SimonSimple

Day 1 - Deepavali and Hari Raya Puasa collided over the weekend…that’s why it was called DeepaRaya. Like many others, we took off on a short 4-day holiday to sunny Phuket with a young couple, kinda like being their chaperones.

My dearly beloved, however, is prone to motion-sickness. So whilst he was recovering from the flight and bus ride to the hotel, the young couple decide to head straight for Patong Beach to test out their snokelling gears and fins. We, the oldies, did wander along the heated beach for a very short spell before beating a hasty retreat into an airconditioned supermart nearby and then back to the hotel. When our young couple came back they wasted no time plunging into the hotel pool and then off to the gym. We, however, channel surfed to figure out when was the best time to catch soccer that evening.

Day 2 - Our adrenalin-charged friends were off to Phi Phi island on an executive yacht for their snokelling adventure. My seasick- prone dearly beloved suggested we give this a miss so we dawdled over breakfast instead, before wandering casually around the shops followed by a simple lunch, finishing the day off with a sedate spa treatment.

Came evening, our young friends were back tanned to perfection and beaming with delight over the day’s outing.

During dinner, a loud hailer mobile announcement highlighted the evening’s draw - Thai boxing. Whilst my dearly beloved negotiated for a early retreat back to the hotel so he could catch his soccer, the young couple opted to catch the boxing instead, returning in the wee of the night.

Day 3 - ATV and shooting and then….gasp….bungee jumping….. for the young couple! However, the bungee operator had to service the equipment and offered a generous discount if we would come back later…we did…only to be told that he had overlooked the fact that most shops were closed on account of a King’s birthday and thus the servicing couldn’t be done. We, the oldies, heaved a sigh of relief whilst the young ones were aghast at the double disappointment. So, they settled for an oil massage instead as it was just too late to arrange for jet-skiing.

At mealtime, the young couple requested dinner with a live-band. And then they were off for some last-minute shopping. We trailed along some but chose to part company, deciding our time was better spent catching up on our much needed sleep as we had to wake up before the crack of dawn for our flight back.

Trust the young ones to remind you what it’s like being young. Living like there’s no tomorrow. Whilst we were content to stand and see the crowd go by, they were the ones who’d rather be the crowd others watch. Whilst we were content to ask “what happened?”; they hollered “Yo, we are the happening!”.

Perhaps, we shouldn’t have gone for a holiday. After all, life was just as exciting back home. But then we were chaperones. So, I guess we had to…sigh.

ABC

Hi People

I grew up near the base of Bukit Timah Hill most of my life till I got married at 25. Back in the old days playing ’street soccer’, ‘poison ball’, ‘police & thief’ and catching spiders were all part of growing up.

Back in the old days we were rather respectful of our elders - our siblings and especially our father & mother. And when I went to school nearby, I was ‘automatically’ respectful of my teachers. My late parents were educated, father having studied at ACS and mother at MGS & SCGS and I guess we all were taught to look up to our teachers with respect.

Back in those days especially where I grew up, many families reared chickens & ducks. Such poultry provided our daily supply of eggs. It was a normal sight at the end of each academic year to witness many parents bearing gifts of rambutans & papayas, eggs and sometimes live chickens & ducks to the teachers. I am not too sure whether it was before or after the examination results were out. I was too young then and innocent enough not to have to contemplate whether there were any attempts by some parents to influence the outcome of their children’s grades. I guess back then we were just simple countryside folks.

My wife had 2 teaching assignments today - to rather large classes of more than 50 children each. She has learned to accept their boisterous behaviour as normal and so is less stressed by it all. What made her outing pleasant was that at the end of each class she received a token gift from the staff at 2 of the centres. Even though she would be adequately remunerated for her efforts, she was thrilled to receive the token gifts - a writing set and a Yakult pack!

Perhaps things have not changed, and just like back in the old days, a simple gift was people’s way of showing their appreciation. How many of us have forgotten the art of bearing gifts? I appreciate that we don’t have chickens & ducks to supply us with the eggs to be used as gifts but surely we can still say ‘Thank you’ as a sign of appreciation, otherwise common courtesy will be out of vogue.

From a simple countryside folk to you all, ‘Thank you’ for reading my blog.

Hi People

Last night I was waiting for my daughter to pick her up from the MRT station at about 9.00 pm. In the dark of the night I noticed a tired looking girl walking towards a bicycle chained to a metal divider by the side of the road. She was in a JC uniform and must have had a long day and would probably welcomed a nice leisurely bicycle ride to her home after a long MRT ride.

From afar I could detect a forlorn look on her face as she unchained her mode of transport and swung it over her shoulders and proceeded to walk away. Even in the shadows I could make out the sadden look on her face that must have come from an even sadder heart. Her bicycle was now a ‘monocycle’! You see, someone had stolen the front wheel.

I immediately wanted to offer to help but waited for my daughter to appear. We drove a short distance before we caught up with this poor girl and her equally poor looking ‘monocycle’ and offered to give them a lift home. She gladly accepted and mentioned that her mum’s bicycle suffered a similar fate some time back. I too am saddened to know that there are thieves in our midst.

Talking about thieves - I want to relate my experience regarding thieves that are disguised as plumbers. A few years back I had a problem with my water cistern(wc) and looked up the classifieds in the Straits Times and picked one advertisement almost out of sympathy. The words described a down and out plumber who needed jobs desperately in order to feed his poor family. You know the story, he wasn’t interested to fix the problem but almost immediately showed me a catalogue of wc’s to choose from. I smelled a rat, him! and showed him the door. It cost me $10 in transportation charge. For what? For a ‘tuition’ lesson for me. Never judge a plumber by his classifed advertisement!

I must say not all plumbers are cheats. I had a pleasant encounter with Henry the Plumber just a few days ago and he was rather pleasant and honest. Do call him if you need to fix your wc - hp no: 9658-7663. My wife made some small talk with him and found out that he had just send his son for a routine medical checkup for a motorcycle accident some time ago. Henry is a quiet fellow and knows his place, you know, not the ’salesman’ type who might sell you a toilet bowl or two when all you need is to change a simple mechanism.

The moral of my story is that we know there are thieves around and we need to be wise, but we must not look for a thief in every plumber. Sad to say there are good people and there are bad people. We can choose to be the good people in order to make the world a better place to live in.

God bless you to have a good week and enjoy the coming long long weekend ahead.

Hi People

I just finished teaching (together with my wife), the first lesson in the new batch of Marriage Preparation Course started this evening that will run for another 4 evening sessions. We have the power to impact these 6 young couples as we share our own journey in our 29 years of marriage. We were blessed with a couple sitting in as interns who one day will also take a class of their own. They themselves benefited from one such course more than 7 years ago before they tied the knot together. Today they have 3 young children and yet has found the passion and time to undertake this noble calling.

One important take-away I wanted to leave the class is that marriage is a covenant of belonging and not a contract for happiness. In order to score big time we have to learn to be selfless instead of being selfish.

Talking about scoring points with your spouse….last night I ’sacrificed’ the last bit of the Arsenal vs Watford match to spend 15 minutes of ’sandwich’ time with my wife just before we turned in for the night. Arsenal eventually won 3-0 even without me cheering my favourite team on! The point I want to make is that we must make sure we score with our spouse on a regularly basis.

Let me pose this question to all married couples with children, whether you have been married for 3 years or 30 years! In the last 7 days if you have been out dating with your spouse, then great, you have scored full marks. If you have been out together with some other couples, then you scored only half marks. And if you two have been out together with your child or children in tow, then you scored a BIG ZERO! That is as far as couplehood is concerned.

I am happy to report that as a couple, my wife and I have been doing things together. We studied together for our Diploma in Family Life Education a few years back. We now speak & bake together, remember? Last night we were out at an Italian Restaurant enjoying dinner together with 3 other couples - half marks. Last Wednesday I took the day off to accompany my wife as she gave a lunchtime talk at a company in Tampines. We then watched a movie together - full marks!

Remember, you are first a husband (or wife) then a father (or mother). Check yourself whenever you address your spouse as daddy or mummy. It is a sure sign that you are child centred. It is better by far to be spouse centred since we all know that we must help our children to grow up as they grow older so that they will outgrow their parents and leave the nest eventually. We will then have no one else around but our own belly warmer - our better half!

God bless you with a belly warm week ahead.

Hi People

If you had discarded the Classified Section of today’s Straits Times, go borrow your friend’s. Then turn to the back portion under Recruit. In the article “You are a great person to work with!” there are nuggets of truth which every employee can benefit from-”whether you are in a leadership position or not, the ability to inspire and motivate those around you is an invaluable skill in your career development.”

Let me quote verbatim the section under “Show your appreciation” from this article by Christina Lee, a human capital management consultant.

“The easiest way to inspire people is to be generous with compliments and thanks. People respond well to positive feedback and will be motivated to complete a task if they know they will receive due recognition once it is done.

Be sure to thank people when they help you, and let them know when you think they have done a good job - even if they are on the same level as you. It can be just as rewarding, if not more so, to receive a pat on the back from a peer.

Send a little recognition your manager’s way when the time is right. Managers often spend a lot of time recognising the accomplishments of their workers, but do not receive much recognition in return.

Lose the belief that praise and recognition should come only from above. Everyone loves to feel that his work is making a difference. So if someone’s actions have mattered to you, let him know you appreciate them - regardless of what his position is in relation to yours.”

I just love the picture above, because of the wide array of popular choices of drinks available and because it is sold at 10 cents a drink! Let’s all be thankful for the little blessings that come our way each day.

I thank God for my family, friends (four legged or otherwise), fellow employees and fans.