Tuesday with Morrie

Since I ran out of books to read and pay day is a few days away and I can't seem to find the book that I really want to read so I thought, I'll reread Tuesdays with Morrie. Have to say that the book had a profound effect on me. God must have had it planned that I should reread the book. Mitch Albom is a great writer. The stuff that he writes makes me ponder and think about my own life.

"A great teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops"
Henry Adams

Took that quote out from the book. In all honesty, I never liked going to school as a kid. Right from primary school to secondary school to hotel school. I always felt left out, a little out of place. I couldn't speak Mandarin as well as my school mates and therefore I did feel ostracised half the time. I met a really nice teacher in secondary school that made me think about my life. There's heaps that I want in life and she made me think about my life. It's sad in a way that I never really bothered to keep in contact with her. Mrs Richards, thanks.

I loved my uni life. Had heaps of friends. Met my best friend there as well. And well, I felt that finally my brain is growing and learning. Went to NIE for teacher training. Loved it as well. And at grad school. I learnt heaps. It's strange that I actually miss going to school and learn now. If I have the means, I'll want to go back to grad school and do my phd. There are days that go by and I worry if my brain cells might be dying.....

Looking at that quote again. Now that I'm a teacher, I wonder how many lives have I touched. And more importantly, how many lives have I touched positively? When I became a teacher, I wanted to touch lives. It sounds very silly, like the ads that you watch. Be a teacher, touch lives, mould lives. You know that sort of stuff. But the reality of it, I really wanted to make a difference to a child and that's why I became a teacher. And that quote reminded me that a teacher has a lot of influence in a child's life and sometimes, or rather most of the times, the influence goes beyond.

Have you really ever had a teacher? One who saw you as a raw but precious thing, a jewel that, with wisdom, could be polished to a proud shine? (Taken from page 192, Tuesdays with Morrie)

When I read that, I thought about myself. Have I ever been that teacher that was able to see the good of the naughtiest kid in my class? Was I able to see that raw jewel in a kid and polish him or her to a proud shine? I remember teaching 2A and 2B, it was the most trying times of my life teaching the kids that were of low ability and rather naughty as well. But it taught me to be humble and look at every child's weakness as a strength and that every child is precious. This is a book that all teachers should take time out to read. It's something that teachers should time about.

I was reading towards the end of the book while walking on the treadmill. I read the part when Morrie died. Yes, I've read the book before but when I was reading it again. I had to stop myself from tearing. Take time to read the book. It'll do you wonders.

Internet Dating

Ha! Got you there! No..I wasn't out on an internet date. But rather I had dinner with some of my friends that I met online. I joined Geoexpat before coming to HK to find out more about HK and also to make some friends. This is my 3rd or 4th time going for a function. Met new friends and it's always nice meeting new friends. There was probably around 10 of us. I've met about 3 of them before. Didn't get a chance to talk to everyone as there were too many of us. Hopefully the next time, I'll get know some of them better.

I am here but soon I was here.....

Went home for lunch and got a bit of Blogtv on CNA. The title of the show was, I was here. Basically, they talked about people who blog about their illnesses. And a couple of them passed on. Daniel Leung was on the show. Well, I've not met him before but I'm really touched by him. Check out his website.

http://jesusfreakdl.diaryland.com

I have to say, after watching the show, it got me into a pensive mood. And got me thinking about my life again. I was reading Daniel's blog and well, it doesn't help if you're listening to James Blunt as well. It got me into a somewhat thinking, depressive state.....But then again, it's good for me to get in touch with myself again. I remember FD asking Daniel, are you afraid of death? And his response is, no, because of my belief and religion. I ask myself, am I afraid of death? No, the answer is a strong no because I know that I'll be going home. I'll see grandpa, Adrian, Derrick and people that I would have liked to meet. Great women and men of God. No, I'm not afraid of death. But, I've other fears. I'm afraid of the processing of dying and getting old. That's what I'm afraid of. I'm afraid of turning old, ugly, wrinkly....and I'll turn repulsive, and having to depend on others. That's one of my fears. And actually my bigger fear and the biggest one....God asking me, what have I done for Him? That is my absolute biggest fear. What have I done for the Lord? And when He plays my life, would I be crouching in shame? This is a wake up call to lead a better life, a more spiritual life and be a nicer person. It's hard for me to be nice.

Daniel taught me something as well. In time of adversity, in time of troubles, in times of hard times, he was able to turn to God and let Him take control of his life. He knew that God was always in control of his life. He had faith in God. And I look at my life, what am I fighting for? Nothing absolutely nothing. What troubles do I really have? Err...just one maybe, having enough money to the next pay day. It seems trivial isn't it. That's how trivial my life is at this point of time and yet, I don't thank God enough. I can almost hear myself say this, 'You make me sick!' I make myself sick!! So life is good to me at this point of time and for once things are turning out good, have I given back to God, have I done anything to return His kindness? Sometimes I get frustrated with WK because he tends to worry about everything and it drives me nuts because I believe in casting my worries upon Jesus and not carrying it ourselves. But WK doesn't seem to get it at times. But well, he's learning....Learning.

How apt life is. I learn from someone else's blog and he's like a decade younger than me and yet in his own ways, he's more matured in many ways. I do pray that God's will be done for Daniel. And if you're stricken with cancer out there, trust in the Almighty and trust Him to do His will. I remember at my sis, Joanne's wedding. She had this wonderful, beautiful outdoor wedding. It was raining and we knelt in prayer and Joe, my brother in law, prayed for the rain to stop but he also added that if the rain is needed somewhere and the need is greater than theirs, let it rain then. Lord, I'm learning to be led by you, learning to be less selfish. Have patience with me for I am a slow and weak learner.

Blessing

Yesterday when I came home, I opened my mailbox and got my bank statement. Looking through and I noticed that I was overpaid by HKD1090. And there I was sitting and thinking and trying to figure out why I was overpaid. And then.... thinking maybe I should just not say anything and wait and see. But then again, no, I will just go to work and check with them.

So I went in today and checked with the school clerk. And to my nice surprise, I've got an increment! Ya!!! Yes, folks, it may not seem a lot but it's an extra bonus...Me very happy! And yes, will have to thank God for providing me with blessings like these.




Last weekend Stephen, my black brother was in town. We went out on Friday nite. But such a shame, forgot to take pics with him. These are some of my friends that we met up with. We had good fun and it's nice meeting old friend and new friends. Had a good night out but well, had to leave early because I had to work on Saturday morning.

Went to work on Saturday morning. Had a parents day and I gave a 10 min speech. Really hoped that the parents knew what I was speaking about. And in the evening we headed out with Stephen again.

I've been really blessed by God in many ways. He sent friends my way, gave me pretty good colleagues and now, less than 6 months of working, I got an increment. What more can I ask for? All thanks to God! And we'll be back in about 3 weeks. Can't wait to eat again!!!

God makes no MISTAKES in our lives

Last night, WK and me had a spat. Oh...nothing to worry, spats are a regular feature of all marriages if you hadn't known it by now. WK made a comment which I think is very apt in life. He said that some business guru said that whenever 2 strong brands merge to be a single brand, very often it ends up in a divorce and not in synergy. Well, in a marriage, it is hard when 2 persons of strong characters get married. It's the same as the corporate world in some sense. WK and me have very strong characters and very often we clash. But at the same time we produce synergy as well. However, we have our faith and religion to hold us to our ground and not seek the easy way out.

Well, after the spat, we were talking about things. There were things that we said and that we thought that we made mistakes in our lives. I guess it was choices that we made with education and career. However, today as I was thinking through, I realised that God does not make mistakes in our lives at all. What happens is that we gain experiences and learn from what we call mistakes in lives. We went for an MBA talk yesterday. And I was sitting there thinking that I should have gone to a group of 8 university for my undergraduate studies. But then again, if I had done that, I would not have met Eve. And not found a best friend in her. If I didn't study hotel management and studied something else, I wouldn't be able to understand some of the stuff that WK speaks about. There are many examples in my life that I can write about which I think are mistakes that I've learnt a lot from it. But I realised that they are not mistakes. But it's just God's way of showing me lessons and learning from them.

I believe that whenever we dwell on the fact that 'I should have done that' or 'I should not have done that' or 'I made that mistake' and we go on lamenting on it, it'll just bring us more frustrations as we can't see that God is teaching us lessons. I remember working in Woolies in Sydney. I had a crazy manager that didn't quite like me and she made me work mad shifts, yelled at me and many mornings I had to wake up at 5 am during winter to get to work. I used to curse and swear at her...But was it worth it? No, I realised that God was giving experiences to enrich my life.

So....in conclusion...And I've got lunch duty, God makes no mistakes in our lives...No..not even one...And I'm truly thankful for the experiences and lessons that God has provided for me. It has made me a stronger person.

School Picnic

Today, we had a school picnic. Well, as this was my first school picnic, I was very excited to go. Basically, it's a huge excursion, and everyone in the school went. From Primary 1 to 6, all the teachers and even the technical assistants went as well.

We went to a YMCA Youth Village in Ma On Shan. Ma On Shan is kinda far from Ma Wan when I live and the school is. Ma On Shan is in New Territories. When we got there, the kids basically ran wild, played games, ate and ate. It was nice as some kids shared their homecooked picnic food with me. It was a nice experience. Here are some pics. As usual, I should have taken more pics.

Because Jesus Would Have Freaking Done it!

Yes, I know, the title is a little or actually rather controversial. Let me explain. I came home for lunch on Tuesday and I caught a little of Grey's Anatomy. I like the show and I seem to only have time to catch snippets of it. Well, there was this scene (can't remember the characters' names) when this male intern was sleeping on the bed and this female intern woke him up to go through some stuff with him. I guess they have to take an exam soon or something like that. He asked her, why is she going to help him after what he had done. And she said, 'Because Jesus would have freaking done it!'

Well, that set me thinking for a couple of days. There are numerous times in my life that when someone does me wrong, I would seethe and be pissed and want to take revenge on that bastard or bitch. But then again, is that right? And going back, there was this person that I felt had singlehandedly almost made me lost sight of what I should be doing professionally. Like I wrote a couple times in my blog, he gave me an unjust appraisal and that almost made me give up as a teacher and almost sank me into an anger, bitter, upset, depressive state. And yes, I wanted revenge, sweet revenge. I almost told him, I sincerely hope that whatever I'm going through I hope that your daughters will go through exactly or worse than me.

Then I realise, why do I have such thoughts? Is that right in the sight of the Lord? What does the Lord Almighty say?

Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Romans 12:19

And that stuck in my head and as much as I tried, there was anger and I had to let go because it was eating me up. And more importantly the bible clearly states that vengeance is the Lord's and not mine. And of course, it is easier said than done.

And then there are times that I feel that I've been unjustly dealt or some person or persons done me wrong and why do I have to forgive them? Why? But then again what does the bible say again?

21 Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?
22 Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.
Matthew 18: 21, 22

An Eye for An Eye
38Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:
39But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.
40And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also.
Matthew 5: 38- 40

So, there it is...Forgive....And that brings me to my point. What would have Jesus done? And yes, Jesus would have freaking done it! I'm learning over the period of time to learn to live like the Lord and yes, it can be very hard at times. But I'm learning everyday.......And yes, God rewards obedience....

Year So Far.....

I've been trying hard to keep to my resolution of really going to the gym to work out to lose some fats and inches. Am especially determined after I realised that I lost my only pair of jeans that can fit me. Not sure where on earth is it. Me thinks maybe my laundry man loves my jeans too much and kept it! Went and walked around to shop of jeans and realised that I'm just one size too fat for normal size jeans and 2 sizes too small for fat people's jeans. So now, I must really try to lose weight to fit into normal jeans. As tempted as I am, I'm not going to eat myself to 2 sizes bigger.

So I'm been pretty good, went to the gym on Monday and yesterday, I went for a swim. Swimming, that's something that I've not done in about a year. Even the last time that I went swimming, it was snorkelling in the sea. Had lots of help from my life vest, fins and mask and my snorkel. So, I went into the pool yesterday in my bikini and my goggles. Errr...only female in the pool...A little like a whale going swimming. So I started swimming, and swimming...And in a matter of mins, boy was I tired. Think all in all, I probably only swam like for 15 mins. And I went home with muscle aches...Can you imagine that?

Came home and started to cook dinner. We had bangers and mash. I was so tired from swimming that I actually sat on the floor of my kitchen to peel the potatoes. And I went to bed early last night as well. Boy, I'm such a weakling!!! Still tired from swimming today and muscles are still aching. Think today, I'm going to walk on the threadmill and take it easy....But I still must try very hard to lose weight!!!Must buy jeans...must buy jeans!!!

Workwise, is getting a little busy for the next few days. I't s good in a way as I'm feeling that I'm beginning to make a little difference to the children's life. It's getting a lot more satisfying. We're having a half day English Camp today. In 2 weeks, we're having a parents' day and I'm meant to give a workshop on reading and then before Chinese New Year, we have an English Day. Everything is new and exciting and I'm looking forward to it.

I'm praying for WK as he's having troubles trying to figure out what the future beholds for him. I'm praying that he'll learn to lean on God's promises. That He'll take care of us no matter what happens. He's pretty insecure of the future whereas I've learnt to put my trust in Him since I guess, a long time ago. I live my life knowing that God will take care of my needs. But WK is a little different. He lives his life trying to make sure that his needs and my needs are taken care of by him and not by the Almighty one and that leads him to stress and sometimes I see that stress is eating him up alive. But I am thankful that over the period WK is learning to take from the Father's hand. In some ways, this is a good time of learning to trust in God for the both of us and to realign our faith as well. Do pray for us...It can be hard but we're learning everyday. We're trying to do our quiet time and also share on what we learnt from God's word that day as well.

A Week into 2007

I'm not sure if age plays a factor but days seem to just go by and half the time, I'm in a daze. And without a blink of an eye, a week has passed. Days pass too fast and I'm getting old!!! Wrinkles showing soon.

Been trying to blog but for some reason, I can't seem to get onto blogspot. This year started pretty well. Came back to HK on 2nd Jan and on 3rd Jan, I went to Shenzhen with a new American friend from Geoexpat. Kris is pretty new in HK and I was glad to have made friends with her. I believe that God sends people to us for reasons. Sometimes is for us to be a blessing to them and sometimes is for them to be a blessing to us. Either way, it's nice meeting her.

HK has been pretty cold since we got back. The cold is really getting to me. I guess maybe I'm not used to so much cold at a go. Not sure if that makes sense. This weekend has been around 10 degrees and where we live, it's probably 8 degrees. Freezing....As much as I'm tempted to get another coat...I'm telling myself to refrain from shopping....Learn to save...save....

Last night before I went to bed, got a sms from Stan. He's got his wedding date sorted out and he's getting married on the 18 and 19 August weekend. I'm really excited for him. Have to try to lose weight for his wedding...Really exciting. Pray that God will bless them.

Talking about marriage, how do people really view marriage? I try to believe it as one in my lifetime and WK is my one and only. Sometimes is hard...Gosh, bloody freaking hard when I've my own thoughts and ideas and when he has his and we clash, or rather I get into a crazy stubborn streak and want to give up on everything and take the easy way out. But WK remains calm and try his hardest to calm me down.

A marriage is always hard. Well, met this girl and she came to HK with hope of saving her marriage. She told me that she was married to this guy, and then 3 years down the road, he wanted out and she gave in and then he courted her back and got remarried and now 3 months later, he wants out. And she wants to save the marriage. In the course of conversation, she mentioned that she thinks religion plays an important role in marriage. She went on saying that he does not believe in her beliefs and therefore it's hard to see from both points of views. I agree. Totally agree and I'm glad to have married a fellow Christian. It can be hard not seeing the same points of view and giving up on a marriage easily. Pray that they will work it out.

Work is good, a little slow sort of for these couple of days. Am enjoying its pace for the moment...things will probably start gaining its momentum soon.

2nd Day of the Year

Here am I sitting in my messy apartment in Hong Kong. Lots of cleaning up to do.....Left home at 4 am in the morning and the moment we get on the plane, even before the plane taxied, I fell asleep. Slept all the way through the flight and then got home, had lunch and then promptly took a nap. And now, suitcase is sitting in my apartment, stuff has to be packed, clothes to be sent to the laundry......oh well.....

When I woke up from my nap and after dinner, and on CNA, a plane went missing and today's news, the plane actually crashed. I don't take very well to news of plane crashes. This is especially when we were on a plane yesterday. Have to really thank God that He has given us journey mercies with all the flying that we have been doing.

Something struck me today as I was surfing the net. It does seem that it's around Christmas and New Year's that things happen. The ferry sank in Indonesia along with the plane crash and the earthquake in Taiwan, bombing in Bangkok and all these stuff happening...I wonder why? Then again, maybe, there's no answer to the why question. Then again, life is short and this might be a lesson to live everyday as the last....

This year, I truly hope and pray that lives will be spared and people will take their lives seriously and think about their lives. I remember having coffee with some friends and one of them was lamenting about work and how she wasn't very happy about work. My reaction was, be proactive and do something about it. I know it is easier said than done. I strongly believe that the Almighty gave us only one life and that we should make the best out of it. If work is so unbearable or life is putting one down, then it is time to reflect and understand why and to take charge of it.

So people, have a think of your life and what you want to do and how you're going to make a difference this year. At the end of every year, I always wonder if my year has turned out exactly like the year before. And I always wondered, what have I learnt this year that I've not learnt last year. This year, I'm not sure what the Almighty has in store for me but anyhow, I'm game for it!

Last Post of the Year and First Post of the Year

I intended this post to be the last of the year and the first of the year. But oh well, things didn't really work out the way I wanted it to be.

I spent my last night of the year in church. It was nice spending my last night of the year, listening to church members sharing on how God has blessed and been real to them. I never really have the courage to go up and share how God has blessed WK and me. Maybe, just maybe, one day, I'll do that. Tonight's watch night is a little different. For one, I had to come back home to make sure that I've everything packed and my tummy is a little strange, not really behaving as I've obviously been eating too much. And dad and mum came to church with us as well. It's good.

I'm going to write about my highs and lows of the year. I'll try to write it in chronological order starting with highs.

Highs
In April, my sister Joanne got married. Wedding was great and we welcomed Joe to the family. The wedding was so romantic and it was just absolutely beautiful. Had a great time. I missed their engagement and it's nice to be there for their wedding. It was in April that I attended my graduation too. Aunty Sue, Eve and Susan attended it. Well, I got my masters after months and months of working my butt off for it. Grandpa, this is for you!!!

June came and I always love June because it's school hols for me. Monster got married and it was nice seeing her finally been happy and getting married to Shaun. (Sorry, don't know if this is the right version of Shaun, too many versions of Shaun, you know). I also visited my current workplace and also viewed my current apartment in HK in June. While in HK in June, it really dawned on me that I'm moving to HK and it was the start of my excitement.

Finally August came, and the big move to HK. It was exciting and I'm very thankful to God for making things work out. The day I landed, the day, I moved to my apartment. And I met nice friends. God is good. There's nothing more that I can ask for. I also managed to see my beloved grandma....God bless her soul! The best grandma anyone can ask for.

October was one of the most exciting time for me. WK made the move to HK. Praise God for providing him a job. We also spent my birthday at Disney. Well, God has really proved that He has, can and will take care of all of my needs. I need no one else. But it's always good to have my soulmate cum best friend be with me all the time.

November, another wedding....This time Eelynn and Bruno got married. I missed their wedding. Really wanted to make it there. Bruno, welcome to the mad Sims. WK and me celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary as well. A marriage is always hard but at the end of the day, I love WK still. Babe, thanks for all the sacrifices that you made for me and thanks for loving me.

December, an engagement....Ya, my best friend, got engaged!!! It's so exciting. Stan and Dorcas, I'm over the moon....Stan, thanks for keeping to the 'please get married before I turn 40' deal. Can't wait for the wedding.

Lows
There were lows this year...When there's highs, there's always lows. But thank God, there were more highs then lows.

April I was in Sydney, and it was then that I realised that I'll miss my friends there. I left my best friend and a good friend behind. Eve, my best friend and while I was in Sydney, we spent every weekend we can together. Knowing the fact that I was going to be in Sydney for only 10 months, made every moment spent with Eve very precious. Well, she's moved to San Diego almost the same time that I moved to HK. Kabi was the other person that I spent heaps of time with. He's a great guy. Thanks to him, I managed to survive Sydney as well. It was in April that I knew that my time in Sydney was up and probably I won't be living in Sydney for a while. Another low in April, Derek passed on. We met in Perth and he and WK were friends. It was a shock to know that he passed on. But he's in heaven and in a better place now.

August, my move to HK. Well, it was hard when I tendered my resignation. It was a hard decision. Going to work was becoming a chore as I had issues with my principal but at the same time, I love some of my colleagues. I miss working with Sharon, Veron, Angie, Doreen, Ariel and heaps more. It was hard knowing that I had to go but at the same time, it's hard to say my goodbyes to everyone.

November, one of the hardest news that came to me. Sharon, my cousin has breast cancer. It's going to be hard for her as her family is in Spore. Bee, will be praying for you.

Here you go, my highs and lows. What are my resolutions for the new year? Sometimes, I hate the resolution making, it seems so silly, and there are years that I hate new year's eve. New year's eve is a time that I stop to take stock of my life. And the brutal truth is that, I hate doing that as there are times that I think that the year has been a failure for me. Yes, I admit, sometimes I push myself too hard in wanting more and more out of myself and I'm learning to let go and let God take care of me.

My resolutions, firstly is to understand God's directions and to follow and to grow in Him more. Secondly, to take time to spend with WK and to take time to talk and just spend quality time with him and lastly...to lose weight......losing weight is such a hard thing to do.

My prayer requests for the year. I've only 2. Firstly, for God to show WK and me, what's next in our lives. I've got about another year and half left on my contract and I'm trying very hard not to panic or to start worrying....but I do wonder what are God's plans for WK and me. The next prayer request, adopting a child. For a couple of years, I don't have desire to have any kids of my own but rather I've a desire to adopt a child. Pray for wisdom and pray for the right time to adopt a child.

My wish for the year, sounds very cliche...But it's world peace. Even as I'm writing this, reports of bomb blast in Bangkok is on the news. It's hard to comprehend why would people want to hurt others....and in malicious ways.

In a couple of hours, we'll be on the plane back to HK. The time back to Spore has been very well spent. Family and friends, if I've missed you, I'm really sorry. I'll be back for CNY and promise, this time, I'll try to catch up with you. And I still didn't get to eat everything that I want....Hmmm....wonder if there's any possibility to get nasi bryani at 4 in the morning....maybe I can tapao back to HK.....