Appreciating beauty...

It's been a long time since I last blogged. Just lost my momentum this year. The year is coming to an end soon. Makes me reflective. So here are some pretty pictures I took in the month of September and October. 

We visited a little English cafe in town called the Parlour. The deco is real English.  Here's a little tin box filled with pretty weeds. 

This is a rose from my garden. Nelda has green fingers. The flowers under her care bloom beautifully. But at the moment the whole garden and porch is in a mess as we are doing some renovation. Waiting eagerly for the whole mess to be cleaned up so we can see the garden bloom again. 

This is sunset at Rejang River. Took the debate team there for competition. Sunsets are my favorite but this sunset has some dirty spots. The glass of the hotel window needed cleaning badly. 

An evening out to the beach. The beach was full of people but I managed to take this very nice and classic looking coconut tree. 

Just can't be on the beach without a picture of the sea. 

Hope the next inspiration to blog will come soon. 

Brown and burnt

There was a severe draught early this year lasting almost two month. During that time many parts of the country was on fire. Kepayang Hill was not spared. One evening I received an SMS from Bernice saying that KHill was on fire. I couldn't see from my house. It was the S2 side.

I suspected then that it must be near Rocky Mountain ... one of our favorite routes. 

After staying away from the hill for almost two months, we managed to go up today. Haze, rain and of course hectic schedule have kept us from the hill this long. I no longer enjoy the hill. The route has changed because of development. The hill has been cut all the way up. 

While making our way up Rocky Mountain we noticed signs of the wood being burnt. It got worse the further we went. True enough...that was the part that was on fire few months ago as seen in these pictures. 

Totally dismayed and saddened by what we saw. 

Going up the trail...used to have low bushes left and right. Now it's barren and clear.

At the top...all brown. The trees are blackened. It's more severe at the top compared to the bottom. 

We hope to grow old climbing this hill. Now I wonder if the hill will still be here in ten years time. Need to look for a new hill nearby to climb. 

Emily of Emerald Hill

Twenty years ago I was supposed to watch this one woman act with KC but I had to go home to visit my parents. So he went alone. He praised the play sky high that I regretted not catching it with him.

Thanks to BS for posting on her fb...this time I managed to catch the play despite a very tight schedule. Daniel was at the Planetarium for a school excursion. Kc picked him up at lunch hour. Dan was bored waiting for time to pass in the dad's office. I took a commuter to Sentral at 4.  We met at 5.45 and went straight to Damansara Empire. (Waze cannot be trusted totally).

Saw some exhibitions before the show started. 

This setting is meant for photo shoots I believe. Very brightly lighted. Kc and I managed to take a picture with Pearlly after the show here. 

Saw these umbrellas hanging outside the theatre near a Korean restaurant.  Had dinner there and watched some people filming. Think they were trying to make some coffee commercials. 

Anyway back to the drama. It was excellent. The actress...Pearly Chua has done this like 200 times. She is clear and loud. Her diction is really good. Without a microphone she could project her voice loud and clear even when she goes softer. 

Expressions are fantastic. I remembered the scene when she received a telegram from London. She read through it real fast and I gasped aloud. She had just read that her son died. Most of the time I was staring at her and listening with both ears turned up (if that is possible)...not wanting to miss anything. 

We could relate and identify with Emily so well. It's part of the Chinese culture though she's a nyonya. It's so Malaysian in a way. But sad to say...that is how society is like. Like Emily...conniving, manupalative and domineering. Put so much up front for face value. 

To me Emily has led a very sad life...trying to achieve much but at the end she has nothing. I love this drama. Thought provoking. Powerful reminder to myself to enjoy and live LIFE. To love my children just as they are and not make them to be someone else. To love my husband for all that he is. Tyrant as she is, Emily has a good heart too. 

It was an interesting experience for Dan. He acted as Jesus last Good Friday and did it pretty well. Quite surprised that he could remember his scripts and act. So there was much for him to learn watching Emily hrough Pearlly Chua. 

Excellent and highly recommended. Catch it if you have a chance. 

exams and results

20th March came and gone in a wink. Five years of secondary education summarised in a piece of paper. The muggings of a whole year  and the waiting of more than three months....all in the past now.

This year I had the privilege to be the mother of a student instead of just being a teacher. I had the joy to be on stage with one of the top students in the school. It was a day of great joy for the two of us. But I was hit by many what ifs....

The names of the straight A+ were first announced followed by all As (combination of A+, A and A-). A total of 33 students. The sadness and tears when students who expected to be in the straight A+ category found themselves to be in the all As category. Even more tears for students who expected to be in either of the category and found themselves in neither.

I was busy giving out results that morning. All around me was chaos, noise and tears. When I looked at my students crying....I wondered how Lyn and I would have reacted if she was in their shoes. Tears...definitely tears too.

As I ponder on this for the past few days and every year when results is announced...I have only this to say...I hate this system. I hate to see what it does to the students' esteem. It's not that they are not good....but what we are doing is we are telling them that they are not good enough. Therefore they do not deserve such recognition. This whole system is making us drill As out of the students and if they do not achieve the As....they are just not good or smart.

Many students have all A+ but an A or all As but a B. They are no less better than those who were called on stage. This method is definitely not healthy to the child's psychology. Can we stop it??

I repeat it very often and I repeat it again. Life is not about making As. The As a student gets will not determine her success in future. Success and self worth is not equavalent to the As a student get. How I wish I can hold all of them in my arms and tell them....you've done good. You've done well. I am so proud of you.

Many students have shown their strength not in their academics but in their character, attitude, relationship with their elders. Are they praised for such fine characteristics? Do we shout to the world that here we have groomed students who are respectful, uphold integrity, kind and helpful?? No wonder the moral values of society has gone down the drain because it is of no importance.

So to all my students who are reading this...I apologise for the pressure I put on you to get As. I want all of you to know that you have done well, very well indeed for excellence is not measured by academic results alone. Think again....if I have taught you... what I said about success. If you have shown any kindness, courtesy and goodness to another fellow human today...you are a success and I am so proud of you.

Dry season

The year 2014 started off windy. The wind was so strong that many times the clothes were blown away and I was not able to sun my prawn crackers as they would all be blown off the table. This is what we call the CNY wind. Weeks before CNY the wind turned cold. Some people said it's the north wind from Russia (????). Anyway the weather was so windy and cool that it's like being up in Cameron Highlands the whole time. 

After CNY the wind is still blowing but somehow the sun has turned scorching. To make it worse we have not experienced rain for many many weeks now. Today as I walked up the hill, I noticed the leaves under my feet is much thicker....more leaves have fallen due to the dry season. The path has cracked.

This is the top of the hill where it is totally exposed to the sun. The shrubs and grass are all dried up and burnt under the scorching sun. One just need to lit a match and I think the whole hill will be burnt. Quite a scary thought ... what if the hill caught fire while I am up there. Will I be able to run to safety on time?

We need rain and we need it real quick. Read the news that they will do cloud seeding....well, was it done or ...? The dam is drying up and water pressure has gone down. Soon there will be water rationing again....

Christmas caroling 2013

It's the Christmas season again. With teenagers in the house who are very active in the MYF you can't help but be swept along with the excitement of the celebration. This year we decided to help out again by providing transport. 

This year's carollers included three primary kids. Two of them, Jasmine and Monica followed our car along with Eucharia who is an African studying in a nursing school here. Tiffany took care of the little ones along with Charmaine. So the car was packed. 

First stop was a nursing home. Uncle Ben's father is here. So we brought Christmas cheer to him. The MYFers are trained to shake hands with everybody in all the homes they visited. They did a pretty good job. 

Next was singing at Terminal 1.  It wasn't easy as the sound system was bad. They had to sing for an hour. They were invited to return on the next day to sing again. The second day was worse. A few carollers dropped out of the group and a few more were having sore throat. Tough job but they were of good cheer. 

On the second day, after Terminal 1 the carollers came to our house. After the previous day experience, I knew they would be hungry. Indeed they were. We had satay which came a little late. Thank God there is uncle Hoe who helped to get the satay from the shop. Fish balls were the most popular....surprisingly. It's the cheapest and easiest to prepare. They finished everything. We had cupcakes too .. I got them from Ai Poh. Jelly was just so so. Junk food....dark chocolates and a variety of nuts. So good to see them eating heartily. 

On the second day there was slight drama. The van which Rosheen drove broke down. It's quite horrifying to see how he drives and the loud protests from the van. We stopped to help them. The boys pushed and we tried to jump start. Didn't work. Battery and other ailment .... It's an old van. The boys call it the party van. The whole group made so much noise and had so much fun. So when they got down to push the van they had great fun too. Zhi Quan asked me to take pictures of him pretending to push the van. 

Anyway they split to two cars. I followed Nicholas' car. Felt there need be an adult with a 17 year old driver. He handles the car very well. 

We visited Bishop Emeritus Hwa Yung and Bee Teik's house. They were so excited and happy to have us over. Bee Teik has been a great mentor and big sis to me. I'm so glad she is back in Seremban again. 

It was good spreading cheer around this season. It was definitely tiring but being with the teens and seeing them happy makes me feel fulfilled this Christmas. 

May the love of God and the spirit of cheer be upon the hearts of all readers this Christmas. God bless all of you. 

Khmer Village Homestay

Albert very kindly brought his van from Phnom Penh to fetch us from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh. On the way to Phnom Penh, we stopped by Solar Cafe for lunch. Solar Cafe is run by a Malaysian lady...Esther Ding. From her surname one would know she is a Foo Chow...like me.

There was already a group of Singaporean kids from a church having their retreat cum mission there. Esther has programs planned out for them like pony cart rides to the village, making khmer noodles, handicraft etc. Esther acts as the in between person for groups that come; whether its for  mission trips or school programs of community services. She arranges for church visits, ministry to school students (the schools allow outsiders to take over their classroom time) and she even brings in kids from the villages to the homestay itself so that these groups can spend time with the kids.

Though Cambodians drive big foreign cars, the poverty level is still very high. There are beggars everywhere; children begging and the use of babies to get the sympathy of tourists is common. Esther suggests activities like teaching them hygiene, improving the infrastructure of the church/school....painting the orphanages etc. 

The homestay near the cafe is really impressive. There are quite a few chalets around. The accommodation itself is pretty basic...dorm style. She provides 3 meals a day with activities thrown in...all coming to USD50 per day.

The Solar Cafe....very clean and breezy. 

 The chalets at the Khmer Village Homestay. Beautiful landscaping and very well maintained.

 Esther Ding...showing us more places around the homestay. She speaks Khmer fluently...having stayed here for more than 15 years. She can be reached at khmervillagehomestay@gmail.com.

 This back door leads to another piece of property down the road which has a few more chalets.

The sleeping quarters....with mosquito nettings and fans.