FOOD for thought

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!

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 -

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

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!

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

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!

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

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

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 =)

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

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!

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!

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!

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!