Darkness
Here comes another brainwave...

Went into the kitchen to wash a cup just now.. and it would seem so normal if not for the absence of light on a 10 plus evening. The only light was from the stove, boiling water with a blue-ish flame and all else was dark.

How mysterious, this darkness that we all grow to be so unaccustomed save for the time when we go to sleep. How many of us actually get the chance to walk in total darkness doing things that was supposed to be in the light? Walking from point A to B? Simply to get to the other side of the corridor? Strolling under the moon light?

Its a total different world when we get to do that, you feel that you are challenged, you are put into the vulnerable. You feel different because it is different.

Remember this junior of mine asked how it is that i am not scared walking alone in the middle of the night from the staff lounge to the toilet at the ava room, and i was unable to give him a very good answer. Today it dawns upon me why so; because it is simply different. Accept the darkness and not imagine it to be what you perceived it to be and the experience will develop.

How about trekking in the middle of the jungle or on a mountain? It is exactly the same feeling. Still remember doing night navigation when i was in OBS and when we paused for a rest, the darkness was so serene. Stars in the night sky and everyone all looking at it at the same time.. it was magical.

Or talking about the things in the deepest depths of our hearts when we have friends who would share with us at the magical moment... we pour forth our emotions and we talked about the things that really mattered... sometime the darkness can be so....

So how was your darkness? How do u deal with it?
- posted by “兴”火燎原 @ 3:26 PM 0 comments

 
Bonsai Hill, Mount Ophir

Think this is the place that gave me my slipped disc.. but well its a good place for an excellent workout. Always enjoyed trekking in the mountains; the air is fresh, the scenery immensely breathtaking and the experience beyond description.

- posted by “兴”火燎原 @ 9:07 AM 0 comments

 
Little Conversations
Had a long talk over dinner with one of my uni frens this evening... its amazing how a simple conversation can trigger thinking in the brain sometimes. A lot of times in life we get so settled down in our comfort zone that we are afraid to take the plunge: I was talking about a close person in my life who is ever so afraid of being a part of society that he literally gave up on himself and lived a decadent life ever since.

He knows what he does is wrong but his choice was to continue with it. At many a time, parents out of their great love they have for their children can never bear to do the punishing to let their children change for the better.

But these are normal phenomena that we humans are unable to transcend because we are afraid to come out of our comfort zone. We want the short way out, we want to be gratified instantly.

I asked a teacher of mine how it is that she could stay so long in her job given that it looks so ungratifying at times, or even depressing at many instances. She hesitated for a moment and told us that it is for the belief that she believes what she believes, that what she was doing was worth doing, that she is willing to take the plunge and surrender herself to the unknown or the ungrateful.

I think that is an admirable feat; and it is well-worthy of my respect. How many of us can actually live our dreams, our beliefs, against all the odds?

It is through the little things in life that we do such as we discover the extraordinary-ness of life.. and it is precisely going through such little conversations that we see the meaning out of them all....

Little conversations.... .. ..
- posted by “兴”火燎原 @ 4:32 PM 0 comments

 
Forgotten Memories that seemed an age past
Was looking through friendster when i saw the testimonials that some of my juniors wrote for their squadmates in NPCC; those words really brought me back to the time when i was around that age, and bonds were so strongly forged then. Used to remember that i would wake up everyday and go to school early in the morning just to see my mates.

We would always go back to the CCA room to play carrom, listen to then-oh-so-good 98.7FM (now i think it has became so trashy), play basketball (though i was not good at it), chinese chess, cleaning up the room and imitating dance groups... ah... those were the times...

Still can remember that we used to stay till 6 or 7 pm or so and then slowly walked to the bus stop to await the bus home.. sometimes it would be walking through How San avenue, singing songs as we pass, joking.. talking... Weekends after training will be makaning at Kovan till 9pm and it was oh-so-fun then....

Then i become a senior and began to put in lots of effort for my juniors. Trainings for competition would start at 2pm and end around 6pm almost everyday when finals were near, through the sun and the rain, through the good and bad times.. and i was ever so willing to sacrifice time -- it went through the time when i was in army and finally they graduated.

Would never be able to forget the tears in particularly 2 of them when it was the night that they would say goodbye to me in an official event (POP concert). One of them made me a grasshopper and a note, to which i cherish so much even till today. I would cry if i could but i did not.. and perhaps they could have forgotten the bonds that we shared then, or the tears that they shed.. but it would forever remain in that special place in my heart, keeping it going even if the times should get too tough to handle... .. .

If time could turn back.. what would i have wished again? Those forgotten memories that seemed an age past... ....
- posted by “兴”火燎原 @ 2:38 PM 0 comments

 
Very tiring!
Worked from 6am to 6pm today non stop! Never felt so tired in my life before... was virtually sleeping while marking in the office and have to entertain the many students that i made stay back for not doing work and doing revision properly.

After 2 days of torture, both for the students and myself, i think it is high time that i take a step back and leave them to their own device. Dun see much of a progress in their learning (saw a little progress for some) but i guess maybe they will forget again when they go home?

I guess perhaps i have done enough? Maybe its time to call parents already. Its really too taxing to be going after the kids one by one. Did not do much marking and projects are piling one after another. EPMS review to be done (and still hiding in my bag), Chinese week preparations to be done, Learning journey for chinese department, 2 new students to prepare separate work, lesson records to input, workbooks and worksheets to be done.... the list goes on... really wonder if its possible to finish them at all?

Guess it will be another saturday to clear up a whole lot of mess again... so no life rite? hiaz... oh ya still got sports day, house matters, catholic envelopes, booklets.. oh goodness... how come there are so many things to be done?
- posted by “兴”火燎原 @ 1:59 PM 0 comments

 
Doing Dyeing

It was in India when we were brought to this carpet and cloth dye factory whereby the process of dyeing was shown (with the hint that we should buy something of cos), and it was quite an eye-opener. Didn't know that dyeing comes in layers whereby they change colours as layers were put on top of one another, such as the one shown above :)

We got to keep the cloth of cos.. courtesy from the factory boss :p

- posted by “兴”火燎原 @ 1:45 PM 0 comments

 
Treetop Trail

Okie those 2 of are my friends that u see in the picture... and we are in the middle of Macritchie, somewhere between Pierce Reservoir and Macritchie Reservoir. The air is really fresh, think i think ought to go more often than to suffer in the smoke-filled city environment, so that i will be able to live longer :)

Picture taken in the morning of 20th March 2005 (yeah i got out of the house ard 7plus am.. i know its crazy... haha)

- posted by “兴”火燎原 @ 2:39 PM 0 comments

 
The 1000 year old buddha

Walked into a thousand year old cave digged into a mountain. Probably belonging to the King Ashoka period, these works of art were a great testament to the power of human determination -- or perhaps cruelty?

- posted by “兴”火燎原 @ 7:09 PM 0 comments

 
Little Q

"Whueak whueak....So what treats am i going to get for today? Mmmm.. the pet feed is getting a bit boring.. but nevermind, at least it fills my stomach for the time being.... whueak whueak..."

- posted by “兴”火燎原 @ 5:26 PM 0 comments

 
Who is Who har?
AIyo can dun spam the board too often.. sometimes when u wanna read back also difficult rite?

and who is who har? i wouldnt know who is who by reading the nick ritE? that is unless i am a seer... but then i am not a seer. So boring have to mark books in the afternoon when everyone else are enjoying themselves. Can ask more pple to share and read the blog leh? add comments? if better do posting.. then even better.

how about friendster? add me leh.. haha

ok la i gotta be back to marking and u guys better go back mug books... Ganbate... make good use of the holidays.



(P.s: now i realise that compo of the class is quite badly written... or is it the topic?)
- posted by “兴”火燎原 @ 8:02 AM 0 comments

 
Falling into Place?
Was talking to Mr Goy about 4 Charles when he suddenly told me that the students will finally make effort to study very hard on their own when the O levels are due. But then as the form teacher it is not easy to just let go and let them do it on their own right?

How can we be rest assured when students in general can just pick up their books and read in november when the exams are due in dec for papers like Chinese? Does it sound familiar to you? Do people really do that? I think if i were to only pick up the book at the last minute, a B or C is the most probable grade that i get.

Nowadays it is not just Bs that can get people through like in the good old days. Top notch results are the only desired ones in the market and i think that is no easy feat to achieve to get A for every subject.

Frankly speaking i think good habit is the key to getting very good results for studies. There is no better way for most of us out there since we are all not geniuses. However in midst of all these hard work and effort, we must not forget to play and to exercise. And i am already trying to maintain one such lifestyle.. so how about you guys? What are the good habits you should start cultivating and are you also starting today?
- posted by “兴”火燎原 @ 11:55 AM 0 comments

 
Worries... ...
Really worried about a few students in my class; they dun seem to be very worried about their own studies, and i dun seem to be able to find a good way to convince them that hard work is the key to success.

Thinking back of how it was when i was a student could be a way to understand how they feel.. maybe.. but when i studied, i studied very hard as i understand that if it were bad results, i would not be able to make it to JC. Then all of my mother's hard work would have gone to vain. It was not simply understanding that it was my responsibility to work hard. It was the very going through of such an ordeal of working day and night and experiencing for myself the typical schedule of mum that really pushed me to the limits.

I would study day and night when exams were near, and without getting any sleep i would go straight into the exam hall and attempt my papers. Come thinking back into what i had done, it would even seemed not human. How could i have achieved that?

Come 2005 and its an entire different setting. The class has 35 individuals and each of these 35 people are all unique. I cannot simply put a single sentence to them and expect all to be able to respond. Yet it cannot be my excuse to not say anything at all and pray that all will just go well as they should. So what should i do? What could i have done?
- posted by “兴”火燎原 @ 5:37 PM 0 comments

 
A Fresh Start
okie finally feeling secured to post blogs for the people ard me le... before that was feeling very insecure. And i think a fresh start deserves a new beginning... was thinking over the things that i share with the people ard me... telling them that the world is already a very sad place to be. But actually its not that bad given that we stay in such a stable society such as singapore.

There are not too much pollution, as i have seen in places like india, and the people here are generally nice and big hearted. All around people are kind and helpful and its really a fortune that i am born here.

So stop thinking that life is unfair and that we are born to suffer, cos we ain't and we are never going to be so unless we allow ourselves to be this way.

Life is full of surprises, and as forest gump always say, "mama says that life is like a box of chocolates, u never know what u are going to get."

Always look on the bright side of life!

p.s: martin pls stop pestering me to change the skin, me ain't got so much time for that okie?
- posted by “兴”火燎原 @ 3:48 PM 0 comments