Painful RM20 Lesson

Several months ago, I noticed people placing their parking tickets, untabbed (holes not punched) on the windscreen of their car. I then noticed that when the ticketing lady (or man) came long, he/she would take the ticket and punch the appropriate holes. If you happen to come back before this happens, you just manage to save 20 cents and will be able to use the same ticket the next time you parked. I decided to do the same and it worked! I saved a bunch of parking tickets and had to pay almost nothing. Then a few days ago, next to the unpunched parking ticket on my windscreen was a summon ('offer to compond' was the phrase on the white note) under Article 10 (1)!!! I got fined RM20 for not punching holes into the ticket!!! Well, I guess I learnt my painful RM20 lesson.

Living passionately

I'm a sucker for anything positive, anything that encourages me to live my life to the fullest and to do what I desire/dream of doing. Came across this excerpt in my readings today and I thought I'll post it up as it may remind and encourage you too to use the one life you have doing what you are passionate about:

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade wind in your sails. Explore. Dream Discover - Mark Twain

Discover what you are passionae about so that you can live with greater significance!

Of homework and teachers

Two interesting ideas/comments that came out of a teachers meeting some time ago; I thought I'll post it up here for you to read, ponder as well as comment and for me to return to one day to write about it or to make a study and then act on it. Here it goes:

1. Purpose of homework:

• preparation for what's coming
• practice for what's been taught
• provocation for creative ideas/solutions

2. Teachers look after the

• lost
• least
• last

(so forget about wanting good students to teach . . .)

Balance for Success

According to Mahatma Gandhi, the seven things that will destroy us are

1. wealth without work
2. pleasure without conscience
3. knowledge without character
4. commerce without morality
5. science without humanity
6. worship without sacrifice and
7. politics without principle

Balance IS important and Gandhi hit it on the head with his observations. Good on you Gandhi and to the rest of us, make sure you have both of each. Success!

(This information came from Tessie Lim in her article "Tale of seven desires" published in Sunday People, New Sunday Times)

Successful Seminar

On the 20th of September I was given an opportunity to speak to over 200 students from Universiti Teknologi Mara, Office Management and Technology Faculty, Kuching, at the Grand Continental Hotel.

Organized by the Grandeur group (Part 4 students), the seminar entitled “Journey to a Successful Life” provided me with an excellent opportunity to present a module I’ve prepared and used in the past. The two hour talk went smoothly as the students were motivated to listen and I was excited to share.

In short, the students learnt that in order to live a successful life they had to:

a. Desire to live and to live successfully
b. Know the rules of success
c. Have instructors (mentors) to guide them on the journey
d. Experience many tests – some to fail them, some to help them move up
e. Continuously practice – create habits of success

Everyone involved were very helpful and courteous, well dressed and well mannered. I am thankful for the gifts given and even the chance to break fast with all the participants – the food was delicious.

At this seminar, I also introduced my latest book “Dapatkan Semua Yang Anda Mahu” and many of the students were happy to fork out the RM2.50 needed to get hold of another book that will help them along the journey to a successful life.

My latest book - email me to get a copy or help me distribute it

Alls well when its in the open

I went clean with my students (of the last posting) and was surprised to hear that most of the 'fault' did not lie with me. Instead it was the subject, the time and the condition of the students.

Even so, I could have made things better if I improved in the following areas:

• change of goal - from giving information to know in order to pass exams to information to discover and improve general knowledge
• lessen amount of me talking and increase more ops for students to talk
• use of multi-media

It's good to correct my wrong thinking - instead of blaming myself to finding what I can change to improve and then doing it. May this class be better next year with the changes I will be making - for my sake and sanity!

A desire too far to be achieved?

I am once again in the pit of despair, all huffing and puffing about a condition I am so terribly upset about – the open rejection and apathy of some students.

I have come to my end in being patient with them, in believing the best of them, in giving them a zillion chances.

I trudge on every week, trying to get their attention and participation but its all in vain. I have given up . . .

I feel so discouraged and angry – this is the first time where I have been rejected, humiliated and disrespected by a collective group of students. I feel such a failure and am so angry with myself for not being able to get the interest and attention of the class, what more to help them learn some interesting and helpful information.

I am also concerned and saddened at the level of apathy shown by the students. It is indeed the world of the handphone, the ipod and the internet. Their whole world rotates these items, creating a make-believe world – the world of the internet, the world of music and the world of hedonistic debauchery. And if these are the leaders of tomorrow . . .

My only prayer is that the world (the real world) will come down hard on them soonest, awakening these students from their tranquilized state to the issues and important things of life so that they can be truly great and good. May they have the qualities of the great men and women of the past, worthy of awe and respect for truly great reasons and not because of the song and dance they can do, the cool parties they can hold or the useless victories from cyber games they constantly play.

(The contents of this post have been changed to meet a request from someone whom I respect and am under authority to . . .)

A lesson on fear

The day I dreaded finally arrived by no choice of mine. The last tooth on my upper left jaw finally decided to leave – it began to wobble and the gums surrounding it became sore; not to mention the pain it produced that travelled through every tooth.

I picked up all the courage I had, waited patiently for my turn to see the doctor (3 hours) and finally got the tooth extracted.

Why all the fuss? In one word – PAIN or better still the fear of imagined pain.

And that was what surprised me in the end – it wasn’t anywhere as painful as I had imagined and made it to be.

First the gum area surrounding the rogue tooth was sprayed with an ice cold burst of something from a small can which looked something like a mini mosquito spray can. I assumed this was to numb my gums. Then the dreaded long needle appeared. As I braced myself for searing pain from the stabs made with the needle, I felt a one second sharp bite sensation and that was it – the doctor had jabbed me several times but I felt almost nothing. After waiting for several minutes, the famous metal pliers appeared. “Raise your hand if you feel any pain” the doctor instructed as she grasped my tooth. I waited for the pain, the tugging and pulling, the grunts from the doctor as she struggles to dislodge my tooth. Instead there was nothing and a few seconds later I hear her say: “OK, it’s done.” And that was it.

This is definitely a classic example of what fear really is – a false perception of an expected evil based on past experiences that are no longer valid. My childhood experiences of painful tooth extractions were no longer real and dentistry has progressed so much since I was in that school dental clinic in Terengganu. I guess I have to update my information and paint better scenarios in the future. I’ll need it because I know this will not be my last visit to the dentist.

I Spoke . . .

In the last few weeks I have had two great opportunities to speak.

The first was on Sunday, May 25, 2008 at 3:00pm at bing! coffee in Kuching at an informal event named Words-Worth! It is a spoken word event, organised to showcase the creative talent of wordsmiths in and from Kuching. I was one of the few feature performers (the others were Robert Raymer, Azreen Zahira, Victor Lim, Georgette Tan). I had the opportunity to read aloud a few pages from my latest book (to be published My Monkey Year). It was nerve wrecking (my first time) but was a learning experience and an eye opener. Click here to read a brief write-up of the event.

Then I was in Kuala Lumpur from the 6th - 8th of June for a Youth Cocert/Seminar where I was the key speaker for the two nights and I also conducted two workshops on Saturday (Dealing With Peer Pressure and Purity In A Boy-Girl Relationship).

From the comments of two bloggers (click here and here to read their blogs) it seemed to have been well received. The organisers also verbally expressed their pleasure. I'm thankful God has helped me speak well and bless many.

Working . . . for good

All seems to be going well because I am going and going and going . . . My days are full with teaching - at school, at home and other places of learning, not to mention church. With much to do and anticipated 'blessings' from all this hard 'work', I find I have little time to be depressed and have a higher level of anticipation of goodcoming my way. Life is good . . . if you work at it. SMILE!

Teacher's Hell

Came across this funny video of how a teacher can be bullied to the point of torture. Thankful my students have a level of respect and decency to not stoop so low. Anyway, it is funny, so enjoy!

Depression Unplugged

Anger and frustration. That was the root cause of my most recent depression. I was angry and frustrated about certain things and instead of taking control and dealing with them, I took the path of "I am a poor victim" and suppressed the increasing anger thus creating my latest dark cloud. I am thankful (again) to my wife for her wise comment, which helped me see my folly. I then decided to take action, be in control and do what I must to deal with the things that I was angry about. That was on Saturday. Guess what? It's Monday and I'm feeling much better. may the sun rise and shine again and as I take control of my thoughts and actions, I look forward to happy days again. Thanks to those who posted comments to encourage me - it's good to know there are people who care.

Still in the dumps

Looks like another depression cycle has begun for me as I'm still feeling down - sighing, lack motivation, lips and facial muscles dragged down to the floor. It doesn't help by coming down with a viral infection (sore throat, running nose, painful joints etc) and having to complete the first term exam marking and recording that has begun. Just so tired and depressed.
How I wish for a smile in my heart that will spill over on to my face bringing a bright smile and a happy countenance.
You know what I really wish to do - sit down and write the many articles I would like to do (and have collected info for them), continue writing my autobiography and the new Malay book I am attempting to do; all this in a spacious cool room with lovely soft music . . . aaah! Heaven!

Troubled and Pressured

The last few days I have been a walking zombie-in-the-making. My mind is clouded and feels its packed in a tight crate, enveloped a a thick grey numbing mist. I am often sighing, yawning or frowning. As one student observed, "You don't smile anymore." There has been a sudden increase in financial demands (certain things broke down or got spoilt so have to be replaced) and a few opportunities to speak (but this means demand on time to research and face the computer for example) - maybe these are the reasons why I am down in the dumps (an appropriate term, this word dump - not a nice place to be in :( ) I know I will pull out of this, move away from the dump and begin living it up again in abundance and blessings seasoned with lots of good and happiness. See you at the top!

Down but not (trying to be) out

It's finally here - the exhaustion of 'teacher work' - it has finally caught up and I'm feeling drained and zombie-like, just floating into classes and mumbling information without much thought or connectivity to the lesson, the students or to my self. I've got stuck in a boring rut with some of my classes/lessons and feel discouraged to get up and do something new and exciting to add necessary zing to the lesson and me. I just wish I need not be there in these lessons to teach - the subject matter is boring, the students indifferent and uninterested. Yet, it is the challenge I must overcome, the Goliath I must slay, the chance to be great which I must embrace . . . I am in the process of becoming an excellent teacher with amazing teaching skills in an amazingly entertaining and mentally stimulating class (how's that for a positive confession - yeah!!!)

Road to Perdition

One of the constant source of frustration, anger and potential destruction of my car is the road leading in to my farm house. It is constantly in bad shape, thanks to our heavy rainfall almost everyday, rough use by big 4X4 wheels of my neighbours car and a badly created 'road'. It usually ends up as a river for the rain water to flow away and a meeting place for mud and sand.

Upon entering the 'road' to my farm house you are greeted by several large holes that just grows deeper and larger by the day.

You then have to turn right uphill facing a slope of slippery mud and again several sink mud-holes. Next its a slope down that is slippery and muddy - does wonders to your car's suspension.

Lastly, its the final stretch to my house through the valley of the rut of mud - beware the rocks may scrape the bottom of the car.

And speaking of car, this is how my car looks like after every trip back home. Thank God it's still in one piece!

Anyone willing to help repair this road? I know it costs a 'bomb' to repair and I suspect you need to know what you are doing if this problem is to be rectified correctly. Till then its drive carefully, pray hard and fill up the holes with whatever stones I can find/buy. Happy driving!

New kid on the farm

A few Sundays ago, just a minute or so after my wife and I arrived at the goat house in our farm, our she goat gave birth to a blonde, cute kid (i.e. baby goat) with birth sac, blood and all (just like in the National Geographic documentaries). My wife has decided to call him (yup, it's a male) Snowy because he has a white patch on his forehead and him being blonde like a 'white man'. Now we have 4 goats on the farm - 3 males and 1 female.

Robbed . . . finally

I guess it was something just waiting to happen sooner or later - my car was broken into today at around 3pm when I was buying something from a supermarket nearby. Strangely, when I stepped out of the car, I felt that it was a suitable target for a break in and so I took a large storybook and covered my portable CD player that was at the back of the car (it was rather obvious) not noticing my wife's handbag on the front passenger seat. You guessed it - the thief (thieves) smashed the front passenger door window, put his hand in (assuming it's a he) and took the bag plus my wife's handphone nearby. That's all that was missing but I'm sure I had it coming. My car is my second home and with so many things in it, it was just a matter of time plus a dropping of my guard and wham! a perfect piece of tantalizing crime bait. Anyway, I'm glad it was only a handbag and handphone. The thieves missed a lot of other valuables littered all over my car (valuable to me I mean). I also have my car and the repairs didn't cost a bomb. So it's okay! For the thief (or thieves) a little prayer commending them to a just God to punish suitably and justly either in this life or the next was made (get what you deserve from God - He's the best avenger!). The crime level in Kuching is rising slowly but surely and I guess this is just another indication of it and a reminder to me to get my car in order and all the stuff I leave in it. How's your car?

Getting them to read

The increasing workload (tons of stuff to read and mark or write) its taking a toll on my mind - feel tight and about to explode; not to mention the headaches and a sense that my mind is shutting off. Even so, I press on and close my eyes to rest when it's too much.

Now to what i really want to write about - how to encourage reading. After scanning through a bunch of articles I collected from the Net, i have discovered 7 ways that seem to work:

1. read aloud books to those you desire to see reading. It seems that when good books are read out well, an interest is created to pick up a book and read it yourself.
2. present books as a treasure worth having. Reveal books true worth and teach 'them' to respect books.
3. make time for reading. Free time for reading makes room for books to be read.
4. pick up books you enjoy and find easy to read. Books must be enjoyable if it is to be read. Ditch those boring tomes you are struggling to overcome.
5. gossip books. Discuss what has been read with others; write reviews and create lists so others will be aware what is available and be tempted to read.
6. make books available. many don't read because the books they want are not available, to expensive to buy or just not within reach. Libraries should be well stocked and programs to give books out for free or recyling read books should be increased.
7. meet the author and have a person behind the book. Authors should make themselves known.

If you have any more ideas or want to build on my list, please do do. By the way, anyone here read a book you like or have a book you want to share?

Books to be read (Part 1)

Inspired by a book I read that encouraged me to visualize what I want and the request for a book list (see previous posting) I find myself looking up book lists (Top Ten, What I've Read, Best Reads, Best Sellers . . . you get the idea) to discover and 'claim' books I would like to own and read. First to be 'visualized' is Elizabeth Gilbert's 'intensely articulate, sensible, moving and funny memoir of self-discovery about what can happen when you claim responsibility for your own contentment'. Her book? Eat, Pray, Love.

The next book on my want-to-read list is Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace... One School at a Time by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. I think the following review reveals why this book would catch my interest: "Laced with drama, danger, romance, and good deeds, Mortenson's story serves as a reminder of the power of a good idea and the strength inherent in one person's passionate determination to persevere against enormous obstacles." Along the same line is this book I must get my hands on: Leaving Microsoft to Change the World: An Entrepreneur's Odyssey to Educate the World's Children by John Wood.

In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto by Michael Pollan would be a book I would like to read because it challenges me to eat what I don't like - greens! The book looks impressive.

What should I read?

One of my students, after making the comment that we share a similar interest when it comes to the books we read, suggested that I write for him a list of books that he could check out. I mulled over the idea and the more I thought about it, the more excited I got. Yes, why not a list - Peter's recommended books to read list. There's just so many books out there and searching for the right one to read can be difficult. Why not get someone who shares a similar interest suggest books they liked or like to have read - the chances of those books being suitable for you will be higher than if you had to rummage through bookshops searching for 'the book' to buy and read. So here it goes, my first list of books I read and I think you would enjoy reading too (if you had a similar interest):

1. Paulo Coelho - The Alchemist
2. All of Neil Gaiman's short stories
3. Dean Koontz for action, thrills and some gore
4. Sue Townsend's books on Adrian Mole to put a smile on your face
5. Stephen Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and First Things First to get your life in order
6. Jeffrey Archer's short stories - the best collection of short stories with surprising and delightful twists at the end of each well crafted tale
7. Mitch Albom's last 3 books to warm your heart and make you aware of what's really important in life
8. Bill Bryson's books that will help you learn about the world while you are laughing

If you are reading this, do post a comment on my list and even send me your list. What would you suggest students in secondary schools read? Happy reading!

A new year, a new 'being'

It been some time since I posted anything. The good news is I'm getting more excited and positive about teaching and am more positive overall. I also have had very few bouts with depression though I struugle hard to overcome feelings of fear over the lack/absence of money and the frustration of always having not enough. If you are reading this (I wonder why) please drop in a line - love to know who's reading my blog. Happy day . . .