iamwaimun

k

2009-04-08T13:29:00.002+08:00

Scenes from the past

2009-01-14T12:57:00.009+08:00

This is my 1st post in 2 years!!

Guess what!!!! Hollywood is coming out with the following 2 movies in the upcoming year :

These 2 movies are based on one of my fav cartoons I have watched when I was young. They certainly bring back lots of memories!

There is a trend of old movies or shows in the 70s and 80s being remade. This brings to mind certain wise words that I have read before :

What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again;

there is nothing new under the sun.

Is there anything of which one can say,

"Look! This is something new"?

It was here already, long ago;

it was here before our time.

Therefore, it is always important to learn from history and past experiences of others. We do have to allow to history repeat itself.

FOOD for thought

2007-09-11T15:24:00.000+08:00

A friend just emailed me a series of photos of the type and cost of food families from different country keep in their houses.

Guess which country stores the most and expensive food =)

A thought came to my mind as I saw the photos. The family staying in the refugee camp has the least amount of food (US $1.23 in cost). Yet, looking at the photo, the family seems contended and happy. In fact, looking through all the photos, all the families seem quite happy.

Well, happiness depends not on the amount of food that we can bring to the table but the deep relationships that are build across it!

I am a Salt & Light!

2007-05-21T16:10:00.000+08:00

Recently, I was challenged by someone to be a

SALT & LIGHT

Of cos, some of you out there may be wondering what does being salt & light means? Is it to be MSG to someone =) Or is it to be "电灯炮" =) To enlighten you, being salt means adding flavor and enrich people when you are with them. Being a light means to direct someone out of darkness and guide the person through difficult situations.

Basically, the person was encouraging me to be MAD : Made A Difference in someone life.

Coincidentally, I met one of my X-student Michelle after that. A thought came to my mind : Was I a Salt & Light to her during the time I was teaching her. Therefore, I ask her whether she minded doing a write-up on me by answering the 3 qns below :

a) How did you meet Mr Lam (that's why they call me)?

b) What is 1 strength of Mr Lam?

c) What is 1 weakness of Mr Lam?

I will post her answers to these 3 qns over the next 3 blogs entries =) Tuned in to see was I a Salt & LIght or a Terror of Bukit Merah (1 of my student gave me that nickname) !!!

Hopefully, I was not like one of these "terrific" teachers found in this funny Jap advestisement =OP

Da WaiMun COde : - + - = More -

2007-05-04T10:09:00.000+08:00

This past few weeks, I had read articles on New Papers of youths blogging or putting videos online about their wild "Xperience" - Fighting, Bullying, Flaming friends, etc.

A thought came to my mind :

Negative + Negative = More Negative!

Negative + Positive = Less Negative or 0 or More Positive

Positive + Positive = More Positive

As you can see, I think like a Maths student (Becos I was a maths teacher ) =)

Before you go and break my Da WaiMun Code, let me decipher it for you :

When the environment is already negative being more negative would make it more negative.

However, if we choose to be positive in spite of the negative environment, we would induce a positive change to it. The environment becomes less negative. If we continuously add in positive influence, the environment would be transformed from negative to positive.

To cut my whole theory short, let me summarize what I am saying.

The internet is a powerful tool that we can communicate our thoughts, beliefs and values to people. We have in a sense TOTAL FREEDOM to use this POWER. Yet with this POWER comes RESPONSIBLITY.

Sadly, some of us choose to use the internet in a irrespsonsible way. We use it to vent out our frustrations on people. We entertain ourselves and have fun at the expense of others. We put shocking content to attract attraction and yet did not consider the effect on thers. The scary thing is that some of us are influenced to a extent that we believe being NEGATIVE is COOL as we are with the HAPPENING crowd =(

The end result of all this is that we make the environment in the Cyber Space more NEGATIVE and after surfing through it, we can pick up NEGATIVE attitudes, values or behaviour.

Let us be different and choose to be a POSTIVE influence in the Cyber Space. Be a Cyber user that INSPIRE others through POSITIVE behaviour on the net! For example, write a blog entry that encourages others to press in despite the difficulties. Put a video on youtube that brings a smile to people and give them hope for their problem.

Let adopt the renewed attitude that :

It is COOL to be POSITIVE!

Mission IMpossible

2007-04-30T12:50:00.000+08:00

Putting up a LAME entry to chase away the Monday Blues. So do excuse me =)

I had a enjoyable movie outing with 3 of my colleagues and a common friend (Ee Jay, Anthony, Kelly, Angela) last sat. Over the course of dinner, someone (u guess who =P ) came up with a cheesy lines to get to know a girl. It goes something like this.... .

Guy A : Hi. Do you want to go on a MISSION?
Girl B : What mission?
Guy A : MISSION IMpossible
Girl B : Huh??? What do you mean?
Guy A : It is a MISSION of seeing if I M Possible for you!

Haha, try this cheesy lines at your own risk. =) Hopefully you would not be making the mistake of your life. Speaking of mistakes, here are some mistakes from the movie IMPOSSIBLE 2

It is more blessed to give!

2007-04-26T17:06:00.000+08:00

Read a wonderful story this morning. It is a excerpt from a book "Moments of Grace" written by Patrice Gaines. it is one of the many introspective accounts from this book, in which she attempts to reach out to those around her.

The story can be long but do read it to the end. It is very touching! =)

I was sitting on a park bench at lunchtime when I noticed out of the corner of my eye a homeless person, a young man who looked to be in his mid-20s.

My first thought was "Don't walk over there." Then I decided,"If he comes, I'm going to talk t him like he is just another person, not like he is homesless."

The guy came over, of course. I smiled. He saw my braces and flashed a big smile with the worst-looking mouth I've ever seen. His teeth were yellow and brown, terribly strained, and he had some kind of thick wire acorss them.

"These aren't braces," he said, laughing. " A man punched me. We were arguing. He broke my jaw. I had to get it wired."

"Sounds painful," I said.

"Not anymore," he said. "That's whyI didn't go back to the hospital."

"You should get it checked," I said, wincing not only from thoughts of pain but also because he smelled pretty bad. But I composed myself, remembering my promise.

"Would you have any money to help me buy lunch?" He hestitated a second, then pointing to a vending truck, he added : "I'm going right over there to buy a hot dog."

He was probably used to people thinking he was begging for money to buy liquor or drigs. I gave him a dollar. Before he walked away, his personality changed. "I believe I could change my life for you," he said, flirting.

"Don't change for me. Change for yorself," I said, quickly slipping into one of my philosophy speeches.

"Oh, don't do that to me," he said, serious again.

I quickly understood. He just wanted to be a "regular" guy flirting with a woman, For a split second, I considered how long it must have been since a woman on a street just let him be a regular guy and had not been offended by his come-ons.

I gave him the pleasure of a return flirt. "I bet you would change for me," I said.

After a while, I saw the guy walk over to a bed of flowers, bend down and pick some of the flowers. I looked up to see him standing in front of me with his hands behind his back.

"Promise not to laugh at me," he said. "I would never laugh at you,"I said.

He pulled the bonquet of flowers from behind his back and handed them over to me.

"Th-th-this isn't much,"he said, stuttering for the first time, "Y-y-you're a nice lady."

"Thank you," I said, rising to leave. "It's not for the dollar," he said. "Anyone could give me a dollar."

He must have had second thoughts because he said to himself, though loud enough for me to hear :"She'll probably throw them away.:

I turned to face him,"I would never throw them away. If I didn't want them, I wouldn't have taken them."

He winked and as I crossed the street, walking away, he yelled,"I'd give up liquor for you,girl! I'll chnage my ways!"

I used to think that you had to give money to be rewarded for your giving. I ignored the importance of giving time. But since then, I have discovered that sometimes your time is of greater value to those who need help than your money could ever be.

Personally, I am touched by this story because what the homeless man needed most was not just money but the fact that someone gave him TIME and also gave him DIGNITY and RESPECT as a person.

There are times when I would give advice to people in need or in trouble. Yet after reading this story, I realise that maybe they heard all the advice people had been lecturing them about. What these people need is not for someone to treat them as a "wrong-doer" or "criminal" but for someone to make them feel that you care for them as a person and instead of making them feel "condemned" and "unworthy" to restore them and tell them that they are forgiven and worthy.

I am not a Pervert

2007-04-09T18:40:00.000+08:00

Today, I smsed someone this.....

"Ok. I hav a porno video. U want?"

Before any of you cast a stone in my direction, let me explain. =) I am not a porno distributor nor do I watch porno. I totally believe that porno is damaging and have serious effects on us.

Well, this is what actually happened. I was in the middle of teaching a class when my colleague smsed me about the next class. As we were going to teach on PorNo in the next class, I wanted to tell her that I have a video on the danger of Porn and whether she wanted to upload it to show her class.

But in the rush of wanting to get the message across, I came up with a BOO BOO =) Nearly got into misunderstanding that I wanted to show my colleague Porn. Haha

As I reflect on this incident, some thoughts came to my mind :

Firstly, Sometimes, in our rush and impatience to get a message across, we can send the wrong message and cause misunderstanding and hurts to others. I myself am guilty of speaking out words to others that were hurtful even though at times it is the truth or I wanted to correct the person out of good intention. But saying out the truths in an unloving manner can wound someone and for him or her to reject the truth.

Secondly, in this age of where everything is so instant (instant mee, instant email, instant blogging, etc), have we become so fast moving that we forgot to reflect where we are heading and how we are growing as a person. A lot of times, I find myself just wanting instant results and get the work done that I do not care about the process. In the end, the end becomes more important the journey. Some people would not care what manner they go to the top as long as they are at the top. Yet I think the journey of getting to the end is just as important as getting there.

Guess what is my take-away from this :
- Learn to be slow to speak, quick to listen and slow to anger.

- I should slow down and smell the roses at times. Learn to appreciate the people around me and enjoy them for who they are instead of just rushing them to be what I expect them to be.

I am awake!!! Coffee helps!

2007-03-24T18:37:00.000+08:00

Been busy for the last month that I have not been able to update anything. =) Well decide to update with a email sent me from my friend.

Food for Thought ~ Coffee

A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university lecturer.

Conversation soon turned intocomplaints about stress in work and life. Offering his guests coffee, the lecturer went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and anassortment of cups: porcelain, plastic, glass, some plain-looking and some expensive and exquisite, telling them to help themselves to hot coffee.

When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the lecturer said: "If you noticed, all the nice-looking, expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is but normal for you to wantonly the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the better cups and are eyeing each other's cups."

Now, if life is coffee, then the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain life, but the quality oflife doesn't change. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee in it.

Don't let the cups drive you...enjoy the coffee.

I guess the value we need to learn after reading this story is : CONTENTMENT.

The question we should be asking ourselves is : "Do I take time off to count and enjoy my blessings?" E.g Take time off to enjoy time with our family and friends. Do something that we like jogging or reading a book.

I pray that we all can learn the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want!

I am BEAUTIFUL =oP

2007-02-10T17:32:00.001+08:00

Recently, there was an advertisement on TV, TV mobile and MRT stations that really caught my eyes. And the only way for me to share why it caught my eyes is to let you see it. I manage to find one similar advertisment in you-tube that was shown overseas. Enjoy!

Interesting advestisment, right =) It is an adverstisement for

Campaign for Real Beauty

This could me into thinking........What is this campign about????

Went to the website www.campaignforrealbeauty.com.sg and found out this is a campaign started by Dove to raise the self esteem of girls and women.

"Every day we are bombarded by hundreds – if not thousands – of airbrushed images of “beauty”… images with the power to affect how we see our bodies and our selves.

But who defines these beauty standards? How can we turn the tide of such beauty pressures and encourage young girls and women everywhere to embrace a more positive body image? We believe it’s time to find the answers… with your help.

Too many girls develop low self-esteem from hang-ups about looks and, consequently, fail to reach their full potential in later life.
So, Dove created the Dove Self-Esteem Fund as an agent of change to educate and inspire girls on a wider definition of beauty."

(Taken from www.campaignforrealbeauty.com.sg/dsef/temp1.asp?id=6495)

Personally, I do agree that the media does affect our perspection of who we are and how we feel about ourselves. We may unconciously feel inferior or ugly because we do not measure up to the stars as shown on TV or movies. Honestly, I think the girls shown in the advestisement looks pretty. Yet they do not feel so because they feel they do not mesure up to what the media protrays as beauty =(

Well, I think we all need a change of mindset :

Look not at the outer beauty

but at the inner beauty!

Outer beauty will fade away but the inner beauty of a person in terms of his character and substance will last the ages!

Now the next important question I will like to ask is :

When they will start a campaign to help us guys get a true picture of manhood? =)

Q2

2007-02-03T15:19:00.000+08:00

After posting about Queuing in my entry "Q Q Q Q Q", I was pleasantly surprised when an article came up on Sunday Times (28 Jan 2007 article) titled “Great Singapore Q” by Michelle Tay.

It was an article on Singaporeans who would queue up for their favourite food or die-die-must-have goodies. The twin national pastimes of shopping and eating have bred a third : queuing.

What caught my eye was this comment made by one of the people interviewed :
She stood in line for an hour and 45 minutes to buy 5 dozen donuts because she had read about the outlet in LifeStyle last week.
Her daughter was with her on her day off. Both stood patiently in line “just to find out if the donuts are as good as reported”. Unfortunately, “they were just so-so.”

How many of us have similar experience?

We follow the crowd and join the queue to get something everyone is raving about. E.g.

eat a famous food, watch a movie,
buy the latest model of car,
get the hottest property

Yet when we get the thing we have been queuing up for, we find that it is not as great as people had made up to be. The food is so-so. The show is good but could be better.

This is called the follow-the-herd mentality. Well, there is nothing wrong with it. Sometimes, we do need to help us make choices especially in things we are not so sure about.

However, I think it can become a problem when you waste too much of your time, money and effort on it. For the things we are queuing up for are only temporal and the satisfaction they gives us are not everlasting :

the food only tastes good while in your mouth
the movies can bring tears or joy while you are watching it
the car would be scarped in 10 years time
the house may be nice but it is the people living in it that made the difference.

At the end of the day, let queue up for the RIGHT stuff : Things that last and have more lasting value !

Found a you-tube video that shows in a funny way what I am trying to say. Enjoy!

Teacher Prayer.. And it is not to make the whole class disappear =)

2007-01-29T19:09:00.000+08:00

Today I was teaching at NBSS (guess which school is this =P ). As I was walking out of the school, I saw something inspiring on the notice board.

A Teacher's Prayer
James J. Metcalf

I want to teach my students how to live this life on earth,

To face its struggles and its strife And to improve their worth

Not just the lesson in a book, Or how the rivers flow,

But to choose the proper path, Wherever they may go.

To understand eternal truth, And know right from wrong,

And gather all the beauty of A flower and a song,

For if I help the world to grow In wisdom and grace,

Then I feel that I have won And I have filled my place.

And so I ask your guidance, God That I may do my part,

For character and confidence And happiness of heart.

I really enjoy my job as a CRuSH trainer. Yet at times, I do get tired by the teaching and take it as just a job. As a result, I can become functional when I interact with my students.

This prayer really inspires me that it is not just knowledge, rules or know-how I want to pass on to the students. But I do hope to impart to them the passion to live life, the joy of discovering who they are, the love for people and the wisdom to know right or wrong.

Of cos, this seems impossible! Well with man it is impossible. The only thing i can do is learn from my Master Teacher up there =)

Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q

2007-01-25T10:08:00.000+08:00

I have a question for you :

What is something that you had queuedor would queue up overnight for?

Can you humour me and think for a while =)Think…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Think some more……………………………………………………………………………………..

Okay, what is your answer? I asked around and these were 3 answers I got from some people :

Hello Kitty!!! (there was a craze 10 years ago)

See a super star!!!

(www.kpopmusic.co.uk/posts7756-highlight.html )

To sign up for Project Superstar!!!!

(www.8tv.com.my)

Well, this question came to my mind after I read that more than 15,000 people queued up to get the new expansion pack of World of Warcraft last Tuesday at Suntec.

These people must be real passionate about the game. Imagine the things one has to endure through the long period of waiting time: boredom, tiredness, weather conditions (think it rained on Tuesday), etc.

But I can imagine the joy of getting your hands on the expansion pack and going home to explore the new WOW maps as well level up to the new levels.

However, it is important to be balanced and realistic when it comes to such joy. I got worried when I read in the newspaper of people who spent the whole week playing WOW new expansion and neglect their own needs, families and friends.

Like it or not, we may be high level characters in the game and had lots of treasures. But all these are VIRTUAL (not real). If the game crash, we lose it all. But each one of us has a REAL life with a REAL character. We also have real treasures. These are the people in our lives : our families, friends, colleagues, etc. We need to make effort to level up our real character and seek and store up these treasures of relationships by looking out for their needs.

My motto of the week :

LEVEL UP YOUR REAL CHARACTER

STORE UP REAL TREASURES OF RELATIONSHIP

Side note : Hmm, maybe you are wondering, ”What would I queue up overnight for?” Honestly, I think I would not really queue up for anything. I am quite functional. For example, I always go for the shortest queue when I buy lunch at food court. If I do queue, it would be queuing up for something that a family member or friend wants.

This is CREATIVE, TOUCHING, full of LOVE and is in NJC!

2007-01-17T17:18:00.001+08:00

Stumbled onto this trailer on a book when a student emailed me a chain-mail =)

Subject: FW: A Sad Singapore Junior College Love Story!
Date: Fri, 12 Jan 2007 19:48:05 +0800
Hi,
I just came across this very touching local love story! Joanna is a 17 years old student in National Junior College. Like any other Singaporeans, she lives in a HDB flat and eats at coffeeshop. But she believes that she has a curse: She believes that whatever negative things that she said will come true.

Jacky, a classmate of Joanna, believes that Joanna is not suffering from any curse. He believes that Joanna is just suffering from some mental illness. When their paths crossed, a touching love story began.

Read their bittersweet love story at http://www.goodybooks.com/ibelieveyou.htm ! Over ten thousand readers in Singapore had read their story: now it¡¯s your >turn!>>You can watch the video trailer of the story at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIDRtEOLWiU

What a CREATIVE way to sell a book! Basically, you can go to the website http://www.goodybooks.com/ibelieveyou.htm to read Chapter 1 to 17. Then if you want to know the ending, you pay money to get the last 3 chapters.

Btw, I personally find this trailer quite TOUCHING.

But what amazes me that it was done only with simple pictures, a few captions and nice music. Simple and yet touching.

Try switching off your comp sound and watch the U-tube video. Clearly, you can see that the music does make a big difference! Make you enter into the mood of the story. That shows the power of music and its impact it can have on us.

As for the story, I think it should be quite full of LOVE. But I do not have the time to read through all the chapters. Can someone please tell me the ending =) Save me time and money!

Of cos, this story may make some of us wish that we can also experience this kind of pure and eternal love. Well we need not get a major illness to have it =) We must be realistic that real love is not so airy-fairy. We need to work hard in growing in love. And what better way to start than to start loving the loved ones in our lives : our parents, teachers, friends!

The best part of the whole story that the 2 lovers are from NJC. I am from NJC too!

Gaming for Life!

2007-01-11T14:46:00.000+08:00

I have been gaming since I was Secondary One. Some of the games that I played back then were Atari Defender, Pacman and King Quest.

By the looks of these games, you can surely guess how “ancient” I am. =)

Gaming to me was a way to have fun and live out fantasy personalities in alternative worlds. In short, it was a form of escape from reality into the virtual world.

However, there was a period of time when I found myself escaping into the virtual world and refuse to come out of it. I actually played non-stop for 5 whole days to complete a game called Dungeons and Dragons. Instead of me controlling the gaming, the game controlled me. I was literally “Gaming for Life” such that the game took complete control of my life.

That is why I can identify with this video on a WOW addict on U-tube. I was like him once =( I am also touched by his sister’s concern and plea for help.

It is good to hear from you with regards to gaming. Do comment on the following questions:
a) What are some of your thoughts after watching the video?
b) If you are the sister of the man, what advise would you give to him?
c) When you play online games, how long you play? What is your motivation?
E.g. relax, spend time with friends, like the feeling of winning, to level up, etc
d) Do you think you are excessive in your gaming? If yes, what are some things you would like to do to balance your gaming?

I am Back!

2007-01-09T18:57:00.000+08:00

I have not been writing in my blog for the last 2 months. Been busy with work and church.

This is my 1st (and hopefully) not last posts in 2007! And what better way to start the year then by setting my new Year resolutions!

Here is my top 3 new year resolutions (not in any order of priority but in the order of what comes to my mind now =oP )

1. To write 1 blog entry every week

Recently, I had lunch with my JC CCA mates. One of them mentioned that he enjoyed reading my blogs. I was so touched that my blog actually encouraged someone. I also was very touched when I read the tag boards and pple asked about why I stopped blogging.

I do have things to blog and inspiration does come. But I just never pen them down. Well I resolve not to let my loyal readers be disappointed =)

2. To run 42 km Std Charted Marathon by end of the year!

This yaer I ran only 10 kn. Found it a waste of time & money. Imagine waking up at 5am, take cab down and take the hassle of a big crowd just to run 10km. And I paid $35 for it =( I could have stay home and run at my house.

Therefore, I am going to make my money and trouble worth by running all 42 km of it! ANyone want to train and run with me? I starting to jog 5 km 3 times a week.

3. To spend more time at home and get to know my nieces better!

Did I ever mention that my 2nd brother has 2 cute daughters. They stayed over at my house during the day while my brother and sister-in-law worked. But sad to say, I seldom goes home early. By the time I am back, they would have left. I was quite sad when the elder daughter refuses to greet me. Worst still is that I made the youngest daughter (she is only 1 yr old) cried when I carried her.

I am going to make effort to go jome earlier and spend more time with them. There is nothing more important than family!

May this be the year of BREAKOUT for U and Me!

Speak Up!

2006-11-06T19:53:00.000+08:00

Yesterday, I received a certification of participation that I am quite proud of!

Yeah! I took part in a preaching contest in my church!

Basically I had to stand in front of an open hall and speak to the crowds. To be honest, I do not really like to talk in front of a large crowd (very few people like to).

In fact, when I used to be a shy person. I barely talked and preferred listening than talking. Some of the shyness was because I had low self esteem and was not confident in sharing my thoughts. I felt they were not good enough and people were not interested.

I remembered I was so shy that once I waited at the bus stop for 15-20 minutes with a class-mate and did not even spoke to him. He was so frustrated that he asked me out in exasperation : “Why are you so quiet!” Btw, he was 1 of the most patient person I know and yet I wore him down. =( But

Thank God that I have changed over the last few years. With the encouragements of friends and mentors, I start to grow in confidence about myself and see the VALUE that is in me.

Though I may not be talented in certain areas compared to some of my friends, I do have unique talents =) At the same time, I am SPECIAL just like everyone around me!

Hope this encourages you to speak up and share your inner worlds with people! Btw, the organizer had made a U-tube of my sermon (they did it for all contestants). But I am not going to tell you where is it. =) Have fun searching for it!

World without Strangers!

2006-10-28T17:12:00.000+08:00

In my previous entry, I wrote that someone wanted to add me in his or her "Love Happens" network.

A thought came to my mind. Why someone would wants to put me in his or her list of friends when both of us are total strangers? I did not put my picture and particulars in my profile.

That is when I realise that I am truly in a different generation. =) I am OLDbie!

People nowadays are so comfortable in using such online social network to meet people from all over the world and even to find boyfriends and girlfriends. It is a WOLRD WITHOUT BOUNDARIES AND STRANGERS!

Well, this OLDbie still has some advice for the YOUNG ONES out there.

We should celebrate the wonders of internet and the power given to all of us to touch base with the world at the touch of a finger on our computer.

Yet we should still exercise caution for with great power comes great responsibility. If we are not responsible, we would be hurt by this power. We need to be wise in handling online "friends". Do not judge a book by its cover but instead read through it and digest its content. For we cannot never know the true nature of someone by just their looks, messages or photos.

You can go read what one of my friends had written in her blog regarding "online" encounters :
http://kermitkhoo.blogspot.com/2006/10/days-are-evil-2.html

Love Happens!

2006-10-28T16:17:00.000+08:00

Was busy this week. Did not have time to do a good reflection =(

But during the week, I received an interesting email.

Someone emailed an invitation to join "Love Happens!" It is a social network website where you can meet and date people. It is like Friendster.

Hopefully through it, you can find a boyfriend or girlfriend. =)

Just for curosity sake (hmm do not think I am desparate), I signed up for it. After that I forgot about it.

Guess what? A few days later, I received a invitation for someone (whom I do not know)) who wants to add me to his or her network of friends!

In my heart, I was delighted that a total stranger would like to know me better. =) It was a good feeling. So I click on the link so that I could go the the website and add my new forund FREIND

But gues what!!! I forgot my password! Could not log in =(

There goes my new found friend! Haha

The Key To be Free!

2006-10-23T21:18:00.000+08:00

This is the conclusion article for my 2 previous entries on RenJie’s story (Part 1, Part 2, Locking Me Up).

In my previous blog “Locking Me Up” I wrote that some of us are trapped in the prisons of our hearts because we find it difficult to forgive the people that had hurts or disappointed us. As a result, we may find ourselves holding a grudge against them and we have no freedom at all.

The key to unlock the doors of this prison of UNFORGIVNESS is simply FORGIVENESS!

For me personally, when I feel that someone has let me down or huts me, I try to forgive him or her by
a) Asking myself why did this person do such a thing?
I put myself in the shoes of this person and try to see from his point of view. Though the person behaviour or action may be wrong, there may be circumstances that force him to react like that. That helps me understand his situation better and let go of the burden in my heart towards him.

b) Reminding myself that no one is perfect.
By putting myself in the shoes of the person, I also realize that I may do even worse thing than him. At the same time, I also remind myself that I have done wrongs to others in the past. The people that I have hurt and disappointed have forgiven me for my mistakes. Hence, if they can forgive me, shouldn’t I do the same to others?

I end my entry today by sharing a great story of forgiveness that I had seen on a documentary. The father of a man was shot dead by a thief when he was a young boy. His dad was robbed of his life for only a few dollars! In the end, the thief was caught and sentenced to life imprisonment. Life was not easy for the man without his dad around. He missed his dad tremendously.

What could the man have done? He could cursed God for taking his dad away. He could have hated the thief for killing his loved one. Yet the man did a great act of forgiveness. One day, he went to visit the thief in prison and release forgiveness to him. At the same time, he even petitioned for the early release of the thief. In the end, the thief was released from prison!

Guess what? The man in his act of forgiveness not only set the thief free from his physical prison but also from the prison of his heart as he was guilt-ridden of killing an innocent man. At the same time, the man had set himself free from the emotional pain of losing a dad.

Be Free by forgiving!

Where am I heading?

2006-10-22T11:13:00.000+08:00

I had not been to blog recently because I was busy with work. In fact, it seemed that I had been quite busy for the past few weeks.

Yesterday, I was at a gathering when my mentor asked us this question,” Do you know where you are heading?" He mentioned that we can be so busy and we are just doing and doing without considering where we are heading.

It is like running or driving very fast. You are only focusing on following the road and maneuvering its turn so much so that you do not have time to think of where you are going. Before you know it, you reach the destination and realize that it is not where you want to be. But by then, it may be possible to backtrack or make a U-turn!

In our fast paced society, it is inevitable that we are all busy. But we cannot accept that and just run the rat race because everyone is running it. Well, even if you win the rat race, you still a rat.

So what is the best way to run this race? My mentor advised us to LOOK FAR. We need to look far ahead and ask ourselves what are the meaningful and purpose dreams we hope to see becoming a reality in the future. With this end in mind, we can set short terms and intermediate mile-stones so that we know that even in the midst of doing the routine and mundane things, we are still going towards the right direction and in the process of achieving our dreams.

Even as I reflected upon this question of where I am heading, I realized that I do have to be mindful and slow down periodically to take bearings of where I am heading. Therefore, I am taking some time off this week to plan what I want do for the last 3 months of the year in order to finish this year off still focused on the dreams I have set at the beginning of the year..

Talk Back Good =) Talk Bad Bad =(

2006-10-14T12:17:00.000+08:00

In my blog entry Locking Me Up, I wrote that we can find ourselves trapped and locked up in the "prisons" of our hearts when we have unresolved issues with people (E.g. Anger / Disappointment / Bitterness ).

Someone added a comment after reading my entry.

Anonymous said...
i guess the feelings of disappointment/anger/resentment are even stronger especially when they are towards ppl you hold dear to your heart.. and it may take a long and slow process to unlock our hearts from that prison.

Hehe, it is good to know that someone do read your blog and you are not writing for yourself to see. Thanks Anonymous! That is why i always enjoy adding comments to blog entries of my freinds. They have shared their thoughts and I will to share mine too. =)

So do feel free to TALK BACK to me by adding comment to my entries. Thanks! But of cos, do not TALK BAD. I do not mind constructive criticism but do avoid destructive ones! Build me up and not tear me down =)

Well, here my my reply:

Yeah. There is a fine line between love and hate. The person whom u love the most is also the person that can hurt you the most. You are disappointed that your trust and love are misplaced. =( But I guess the way to learn to forgive someone is to 1st realise that all of us had and will make mistakes and need forgiveness. We can forgive someone becos we 1st receive forgiveness from other people.

Maths made me cry!

2006-10-13T17:26:00.000+08:00

Was talking to one of my students over MSN just now. She said something that shocked me....

Me : How is your exam? Confident?

Student : Sld be ok.. except Maths

Me : Oh why??

Student : It was tough. Some of us cried after the paper.

I was shocked to hear Sec 2 students crying over the Maths final year examinations. I have heard of students crying over their PSLE, O levels and A levels. To a certain extent, I can understand why they cried over these major exams.

But to cry for a Maths Sec 2 exams, this just blew my mind off. To me, final examinations are important but we take it once every year. And by the time we are in secondary school, we should be veterans in taking exams. Therefore, we should be pro in handling exams. We should not be crying over exams.

On 2nd thought, we cry in sorrow at times when we feel lost over something or someone. This thing or person must hold special and important significance to us. The thought or feeling of losing the thing or the person makes us feel hopeless and powerless. Also, we may cry because the efforts we made have not paid off or are not appreciated.

For the students to cry over their Maths paper, it may be because they may have worked hard for it and were upset that that their hard word was not paying off. Or they may think that this Math exams is quite important and were upset that they are not doing to do well.

As a X-Maths teacher, I am quite happy to see the students taking such serious attitude towards their Maths exam. Shows that they are keen in their study.

As a mentor of life, I hope they can also learn from this set-back and grow in character. In life, we will surely meet obstacles and failures. After the tears and feeling low, we need to examine where we go wrong and make efforts to overcome them. i.e We need to learn from our mistakes so that we can build upon it to achieve success.

I do hope that the students will learn from this exam and be growing not just in their knowledge of Maths but also in their attitude towards life!

Locking Me Up!

2006-10-12T15:18:00.000+08:00

My previous 2 entries (Part 1 & Part 2) was on RenJie - a prison inmate who had not went home for 12 long years =(

I was saddened when I read about RenJie's tore relationship with his family. Because of his broken promise to his parents to turn over a new leaf, his Dad quarreled with him. In his anger, RenJie stormed out of the house and decided never to return. In his own words,

心里狠狠想，你们不要我，我就堕落给你们看

In the end, because of unresolved anger and disappointment and anger, RenJie and his parents were separated for the last 12 years.

A thought came to my mind even as I ponder on his story :
RenJie is serving out his sentence in a physical prison because of his mistakes in life. Similarly, we may also be trap in “prison” in our hearts because of unresolved issues (e.g. anger, bitterness, disappointment) with people in our lives.

As a result, just as the walls of a real prison separate the inmates from the outside world and restrict their freedom, this emotional prison separates us from the people we have issues with. We also find ourselves having no freedom whenever we are around the persons.

Personally, I myself had been “imprisoned” before when I felt let down by people and my expectations were not met.

Emotionally, I could be angry or disappointed with them.
In my mind, I will be thinking in frustration,” How could he or she act or think like that?”
A wall starts to be built up between them and me.
When the persons are around, I will feel uncomfortable as seeing them will ignite the negative emotions.
Worse still, every small thing they do or say will somehow make me feel uncomfortable and at times I will find unnecessary faults in their actions or words. I could also be harsh with them, either in thoughts or in words.
After a while, I find myself avoiding them because I either could not stand the sight of them or I do not want the “ugly” self in me to surface.

Before I know it, I find myself serving my sentence in my prison of the heart! =(

The question we should be asking ourselves is this (the same question all inmates like to ask) : How can we break free from free from this heart prison?

Well, in my next entry, I will share with you the keys to open the door to this prison so that we can be set free!

Part 2 : For 12 years, I did not go home.

2006-10-09T03:20:00.000+08:00

A continuation of the story of RenJie (Part 1 was my previous entry).

A family lost. Another found.
For the last 12 years, RenJie lost contact with his family. Since his most recent imprisonment, none of his family members had ever visited him for the past 4 years,

Yet during these times, he lost a family and found another. The prison wardens and counsellors became his family and cared and loved him. The care and concern shown by the prison wardens and counsellors encouraged RenJie to move on from his past, leave it behind and work towards his future.

“你相信我能够改变.”
In June this year, a song writing competition was organized by the Prison Department. RenJie took part and wrote a song about his life. His song won the first prize! At a special concert, Renjie was given a chance to perform before the rest of the participants and their family members.

坐在铁窗后凝视, 只加深伤悲。

但心里真的好累，错过无数次机会。爱我的人心已碎。。。。
。。。。你相信我能够改变，相信这次不会食言，

不会只是再用话语来回应，因为你相信．

The words of the song were an expression of RenJie's gratefulness to the trust the wardens and counsellors had shown him. At the same time, he was using it to seek the forgiveness from his parents. Sadly, the whole hall was filled with friends and relatives of the inmates except his....

For 12 years, I did not go home.

2006-10-06T13:25:00.000+08:00

Had not been blogging for a while because of was busy at work. =( But I intend to revive my blog again.

Recently, I read a very sad story in the newspaper. In the article, there was an interview of a prison inmate which touched me greatly. RenJie is 30 years old now and is currently serving his sentence for drug abuse. Here is part one of his story :

When he was young……
RenJie was caught for house-breaking and was sent to Boys' Home for 3 years. While in Boys’ Home, he promised his parents that he would turn over a new leaf.

“Since you do not want me, I will forsake you all!”
However, RenJie got in contact with his old friends when he came out and got back to his old ways. The parents were disappointed. One day, he got into a quarrel with his Dad and was chased out of his house. He angrily took some money and clothes and left. His mum did not stop him from leaving. In his mind, he was thinking,” Since you do not want me, I will forsake you all!”

For the past 12 years, he had not ever step into his home. Since then, had had either been seeking shelter at friends’ houses or in out and of prison.

“Even the worst of my friends had a home to turn to”
Whenever RenJie thinks about his home-less state, he would felt a pain in the heart.

The pain came especially more during festive seasons. “During Chinese New Year, even the worst of my friends had a home to go back for reunion dinner. I had no home to go back to and sat alone in coffeeshop.”

In 2002, he was caught by police and bought back to his home by the police. He got a shock…. A new family was staying at his place. His parents had sold the house and moved out.

Since then, he had been in prison and for the last 4 years, none of his family members had ever visited him.

I was touched when I read the part that RenJie commented that even the worst of his friends had a home to return to while he was left alone during CNY. He must have regretted the rash words he spoken to his parents when he was young and emotional.

It caused me reflect on 2 things :
a) Be slow to anger and speak while quick to listen
I need to be careful with my words and actions so that I will not say or do something I regret. Actually I realise that I can be very strong in my words when I strongly believe in some things. Therefore, I can come forth as rude and demanding at times. May I learn to season my words with grace and humility.

b) Never wait too long to say Sorry
I realize that the best time to say sorry is NOW. If you wait and wait, the negative feelings (eg bitterness, anger, rage) may cripple you and eat you up in your heart. The relationship with the other person may also dive to a point of no return.

I will write part 2 of RenJie's story on my next entry.

THANKS FOR THE SWEET MEMORIES 1I

2006-09-14T18:32:00.000+08:00

1I, sorry for the late posting =(

Anyway, just want to say thanks for

the sweet memories in teaching your class!

All the best for the coming exams!

Remember that it is not the result that matters at times

but whether you have given your best!

Give your best in all that you do so that you can fulfill your true potential!

God bless U!

View Add Favorite

1A THUMBS UP

2006-09-11T20:10:00.000+08:00

1A THUMBS UP

Here are some of the creative Thumb art designs done up by 1A

Sorry I could not add in very one of your design. =)

Just want to encourage each of you that you have a creative spirit in you.

I am truly blessed by your wonderful art pieces!

Therefore, continue to bless others with your creativeness!

I need help!

2006-09-09T18:10:00.000+08:00

I NEED HELP!!!!

In our lessons on cyber-wellness, we will teach the youths to be careful when they chat with people online. Do not be sweet-talked by their online "friends" and make themselves vulnerable physcially and emotionally.

Personally, I find that when we are in our teenage years, we are in a period of discovering who we are: our identify, talents, strengths and weaknesses. During this period of seeking, we are receptive to new ideas and people.

Friends to us are important as we feel that they are an important part of our identify. More friends you have means you are popular. Peer acceptance is very important. Yet out of it will come negative peer pressure when we just blindly follow the crowd.

At the same time, we no longer just take and accept whole-sale the values that our parents or teachers have taught us.

We are testing them out and at times may even "discard" the values taught as we feel that they are no longer relevant to us in this new generation. We want to have the freedom to make our own decisions and to run our own lives. Conflicts with authourity figures (parents and teachers) become common.

I think it is always good to be balance during this roller-coaster ride of self-discovery . During the HIGHS, we may feel ourselves going overboard and enjoying the freedom and forgetting the responsibility.

During the LOWS, we may feel confused, insecure or vulnerable. Mistakes are made and failures are encountered.

A wonderful way to help us strike balance is to have MENTORS around us to guide us.

MENTORS are more than friends! They are our coaches!

Like friends, mentors encourage us when we are down and appreciate us for just being who we are.

Yet they are more than friends. They are willingly to speak the truth into our lives and point out the weaknesses we have even though this may make us unpopular with us. Yet they do not criticize us to cut us down. They speak the truth in love in the hope that we will be build up through our failures to become the man or woman we should be and achieve our full potential.

MENTORS understand us ! They have been through it before!
In fact, they understand what we are going through because

they have walked the same journey before us. They are our pace-setter. They will share their secrets of their success so that we will be more successful! They will also share their past failures with us openly so that we can learn from their mistakes and avoid making the same ones.

Guess what. We do not just need mentors during the teenage years. We need them for life : to guide us through our JC, poly or university days, army daze, love of our life, career, wedding, marriage and father-hood or mother-hood.

What to do?

Are you encouraged by me and you want to find a mentor? Let me teach you 2 simple steps:

Step 1: I want to be help!

We cannot be helped until we want to be help.

Therefore, the 1st step to admit that we need help.

Step 2: I want U!

Go and look for a mentor. Start a Treasure hunt around your life now.

There are people around you that will make wonderful mentors.

Eg.. Parents, teachers, CCA seniors and the list go on.

Hope you take these 2 simple steps and

enter into a wonderful time of discovering who U R

together with your mentors!

OLE! OLE! OLE! 1A

2006-09-09T18:03:00.000+08:00

OLE! OLE! OLE! 1A
Long overdue thanksgiving to 1A!
Thanks for your joy and love during the lessons!
Always look forward to teaching your class.
Remember 3b message : U R Precious!
Know that each of U are unique & special!
Work with your parents and teachers to discover who u R!

| View | Add Favorite

Treasure Hunt!

2006-09-06T18:31:00.000+08:00

TREASURE HUNT

Life can have its unexpected ups and downs.
We must treasure every moment of our lives as if it is the last.
We must treasure people in our lives for we may not know what tommorow may hold.

I just came back from a company camp and got a shocking news. One of my Sec 1 students died suddenly last Thursday. This got me into thinking about treasuring people around us. We may complain about them or take them for granted.

Recently, I heard someone asks me this question :How do I treat the people around me? Do I treat them as

1. Background people

We do not know them and they are faces in the crowd

2. Function people

We only talk to them when they have perform a function on us. Eg. bus driver or teacher.

3. Relation people

We are interested to know them and want to build meaningful relationship with them.

Honestly, I find that I can be a very functional person and has a tendacy to relate to people because there is a task or job to do. There are also times when I get so focused on the task at hand that I do not consider the feelings of people. Though the job may be completed successfully, the people around me may not feel appreciated.

Therefore, it will be good for me to constantly remind myself to see every person that I come across as unique & special and learn to relate to them as a person rather than ignore them or treat them as tools to be used.

Let go on a TREASURE HUNT for the whole of next week!

=> Think of a person we are always in contact with. Eg Parents, teachers or classmates, colleagues.

=> Make effort to get to know him or her beyond just a face you see daily or beyond the role he or she play in our lives.

=> Discover and be enriched by the hidden treasures that are in his or her life!

2006-09-01T15:47:00.001+08:00

GIFTS FOR TEACHERS ON TEACHERS' DAY

Today is 1 September and we celebrate it as Teachers' Day! Therefore, here wishing all the teachers out there a Happy Teachers' Day!

What was the gift you gave to your teachers?

In the morning, I attended a National Christian Teachers' Conference and the speakers was really inspiring! One of them shared that as teachers, we are to be CARING PEOPLE and if he could give gifts to the teachers at the conference, he will give these :

Teachers use a band-aid to heal the hurts and pain of their students so that they can stand up once again in confidence and trust.

Teachers can also use the tissues to wipe the tears and provide comfort to the students whenever they are overwhelmed by adverse situations.

Teachers can use the eraser to "erase" our students' mistakes from the records in our hearts and forgive them readily. Love is patient and keeps no record of wrong.

Teachers can use this to add colours to our students' lives and work together with them to paint a master-piece out of their lives!

Think of a teacher or mentor who has impacted your life.

What gift would you bless him or her with as a thanksgiving for his or her impact in your life?

Share your thanksgiving to them in by

adding yr comments to this entry =)

Thank You Class 1E

2006-08-26T11:16:00.000+08:00

Thank You Class IE

Hi, Class IE. Sorry I took a while to upload your phots on my blog. Hope you all are doing fine. I enjoyed teaching your class. Hopefully, you also enjoyed my teaching =) Though I have scolded you a few times, I do hope you understand that I was trying to let you see the importance of listening and following instructions. Do remember the Cyber-wellness messages we taught you. Make it a life-style and more importantly pass them on to your friends!

On a side note, someone commented that the class was quite fearful of me.

On reflection, I realise that I look quite stern if I do not smile (look at the photo above).

I also find that I can be quite stern whenever the students get rowdy and do not listen and instruction during lessons. One of my X-students even jokingly called me the TERROR of Bukit Merah =) as I disciplined them firmly whenever they did not obey the rules repeatedly (I used to teach at a community school in Bukit Merah).

Why am I so firm in class? As teacher, I am the authourity figure. My role is to set and enforce a proper boundary so that the students know know what are the acceptable behaviours and what are not. By doing so, we can then have a proper environment to study where learning can take place.

Of course, sometimes we feel that the rules are too strict and tight. But we must understand that having 40 students in one class means there are 40 different people with different needs and expectation. They will also behave differently at different times under different moods. It is impossible to have rules to satisfy the needs and personalities of all 40 students. Therefore, it is easily for a standard and general set of rules so that all 40 students can work towards aligning to rather.

But I must admit that there are times when I have reacted sternly out of anger and and become unreasonable or have not shown grace when it is to be shown. =( Guess I am still a human and learning to be a teacher. That is why I am always reflecting on the classes I taught and the way handle my class to improve!

Dream Weaver

2006-08-23T18:59:00.000+08:00

Dream Weaver Part 1

I am currently teaching a lesson where the main teaching point is :

Stay focus on your DREAM! Do not be addicted to internet.

I told the students that dreams are very important as it keeps us focused and give us direction. Even as I was pondering, I started to remember some of the dreams I had in the past and the reaons I had for them.

When I was in primary school, my dream was to be a scientist. Becuase I like to watch science fiction cartoons. One of my fav was TRANSFORMERS. I was excited by the advance weapons and the state of the art technology. I got inspired to become a scientist to come up with new creations.

When I was in secondary school, I grew out of that dream and become more practical. I wanted to be a engineer. My family was poor. Somehow I got this notion that there always be be jobs for an enginner. Therefore, I can always find a job to support my family and my family.

Why are dreams so important? I thank God that I had dreams when I was young. They kept me hopeful for my future and excited about life has to offer me years ahead.

Life is not a bed of roses. There are times when we may face difficulites or go through problems. During these times, our dreams can help us stayed focused and perserve on during the tough times.

I remember the dream of being an engineer kept me focused and I studied diligently even though there was distractions and hardship along the way. In the end, I fulfilled my dream and graduated with 2nd Class Honours in Electrical Engineering from National University of Singapore.

The funny things is that in the end, I did not become a Enginner. I beame a teacher.

That was another of my dream that was birthed forth in times of crisis. I will share more in next entry =)

So my friend, go and dream a dream for yourself!

SMILE!!! You are the real MAGIC!!!

2006-08-17T20:07:00.000+08:00

SMILE!!! You are the real MAGIC!!!

I just finished Project CRuSH with a class at a school and as part of the last lesson we will take a class photo.

Class 1U :
Thanks God for all of you! You are all very special!!!
Each of you had blessed me with your smile, care and love!
You are the REAL MAGIC!So continue to being a SMILE to people around u!

I really enjoyed teaching this class becos they bring so much joy, laughter and fun to me whenever I stepped into their class =)

But guess what, when I first taught them, I shouted at them becos they were too noisy and took a long time to settle down. =( Can say things do not start on the right foot. But I reflected and aplogised to them for shouting at them. Yet I told them I have to becos they were all quite noisy and did not follow instructions. That broke the ice and from then on, we have been on good terms!

Well, when we have misunderstanding or conflicts with others, it is always easier to insists on our stand or to get upsets and become negative. Problems are not solved. In fact, they will gett bigger.

Why don't we just take the 1st step to think of what we are responsible for and apologise. That will break the ice and make the other party steps down and apologise for his or her part.

Remember in all of us lies the MAGIC to bring a =)!
Let the MAGIC begins!

Staring Incident => eye ball to eye ball

2006-08-16T19:42:00.000+08:00

Staring Incident 0-0 <=> 0-0

Few days ago, I was walking around this long corridor..........

I had just finished my lunch and was just thinking of something. And as near the end of the corridor......

Suddenly, I got a SHOCK of my life!!!!!! A man was staring at me!!!!!!

After recovering from the shock, I went to take a closer look =) Guess what??? It was just a figurine... Haha look quite scary rite =)

PLANETSHAKERS!!!!!

2006-08-14T16:30:00.000+08:00

Never 2 Old to B a PLANETSHAKERS!!!!!

Today, when I came out of my house, 2 primary school students came up to me and ask me,"Uncle, what time is it? Haha it is quite a dent on my ego. Am I that old?

My X-student WenHao asked me a similar question last Saturday,"Mr Lam. Don't you feel old around so many youths?"

I was with him when I attended the PLANETSHAKERS concert at Expo. The whole hall was filled to the max (7000 people). They opened up the whole floor for people to dance.

It was was a sight to see 3000 youths at the front dancing, jumping, screaming and clapping!

And guess what this old man was doing??? I was dancing, jumping, screaming and clapping with the whole lot!

It is not how young you are on the outside but how young you are in your heart! You can never be too old to be a planet-shakers!

2006-08-07T16:19:00.001+08:00

CHOCLATE DELIGHT & COMFORT!

I always thought I was not a foodie. I eat to live than live to eat. In other words, I am more of a functional eater and will eat anything.

However, after my trip to Shanghai, I found out actually I am picky about food. For example, there are some food that i wil not eat.

I also found that that I have certain COMFORT food that I will eat when I am stressed. These food helps me to de-stress =)

One of my comfort food is chocolate. I can finish at one go one whole box of Roche... Btw I mean the larger box of at least 20-30 Roche.

Anyway, one of my friend emailed something interesting. From you eating pattern of chocolates, you can find out your age! Try it our and be amazed!

YOUR AGE WITH CHOCOLATES
1. How many times a week do you fancy eating chocolate? (Choose between 1 and 9)
2. Multiply that number by 2

3. Add 5

4. Multiply by 50 – go on, get that calculator out!
5. If you have had your birthday in 2006, add 1756. If your birthday is still to come, add 1755.
6. Now take away the year you were born.

You should have a three digit number.

The first is the number of time you fancy eating chocolate in a week.

The other two digits are ... YOUR AGE!!!

2006 IS THE ONLY YEAR IN ALL ETERNITY WHEN THIS WORKS.

2006-06-23T18:20:00.000+08:00

Hero at Work

Someone emailed some pictures to me. Thought it was quite funny.

The pictures got me thinking. Am I a hero with the work I am doing .i.e. The work I am doing now : does it add value to someone's life? Is it MAD? (Making a Difference).

Someone once says to me : sow into a person life and you are sowing into destiny for you are shaping not just his life. In times to come, he will be touching the lives of people in his life, his family, his own children and his grandchildren.

Hmm maybe being a super-hero is too tall an order for all of us. But att least we can smile at someone who is down, say sometjhing encouraging to someone who is struggling or just be there for someone who needs someone to talk to. It is the small things that count and add up to be BIG things.

There is a hero in all of us!

2006-06-16T15:46:00.000+08:00

Sick for the whole week

Was sick the whole of the week. Came back from Muar on Sat and by Sun was hit by a viral fever which was spreading among those who went to Muar.

On Mon, I still went to work. But by afternoon, I had no choice but to see the doctor. He told me that it was more than a fever as my temperature was at 38.9 degrees.

Well in the end, he gave me 2 days MC. This is only the second time in 5 years of work that I have MC. When I got home, I took a nap at 4pm and all the way till......... the next day 7am! I did not even eat my dinner. I must be really tired.

I think God knew that I need to have a rest. Been busy for the last few weeks, going home late and sleeping for 5-6 hrs each day.

Praise God that the fever subsided by Tue. Yet for the next 2 days, I was having dizzy spells and feeling light-headed. Even right now, I am having a sore-throat.

Though I have to suffer while I was sick, honestly I thank God for this sickness. Realise that recently I have been running at too fast a pace and not taking time to rest and relax. This sickness forces me to slow down and take stock. It is good to find time each week to have a Sabbath and rest in God!

2006-06-14T16:40:00.000+08:00

Elderly Serving

Last week, I brought a group of youths to serve the elderly in Toa Payoh area who are under the care of TOUCH Home Care. We basically help to clean their houses by sweeping, mopping, washing the toilets and wiping the furniture.

I am always blessed whenever I help the elderly.

For one, I become more grateful. The elderly usually stays alone and has no one to look after them. Most of them are frail and their health are not as good as before. They also do not have much savings and live day to day on just a small sum. Yet some of the elderly can still smile and joke with you. I realise that happinness and joy depends on the condition of our heart and not the condition of the things in our lives. We can be happy and joyful if we choose to see the positive out of the negative events in our lives.

It is also my heart I can inspire youths to see beyond their own needs and start to serve others. That is why I ask some of them to write down their thoughts after serving.

Hope that after reading tthis we will truly be counting our blessings instead of grumbling. And give to others for it is truly more blessed to give than to receive!

Jovian (Sec 1 Student)
Hi hi, i am somebody who had just did the elderly serving for the first time.

Actually in the first place I thought that it was boring and dirty. However,after the whole serving i changed my mind.

We first went to a tamil uncle's house,he lives in a 1 room flat.I saw that he was quite poor thing living by himself in a small place with nobody to talk to.He was reluctant to let us in his house in the first place. We convinced him that cleaning his house would only take awhile.Finally he let us into his house.We talked to him while cleaning up the small place.

He is quite a nice guy actually only because nobody has been caring for him for awhile.

Next stop was also to a tamil old man house,this old man was much more friendlier than the last guy.He was very systematic which makes him look kind of cute.We went into the little room of his and started cleaning.He told us everything we needed to clean up,after cleaning everything in his room we helped him packed his medicine.

Which was quite shocking that he actually eats 20 tablets a day...so what i actually want to tell you guys is that take care of yourselfs when you are young or else you might have lots of problem when you are old.

My comments are that elderly serving is fun although quite tired,however I think it makes the old people happier when there are people going to their house helping them cleaning up and talking to them so they do not feel that people do no care for them anymore.

Kevin (Sec 1 student)

I love it!

Kenneth (Sec 3 student)

We need to give the elderly hope in life and make them happy to enjoy the last moments in life.

Jarrell (Sec 3 student)

The elderly reminded me of my grandparents. If I can treat my grandparents very well, I can treat the elderly as the same as my grandparents.

2006-06-06T17:27:00.000+08:00

The Graduate

Just attended my cell member (David) graduation cermony last thursday.

He is from Singapore American School.

It was such a grand event. The ladies were dressed in their gowns while the guys were dressed in their suits. In the end, I felt under-dressed =)

And the best thing was the food served after the event. It was so delicious! (and of cos fattening =oP) And guess what, they did not cater. The parents actually cooked it themselves.

The cermony was held at NUS cultural centre. It is the same place where thousands of National University of Spore(NUS) students graduates from each year.

Sitting in this hall reminded me of my days in NUS. Hmm I notice that when you grow older, you start to recall lots of old memories. =)

Anyway, I was in NUS from 1995 - 2001 and graduated from Electrical Engineering with 2nd Upper Honors.

But guess what? I never attended my own graduation cermony. Because I took 1 year more than my friends to finish my studies, I was the only one from among my friends to graduate. They had all graduated the year before. So in the end, I just decided to skip the cermony as gradauting alone was not fun =(

Even as I was looking at David's graduation photo, I start to ponder whether I have any graduation photo..........

Finally, I found it!

My PAP Kindergarden photo. How do I look +)

2006-06-02T10:35:00.001+08:00

Funny Tissues Wrapper

The drink-stalls at my workplace gives free tissue for every drink bought. The wrappers are pretty interesting. Have a look!

The designer of these wrappers must be a movie buff and have sense of humour =)

Hope that we will be able to keep our eyes, mind and our hearts open to enjoy simple nuggets of joy that are around us! Take time to spend time with someone, take a walk by the beach to view the sunset and enjoy the breeze,......,

2006-05-31T14:37:00.000+08:00

Hands Off!
Part 2

A continuation of the real life story of Nick that I put in my blog yest. He was born without limbs ........

As his family was Christian, Nick attended Sunday school when he was a boy. He was taught that God loves us all. Yet he could not understand if God loved him, why did He make him like this? Was it because of Nick had done something wrong? Or was he just a mistake by God?

There were still times when Nick felt depressed and angry because he could not change the way he was or blame anyone for that matter. He felt he was a burden to those around him. He even wanted to end his life.

Thank God that Nick’s parents and family supported and comforted him and gave him strength to continue.

A life-changing experience came when Nick was 15 years old. He gave his life to Jesus after reading a verse from the bible ( ) in which Jesus was asked whether a man blind from birth was due to the fact that he or his parents had done something wrong.

John 9 : 3-5“Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “ but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me.”

These verses spoke to Nick’s heart and convicted him to the point where he knew that there is no such thing as luck, chance or coincidence that “bad” things happen in our life. He felt complete peace knowing that God would not let anything happen to us in our life unless as a good purpose for it all.

Nick started to live life to his fullest potential and not let his handicap got in the way of accomplishing their hopes and dreams.

Today, Nick has completed his university degree. He is also a motivational speaker. Due to his emotional struggles he had experienced with bullying, low self esteem and loneliness, God has gave him a passion of sharing his story and experience to help other cope with whatever challenge they have in their life and let God turn it into a blessing. He is constantly encouraging and inspiring others to live to their fullest potential and not let anything get in the way of accomplishing their hopes and dreams!

Nick still has many dreams he has set and is striving for :
a) To be best witness he can be for God’s love and Hope
b) To be an international speaker
c) To be financially independent by the age of 25
d) To modify a card for him to drive
e) To be interview on Oprah Winfrey show
f) To finish his book “No Arms, No legs, No Worries!” by end of this year

Even as I read this story, I am encouraged by the passion shown by Nick. Personally, I do have dreams that I want to see fulfilled in my life. But yet a lot of times, I look at the situations in my life and feel that it is impossible for me to overcome. Other times, I look at myself (my weaknesses) and feel that I do not have the ability.

I decide to learn from example of Nick and not to look inward (at my own fears & weakness) . Instead I will learn to look upwards (to God) and outward (friends and loved ones) for encouragement and support!

2006-05-30T15:45:00.000+08:00

Hands Off!

Part 1

A friend emailed me this encouraging story of a man called Nick Vujicic who was born without limbs.

In the morning of 4 Dec 1982 in Melbourne (Australia), Nick was born. Horrors to horrors! The parents realised that their firstborn son was born without limbs.

That began a life faced with many challenges and obstacles. He faced doubts and discouragement from himself and from people around him.

Initially, his parents were absolutely devastated. His dad was a pastor and the whole church also mourned over his birth. The dad had great concern and fears of what kind of life he will be able to lead.

But their faith in God provided the parents strength, wisdom and courage to care for their child.

As Nick came to school going age, he faced his next test. The law in Australia did not allow him to enroll in main-stream school. God gave his mum the strength to fight for the law to be changed and did the one of many miracles in his life. He was the 1st disabled students to be allowed to study in main-stream schools.

Yet Nick encountered many uncomfortable times of feeling rejected, weird and bullied because of his physical differences. He struggled.

Yet with support of his parents, Nick started to develop attitudes and values to overcome these challenges times.

Deep down, Nick knew he may be outwardly different but inwardly he was as normal as anyone.

With his parents’ encouragement, Nick start to attempt to make friends with some kids. Soon, the kids realized that he was just like them. God kept blessing him with new friends……. (to be continued)

Though we may not be outwardly crippled as Nick, inwardly we may be emotionally crippled.

For example, there was a period of time in my life when I had low self-esteem and felt that I was never good enough. Guess I have an inner handicap =) This inner handicap affected my life outwardly. I was shy and quiet. I also had no confident in the things I was doing and chose to remain always in my comfort zone.

Hmm, you could say I was a frog in the well =) But thanks be to God, I met Him and He turned me into a prince charming (I am being thick skin here).

He made me see the handicap in me as my uniqueness and accept them as my strengths. For example, I realize that because I am quiet and shy, I am thoughtful and observant. I can also be sensitive to the needs of people.

Yet at the same time, I recongised that my strengths can be my weaknesses at times. Therefore, I need to step out of my comfort zone and overcome my handicap at times. Therefore, I am consciously making efforts to talk and share more. Though still have struggle at times, at least I am working towards breakthrough =)

Hopefully after reading this, the question you can answer is :

Do I see my inner handicaps?
Have I accept them as my strengths

and yet learn to overcome them at times when they are our weaknesses?

2006-05-29T13:02:00.000+08:00

A FROG LIFE

Someone emailed this story with a learning point behind it. Quite interesting

Once upon a time there was a bunch of tiny frogs who arranged a running competition. The goal was to reach the top of a very high tower.

The race began. Honestly: No one really believed that the tiny frogs would reach the top of the tower.

You heard statements such as: "Oh, WAY too difficult!!" "They will NEVER make it to the top." or,"Not a chance that they will succeed. The tower is too high!"

The tiny frogs began collapsing. One by one. Except for those, who in a fresh tempo, were climbing higher and higher.The crowd continued to yell, "It is too difficult!!! No one will make it!" More tiny frogs got tired and gave up.

But ONE continued higher and higher and higher. This one wouldn't give up!

At the end everyone else had given up climbing the tower. Except for the one tiny frog who, after a big effort, was the only one who reached the top! THEN all of the other tiny frogs naturally wanted to know how this one frog managed to do it?

A contestant asked the tiny frog how he had found the strength to succeed and reach the goal? It turned out.... That the winner was DEAF!!!!

The wisdom of this story is :

Never listen to other people's tendencies to be negative or pessimistic

because they take your most wonderful dreams away from you.

I do agree that we can hear discouraging voices when we attempt to purse our dreams. These voices can be from our "friends" who tell us that "we cannot make it" and "it is too impossible." At times, these voices are from us : our own fears, past hurts and failures. "I am not good enough." " I have falied before."

As a result, we are always choosing to stay in our comfort zone for the fear of failures. In the end, we end up like a frog in the well.

My encouragement to myself and you is that let jump out of our comfortable well and become the person God has make us to be!

May you step out of your well and

turn from a frog into a prince charming or princess gracious!

2006-05-22T17:22:00.000+08:00

Back to the Future...........

Today, I went back to my secondary school to teach. Showed the students my sec2 class photo

Guess each one is me =)

Hint Hint : Look at the 1st row.

Being back in my old school brought back sweet memories of my seconday school days. Back then, I was a shy kid. My class was full of interesting people like Micheal, Yongsheng, TengChuan, DengYi.... We had lots of fun playing and studying togther.

Hmm, a question came to my mind. If I were to relive my youth days, what would I do differently?

For one, I think I will be more bold to try new things. I enjoyed playing basketball but did not have the courage to join the school team to train myself up in my skills. In the end, I was just an average player. Always wonder what if I had joined the team and trained hard.

Thanks God I still can learn my mistake and be bold to learn new things now =)

Hmm another thing I will change is my hair-style. Haha I do look like a nerd, rite.

2006-02-10T09:10:00.000+08:00

Valentine Day is on Tuesday. Lots of people will be using this day to celebrate their love for 1 another. Gals will expect their boyfriends or husbands to surprise and delight them with open demonstration of their loves. Guys will turn on their charms and romance their gals (hopefully not just on this day =oP)

With love in the air, it gets me to wonder : "Is true love possible?" & "Is love over-rated?"

We tends to see more and more people expressing their love affection for one another openly in the public with hugging, kissing, etc. Yet at the same time, I have been hearing and seeing more cases stories of couples breakings ups after an intense period of dating.

So is it possible to find true love that lasts?

Recently, I came to know an elderly couple that affirms me that true love is possible. The lady in the photo has been faithfully taking care of her husband for the past 60 years even though the husband had left home for 10-15 years during the early years of their marriage. He left because of bad influence from friends and domestic problems.

During this period, she faithfully took on the burden of looking after her husband parents and their children. She took on 2-3 jobs to make end meets. She even gave money to her husband to ensure he was taken care of. When the husband came back, she did not held any grudges and even took him in. She has been taking care of him ever since.

And do you know what is so amazing about this wonderful lady?

She lost her sight a while ago and is still the care-giver to her hushand! Her hushand's health has not been good recently. People has advised her to send her husband to old folks' home. Yet she refuses for she wants to continue to look after him.

PoPo(cantonese for grandma) has certainly taught me that true love is possible. Yet it is more than just the open demonstration of affection although it is needed and cannot be neglected. True love is more than just emotion. It comes with a choice and decision to to love despite the difficult situaltions and circumstances. It will be tested where one will have to die to your owns needs and desires and serve someone else.

In shorts, TRUE LOVE is summed up in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

Love is patient, love is kind.

It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perserves.

Love never fails.

Have we experienced TRUE LOVE yet? We cannot till we experience love from God for by our own strength we will surely fall short and cannot love anyone truely. Our selfish self will at times cause us to love our self and not others. It is only when we encounter the true love of God who sent His own son to die for us will we truly be able to deonstrate this true love!

May our Valentine's Day be spent celebrating first and forthmost the love of God for us!

2006-01-27T16:34:00.000+08:00

Went for a church camp last weekend. Had a graet time.

These are my bunk-mates. Interesting, we had a mix of youths, young adults and one old man who is young at heart (guess who)

Realise that there is a lot that this old timer can learn from these 2 gps:

From the young ones, their excitment and zeal for life rubs off on me. They inspire to keep dreaming for God!

From the young adults, they have a sincere heart to want to set their lives right before God and allow God to prune them so that they will not just be doing the goods things but instead the best God wants them to do!

Well who says you can teach a old dog new trick. This old timer is still learning