Leaving in about 5 hours for Beijing

I was completing my work review form just a few minutes ago. I started working on it on Wednesday but simply couldn't finish. One medical exam after another has exhausted me. I was in JB for an examination and the doctor happened to be the parent of my ex pupil from RGS. Small world indeed. And I remember her and how she spoke too. Then I visited with another student's parents who took me out for lunch. I really overburdened them the whole day. Shall not do it again. Poor things got to listen to me rattle on and on about my life.

I came home tired and went online to check my mail when another student alerted me. He wanted to thank me for teaching him. He told me that I was the highlight of his entire high school career. I am the only teacher that he waited to hear each time. He said I was temperamental and there was a certain aura about me. I laughed because I thought aura is not really appropriate. He clarified that he won't be able to tell if I was going to burst into some scoldings or some chiding or some encouragement. I often left them sitting on edge each time I walked into their class. I take this as a compliment. I am not predictable. Why should any teacher be? Predictability spells the death of all teachings.

As I finished up the work review I reflected about my work with the school. Dare I say this, I have fought a good fight. I have finished my course with the school. And by the grace of God I survived all these 8 years. I leave now by His will and go to wherever He has led me to because of Who my God is. I don't really know what I can do there but I am certain of this... He will work again and again with what He has for me. He has assigned according to everyone our GREAT work. So dont' take anything you do too lightly. Even if it is just cleaning the dishes, it is still God's great work for us. 

It is not what you do that make you great. Not how you start that makes you great. It is how you finish. 

I care very much how each of my students finish the race each year. Did they do well? If they don't how do they finish off their bad year? Some will get up and fight on, some will mop and wade in self blame. Some drenched totally with guilt and regret. 

I don't like to regret what I do. I think it is a very sad thing to regret. We have to make an informed decision and after making that decision we have to bear the consequences. 

So I have moved out of my office. Most of the stuff is out. What is left is something I can carry with one arm. Why ? My left arm has been badly injured and the pain that is constantly there is becoming louder each night as I lay in bed.

My work review ended with a grateful heart for all the school has done for me. Especially my reporting officer and my senior teacher in my geog department. And to some of my colleagues I got to know over the years, a new milestone for me and them too.


Good rest everyone. Christmas is coming so soon. I am going to prepare a Canadian Turkey dinner this year.

Chocolate Chip Cookies!

Yes, I baked them. And they are so sweet and chewy. Those who like them sweet, they are going to be so good. Those who want them chewy, well, mine are really chewy and also crispy. Thanks to the Kenwood Mixer and Hershey's choc chip cookie recipe. What is so strange is that when I used the same recipe in Calgary, mine never turned out as sweet and chewy. Why? I must have done something different in Calgary. So I shall wait for Bonita to tell me.

The photo on the right shows the cookie batter in the oven, baked at 180 degrees Celsius. Take a look at how they are bubbling up and then only to flatten out.

The photo on the right shows the cookies that are waiting to cool so I can sink my teeth into them. Well the cookies in the plate are my first batch. They were just pushed off the baking tray and as a result broke to pieces of bite sizes. It was then I realized that the cookies were that soft.  But the last batch to come out look just like Famous Amos. Although Amos gives away free smells, even if the smell of my cookies are free, you probably won't even bother. They are just too far from reach. But look at the colour! Golden yah! Wrong...when it fully cools it is actually rather much darker.

I love to bake. I will be trying an apple pie pretty soon. I bake very good shepherd's pie too. Can't wait to put my hands in the pie mixture. Probably will have to do it after my return from Beijing.

Why the sudden urge to bake cookies? I have been thinking about them for the whole week. I wanted to know if the baking requirements will change with the change in sea level. In Calgary I lived at about 1000m above the sea. Here in Singapore I am at ground zero. So pressure should be changed and will affect how my cookies rise or fall. So I tested tonight and these are really flat although nice to eat.

Today I did another amazing thing! I cleared out of my office. The only things left are those I can carry with one bag and I will clear out when I return from Beijing totally. I still have some tiny details to finish and then I am all done. I dropped all my stuff at the new school. My new colleague who will be working with me in Geography is so kind. She has decided to keep some of my stuff. She is Ida and she has a big heart. I pray God will give us a good working relationship.

That's all for now. I have to pack the cookies and get ready for Bible study tomorrow. It is our last lesson for the year and tomorrow we are going to have one more tea break. This time, someone is going to bring us Porridge with all the garnish. We heard their porridge is really, really yummy. It is not the food but the fellowship amongst friends who learn together about Christ that makes what we eat every week taste so good.

Tomorrow evening I will be meeting some of my ex boys. One is flying off to New York for an 8 month course. So lucky of him. I just hope he sees the snow storm and that tons of snow will fall on where he resides. May his Christmas be so blessed with the spirit of our Lord and may Yi Fong comes to know Jesus and His reason for the season.

Christmas is round the corner and it is my favourite season of the year. This year, I will roast a turkey and enjoy it with my god family. Not sure if my house is ready. If it is then my friends can bring their own chairs and I will bring the turkey all roasted.

Talk to you soon!

Faceoff book

The hols are here for me at least and I learned an important truth, I am really bored. So I was on this new toy that everyone seems to be hyped about...Facebook. At first I was only using it to connect with friends and lately, it has become a tool to kill time. And I played two games. Farmville and just about a week ago I was invited to join Cafe world. Well, I come to one BIG realization, I think these are really wasting my time.

So I removed everything in my farm because I don't want anyone visiting to see a whole pile of dead weeds, trees etc. Not a pleasant sight. For the cafe, I just got whatever food that it is serving and type the name of my cafe as No more food or something like that. 


Time to get busy with many stuff. First up, I have to go for two medical checkups. Then to take a short break in China before heading to Malaysia to start my renovation project of my house. In the meantime, I have to get the CAS program for the new batch of IB students coming in next year. 


I met someone at the new school I will be joining this morning. And straightaway I was asked to prepare a programme for CAS. I find it so exciting. I get to run it the way I know it best for the new students who are in IB. Good thing for me, no one has actually done anything about CAS until only recently so the students are quite clueless. This is the best point of entry for me because anything I can possibly use or do to enlighten will be deemed good.


I also went back to school to clear my shelves, cupboards and pack them in several boxes. I finally got an email going from the new school and could log in to their mail system. I cannot work without a email since I will be sending invitations to various organizations for assistance.


This is the first time in more than 7 years that I spend my time in Singapore. It was really hard because I cannot keep still. God wants me to be still. So I must learn to do that. Tough!

Precept studies on Thessalonians

I have been studying the book of 2 Thessalonians with my precept group of friends for about a month already. The group is getting bigger with new friends joining us and they feel very welcomed too. The work is getting heavier and almost every week we have to put in 5 hours of work. I don't do that so I picked some that I can do first. I have found that studying the word of God is not simple. It is really tough job. Flipping through the pages of the bible is not studying God's word at all. Worst if we flip only to point to one verse that will determine what we do everyday.

We are looking at why the church at Thessalonians were so shakened about the Second coming of Christ. As Christians we all know that Jesus will come again for us all. Some of us are divided whether He will come before the tribulation will occur or comes during the tribulation. I believe in Jesus coming for me before all hell broke loose. Why? Because Jesus will not pour out His wrath on those who walk in His ways and do His will when the Day of His coming occurs. 

There will be the rapture of Christians and the world will be chaotic with our disappearances. Pilots who are christians will just be there no more. Imagine planes crashing to the ground. Doctors working on a surgical procedure and are christians will just disappear from before your eyes. What is it like? It is loud. You can see it appear before your eyes. No one can say and deny that the Lord has not come. No excuse for all those who don't believe anymore.

I find this to be so exciting. I will be caught up with my Christian family and we will meet those who are already dead in the air. My mother will be there with all my grand aunts and my friends Elizabeth and Ingo will all be there waiting with Jesus for our rapture. I will not have a care in the world then.


But the church at Thessalonians were shakened because there were false teachers who told them that they were living right in the DAY of the LORD. On this day, great tribulations would occur to punish all those who would not choose Christ as Saviour. The Thessalonians were going through very difficult times that was trying their faith a great deal. So they thought they were suffering. And that they were living in the Day of the Lord and the Lord's wrath was upon them. They forgot the teachings of Paul and looked at their circumstances. Some stopped whatever they were doing and started to doubt God. Some started to gossip. And the church became confused and divided.


Paul taught that for the Day of the Lord to occur, no body really knows when. The Day of the Lord is for all those who don't believe or who believed and still go on their rebellious lifestyle and live a life to challenge God. They will be judged accordingly.

We have read emails telling us on which date the Lord will come for us Christians. We will soon have a movie to tell about the day of great destruction. But I can say only this, WE don't know. Not even Jesus know when God is going to send Him for us. No one knows except God. Why? Well, HE is GOD. He knows when. What then are we to do?


Live. Carry on with living. Each day, redeem the time that God has given to us. Be it 50 years, 60 years, or more years. But the truth of the matter is how do you live each day? We are to work hard and win souls for the Lord. Because when He comes, all those who are Christians and raptured, will be asked about HOW we use our time for Him. He gave us talents on earth and He would want an account. So I better start checking if my account balances.


Yesterday is gone but you have today to redeem what you didn't do yesterday. So act on Today. While I wait for Jesus to come, there is still much to be done. 

If you don't believe in Jesus, there are two things you can do to redeem yourself. First, choose to believe. It won't hurt. Second, choose not to believe but don't shut that door for Him to enter too. Ask Him to show why He must be the GOD and no others. Yah, I really didn't give you any choice.

Kay Arthur said in our lesson this week, that if you don't believe, don't live a rebellious life. She explained that when the Day of the Lord comes and He will judge non believers. Those who don't believe will be judged according to how evil their deeds are. Then they will be cast into a lake of fire for different degrees of torment. This is according to her interpretation. We don't really know but ONE thing is for sure, those who don't believe will be cast into the lake of fire that burns with no light and there will be wailing and crying all eternity.


So I am going to redeem my time today. I shall go tidy up my crowded room and go chuck more things out.

Pineapple Upside Down

Yes, I did it. The wonders of the K beater by Kenwood was just incredible. And I baked the cake with Steffi!!!

I have been thinking about this cake for a long, long, long time. I baked it in my sec 2 year and never quite forgot the colour and the cheries.

Steffi likes to bake. She is really good at baking cookies and cakes. So does Timothy. Both are born in the year of the rat and they both love to eat and are one of the bigger size kids.

I was actually not feeling too well. My sinuses are infected again. And I have been fighting if for about two weeks already. I have this theory that when the holidays are round the corner, the body just decided to go on a long overhaul. But nothing is going to change my mind about baking today.

I asked Steffi to find me a recipe and she got the simplest one she could find on the internet. Then I waited for Steffi who has to train for basketball.When we finally got to buy all the stuff for the cake, we rushed home because I have to whip up a spaghetti dinner really soon. We had meatball spaghetti and this is Theodora's favourite.

So tonight was a night with the girls. Timothy was here too and he just have to eat what we cooked. He was busy with his PS. Theody was complaining how he was willing to let her play with the games in his handphone so she could stop bugging him about his PS.

The girls all chipped in to help me with the mixing, the creaming and then we waited. About an hour later, the first cake came out...really nice and hot. We couldn't wait for it to cool and went in straight for the cake with cookies and cream ice cream.

I believe all my walk for the past week has just gone down the tube. But it is worth it! hahaha

Because I got to spend time with my nieces and my sister.

Theodora helped me with some dishes and she was just delighted that there was a fresh cake tonight and everyone was just happy to try something new.

Is the cake really nice? Yes, not because it is so lovely to behold. But that it is baked with so much care and fun with my lovely nieces.

Birthday Blessings revised

I have much to be thankful for my birthday today. Yup, All saints day! I don't normally talk about it because it comes immediately after Halloween and it is also a day where people in the West go to the grave yards to remember their loved ones.

But I have and will use today to thank God for the gifts He gave me.

First gift: A treat from Peck San and Bee Yen at Kushinbo. It was a lovely dinner and we all ate to our heart's content. A bit too much. But we had a nice evening last week.

Second gift: Came as a pleasant surprise. One of my students got a B for behaviour because he was caught for an offence in Beijing. I didn't like the way the matter was handled so I investigated. Upon hearing the facts from the participants in Beijing and his friends, I decided to meet him on hot July afternoon. I was not happy with how he dealt with his problems and so told him to learn from his mistakes. When the time comes for me to appeal for his actions, I did. And on Friday when he got his report book, it was Excellent for behaviour. 


Third gift: Had KFC dinner with my sister and her family. I had only one and a half piece but it was just so so good!

Fourth gift: A chat with Bonita and Emily over the internet.  


Fifth gift: A phone call from Joshua to tell me he is going to church today and updated me about the progress of the play he is directing.  We had lunch and he is going to buy me one next week. Yup...shark fins...I don't dive, so I think I can eat sharks. No? 

Sixth gift: A chat with the taxi driver on my way to church this morning. He was a kidney patient and complained about his swollen ankles. He told me that he contemplated suicide when the complications during dialysis become so discouraging. I wished him well before I got off the cab. I also told him to come to church.

Seventh gift: A good message on TEAM work. The pastor at GLCC talked about the principles of team work and the power of team work. These were such good pointers and I will try and remember them so I can do them next year.


Eighth gift: Met my friend Siau Foon and her mother who came to check out a flat in my block. I rushed home from Lunch with Joshua at Holland V and found her at the coffee shop. We did check out the house. She took me to tea knowing it was my birthday and we were at Jack's place at Parkway Parade. I don't know how she did it but the birthday song was played and I didn't even see there was a candle on the cake I ordered. Yup, I was just tempted by the mysterious black forest and to pay an extra dollar for my latte! It was quite a steal! A couple wished me Happy Birthday and the lady walked over to speak to me. She told me I was so lucky to have such a good friend. I told her I am. And I asked if she is a believer in Christ. She told me she was. And she invited me to her church on Thursday for free lunch such as fried bee hoon and curry rice every week. You know this lady is 79 years old, her husband still enjoying his lunch is 83. And they have been married for 50 years already. And she wished me many many long years, as long as how long she lived. I protested. I told her I only want to live to be healthy! Hahaha


Ninth gift: My brother brought two small crabs to cook for dinner tonight. I got the duck. It was not the best crabs but the conversation at the dinner was good. There was no fight. In fact my brother, Richard, very nicely asked me about my job for the following year and it was nice of him to try and communicate with me. I appreciate that. I also had an enjoyable time visiting with Ryan, Steffi and Stacia. We watched clips of Japanese Drama and Korean Drama. I had a good time with Ryan and Steffi and we even at Bak Kwa pieces.

Tenth gift: Aha...I nearly forgot. It was a visit to Miss Ng's with Rebecca. We sang her a Christmas carol and singing to two very professional musicians whose state of the art is the top even today, was unnerving. But we did it. Both Mrs Tay (Miss Ng's sister) and Miss Ng both played the pipe organ in Victoria Theatre before, confirms I am born to sing with perfect pitch. I was totally flattered. And they both told me my hearing is really good and sharp. I thank God for this gift. My tenth gift...is a voice and a pair of good ears. 

Gifts don't have to come in a package all wrapped up ready to be surprised. I kind of like what I had. Each gift unravels itself with my friends and family. The heart warms knowing how God can bless in such unique ways.


Thank you Lord for all that you have given me. If I have not lived today, I will have missed all these great blessings. Thank you so much for reminding me that you care and putting people to remind me of your great Love for me. Please bless my friends, my family and my god family. Bless them richly for what they have done for me. Thank you for the gifts.

One more gift: On the first day of my new age, I went to join the Qigong group in my CC. Remembering mum once again as I worked through the exercise. I came home to do some work. After that I checked my mail and what a pleasant surprise! I found my friend's email. She finally wrote me. The lady whose husband left her for another woman. I thank GOD for this gift. Now I am in contact. I shall do my best to give her the help she needs.