SimonSimple

Hi People

Christmas came and went. I am sure you received countless presents. Although I appreciate the many gifts, big & small that I received, I treasure the little notes that come with it the most. To me, they are everlasting (I get to keep them in my treasure trove…no expiry dates, you see).

One friend gave me a box of freshly baked home-made chocolate cookies. In exchange I was supposed to give her a loaf of my SimonSimple carrot cake. I owe, I owe, I know! (Very soon I will deliver).

My eldest gave me a promise to pick up the dinner tab when I bring her mother out. Supposed to be a surprise to my dear wife, but I squealed. My second asked what I wanted, and I asked for a name card holder. In fact the previous year I requested the same of my eldest. My youngest asked for my choice of Christmas gift, but seeing that he is not gainfully employed, I asked that he gave my trusty Honda Jazz a solid car polish before the year is out.

I wonder how many of you got to select the presents you wanted or are happy with whatever you got. Be grateful. At least you received some presents. One Christmas we helped our children change the Swatch watches to designs more appealing to their eyes without telling their uncle, the generous giver. The shopkeeper squealed on us and informed him subsequently!

My youngest bought his sisters and mother specially selected gifts, and surprised them all! His mother got a pair of dainty earrings. One sister got a pair of great looking sunshades. The other got a pair of Nike shoes, one size too big. So, a day after Christmas the two of them went back to Orchard Road to exchange for a pair that she really preferred.

Herein lies a lesson we parents, the supposedly older & wiser ones learnt from our young ones. When asked if the new pair cost more than the original, the answer was that it was actually $20 cheaper. When asked if they had approached another customer to help out so that the 2 siblings need not lose out on the $20 difference, our 18-year old’s answer really surprised us but comforted us a great deal. He felt the shop should not be better off with an extra $20 profit but he also felt that it is better to bless a total stranger than for a perfect stranger to bless them! Thus one shopper was happily blessed this Christmas season through an act of kindness and we discovered the perfect gentleman in our son.

Fair exchange? Indeed, if we parents choose to invest the first 18 years wisely into building the right character and attitudes in our children, years later we are likely to see the desired results, not in terms of academic achievements (if they do well, this is a bonus!) but in terms of lifeskills taught by the teachers outside of school. Yes, us parents.

Goodbye 2006, Heaven-O 2007. Have a blessed New Year ahead! God bless.

4-feet or “TOE PARADE”

3-feet or “FISH PARADE”

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Hi People

Sorry for not posting for some time. Reason being not blogger’s block or flash floods. It has been SimonSimple carrot cakes and more SimonSimple carrot cakes coming out of my ears! A consolation though, is that feedback has been “beyond WOW!”, “it is the BEST!” and “where can I find the SimonSimple Carrot Cake shop?”- I may be tired, but I am not weary.

In this season of merry making and good cheer, let’s not forget the reason for the season. Christmas is supposed to mark the birth of Jesus. Here is one very wise advice He gives to mankind who is weary (from shopping, no doubt but of work and life in general), taken from Matthew 11:28.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

There are many things to learn in life and in my quest for the simple life, the key to is to be “gentle and humble in heart”.

Last week, before the rain & floods came upon Singapore & Johore, I took my humble Honda Jazz and zipped across the causeway to Mersing and then a short boat ride to a Kelong (a Malay word for a wooden platform structure built over the seabed off the shore) near Sibu Island. In my little car was my eldest daughter and her boyfriend and his fishing gear. By way of introduction, I have attached a photograph of their naked feet (or kakis, in Malay) - they are camera shy and did not want to pose in their swim wear.

According to Wikipedia, in modern Singlish usage, the word “kelong” is now used as a suggest of match fixing by referees and players, particularly in the context of soccer. In a way, a new friendship was ‘fixed’ or forged because of the time spent together. In my previous blog, I talked about how we can make friends easily. Well, we were in this small boat with perfect strangers and met this fishing family, a nice gentleman and his lovely wife & 2 primary school-going children - let’s call them the Lim’s. They usually go up to their favourite family friendly kelong called “HOTBOYS Kelong”, situated in Sibu, Malaysia. The nearest jetty is Tanjung Leman Jetty, which is just off Kota Mersing, about 2.5 hours drive from the Woodlands Chechpoint in Singapore. Check them out at http://www.kelongfishing.com/logistics.asp

I must admit that Mr Lim made the first move to break the ice and introduced his family to me and we started talking. It surfaced that they usually come out to “HOTBOYS Kelong” twice a year with other families and this time round they were alone and not sure if the boys would enjoy themselves without their friends. Well, perfect strangers became kelong kakis - a phrase coined by their elder boy.

24 hours spent together gelled us - we were Double-O Seven before the year was out, bonded as kelong kakis even before 2 -0-0-7 was here. There was the 25 minute boat ride, a lunch, a dinner, a night snack, a breakfast, and another lunch and the return boat ride, plus a side stop at island hopping with a beautiful beach with no one else but the 2 families and the island’s caretaker who offerred us 3 freshly cut coconuts at Malaysian Ringgit $10. Meals with fresh catch from the sea of fish, squid, prawns and crabs and free flow of typical thick Malaysian kopi-O, all for S$69 a head, was the perfect recipe for an enjoyable jaunt out of urban Singapore to the idyllic ‘kampung’ feel of fresh air & sea breeze.

What did I learn last week from my first ever kelong trip? Strangers can be potential friends - my kelong kakis have dropped by my home and they have tasted SimonSimple carrot cake. On my part, I have tasted their friendship - no doubt our families will draw closer. I have promised to whip out SimonSimple carrot cake on the boys’ birthdays next year. Again, by way of introduction, I have paraded their naked feet for you to see - the older boy, mine & the younger boy. Cute heh?

Hi People

I went outside to find a friend,
but could not find one there;
I went outside to be a friend,
and friends were everywhere!

These line were penned by a guy named Payne.

About 8 or 9 years ago my wife & I conducted our first Marriage Preparation Course (MPC) in our home. The course entails young couples preparing for marriage to attend 5 sessions lasting about 2.5 hours over 5 weeks. Over the years, well over a hundred couples must have come under our tutelage. They come and they go. I believe many have benefited from our teaching drawn from our many years of being happily married….most of the time.

Do they remember us? Do we remember them? We do but I must admit, only some of them, especially when students become friends. 3 out of the first four couples that graced our first class still keep in touch. Perhaps we did charge them to ‘go forth and multiply’… for they are now proud parents of 3 children each.

Let me describe 2 couples from our first cohort. The first couple is exactly 20 years our junior. (Yes, we are that old…and I am feeling it. Just yesterday I pulled a muscle getting out of my long-sleeved shirt! And recently at a friend’s party, a cute little girl of about 3 years old came forward to kiss ‘Grandpa Simon goodbye!). Husband & wife share a part of my wife’s name. Husband went to the same primary school as my wife. And wife went to the same primary school as me. Both of them went to the same secondary school as both of us - you know, the famous one that Sim Wong Hoo went to - Bukit Panjang Government High School. They regard us as their mentors and look up to us. We regard them as friends and look to them to feel young again.

The second couple I want to describe here - a dental surgeon who set out to start his own practice at a Tampines neighbourhood centre several years ago, with the able support of his wife. I understand that when they first started out, the wife gave up a successful career to be his dental assistant. Today we visited him for our regular dental check-up and he proudly announced that their number 3 will arrive shortly, in time to collect the next lunar new year red packets.

He topped his studies in the faculty of dentistry. He was in the Dean’s List and won the Silver and Gold Awards, no less. We live in the western part of Singapore. Tampines is in the eastern part of Singapore. When he first started out, I wanted to see him succeed. I wanted to believe in him and so he became our family dental surgeon. (You know what? You need to believe in the people around you, your husband or wife; your children, your parents; your staff or your boss.) All five in our family go to him for our dental check-ups & treatments. He is a great guy, a gentleman and a gentle man. He is professional. He is our friend.

Want to know the name of his practice? It’s FRIENDS DENTAL SURGEONS at Block 201 D Tampines Street 21, #01-1121 Singapore 524201 Tel: 6785 5567. Call him, who knows? This dental surgeon can be your friend too.

Prized Possession - Precious Medal

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Last week, my daughter ran the Standard Chartered Marathon, 42 km. Well, not quite. She completed only the half marathon, all under 3 hours. I am proud of her. This weekend, I too completed 42! Well, not quite. I baked close to 42 loaves of SimonSimple carrot cake. I am proud of me!

She trained hard for the marathon, as in the many things she does. Her work, for example. She says it is her passion and she can go the proverbial ‘extra mile’ to do a good job. I know my daughter. She epitomises the following proverb:

“Do you see a man skilled in his work?
He will serve before kings;
he will not serve before obscure men.”

Back to me. I started baking as a hobby, quite by chance. At the request of a friend, my wife baked her carrot cakes and I assisted and watched. All too soon I was eager to learn. Then I took over and became quite good at it. Let me share this quote from someone who has tasted my carrot cakes - “It is beyond WOW!” For several months now, I have baked every week without fail. This Christmas season we have been baking together. We are quite a team. I dare say, “A couple that bakes together, stays together.”

We have thus far raised a small sum from baking our carrots cakes. The “takings” are dedicated towards my daughter’s Overseas Education Fund. Her name begins with an M, so we can call it the MOE Fund.

Back to the lesson to learn here. If someone tells you that “Attitude is Everything”, believe him. More of this in my future blogs. What does it mean to run a marathon? It simply means this, “Without Discipline, you have Nothing!”

I believe we need both of the above. God bless you as you choose the race to run. Run it well. Good luck & God speed!

Hi People

4 years ago, I hit the BIG 50 and began my journey into the 3rd age. The 1st age is the 1st 25 years where we receive our education and get prepared for the working world. The 2nd age is the 2nd 25 years where we work for others for a livelihood. I like to think that the 3rd age is the next 25 years where there is greatest potential for us to choose to do the things we like. And alas, there is the inevitable 4th age - a season of dying. This could be brief as in a sudden death, or prolonged, as in a long illness. While I pray that my 4th age would be a swift & sweet one, I consciously design my 3rd age. All too often many people would let their 2nd age, the season of work, eat into their 3rd age and they actually lose control of this season of their lives. I don’t want to be guilty of this.

I found myself on the ‘wrong side’ of 50 several years ago. In that fateful year my wife and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary and spent our 2nd honeymoon in the beautiful land of New Zealand. In that year we both embarked on our Diploma in Family Life Education and learned many new things. The more than 2 years of studying and sitting for examinations together brought me closer to my dearly beloved.

Next year would be another ‘marker’ year for us. We would be married 30 years and CPF-able, the unofficial retirement age. I believe even as the authorities have moved the official retirement age to 62, the magical 55 serves as a milestone for many of us. It is a time to make big decisions, like choosing a second career, taking up a new hobby, ‘downsizing’ the house or car and I suspect, my clothes! It is a time for letting go! My children have been a big big part of my life, and yet I must let go of them.

Suddenly the empty nest looms large within my sight. Afterall 2007, or Double O Seven is just round the corner. My strategy to enjoy my 3rd age includes what James Bond does best….he gets his girl. I will invest more in my girl of 30, the bride of my youth. In this season, I want to enjoy life with my wife. It doesn’t really matter what the world thinks of me. It matters what my wife and I think of ourselves. And we think we are pretty cool!