Went to the hospital to collect some medicine for my father today and i had the time to finish "Tuesdays with Morrie" as well as a Christian book. Time well spent! I was just on this bench in one of the many mini gardens in SGH, and it felt good. For once, time seem to come to a standstill as i begin to appreciate how slow things were. No rushing, everything done at a slow pace. How i yearn such a life.

Once, a teacher asked her class to list out the 7 wonders of the world. The students went about the discussion enthusiastically and the list read :
1. Egypt's Great Pyramids
2. Taj Mahal
3. Grand Canyon
4. Panama Canal
5. Empire State Building
6. St. Peter's Basilica
7. China's Great Wall

However, 1 girl appeared troubled and the teacher asked her for her list and she said:
1. To see
2. To hear
3. To touch
4. To taste
5. To feel
6. To laugh
7. And to love

Well, what many people(me included) has missed, she has grasped and treasured.

Many of us, singaporeans, live cluttered lives. We have fixed schedules, tight time, many meetings and while going through all that motion, we miss the simple pleasures in life. In "Tuesdays with Morrie", Morrie said that many people go through life with no sense of purpose, sleepwalking through their lives. How true...

How true...I can't wait to continue slowing things down in my life.

So exciting!! Today actually marks the first day of my leave and i'm going to be resting till next tuesday. A well-timed break, given that i'm dying due to lack of sleep. Too many hours on computer games is harmful man. The day started off with a trip to the dentist and and i was made to wait forever. However, cannot really blame the dentist because she was on mc and so all her patients that day were shifted and transferred over to the days that she could make it.

It means almost double work everyday. I wonder how she managed to cope man. So i was just watching my dentist at work, and i was fascinated at how she configurated the bite of my fake tooth by using a rough estimate and she even mentioned the word "angle" while talking to herself. Wow man, am i supposed to do that in future?

And that led me to think, am i really ready for dentistry? Why do i really really feel so inadequate. I feel so unprepared and so fearful of what i am to accomplish in the next 4 years. I probably am going to study very hard, for once in my life. And then? Will i be ok doing extractions? Doing all the cleaning and filling? Injection? Just so foreign.

It's probably time that i grow up into a man. Finally. Army days probably gave me a glimpse of what being a man entails. But i guess only when i am on the brink of adulthood will i understand what it means to grow up.

Ok enough of man this and that, while waiting for the dentist, i read the book "Tuesday's with Morrie" by Mitch Albom and i relaly liked the quote :

"A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops." HENRY ADAMS

I have no idea who henry adam is, yet i still find this a very suitable and applicable quote. Teaching as a career is probably something that MOE advocates, but how many in the teaching line actually loves teaching and aims to impact lives? I'm quite sad to know of a few friends who actually was very passionate at first, but when thrown into the school, with all the politics and pressure from all fronts, they just totally lost it.

And teaching is not a joy anymore, instead it became just a job, a way to earn good money. I'm also quite disappointed that teachers are no longer the symbol of good values. Teachers molesting students, abusing students are just some of the more common examples. However i'm glad that throughout my childhood, i had some very good teachers.

The one i remember the most vividly has probably got to be Mr Quark( hopefully i spelt it correctly). If i do not remember wrongly, he was a relief teacher for my Pri. 2 class. I was hopelessly naughty, yet he never once gave up on me and even made me one of the group leaders, of which i was very proud of because i'm sure i did a reasonably good job. He gave me the belief that i had so much more to offer in class. To me, he's a positive example of a good teacher. One who will not judge a student by his behavior or how he works, but instead choose to focus on the potential that he/she can reach.

Ok enough about teachers, i'm just extremely happy today! Because today i found 2 great buddies on the bus. We were sitting in the last row and for the whole journey of about 45mins, we "agreed" with everything! Come to think of it, quite mightily hilarious to come up a bus and see 3 heads at the back swinging to and fro.

Ok time to rest.

I M thankful …

FOR THE WIFE
WHO SAYS IT'S Maggie noodles TONIGHT,
BECAUSE SHE IS HOME WITH ME,
AND NOT OUT WITH SOMEONE ELSE.

FOR THE HUSBAND WHO IS ON THE SOFA
BEING A COUCH POTATO,
BECAUSE HE IS HOME WITH ME
AND NOT out drinking AT THE Pub.

FOR THE TEENAGER
WHO IS COMPLAINING ABOUT DOING DISHES
BECAUSE IT MEANS SHE IS AT HOME,
NOT ON THE STREETS.

FOR THE TAXES I PAY
BECAUSE IT MEANS
I AM EMPLOYED.

FOR THE MESS TO CLEAN AFTER A PARTY
BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE
BEEN SURROUNDED BY FRIENDS.

FOR THE CLOTHES THAT FIT A LITTLE TOO SNUG
BECAUSE IT MEANSI HAVE ENOUGH TO EAT.

FOR MY SHADOW THAT WATCHES ME WORK
BECAUSE IT MEANS
I AM OUT IN THE SUNSHINE

FOR the floor that needs sweeping,
WINDOWS THAT NEED CLEANING,
AND toilets THAT NEED FIXING
BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE A HOME.

FOR ALL THE COMPLAINING
I HEAR ABOUT THE GOVERNMENT
BECAUSE IT MEANS
WE HAVE FREEDOM OF SPEECH..

FOR THE PARKING SPOT
I FIND AT THE FAR END OF THE PARKING LOT
BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM CAPABLE OF WALKING
AND I HAVE BEEN BLESSED WITH TRANSPORTATION.

FOR MY airconditioning BILLs
BECAUSE IT MEANS
I have a home to sleep in

FOR THE person
BEHIND ME IN CHURCH WHO SINGS OFF KEY
BECAUSE IT MEANS
I CAN HEAR.

FOR THE PILE OF LAUNDRY AND IRONING
BECAUSE IT MEANS
I HAVE CLOTHES TO WEAR.

FOR WEARINESS AND ACHING MUSCLES
AT THE END OF THE DAYBE
CAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE BEEN
CAPABLE OF WORKING HARD.

FOR THE ALARM THAT GOES OFF
IN THE EARLY MORNING HOURS
BECAUSE IT MEANS I’m ALIVE.

AND FINALLY,
FOR TOO MUCH E-MAIL
BECAUSE
IT MEANS I HAVE
FRIENDS WHO ARE THINKING OF ME.

--------------------------------------------------

This is a poem on thanksgiving in case you are lazy and decide to just scroll all the way down here. I think it is beautiful because sometimes in life, we (me included) are so caught up with complaining and grumbling that we forget to be thankful for the things around us.

This Christmas season, let's spend a day or 2 to think back about the year 2006, and the previous years and thank God for all the blessings He has given us. For non-believers, you can thank whoever you're worshiping too. The interesting thing to note is that as you're looking back, think about the times when bad things happened. You'll realised that on hindsight, the thing wasn't as bad as you made out to be and sometimes it might even be a blessing in disguise! Or it might also have taught you valuable lessons. Go try!

Prob can add...

I am Thankful...

For the homework and examinations I have
Because it means i can go to school and
Not work in the farm all day.

For the times my mother has nagged me to do housework
Because it means she is still alive!

Hmm...thinking of more...

Mortality

Wow...so many pple are dying nowadays, or maybe all along, many people have been dying just that it was only recently that they decide to publish every single death of unknown origins on the news. Come to think about it, life is really fragile, 1 flick and the next moment, we're gone.

Had a mini discussion today with some of my colleagues and some of them mentioned that it's fated and there's nothing to be so afraid of. Afterlife? Maybe will even go to heaven.

I just sat there and thought to myself, death really hurts people more than we can imagine. I believe that the greatest hurt will not be felt by the one who passed away, but instead be felt by the loved ones.

As a colleague recounted for me the tale of the birthday boy, whose parents and relatives gathered in the morning and when they went into the room to surprise him with a birthday cake, they got a 'surprise' instead. The little boy died in his sleep.

Is there an afterlife? Is there heaven? If there is, how many of you would actually qualify for heaven and on what basis do you think you have to enter heaven?

I commented on zixu's entry and this was his reply...interesting..

Nicholas Tan Wei-Quan:

1. I'll respond with something random about you.
- The only person ever to almost cause me grevious injuries in a traffic accident. And yup not once.. but TWICE not to mention.
Eh...instead of thanking me for being such a good teaching you actually end up scolding me! Such an ungrateful friend and to think i was just trying to be nice by showing you how to be a safe driver by demonstrating the negative traits. tsk...talk about unappreciative man...

2. I'll challenge you to try something.
- Go for korean classes together with me after we ORD!
Ha! It's not called a challenge unless it's something hard man...KOREAN?!

3. I'll pick a colour that I associate with you.
- red red red red red red red red red.. what else man.
My standards have changed, i prefer gold and brown now! It's the "IN" color.

4. I'll tell you something I like about you.
- Strong determination in doing certain things like cohesing the class together. Rather sentimental and also your devotion to god. Resilence.
Heh...but i still failed in what i wanted to do initially. It takes 2 hands to clap. At least now there's chee keong and the rest who have organised most of the outings in the past 2 years.

5. I'll tell you my first/clearest memory about you.
- Earliest would be of me playing the first prank on you by lying to you that somehow u were made to participate in ushering or something in the college day nonsense. Hehehe and then finally revealing the truth to you after you getting traumatized for a while..
This is the earliest meh...are u getting dementia?

6. I'll tell you what animal you remind me of.
- (Loan) shark. HAHAHA.
I don't think humans with gold teeth and huge gold chains around their neck, chasing people for money are animals...

7. I'll ask you something I've always wanted to ask you.
- Sensitive things should always be asked in private. Hehehe..
Sounds interesting...with tt kinda laughter especially

8. You must post this on yours - k so now u must post this quiz thingee on ure blog too!

I shall be nice and post number 8...though i doubt anyone would comment on this! hahaha

If you comment on this post,

1. I'll respond with something random about you.
2. I'll challenge you to try something.
3. I'll pick a colour that I associate with you.
4. I'll tell you something I like about you.
5. I'll tell you my first/clearest memory about you.
6. I'll tell you what animal you remind me of.
7. I'll ask you something I've always wanted to ask you.
8. You must post this on yours

Btw for those who want me to do this for you, please leave a comment with your IC number, name, how you knew me, how long did you know me and proclaim to the world what a genius i am. Easy conditions but nonetheless necessary to make the processing of applications faster.

Ok kinda lame coz i'm too bored! I was just kidding about the IC number and crap..

Did i mention that i had an electrifying experience today? Totally out of this world man!