Oxymoron In The Tropics

Today, ripples are on my mind ;) Sometimes in the course of my work (or fun!), someone asks why I bother to do such and such.  Like why bother to blow up twenty balloons for a nephew who is not having a birthday party.  Or why bother to talk to someone who doesn't want to listen.  Well, I do some of the tiny insignificant things I do because of ripples.  The twenty balloons may 'kill' me (blow up this many and you will know what I mean!) or the 'deaf' friend may go his way anyway (& I have wasted my breath!) but... The kid will be happy and stay happy for a few days... The 'deaf' friend may remember my words one day...when the time is right. And who knows what may happen or what may be averted? A friend shared some realizations about prayer with me which made me sit up and think hard about my own prayer life.  Then the changes in me caught the attention of other people, who asked and they too sat up and thought hard. It never hurts to share... the wor...

Ever heard of the saying,"Be careful what you wish for...you just may get it."? Well, right now I'm thinking of "Be careful what door you open...you just may not be able to close it." I opened a door and now I'm thinking of closing it.  But the problem is... I don't think it can be closed.  And even if I close it, I fear that like Pandora's Box, what's done is done. So now what does one do when one has taken a step down a certain path and one can't turn back? I suppose one just continues on down that path. I used to tell my friends (and smugly at that!) that I would never take a step down a path if I don't like what lies at the end of that path.  Well, I wince now at my arrogance.  For many a time no one knows what is at the end of the path. Sh*t.

Had a great weekend...! Saturday was hubby's birthday so we went to have buffet lunch. Son was, as usual, all upbeat about the smorgasbord of dishes on display (paying special attention to the ices and jellies). Tried taking pictures of hubby but he wouldn't cooperate so I focused on son instead. The sweetie loved mugging for the camera! Lunch was a combo of feasting and entertainment ;) Sunday was a really packed day. Promised mum that I'd help out at the food fair in church so I stood (!) on duty at the cake stall till noon. After hours of handling cakes of all sorts (cinnamon, butter, honeycomb, chocolate moist, sponge) and cookies and biscuits etcetera etcetera, I had had my FILL of the sweet stuff. And imagine trying to answer questions like "Is this sweet? How sweet?" and "Is this delicious?". But at the same time, I had the opportunity to meet so many old friends (such as Juliana, Walter and Winston) By one p.m,, I was almost dead on my fe...

Once upon a time, I stood at a fork in my life.  Should I walk down the 'safe' road or should I try the path that looked thorny and rocky?  Shades of Robert Frost....:)  Safe road meant safe heart, minimal problems and serene life.  No fears, no worries.  Thorny path meant possible hurt and potential flame out. Plenty of angst and lots of 'wasted' energy.  But I thought that if I continued down that safe road, I'd always think of 'what if'.  What if I took that thorny path and never regretted it?  What if things turned out well for me?  Wasn't the potential happiness worth the risk? And so I took that fateful first step down 'the path less travelled by'.  Did I feel hurt?  Did I 'waste' time and energy in upset and anger?  Yes, yes and yes... but just as I experienced wrenching lows, I also felt over-arching joy.  And I learned something about myself.  When I had felt the bitter of pain and disappointment, I learned to appreciate deeply ...

A darling friend asked in mournful tones,"Did he ever really care for me?  Did he ever really love me?" Ah yes, another broken heart.  I imagine the pain is like a piece of glass shattering, all the shards flying, ripping, cutting, slashing... rebounding upon itself and tearing new wounds over and over again... you may even feel as if you'll never be whole again, as if the pieces can never come together again...  A painful story repeated , all over the world, throughout the centuries.... crossing all boundaries; skin colour, castes, ....   It's such a common story, yet awful in its freshness and its totality to the sufferer. After so many years listening to other friends, handling my own little 'breakages' and drinking so many mugs of Nescafe ( panacea for all ills! ), I have learned that there is no fixing a broken heart.  The best one can do is to mourn the loss of dreams & hopes, cry a little (or a lot!), drink lots of coffee (or whatever) and rememb...

In today's News Straits Times... KUALA LUMPUR: The Education Ministry wants to hear from disgruntled teachers. They have been asked to submit their complaints to the ministry through their respective unions. Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said during his meeting with various teaching unions last Friday, among the issues raised were the improvement of the teaching profession and the welfare of teachers. "It was a very cordial meeting. I have suggested that they submit their views formally and from time to time we will look into them as we want to see those in the profession not only honourable but happy." Muhyiddin, who is also the deputy prime minister, said this after a visit to the Education Ministry's educational technology division at Bukit Kiara yesterday. The visit was to find out the progress in the use of Information Communications Technology (ICT) in the education system. Teachers have long complained about their heavy workload,...

My head is aching and my eyes are red.... I've been downloading excel files from my inbox for the past three days and copying the data from each file into a master file.  And in the midst of all the data crunching, I get my patience tested. Test One Mr X : Hello, this is Mr X from School PQR.  Actually what is it that you want? Me : May I know who attended the briefing two weeks ago? Mr X : I did.  But I'm not sure what you want. Me : (pauses to find a chair to sit down and takes a deep breath).  Okay, Mr X, do you have the CD?  Mr X : Have to open the CD ah?  Can't you just tell me....? Me : Okay, when you open the CD, you'll find four folders. Click open Folder entitled Program MNO, then click open Folder entitled... Mr X : Wait wait... let me find a computer.  Wait ah... you don't mind, do you? Me : No............................................. I don't mind. Test Two Me : Hello, Mr W.  I am Pn. Roslyn from XXX.  I received the CD from your school but th...

Auntie, what kind of man should I look for? I stared at my niece, mind blank. She looked back at me expectantly, curious nut-brown eyes fringed by black lashes...just perfect to snare some unsuspecting male, I thought. Though she was a mite young. But I suppose better for such a question to be answered at a young age than at too late an age. Imagine wading through a river of testosterone, getting tumbled left and right and finally yelling out,"What am I looking for????" I suppose she wasn't asking her mother because Mummy has an agenda. So what should I say without upsetting the parents and yet giving her a safe guideline to follow? After some fast thinking, this is what I ended up saying. There is no one fool proof method but this is what you could look for. a) He should be resourceful. He need not have all the answers but he should know how to find them. b) He should be resilient. If everything is taken away from him, can he get up and start again? c) He should...

I promised myself I'd create a list of realizations/ideas/strategies for penolong kanan (senior assistants) once I had enough experience as one. Well, since I've been transferred, I won't have any more time to gather experience. Therefore below is the List compiled by one with only 28 months' experience. a) Remember always that you are dealing with people. They are not unfeeling documents that can be filed away. Take time to win their trust. Take the effort to keep their trust. Take pains to find out what makes them tick. Without the staff backing you up, you are like a ship standing dead in the water. b) Begin the day with a smile. And try to remember that no staff ever begins their day by thinking,"What rule shall I break today?" So whenever I face a problem with staff, I will always ask myself why this person is doing this and what could be influencing his or her actions. I dare to say that in my 28 months, I have yet to meet a person who deli...

A friend called me up recently to bemoan the fact of his single status. "How do I find that one perfect girl???" Such an ageless question. I think for as long as there are people alive on this planet (and off!), this will always be a question echoing in minds and hearts. Whether the query is from a male or female. As someone who has been through that wringer and emerged relatively unscathed (with just a scratch or ten), I can safely say...to all those who are still 'suffering', "Have faith and be patient...it's not going to be easy, confronting all those well-meaning ppl who keep tsking and clucking,"Why are you being so choosy...blah blah blah..." What do they know anyway? But, as always, the worst 'critic' is yourself. I made it easier for myself during my single days by holding to a few principles: 1) Everyone is my friend and all of them are potential fun planners & partners :) 2) To be married to the wrong person is a million...

All my life, people keep taking me for a Chinese.  And I keep saying I am not a Chinese.  But I cannot deny the fact that I do have some Chinese blood. My great grandfather was a Seiyap (or Sze Yup or Siyi) who arrived in Sabah with two other brothers.  He met my great-grandmother and they settled in Papar.  But I heard tell that his family was so angry with him that they cut all ties.  Well, as I wasn't allowed to find my Chinese relatives, I have no way to confirm that story. But sometimes when I walk down a street and I look into a face that looks vaguely like my own, I do wonder...

Sometimes in our busy lives, it is good to take some time out just to shoot the breeze with friends. Yesterday, I went for high tea with friends of the debating tendency :) We laughed, we ate, we made lots of noise, we viewed videos of past debates... And to sum it up, Henry said,"God, you're all so terrible!" ;) Back : L-R : me, Sibyl, Susan Front : L-R : Audrey, Aloysia Back : Susan Front : L-R : me, Eric, Henry, Audrey