) in the end, we left ard 2330, and i reached home ard 0030. waylay no. 3.

i guess for many people, life is like a constant waylay, if i can put it that way.
while a 5-yr-old kid waz on his way to a happy family, he waz waylaid by a divorce
while jay chou and his gf were happily shopping in japan, they were waylaid by paparazzi
while some guy waz saving up for the future, his plans were waylaid by a relative who needed cash to repay some debts
while a certain group of sec 3 students were laughing their way to yet another a1 in chinese, they were waylaid by a difficult paper and a strict marker

coincidental as it may sound, juz today (a day after the 'yest' - the 1st word of this entry), as i waz having coffee with 2 other senior colleagues, they were talking about how life is alwaz so unpredictable and waylay-y. they ended up advising me to 'see things open' （看得开）, and take life in stride. i sort of agreed, but not coz life is unpredictable. instead, its precisely coz life is all part of the sovereign and perfect plan of God that i can take it in stride, come storm, thunder, rain, sun or dew.

no wonder there is a saying in chinese which goes.. 半路杀出一个程咬金。

end-note: a couple of years ago, my army buddy (which means i chiong sua-ed with him for almost a full year, before i disrupted), got waylaid by death, when he waz juz diagnosed with 'some viral infection', which deteriorated exponentially, and passed away soon after. he waz my age, in uni at that time, all ready to go for his student exchange programme in germany. we (the platoon) were at his deathbed, watching him turn purple and breathe his last. we helped to organize the funeral. we, i, we all cried buckets. his birthday waz 2 days ago. happy birthday, kelvin. waylay no. n, where n tends to infinity.

My Report Sheet

2005-10-20T19:17:00.000+08:00

here's wat some of my students said abt me after 1 sem of teaching.. i got them to answer the following million-dollar qn..

上了两个学期的华文课，你认为最大的不足是什么？

没有不足，可是太多作文。

最大的不足是女孩子太吵了，使我无法专心学习、听课。（x4） [hahah, so funny!]

太多《每周新闻谈》。

真的真的没意见！ [i already told them specifically not to write “没有、不知道或没意见之类没有主见的话” liaoz.. haiz.]

hmm.. 我觉得最大的不足就是缺乏娱乐性。我觉得应该有多点游戏或通过歌曲、电影来让我们了解华文，而不应该只读课本。 [but i already played 'who wants to be a millionaire' with them liaoz! muz be not often enuff..]

我觉得最不足的是同学们在班上发表意见的时候，其他同学都死气沉沉的。即使老师问“有没有问题？”，我们大多数都不会回答。虽然我不喜欢这样的现象，但这好像已成为我校学生的习惯，改也改不了。

功课太少。 [isnt dat wat all students want? then when you give more homework, they complain. win.]

我觉得每次在上华文课的时候，班上的同学都一直在说话。做任何作业时，他们都在说话，令我感到很烦。老师，你要严格一点。:) [i super agree.]

上课最大的不足是没有播教育性质的 video。我们看了这些 video，才会对课文有更深刻的印象。我不喜欢读 newspaper articles。You can record the whole news telecast。不过，老师你已把我们的班应付得很不错。Yeah! Well done，老师！感谢您。 ['record whole news telecast'?! best.]

我觉得很好啊。我看得出老师很用心，但不足的地方是你无法 capture 我们的 attention；就算成功了，也不能持久。但还是希望老师不会气馁，continue to work hard。感谢您！加油吧！

时间不足。（x2）

Err.. 我认为可能是有时学生不合作，把整堂课给弄 sianz 了。（老师加油！:)）

我觉得最大的不足应该就是不能好好的上课，因为有时大家都不专心。（Paiseh.. 我真的不知道要写什么）

没有娱乐节目，eg. 电影（很少） --> 几乎一年一次。哈哈。很少互动。老师太叽喳！哈哈！开玩笑！太多作文！

口试的时候让别的同学听我们的谈话内容。有时候管不了整个班。太多作文。老师华文不够好！哈哈！有时候太早来，有时候太迟来。 [come too early come too late also mistake? gosh..]

我认为没有看 VCD 的活动。这类活动能使我们能从中学到一些生字。

不够娱乐吧？

上了两个学期的华文课，我认为时间不足，因此没时间教完。 [but but but.. in fact, i taught the fastest among all the classes liaoz..]

我认为最大的不足是老师并没有制作一些富教育性质的游戏给我们玩。这类活动能让我们对华文更有兴趣。

我觉得这两个学期的华文课都过得非常地充实。我的收获与知识也丰富了！唯一必须改进的是同学们之间的团结精神。你不妨试试举行一些有关华文的游戏。可是，你现在的课已经很好了。

我认为对华文字还不大认识。因为用的字很不.. [cldnt read the last few words - handwriting abit cannot make it.]

我认为最大的不足就是上课时的纪律不好。如果能有安静与___的课室环境，就不会打扰老师教课了。

我认为最大的不足是没有练习回答理解问答。 [i super agree too. think im partly responsible for the drop in results this exams. shucks.]

我认为最大的不足是很少练习和温习。如果有足够的练习和温习，我们就可能考到比较好的成绩。 [read previous]

我认为最大的不足就是在课堂上的游戏不多。而且，由于我是很喜欢音乐的，所以我希望能用流行歌曲教课。

应该有多一点自由活动。 [?!?!?!]

最不足的就是我们无法让您好好地教我们。我们这些学生的华文程度不是很好，我们只是在考试前有准备。您也不会太无聊。虽然我们没有听你讲课，可是我们还是学到了一些东西。您也没有讲废话或叫我们做没有必要做的作业，哪像之前教我们的老师。至少你会要我们读新闻，然后写感想。这样子，我们也学了很多东西。

其实我觉得老师已经把课安排得很好了，没什么不足的地方。但我觉得老师要求我们做的 powerpoint presentation 有一点多余和 ineffective。就算我们做了课文的 presentation，也不见得我们会对课文有更深一层的了解。(we do it for the sake of doing it.) Additional notes: 其实你是我碰过最好的华文老师。因为:你不通过骂人来 capture the attention of the class*、不会太 naggy*、给的功课不算多，也挺有趣，因为可以发表意见、sociable --> 有跟着潮流走、可以接受学生开玩笑，也会跟学生开玩笑*、会播歌曲给我们听、gives constructive and encouraging comments*。last point：《每周新闻谈》 is better than doing 剪报(which is a waste of time)
* - important factor

我不晓得考试时如何练习才算足够。我也不知道如何去回答各种不同的题目，但是大部分的东西我也已经领悟到了。

我认为老师应该多教我们一些新的成语，好让我们在作文和考试时不会碰到太多困难。

那就是老师想出来的活动不够精彩。

edited for mistakes, comments in [square brackets] mine.

looking at my previous previous entry, i waz wondering if i wld be slammed by my students for commenting on their comments, and therefore getting myself into alot of trouble. (read: the recent student-read-teachers'-teacher-read-students'-blog saga)

Lipid Profile

2005-10-19T16:43:00.000+08:00

Blood Cholesterol
Normal Range
Total cholesterol level: <201 mg/dL
HDL (Good) cholesterol level: >39 mg/dL
LDL (Bad) cholesterol level: <130 mg/dL
Cholesterol/HDL ratio: <4.6

Your blood cholesterol result is as follows:
Total cholesterol level: 233 mg/dL (High)
HDL (Good) cholesterol level: 63 mg/dL (Normal)
LDL (Bad) cholesterol level: 162 mg/dL (High)
Cholesterol/HDL ratio: 3.7 (Normal)

Your cholesterol profile is elevated due to:
High Total Cholesterol
High LDL Cholesterol
Excess cholesterol is deposited in the walls of your arteries, causing hardening and narrowing. The deposits once formed, cannot be easily removed. It is important for you to lower your cholesterol level early to prevent the deposits from forming. You should lower your blood cholesterol level through diet and exercise.

ie. NO MORE seafood, NO MORE sucking the prawn heads, NO MORE suppers, NO MORE chocolates or ben & jerry's or any chocolate ice-cream, for dat matter, NO MORE (cheddar) cheese, NO MORE sucking up the half-boiled egg yolk... yada yada yada. boo. :(

this is why there had been so much blog silence over the past few wks

2005-10-10T21:43:00.000+08:00

Sedition act.

Shudder.

Silence.

(and of coz..)

Semestral Assessments. (aka exams)

apparently my laptop time is much faster than my hp and watch time

2005-09-23T05:54:00.000+08:00

ok, i know i said my nxt post, which is this post, wld be in chinese. but this post, which is this very post you are reading now, is written in the spur of a moment. and the reason why im blogging at 0555 hr on a friday morn is coz i din sleep the whole of last nite. i waz rushing out my exam papers and i din sleep a single wink. *wink* and the reason why i still have time to write this entry is coz i saw fr the laptop dat it waz 0530 hr, and dats the time i usu wake. so i rushed to pack my stuff and brush teeth and shit and bathe and change, only to realize dat i waz actually earlier than usu. it waz only 0550 hr. so i wore and socks and got ready and decided i might as well blog, since im not going to be able to blog at such a weird time very often. so there.

God is good. He pulled me thru. i muz praise Him more.

ok, time to hit the road.

12 september 2005

2005-09-12T23:30:00.000+08:00

my presents this year.. ][taken direct off my mobile, except for the 2 msn ones..][

11 sept 1413 hr, jared - Hello happy bday in advance :p [i asked him why send so early, it wasnt even my bday yet. he said wait too many things to remember he forget.. duuuurrrrrrhhhhhh]

somewhere ard 10+, xinling - weilong, can i wish you happy birthday first, in case i forget tml? [to which i replied 'isnt dat abit insincere', to which she replied 'did you (which is me) wish me (which is her) happy bday?', after which i kept silent]

somewhere in between the previous and the nxt time, bro - eh, happy birthday

12 sept 0030 hr, mum - Happy Birthday & Many Happy Returns of the Day!! Enjoy yr special day!

12 sept 0034 hr, munster - Yoohooz. Happy 26th Birthday! May God bless u abundantly n give u ur heart's desires!

12 sept 0036 hr, aaron - Blessed birthday bro!

12 sept 0044 hr, mokster - Happy Birthday WL! :)

12 sept 0629 hr, xiumei2 - 黄老师, Happie 26th Bdae! -- HO HO HO :>

12 sept 0745 hr, raymond - Oh! Happy birthday to u too, mr Wong [this guy has the same bday as me]

12 sept 0755 hr, ker min - Happy birthday mr wong! Many happy returns n smooth years in teachin. Have a fun day! :)

12 sept 0835 hr, beng - Happy birthday! Wishing many good returns ahead of you. May your wishes come true.

12 sept 0954 hr, josh tan - Happy birthday to u! Happy birthday to u! Happy birthday to wei long! Happy birthday to u! Haha a blessed wonderful birthday bro! Cheers quick tell me wat u wan

12 sept 1105 hr, dad - 伟，生日快乐。

12 sept 1113 hr, ft - Hong kong disneyland is opened today! Happy birthday... :)

12 sept 1129 hr, fengcai - Happy birthday! May all your wishes come true :)

12 sept 1206 hr, mashi - Happy birthday wong teacher. Are we go play today? Hee

12 sept 1238 hr, chen lin - Happy bday master wong!

12 sept 1319 hr, xiaowen - Happy birthday!

12 sept 1600 hr, desmondez - Happy bdae bro - desmond

12 sept 1641 hr, mumei - happy birthday..

12 sept 1700 hr, stan - Wishin ya a blessed birthday! may u shine for God in school n Find a godly wife soon :) [stan alwaz only has ONE wish for me..]

on my way back to sch, in the rain, 2 students - lao shi, happy birthday [bewildered how they found out abt my bday]

12 sept 1731 hr, may-ann - I hope you're having fun today! Hoping that school was good and that you're going to have a fun party sometime later this week... [to which i replied dat i waz still slogging in sch, trying to sound really pathetic on the sms.. hah]

as i waz flipping thru the work i left behind for my students while i waz away, some students - left happy birthday notes at the bottom of the worksheet [still bewildered how they found out abt my bday]

12 sept 1809 hr, xiumei3 (who calls herself mei nv... :x) - 哟~ 别说我这天下最美、最棒的人无情无义...好歹我也传了封一角钱的简讯，冒着电磁波的危险，浪费电池的电力~ 这样不惜成本，就是要祝你生日快乐。

12 sept 1855 hr, wei-min - hey... happy birthday!! [pleasant surprise]

12 sept 2137 hr, diana gwee - Hi weilong, blessed birthday!

12 sept 2152 hr, huijun - Dear friend, hope tis day had been meaningful n enjoyable 2 u. May God continue 2 show u His way n mold u to be more like Him. Happy birthday wif best wishes

while i waz checking my email, 2 students, one fr st pats(!) - wished me happy birthday on friendster [happeeee]

12 sept 2255 hr, caiping - Happy Birthday! You lao le yi shui le! Ha ha...

12 sept 2256 hr, chio - [msn] hey, happy birthday

12 sept 2257 hr, andreas - [msn] happy bday! [all the way fr australia]

12 sept 2311 hr, dawn - Wei Long so very sorry u had 2 stay back though it was ur birthday 2day. If u had told me earlier, would ve asked u 2 leave. Hope u still get 2 spend some time w God before clock struck 12. May the Lord richly bless u n reward u 4 ur diligence. May His grace and favour be upon always as u grow in widom. [together with caiping and 2 other colleagues, the 4 of them sang me a bday song and allowed me to blow a candle, and of coz, wished me happy bday]

12 sept 2334 hr, yuping - Hi, happen 2 c on frenster ur birthday rite? :) hope i'm not too late yet. happy birthday ya n enjoy!

..thank God for each and every one of you :)

12 september 2005

2005-09-12T23:17:00.000+08:00

well, this is the most un-birthday birthday ive had in recent yrs.

12 september 2005

2005-09-12T22:59:00.000+08:00

today, i woke up at 5am to go to sch becoz i needed to prepare lessons for my relief teachers, who will be taking over my classes as i had to go down to tiong bahru to mark n levels exam papers today. after preparing everything, as i waz abt to leave, the principal called for all the teachers to remember to sign everything they have ever needed to sign as auditors were gonna come to sch the nxt day. i heard, and i left, trodding all the way to tiong bahru for a full day of non-stop marking.

after marking well over 100 scripts, at 430pm in the afternoon, i headed back for sch, as i had to prepare lessons for the following day, as i waz gonna be absent again due to the wk-long marking. as soon as i stepped into sch, i waz the 'centre of attention'. the admin staff waz asking for my relief materials to be handed in. my dept senior teacher waz asking me to be i/c of something (the nth one ive had since i stepped into my sch..). my cca pple were asking me to help do up the accounts for - yes, you guessed it right - the auditors to come see the nxt day. and i waz left thinking: i shldnt have come back to sch to be an open target.

anyway, we slogged thru a fast-food dinner and some junk food, and piles and piles of invoices and numbers, and before we knew it, it waz 1030pm. we all took off fr the conference rm, and headed home, each having our own agendas - some to concuss, some to watch 'america's nxt top model', while others juz to be with their loved ones.

well, somewhere in between 5am and 430pm and 1030pm, at ard 7pm in the evening, i waz supposed to meet my mum for a dinner at a restaurant in tanjong pagar, but i had to turn it down last min coz i had to stay back in sch to help 'beef up the accounts'. why the dinner at some restaurant in tanjong pagar, instead of zi cha at the downstairs kopitiam, you might ask? wats the occasion?

well.. it is my birthday today. :(

its my life

2005-09-07T01:19:00.000+08:00

teacher's day came and went. during the concert perf in my sch, one of the teachers gamely ganged up with his form class to present a hair-raising perf for the whole sch, in full view of the principal and vice-principal. well, basically wat he did waz to act as a rock star, complete with a blonde wig (long hair), leather jacket and pants and tight-fitting singlet. then he lip-synched to the song 'its my life' and his students were juz moving ard on stage - rolling abt, trying to dance and act cool, etc etc.. all in all, it waz a rather interesting perf (at least it made me, and most of the sch, sit up), and its not particularly surprising for this teacher to pull such stunts. i mean, after all, he got the 'most creative (or something along this line) award' the same day.

[the above anecdote juz provides the reason for the title of this blog entry]

anyway..

reader, how has your day been?

in school

2005-08-27T19:10:00.000+08:00

the title of this post is kinda reminiscent, coz i first started out blogging during a certain module's lesson in nie. well, altho i am now most certainly not in nie anymore, i am definitely in a sch. now. at 1915 hrs. on a sat eve.

this is a real school.

and it is a real sch not bcoz it has students and teachers, and learning and teaching takes place in each and every one of the classrooms every period of the day, 5 days a week, 10 weeks a term.

this is a real school.

this is a real sch bcoz you have to update the attendance of your form class once every few wks in a system of which part of its name sounds remotely like a farm animal.

this is a real sch bcoz you might have to rush to set, administer, mark, give out 2 essay assignments in 2 wks. FOR EACH OF YOUR CLASSES. and you have FOUR.

this is a real sch bcoz each of the essays, as mentioned above, does not appear anywhere like those you see in assessment bks sold in book stores, with fancy names like 'model compositions for XXX', or 'an a-grade essay in 10 wks'

this is a real sch bcoz everything grabs at you for your attention - cca. students quarelling with cca instructors. students not coming for cca. sending students for detention. scolding cca students 5 mins before and entering a class with the same students 5 mins after, as their subj teacher, looking totally calm, as tho nothing had happened 5 mins ago.

this is a real sch bcoz you collect money fr your students for everything fr story bks to entrance fees for certain progs to fees for some comp cse

this is a real sch bcoz students do everything in the classrm, except study and listen to your lessons.

this is a real sch bcoz students discuss with you abt everything under the sun - like your dress sense, your specs, your hair, your bag, your cca, your voice, your handwriting, your words, your fav singer, your msn nick, your email addy - all, except the subj you are teaching.

this is a real sch, finally, bcoz I, a REAL TEACHER, am in it.

twenty-six

2005-08-21T01:39:00.000+08:00

There waz once a boy called
Weilong. one day, he waz told to
Eat a packet of chips,
N he did, being the accommodating guy he alwaz is. however,
There waz something fishy about the packet of chips --
Yes! it waz sour!

So, the qn, then, waz to find out why the packet of chips waz sour.
Instead of panicking, he decided to first scrutinize the packet of chips. it waz fine,
Xcept dat the flavour waz SOUR CREAM.

heh.

wednesday, september 15, 2004

2005-08-16T21:30:00.000+08:00

before you go any further, go to the blog entry stated above.

then read this.

the complete gnoliew W.I.S.H. (What I Should Have) list:

1. a happy family
2. decent savings
3. cds - john jackson, oudeyang, sunyanzi (coming out), jay chou (coming out)
4. samsung e730c
5. be debtless
6. eternally more sleep
7. holiness
8. more love for my family
9. closer closer closer to Jesus
10. lasting deep real connectedness to my students
11. a sling bag the size between my giant crumpler and the semi-mini black scout bag
12. more happz short-sleeved shirts
13. more happz polo tees
14. definitely more happz tees
15. and definitely more happz berms
16. my dad, mom, bro to go to church with me
17. my dad, mom, bro to see Jesus
18. my dad, mom, bro to know Jesus
19. my dad, mom, bro to accept Jesus
20. a room dat tidies itself up
21. a major party where i see all, and i really mean all (ie fr pre-pri to pri to sec to jc to uni to army to nie to now) my friends
22. then again, mabbe not..
23. real repentance
24. brokenness
25. total 'sold-out'-ness to Jesus
26. dat 27 would come slower..

initial d

2005-08-14T00:00:00.000+08:00

my students will definitely want to read this blog, looking at the title, coz some of them totally dig jay chou.

anyway, this entry isnt about jay chou, or even the movie. at least not entirely.

its not a totally fantastic movie, but its prolly worth a 7 or 8 dollars.

anyway, almost halfway into the movie, jay's character's father, anthony wong, reminisces about his heydays. he began mentioning about how he sent his kiddo to deliver toufu once, and dat waz how jay's character became so skilled in drifting (hence the 'd' in the title, fyi).

so here's jay's character's training programme (fr s3 branch, for those informed.. heheh):
basically, he kept driving along the unending and winding and traffic-light-LESS road until the time he clocked got faster and faster.

one night, he had a minor accident, and all except the toufu escaped unscathed - the toufu waz totally smashed. as a result, he got smashed by his dad as well. undaunted, however, being the former drifting champion dat he waz, jay chou's character's father decided to further train his son.

THIS TIME ROUND, HE PUT A CUP OF WATER IN THE CAR DAT JAY CHOU'S CHARACTER WAZ SUPPOSED TO DRIFT IN. CRITERIA: JAY CHOU'S CHARACTER TO COME BACK FROM HIS DELIVERY WITHOUT LETTING A SINGLE DROP OF WATER COME OUT OF THE CUP.

the first time round, jay chou's character took 2 hrs to get back. then as he got betta and betta, he began to get back in less than 1/2 hr.

reflection (the buzzword of the civil service these days):
(a) as you speed along the unending and winding and traffic-lightFULL road of life, have you gotten into enough on-the-road mishaps to get your DOUFU SMASHED? (your doufu cld read: family, personal life, friendships, spiritual/mental/emotional condition(s), etc... not in any order of importance)

(b) or worse, you've been speeding so happily and nonchalantly (like jay chou's character in the movie) dat you have even TOTALLY FORGOTTEN TO DELIVER YOUR DOUFU? (otherwise translated as: you've been so caught up in the rat/cat/dog/tiger/lion/fox/wolf/elephant race of life dat you've forgotten wat you actually set out to do)

(c) do you have A CUP OF WATER to keep you safe and straight on the road of life?

(d) if you do, WAT DOES YOUR CUP OF WATER CONTAIN? spirit or soda? does it contain the Spirit of God or does it contain only Soda, which fizzles out readily?

i should become a movie critic. i recently made my students watch wu jian dao and write a movie review. fun enuff.

beezee

2005-08-10T03:59:00.000+08:00

ok. so i haven been blogging for a million yrs.

lesevit

2005-07-04T15:11:00.000+08:00

there can be a million and one reasons to disregard an order to go back for reservist. here are some:

1. if it clashes with the first day you report for work which, for me, is the first day of school, which means

2. i was unable to meet my students when school started. and any self-respecting teacher will know that the first time you see your students is, perhaps, the most important time - coz dats where you'll do all the self-intro and set all the grd rules. so yeah, i wasnt able to do all dat. (as a result, they had to send in a relief teacher, who made them do compo. so i have like 5/6 stacks of compos waiting for me to mark even b4 i start teaching. best)

3. if it also clashes with the last wk of sch hols which, for govt-employed educators in s'pore, is the wk of staff meeting. so yeah, i missed the first ever staff meeting i was slated to attend. and as a result, i was unable to get my timetable - which means, 1 wk into the 3rd term of the yr, and i still do not know which classes im taking. and i have not seen any of my students yet. dat juz doesnt sound gd, does it?

4. if it also clashes with oral exams briefing and the oral exams proper, for which i am an examiner. so yeah, i missed the briefing, and therefore does not have the slightest idea how to give oral exams when i do go for the oral exams. as a result, i also missed 2 days of oral exams - so they had to look for a replacement.

5. if it clashes with graduation day which, thankfully, i was given some time-off for. but it meant troubling my friend to try on and collect and pay for my gown and transcript and bringing it for me on the day of the ceremony.

6. if you are posted to a unit dat is not your original unit, and you feel utterly sianz dat there's not gonna be anyone you really know, and dat you'll be all alone. ok, this reason is purely my own. im juz whining.

7. if you juz dun feel like it.

8. if its juz VERY BAD timing. but then its gotta be a bad timing for someone at any one time. so.. BOBIAN. anyhow, i did try to defer, and my principal kindly faxed in a letter for me as well. but my reasons were not not valid enough, apparently.

apparently, there arent a million and one reasons for deferment - generally, there are only 8:
(http://www.miw.com.sg/publish/MIWPORTAL/public/mindef_services/deferment/Deferment-FAQ.html)

1. new employment
2. newly-estd business
3. examinations
4. marriage/honeymoon
5. wife's delivery
6. serious illness of next-of-kin
7. simultaneous call-up of 2 or more NSmen who are employed in the same capacity in the same department
8. representation in regional/international games

yeah, so too bad for me.

Tree Top Walk

2005-06-08T18:51:00.000+08:00

ok, today i woke up at 830am, when the weather waz cool and rainy and sleepy, to trod all the way to macritchie reservoir (fr bedok) to go for the tree top walk, which i waz quite excited abt. when my yoda-ic friend first suggested it, i waz quite onz abt it, and jumped at the invitation.

but i waz soon to regret. the rain bluffed by faking a fine weather, altho it waz totally betrayed by the grey clouds all above us. when we reached the reservoir and were on our way to the map board to find out how to get to the tree top walk, it poured monkeys and squirrels. we had to scurry to a food place, where we thought at least we cld have a gd breakfast. well, i spent two hundred and seventy cents lor. on wat? a bah bao and a cup of ice milo. *kill pple put fire* (and the boss still dare come and borrow our newspaper)

anyway, then the rain tried to bluff again by trying to act drizzly, so nice innocent trusting us decided to hit the road in search of our (by now more and more elusive) tree top walk. while we were crossing this zigzag bridge to the map board (yes, we are still looking for the map board), it poured again! this time cats and dogs and monkeys and squirrels. best. since we were at the middle of the bridge already, it waz as drenchy either way, so we decided to run to the map board anyway. thankfully, there waz a shelter nearby.

2 complaints:
1. why did the bridge have to be zigzag? cant they juz make it straight so dat we wun get as drenched as we did?
2. we realized, to our utter horror, the tree top walk is on the other side of the reservoir, which is some whopping 5km away. and in this weather, it seemed like 50km.

anyway, thankfully, the rain did finally really un-bluffedly stop. (wah lau, these days, even rains lie - wat is the world coming to?!) so we trodded on, deciding since we were here, we muz see the tree top walk for wat its worth, regardless of the distance.

little did we realize it waz not juz the distance dat waz daunting. coz of the rain, the ground waz muddy. the route there took the form of 4 main types of roads: (1) muddy (2) gravel (3) paved (4) slopey. my friend, who waz wearing slippers, suffered the momentary slips and had tattoos of dirt and sand and wet flora on both his calves. beautiful. as for me, by the grace of God, thankfully, i did not wear slippers today! wat kind of miracle is dat man! also, the terrain waz fairly undulating. the upslopes were not too steep, but went on long enough to make you pant each stretch. but of coz the amazing thing abt life is if there's an up, there's alwaz a down. my friend and i were thinking it'll be quite cool to cycle DOWN. wheeeeeeee..

also, the road signs along the way (telling us the direction to turn at junctions and the dist left to the tree top walk) were highly demoralizing, coz each time we saw a sign, it only meant we had travelled a mere 300m or so. sianz.

anyhow, after an arduous journey up, we finally reached the tree top walk. not breathtaking, as i thought and/or hoped it wld be, but high enough to be bright and scary. now the bridge waz really a hanging bridge, with no columns watsoeva below to support it. as you walk across it, you wld be standing on drain cover-like stuff, which means you can see right thru your feet to where you might fall over if you jumped down. kinda scary, with the vertigo kind of feeling. i believe my feet actually went soft a little. and coz the side railings were also see-thru stuff, it made the whole bridge really naked and unsupportive, and dat made it scarier. it waz then i told my friend, "i wonder how i dared to bungee jump 8 yrs ago. i muz have been mad." mad i muz have been.

ok, enough of crap. the real stuff. view-wise, we are supposed to be able to see monkeys and squirrels (no, not rain. real monkeys and squirrels), snakes and birds and trees of different kinds. however, due to the weather (i think), we only saw the monkeys, who were really agile jumping on and off the bridge onto the trees, and hanging everywhere on the bridge, all these while clearly aware (or so i thought) dat if they fell, they will definitely die. there were these placards along the bridge helping us to identify the types of trees and plants we shld see if we stood where the placards are, but i din really take note of those. there were also no snakes and birds, coz they were prolly bz snuggling under the warm mud or in the bird nest, taking shelter fr this this this.. weather. another thing, the bridge is one-way.

so we had to go down the other way, down a long flight of steps, and i mean it, its really super duper long. now, the irritating thing abt this is dat you have to walk all the way back to where we started in order to find civilization again. however, being avid map-readers, we managed to find a mildly shorter (3.6km as compared to the original 5km) route out to lornie rd, where we took a bus home. lesson learnt? go in fr lornie rd, where the entrance to the singapore island country club is. not fr the carpark where pple usu gather when they go macritchie reservoir.

anyhow, its supposed to be called hsbc tree top walk (http://www.nparks.gov.sg/nparks_cms/display_level2.asp?parkid=8&catid=9). its a gd experience lah, tho i write until like super cannot make it. its only coz of the weather. as i waz there, i thot of a trg prog for budding sch sports teams or uniformed grps:
1. start running fr the carpark (so dat you can get the gd 5km workout) - the slopes and gravel will also do well to train those leg muscles adequately.
2. as you reach the bridge, dat will be the time for a gd rest. enjoy the fresh air and birdy chirps. the 200m walk will also do well to give the leg muscles enough rest before you..
3. start hopping thru the long flight of stairs. guarantee to jelly-fy those leg muscles at the end of it.

you know those movies where they show some sports team or some swat wannabes going for boot camp? yeah, they do the (almost) same kind of trg as those suggested above. happz.

oh, and i dinno the hsbc tree top walk is so popular - i put 'i juz went to macritchie reservoir's tree top walk' as my msn nick, and there were at least 5 pple who asked me abt it.

Bomb: Red II

2005-06-08T18:35:00.000+08:00

ok, i know there has been too much ramblings abt weddings and un-weddings on my blog already. so im gonna stop. but before i do dat, i have one last thing to say. this one juz tops everything else and rounds up this topic nicely.

[refer to Bomb: Red]

as mentioned in [1], 2 of my sec sch friends got married last yr - i attended one wedding, but not the other. as mentioned in [3], another of my sec sch friend getting/got married in june - the christian wedding one (which waz nicely done, i thought) - and i attended it.

AS I WAZ AT THE WEDDING DINNER HAPPILY EATING MY SUPER FRESH PRAWNS [oh, btw, grand plaza parkroyal hotel has quite nice food, albeit a rather small (read: 35 tables max, squeezily) ballroom] AT MY TABLE, THE FRIEND FROM [1] HINTED 她有了 TO FEND OFF MY ARROW WHEN I ASKED HER TO ORGANIZE THE NEXT CLASS OUTING.

it juz gets betta, aint it?

ok, i promise i will stop here abt weddings. for now.

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	off-in-lieu holiday
	my birthday
	some birthday
	release of chinese o level results

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