Lyn's essay

Insights gained from a visit to an old folk’s home

The old folk’s home. To be honest, I have always avoided visiting those places because it practically yelled depression while shoving its sanitary scent up your nose. But when my grandmother was sent Mercy Homes, I could no longer avoid going there. Thus, began my weekly trips there to visit the one woman who meant a lot in my life. At first, I thought visiting her was merely to keep in touch with her and keep her company, but it was more than that. Those visits became  lessons for me, lessons about life.

Once, when I was heading to my grandma’s room, as I walked pass a door, I saw a helper feeding one of the residents there. She was pass ninety, suffering from dementia and at that moment, refusing to eat her lunch despite much persuading from the helper. Despite all that, the helper continued to coax patiently, waiting for her to be ready to eat. Though it took a long time, eventually she ate her lunch and settled down. It was not an easy job but the gentleness in the helper’s eyes and the way he patiently fed her left no doubt that to him this was not just a job but a labour of love as well. I left mulling about patience and what it truly meant to me.

There was also another resident, Mr Chong. Eighty-six, bald, and fluent in five languages, he carried a strong personality despite his age. Many a times when I visited my grandma, I would also chat with him. He would share stories about his past, family and especially about his children. Through those chats, I saw a man who knew how to smile despite hardships and continued to make the best of every situation. I learnt about contentment and facing adversity with a smile because when life throws lemons at you, learn to make lemonade from it.

Mr Chong was just one of them. Others too had their own story to tell and each time I visited the old folks home and got to know each of them better, I continued learning much more. I heard about how the children treated their parents like excess baggage. I saw how some waited listlessly, wishing to return to a home that no longer existed. But I also saw the kindness that they showed towards each other, the little disputes that were forgiven and forgotten, the resilience that they had when faced with each trouble . To them, life wasn’t just about chasing dreams anymore, but it is also the time to appreciate the finer things in life.

To me the residents of Mercy Homes have taught me valuable lessons. Some were life changing while others were timely reminders, but each lesson was unforgettable indeed. Even now, though my grandma and those residents are no longer around, their stories of faith and love still continue to inspire me and to serve as a reminder that life is short. So don’t wait till the last minute to appreciate it. 

(This essay was sent to a state level competition organized by a Sai Baba group and she won the first place.)

Third placing, national level.

venom themed name tags

Lyn had been spending many late nights preparing for the Guides camp. She is in charge of doing the name tags. Using cds, she sprayed one side black. Her team is called Venom. So she cut out a template and use white marker or acrylic paint (not sure which) to paint onto the black side of the cd. Finish it with the members' names in gold paint.

 For the other side of the cd, she printed out comic strips of Venom and just pasted them onto the cd with the members' names and team name. Made 15 altogether and quite a tedious job as she is so particular as to how it must look etc etc.

dirty malaysians

Yesterday was canteen day...the state of the school at the end of it was appalling. Students gathered around the English Zone to enjoy their food and listen to loud noise they call music. Plastics, styrofoam containers and cups etc littered all over. The tables were piled with rubbish from the food the students ate. When the bell rang at the end of the day for the students to gather at the assembly ground...I was shocked to see the students just got up and left.

Oh my....who is to clean up after them? The teachers????

I got my students together to clean up their stall and the nearby area. Wherever I walked and I saw rubbish, I pointed to students nearby and made them pick up the rubbish whether they littered it or not.

The same thing happen during Sports Day last week at the stadium. Students ate and throw the rubbish under, behind and at the side of the seats. As I was in charge of cleanliness with my KRS students and a few other teachers, I decided to be proactive. Instead of waiting for the sports to be over and start cleaning, I moved among the students every now and then with a black garbage bag and call out, 'Sampah...sampah'.  Many students felt shy seeing me walking around and collecting rubbish from them. I didn't give them face as I pointed out the rubbish to them and said to their face that they were dirty and irresponsible.

It's sad to see how this generation do not see that it is communal responsibility to keep clean and not the job of cleaners. Then we adults are also not showing good examples as teachers shy away from jobs that are not delegated to them. There is no reason to lift a finger if it is not your job. If you are not the leader of the group, no need to lift a finger too because the leader will do all the job. That was what I was doing on Sports Day.....I was the leader of my team so I was responsible of the cleanliness. Infact the KRS who were appointed to help didn't help me when I was moving about. They just disappeared and appeared again at the end of the game.

How do you educate the society on cleanliness? We have much to learn from our little neighbour down south.

When I visited a school in Singapore last year, it was really impressive to see how the students worked to keep clean. As the delegates from various countries had their lunch, students from the host school were walking around with garbage bags and collecting the garbage from us as they walked along. That should be the way.

I get very heartsick when I talk on this topic. I am all out to keep Malaysia clean and I teach my kids and students this value. But many a times I feel that I am talking to a wall....after a lecture on cleanliness, you turn around and see litter on the floor. Somehow, the message just doesn't get home.

Something is wrong with the education system if we fail to instill values which students hold and practise in their daily lives.

canteen day 2012

Today was the annual Hari Kooperasi/Canteen Day. A few girls from 4 Sigma dropped by my house after school to make mashed potatoes. Asha bought 5kg of russets, a box of cheese and butter. Sent them straight to work after they had a little tea. First they had to peel the potatoes. Hehe....Ing had to show them how to peel them.

Then after the potatoes were boiled, showed them how to mash them up. I'm so glad they came or else I would have to mash the potatoes the whole night. Asha tried making the gravy but it didn't out. Gave her corn flour instead of wheat flour. So I thought we will just have to do without it.

Today was quite a mess in a way....had to help the girls organised. They seemed quite lost and not focussed at first. We had nasi briyani (from Afreen), magi goreng (Amirah), cookies and little cakes from Shamiha and Diyana, Elaine brought a deep fryer while Rachel brought a portable stove. So we had fried stuff, sausages and fishballs. 

The mashed potatoes were not selling at first. Another class had gravy over their potatoes. So I rushed home and tried to cook some gravy from a recipe I googled. Failed!!! I had no patience to brown it, and the bottom kind of burnt. So I took a can of chicken soup and boiled it. Returned to school and passed to the girls and told them that's gravy. The potatoes finished in no time!

Overall, the sale was a big sluggish at first. Shouldn't have invited the professionals to join the sale. All the teachers bought from the adults who set up the stall instead of from the students. I bought from my stall because it's my class. I spent the rest of my coupon at the adults' stall.

We made a sale of RM546. After deducting the cost and rental of space, there is only RM102 left!!! Wow....definitely not easy making money. The experience was really good. I had great fun with the girls and it's so nice to see them cooperative. I just need to say do this/that and they would be rushing to help me.

MacBook Air

KC gave me this notebook for my 45th birthday. It was kind of late as we were waiting for the latest version. Better late than never. It was interesting tracking the unit leaving Shanghai right till KL. Took us close to a week before the notebook arrived at our doorstep.

After upgrading it and installing microsoft, the gadget came up to slightly more than RM4k. Pretty expensive for something as small as this but I must say I love using it. I think I'm quite spoilt by Apple products now. There is a great difference in the performance between an Apple and the other brands.

The trackpad/mousepad is really cool. Almost like a touch screen with lots of touching/pinching etc here and there. There's still much for me to learn how I can maximise this toy....

This is my third Apple product. Interesting how I get hooked to Apple. Started with the iPod touch, then the iPhone last year and this is the MacBook. 

Thanks KC for always giving me the best!!!

keeping up with a teen....

It's Sabbath and I feel that I've not rested at all. When the weekend becomes hectic like this, I feel like throwing a big tantrum and shutting myself away to hibernate.

Half of yesterday was spent at Sunway University College with students. Lyn participated in the essay competition but she didn't win any placing. Writing factual essays just not her forte.

Then we rushed her off....to catch the train home. She had worship practice at 5pm. KC who was in KL to conduct a talk came to pick us up so that we don't have to take a cab to the train station. Instead of dropping us off at Central, he drove straight into Midvalley because he wanted to install Microsoft word into my Mac Book Air (his way to cover up his guilt conscience for not sending us home as he had to attend another function at 1World in the evening).

By the time we caught the train it was 4pm....we had to change train at Bangi!!!! Reached Seremban at 5.15 (the school bus reached at 530). Walked with her to church before I caught a cab home.

Today, she had to attend another prize giving at a school in S2. Picked her up at 1230 (the prize giving had not even started yet) as she has Bible Knowledge  class at 1.00. At 2pm, Vim called to congratulate Lyn. She got the first place in this essay writing competition...state level. Well, she was kind of disappointed that when she did get a placing she wasn't there to receive the prize.

All the running around has drained me and turned me real cranky but I think Lyn has it worst. It's her choice anyway....she chose to do all the stuff and got herself all busy. Her next project is to prepare for the coming Guide's Camp.

Anyway....this girl has joined quite a few competitions this year and they have kept her on her toes. Essay writing itself...she had participated in four. She kept up till wee hours in the morning to complete her essays, homework and whatever stuff that she had to do; be it in school or church.

Not forgetting waking up at 5am to rush to school to get ready for choir competition last Thursday.

I don't remember being this busy as a teenager.

Francine Rivers

This is a picture of Francine Rivers which I copied from her web. She is a Christian writer and has many many books.  Check it out.....http://francinerivers.com/books

Ing bought 'The Sin Eater' for one of Lyn's birthday many years ago. Both Lyn and I enjoyed it thoroughly. Since then I have been on a lookout for her books.

Just recently I read 'Redeeming Love' and this morning I finished reading 'The Scarlet Thread'. Her books are very heavy duty on the emotions and fully packed with biblical teaching. I almost didn't want to sleep last night just to finish 'The Scarlet Thread' but the body is weak.....

So far...the three books that I have read started off rather dark and sad...but always end with much hope and joy and really lift my spirit up. Definitely a very good Christian romance novelist. No review here as her web already has summaries of her books. I'm going to start on another book today.

marks of a growing teenager

 Last Sunday was the last day of the two weeks break before school starts again. The holiday was great...started off with a bang and ended with a bang.

Dan is my exercise kaki. He cycles while I jog. Last Sunday he cycled as usual. He was trying to drift. Told me to wait downhill to watch him. So KC and I jogged downhill to wait for him.

Soon he appeared round the corner at great speed...a big grin on his face. Sped past us and down the road. Then before my eyes I saw him lost control while trying to pedal. The next thing I know he fell to the ground...on the grass and not the road. Thank God.

I ran down and to my relief he was trying to stand. The handle of the bicycle was badly twisted. He assured me he was alright but I could see he was traumatized and shaken. So brave....as I looked around a million possibilities crossed my mind. There was a stone nearby...he could have fallen on it. Actually he fell quite beautifully...he said he learnt how to fall from watching Howcast....he did not have the time to curl up enough.

KC pushed the bicycle back while Dan leaned on me and hobbled slowly home. His knee was bleeding. After his shower we checked the wound and decided it wasn't that bad...yellow solution and bandaging it should be enough.

The picture above was taken just now...three days after the incident. It's much better looking now...on Sunday I cringed in pain looking at it. KC handled the cleaning and dressing of the wound....like a good king scout.

This is the back of his leg....he has to miss the scouts camp this weekend as he can't walk too well.  Thank God for his protection!!!

Note...

hanging out with a teen

Dan and I spent yesterday and today together....celebrating his birthday. Yesterday we watched Snow White and the Huntsman. Quite an exciting show and full of fantasy. He was reluctant to watch it at first thinking that it's to girlish and fairy tale for him. After reading a review...he decided it is violent enough for him. So we ended up sitting in the second row from the front.

After that was dinner at the Italian restaurant in Oakland. The shop has expended to two lots now and it was packed last night. The boss (ah mo guy) was busy serving his customers. He was so busy trying to please his customers that he had no time to give us the bill. I had spagetti with mussels while Dan ate pizza (as usual). Nice but pretty expensive...almost RM60 for the two of us.

Today we watched Madagascar (we bought the tickets yesterday). I was rather apprehensive about this show. Once he tricked me into watching an animation and it was so lame. So I was quite surprised that I laughed so much throughout the show. Really fun and silly.

Lunch was at Secret Recipe. I took curry mee...which tasted very good at first. Somewhere in the middle started to feel muak because too much santan. Dan took burger (as usual).

It was two wonderful days spent with him and him only. Lyn is at a prayer camp and we miss her presence so much. I must remember to spend time with the children like this every holiday before they grow out of this stage. It's something which they enjoy thoroughly.

Sigh...and the holiday is ending soon and I still have not enough of it. Still struggling with my marking.

enjoying nature

 This year the church camp was at Selesa Resort, Bukit Tinggi. The first evening when we arrived, KC and I took the opportunity to discover the place. We found a river just opposite the resort. A whole long stretch of nature and golf course which still belong to the resort.

 We jogged along this kampung road all the way up till we saw a bungalow...About 2 km up from the main road. The bungalow is know as Farm House...it seems it is used for homestay. Beautiful house....glass panelling. So one is surrounded by green ....

 The fence has a big gap...so we strolled in and took some pics at the golf course. Nobody around...what a waste to a big piece of land.

 The next day we went hiking...about 31 of us. Pretty expensive....RM15 per person but I think the experience was good for some of the people who had never climbed a hill before. It was very short distance about 1.5km but we were very slow...more than an hour or so because there were many young kids and those who are scared of climbing.

When we returned after the hike, a few ladies, teenagers and I went to the river which KC and I discovered the day before. HK, SY and I dipped in the cool rushing water to enjoy the natural spa. It was really fun ... the teens stood around and watched us...thinking that we must be crazy. Well....we don't care....we have lived more than 40 years and we want to have fun and enjoy nature to the fullest!!!!

This is one camp where I was able to be close to nature and enjoy it as much as possible.