Thursday, March 31, 2005
Four of my students looked for me after class to ask me about dropping subjects yesterday. In the end, I spent 1 hour with them giving them the inspirational talk that I still quite clearly remember from my vision that prompted me to become a teacher. At the end of it, actually, I didn't answer them their question in a certain manner, but I did send them off thinking. And they concurred that I have a future as a motivational speaker. Hehe.
However, the satisfaction came from seeing that look of enlightenment on their faces when I shared my words of wisdom (or so I would like to believe) with them, and I know deep in my gut I'm in the right profession. This thought prompted the writing of a poem, which I'd share here. Hey, maybe MOE would use this for their next recruitment drive. Hahaha...
TEACH
The existence of our human lives
Is brief and transient, thus the greater need
For purpose worthier than material greed
To govern the ambitions for which we strive.
I teach, because each time a generation
Passes through my hands, I see effects
Of my life’s influence, and know I affect
The people who would someday shape the nation.
In time, my impact will amount to much,
In molding men and women who would be
The pillars of tomorrow, and as such,
This then becomes my lasting legacy -
To start a ripple in each life I touch
That spreads as waves down future history.
However, the satisfaction came from seeing that look of enlightenment on their faces when I shared my words of wisdom (or so I would like to believe) with them, and I know deep in my gut I'm in the right profession. This thought prompted the writing of a poem, which I'd share here. Hey, maybe MOE would use this for their next recruitment drive. Hahaha...
TEACH
The existence of our human lives
Is brief and transient, thus the greater need
For purpose worthier than material greed
To govern the ambitions for which we strive.
I teach, because each time a generation
Passes through my hands, I see effects
Of my life’s influence, and know I affect
The people who would someday shape the nation.
In time, my impact will amount to much,
In molding men and women who would be
The pillars of tomorrow, and as such,
This then becomes my lasting legacy -
To start a ripple in each life I touch
That spreads as waves down future history.
Tuesday, March 29, 2005
Just got this from a friend. Looks like my guess was right. Now the neighbours are up and awake, and talking about what happened. Rare that my block is so alive at this time of the night...The tremors felt in Singapore at 12:10 a.m. on 29 March 2005 were due to an earthquake that occurred in Southwestern Sumatra, approximately 600 km west southwest of Singapore. The magnitude of the earthquake is 8.2 on the Richter Scale. The epicentre is located at Latitude 2.1S and Longitude 97.0E.
Issued by Meteorological Services Division, NEA (Tel: 6542-5059/6542-2837)
on 29 Mar 2005 at 12:33 AM (Singapore Time)
I was taking out my spectacles-screwdriver from the cabinet when I suddenly felt giddy. Now knowing I do not have a history of giddy spells and all, I thought it weird. Then I recognized that the ground is moving beneath me. I checked my house and saw my kitchen door moving back and forth by itself. My legs were still wobbly because the ground seems to be moving.
It's the first time I experienced a tremor. Just in case, I woke my mum up, who couldn't feel a darn thing until a while later, and I went downstairs to check. If the building is shaking, it can only be because of two things, or so I thought: an earthquake in a nearby country, or maybe there's some underground explosion or something. The latter is improbable, but just in case, I went around the other blocks and asked around, and they all felt the tremor. So it's not likely a localized explosion. Those staying in upper floors mentioned that even the beds they were in were shaking wildly; those staying in lower floors couldn't feel anything at all.
So exciting! Hahaha...I'll be looking out in tomorrow's newspapers. It's probably an earthquake fairly high on the richter scale for me to feel the tremor in Beach Rd. Indonesia again? I pray there's no tsunami; I don't think the world is ready for another catastrophe.
It's the first time I experienced a tremor. Just in case, I woke my mum up, who couldn't feel a darn thing until a while later, and I went downstairs to check. If the building is shaking, it can only be because of two things, or so I thought: an earthquake in a nearby country, or maybe there's some underground explosion or something. The latter is improbable, but just in case, I went around the other blocks and asked around, and they all felt the tremor. So it's not likely a localized explosion. Those staying in upper floors mentioned that even the beds they were in were shaking wildly; those staying in lower floors couldn't feel anything at all.
So exciting! Hahaha...I'll be looking out in tomorrow's newspapers. It's probably an earthquake fairly high on the richter scale for me to feel the tremor in Beach Rd. Indonesia again? I pray there's no tsunami; I don't think the world is ready for another catastrophe.
Saturday, March 26, 2005
The amount of money I spent in the last few days is scary. Wed I went shopping with a colleague, and bought 2 t-shirts, 1 shirt, and a juicer for my mum. At the rate I am buying pink clothes, it will soon overtake white as the dominant colour in my wardrobe. Anyway, we headed down to Phin's Steakhouse after that, and I finally got to eat there. Food was pretty good at a rather affordable price, but I think I remembered and ordered the wrong dish. The wild mushroom sauce is superb, but I mixed it up with mushroom. Argh.
Thursday I went down to Jurong Point to meet my cousins. We chatted for a while, tried to catch a movie but nothing good was available, and then ended up heading to Jurong East where we thought had more things to do. Left between pool and karaoke, we chose the latter because I think we were all too tired to aim.
Kbox is beastly expensive on weekend nights. We sang from 10 pm to 3 am, and for the 3 of us, it costed about 80 bucks in total. Again, I killed my already weakened throat singing Shin, but fortunately I had my gut instinct activated, and I bought a box of Strepsils before meeting my cousins. It was fun~ I enjoy going to KTV with my two cousins. One loves Shin, and both sing pretty well. Unbelievably, I still could bump into an army friend at 3 am in the morning, far far away in Jurong East. After that, I pumped some money into the cab industry, slept at 4.30 am, and woke up at 9 the next morning. Another day of lack of sleep.
Fri was a fun day too. My cell, and some from mclgc, went to our cell member Eric's place. 3 of my boys came down as well, so I think that's the first time we officially have 3 generations of our cell together for an event. We did a Passover meal, according to Jewish tradition, since it was after all, Good Friday. There was unleavened bread, eggs, lettuce and parsley, apples and nuts, horse radish (which smells like puke, frankly) and lamb meat. Portions were too small, but I think this must have been the healthiest meal (nutritionally speaking) I've eaten for some time. The significance of the foods is rather meaningful for us, and it's fascinating how the meal proceeds almost ritualistically. After that, J, Chris and me went to play pool, with Collin joining us later. My standard has deteriorated somewhat that day, but I did make a couple of spectacular shots. We had dinner, then I rushed home to pack my bag, and came rushing out again.
I went down to Acid Bar, a joint somewhere inbetween Centrepoint and Orchard Emerald, along the side. There was a live performance by a singer and her guitarist, which was not bad, though under-appreciated. It was a small reunion of folks from the TJC cell group long time ago when I was in the army and went back to help out. I had long island tea, coming once again to the conclusion that nothing beats Zouk's long island tea, and after that, we went down to Swensen's for a large earthquake. It was great catching up with old friends, but saddening to see many respectable Christians having fallen away. When that was over, I rushed down to Collin's place at Clementi, where we pool enthusiasts decided to stay the night over, again pumping money into the cab industry through midnight charges.
We slept for 4 hours plus (argh!), had breakfast, and made our way to West Coast Park. We volunteered to help out the Boys' and Girls' brigade from Commonwealth Sec in their outreach program. Basically, we were to be station masters. The kids were quite a fun bunch, and I think I had more fun playing the game at my station myself than the kids. Hehe. I sneaked in a nap, and then headed down to church for Good Friday sermon.
During the special worship, I cried. I think everytime I see the painful scenes from The Passion of the Christ, I'll just cry. Everytime I see the whipping, and the crucifixion, I am reminded of the extent of God's love for me. It's frankly quite hard not to shed tears thinking of that. And I wept again shortly later, for a different reason. Now, I have this boy under me who is partially handicapped in his right arm and leg (somewhat crooked, and he does not have full control over those limbs). Yet, during the praise, I see him jumping and dancing to the music. Although he looks awkward in his dancing, the fact that he's not conscious of himself, and is just eagerly worshipping God despite his handicap, moved me to tears. If a boy like him, inconvenienced and all, could give his best in worship, why are the rest of us so restrained? I think I must have looked more ridiculous with tears running down my face singing a fast-paced praise song. I spent almost the entire service talking to my G12 bro Eric about his relationship issues, and prayed one of the longest prayers I've prayed in a long time over him. Poor guy...difficult girlfriend.
We finally had a pool outing with some gals from mclgc. We jio-ed them for many times, and maybe they felt guilty rejecting us all the time...hehe. We squeezed 4 gals and 3 guys into a lancer and made our merry way to our regular spot Pool Fusion. It was fun, though unfortunately, the gals do not share our enthusiasm for the game. They actually play pretty well for beginners, but there's a definite lack of interest there. It doesn't look too promising that they'll join us more often though. Ah well.
RT again tomorrow! I will try to make up for lost hours of sleep tomorrow when I return. Hmmm...I thought I slimmed down, but the bathroom scale at Eric's place showed the same weight. As an optimist I shall assume I lost fats and gained muscle mass. Bwahaha.
Thursday I went down to Jurong Point to meet my cousins. We chatted for a while, tried to catch a movie but nothing good was available, and then ended up heading to Jurong East where we thought had more things to do. Left between pool and karaoke, we chose the latter because I think we were all too tired to aim.
Kbox is beastly expensive on weekend nights. We sang from 10 pm to 3 am, and for the 3 of us, it costed about 80 bucks in total. Again, I killed my already weakened throat singing Shin, but fortunately I had my gut instinct activated, and I bought a box of Strepsils before meeting my cousins. It was fun~ I enjoy going to KTV with my two cousins. One loves Shin, and both sing pretty well. Unbelievably, I still could bump into an army friend at 3 am in the morning, far far away in Jurong East. After that, I pumped some money into the cab industry, slept at 4.30 am, and woke up at 9 the next morning. Another day of lack of sleep.
Fri was a fun day too. My cell, and some from mclgc, went to our cell member Eric's place. 3 of my boys came down as well, so I think that's the first time we officially have 3 generations of our cell together for an event. We did a Passover meal, according to Jewish tradition, since it was after all, Good Friday. There was unleavened bread, eggs, lettuce and parsley, apples and nuts, horse radish (which smells like puke, frankly) and lamb meat. Portions were too small, but I think this must have been the healthiest meal (nutritionally speaking) I've eaten for some time. The significance of the foods is rather meaningful for us, and it's fascinating how the meal proceeds almost ritualistically. After that, J, Chris and me went to play pool, with Collin joining us later. My standard has deteriorated somewhat that day, but I did make a couple of spectacular shots. We had dinner, then I rushed home to pack my bag, and came rushing out again.
I went down to Acid Bar, a joint somewhere inbetween Centrepoint and Orchard Emerald, along the side. There was a live performance by a singer and her guitarist, which was not bad, though under-appreciated. It was a small reunion of folks from the TJC cell group long time ago when I was in the army and went back to help out. I had long island tea, coming once again to the conclusion that nothing beats Zouk's long island tea, and after that, we went down to Swensen's for a large earthquake. It was great catching up with old friends, but saddening to see many respectable Christians having fallen away. When that was over, I rushed down to Collin's place at Clementi, where we pool enthusiasts decided to stay the night over, again pumping money into the cab industry through midnight charges.
We slept for 4 hours plus (argh!), had breakfast, and made our way to West Coast Park. We volunteered to help out the Boys' and Girls' brigade from Commonwealth Sec in their outreach program. Basically, we were to be station masters. The kids were quite a fun bunch, and I think I had more fun playing the game at my station myself than the kids. Hehe. I sneaked in a nap, and then headed down to church for Good Friday sermon.
During the special worship, I cried. I think everytime I see the painful scenes from The Passion of the Christ, I'll just cry. Everytime I see the whipping, and the crucifixion, I am reminded of the extent of God's love for me. It's frankly quite hard not to shed tears thinking of that. And I wept again shortly later, for a different reason. Now, I have this boy under me who is partially handicapped in his right arm and leg (somewhat crooked, and he does not have full control over those limbs). Yet, during the praise, I see him jumping and dancing to the music. Although he looks awkward in his dancing, the fact that he's not conscious of himself, and is just eagerly worshipping God despite his handicap, moved me to tears. If a boy like him, inconvenienced and all, could give his best in worship, why are the rest of us so restrained? I think I must have looked more ridiculous with tears running down my face singing a fast-paced praise song. I spent almost the entire service talking to my G12 bro Eric about his relationship issues, and prayed one of the longest prayers I've prayed in a long time over him. Poor guy...difficult girlfriend.
We finally had a pool outing with some gals from mclgc. We jio-ed them for many times, and maybe they felt guilty rejecting us all the time...hehe. We squeezed 4 gals and 3 guys into a lancer and made our merry way to our regular spot Pool Fusion. It was fun, though unfortunately, the gals do not share our enthusiasm for the game. They actually play pretty well for beginners, but there's a definite lack of interest there. It doesn't look too promising that they'll join us more often though. Ah well.
RT again tomorrow! I will try to make up for lost hours of sleep tomorrow when I return. Hmmm...I thought I slimmed down, but the bathroom scale at Eric's place showed the same weight. As an optimist I shall assume I lost fats and gained muscle mass. Bwahaha.
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
I have just renewed my membership at Bedok Camp gym, i.e. I have failed my mid-RT IPPT and am going into Phase 2. I (painfully) realized halfway through the fitness test that I strained my shoulder in last Sunday's gym session; I was going to do my chin-ups when there was this small crack sound and a sharp pain up the left shoulder, and I came right down. So there. A zero for chin-ups, when normally I at least manage a 3. Looking on the brighter side of things, I know now I have no problem with my 2.4 km run anymore. So I'm only left with one station to clear. I need to go buy and install that chin-up bar in my bedroom doorframe.
Ah well. Looking forward to a slimmer, more (leanly) muscular me. Ever the optimist, huh?
Here's another excellent scenario of gender differences. I have one student who was involved in a car accident. She was hospitalized for about 1 month, and just came back to school yesterday. I was walking behind her and her female classmates, and she was saying, "You know ah, now my right hip bone is jutting out a lot, and then the left hip bone almost like disappeared liao..."
In my head: 'Whoa, must have been quite an impact coming from the left!'
Female classmate: "Aiya! Then now you cannot wear your that pair of Levi's jeans liao!"
Injured student: "Yeah lor! So wasted hor."
...
Ah well. Looking forward to a slimmer, more (leanly) muscular me. Ever the optimist, huh?
Here's another excellent scenario of gender differences. I have one student who was involved in a car accident. She was hospitalized for about 1 month, and just came back to school yesterday. I was walking behind her and her female classmates, and she was saying, "You know ah, now my right hip bone is jutting out a lot, and then the left hip bone almost like disappeared liao..."
In my head: 'Whoa, must have been quite an impact coming from the left!'
Female classmate: "Aiya! Then now you cannot wear your that pair of Levi's jeans liao!"
Injured student: "Yeah lor! So wasted hor."
...
Sunday, March 20, 2005
I was reading the newspapers just now about how PM Lee fielded the questions regarding the casino issue. Now I am dead sure the government has always been planning to build it anyway, and the whole thing is just dragging probably because they did not anticipate so much resistance. From his responses one can easily see the stand he represents; it doesn't take much intelligence to recognize that, and it is saddening.
How comforting (with dripping sarcasm here) that the government proposes to build a rehabilitation clinic for gambling addicts should they set up a casino! That is saying "Yes, we will build the casino no matter what you say, but since you citizens are so worried about the detrimental effects, we'll make some token effort to appease you." I am so touched. Build the trap, and provide ointment for the injured prey. They might as well say, "Don't worry. We'll set up a special loans department at low interest rates so that addicted gamblers don't need to borrow from loansharks."
They might as well set up a prostitution zone, and then have a Centre of Communicable Diseases to treat the aftermath. Oh. They already have that. Hmm, and more prostitutes are hovering around Orchard Towers, Joo Chiat and Geylang? Wow. Good for tourism I guess, so unlikely to be removed. Allow cigarettes, and impose huge tariffs, up the prices and earn lots of money, and then have rehab centres also then. Or maybe more clinics. Or maybe sell more nicotine patches. Hmm...that seems to be present also. What next then? Allow pornographic distribution, and then have counselling centres? Allow drugs to be on sale (highly taxed, of course), and then have more drug rehab centres? Allow guns to be sold, and then have more prisons in Changi?
Come on, pass a man a gun and a first aid kit so that he can shoot himself and then bandage himself up? Try harder puh-lease. And what's that about many people buy 4D etc, and if he mentioned a number then, it would be a sellout? And that all these said people are responsible folks? I personally think that most people are satisfied with 4D and Toto simply because it is too costly and troublesome to go up to Genting all the time. And already there are people willing to do so. So what now, if a casino is built right at our doorstep? I don't believe none of these responsible family men who only buy 4D and Toto will make their way down to the casino.
I don't think most people are sex maniacs. But try allowing porn to be distributed here legally and let's see if molest and rape statistics go up. I don't think the average citizen is murderous either. But let guns be on sale here, and let's see if there's shooting at the next road rage incident, or a death in the next robbery. Build a casino, and we'll see more Simon Lee suicides, bad debts, and bankruptcies. Rehab clinic for gamblers? Duh.
Casi~NOOOOOO!
How comforting (with dripping sarcasm here) that the government proposes to build a rehabilitation clinic for gambling addicts should they set up a casino! That is saying "Yes, we will build the casino no matter what you say, but since you citizens are so worried about the detrimental effects, we'll make some token effort to appease you." I am so touched. Build the trap, and provide ointment for the injured prey. They might as well say, "Don't worry. We'll set up a special loans department at low interest rates so that addicted gamblers don't need to borrow from loansharks."
They might as well set up a prostitution zone, and then have a Centre of Communicable Diseases to treat the aftermath. Oh. They already have that. Hmm, and more prostitutes are hovering around Orchard Towers, Joo Chiat and Geylang? Wow. Good for tourism I guess, so unlikely to be removed. Allow cigarettes, and impose huge tariffs, up the prices and earn lots of money, and then have rehab centres also then. Or maybe more clinics. Or maybe sell more nicotine patches. Hmm...that seems to be present also. What next then? Allow pornographic distribution, and then have counselling centres? Allow drugs to be on sale (highly taxed, of course), and then have more drug rehab centres? Allow guns to be sold, and then have more prisons in Changi?
Come on, pass a man a gun and a first aid kit so that he can shoot himself and then bandage himself up? Try harder puh-lease. And what's that about many people buy 4D etc, and if he mentioned a number then, it would be a sellout? And that all these said people are responsible folks? I personally think that most people are satisfied with 4D and Toto simply because it is too costly and troublesome to go up to Genting all the time. And already there are people willing to do so. So what now, if a casino is built right at our doorstep? I don't believe none of these responsible family men who only buy 4D and Toto will make their way down to the casino.
I don't think most people are sex maniacs. But try allowing porn to be distributed here legally and let's see if molest and rape statistics go up. I don't think the average citizen is murderous either. But let guns be on sale here, and let's see if there's shooting at the next road rage incident, or a death in the next robbery. Build a casino, and we'll see more Simon Lee suicides, bad debts, and bankruptcies. Rehab clinic for gamblers? Duh.
Casi~NOOOOOO!
I am really a social creature at heart. Today I had to miss service to make up one session of RT because of last week's encounter weekend, and I expected that I would be alone there, since it's a different group. In the end, I found 2 guys who are also in the Sunday morning group, and we chatted a lot, and I also befriended a few other guys. I still find RT kinda fun, but it would be dead boring to be alone and silent for me. I think God is really nice to me. Because the RT starts at around 4, I thought it would be terribly hot. So I told God to give me some shade. And guess what? On my way to the camp, the sky grew overcast, and drizzled for a short while. And after that, the clouds stayed there and blocked the sun all the way! So blessed, I can't contain it~ Anyay, I think I pushed myself too hard today; my legs are aching. I guess I just wanted to see what speed I am capable of in running, though the glory days are long past.
I rushed home for dinner and rushed out again, in spite of aches and pains. I was supposed to meet my cell guys and some gals from mclgc (henceforth used as an abbrieviation for "my cell leader's girlfriend's cell") to go karaoke. Actually, when I was setting off, looking at the time, I already had a gut feeling (and my gut instinct is uncannily precise often enough) that it would fall through. Did I listen? No. (I also have a bad habit of ignoring my often-uncannily-precise gut instinct.) I could have stayed at home and took a rest, because tomorrow (by now, later) I have yet another RT session, and come Tuesday, it's my IPPT session. I could have stayed at home and marked assignments that I ought to have finished earlier in the week but I was busy squandering my time away on games and anime.
So true enough, when I reached there, the gals pulled out. So in the end, we scrapped the thing because it's like only slightly less than half the original group left. We threw out suggestions on what else to do, but in the end, everyone just wants to go home. Cool - I rushed down to Tiong Bahru just to eat two bites of a birthday cake. Then again, if there wasn't this karaoke thing planned, and they asked me to come down to celebrate a birthday, I think I still would make my way down. Guess it was just frustrating that the outing suddenly fell through horribly.
I decided I would not let the night go to waste like this. So I rang up Shups, who was still at Parkway Parade, and in the end, settled on a last minute pool session. Yes, I just played pool yesternight, but how can that be enough? Hehe. Today, I played well. Maybe I subconsciously wanted to make-up for a night otherwise gone wrong. I was consistent, and accurate, until maybe the last couple of games. For a long time, my rebounds have been missing the mark, but today was good. Same goes for proxy shots. And precision shots. Today is a satisfying day, even though overall, I think my team lost by a couple of games to Shups' team. Still, by measure of my own performance, I see some slow and gradual improvement over the past few months. I think watching Naruto has inspired me to train harder to become excellent and never give up!
I will become superb some day~ Shoot for the stars.
Now to face the grim reality again. In 4 hours' time, I gotta wake up and go for my RT session. What a hefty price to pay for recreation...hmm...while I'm at positive self-speak...I will become fighting fit again some day~
I rushed home for dinner and rushed out again, in spite of aches and pains. I was supposed to meet my cell guys and some gals from mclgc (henceforth used as an abbrieviation for "my cell leader's girlfriend's cell") to go karaoke. Actually, when I was setting off, looking at the time, I already had a gut feeling (and my gut instinct is uncannily precise often enough) that it would fall through. Did I listen? No. (I also have a bad habit of ignoring my often-uncannily-precise gut instinct.) I could have stayed at home and took a rest, because tomorrow (by now, later) I have yet another RT session, and come Tuesday, it's my IPPT session. I could have stayed at home and marked assignments that I ought to have finished earlier in the week but I was busy squandering my time away on games and anime.
So true enough, when I reached there, the gals pulled out. So in the end, we scrapped the thing because it's like only slightly less than half the original group left. We threw out suggestions on what else to do, but in the end, everyone just wants to go home. Cool - I rushed down to Tiong Bahru just to eat two bites of a birthday cake. Then again, if there wasn't this karaoke thing planned, and they asked me to come down to celebrate a birthday, I think I still would make my way down. Guess it was just frustrating that the outing suddenly fell through horribly.
I decided I would not let the night go to waste like this. So I rang up Shups, who was still at Parkway Parade, and in the end, settled on a last minute pool session. Yes, I just played pool yesternight, but how can that be enough? Hehe. Today, I played well. Maybe I subconsciously wanted to make-up for a night otherwise gone wrong. I was consistent, and accurate, until maybe the last couple of games. For a long time, my rebounds have been missing the mark, but today was good. Same goes for proxy shots. And precision shots. Today is a satisfying day, even though overall, I think my team lost by a couple of games to Shups' team. Still, by measure of my own performance, I see some slow and gradual improvement over the past few months. I think watching Naruto has inspired me to train harder to become excellent and never give up!
I will become superb some day~ Shoot for the stars.
Now to face the grim reality again. In 4 hours' time, I gotta wake up and go for my RT session. What a hefty price to pay for recreation...hmm...while I'm at positive self-speak...I will become fighting fit again some day~
Thursday, March 17, 2005
Hmm the I'm-unhappy-with-my-job phenomenon is really getting to me. Let's see. Just counting from the start of the year, and counting only friends and not acquaintances, I know of 5 friends who tendered their resignation letters, and 2 who are seriously considering quitting. And that does not even include scores of friends and acquaintances who are unhappy with their jobs. Why does it bother me? Because it makes me wonder what's wrong with those jobs. I think I stand by what I recently told my students when they asked me about what makes a good job: essentially, no matter how good the prospects are, how good the pay is, whether you stay or go usually is due to work relationships, between you and your colleagues, and/or with your boss(es). It's usually conflicts that drive people away anyway.
As much as their negativity gets to me, I think my positivity irks some of them too, whereupon they ask me why am I happy with teaching then? After much thinking, I think it boils down to two factors: purpose and people.
Purpose is two-fold; one is God's purpose for my life, and the other is the purpose I see in what I do. Actually I didn't tell many people about exactly why and how I came into teaching, so I guess this is as good a time as any. A long, long time ago, I was offered a Teaching Scholarship, because that was all that PSC would offer for my choice of course, Chemical Engineering. But at that point in time, I really couldn't see myself being a teacher, so I turned it down, thinking that I would go into the industry and make lots of money (it was the petrochem boom then), and take care of my mum. After that, I became Christian, and my worldview started to shift. At the end of my course in NUS, I was stuck with the golden question: where do I go from here?
I was still keen on the petrochem industry, especially in Shell company. I made my application, and sat through a gruelling exam (they have their own system of assessment, which doesn't really take into account what degree you have). In the meantime, however, suddenly I find many people - friends, pastors, girlfriend, relatives - asking offhand why I didn't consider teaching. I was reluctant to, because it felt like shooting myself in the foot, after turning down a scholarship (=36k thereabouts). Anyway, I told God that if He had other intentions for my career, then close the door on Shell. I didn't make it into Shell, even though I thought I performed well. On one bus ride back home one fine day, God showed me a vision. Actually, more like a mini-movie in my head that lasted a full 45 minutes. Out of nowhere, I saw myself in a classroom, first day of school, giving an inspiring speech to my new students. That speech in the vision actually lasted 45 minutes too. (On hindsight, I should have realized God would send me to a JC! Sec sch periods are about 35 minutes only...keke) At the end of which, I told God, "Ok ok, I get the point." So I applied to MOE, and got in fairly effortlessly.
Yes, purpose. I am happy where I am because I know it's precisely where God wants me to be. I suppose God made it easy for me; I know many who are still dying to know God's plans for them. And the purpose I see in what I am doing is sacred. Frankly, I still hold the opinion that teaching is the closest job to being a pastor - directly influencing the lives of many people, and imparting knowledge and wisdom. I am satisfied knowing that I have impacted quite a few students already, and some years down the road if I see them again, I know I have had a hand in making someone a better man or woman. For this alone, I decided it was not worth it to earn big bucks and face silly machinery, pipes and valves all day long.
The second factor is people. I actually do love my students, every last irritate-me-to-no-end, refuse-to-do-homework, only-think-of-playing one of them. I agonize over their results sometimes, with an almost parental grief. It's then I remind myself of the potential I see in each of them. Till now, I don't think I have said any hurting word, or any insult that tears them down, to them. I'm still waiting for them to buck up for their final lap for 'A' levels. The most blessed thing, I guess, would be the fact that I have wonderful colleagues and superiors. Whatever politicking there might be is minimal and barely visible. Most are warm and friendly. One friend asked: if she quit her job to escape her mean boss, would she end up in exactly the same rut elsewhere?
I think there's hope out there. There are some nice working environments around the place, mine included. I only pray that I'll still be writing as joyfully years down the road from now...
As much as their negativity gets to me, I think my positivity irks some of them too, whereupon they ask me why am I happy with teaching then? After much thinking, I think it boils down to two factors: purpose and people.
Purpose is two-fold; one is God's purpose for my life, and the other is the purpose I see in what I do. Actually I didn't tell many people about exactly why and how I came into teaching, so I guess this is as good a time as any. A long, long time ago, I was offered a Teaching Scholarship, because that was all that PSC would offer for my choice of course, Chemical Engineering. But at that point in time, I really couldn't see myself being a teacher, so I turned it down, thinking that I would go into the industry and make lots of money (it was the petrochem boom then), and take care of my mum. After that, I became Christian, and my worldview started to shift. At the end of my course in NUS, I was stuck with the golden question: where do I go from here?
I was still keen on the petrochem industry, especially in Shell company. I made my application, and sat through a gruelling exam (they have their own system of assessment, which doesn't really take into account what degree you have). In the meantime, however, suddenly I find many people - friends, pastors, girlfriend, relatives - asking offhand why I didn't consider teaching. I was reluctant to, because it felt like shooting myself in the foot, after turning down a scholarship (=36k thereabouts). Anyway, I told God that if He had other intentions for my career, then close the door on Shell. I didn't make it into Shell, even though I thought I performed well. On one bus ride back home one fine day, God showed me a vision. Actually, more like a mini-movie in my head that lasted a full 45 minutes. Out of nowhere, I saw myself in a classroom, first day of school, giving an inspiring speech to my new students. That speech in the vision actually lasted 45 minutes too. (On hindsight, I should have realized God would send me to a JC! Sec sch periods are about 35 minutes only...keke) At the end of which, I told God, "Ok ok, I get the point." So I applied to MOE, and got in fairly effortlessly.
Yes, purpose. I am happy where I am because I know it's precisely where God wants me to be. I suppose God made it easy for me; I know many who are still dying to know God's plans for them. And the purpose I see in what I am doing is sacred. Frankly, I still hold the opinion that teaching is the closest job to being a pastor - directly influencing the lives of many people, and imparting knowledge and wisdom. I am satisfied knowing that I have impacted quite a few students already, and some years down the road if I see them again, I know I have had a hand in making someone a better man or woman. For this alone, I decided it was not worth it to earn big bucks and face silly machinery, pipes and valves all day long.
The second factor is people. I actually do love my students, every last irritate-me-to-no-end, refuse-to-do-homework, only-think-of-playing one of them. I agonize over their results sometimes, with an almost parental grief. It's then I remind myself of the potential I see in each of them. Till now, I don't think I have said any hurting word, or any insult that tears them down, to them. I'm still waiting for them to buck up for their final lap for 'A' levels. The most blessed thing, I guess, would be the fact that I have wonderful colleagues and superiors. Whatever politicking there might be is minimal and barely visible. Most are warm and friendly. One friend asked: if she quit her job to escape her mean boss, would she end up in exactly the same rut elsewhere?
I think there's hope out there. There are some nice working environments around the place, mine included. I only pray that I'll still be writing as joyfully years down the road from now...
Wednesday, March 16, 2005
Ah no. I'm getting hooked on Shin's songs. I mean, I've always liked the band (they sound like an asian version of aerosmith...only nicer!) and their music, but I think now I really enjoy singing them. Yes, it's vocal suicide, but sometimes it's those rock or metal kinda music where you can really sing your heart out. Ventilation for the repressed soul maybe.
Doesn't hurt that I have a box of Strepsils standing by.
Sigh. Voice is strained, and whole body is aching from gym session just now. But I do feel healthier after going for RT. I must try to maintain physical fitness even after it ends. It's such a long way off till my next IPPT window though. I need to remain fit for 9 more months before I can take the next IPPT. Lofty goals need great motivation. Come on, let me grow some muscle and feel that it's worth the pain!
Doesn't hurt that I have a box of Strepsils standing by.
Sigh. Voice is strained, and whole body is aching from gym session just now. But I do feel healthier after going for RT. I must try to maintain physical fitness even after it ends. It's such a long way off till my next IPPT window though. I need to remain fit for 9 more months before I can take the next IPPT. Lofty goals need great motivation. Come on, let me grow some muscle and feel that it's worth the pain!
Monday, March 14, 2005
Why am I blogging at 2 am in the morning when I have to wake up at 6 to go to school despite it being the March holidays?
Because I had a wonderful weekend!
I brought my 6 boys to Encounter weekend, at Hope Centre. Side-track a bit first: Hope Centre is a really nice place. It's a hostel, I think, so it has a few floors of rooms with double-decker beds. Fully air-conditioned as well, although the air-con wasn't working very well on the first day. It has a nice cafe at the first floor that reminds me of TCT's Magic Box, with a pool table too! Too bad the table cannot be used anymore. Now this is my 4th encounter already. First one was my own encounter, at Eusoff Hall in NUS (if I remember correctly); second time I was guide at PGP hostel; third time I was a guide for a children's encounter at St Francis Methodist School. I think so far, this venue leaves me with the best impression.
Anyway, on to the main part. Frankly I wasn't feeling particularly close to God the days before the encounter. I was really praying hard that despite my spiritual state, God would still use me to bless my spiritual children. Deep inside me, I had this inane fear that should my kids not experience God during this weekend, it might be my fault, because their spiritual covering comes from me. I must say, my kids are actually quite well-behaved for 13-year olds, but I think I exert rather high expectations on their manners still. I thank God a lot that my kids at least inherited an anointing of faithfulness from me. Generally, I think they are faithful in attending services, cell groups, and other events, though they may not fully be aware of everything that is going on. It is really a great blessing from God that I wouldn't think I deserve. In the least, we had an excellent time of bonding, especially our cup noodle supper time.
But the main thing is that God really moved in their little lives, in His grace. On the first day, I felt that there was no breakthrough, and I stopped them after one session to admonish them somewhat, that they need to take this encounter more seriously and seek God more. Later on, one boy told me he saw a vision of a fire consuming his sin list away, and in the ashes, the word 'blessing' was formed. Interestingly enough, the Sin Solution session involved the kids throwing their sin lists into the fire. Today, God moved even more. In the session on the Holy Spirit, I prayed in tongues, till my throat became strained, with my whole group in a circle, until every single boy spoke in tongues. When I was praying for the infilling of the Holy Spirit, one boy fell under the power of the Spirit. God's grace is exceedingly abundant. I don't think I could have asked for much more to happen in my boys' lives than this, and I know that they enjoyed themselves too, and learnt a great deal. Praise the Lord~
After the encounter ended, I went to meet my cousins at Kbox in Chinatown straightaway. I think I was overly ambitious to schedule a karaoke session right after a camp. My voice was somewhat strained, and it took me about a good 3 hours before my voice warmed up. I must have popped at least a dozen Strepsils throughout the session. It was a fun little reunion though, and we eventually sang our hearts out (and voices too) to Shin's songs. Surprisingly, I can actually most of the notes! Just that it is vocal suicide. Throat hurts madly after 3 songs from them. We really ought to do something like this again...heh. After that we went down to Smith Street for a nice dinner (or supper? 10 pm by then...). We had a wonderful chat till 11.30 pm, whereupon I made the inane suggestion of playing pool, and to my surprise, there were takers! So we ended up driving down to my favourite place Pool Fusion.
In the car on the way there, I finally cleared some things up with my cousin. I am a dense, dense man. So dense that I didn't realize that she was angry with me for something I said, and did not recognize that her sudden absence from all things online was attributed to my words. I hate to admit it, but darn, I am just as dense as every other guy. Still need a lot of work in that area. Hah. In fact, I mistook her disappearance as a need to focus on her work, and I did not contact her at all for a month! Fortunately, somewhere down the line, I had this impromptu idea to organize a little cuzzie get-together, so at least I had the opportunity to talk things over and resolve the issue.
I actually bumped into a friend (actually, my ex's cousin) at Pool Fusion at that time of the night. It's been really long since I last saw him, and we had a short chat. We agreed at least that we would meet up later this month. I must adhere to my resolution of rebuilding some old friendships~Had fun playing pool too. Met a worthy adversary who plays billiards usually, and is therefore uncannily accurate. I had so much fun this weekend I don't quite believe it.
But herein lies the tradeoff - yet another day of not having enough sleep. The whole of last week I slept on average 4.5 hours a day. Yesterday at the camp was no different, and now I'm looking at the sad prospect of the remaining 3 hours to wake-up time. Good morning, world~
Because I had a wonderful weekend!
I brought my 6 boys to Encounter weekend, at Hope Centre. Side-track a bit first: Hope Centre is a really nice place. It's a hostel, I think, so it has a few floors of rooms with double-decker beds. Fully air-conditioned as well, although the air-con wasn't working very well on the first day. It has a nice cafe at the first floor that reminds me of TCT's Magic Box, with a pool table too! Too bad the table cannot be used anymore. Now this is my 4th encounter already. First one was my own encounter, at Eusoff Hall in NUS (if I remember correctly); second time I was guide at PGP hostel; third time I was a guide for a children's encounter at St Francis Methodist School. I think so far, this venue leaves me with the best impression.
Anyway, on to the main part. Frankly I wasn't feeling particularly close to God the days before the encounter. I was really praying hard that despite my spiritual state, God would still use me to bless my spiritual children. Deep inside me, I had this inane fear that should my kids not experience God during this weekend, it might be my fault, because their spiritual covering comes from me. I must say, my kids are actually quite well-behaved for 13-year olds, but I think I exert rather high expectations on their manners still. I thank God a lot that my kids at least inherited an anointing of faithfulness from me. Generally, I think they are faithful in attending services, cell groups, and other events, though they may not fully be aware of everything that is going on. It is really a great blessing from God that I wouldn't think I deserve. In the least, we had an excellent time of bonding, especially our cup noodle supper time.
But the main thing is that God really moved in their little lives, in His grace. On the first day, I felt that there was no breakthrough, and I stopped them after one session to admonish them somewhat, that they need to take this encounter more seriously and seek God more. Later on, one boy told me he saw a vision of a fire consuming his sin list away, and in the ashes, the word 'blessing' was formed. Interestingly enough, the Sin Solution session involved the kids throwing their sin lists into the fire. Today, God moved even more. In the session on the Holy Spirit, I prayed in tongues, till my throat became strained, with my whole group in a circle, until every single boy spoke in tongues. When I was praying for the infilling of the Holy Spirit, one boy fell under the power of the Spirit. God's grace is exceedingly abundant. I don't think I could have asked for much more to happen in my boys' lives than this, and I know that they enjoyed themselves too, and learnt a great deal. Praise the Lord~
After the encounter ended, I went to meet my cousins at Kbox in Chinatown straightaway. I think I was overly ambitious to schedule a karaoke session right after a camp. My voice was somewhat strained, and it took me about a good 3 hours before my voice warmed up. I must have popped at least a dozen Strepsils throughout the session. It was a fun little reunion though, and we eventually sang our hearts out (and voices too) to Shin's songs. Surprisingly, I can actually most of the notes! Just that it is vocal suicide. Throat hurts madly after 3 songs from them. We really ought to do something like this again...heh. After that we went down to Smith Street for a nice dinner (or supper? 10 pm by then...). We had a wonderful chat till 11.30 pm, whereupon I made the inane suggestion of playing pool, and to my surprise, there were takers! So we ended up driving down to my favourite place Pool Fusion.
In the car on the way there, I finally cleared some things up with my cousin. I am a dense, dense man. So dense that I didn't realize that she was angry with me for something I said, and did not recognize that her sudden absence from all things online was attributed to my words. I hate to admit it, but darn, I am just as dense as every other guy. Still need a lot of work in that area. Hah. In fact, I mistook her disappearance as a need to focus on her work, and I did not contact her at all for a month! Fortunately, somewhere down the line, I had this impromptu idea to organize a little cuzzie get-together, so at least I had the opportunity to talk things over and resolve the issue.
I actually bumped into a friend (actually, my ex's cousin) at Pool Fusion at that time of the night. It's been really long since I last saw him, and we had a short chat. We agreed at least that we would meet up later this month. I must adhere to my resolution of rebuilding some old friendships~Had fun playing pool too. Met a worthy adversary who plays billiards usually, and is therefore uncannily accurate. I had so much fun this weekend I don't quite believe it.
But herein lies the tradeoff - yet another day of not having enough sleep. The whole of last week I slept on average 4.5 hours a day. Yesterday at the camp was no different, and now I'm looking at the sad prospect of the remaining 3 hours to wake-up time. Good morning, world~
Saturday, March 12, 2005
Today was a short day at school, but I had to bring 3 students to Ngee Ann Polytechnic for School Video Awards (SVA). Apparently the advertisement the AVC sent in last year won an award, and since all the previous teachers are gone, I had the 'privilege' of escorting my students there. It's far from TJC! The cab ride was $14.10, and hopefully I can claim it back somehow. To me it's ulu; Singapore Polytechnic at least is at Dover mrt.
The SVA organizers are smart. They purposely didn't reveal the winners in advance, and so make it like the Oscars, just so that the various schools will turn up. I guess many schools will give the ceremony a miss if they knew they did not win anything. Good thing TJC won a Merit award. Not bad lah...$200 Carrefour vouchers. But unfortunately, it would go to the school and not to the students. The comperes of the ceremony were too artificial, and the jokes were cold. The only interesting thing is that they managed to get Daniel Yun (think I got the name right), CEO of the Raintree movie production company to present prizes and give a speech. Anyway, despite my expectations that it would bore me to death, surprisingly, some of the videos, especially those made by the Pri Sch kids, were very entertaining.
The whole of today, I must have bumped into at least 8 people I know. At the SVA, I bumped into an old church friend who had since defected to New Creation, and an acquaintance, who's actually a friend of my ex, whom I didn't realize is also a teacher. In any case, she adds to the list of people who have talked to me about quitting their jobs lately. Alarming number. I was heading down to Suntec to meet some old uni classmates, and was passing through Bugis when I bumped into one of the 3 students who I brought down to Ngee Ann Poly. I bumped into church friends, ex army mate, TJC junior, and etc. Quite frankly, I don't think Friendster can accurately capture the size of my network of people I know...heh. I found some more people who want to quit their jobs, a couple of them talked about getting married this year, and etc.
I had a really good time chatting with my ex-classmates. Found out one classmate of ours is actually gay. Now the homosexual sexual preferences have been fully covered by one classmate or other. We talked about old times in uni, friends, people...it's always a nice thing to reminisce. We won't have many more chances once one by one gets married, and have kids. Although, from the looks of it, I wouldn't fall into that category for quite a while.
The SVA organizers are smart. They purposely didn't reveal the winners in advance, and so make it like the Oscars, just so that the various schools will turn up. I guess many schools will give the ceremony a miss if they knew they did not win anything. Good thing TJC won a Merit award. Not bad lah...$200 Carrefour vouchers. But unfortunately, it would go to the school and not to the students. The comperes of the ceremony were too artificial, and the jokes were cold. The only interesting thing is that they managed to get Daniel Yun (think I got the name right), CEO of the Raintree movie production company to present prizes and give a speech. Anyway, despite my expectations that it would bore me to death, surprisingly, some of the videos, especially those made by the Pri Sch kids, were very entertaining.
The whole of today, I must have bumped into at least 8 people I know. At the SVA, I bumped into an old church friend who had since defected to New Creation, and an acquaintance, who's actually a friend of my ex, whom I didn't realize is also a teacher. In any case, she adds to the list of people who have talked to me about quitting their jobs lately. Alarming number. I was heading down to Suntec to meet some old uni classmates, and was passing through Bugis when I bumped into one of the 3 students who I brought down to Ngee Ann Poly. I bumped into church friends, ex army mate, TJC junior, and etc. Quite frankly, I don't think Friendster can accurately capture the size of my network of people I know...heh. I found some more people who want to quit their jobs, a couple of them talked about getting married this year, and etc.
I had a really good time chatting with my ex-classmates. Found out one classmate of ours is actually gay. Now the homosexual sexual preferences have been fully covered by one classmate or other. We talked about old times in uni, friends, people...it's always a nice thing to reminisce. We won't have many more chances once one by one gets married, and have kids. Although, from the looks of it, I wouldn't fall into that category for quite a while.
Thursday, March 10, 2005
Argh! Blogger ate up my post so here I go again...
There was this cute kitten across the road from my school yesterday. I only made a cat call, and it came to me, responsive and affectionate. I played with it a while before I crossed the road. Then when I was going for assembly, I found it near the general office. Well it could have been a different kitten, of course, but it looks too similar for me to assume that. It made its way to the assembly ground, and wrecked a bit of havoc on students clueless as to what to do with the kitten when it curiously wandered into the students' midst. Very amusing to watch, I must say.
I don't like this current SPA assessment. I think I breathed in a lot of ethanol vapour already...alcoholic intoxication? Never mind though. One week break coming up soon. Halfway through one assessment, a colleague freaked me out. He was desperately trying to get hold of me, frantic that the auditorium has not been set up by AVC yet. I rushed there to settle the issue, and found that everything was in order. Apparently he expected the AVC to set up half an hour in advance (which we usually don't, because it doesn't take that long), and he panicked because the guest speaker came earlier than expected, and asked to test his presentation. I think my blood pressure might go up because of every contingency AVC throws at me, whether internally or externally.
No wonder I had the sympathy of many when I took over the club. Argh.
There was this cute kitten across the road from my school yesterday. I only made a cat call, and it came to me, responsive and affectionate. I played with it a while before I crossed the road. Then when I was going for assembly, I found it near the general office. Well it could have been a different kitten, of course, but it looks too similar for me to assume that. It made its way to the assembly ground, and wrecked a bit of havoc on students clueless as to what to do with the kitten when it curiously wandered into the students' midst. Very amusing to watch, I must say.
I don't like this current SPA assessment. I think I breathed in a lot of ethanol vapour already...alcoholic intoxication? Never mind though. One week break coming up soon. Halfway through one assessment, a colleague freaked me out. He was desperately trying to get hold of me, frantic that the auditorium has not been set up by AVC yet. I rushed there to settle the issue, and found that everything was in order. Apparently he expected the AVC to set up half an hour in advance (which we usually don't, because it doesn't take that long), and he panicked because the guest speaker came earlier than expected, and asked to test his presentation. I think my blood pressure might go up because of every contingency AVC throws at me, whether internally or externally.
No wonder I had the sympathy of many when I took over the club. Argh.
Tuesday, March 08, 2005
Today is a frustratingly long day. Because of SPA skill B assessment, we each added about 9 periods to our week, helping each other assess the students' practical skills. So today I had an extra 3 periods. At first I thought I could get some (overdue) marking done before I set off for RT, but suddenly I found myself running all over the place to help settle some AV stuff for a colleague, and then another. Though I always find satisfaction in helping other people, I think I'm getting a bit more easily agitated because lately, I don't find myself staying in the staff room much. I'm either in class, or doing something. Maybe I've been spoilt by last year's easier schedule, but whatever it is, I don't like the idea of having no time in school to finish school's work.
I feel sorry for my students. I've never found myself incapable or lacking, but frankly, I think my students lose out based on the simple fact that I'm new. Some things I would not recognize to emphasize simply because I haven't been teaching long enough. Some techniques that other teachers teach I either have not used it before or am unaware of it. Now, I've always thought that my school practises good sharing of resources, and I've been avidly contributing to the pool of homework answers, but frankly, I think there's a lack of standardization. I think I need some guidance on more specific things. I think my grounding is sound. I think I teach fairly well. But there are things I would never know except through experience, which I cannot attain so fast, or without guidance. I think some initiated sharing from others would be exceedingly helpful. What a way to end the term with some pessimism.
I had a nice chat with one class today while they were doing group discussion. This is the class I have the most rapport I gauge. I gave them a pep talk, and hopefully it can spur them to work harder. It was amusing. But the real blessing of the day: RT wasn't siong! I think after they whacked us hard on Sunday, and we have only yesterday to rest, they didn't push us hard. Finally I get my money's worth...we got to use the gym at last. And I used the treadmill for the first time in my life! So suaku (mountain tortoise) hor. I was impressed by the machinery, that it can incline the whole machine to simulate an uphill run, measure heartbeat etc.
I think the life I lead is so sheltered. I was talking to Kesh and another newly made indian friend VK, and I realized that my social circle is quite innocent. Really. VK was an air steward for a few years some time back, and he was saying that quite a few air stewardesses have boyfriends in different countries to visit, and that sometimes the pilots in midflight of long flights have sex with stewardesses in the latrine cubicles. This is in line with an article I read some time ago, so I'll take his word for it. It's a fallen world out there.
I am a gregarious creature. I found myself chatting with the hawkers just now while buying my dinner. In Hokkien! Woohoo! I think I'm fairly effectively trilingual now. Speak a bit more Hokkien and I can bring back the previous brudder pic I put up. My ambition is to be more pai kia (bad kid)! Bwahahaha.
Shock of the day: the man who committed suicide and killed his wife and 2 kids was from my church! I just saw my senior pastor on the news, commenting on the fact that he has borrowed some money from the church, and that it's a real tragedy. He also said that Singaporeans should be wiser and think carefully before they gamble. How timely, though tragic, of such an incident, amidst the furore of debate regarding the casino, which the government seems so adamant to build in any case. To little skeptical me, it seems like the whole debate and issue is just to drag the thing, delay until they find public justification and vindication to do it.
Maybe they're just waiting for the gamblers to speak up in support.
I feel sorry for my students. I've never found myself incapable or lacking, but frankly, I think my students lose out based on the simple fact that I'm new. Some things I would not recognize to emphasize simply because I haven't been teaching long enough. Some techniques that other teachers teach I either have not used it before or am unaware of it. Now, I've always thought that my school practises good sharing of resources, and I've been avidly contributing to the pool of homework answers, but frankly, I think there's a lack of standardization. I think I need some guidance on more specific things. I think my grounding is sound. I think I teach fairly well. But there are things I would never know except through experience, which I cannot attain so fast, or without guidance. I think some initiated sharing from others would be exceedingly helpful. What a way to end the term with some pessimism.
I had a nice chat with one class today while they were doing group discussion. This is the class I have the most rapport I gauge. I gave them a pep talk, and hopefully it can spur them to work harder. It was amusing. But the real blessing of the day: RT wasn't siong! I think after they whacked us hard on Sunday, and we have only yesterday to rest, they didn't push us hard. Finally I get my money's worth...we got to use the gym at last. And I used the treadmill for the first time in my life! So suaku (mountain tortoise) hor. I was impressed by the machinery, that it can incline the whole machine to simulate an uphill run, measure heartbeat etc.
I think the life I lead is so sheltered. I was talking to Kesh and another newly made indian friend VK, and I realized that my social circle is quite innocent. Really. VK was an air steward for a few years some time back, and he was saying that quite a few air stewardesses have boyfriends in different countries to visit, and that sometimes the pilots in midflight of long flights have sex with stewardesses in the latrine cubicles. This is in line with an article I read some time ago, so I'll take his word for it. It's a fallen world out there.
I am a gregarious creature. I found myself chatting with the hawkers just now while buying my dinner. In Hokkien! Woohoo! I think I'm fairly effectively trilingual now. Speak a bit more Hokkien and I can bring back the previous brudder pic I put up. My ambition is to be more pai kia (bad kid)! Bwahahaha.
Shock of the day: the man who committed suicide and killed his wife and 2 kids was from my church! I just saw my senior pastor on the news, commenting on the fact that he has borrowed some money from the church, and that it's a real tragedy. He also said that Singaporeans should be wiser and think carefully before they gamble. How timely, though tragic, of such an incident, amidst the furore of debate regarding the casino, which the government seems so adamant to build in any case. To little skeptical me, it seems like the whole debate and issue is just to drag the thing, delay until they find public justification and vindication to do it.
Maybe they're just waiting for the gamblers to speak up in support.
Monday, March 07, 2005
Half day today, in celebration of the excellent results of last year's batch of students! Now the wonderful thing is that the lessons missed today is the SPA actual assessment, which cannot be missed, so guess I have to come back next Mon during the one-week break. Ah well. No such thing as a free lunch.
Then again, I did have a free lunch. Apparently, the tradition is that the HODs and higher-ups will treat a meal for the staff in celebration of a job well done in drilling the students to death that they ended up doing well. We went down to Quality Hotel ballroom to have a buffet lunch. For those who don't know where it is, it's along Balestier Rd. Quote of the day, from a colleague: "Quality Hotel? Come on, if a restaurant calls itself Delicious Restaurant, would you go and eat?" The place and food is not bad actually; I think it recently got renovated, according to an ex-classmate who worked there for a while. In any case, I've established myself as one of the Big Eaters of the department. There was also an amusing manifestation of Maternal Instinct. Different baby this time, but same phenomenon, with a bigger swarm of energized women this time.
After that, some colleagues and I went down to Bugis arcade! Bwahaha so nostalgic. Haven't been to an arcade for a while. We had a lot of fun, playing all sorts of games. I think the most amusing one was that we played the drum machine game, but cheated with two people playing at the same time (by right, should be one drummer...). We relinquished the seat when we saw a couple of guys coming in with their own drumsticks. They set the game to highest difficulty, naturally, and proceeded to impress the crowd. I have already lost count of the number of people who have memorized game sequences (para para sakura also comes to mind) to go to the arcades to show off, but seriously, bringing your own drumsticks to go play an arcade game drum machine really tops it off. It would be the equivalent of someone wearing clubbing gear to play para para, or someone wearing a police (or NPCC?) uniform to play virtual cop.
Hmmm...but considering I'm the kind who will put in heart and soul to master something I'm really interested in, I guess nothing much separates me from such people, except the purpose of showing off perhaps. Then again, if I am that good with the drums, I would much rather be practising with a real live band, and a real drum set, then to sink money into an arcade machine.
Then again, I did have a free lunch. Apparently, the tradition is that the HODs and higher-ups will treat a meal for the staff in celebration of a job well done in drilling the students to death that they ended up doing well. We went down to Quality Hotel ballroom to have a buffet lunch. For those who don't know where it is, it's along Balestier Rd. Quote of the day, from a colleague: "Quality Hotel? Come on, if a restaurant calls itself Delicious Restaurant, would you go and eat?" The place and food is not bad actually; I think it recently got renovated, according to an ex-classmate who worked there for a while. In any case, I've established myself as one of the Big Eaters of the department. There was also an amusing manifestation of Maternal Instinct. Different baby this time, but same phenomenon, with a bigger swarm of energized women this time.
After that, some colleagues and I went down to Bugis arcade! Bwahaha so nostalgic. Haven't been to an arcade for a while. We had a lot of fun, playing all sorts of games. I think the most amusing one was that we played the drum machine game, but cheated with two people playing at the same time (by right, should be one drummer...). We relinquished the seat when we saw a couple of guys coming in with their own drumsticks. They set the game to highest difficulty, naturally, and proceeded to impress the crowd. I have already lost count of the number of people who have memorized game sequences (para para sakura also comes to mind) to go to the arcades to show off, but seriously, bringing your own drumsticks to go play an arcade game drum machine really tops it off. It would be the equivalent of someone wearing clubbing gear to play para para, or someone wearing a police (or NPCC?) uniform to play virtual cop.
Hmmm...but considering I'm the kind who will put in heart and soul to master something I'm really interested in, I guess nothing much separates me from such people, except the purpose of showing off perhaps. Then again, if I am that good with the drums, I would much rather be practising with a real live band, and a real drum set, then to sink money into an arcade machine.
Sunday, March 06, 2005
Enjoying life is really all about attitude. Today is the third session of RT, and argh, my pectorals, triceps and forearms ache madly now. But I enjoyed it actually. No, I am not a masochist. I just think that since I have no choice but to attend it, I should make the best of it. So I tried very hard. I gave my all when I ran the 2.4km after heavy kinesthetics workout. I saw many people complaining, many people giving up halfway, and many people running 3 rounds (about 600m per round) instead of 4, pretending they finished. It boils down to a "Why am I here?" versus my "Since I'm here, might as well enjoy it" attitude. I am only keeping two goals in mind: to lose weight, and keep fit. Ideally, this should set up some discipline and momentum, and I can maintain a regular exercise routine. I think I may just take up the SAFRA promotion for the gym...
I drank way too much coffee just now. Had an iced mocha at Phin's Steakhouse, and then shared an iced irish cream coffee elephancino (what a mouthful!) at NYDC. It was a nice little gathering of old friends. Nice catching up too. Eventually it dwindled down to 4 single people talking about relationships. Sigh. So nostalgic. But then again, if it feels nostalgic, that means we had overall not made any progress! Argh!
I drank way too much coffee just now. Had an iced mocha at Phin's Steakhouse, and then shared an iced irish cream coffee elephancino (what a mouthful!) at NYDC. It was a nice little gathering of old friends. Nice catching up too. Eventually it dwindled down to 4 single people talking about relationships. Sigh. So nostalgic. But then again, if it feels nostalgic, that means we had overall not made any progress! Argh!
Saturday, March 05, 2005
What a long day today is again. I thought things should wind down near end of term, but nooooo. I manned the JAE info centre for almost 4 hours, had a lecture, then went to set up the hall for principal. Yes, today is the release of A level results, the moment many have been waiting for. I managed to capture only a couple of shots, and from where I was (the AV sound room), I couldn't pretty much get any clear shot, but the photos are below.
One thing I realized: some students took the opportunity to come in wearing clothes they would otherwise be unable to pull off. Guys came in generally properly dressed, especially since the bulk of them came in t-shirt and jeans, complete with recruit haircut, straight out of Tekong. Some girls came in super-short skirts, heavily dyed hair, low-cut tops, and one wore a translucent black top, showing a conspicuous black bra. Is it some form of vengeance against discipline I wonder?
But the air was truly abuzz with excitement. Not just the students, but the staff as well, waiting to find out how their students fared. There were loud cheers for top scorers; tears were shed, some happy tears, some tears of sorrow; there were hugs, high-fives, and ooomphs from students who did well. Frankly I didn't remember it was so emotional when I was getting my A level results, but then again, that was 9 years ago - my memory may have failed me. This time next year I will be among the eagerly anticipating, when my current batch of students will be awaiting the release of their A level results. I hope they all wise up now and do well then.
After that, my cell (or whatever's remaining of it today) went for the tabernacle experience. In contrast to what I expected, the place was extraordinarily peaceful. Frankly, from the biblical description, I figured if God's presence resided in this tabernacle model the church built, it should at least resemble that pillar of cloud (in the day) and fire (in the night) a few thousand years ago. Not physically, of course, but I was somehow expecting to feel the awesome presence of God, and the consuming fire of His purity. After all, people then can die from stepping into the holy of holies. Ah well, supernatural peace is good too.
J, Collin and me went to play pool after it all ended, around midnight. J was reigning champion all the way till he left. He commented he was actually nervous when he played with me, so I take it as a compliment that I'm improving. Today's shots were less consistent; my eyes were hurting. It is bad for my health to sleep so little each day...But looking on the bright side, I'm having a pretty good feel for placing nowadays. Just takes more practice for proper execution. I will improve!
Minor irritation on my way home though - I was waiting for a cab, and there was this couple behind me, sort of forming a queue where cabs usually stop, and this woman who just came down stood just about less than 10 steps in front of us, and hijacked my cab. I decided that I would not let anger ruin a good night, but the woman behind me was railing at the hijacker for lack of manners. Ah well...such things happen far too often for me to want to take it to heart. In any case I always believe that God is fair; people reap what they sow.
One thing I realized: some students took the opportunity to come in wearing clothes they would otherwise be unable to pull off. Guys came in generally properly dressed, especially since the bulk of them came in t-shirt and jeans, complete with recruit haircut, straight out of Tekong. Some girls came in super-short skirts, heavily dyed hair, low-cut tops, and one wore a translucent black top, showing a conspicuous black bra. Is it some form of vengeance against discipline I wonder?
But the air was truly abuzz with excitement. Not just the students, but the staff as well, waiting to find out how their students fared. There were loud cheers for top scorers; tears were shed, some happy tears, some tears of sorrow; there were hugs, high-fives, and ooomphs from students who did well. Frankly I didn't remember it was so emotional when I was getting my A level results, but then again, that was 9 years ago - my memory may have failed me. This time next year I will be among the eagerly anticipating, when my current batch of students will be awaiting the release of their A level results. I hope they all wise up now and do well then.
After that, my cell (or whatever's remaining of it today) went for the tabernacle experience. In contrast to what I expected, the place was extraordinarily peaceful. Frankly, from the biblical description, I figured if God's presence resided in this tabernacle model the church built, it should at least resemble that pillar of cloud (in the day) and fire (in the night) a few thousand years ago. Not physically, of course, but I was somehow expecting to feel the awesome presence of God, and the consuming fire of His purity. After all, people then can die from stepping into the holy of holies. Ah well, supernatural peace is good too.
J, Collin and me went to play pool after it all ended, around midnight. J was reigning champion all the way till he left. He commented he was actually nervous when he played with me, so I take it as a compliment that I'm improving. Today's shots were less consistent; my eyes were hurting. It is bad for my health to sleep so little each day...But looking on the bright side, I'm having a pretty good feel for placing nowadays. Just takes more practice for proper execution. I will improve!
Minor irritation on my way home though - I was waiting for a cab, and there was this couple behind me, sort of forming a queue where cabs usually stop, and this woman who just came down stood just about less than 10 steps in front of us, and hijacked my cab. I decided that I would not let anger ruin a good night, but the woman behind me was railing at the hijacker for lack of manners. Ah well...such things happen far too often for me to want to take it to heart. In any case I always believe that God is fair; people reap what they sow.
Thursday, March 03, 2005
I've been busier lately. Somehow, many 'arrows' have befallen me in these few weeks, and as I thought, term 1 constitutes a more hectic schedule. For the whole of this week, I've been put on JAE info duty almost all of my free periods. Of course, the ironic thing is that actually I'm as clueless as the students and parents who come to consult me. Talk about learning on the job.
I suppose the good thing is that my encouraging nature is put to good use. I have attended to way too many distraught people in the past 2 days. I realized that parents nowadays are really concerned about their kids' academic choices. To be fair, I think in the past they are also concerned, but the older generation is generally clueless about the procedures, or the schools, and etc. Right now, the parents come from a generation which is well-informed, and as we complain that kids nowadays are more pampered, it means that these parents are the culprits. So it's every bit reasonable that they take it upon themselves to settle their kids into a school they want their children to go to.
Although some really kiasu parents amused us a bit, I actually do empathize with their situation. It is surprising, but this cohort has seemed to perform exceedingly well, resulting in the cutoff points for many JCs being raised. I can't say that the insistence of some parents didn't grate my nerves somewhat, but still, I see a parent's concern and recognize the love (hopefully, it's love) it stems from. So I try to treat them as nicely as I can, and give as much info and advice as I can. Who knows, someday I might become the same kiasu kind of parent, trying to squeeze my child into one of the top JCs...
I suppose the good thing is that my encouraging nature is put to good use. I have attended to way too many distraught people in the past 2 days. I realized that parents nowadays are really concerned about their kids' academic choices. To be fair, I think in the past they are also concerned, but the older generation is generally clueless about the procedures, or the schools, and etc. Right now, the parents come from a generation which is well-informed, and as we complain that kids nowadays are more pampered, it means that these parents are the culprits. So it's every bit reasonable that they take it upon themselves to settle their kids into a school they want their children to go to.
Although some really kiasu parents amused us a bit, I actually do empathize with their situation. It is surprising, but this cohort has seemed to perform exceedingly well, resulting in the cutoff points for many JCs being raised. I can't say that the insistence of some parents didn't grate my nerves somewhat, but still, I see a parent's concern and recognize the love (hopefully, it's love) it stems from. So I try to treat them as nicely as I can, and give as much info and advice as I can. Who knows, someday I might become the same kiasu kind of parent, trying to squeeze my child into one of the top JCs...
Wednesday, March 02, 2005
Here's a little spoof song I did out of sheer boredom from marking practical scripts...
Every Test You Take
(Sung to Sting's Every Breath You Take)
Every test you take
Every excuse you make
Every vow you break
Every step you take
I'll be watching you
Every single day
Every word you say
Every class you play
Every thought you stray
I'll be watching you
O can't you see
You should come to me
How my poor heart aches each time I see your grades
Every excuse you make
Every vow you break
Every letter you fake
Every boast you stake
I'll be watching you
Since day one you’ve been lost without a trace
I teach in class I see blankness on your face
I look around but it's you who’s a disgrace
I keep shouting wake up please
Every Test You Take
(Sung to Sting's Every Breath You Take)
Every test you take
Every excuse you make
Every vow you break
Every step you take
I'll be watching you
Every single day
Every word you say
Every class you play
Every thought you stray
I'll be watching you
O can't you see
You should come to me
How my poor heart aches each time I see your grades
Every excuse you make
Every vow you break
Every letter you fake
Every boast you stake
I'll be watching you
Since day one you’ve been lost without a trace
I teach in class I see blankness on your face
I look around but it's you who’s a disgrace
I keep shouting wake up please
I was just relating a little incident at work to Shups yesterday and realized I'd forgotten to blog it.
Now in my school, there is a tradition that a teacher whose baby just turned one month old (man yue i.e. full month) will buy cakes for everyone. The art teacher, who just gave birth to her third baby, happened to bring the little bundle of joy along to school also. So there I was, snacking away at the cakes in the staff lounge, when she appeared. Suddenly, the air was thick with maternal instinct, and every female teacher, married or single, rushed to the mother, and went ga-ga over the baby. And her 3 year old son whom she brought along also.
So there I was, sitting nonchalantly, observing with amusement how the women fuss over the baby and all. Here's the amusing part. Amidst all the fuss, a male colleague came in, saw the mother and baby, muttered 'oh', walked by, patted the baby on the head a little, and walked on to fill his water bottle.
The epitome of gender differences. I don't think the women even realized the guy came by I think.
Now in my school, there is a tradition that a teacher whose baby just turned one month old (man yue i.e. full month) will buy cakes for everyone. The art teacher, who just gave birth to her third baby, happened to bring the little bundle of joy along to school also. So there I was, snacking away at the cakes in the staff lounge, when she appeared. Suddenly, the air was thick with maternal instinct, and every female teacher, married or single, rushed to the mother, and went ga-ga over the baby. And her 3 year old son whom she brought along also.
So there I was, sitting nonchalantly, observing with amusement how the women fuss over the baby and all. Here's the amusing part. Amidst all the fuss, a male colleague came in, saw the mother and baby, muttered 'oh', walked by, patted the baby on the head a little, and walked on to fill his water bottle.
The epitome of gender differences. I don't think the women even realized the guy came by I think.
Tuesday, March 01, 2005
I just came back from Remedial Training. It was tiring, but not knock-you-out-cold kind of exhausting. Yet. From a positive perspective, it was actually kinda fun. I think in Singapore there is really a Universal Brotherhood, a.k.a. National Service. Put a whole bunch of men who have completed NS together, from any walk of life, and they will get along. There was a lot of running, a lot of other exercises like push-ups, jumping jacks, and etc, but interspersed with jokes and cheeky comments. Frankly, as long as I don't come to RT with a hateful spirit, it will be enjoyable enough. I don't feel much fitter after one session though; the Physical Training Instructors (PTIs) said that this is only 50% of what it should be. So I expect the training to get tougher. I've made a couple of new friends on Sunday, and today I made a new one again.
Today's new friend is worth a special mention. Somehow we just started talking. I felt a certain affinity with him, and started chatting actually. Honestly, I think the Holy Spirit singled him out, but I'm still trying to ascertain that. His name is Keshpaal (unique huh?), mixed parentage of Singh and chinese. He stays fairly near me, so we decided to share a cab back after every RT session. So while we were waiting for a cab, we chatted a lot. There are people who are wary, or soft-spoken and do not open up much, and then there are people (like me) who can almost tell you a whole life story if you'd only ask at the drop of a hat. He's the latter case too. The interesting thing is that he's actually a backslided Christian, which somehow surfaced in conversation, and there went this 'ding!' in my head. Bingo! I feel compelled to invite him to church. But not yet. Wait till I know him better first. He's an interesting fella to get to know better anyway. Funny chap. In any case, I think I should expand the ethnicity of my social circle...
Ok butt and thighs are aching. I suppose it isn't a wasted trip to Bedok camp then. Even though I didn't get to use the fancy gym...
Today's new friend is worth a special mention. Somehow we just started talking. I felt a certain affinity with him, and started chatting actually. Honestly, I think the Holy Spirit singled him out, but I'm still trying to ascertain that. His name is Keshpaal (unique huh?), mixed parentage of Singh and chinese. He stays fairly near me, so we decided to share a cab back after every RT session. So while we were waiting for a cab, we chatted a lot. There are people who are wary, or soft-spoken and do not open up much, and then there are people (like me) who can almost tell you a whole life story if you'd only ask at the drop of a hat. He's the latter case too. The interesting thing is that he's actually a backslided Christian, which somehow surfaced in conversation, and there went this 'ding!' in my head. Bingo! I feel compelled to invite him to church. But not yet. Wait till I know him better first. He's an interesting fella to get to know better anyway. Funny chap. In any case, I think I should expand the ethnicity of my social circle...
Ok butt and thighs are aching. I suppose it isn't a wasted trip to Bedok camp then. Even though I didn't get to use the fancy gym...