SimonSimple

What’s your daily scoop?

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Hi People

Today I took a day off to recover from a jam packed weekend of teaching and sharing at a marriage enrichment weekend and the final lesson of my marriage preparation class. It was a weekend well spent. Why? Because when you teach, you learn twice.

I had a lazy Monday morning and then met up with my second daughter to run some errands in the afternoon. We ended up at The Daily Scoop at 41 Sunset Way at the Clementi Arcade, off Clementi Road. Tel: 6463 3365. I can attest to the fact that the ice-cream is yummy and original. I brought some home for the family and they all love it and said it was very good! I had a chance to chat up with the owner and certainly agree with the Sunday Times article that appeared 2 sundays ago about the nice things they wrote about the ice cream cafe and its young owner, Melissa Phey. It was raining but the cafe still entertained a steady stream of customers, young and old alike, and sending them away happy after they have had their daily fix.

The article did inspire me somewhat to “go pursue your heart’s passion”. I have great admiration for the young people nowadays - so young and yet so brave. I am almost “CPF-able” and only just willing to take baby steps towards doing things that have been stirring in my heart. I really must follow Nike’s mantra and “just do it!”

I also want to share here a wonderful “scoop” or story that has been etched in my mind all these years - the story told by my dearly departed mother about Robert the Bruce, the heroic King of Scots (1274 - 1329), who despite setbacks, secured Scotland’s independence from England.

At one point, Bruce was defeated by the English and legend has it that he spent that winter alone, sheltering in a cave on a deserted island, watching a spider trying to spin a web. When it failed, it simply started all over again. Bruce took that as a lesson and like they say, the rest is history. Perhaps Winston Churchchill was inspired by King Bruce when he exhorted the English nation during the Second World War to “Never, never, never give up!” Guess who won the fight against the Germans?

What is your daily scoop? What is your story? Your life can be your daily story. Remember, you can always “brand it like Beckham”. You can be a living testimony on a daily basis to your loved ones and those around you. Go share your story.

Hi People

On 26 October I went to a petrol kiosk along the infamous Queensway- the stretch of road where I was last fined S$130 for driving in the Yellow Bus Lane after topping up my petrol tank some months back.

I had in my hand 4 cards when I went into the convenience store as the attendant proceeded to top up my petrol tank. One card was the credit card, another was the petrol company’s discount card, then I had my bank Nets card and lastly my cash card which had a low value of S$12.88

In my joy in having successfully topped up my cash card with S$50 I conveniently left the card in the ATM! When I realised what had happened, I was 5 minutes too late. My cash card was conveniently swiped from the ATM by a person unknown. Now I know why they call it a convenience store!

When I lamented my misfortune to a colleague, she said I was lucky I merely lost S$62.88 in cash - she had once lost her cash card and had her car window smashed when the thief broke into her vehicle. I was a little comforted until another colleague told me to look at it in another way, that I had just blessed someone who probably needed the cash that I could spare.

Yesterday 6 November, I did one better than my first colleague. I had my car window smashed, but was lucky nothing was stolen. Perhaps it was just mischief and no big crime was committed. I suppose I can report to my colleague that I am 2 times lucky - the first time the damage was to my pocket with no damage to my car. And this time round, I had my car damaged with no loss to my pocket - my insurance policy took care of it.

Which is better? To have your car window damaged and cash card swiped at one go, or the agony visit you on 2 separate occasions?

This brings to my mind the great Og Mandino. He wrote many great books. In The Greatest Salesman in the World, he said

“I complained that I had no shoes,
until I stepped out of the house
and chanced upon a man with no feet.”

Take a look at my Honda Jazz - it is just a small window, so the damage is slight. If I were to drive a bigger car, the damage would be bigger, right? Right?

The lesson here is that if you were to put things in its proper perspective, you always get to see things in a different light. I choose to complain less the many ‘bad’ circumstances that befall me and react with gratefulness for having been blessed in so many other ways. My favourite car dealer may be Kah Motors but my favourite motto is “Don’t complain. Be grateful!” Live life with an attitude of gratitude.

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

Today I was caught on camera…I think! You see, I had just come out of the ESSO petrol station along Queensway and seeing the other lanes packed bumper to bumper, I decided to do the ’smart’ thing - I took the nearest lane, the Bus Lane and….got my car photographed (should have washed the car last night!).

Funnily, I did not react to that incident with thoughts of “Stupid traffic cop, or stupid petrol station, or worse still, stupid SimonSim!” In fact, what came to mind was something I have passed on to my 3 children and that is “Choices Create Consequences”. Since I chose to take the Bus Lane, I should face up to the consequences that follow the breaking of the traffic rules.

A saying goes like this: “In order to lead the band one day, we must first face the music!” My son has another saying stuck on his cupboard - “It’s a simple choice between the easy way and the right way”. We parents think we are raising our children. It may be that they are raising their parents. We grow old but not necessary grow up. I have much to say about servant leadership - I admire servant leaders and aspire to be one who can lead by example.

When I feel down and out, I am reminded by Philippians 4:4 - 5

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.”

Trusty Longman says

“gentle” : adjective; honourable, distinguished; kind, amiable.

Be strong. Be happy. But also be humble. Be gentle.

Today I think I chose the right way. No, not that I had the right of way on the bus lane, but the guts to face up to the consequences of choosing the wrong lane. Happy driving.

I am on an unending journey to find how one can make life easier for oneself. Of course we can all learn the hard way, and graduate from the school of hard knocks i.e. from life itself. Alternatively, one can learn from a structured environment, as in the school environment. In my more than 4 decades on this earth I have learned certain truths. Many started out as theories and through my experience, I want to testify that they are more like theorems.

One simple truth is Simple Ideas + Action = Powerful Change

Another from the Bible is Love God and Love your Neighbour

From Fred Factor, I learned from Mark Sanborn 4 Principles of Life:

1) Everyone can make a difference
2) Success is built on relationship
3) Constantly create value for others
4) Reinvent yourself regularly

From a recent birthday present, a framed ‘SIMPLIFY’ reads

S = Slow down
I = Imagine doing less
M = Make time for loved ones
P = Practise patience
L = Learn to gently say no
I = Increase your quiet time
F = Follow your heart
Y = Yield to Life, Peace & Joy