Left eye twitching

Does your left eye twitch often? Mine did for the whole of this week.

Joshua complained about his left eye twitching a long time ago and I actually went online to search. There were many interesting interpretations and some are rather superstitious in nature. What will you choose to believe?

As a child, my mum would tell me that when the left eye twitched, it would mean bad luck, or someone will scold you or you will quarrel with somebody. And she was sometimes right. Strangely the eye would stop twitching after the event good or bad had run its cycle. The other time Joshua's left eye twitched, we had a fight. So it seemed accurate. But I don't know if his left eye stopped twitching after the episode.

But medically this was what I got:

Left Eye Twitching Causes

Although the left eye twitching bad luck or good luck superstitions might make for a good reading, there is a scientific reason behind left eye twitching. Involuntary eye twitching also referred to as eye muscle spasm can be attributed to a eye problem known as blepharospasm. The condition is actually caused by uncontrollable contractions of the muscles around the eyelids. This chronic, uncontrollable blinking of the eyes is the result of dry eyes, conjunctivitis or light sensitivity. In addition to this there are many brain or neurological disorders like epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, Tourette syndrome or certain eye allergies and injuries. Read on to know more about eye twitching - What does it mean.

Eye twitches can also be caused by certain conditions such as stress, air pollution, strained eyes or fatigue. If it is an extreme condition you need to consult a doctor who might prescribe oral medications or certain eye drops. In an extreme case, myectomy or surgery for treating blinking eyes may have to be performed to cure the excessive twitching of the eyes. However, general twitching in the eyes can be cured with plenty of rest and cutting down on certain things like smoking, caffeine or alcohol. To know more about how to cure eye twitches read more on eye twitch remedies. So the next time your left eye twitches and you worry about a catastrophe befalling you, just stay calm and hope for the best. 

If this was right, then I have certainly been under tremendous stress lately. I slept rather late and that was all because of the internet. I have been busy catching the new drama series on Tudou! Don't laugh at me. I am sure you will find your own way to get to watch the latest Korean drama too.

But I also hope and pray that I will win a car. You know when you shop with Cold Storage, or the NTUC Fairprice or Sheng Shiong...you might just win a car. 

But I bought a car this week. The best Christmas present ever for myself. It is a Nissan Latio. And it is quite a guzzler of fuel. Although I was told the car can move 12.8 km in one litre, I guess I must have covered a lot. I actually covered more than 200 km in two days. Where did I go? Trying out the car. What a good excuse!

God is just so precise. I prayed about a car. I called up a friend whose cousin happened to be a manager of a auto workshop. He then asked me to go to the second hand car showroom. I checked the car out with my dad and I bought it. The loan was the most difficult part. Because I will not be employed in a full time capacity, it was rather difficult for me to apply for a car loan. But then because I am also in a full time capacity, I got a loan in just two days. The agent was so shocked that I got it with just a one page letter. Not only that, my insurance was very low because I have 24 years of driving experience...ahhaha. I smiled when he complimented me of my rich driving experience. 

After I got the car, I prayed: "Lord keep the pedestrians save. Keep the other drivers on the road safe. Please keep me safe." I never take anything for granted especially when I am driving because if I am not the idiot on the roads, other drivers can be idiots. So I pray for all...including those who walk on the streets and talking on the phone or listening to their music and taking their own sweet time to cross the road in 1 minute. 

I will be working tomorrow. I will get paid.

Today I was at a primary school working with some teachers on why teach numbers? I asked them why they have to teach fractions. And I did a lot of reading up. I had fun. I was able to convince the teachers that I do know Math. What kind of a job am I working on?

I shan't tell too much. Happy New Year! 

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day

How was your Christmas?

Mine was rather quiet but there was a rush to shop for gifts. I didn't manage to get enough gifts for my older nieces and nephews. It was so much easier to get for the littlest kids and so much more fun. But it was tremendous energy and brain power to think about what to buy for the teenagers in my house. I have 4 of them. So I decided to get them altogether and we shop for what they want. And I will provide lunch too. Last year I did that. And I loved it because I got to spend time with them that I don't really have. 

I didn't prepare any Christmas dinner. Most of my ex boys are out of town. We will carve the turkey in the new house in JB. Nothing much but I do have a dining table and lights so we can still eat.

Two days before Christmas eve, I called all the restaurants and you are right, they are all fully booked even though I am willing to pay $50 plus plus for a buffet meal. The Intercontinental would be good. There was a free flow of wine and soft drinks throughout the buffet. But it was fully booked. Then I called up my other favourites, Dan Ryans and I got a spot for us. It was only while shopping at Tampines 1 that I decided, I will go cheap and good.


I picked FISH! I had dinner with Joshua and Melvin. Just the three of us. I kept it simple. They got the gifts and they didn't get any for me. Melvin said he would give me this invisible love! Wow. Joshua didn't have time to get me anything because he was busy partying and saving lives! 

Anyway, what was good was we sat down while we waited to watch the movie I booked and counted our blessings. We began with what we found blessed this year. We are not to repeat any of the blessings and so it started with Melvin who was thankful he is a third owner of a house, Joshua went on to say he was thankful for his friends. Of course we do have interesting blessings like being thankful for looks! But I am not the one to say that. I thank God for the use of the car and the ability to still afford to pay for the house. 

Next we went on to say what we don't want next year. I for one do not want to flare up so easily. I find myself really short with my dad. He annoys me when he yells at the top of his lungs even when I merely suggest something slightly different. He is really getting difficult to handle. I have lost my patience with him many times this year. So I hope he can cut me some slack. 


Then we went on to say what we want next year. Melvin want to stay level and close to the ground. Joshua wants to spend more time with his friends. And I want to be able to spend time in JB with my godsons. I want to be able to spend time to write in JB. The place is quiet and the area outside my house is poorly lit so I should be able to see stars, the constellations even. But I just want to slow down more and more.


I may have forgotten but Joshua has jotted them down. I will ask him to refresh my memory.

So this Christmas is kind of quiet for me. Slow and steady and spending many hours watching my tudou.  hahaha. I am actually very exhausted from the shopping. I can't wait to start the new year. 

I picked the car. I bought it. If the loan clears, I should have it by the end of this week. Then I can go to JB and get the house ready for the new sofa set in the family hall. My house is small. It can only accommodate 20 people. 


Christmas morning greeted me with well wishes from ex students and a few invites for lunch. I will take them slowly because I am tired.

Take a break and let those food digest well!

The toy that saved Christmas!

Saying goodbye to Altis

Peck San is back from Laos. I asked her for a week extension so I can make some arrangements for furniture in the new house and the lightings. In between I had to visit my cousin who is going through some marital problems. So I was super busy.

I drove in three days in a row and was totally exhausted. On one of the nights coming home from JB, I witnessed a car that was in flames along the causeway closer to Singapore. Every car was trying hard to avoid the burning car and when I saw the opportunity to squeeze myself pass the flames, I did. But the jam was still terrible. I have a lot to complain about Singaporean drivers at the causeway (both ways).

So when it is finally time for me to say good bye to Altis, I was very sad and crippled. And I started taking a cab the next minute. It is really inconvenient without a car and if you have never driven, don't drive. Driving is addictive!

I have to thank Peck San over and over again for giving me this opportunity to drive a car. Not only that, she has so much confidence in me that not many will dare try. But we are different. 

Altis has taken me not just to places. It has shown me what I can do if I have faith in myself. With practice, I was able to go to multi storey car parks. With people who believe me enough to sit in my car, I have learned that not many places I don't dare to go. 

Altis will be remembered. I have decided to buy a car. Yes, without much money but have car will travel la!
 

Christmas is calling you HOME!

Many years ago while I was still studying in Calgary, I participated in a Christmas cantata. This afternoon, I decided to search if the cantata was performed by other groups. Wala! Found it.

I still remember how my choir master got all of us to get our Christmas shopping bags and parcels for the cantata cum drama. I had great fun doing it because each evening for three evenings I would be walking to the stage with three different people. And we were impromptu. The storyline may have changed but the cantata is still the same. Brings back such great memories.

Strangely this Christmas, my ex students are asking if there will be a Christmas dinner. Yes there will be but I am pushing till a little date because I am really busy with preparing my house. The lights are here. The table is here and I am busy with cleaning and cleaning. I am exhausted with the running around. I am really looking forward to a rather quiet Christmas this year at my new house. Alone and with the stars. A lot to think and plan. I hope you enjoy listening in to this lovely cantata.

Helping Melvin, a student I once taught

Earlier I posted about Melvin my student who needs help in fighting leukemia. Please donate to POSB Savings 098-02207-4

The amount can be small or huge. Thank you so much. It is worthy cause and God will bless you.

What if I obey God.

I have wanted to blog about this condition for a long while but don't quite know how to pen it. I think I can try tonight.


I heard someone say this before that if we should obey God, then God better give us what we want. Really? So is there a condition to obey Him?

Let's take for instance God wants us to get rid of some habits and He promised us the strength and grace to overcome it. What will we get in return? So if we obey, there is a reward at the end. Is this how God work regarding obedience? 

Then again is the reward we get on our terms or on God's terms. I don't understand how this will work.

So if we don't obey God, God will not give what is good for us because we don't obey Him? Will He punish us? Well, I think God will not so punish us. We of our own choice has decided to disobey. As such we will have to bear the consequences of this disobedience. It is very convenient to blame God behind our disobedience when things don't go right. And when we obey we dictate what our terms are for our obedience. How should we then stand before God?

God hates rebellion. To God, disobedience is rebellion. In the old days before Jesus came, disobedience means instant death. Today's death by disobedience is slow and silent. Death creeps in without us knowing. We may be walking into church but we are dead inside and slowly even our souls will betray God.

I thought about this all the time because I tend towards disobedience more than obedience. And I suffer my own consequences. But God is gracious. His mercies are renewed every morning and His grace abundant and free. Such is our loving Father.

Just as I am. I like this song because it is not about how good we are or how good we look or what good we have done. It is about just who we are when no one is watching. In the deepest secret places if we go to God in whatever state we are in, God still accepts us. 

Thank you Lord that no matter how ugly, how stupid or how vile I am, You are there for me. Thank you so much that all can forsake me, you are still there for me. Thank you for sending the Lord Jesus to be born of flesh so that He too understands how it is like to be me. Thank you Lord for all the grace and mercies you bestow upon me. May you continue to have renewed compassion as I sojourn on this earth.

Some not so common Christmas Carols

Mary did you know:


Christmas:


I need a silent night


This song is just what I needed today. There are many upheavals recently and got me to reflect on what has happened. I really need to silent my world for a while. There is just too much noise inside and outside.

Funny thing is that I don't seem to see people really rushing to buy anything this year although the economy is doing much better. Perhaps it is because I was not looking at buying anything. Or perhaps the last minute is not last enough. I remember Bonita will buy all her Christmas presents by July and she would hide them in the cupboard. Although I stayed with her all these years, I never once checked on her cupboard. Actually didn't even know when she wrapped those presents too. I loved to try and find out what she would get me and then she would put on that look...you can try harder! When Christmas came, I never fail to guess what she got me. And sometimes I just need to touch the wrapper to know what I got.

Bonita was always so generous to all the guests that came for the Christmas dinner. Everyone went home with something especially for them. She would also give out Christmas hampers to more than 10 missionaries even though she lost her job and got not much to give. Still the hampers were stuffed as full as before. I would help by giving some. We called ourselves the Santas and we would drop the hampers off at one missionary's home for all of the others to collect. When it was time for me to leave Calgary, we finally revealed to all the missionaries who we were. Those were great times and I miss this kind of Christmas.

Right now I have a student Melvin Chng who needs money. This Christmas if you want to give Melvin a small donation, let me know. He is suffering from Leukemia. He is fighting for his life and he is only about 22 plus years of age.

What moved me most was John Lee, another ex student who actually went all out to solicit for donation. He would appeal to all his friends to donate. To date we only managed 2000 dollars since we started a bank account in September. Melvin needs more to fight cancer.

Christmas is only Christmas when you spend it with your loved ones and reflect on the good that God has done. Christmas with a group of strangers is not Christmas. Mind you, I did that. A good friend bought me tickets to the Christmas countdown at the Oriental Mandarin. Yup, there was booze, music and loud music with dinner. Then there were the things to pop and whistles to blow and hats and all ready for the countdown. Then the balloons fell from the top of the hotel and fire crackers to break open and then we all wish strangers Merry Christmas but there was no joy. Yup, I did all that. Still it cannot beat watching my nieces and nephews rushing to the tree to open up presents. Still it cannot beat watching my guests surprised look when I got them what they didn't expect but really needed.

Christmas is about paying full attention to your loved ones. Have you done that? If not, it is still not too late. Don't get the last minute gift. Get the one gift that you have listened to for the last 12 months. I want a diamond :)

Keep listening this Christmas!

Meeting My Ex Boys

The weekends have been about feasting with my ex boys. First group was on Saturday evening at Suntec City Mall. These are going to graduate or has already graduated. I was with Yifong, Shaun and Joshua. Melvin had prior arrangement and couldn't join us. Yifong actually wondered if we could do the Christmas dinner but it was too short a notice for me so I decided to KIV till he returns from the Philippines. He will be going to do community work with Felicia Chin. Aha...yup, he will probably take a lot of pictures to show off to us about his good fortune. Dinner was heavy and I paid for dinner. Shaun told me that they are worth the investment because later I would be fed better. I shall not pray for that. These ex students are very close to me and we can go on and on the night if not because two of them had to run the marathon the next day.

Tonight was different. I finally get to meet my CMPS team members after their A levels. They looked so happy and fresh. 

Originally I was thinking of not going because I was unwell. With too much of merry making, I found myself waking up in the middle of the night with a severe sore throat and a slight fever. I was not very smart when I popped a deadly knock out pill that would send me to bed for like six hours and still continued to make me feel tired. But I did. I slept until 9am and then slept some more after sending my dad to church.

But I woke up on time to reach there fifteen minutes late. The boys were already settled nicely into the restaurant. And we chatted the night away. They bought me dinner. The treat they wanted to give me since we last met at the finals for the competition. Don as usual was very humourous. Shennan was tired. He ran 42km and got up at 5am to do so. He finished about 5 hours later! Goodness. Aaron is still the respected head of the gang. Zhiyi is concerned about what to do for his university. Chen Xing was thinking about reading psychology and I wondered if I changed his mind. Then there is Desmond who is always so placid but nice. They laughed about the high school days and I listened to how each has grown stronger.

When Aaron and I walked to the train station for the circle line, he told me how he lived the past 6 months. Our conversation will continue when he returns from an interview with Oxford.

This is a very special group of boys. They came together because they wanted to win the project. They did. But they won not just because of the project. They are winners because they worked hard at pulling each other through the storms. I will pray that they will remain close to the ground and be level headed. Yes, they will fly high. These are no ordinary boys I worked with. They are good at what they do. I will pray their hearts will remain close to the poor. Because it is the poor that started the project.


As you busy yourself with the shopping. Don't forget to also catch up with long lost friends and family. Take some time to take stock of your life. 

My Christmas presents have already come in small packages. I unpack one by one and am grateful there are packages for me to unpack.


Have a great week.

Christmas is nigh!

This time of the year I want to remember a special lady Eleanor Fowler. As Christmas draws nearer, she would get ready a story to tell on Christmas day. Each year, a different story will be told. I tried to search from the internet and found very few that are special. But this quote caught my eye:

"He who has not Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree." by Roy L. Smith.

And I found some new Christmas songs. Listen and enjoy.



 

Hallelujiah in the mall!

So far this week...

How has your week been? Mine was super busy. Running in and out of the house and rushing from one point to the next. 

I was in a few schools for teacher training this week. I worked with the team to come up with curriculum design and it was exciting. I didn't know much to begin with but my questions did get the teachers to think about how Math should be taught at the primary level. I was absorbing what my captain of the team was teaching and intend to study the teaching of maths at primary level over the weekend so I can come up with the concepts on Monday. Yup, not only do I have to teach Science, now I must know how Math is taught. I have to start studying again. This is so good. 

I may be busy but I did catch a Japanese movie this week. It is CONFESSION. If you were to watch this movie, you will know that revenge is not so sweet afterall. Japanese movies can be weird and rather skewed but they are all bold to tell about human emotions and human devious nature. I like the movie about this teacher seeking revenge. The entire movie was rather grey with rather dark colours to depict the devious nature of the plot and the only colours that burst into the screen were either red or orange contrasting the darker background. The lead actress was superb in her acting and her cry out because of the deep seated anger was really strong. I like the way the director tell the story. If you have time, you should go watch the violence of youth in Japan.

Tonight I saw another movie, Easy A. It is about how a lie led to another lie and more lies and in the end the girl was totally convinced she has to tell the truth. There was a mockery at religion where even the unitarian church pastor was watching something rather indecent away from the public eye. It also depicted the religious, pious Christian group as hypocrites and was totally nasty about Christians. Americans today are not too happy with religiousity. It is not good to be religious. God did not ask us to practice His faith in a religious way. Rather He wants us to live through Him. Because Jesus can look into the hearts of all those who believe Him, it is before long that the sheep and the goats are separated. Jesus also said that not all those who called Him "Lord, Lord!" will enter the kingdom because there are amongst us wolves with sheep clothings. And Jesus will seive them out one by one and then judged. We will know who the true brethens are by the fruits of the Holy Spirit.

It is getting late, I should sleep. Have a great weekend.

A shocking news when I woke up this morning.

Normally I don't blog about news I read on the chinese newspaper. But this morning as I flipped through the pages, I saw this familiar face. As I read on, it confirmed I knew this fella. He was caught and he was publicly humiliated and disowned by the community he used to belong. The stomper started the whole issue about elite schools. But you know in every elite school is a person who has flesh and has a lot of problems to deal with. Some people are stronger and withstood the temptations. Some fall into temptations and were able to get help in time to stand up again. No one should point a finger and play saint because before we finger point and pretend to be righteous, we must take a look at ourselves.

I don't agree with what he did. But I felt very sorry for him because if he had gotten help early, he may not end up with so much more pain. Again,  he may not want help because he is too proud to ask for help. Or he may not dare to tell because he didn't want to come across as needing help.

Last night I counseled a young man to own up to his crime. He wanted to change his behaviour and attendance in his report card. I told him to do the right thing and come clean. Fortunately for me, he knows the Lord. I also understood his struggles to stay away from trouble. His crime is that he hated school and was never ever at school because he found the teachers to be stupid and wasting his time. He also tried to stay away from trouble by not being offensive but somehow he couldn't control his temper. I am no longer his form teacher but because we get along, I continued to show him the ways back to God. I am very happy that he wants to surrender to God but he wants to surrender on his terms.

So last night, I shared with him on 2 Corinthians 5:17. That we are to be God's new creature because we are in Jesus. I told him to muster enough courage to face GOD and allow GOD to take control of the situation he is in. He asked me to pray for him and I did on msn. 

I believe if we come to GOD just as we are, all needy, all undone and all so confused and worried, He will still want to hear from us. No matter how much wrong a person committed, we can still go to God.

I shared this before and this is a Christian talk show about Christopher Yuen.

 

I am also touched by the story of this gangster turned owner of a Christian book room. Watch how he talked about how he slaughtered people and how calm he is right now. And he wanted to be helped and to be rid of heroin addiction. He was addicted for 20 years!!! And God healed him. 

You want to finger point? Think again. God used people of all kinds to glorify His name.

Free work no more

The week has been rather slow for me except for writing the SOWs for the school I will be working with. It has been a rather interesting exercise because it got me to think a lot about teaching. I also had the opportunity to work with primary school teachers on teaching understanding and tried to work with the little knowledge I have about mathematical concepts. This is more challenging than science because I was handling students. Yesterday I had to handle teachers. It was not too bad. I got my team leader rather excited about me taking over the jobscope of the person who will be leaving the team.


Something happened this afternoon and got me to blog about this experience. I have always find it difficult to tell my friends that they need to pay me for the work I have been doing for them. But I couldn't since they were trying to tap on my capabilities. Now is the time to pay me since I don't have a job. Well, a few days ago, I met up with a friend in the business of outdoor adventure. He wanted to tap my brains on how to engage the secondary students in service learning. He got the right person. But he didn't want to pay me. I told him upfront I am charging a small fee of 300 dollars for the entire report. He told me that he would pay for my ferry to Bintan and a night's stay there so I could recee the area. I told him that I am already charging a very low consultation fee. Today he was online again. and he went on and on about how my ideas were great until I brought in that I have a partner in the consulting firm I started. He was not happy. And kept saying he wanted to deal only with me. Because I think he knows that dealing with Ronald will increase the charges. Whatever I am to sell also includes Ronald's input and it is only fair he has a share and a say. He was really upset that I want Ronald involved. And I saw true colours. 


Siew Yong has always advised that I charge more because if his business is successful and the program I wrote for him runs well, he is earning. I have done a few good programs but he never pays me until now. So I left it to him to decide if he wants to carry on with the program. I doubt he will. And I will lose a friend. Such a friend, I don't think I will miss too. If things are free, I have this friend. When things gets a little more money, he said I have changed. Life is like that. I win some. I lose some. So I am willing to lose this friend. The best part was he told me not to trust Ronald too much. I told him that I have to trust Ronald. He is a trusted friend. Because Ronald teaches me to protect my work. This person didn't. Mind you, Ronald could have worked alone and still do well. He chooses to work with me. I am very grateful. Later Peck San will be roped in to join the consultancy we both set up.


I also offended another friend last Saturday because I dropped her off in a place where she was a little further from where her next location is. She is a very calculative person when it comes to money and so it means she has to spend money and time travelling a little more. Although I apologized this last minute arrangement, I did give her options and yet she wants to feel I am deliberately leaving her out of my personal business. Well, I had to do something personal urgently and I don't want her to be in it. I think it is time to draw some lines for myself. 


But I am very happy to be leaving for Malacca on Saturday morning with my precepts class. We are all going to enjoy what the weekend brings. 


I am also very happy to have spoken to two of my ex students this week. Coincidentally both are Aaron and their last names sounded the same. Both asked me how I am doing and they sounded worried about me. I am so glad to have students who still care if I am able to support myself. I told my Aaron Kho that my God is so Big. He will take care of things.


Thank you Lord for friends that are good and friends that are not so good. Thank you that you use them to teach me to learn to love the most difficult of people. Thank you so much you also send friends who care for me no matter what I do or not do. 

It is all about obedience

What is it to live for Christ? What kind of temptations are Christians subjected to? I often wonder about all those who are superstars and they are Christians. It must be really difficult to shine for God.

Here is a sharing by a Malaysian superstar. He worked hard all his life. Even hid his marital status to get fame. Though he accepted the Lord and was baptised at the age of 16, he didn't really allow God to rule in his life. He knows there is a true and living God but he still wants control in his life. He followed the ways to the world. Occasionally kept his christian walk alive and eventually he lost everything most precious to him. But with obedience, he returned to the arms of Christ and chose to walk a life of integrity and show the evidence of Christ in his life and things just come together.

I hope you enjoy this video as much as I have enjoyed it. And it is really assuring to know that even at the cross roads, God is waiting for us to give Him our control.

Jesus always encourages us to learn from little children. So listen to this wonderful story teller:


The story of Jonah from Corinth Baptist Church on Vimeo.

But this other video is about beautiful shots of nature: RAPTURE!


TimeScapes: Rapture from Tom Lowe @ Timescapes on Vimeo.


Have a great weekend.

Finally fixed the network problem in my MAC.

Finally! Finally! I got the macbook to work and my itunes, safari and the iphone are now finally working. Phew! Even my MSN messenger is working and that is so great because I can start sending files or chat using a microphone. 

I have been battling for more than two months now to get my Mac to work properly. It is frustrating when I couldn't sync my phone to the mac because I wanted to download some photos really bad.

One set of photos was taken at the Geological Museum at Beijing. I have been wanting to share the lovely gemstones I saw there. Don't blink your eyes:

 

These are some of the shots of the Water Cube and the Olympic Oval at night.

I like this sign. 

These were all taken in June 2010 when I visited Beijing. Probably will be going again soon to settle a business deal. Yup. I have been kept very busy. Lots to learn about curriculum mapping and writing proposals and course outlines and I am certainly not looking back.

What am I eating?

Here is a good set of videos on youtube about FOOD, INC.

I watched it on Oprah Winfrey Show and it simply convinces me that Chicken must be out of my diet from now on. Take a look. You don't have to be convicted by the set of videos. Please think it through. It is important to think about what we are eating. We need to learn to eat a lot more consciously because it will affect the environment and the future generations. I am going to have pork tonight. :)

My wonderful nephews

My dad had his third Barium test for his intestines this year. Each time my brother and I would accompany him to the endoscopy centre at SGH and would wait at least two hours for him to finish with the procedure. Twice the images were not clear because the instructions given to him were wrong. He was rather frustrated with the process. So were we.

I couldn't go with him this third time because I was at Bukit Batok Nature Park for a fieldtrip for P6s. He called me at around 3pm to tell me that he would be accompanied by my two nephews Ryan and Timothy. Somehow they decided to take dad to the hospital.

Dad told me later that they even helped him change into the gown for the operating theatre and waited patiently for him. When dad was ready to be fetched, they went promptly. The nurse told them that dad would be a little groggy and they were to make sure dad didn't fall.

My dad's day was made so bright because his two grandsons were there for him. I am very glad that my siblings are taking this opportunity to teach them to honour the elderly and to learn to look after the elderly. 

Today I cooked a big meal to bring the family together because it is a week where the exams are over, even for Theodora. Tiffany found the PSLE rather okay. Nothing seems to worry her because she doesn't really aim very high. The house will be filled with laughter and giggles. And we will probably rent a video or two to watch together. 

Thank God for the holidays.

The faithless Israel and Our faithful God

I finally made it to Precepts this morning. Everyone was very happy to see me and wondered what happened over the past three weeks. My friends were there to welcome me and each tell me that I don't have to do the work but just come for the fellowship and the support. 

Lena, one of my precepts classmates told me that they are really getting into the exciting stuff and asked me not to miss. But I am now in Lesson 9 and probably next week I will have to miss it again. My group of friends will be driving up to Malacca and I will be one of the designated drivers. The other day I was praying not for myself but for the other cars on the road that God will protect them. Hahaha. I never knew when I will go blank in my head when I get too tired. Some nights I don't get home after midnight and usually when I reach home I will buzz the last person I drop off that I am home safely. If they don't receive it that means I am in some kind of trouble.


Today's lesson was really difficult for me because I walked into the book of Ezekiel chapters 36 and 37. I am familiar with the prophet Ezekiel and he was famous for talking to the valley of dry bones and calling them to get up and live again. 

The lesson was on how God will bless Israel's land. And Israel will not know anymore famine. People around Israel will know all that is happening and they will know there is a God and that God is the God of Israel. God will also bring all the people of Israel together and they will form ONE nation and with ONE King. Has this happened? Not yet. Well, not at least from what Ezekiel said. There must be a change of heart. God will give them a heart of flesh in exchange for the heart of stone. 

In all history, no nation has been so divided and spread out all over the countries like Israel. They suffered tremendously because of their disobedience and God did not spare them from the consequences of their stubbornness. But He promised them that He will restore and renew their spirit. He will.

With such a faithless, stubborn and godless people, God abide faithful to the promise He gave Abraham. When God wanted to destroy those that left Egypt after they were captive for 400 years, Moses pleaded with God to be merciful. He reminded God of His oath to bless Israel, His chosen nation. God cannot go back on His word to bless and He continue to work towards bringing Israel to this major realization that He is indeed God.

This week, I thought about God being God. And my faith started to waver a little in terms whether He can indeed provide. Although I see a lot of promising headstarts, I must admit I am only human to think if I can really pay for the house, get a car and start a business with so little in my bank. But the message is an assurance for me today. 


I am faithless. God has called me out and He will see to it that my needs are met. I am under tremendous pressure to do up the house. I will be staying there for a while because I find it to be a place away from all the distractions so I can think.

Yesterday was quite a day for me. I started out slow until I realized I had to get my car to be serviced. Then I received two phone calls. Both from parents of ex students in the previous school and both were involved in a fight. I have to handle this and I wondered why I should since I already left the school. 


I am also not too happy when one of the ex students I am presently helping commented that I am holy. He asked me "Why must you be so holy." And he added that everyone says that behind my back. I am not too happy with this because I am not holy. There is only ONE that is HOLY. He is God. I am just like everyone, a sinner. Except that I am saved by the grace of God. I wish people will not use such terms like HOLY loosely because it is very irresponsible to say somethings like that. Later that evening, the same boy messaged to ask me to pray for him because he told me that when he was quietening down, my name came up and he was flooded by the love of God. Well, this "HOLY" person here decided not to pray. Hahaha. I decided he should pray. 

I wonder, if the "Holy" person prays will he or she be more powerful. I believe this. All of us should go to God ourselves and pray. We can pray for one another but the greatest and most important thing is to pray yourself. No one is too sinful to pray and no one is too holy not to pray. God's altar will be fragrant with our prayers. The more prayers, the more fragrant the altar of GOD will be. If you cry, God keeps every tear. Wow!

So to all those faithless wondering if God will answer and if God will keep His promises, remember He abides faithful. 

Stint as a chemistry teacher

What do I know about acids and alkalis? Not much. But when you ask me how to teach, yes I do. 

Last night Joshua gave me a crash course on acids and alkalis after my training sessions. What positive and negative ions, protons, nucleus and atoms...ah...all so difficult to conceptualise! I just have to try and read a textbook. Do I blame my chemistry teacher at school? Yes I do and I always think if she could teach me better, I would have gone into geology which is so fascinating to study.

Joshua knows his stuff. But I showed him that even though he knows it, he must be able to teach it. There are some issues that are not so easy to teach. And I asked a lot of questions until I understood. I clarified my own thoughts. But he quizzed me so I could remember and today I forgot all. Before we each went our separate ways, he told me to please let him know what I don't understand. Will he kill me if I say everything?

I find I behave like my own students. Do you understand? I always ask. Then there was dead silence. Uh Oh...no intiende? (understand in spanish). Then the same haunting reply when I asked what don't they understand. And it is always EVERYTHING! hahaha.

It feels good to let my ex student teach me. Joshua is a knowledgeable teacher but he is not able to translate that knowledge successfully to me like I don't always translate my knowledge to my students. So I have to think how to teach that across. Because I have the difficulty, I anticipate the problems I will face when I walk in next year. So it is good that I am in this position.

My team mates went and told my new boss what I was doing in the class. They are very happy with this new team member because I was busy. Busy washing test tubes, beakers, arranging and mixing solutions. I was having fun. And also noted some changes that need to be made in order for the pedagogy to be more successful. The new boss is looking forward to reading my observations.

I was not just an observer, I was observing from two points of view. That of the students and that of a teaching professional. I pin pointed out certain strategies I will want to try. 

First up I need to sort out the major difference between concept maps and mind maps besides one using connecting words and the other just lines (dendrites). 

I will not exchange what I am doing for this precious experience with the training team. I may not have found what I want to do. My income is unsteady but my learning curve is shooting up as I ponder and investigate how to better learn new things.

As my world turns, I continue to wait for clarity of the plans GOD has for me. Thank you for praying. And if you are reading to find out how I am doing, I am not dead. Very much alive and learning. Hope to catch up with you physically but for now, it is almost impossible. My november plans are all packed to the brim and December is already half full. Next year, it is packed. 

Today I didn't go to work. Got up and watch my korean dramas with Rain as the main lead and then went online to chat with Bonita. It was so good to be able to finally talk online. Then now it is time for lunch. Envy me? Please do. :)
 

I heard another rumour and it is getting funnier

I must tell you the latest rumour about me. It seems that I have been engaged in an email war with a former colleague after I left. I am really surprised by this because I don't think anyone from my previous school actually know about my email address. The address I gave to them was an email that I cannot get into because I forgot my password and have not been opened for ages. So where is the war and who is involved? Don't know how to start a war without having one email account.

I hope my friends who are reading this blog have a good laugh. Whatever rumours you hear, you better enjoy them while they last because you know why I left.

A word of caution must be given to all those who are spreading the rumours. You see, I have given the entire matter to Jesus. It is now in His department and He is listening in. In due time, Jesus will mete our justice. When He does, He will not do more than what you did. But whatever justice that will be served, will be sui sui for you. Yes, God told me that "Vengeance is mine, I shall repay. " And I know He has already started. No, this is not a threat. It is a fact. Not now, not tomorrow but definitely will happen.


To all my dear friends, thank you for laughing along with me. You know full well my reasons for the resignation. And please be assured, that God is with me.


Today I joined a team of trainers and sat and learned a lot of new things. I realized I don't know what is a concept and how to do concept mapping. So it gives me reasons to start my own learning journey. I was told next year, I have to take over the class and train students in Chemistry!! Yup, I am teaching about Chemistry. I wanted to ask Joshua for a crash course but he told me NOT to teach Chemistry since it is not my cup of tea. 

But I am going to take up this challenge to learn. So I mixed some fluids together and tested toiletries and drinks and medicine to find out what is acidic and what is not.


To our horror, the toothpaste is slightly acidic. Imagine that. A brand new tube of Darkie is acidic. I was asked to check if the distilled water is a little acidic to warrant such a result. I did the litmus paper test and tada...the distilled water is neutral! 


I also did marvellous today at school. I did up a survey for the school to work on the humanities. I will be designing a questionnaire for teachers so I can better understand their training needs. Life is so exciting.


I just spoke to my friend from Beijing who was a little dejected. I am glad this friend is feeling better. My advice to his myopic world is not to let his colleagues affect him. Instead he should focus on making himself more professional. He also told me that he was glad I am happy in the state I am in. 


There is so little time to fight email wars, really. People are so important and they need my attention. No email war is going to stop me from making time for special people in my life.

I hope you have fun listening to the rumours. Don't be angry with those who rumoured about me. Be sorry for them.


Have a good week.

Another rumour

This morning I heard another rumour about me. I was told that spreading at school is this fact that I scolded an international student and as such I was fired from my work. Honestly when I heard that, I wanted to burst out laughing. It must be started by the students. One of my ex student asked to speak up. I told him there was no need to. God will speak for me.

If you have the time to spread rumours, you should also have the time for your family. These lovely people are important. Go spend some time with them.

The coming week is going to be exciting. I am packed from morning at 730 to the evening at 7pm. I am going to learn to do something new.

At school, yes I am at a school, I am involved with planning next year's curriculum for Geography. I will be using UBD. This is a very important way to set teachers thinking about why teach what we teach. I personally use this in my planning for every lesson. It is important we ask why we teach about keeping the environment green.

The past two weeks were terribly HOT. If you were in town, you will feel your skin sizzle. I prayed for rain, like Elijah, and it finally came last evening. Joshua and I drove to see the house and some renovations done at some other homes. It was an eye opener for both of us. So when we set off at about 430, the skin was already darkened. I didn't think it was that bad. We switched places at the Singapore customs and I drove the rest of the way home or so we thought.

The minute we crawled out of the Singapore customs, the rain poured. It was scary. I couldn't see more than 3 cars infront of me. When I saw one bus having the hazard lights on, I turned on mine. I rather people think I am a hazard then to be dead on the road. It was almost impossible to continue after driving for half an hour and so we decided to turn into Imm and waited for the rain to stop.

The winds howled and the rains formed a thick curtain in front of us making it difficult to see.

I have been thinking about driving these days. I thank God for His marvellous grace and journey mercies. He protected me on the road. Or you might think God protected the rest of the people from me. :) I really like to drive. Now my next goal is to drive all the way to Malacca and hopefully before the end of the year, I will be able to drive to Kuantan. But of course that depends on how free I will be.


I hope to meet Peck San before November ends and this year's Christmas shall be in JB. I will roast a turkey and be thankful for all that I have this year.

My God has abundance and as His child, I will have no lack.

God is just wonderful

I was just informed that some of my ex colleagues are reading my blog to find out how I am doing. I hope they want to find out because they care about me. I really want to believe that.

Still I want them to know that God is wonderful. He gave me the strength to move one step forward one day at a time. He gave me the love to care for all those closest to me despite days when I ask if there will be a way to make ends meet. There were moments I wonder if I will do what I always did. But I know for a fact, I will never return to where I left and not to the same job I left too. 

I don't think I have been so comfortable in this discomfort zone but I have peace. Time and time again God showed me He is in control. 

I like it when He is in control. Even my relationships with my immediate family has improved. I enjoy my godsons more and more. And I enjoy working with curriculum. I always wanted to work on WHY students don't learn and now I am getting this chance. I am convinced that leaving the comfort zone has given me the capacity to grow.


Today I joined a team to make some money. I drove to this place and once I reached I realized how God is so precise again. Two months ago, I was meeting a friend here. I never knew I would come back again to the next block to join a team.

Last night I sat and listened to the team leader of the team I am to join.  This team leader is a Christian. And she shared that by the grace of God, her core team are all Christians. She started  this group so that those who joined could continue to be in touch with education but still enjoy quality of life and spending quality time with loved ones.  All the members of the team have a passion for missions. One is leaving for Thailand to help drug offender to rehabilitate. 

I will have to learn new things and teach somethings new. We had lunch together after our two hour long meeting. Although we don't know each other very well, we enjoyed each other. At least I did. 

They were patient as I listened to what needed to be done. When I left the place, I am just speechless at how God leads. Unfathomable! 

He has put a desire in my heart even before I was born and He is now bringing all that needs to be done to fulfill that desire after I have sojourned in the wilderness. I am so glad God pushed me out of my comfort zone and into this land of uncertainties to learn how to LIVE for Him.


My dad is always worried that I don't have a decent and steady job. It is not my desire to put him through this "ordeal". Recently he complained to my neighbours that I was never home even though I am out of a job. And it is true. I am out of the house around eleven and then come home late. Where did I go? What did I do? Secret lor! I am having fun watching how God leads.

Thank you Lord for your perfect peace. Knowing I am in the centre of your palm gives me absolute assurance. Help me stay focus on YOU. When the things on earth grow strangely dim, please fix my eyes on You.

If the world is a fairy tale， 愿世界如童话。

以下的这收歌是我非常的粤语歌。歌词非常有意思。如果世界真的是如童话般地美好那我们的是否会快乐呢?
慢慢欣赏吧。

My work now

My work at this school has been rather busy as I was involved in the marking of scripts for the whole level. Only 2 questions but there was so much to learn as I looked at the paper and studied the students' responses to the questions.

I started to pour into stuff that I used to work on at NIE and this was just fabulous. I realized more and more that I really hated to mark and the thought of going back into the system to mark irks me. Every teacher will complain that there is just too much marking except for a rare few who love to bury students' scripts in the sea of red.

What I am excited about is that as I investigated on repeated issues with the papers I started to dig further into why students could not grasp the skills. 

One very difficult skill I find is with inference. I took on the challenge to teach yesterday on the skill of inference and found a lot of research paper on that. I found that this skills is very difficult for students who don't know their content and who refused to stay current and use their background knowledge to support their answers. I failed my students for that and so when I taught, I told them I was the marker who gave them the zero. Some students clenched their fist and I just smiled. They were just trying to be cool with me. 


Not all the 4 classes that I taught stuck to me. The first two classes was a disaster. The system didn't work and my Mac couldn't respond. The room was hot and yesterday was terribly hazy and hot, almost sizzling. The second lesson was just the perfect lesson. 


The students greeted me and the teachers "Good morning teachers!" I asked them how they know I am a teacher. One student quickly mentioned I was holding a marker pen. Ah...the concept of a teacher is one who holds a marker pen. But who else holds a marker pen. Is that inference. Partially. 


Then I went on to show a picture of Jack and Jill and asked if they were to interview them, what questions would they asked. The questions generated were so good. I praised them. Then I asked them to answer! Aha. They were giving me a lot of answers and each them there was an answer, I asked them how they know.

I told the students that given a source, they have to defend the case using the evidence provided as well as their background knowledge. One student wanted to ask Jack and Jill why they only fetched a pail of water. Herein I asked how it was possible that the student know about the pail of water. And they were stumped. This all happened at one of the weakest of the 4 classes that morning.


The last class was terrible. The students were smartest. Terrible not because they were not smart. Terrible because of their attitude towards learning. I found myself having to discipline more than teach and I kept all of them silent when I told one student whispering behind a bag to the friend. I cordially asked the student to remove the bag so they could converse in comfort. Then they stopped.


Walking into class again was a funny feeling. I don't have much of the passion in the classroom anymore these days. I prefer to work with the curriculum.


Last night was an interesting night. For the past months, I have been trying to set up my own business. I waited and waited for this person to call. We met up last night and God is just so wonderful.


I may not get the pay I want. But I will get to work with teachers and to develop curriculum. I will also have a chance at working at the primary level and training teachers at something I am totally not familiar with. 


Together with another ex trainee, Ronald, I have also worked on a package deal and we have sent it off to a school to test grounds. We are going to launch our proposals to various schools soon.

If the Lord is willing, I prefer to work on my own and not serving the interest of the Ministry but the interest of the teachers.

Teachers are very tired. There is a lot to do everyday. I never knew I was under tremendous stress until I walked out of it two months ago. It has been a blessing for me because I saw how my students past and present cared if I have enough to feed myself.


I have loans to pay off and a house to renovate. And I am not worried as I continue to watch how God is leading me.

All these circumstances have taught me to rely on GOD. They taught me to learn to do things out of my comfort zone. Driving to JB alone is a great feat. Learning to network is another. God is teaching me to use my gifts and I am going to listen to how I can bring my network together so I can link up the pieces.


In the mean time, those of you with exams, get on and study. Those who finished the marking, enjoy life ba. And those of us who have to continue to do the routines, thank God for the work you have. God says, "Thou sluggard, go to the ant." Even with the smallest of creatures, God wants us to learn from. So learn ba.

Rumours about where I am right now

I heard there was much speculations and rumours where I will be next year in the staff room. Some said that I will be teaching in Raffles Girls School and that I will be joining Raffles Institution. I shan't tell where I am then.

For the moment, I am busy. Trying to settle my new house. Yes, I was there to check it out with Melvin and the following week with Joshua to clean it. I have since driven to Johore Bahru and survived most of the roads. There were many times when I was lost just by following the road signs but the best GPS system is my lips. I asked for directions. 

When Joshua and I were on our way back from cleaning the house, we wanted to try and look for Bukit Indah. Well we tried several times and in the end we headed towards Tuas and went home. The last time Melvin and I tried to get out of Bukit Indah to Nusajaya, we were also lost. So today Joshua and I are going to overcome this myth about getting there. Fortunately this time, I was there with my dad and so I managed to reach the other side of Bukit Indah. So let's hope I will be fortunate today to get straight there.

I will be working more regularly starting next week. Then I will be involved in some ad hoc workshops. There is an offer to work on the business I am to start with Ronald and I am all excited.
I don't know if I should go back to the regular school system because I am enjoying the freedom to hire and fire the bosses I work for. 

Shin Miin is right about one thing. I will not thrive under a controlled environment. I am slowly awakening to more ideas as I talked to Ronald. We are both clear on one thing. We are passionate about our students and we are both good in our own field. Ronald is a trainer for toast master and I am a trainer of teachers. Ronald happened to be trained by me while he was at NIE and he told me it was difficult to forget me. So he has always kept in touch with me. We are both going out to network so that our business can launch next year. 

Will share more when we can see more clearly.

The good thing about going to work late!

This morning, I decided to take my time slowly. I will be out in a jiffy for breakfast and then off to work. It is now 1015.

I watched this youtube broadcast of an actress. This lady was a famous Hong Kong actress, 姚炜。I hope you enjoy her sharing as much as I did. She reminded me again that money is not everything, serving God is. Listen to how God changed her life inside and out. Nothing is impossible with our God. I know He is watching over me.

Julian Treasure: Shh! Sound health in 8 steps | Video on TED.com

Julian Treasure: Shh! Sound health in 8 steps | Video on TED.com

Those of us who love headphones. Do take a look at this video. I hope we love our ears a lot more.

First day at school

Today is the first day at school. I slept rather early because I was a little tired. I woke up refreshed because I was going to meet Jinyao for an interview.

This young man is really impressive. Unlike many of the smart students I have taught, Jinyao was not my student. I got to know him because I was one of the mentors for MUN and he got into trouble with me for not asking for permission to go out of the Boston Sheraton to eat lobster. For that the entire group was severely reprimanded since I have already warned them not to act foolishly. They did but I got him to reflect on his actions and he did a great job. Since then we remain as friends.

Recently he wrote to ask to interview about my involvement with service learning over the past few years. It was a rather soul searching interview for me and we chatted about my intentions to do service learning with my students. 

Service learning started with me because I always believe my students will become government leaders and therefore I want them to have a heart for the poor. I make a deliberate effort to network for my boys so that they can go out and do service. Many who have worked with me must come to work knowing they will not gain any hours or benefit. They must first get to know the community and I will personally arrange for such meetings. Although I cannot be there all the time, many of those I have worked with are trustworthy and carried on their service even though I was not around. I am very thankful they are faithful to the call of duty.

Jinyao has served many different groups. He has a big heart for the lost and abused children and teenagers. He is also a speaker for girls with anorexia and bulimia. When his friends abandoned the project, he carried on and went out to meet some of these victims. They heard about him and wanted him to help them. He has gone to talk to psychologists and two of them from Mt Elizabeth Hospital gave him a lot of readings to equip and counsel him to help them.

I did warn him of getting burnout and told him never to be too kind such that he is also abused. He is a very kind hearted young person. But he doesn't know the Lord. As I drove him to a bus stop near his house, I cannot help but feel sad that he doesn't know Jesus. I tried to share about the second coming of Christ with him and I hope he continues to be kind but do it for the Lord.

The help we can give is only temporary. But God's help once given lasts a life time.

After meeting Jinyao, I had time to wash Altis and made sure he is all vacuumed and ready for the afternoon. I am pleased to say Altis is smart looking. When I got down an hour later I was surprised how smart Altis looked.

I parked my car just outside the office. There was a meeting going on in the staff room so I stood outside. I waited until the meeting was over and I found the seat. It was small and right along the main corridor next to the teacher's lounge. It was noisy but good to hear noise because it means everyone is busy and hungry.

I was instructed to teach natural vegetation but I didn't have the wireless working until the technician came. I thought I could get it working again but no such luck. 


It looks like I don't report to work until 1230 everyday. I leave school at 530pm. Looks good because I am paid 120 dollars now. Soon to come I will be paid 200 dollars. I am not after money. I am after the experience and to get to know the school system again. I want to be able to adjust to any condition so that I can be ready wherever God is going to send me.


Like all the neighbourhood schools, many things are not as efficient. But that is okay. I have been too used to efficiency that I have become less tolerant to the lack of efficiency because of the lack of money to be efficient. Here the teachers work within their means. There are still a few idiotic characters who tried to exert their greatness. I just laugh them off because I have tasted greatness and great people don't tell others they are great. The greatness of genuinely great people are felt and they will humble you. These that I have seen today makes you laugh. 

I walked into a computer lab where the humanities room is. And there were a few students with their teacher I am to help. I was left with 4 while she took the rest. These 4 were supposedly the top students but they were not at all interested because they were really tired. By the time they reached me, it was already 440pm. I taught till 520pm and dismissed them. Most of them want to stay on but I want to go. One of the girls had a math paper infront of her and I told her to keep because I am not nice when I am pissed. And to the piss word, the other girl just stick out her tongue and smile. Perhaps I should not say that in a convent but I was sending a strong signal not to be funny with me. She got my message and was more than 200% attentive.


There were girls who had never heard about the information. I could see their eyes rolling and their faces light up because of what I shared. 

I am beginning to put ideas together now. I hope this spree continues. Not going to work has become so good that I don't miss going to teach at all. But for now it is a good start for me. Getting back into the classroom with no air condition is good. 

The staff I must say is very friendly and curious who this new person was. I met a small lady Maggie who helps with printing. She looks like she is in her 60s and she was extremely nice. She was very eager to show me the pantry but this was the last thing on my mind because the most important thing for me are the tools for my teaching.


Perhaps the school will find me rather bothersome because I asked a lot of questions. I guess this is because having worked in an independent school for so long has trained me to be 100% dedicated to my pedagogy and the classroom. It was a good feel today being able to walk into class and leaving the class with students wondering how much more they don't know.