"Happiness is beating Chelscum and seriously denting their title hopes!" Duke
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Saturday, March 21, 2009
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!
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!
Monday, March 16, 2009
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.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
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.)
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.)
Saturday, March 14, 2009
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!
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.
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.
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