TK SOCCER IN THE NEWS!

"Any publicity is good publicity - even if you can't understand what is written!" Duke

Stand up for the Champions; for the Champions, stand up!

More amazing pics from that unforgettable day ...

Sweet Dreams are Made of These ...

"Victory tastes all the sweeter because you have worked for it and you fully deserve it!" Duke

It has been twenty-four hours but it still hasn't quite sunk in yet.

Tanjong Katong Secondary School - League One CHAMPIONS!

The moment passed so quickly, I regret not savouring it fully. Yet certain images are engraved in my mind and burnt into my mind's eye.

The raucous celebration at the final whistle, the coming together of team-mates who have fought tooth and nail with one another and spilled blood, Faiz the captain hoisting the trophy up high, the hugs and the high fives.

Before the game, I had to struggle to hold back tears as I was simply just so proud of the boys.

Their journey included overcoming a huge injustice at Victoria School, broken dreams at the hands of St. Pats, the fall of the captain at Marsiling and then, so nearly, an unexpected capitulation at the feet of Naval Base.

Yet the boys possessed a vital quality that all champions possess - bouncebackability.

I cannot express how proud and joyous I feel as I look back on the boys' achievement. It was always theirs for the taking and this time, they dared to win ... they dared to seize what is now rightfully theirs.

It was always all about you, your gifts, your character, your show ... and now you have centre stage, on the podium, holding the trophy aloft.

You are the champions because, quite simply, you were the best team in the entire division.

Actually, for the coach and I, we have always known that.

It was a matter of all of you believing that too. And now you do.

You have re-written history and you have made a name for yourselves. I cannot be any more proud of each and every one of you.

I thank God for the sweet, sweet taste of success and I am so grateful.

Well done, boys.

Well done, CHAMPS!

First piece of silverware ... first of many ...

"Always good to win something ... winning is a good habit to develop." Duke

OK, so it's a bit of a Mickey Mouse cup but it's still a piece of silverware for the trophy cabinet! More than what West Spam and Hell City can say!

"And Modric's got West Ham dancing to his tune ..."

"It is not the size of the player in the fight; but the size of the fight in the player!" Duke

In my opinion, this picture clearly illustrates the joy of triumph and the agony of defeat. The excellent Tottenham player, Jermaine Defoe, wheels away in joyous celebration after scoring the only goal of the game, leaving the West Spam players, especially the whiner with his hands on his head, in fits of pain and despair. I believe that the goal is the perfect reward for Defoe's perseverance and endeavour as he has missed a few chances throughout the game but has refused to let his head drop. On the other hand, the West Spam player who is moaning about the goal should really grow up and get on with the game. Moaning does nothing to help the team. Come on, you Spurs!

How's that for a great picture discussion?

Soccer Camp 2009: Unforgettable ... that's what you are!

'Memories are made of these - times in the sun, on the run, having fun." Duke

Hello World, just got back from the Soccer Camp.

It was an unforgettable experience in so many ways - thank you, everyone!

Mr Wee - you are more than a colleague; you are a friend, brother, partner-in-crime and all-round blessing!

Keith, Paul, Shafiq, Shija - great job as captains!

Shen Hao, Han Jie - well done in helping out! Always fabulous to have the two of you around.

Faiz, Bryant, Zhi Xian, Ammar, Afiq, Rifqi, Joel, Hakim, Dylan, Darryl, Johnathon, Ryo, Mateen, Irsyad, Raihan, Brendon, Ryan, Gabriel, Wilson, Simranjeet, Daniel - great just having you around! And yes, even you, Hirzi! Sorry you had to leave halfway.

As I said, I hope you will take these closer bonds that you have forged onto the field and really work together for the success of the team.

Though I do not say it or show it enough, I am tremendously proud of the team and, in many ways, blessed to be a part of TK Soccer. Through the ups and downs, tears and smiles, there is nowhere else I'd rather be.

'C' Boys, let's take League One by storm!

'B' Boys, let's break the jinx of the first-round knock-out!

Enjoy the hilarious pics and vids of Mr Wee, Han Jie (Mr Prez), Paul (Iron Man) and I making a fool of ourselves on the high elements!

Lessons atop the Dunking Machine

"There is no shame in being dunked or dunking; better having dunked or been dunked than not at all ... seize the moment and capture the memory." Duke

After having participated in the recent Bazaar, and fully and wetly so, I have to say that it was indeed a memorable and meaningful experience.

Having come to school bleary-eyed after foolishly staying up to catch a shockingly one-sided Champion's League final, the anticipation that precedes an actual dunking and the dunking itself certainly got the adrenaline pumping and kept me buzzing the whole day. Although it got a little bit irritating after the ninth or tenth time of splashing into the water and having to crawl out again, it was definitely a fun and etched-in-the-brain-for-some-time-to-come (no such word) experience.

At the same time, it was not all mindless fun, although it certainly looked that way! The only reason I even agreed to go up there and await a wet fate was because I knew that my class and I would be contributing some money to charity. I needed to put my money where my mouth was and play my part after my students had done such a great job in raising funds to pay for the over-priced dunking machine and in attracting customers to our stall. The approximately $500 that we raised, we hope, would go a long way to help the less fortunate. GREAT JOB, 1F!

I also learnt two important lessons from the experience.

It was amazing how many participants actually only hit the target on their VERY LAST throw. It did not matter how many tries they were given, it really went to the wire for a large number of them. Just when I thought the threat had passed and the student had given up, "THUMP"! Right on the bull's eye ... followed by a loud "SPLASH"! I guess that really highlighted the importance of trying and not losing heart; of keeping on without getting discouraged; of going again even through failures. So, lesson number one - if at first you don't succeed, try and try again ... eventually, you WILL get it right.

Lesson number two - refuse to let others affect your concentration and focus. Part of what makes the dunking such a thrill is the person on the dunking board taunting and distracting the person about to make that throw. That was why I was making so much noise and continually taunting those who were about to launch the ball at the target. The amazing thing was that it all actually worked. Those who allowed the taunts to get to them and convince them that they would not succeed really didn't! Of course, on the flip side, those who refused to listen or be distracted were also those who invariably did hit the target. That emphasised the importance of keeping one's focus and concentration and to be able to shut out all the unimportant and distracting noise.

At the end of the day, though, all that mattered was that all those involved, in big or small ways(or even in dry or wet conditions), played a part in making some kind of difference. That, I suppose, was all that mattered.

SPLASH!

The Kindness of Singaporeans

"Singaporeans have a soft core ... you just have to look harder." Duke

There has been a lot written lately about how ungracious, uncaring and selfish Singaporeans generally are and frankly, it is nothing new and I am well sick of it. It is so sad that we have such poor self-esteem as Singaporeans but what makes it worse is when foreigners join in and slam the country as well. To be brutally honest, feedback is great but if things are so bad, then please, please go back to where you came from.

It is vitally important that I make it clear at this point that I am NOT a narrow-minded xenophobe. A good number of my students are foreigners and I am thankful for them as they add colour and variety to lessons; some of the students I am closest to are foreigners; I play soccer every Tuesday with foreigners, many of whom I consider friends and vice versa; I am on a floorball team with a number of foreigners whom I also count as friends; some of my best friends in church are also from outside these shores. I am well aware that I also come from a line of immigrants. However, the fact remains - It is never polite to insult the host when you are a guest. If it is really so bad here, then no one is forcing you to stay.

I digress. Today, I experienced first-hand the soft core of Singaporeans on the street and have come to the conclusion that a lot of what has been written is grossly exaggerated.

Earlier this evening, I was on my way to pick up dinner and birthday cards for my students. Before I could do so, I had to withdraw some money from the ATM. There was a short queue of three others before me. As the first person went ahead to withdraw his cash, he dropped one of his two ATM cards on the floor. The moment we realised what was happening, the portly gentleman in front of me and I both spoke up to inform the owner that his card was on the ground. That reminded me of an incident a month ago when I dropped a letter on the floor at a neighbourhood food court and the cleaner immediately called for me to turn around, so I knew that the ATM incident was not a random occurance. So much for the uncaring, selfish Singaporean.

After completing my transaction at the ATM, I went to the bookshop a few blocks away to pick up the birthday cards. At that moment, I realised that I had left my watch and my handphone at home. As I wanted to rush home in time to catch Sports Centre on the tube, I stopped and asked two strangers on the road for the time. Both obliged, and with a polite nod or smile after I thanked them. So much for the rude, unresponsive Singaporean. For good measure, I stopped a third stranger on my way back just to confirm my findings (reliable test, Science people!) and received the same response.

Admittedly, there are a number of bad apples which have spoiled the basket, but are we simply too hard on ourselves? Are we simply blindly believing that the grass, somehow, is greener on the other side? Well, I have two really bad overseas experiences to recount and maybe, after that, you will see that a lack of graciousness and concern is not exclusively a Singaporean trait.

After completing our military exercises in Australia, ironically the retirement destination of choice for many Singaporeans because of its friendly climate and friendly people, a group of us were out on the town having fun. Without warning, a car sped by and a group of Australian adults (not youths) threw eggs at us while shouting, "Chinks!" They were obviously racist and obnoxious and apparently, according to my seniors, such people are not uncommon in that area. I daresay that no foreigner has experienced such blatant insult and abuse on these shores.

Next, on my trip to Zurich for the Floorball World Championships, I was again out on the town during out rest days with my team-mates and one of them was an Indian gentle giant. At one point, we were obviously and had to ask for directions. Strangely, whenever my Indian friend approached anyone, they would ignore him and walk away. I did not receive the same treatment. Later, I found out from a Swiss friend that the biased treatment was due to a recent influx of a large number of migrant workers from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh and they were looked down upon and distrusted. Thus, even in one of the most beautiful and modern countries in the world, a lack of common respect and decency is alive and well too.

It seems to me that Singaporeans are not devoid of care or concern; rather, they are more reserved and less open in showing it. We are still a conservative Asian society that remains reticent and less prone to showing feeling or affection openly. Nonetheless, I think what is most important is for us to move beyond whining and complaining about other Singaporeans and do something about it. No country in the world is immune to bad manners or shameful behaviour; the key is to make sure we are not part of those guilty of these actions. As we complain about Ugly Singaporeans, we should make sure that we are not Ugly Singaporeans too.

Now, I wonder how many of those people who have spent so much time complaining have spent time ensuring, as best they can, that others are not complaining about them too?

X-traordinary People

"There is no such thing as an ordinary person." Ozymandias (Watchmen)

I caught Wolverine over the long weekend and, well, I loved it. Loved it so much that I will probably catch it a second time.

Ok, admittedly, the film-makers did take certain liberties over some of the characters and how they were portrayed but I have never been a big fan of Deadpool anyway.

It was really fun seeing how the special effects people managed to bring to life some of the mutant abilities of the various characters and, for want of a better word, it was really cool. (I think I am still young enough to use that word.)

In terms of storyline and plot, it was nothing spectacular and there were plot-holes here and there, but why nit-pick? It was an enjoyable movie which was able to sustain interest because it had a good pace and never felt draggy. In fact, I felt that certain scenes could have been longer.

Since I could remember, I have always loved comic books and the superheroes and villains who inhabit the world of ink and bright colours on the printed page. I still have a huge box of comics from the good old days in my room. Occasionally, I still venture into that time-worn box and pick out a few classics and re-live the adventures and thrills of the heroes featured within.

What is the attraction of superheroes anyway? Well, I think we love these characters because of their special abilities. We think these abilities make them special and extraordinary. By extension, we also believe that we would also become special if we possess these abilities and gifts. We long to be as agile and quick as Spiderman, as strong and powerful as the Thing or as courageous and determined as Wolverine.

Yet the biggest lie that we have all bought into is that we are just mere human beings and totally ordinary because we lack these gifts and talents.

I have come to realise that all of us are special because there is only one of each of us. To put it more spectacularly, God broke the mould after He made each one of us. We are all different and totally unique, with different personalities, sets of abilities and talents and traits. If we look at it that way, then we are all, each and every one of us, extraordinary.

The problem is that we spend far too much time looking at what we do not have that others do (looks, musical talent, athletic gifts, intellectual prowess, etc) than appreciating what we have that others do not. That is why we spend so much time trying to be other people and someone else and too little time just being ourselves.

However, the biggest question is - If you spend so much time trying to be someone else, then who is going to be you?

Sure, it would really be cool to have some of the mutant abilities of the mutants in the Marvel Universe. Personally, I would love to have the ability to generate a forcefield around me at will, making me practically invulnerable.

But do we really need mutant abilities or superpowers to be extraordinary? I hope you see now, as I do, that the answer is really no.

The other thing we love about heroes like Wolverine and Gambit is what they choose to do with their powers. They do noble things like protecting the weak, standing up for what is right and staring evil in the face.

However, do we really need super powers to do all these things? Can we not do good with what we already have?

How about giving our time to help the needy? Helping struggling students/friends with their work? Reporting a crime/unlawful activity when we witness it? Going overseas to help build houses for the poor?

We have, built within us, the God-given and inspired capacity to do good and all we need are the opportunities and the desire and willingness to step out of the comfort zone. That is why I believe in the power, impact and meaning of involving my students in community outreach programmes or charitable causes. Once they see what they can do, they will want to do it again.

So, do we need to be super-powered beings to do good? Again, the answer is no and the truth lies with our correct and accurate perception of who we truly are and what we can truly accomplish.

As we grow older, we become more comfortable with who we are and what we have. That is when we find our place in God's scheme of things and grow to be who we should be. That is when we realise we are already extraordinary.

Having mutant abilities and super powers would merely be a bonus.

What will you defend?

"What you will defend, you will fight for, and what you will fight for, is what truly matters." Duke



Yesterday, on a lazy Saturday afternoon, while having floorball training, I was asked to go back to camp. Yes, recalled and activated.

Did I like it? Well, to be honest, not one bit. Would I have chosen to go back if I did not have to? Probably not. Did I enjoy the experience? Again, to be 100% truthful, no.

It was a very hot afternoon and having to walk long stretches under the sun with a full pack and another bag containing my other accessories was not my idea of an ideal Saturday afternoon relaxation activity. I was drenched in perspiration and the side of my dusty boot cut into my left ankle bone, leaving a bruise. As I said, not my idea of a fun Saturday afternoon.

However, as I thought about it on the long taxi ride back home, I realised and understood that, for all the inconvenience and discomfort, it all made perfect sense.

There is something about putting on the uniform and I felt it while getting ready to report back to camp. As I saw myself in the mirror in camouflage, I felt a flush of pride and a slow trickling down of comfort.

I saw in that image in the mirror what it means to be a citizen. I felt proud that I have been entrusted with the privilege of standing up for something, of being a member of a community that is my home, of being a child of the very land on which I have been born and brought up. I felt Singaporean.

What brought me comfort was the fact that there are many others doing the same thing I was doing at the moment, or had done, or would be doing. We had, for that moment in time, forgotten about our individual stories, our distinct destinies, our diverging lives and our uncommon realities. For that one moment, when we were in camouflage, we were all the same and all standing as one.

That's why I greeted each other person I saw making that long walk into camp with a respectful nod and a sweaty smile. I may not know him, but we knew we were brothers.

If and when the situation does call for it, the person I exchanged glances with for a few seconds might well be the person I go into battle with, the person I might share my last living moments with, the person I might have to entrust my life with. That is why I consider him my brother and vice versa.

As the taxi made its way back east through the ordered lanes on the expressway, I looked at all the faces in the cars passing by or that were passed by. I understood then that going back to camp was an inconvenience that should not only be endured, but celebrated.

It is a reminder that we are doing all we can to make sure that, when the moment calls for it, each face that I saw in those cars on the expressway will have a guardian standing between them and whatever adversary or enemy that might be facing us down.

We fight for what we are willing to defend and what we are willing defend is what truly matters to us. At that moment, I knew what I would fight for those faces in those cars.

Suddenly, all the inconvenience and hassle seemed worthwhile, after all.

Passion is not a crime

"Passion is braving 35 degree heat to do what you love." Duke

Yesterday, I had my second game with the Discovery team.

Lest you think that this posting is about soccer again, let me assure you that it is not, so stick around.

When the match kicked off at three plus yesterday, the thermometer in a friend's car read 35 degrees. It was hot, red hot, white hot, hot. It was so hot that you could see water evaporating, heat waves emanating from the ground, the exposed skin on your body drying up and the grass wilting. It was HOT. Halfway through the first half, my team (mostly made up of guys older than me) was walking around like zombies who had been rejected by the Zombie Association. They were on the pitch physically but they were reduced to walking pace or even stationary mode.

As a goalkeeper, you know it's going to be a bad day when your defenders can only look at you hopefully whenever the attackers charged towards the goal. Three-quarters through the match, I began hallucinating and I began pacing up and down, talking to myself to keep myself rooted in reality. It was HOT.

What's the point, you may ask?

Well, besides the fact that it was HOT, I want to highlight the one thing that kept 26 lobster-red, heavy-breathing, deep-panting men (we had rolling substitutions, which meant that someone would be substituted every five minutes) on the field on an unbearably hot day. That thing is passion.

All of us were passionate about the game and we surely showed it yesterday. That's the power of passion I guess - it is more than pain, difficulties, obstacles and hardships. It keeps one going despite the odds; against all odds, in fact. It's what kept Sir Edmund Hillary on Mount Everest when others gave up. It's what has pushed Paolo Maldini to stay on the field past his 39th birthday. It's what compelled twelve lowly men to stare persecution and death to pass on the Good News to the ends of the earth. The list goes on. It's what has propelled men across the ages to push past the boundaries of impossibility and march into the fields of reality.

That's the beauty of passion, I guess. It is the unshakeable belief that something is worth doing; the undying love for a pursuit or endeavour; the forerunner of the most satisfying enjoyment that is derived from doing what one loves to do.

Passion is not a crime, although I felt that it should be after the final whistle went during my match yesterday. As I lay slumped on the ground, my legs aching, my head throbbing, my body drying up, I really questioned my own sanity. Why in the world did I put myself through that?

And then, the answer came to me, clear as day - passion.

Come on, you Spurs!

"Double the fun, double the Hammers!" Duke

There's gotta be more to life

"Hell is waking up and dreading the day ahead." Duke

I've posted a random picture of my church youths, friends and I at a camp sometime back but the point was to emphasise the fact that life is full of colour, full of people, full of craziness and full of smiles.

Well, at least that's what it is to me.

However, there are many, many people out there who feel that life is dark, bleak, painful and overflowing with sadness. And that's hell.

Yesterday, after floorball training, I had the chance to catch up with one of my team-mates, a post-graduate student at NTU. He is Indonesian and he so happens to be at the EEE faculty that has been in the news lately so I asked him whether he knew that student who attacked his professor before killing himself a few months back.

Well, he did not but it really got me thinking about life and what it means to be alive.

I realised that there are people out here who wake up one morning and realise that their life has become meaningless and that they have reached the end of their tether, that they cannot bear or dare to live on. I guess that is why people start randomly killing others around them, in their schools and neighbourhoods, before killing themselves.

To me, the most troubling aspect of this recent spate of cases in the news is that all these killers have tended to be very young and seemingly with their whole lives ahead of them. It must have taken a really huge blow or a massive series of blows to have made these young men (many of whom are students of one kind or another) feel that they have nothing else to live for and they want to go out, literally, with a dreadful bang.

I understand that it is so much harder to be a student these days. All kinds of commitments, distractions and priorities cry out for their attention these days and the pressure that must build up as a result of constant emphasis on achievement must feel horrible. Thus, there is a need to see things from the right perspective.

Yes, there are so many more demands on students and young people these days, but with these demands, also come great opportunities. I feel no shame to admit that young people these days are so much more capable and intelligent these days than my generation was, but surely that is a result of greater exposure and higher expectations.

At the same time, life is more than just studies and school. This is merely a phase of one's life and, while almost everyone will look back with a smile in the future, young people just need to realise that they will live through this and move on to other things in their lives. The key is just to knuckle down, do their best and try their hardest. That is all that anyone and everyone can ask of them. The second key is to always look to their God-given abilities and believe that they can make something of themselves and make good in their lives, especially when things are not looking too good.

Hope enables you to go through the worst things while hopelessness pushes you to do those things. Life should be filled with hope for, as Nature shows us, even the worst of storms and earthquakes come to an end. We just need to make sure we are there to make a fresh start once the winds die down, the rain ceases, the ground stops trembling and the air is still again.

Life is full of colour, full of people, full of craziness and full of smiles. I would not have it any other way.

Two Four-letter Words that Mean the WORLD

What Good Friday means to me ...

LOVE

What Easter Sunday is to me ...

HOPE

Eyes wide open,

Heart flowing over,

Mouth filling with praise,

Life bubbling with purpose,

All because of what You've done.

Team Work

"Very few things beat roughing it out with a group of team-mates!" Duke

On a much lighter note, I have put up photographs of the teams that I have been a part of over the years.

The moment I left university was the moment I missed being in a team. Throughout my four years in NTU, I was part of the floorball team and many of my fondest, most vivid memories were formed as a result of that involvement. Of course, that was also when I made the national team and fulfilled a childhood dream of representing my nation in something.

In the years following my graduation, I was part of my church soccer team and though we did not have the best of results in the church league, I look back with a smile too. I also play in the National Division Two Floorball league with a team of old university teammates, church friends, youths and friends' friends. We almost suffered relegation last year after two years of finishing comfortably in mid-table, so we have a serious point to prove this year. Ironically, I was in my best form for a long while last year and that made it doubly painful.

Just three weeks ago, the Discovery Channel friends that I play soccer with every Tuesday at the Cage asked me to play for them and we started with a bang - a 5-3 win (though all 3 goals were not my fault, it must be emphasised).

I love being part of a team and I love the adrenaline rush that comes when you take to the field or the court with a group of people you know would watch your back and brave the fires of competition together. The spirit, the camaraderie, the enjoyment, the pain - there's a whole range of emotions that you go through but, best of all, there are so many others going through them with you. The memories that form as a result stay with you for life.

That's why I always tell the boys to savour and enjoy being a part of the soccer team. Very rarely do we find a group of friends who perspire, cry, laugh, cheer, fight, bleed and push on together with you. That is the very essence of a team - individuals thinking as one and doing as one. You won't know what you are missing until it's gone.

Over the years, I have also seen my maturation and growth as a person because of my involvement in team games. I am highly competitive, sometimes far too much, and when I was younger, I only wanted to win because of me and it was not easy to be a team-mate of mine. I demanded extraordinary levels of commitment because I felt that that was what I was giving. I did not really think about the team as I was too pre-occupied with achieving the results I wanted.

Thankfully, I was always good at what I did or I was just fortunate enough to play in a position no one wanted. Yes, no one wants to be a goalkeeper. Everyone wants to score and do the glamorous stuff, not stop balls from flying past you. However, I do enjoy it. Nothing beats a flying save, a reflex save, the look on the forward's face when you thwart his best efforts, defying the odds that are always in the attackers' favour. Some of the looks I have received after keeping a ball out are etched indelibly in my mind's eye and I still smile or snigger when I think about it.

I guess that was why I was always on the team, even though I was really self-centred. There was simply no other goalkeeper, or certainly no one who enjoyed it as much. They needed me, but did not necessarily want me, on the team. I mean, we were all good friends off the field, but on it, I was not easy to live with. It was totally a Jekyl and Hyde thing. Thinking back, I do feel a flush of embarrassment at how childish and immature I must have been.

Over the years, I can safely say that I was wanted and needed too. As you grow older, you tend to be more mellow, less fiery and certainly more others-minded. That is something I am certainly thankful for, and I am sure my current teammates feel the same way.

Eyes Wide Open

"To help, sometimes you have to do what hurts first." Duke

Yesterday, on the way to supper at close to eleven, I came across a group of eight to nine youths, the oldest of whom must have been seventeen at most, drinking and smoking around a stone table in a void deck. The youngest of the lot was a Sec One or Two student still in school uniform, a look of admiration etched on his face as he looked on. What exactly he was admiring, I did not know. Certainly, I saw nothing praiseworthy, not in the slightest.

What I did next took my supper buddies by surprise. I called the police and told them to sort the group out. I was certain that there was underaged drinking and smoking involved, not to mention the possibility of further mischief breaking out once those thugs became intoxicated.

The efficiency of our Police Force was once again evident as the group was gone when I returned to the spot forty-five minutes later. Well done, dudes in blue!

What really got my goat was that there were many other adults around that area at that time but none saw fit to do something about the juvenile delinquency that seems to be getting worse. The group looked like they had been drinking for some time as the bottles were only half-full or less. Surely, this should have been a cause for concern.

It is exactly this nonchalance and lack of civic-mindedness that we need to root out in order to keep our young people safe and to keep our streets that way as well. There have been too many recent cases of punch-drunk teenaged punks getting into fights and altercations, causing grievous hurt to innocent bystanders, for comfort. Cliche though it may sound, we all need to play our part as there will never be enough police officers to go around, efficient though they may be. We need to be their ears and eyes on the ground and that is an indisputable fact.

Certainly, the youths would not have thanked me for what I did last night. However, I did not have a beef with them nor was I doing anything out of malice. It was out of genuine concern. Sometimes, we need to save people from themselves and I was also looking out for the people in that area.

Hamlet was right in saying that sometimes, we do need to be cruel in order to be kind. Last night was just another example of that.

Of fragments

Hey all, just a random posting of the work of my class, as promised. I wrote the introduction and conclusion, but the students wrote all the sentences in-between. Some pretty nice sentences, huh?

The sky grew dark as early as four o’clock. A gigantic, gloomy, dark cloud settled over Tanjong Katong Secondary. Ron and Kang had planned to join their friends for a quick game of soccer, but that plan was dashed when they saw those friends scurrying across the road to catch the bus. At least one of them had the courtesy to turn back and shout, “Sorry, it’s going to rain!” Disappointed but also a little relieved, Ron and Kang picked up their bags and scampered to the bus stop as well. At that point, they met the man.

· The man was a pervert who was just released from a mental hospital and he wanted to chase after them.
· Slowly and menacingly, he approached the boys, like the predator cornering the prey.
· The man offered Ron and Kang drugs but they refused.
· “I will never follow you because I don’t even know you,” Ron said.
· They tried running away, completely out of breath, and led the man on a wild goose chase.

· They ran frantically in fear, under the rain, trying to run away from the man.
· When Ron looked at the man, fear overwhelmed him.
· The warehouse they were lured into was like a dump, probably abandoned for years.
· Kang was punched hard and he was sprawled across the floor.
· The man dragged Ron and Kang to the pillar and chained them there, causing them to scream in terror.
· Not knowing what to do, Ron and Kang exchanged furtive glances.

· Being the most outstanding athlete in school, Ron sprinted madly for the door.
· Ron attempted to escape, but to no avail.
· They tried to escape from the seemingly stone-like arms of the muscular man.
· Ron and Kang made a dash for it and attempted to escape.
· Kang took out his Magnum Desert Eagle, shot Ron and tried to fly away on his helicopter.

· Ron and Kang escaped from the man, who chased furiously.
· To their relief, the man did not manage to keep up.
· They heaved a collective sigh of relief and cried.
· In the blink of an eye, the police surrounded the man and skillfully arrested him.
· Kang and Ron walked into the sunset, hand and hand.

As Ron and Kang struggled to come to terms with what had happened to them, they picked up their dirtied bags from the dusty ground and sighed in relief. They had never expected that their day would take such a horrible turn. As such, they thanked God that they were still relatively unscathed as they hurried home.

Paint it black

"To be human is to care, even when it hurts." Duke

I did not want to write anything but I figured that writing about it and letting it out might make me feel better.

I won't be too specific and I don't want to divulge anything personal, so I will deliberately be vague.

The point I hope to bring across is that yesterday was truly a bad day.

Like the crime reports you read in the newspapers, you always assume this sort of thing happens to someone else and never to you.

But it did. To me.

As I wrote in my tagboard, people always think that teachers won't get affected when something crops up. That is not true - I WAS affected and I am still in a state of shock in some ways.

I just hope that this sort of thing will never happen again.

Any positives to take from this experience? Well, maybe two.

One - mistakes are the best opportunities to learn the most unforgettable life lessons and hopefully YOU will rise from this ... like a phoenix from the ashes and turn the course of your life around. I know I learnt best when I made mistakes and the bigger the mistake, the more impactful the learning. YOU, it doesn't get bigger than this.

Two - despite the pain, I find that it is better to care and get hurt than not to care and miss out on what it means to be human.

So there.

Bring it on!

"Happiness is beating Chelscum and seriously denting their title hopes!" Duke

Faces Unveiled

"Joy is beholding the exposed heart of a student and seeing that it is good and golden." Duke

What a week I have had! I will write about my reflections after a Personal Retreat at Changi a little later on but today, I am brimming with pride and joy.

Today, the B Div Soccer Boys (and 2 C Div boys) worked with Habitat for Humanity to clean up the dinghy small homes of old folks in Toa Payoh as part of their CIP involvement. I accompanied them, took many pictures (some of which I hope to upload later on), helped out here and there, but best of all, witnessed the unbelievable big-heartedness and warmth of the students.

To be totally honest, and this is something I did apologise to the boys for after the activity, I had reservations and doubts about how the boys would carry out the cleaning. As I told them, many of them are from very privileged backgrounds and I feared that they would not have the stomach or experience for this most unglamorous of tasks. Of course, I had complete faith in some of the more mature boys such as Hairi, Nazri, Clarence, Paul and Han Jie, to name but five, but I was seriously worried about a number of the others.

In the end, adult cynicism and unfounded anxiety were dispelled by how completely the boys went about helping the old folks and how committed they were as they undertook their various tasks, such as cleaning up the houses, painting, building racks and moving clutter out of homes, with gusto.

The warmth, genuine concern and love that poured forth from the boys' giving hearts really enabled me to see their true faces and stripped away the veneer of bravado, emotionalism and detachment that are the hallmarks of so many youths these days. I had the privilege and joy of seeing them for who they really are - people of heart, of promise, of positive energy, of the unbridled ability to give back and care for others - and I cannot describe just how proud I was (and still am) of all of them.

This experience has certainly strengthened my belief that Service Learning/CIP is a worthwhile and meaningful enterprise and reaffirmed my view that our teenagers are worth investing in.

Kudos to the team today - Clarence, Nazri, Hairi, Derrick, Kin Hoe, Qi Xiang, Daniel, Zuo Fu, Zhi Xian, Han Jie, Brandon, Adrian, Keith, Shafiq, Shijudeen, Parvesh, Desmond, Paul, Wilson and Simranjeet! You guys really helped the old folks out and you have really outdone yourselves! I hope you enjoyed the KFC treat just as much!

Supporting Spurs

"Loyalty is the Tottenham supporter who says that he will stop believing in them at the worst of times but is back watching them the next week." Duke

What does it mean to support Tottenham Hotspur?

This is a question that has been bugging me since September 2008.

Once again, a season that has promised so much has ended up in the gutter. Every year, we sense a new dawn, only to find that it was merely Haley's Comet flashing by, leaving the night as dark as ever. One of the biggest spending clubs, they have, for long periods this season, failed to buy even a point as they propped up the rest of the Premiership. Seven Sisters Road, the yellow brick road that leads to White Hart Lane, has echoed with the death throes and wails of many a Spurs supporter, especially this crazy one from sunny Singapore.

I have had to endure taunts (the pick of the bunch was "What's the difference between Spurs and a triangle? At least the triangle has three points." It was so smart that only the great pain stopped me from laughing out loud) and sarcastic words of comfort, especially on Tuesdays when I play at the Cage. I have had to pull chunks of hair out (very difficult, considering the length, or lack thereof, of my hair) while putting my poor heart through horror show after horror show. I have had to look at the league table in the newspaper before and after every game to calculate the possibility of escaping relegation and this happened as early as October!

But here I am, in March, still a Spurs man. Lest you think me sado-masochistic, let me assure me I do not like pain. Not in the slightest. So, why do I keep on hanging on?

Trust me, I have had lots of time to think about it and I think I now know why.

I support Spurs because the pain promises that future glory on the pitch (how far away that future is, I don't know) will taste all the sweeter. I support Spurs because the football they play (at times, it must be emphasised) epitomises all that is good and loved about the game - flair, skill, beauty and the sweet innocence that accompanies men doing what they were born to do. I support Spurs because no other club captures the essence of being human as succinctly. We fail, we tumble, we embarrass ourselves, but we always get up, move on and walk with hope - exactly like Spurs.

Finally, I support Spurs because somehow, she has captured my heart, broken it time and again but yet, inexplicably, just like the magic trick, always returns it to me whole.

Friendships

"A friend is someone who knows your past, yet stays with you in the present and walks with you into the future." Duke

I just had dinner with my secondary school classmates. The small number of us - five or six - still keep in touch regularly and spend most weekends hanging out. I think we are each other's link to the very memorable past and signposts of the change that has swept through our lives since those crazy days of teenaged existence. Certainly, each time we talk about our infamous and insane exploits of an unrestrained and unthinking teenhood, we seem to go into a time warp and the echoes of the times gone by seem as real and audible as the noise around us, wherever we may be.

There are a number of things that we did together that I am not proud of and many of which I now try to stop the students from doing, in a bid to pre-empt the mistakes that I had made from being repeated before my very eyes, but those memories serve now to remind me of what it means to be a teenager. Basically, being a teenager means doing things that may seem incomprehensible to adults just because s/he feels like it. Is acting on impulse and without careful consideration right? Of course not. However, this is a phase of life that we must all go through. Thankfully, the majority of us learn to rein in most of our selfish whims and fancies and grow to act responsibly, both for ourselves and the others around us. I guess that's what everyone means by maturation, growth and adulthood.

Going back to my secondary school friends, one of them - let's just call him PHL -will be leaving for an overseas posting in Hong Kong come the end of the month. I have no idea how long he will be based there, but it sure feels like something will soon be missing in my life. Such is the depth of our friendship that we can not meet for months and yet, once we meet, we can talk as if we had just met up the day before. That, I think, is the measure of deep friendship - the ability to re-connect with ease despite long periods of disconnection.

Such was the case when he was studying overseas in the States for four years during my university days. We were thousands of kilometres apart most of the year, but we never grew apart at all. I suppose, with some certainty, that that's what it is going to be like again. Yet this impending parting has reminded me to be thankful for the friends around me and never to take them for granted. Such is the influence of globalisation that it has become commonplace for people to leave their home shores for work, often at short notice. As such, friends will have to start visiting one another in different parts of the world, as I will do in the near future.

The one thing I am truly grateful to my alma mater for is lifelong friendship. The few of us have grown up together, matured together and gone through some unbelievably insane times together. God willing, there will more such memories to come yet. (Of course, we will be more careful and responsible this time round.)

Holidays ...

"Rest is the unhurried state of mind and the unmoving stillness of the body." Duke

Well, it's been a long time since I last spent Saturday lazing around the house and, just basically, really chilling out. The horrendous weather really helps and I can't help but feel like jumping into bed and hiding beneath the fuzzy blanket.

I'm really looking forward to the week-long break, even though I probably do have to get back to school a few times in the next seven days. I don't mind seeing the students around, though. After all, without them, my job has no meaning and my professional existance is rendered redundant.

Ah, the students ... they may really upset and annoy me at times, but they are truly bundles of joy and unopened packages of promise. The greatest joy is to see them realise that vast potential and each time one moves a step forward, it is magical and makes the heartaches and headaches more than worth it.

Moving back to the holidays ... With age, the importance of rest becomes ever more obvious, although it has never been easy for me to be still and retreat into a state of rest. My mind is always racing and I always prefer activity to stillness but this is the perfect formula for burn-out and I don't want to go down that street anytime soon.

For all its worth, do enjoy the holidays! Try to have some fun and ... yes, rest too!

Thunder and Lightning

Rumbling in the distance,
I hear your discontent.
You rage and you grumble,
and prepare to pour forth
again.
You paint the skies
a coffin grey
and hide the light away.

I wonder at your fury,
your very blustery anger.
But I also know the chill
you bring
drifting in rolls of thunder.
I watch you shift your shape
and change the colours with which
you drape.

As the winds fade and grow weary,
so too your wintry belly.
You retreat like a whiff of smoke
and vanish into the lightening sky.
I watch you disappear,
as the birds start to sing again.
The streak of lightning,
merely the ending note

to your still angry song.