Defense of the Ancients (D.O.T.A.)

I think most of us have heard of DOTA before. It's basically a Warcraft III custom map that allows 1 team of players to play against another team. Each player is able to choose a hero that has his or her own unique strengths and abilities.

I first bought the game about 2 months back, and started playing quite regularly here and there.

Till date, somehow, I still have not really mastered the game. For reasons unknown, the team that I'm in somehow usually lose.

The screen capture below shows one of the few times that I actually won, and I managed to get some good items (come on, it wasn't easy for me to get a Butterfly).


And I actually did pretty average as compared to other players (I'm ranked 4th below).

There's something inside me that always want to win. Hence, I get very frustrated when I lose games, even computer games like DOTA. I had never liked admitting that I'm bad at something.

I have come to a conclusion: My dota skills are really quite bad, despite consistent practise.

But honestly, so what if I always win in DOTA? That's just a virtual world and there's no prizes for it (unless I'm so good I play in WCG & win!!). I would prefer to be able to succeed in real-life.

I should focus my energy and competitive spirit in other areas of my life - like how to become a good & inspiring teacher. I think that's something that's more worthwhile to pursue.

Perhaps we should all stop and ponder: Is there anything in my life that I'm going after blindly? Is this thing worthwhile?




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10.. 9.. 8.. 7.. 6.. 5.. 4.. 3.. 2.. 1.. Merry Christmas!!!

Yesterday night, I did something that I haven't done for a long long time.

I went to Orchard Road for Christmas Countdown.


I actually accompanied some students who came from China (and are going to NUS soon) down to Orchard Road.

It was really really crowded. I haven't been in such a crowd for a very long time. I think the last countdown that I went was like 5 years ago.

There were a good mix of older people (like me) and younger people (like you!). There were also people from different races as well as nationalities. And many of us were spraying that foam-can all over the place. The moment someone start "shooting", a mini-war broke out, and everyone "shot" at each other. It was kinda chaotic actually.

But, everyone gathered at Orchard Road just to do one thing: To celebrate Christmas!!

We all sang the classical Christmas carols and had a lot a lot of fun.

A season of giving.
A season of love.
A season of family.
A season of peace.
A season of thanksgiving.
A season of joy.

That's what Christmas means to me. =)








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Merry Christmas!!

We wish you a Merry Christmas!

We wish you a Merry Christmas!

We wish you a Merry Christmas!

And a Happy New Year!!!

I'm sure everyone has heard of this Christmas carol before. And not to forget, there are so many other classics like Jingle Bells, Deck the Halls, Silent Night, etc. All of which, I really enjoyed singing them since I was young.




This year 2006, what is it that you want to have for this festive season? Why don't you drop a tag and share with us.

For me, my Chirstmas wishes are
1) I can spend this festive season with my family & girlfriend.
2) I can have a good rest before NIE term starts again in Jan.

3) I can have a new sling bag (Crumpler one?).

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Wantan Mee...

A few nights ago, I did something really quite impulsive. It was 11:30pm. I was hungry and was on my way home in my car.

I really had a craving to eat something. Finally, I remembered that there's a good wantan mee stall at Dumman Road Food Market. Since I was near, I went there and parked my car, and decided to tabao wantan mee home.

When I went to the stall to order, the auntie told me that I have to wait at least 25 mins for my wantan mee.

25 mins!! Wah seh!! I was a bit double-minded.. I wanted to go home and rest coz I was quite tired. But the very thought of the wantan mee made me drool and I told the auntie that I would wait.

I sat down at a table and drank a cup of kopi as I waited. While waiting, I suddenly find myself like quite silly. "What the heck am I doing near midnight waiting for wantan mee?" Focusing my mind on the food, I banished every negaitve thought from my mind.

After almost 30 mins of insufferable waiting, finally, the yummy yummy wantan mee came!! I paid the money and went home quickly as I was tired and hungry and I wanted to eat at home in my air-conditioned room. The photo above shows my wantan mee.

When I reached home, within 10 mins, whatever that you see in the photo was gone. All in my stomach. I was like a bit duh... After a short while later, the taste began to fade in my mouth, and I felt kind of empty.

For a moment, while I was eating the food, I was really happy. Then the next moment, I found myself feeling quite silly why I waited 30 mins for a bowl of wantan mee when it was so late at night and I was so tired.

I thought about it.. I realized that sometimes, without thinking, I just go for things that give me instant gratification. Yes, it might be enjoyable, but it lasted only for a moment. After that, emptiness just sank in and I kind of regretted wasting time over it.

For myself, I think I would want to go for things that will last longer. And not just instant gratification.



On a side note, the wantan mee auntie actually told me to call in to order wantan mee before going there to collect. That will minimize waiting time. The name card below shows it all.








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Best Magic Show in Town!!

I'M SO EXCITED!!!

The best magic show cum musical is back! This Christmas season, come and experience one of the best shows in Singapore! MAGIC OF LOVE!!!!

It's really a very good show!! And its tickets are going at very affordable price.


Don't miss this chance to catch this very exciting magic show!! Lawrence and Priscilla have gone to many different countries - including different parts of China and Japan to perform.

The Magic of Love has gotten many many great comments from everyone who watched it. And it has even helped improved ties between Singapore and Japan.


Check out the sawing bodies, levitating objects, head removals and of course, not forgetting the Death Trap!! And besides, Magic of Love is also about a heart-warming story of a father's love for his daughter.

For more details, visit http://www.fcbc.org.sg/christmas/ If you want to watch the magic show, please don't hesitate to contact me. Can drop me a tag also.

Below are some nice photos of the Magic of Love...

Synopsis (from Magic of Lawrenance )
"In the story, Lawrence and Priscilla are brilliant magicians. The dark side of fame eventually turns Priscilla’s head and she wants more - stardom, her own show, and big money. She spurns her father Lawrence and finds a new partner in Charlie, unknowingly entwining herself in a sinister plot.

‘Magic of Love’ features the Table Of Death, a 200 pound table of heavy steel spikes held by a single rope which when cut, comes crashing down on a chained and shackled Lawrence with a chilling boom. Will Lawrence be able to escape and cheat death, or will this be his gory end?"

Long Awaited Genung Ledang Trip Photos..

Ice Tales - Have It Your Way!!!

Ice Cream for Sale!!
1 Scoop with 2 topping -> $1
3 Scoops with 3 toppings -> $3

Mocktail for Sale!!
Blue Temptation -> $2
Chocolate Black Cow -> $2
...

As mentioned before, last Saturday, my NIE GESL group went to sell ice-cream and mocktails at Ngee Ann Civic Plaza (in front of Taka) at Orchard Road. (For those who don't know, NIE means the place where teachers are trained, and GESL is some kind of service learning project group.)

It was actually the Children's Charity Bazaar, whereby all the money earned from all the stalls will be given back to various charity organisations. My GESL group was able to secure 2 stalls (thanks to our dear Adrian and Huilian!!) to sell things, as part of our service-learning project.

We actually had 4 youths to help us with selling the products. They are Kenny, Yu Pei, Ron and Elmo!! Special thanks to all their effort and help in making the whole thing a huge success. You guys ROCKS!!

Yah, we enjoyed quite good business. We managed to sell off quite a number of tubs of ice-creams, and many many cups of mocktails. It was really great to see the youths try their best to satisfy all the customers. Below is a photo of my parents and sister who came to show support! Check out the nice stall behind in the photo.





I really think that the Charity Bazaar is something very meaningful. I hope that next year, I will have a stall too. Of course, I will get people to help me. Check out my stall next year, folks!! =)

(I promise more photos to be up. I will get photos from Adrian and Yong Heng when I see them.)

10km Standard Chartered Run...

Last Sunday morning, I went for the Standard Chartered Marathon (SCM). Heh, in case you're wondering, nope, I didn't run the full marathon (42km!). I only ran 10km. Yeah, there's 3 categories for SCM - 42km, 21km and 10km.

Actually, I ran last year too. 10km as well. But the difference is that, this year, I ran in a group. There were 11 of us!! When one of us was tired, we would slow down, encourage him, and then go on together. We even had a lot of fun taking photos along the way.

Well, I realized that running a race in a group is really different. There's strength in unity. When a team of like-minded people gather together and run after a common dream wholeheartedly, I'm sure they can achieve it. Exactly like DTFW (previous posting).

Special thanks to the following people who ran with me: Wai Mun, Tung Ying, Stephen, Junhao, Charles, Yao Tian, Weijie, Junwei, Jerome and Kenneth.

I'm really proud of Kenneth!! He's only 15 years old and was willing to go for 10km run! Amazing for his age (he's not in track & field in school, by the way)!!

Dream. Team. Fight. Win.

As mentioned before, I went Genung Ledang with the RI/RJC basketball team last week. Unfortunately, I didn't bring my camera along. Jonathan, their assistant coach has all the photos. When I have them, I will add them into the blog. =)

Something that I really remembered from the trip was when the coach, Yeang Cherng had a good talk with the whole basketball team - including the 'A' Div, 'B' Div and 'C' Div guys. He told them of how he started building the team from scratch. And he reminded them again what the 4 key principles are: "Dream. Team. Fight. Win."

I was really inspired by what he said. I personally believe that in life, we can accomplish almost anything if we follow those 4 principles.

Very often, we have a misconception. When a team of people gather, we always ask everyone for opinions and consensus as to what to accomplish or achieve. It doesn't always work this way because we would probably end up doing something that is easy and convenient for everyone.

But, when the person in authority or the team leader sets a DREAM, those that are willing to go for that dream, form a TEAM around it, then great things can happen. Because there is a common dream for everyone, the team members will be willing to let go of their own personal interests.

When we have such a team, then we can FIGHT for the dream. And we can finally WIN!

To sum it up, to do something great:

1) Have a big DREAM.
2) Get a TEAM of people around the dream.
3) FIGHT for the dream.
4) WIN it!

LiFe uPDates

I haven't being blogging these few days.

It's not because I've lost interest in blogging.

It's not because I'm going to shutdown my blog.

It's not because I was sick.

It's because I've being real busy.

Last week, I went to Genung Ledang with the RI and RJC basketball team. Their coach is someone i know and he asked me to go along with him to help take care of the guys.

Then on Sat, I was selling ice-cream with some youths from Yishun SCS (Student Care Centre) at the Children Charity Bazaar at Ngee Ann City.

Today, I ran 10km for Standard Chartered Marathon 2006! Oh boy!! I'm so exhausted.. Need a good rest soon.

For the next few days, I will post more about the above events that I've went through. Akan Datang!!

Why do I want to be a teacher?

That's a question that many people have asked me. These people ranged from the MOE interviewers, to my friends and to my family members.

I think every teacher must really ask themselves that.

Honestly, there can be many reasons. And there's really no right or wrong. It's just a matter of opinion.

For instance,

1) Some go into teaching because it pays well.

2) Some go into teaching because it is a stable job (iron rice bowl).

3) Some go into teaching because they simply love teaching.

4) Some go into teaching because they love children and youths.

It is true that money and job stability can be part of the reasons why we choose teaching, but if they are our main source of our motivation, I think it's hard to last long in the education scene. Perhaps that holds true for every job too.

We need to be passionate about the job that we have. Then we can last long.

I really respect those senior teachers, who have taught for so many years. I believe most of them really have the passion for it.

Well, I chose teaching because I want to be MAD - Make A Difference to my students (positively, of course, I hope)!

Keep On Persevering & Inspiring Community

Last Friday evening, we had our first every KOPI-C Event at Touch Centre! For those who don't know, KOPI-C stands for "Keep On Persevering & Inspiring Community", and it's for teachers-to-be or actual teachers. The event was very successful, and we saw more than 50 teachers turning up for it!!!

It was really a nice evening of sharing by established teachers. We were very honoured to have Shirley (a President Award for Teachers receiptent), Lay Leng (Most Caring Teacher Award recepitent) and Daryl (Maths level head of Yusof Ishak Sec) to share with us their valuable teaching experiences and philosophies.

Our Inspirational Teachers!!! -> Lay Leng, Shirley and Daryl

It was truly an inspirational evening! And a relaxing one too!! There will be more KOPI-C events in the future. Last Friday was just a start. We will keep everyone informed. Remember to visit the KOPI-C Blog for latest updates!

Below are some photos of last Friday's event!! =)

Our Wonderful Receptionists!! -> Kelly & Melissa

Our Eloquent MC!! -> Debbie

My Friends and I!! -> Me, Yi Fei, Tze Kun, Ronghua, Heng Leng & Junhao

Our Memorable Door Gifts!! Thanks to Issac and Melissa Quah

Good food on that day too!!

姜(jiang)还是老的辣

For the sake of those who's not very proficient in Chinese, the literal translation of "姜还是老的辣" is that an old ginger (姜 jiang) is more spicy than a young ginger. Basically what it means is that someone who's older, would have an edge over someone who's younger.


Today I just went for my appointment at CGH to see the skin specialist. The skin specialist that I iniitally saw was a gentleman who's around mid-thirties. He doesn't seemed very sure of my condition. He told me what he think might have happened. Then he asked me to go and see the senior doctor opposite his room later. Obviously I was quite surprised.

I waited for a while, and the nurse led me into another room. There was a much older doctor, who's a consultant in his sixties (means very very senior doctor), and the young doctor whom I initially saw was there too. The consultant took a look at my rashes, and asked me a few questions. Then he was quite sure of my condition, and he used me to teach the young doctor what happened. The latter listened patiently.

I was very intrigued by the whole process - that the older doctor was imparting his experience to the young doctor and the young doctor was listening patiently. The photo belows show a good mix of old and young doctors.
I think that older people really have a lot of experience & wisdom that we young people don't have (yah, I'm quite young too, haha). If we willing to be humble and learn from them, we would be able to avoid some of the mistakes they have made before.

I Not Stupid... Err.. Intelligent

Today, I just did an online Multiple Intelligence test. The result for the test is shown above. For those who don't know, there's this guy called Howard Gardner who believes that people have Multiple Intelligences (MI). He categorized them as Intrapersonal, Interpersonal, Music, Natualistic, Body/Kinesthetic, Visual/Spatial, Mathematics and Linguistic.

For example, in my test, it says that I'm someone whose strengths are in interpersonal skills (means I can relate to people well) and mathematics (which implies I'm logical). I think those two things are good to have as I'm going to be a teacher. But of course, my weaknesses are in the areas of linguistic (which means I can't write or speak very well) or and music (yah, I'm tone deaf).

You can find out more about yourself. Try it!! Do the test at this website.

My leader in church shared this with me, which I found to be very true. After knowing which intelligences we are weak at, it doesn't mean that we become resigned to it. Instead, we should actually work hard at it.

In life, we might suddenly be thrown into situations whereby we need to make use of the intelligences that we're weakest at. If we can persevere on, we might see improvements. And even if we didn't improve much in that area, our character will grow because we persevere.

Intelligences and giftings are good. But a strong character is even better.

Good News & Bad News

As we all know, there has always been friction between Vatican City and Israel.

One day, the Israelites wanted to organize a friendly golf game with the Vaticans so as to ease tensions between the two states. The Vaticans came together and disucssed who to send for the golf game. They really wanted to win and beat the Israelites.

One Vatican cardinal suggested, "I heard that there's this very good golf player by the name of Jack Nicklaus. Why don't we make him a cardinal and get him to represent us against the Israelites? With him on our side, we sure can win."

Hence, Jack Nicklaus became Cardinal Jack Nicklaus. He went for the golf game and came back to report to the Pope later on. He told the Pope, "I have one good news and one bad news for you, your Holiness. Which one do you want to listen to first?"

"Good news, of course!" the Pope replied.

"I had a great golf game that day. My shots were accurate and my driving was fantastic. In fact, I think that must have been one of the best games I had ever played!"

"That's wonderful! Then what is the bad news?" the Pope pressed on.

"Well, I still lost the golf game by 3 strokes to Rabbi Tiger Woods."


'Sometimes, we are given both good news and bad news. We often just want to hear the good news and ignore the bad news. But the fact remains, we need both the good and the bad news to give us a complete picture of what's happening.'

Rashes, rashes, rashes...

I have been down with rashes for the past few days. My upper body is filled with many many many small & itchy red spots.

To be honest, I can't bear to look at myself in the mirror without any shirt or t-shirt. And I can't help but scratch them sometimes.

I went to a private doctor 2 days ago. The doctor gave ne some cream to apply and some pills to take. However, both medication didn't help.

Today, I couldn't take it any more. I decided to go to a polyclinic and get a referral to see a skin specialist.

I was at the polyclinic and the doctor told me that I might only be able to see the skin specialist next year because of the long queue. I was shocked. Next year.. Gosh.

However, when the nurse helped me make my appointment, I was in for a plesant surprise. I was actually able to get an appointment next Thursday at CGH. I was so thankful for it!! :)

I have decided that I will not let my circumstances overcome me. But I will overcome my circumstances. I choose not to allow the itchy rashes on my body stop me from performing my daily routines. (Yah, but I will not be silly and do anything that will make me sweat as that would make my rashes worse)

On top of that, I'm really glad and thankful that I can see the skin specialist next Thursday, and not next year. Somebody once told me, "In life, pain is inevitable. But misery is a choice".

Are you living in misery now because of some unplesant circumstances? Choose to overcome them instead. Choose to see the positive out of the negative.

Be like an eagle and soar above every circumstance.

Perservere on & Serve!!

Yesterday morning, I brought a group of youths to Toa Payoh to clean the homes of some elderly people. The first house that we went to belonged to a Malay lady.

As she can only converse in Malay, she couldn't understand us and we couldn't understand her much. Communication was a problem indeed. But thank God she let us in and we were able to clean her house.

However, it wasn't easy. She tried to tell one of the youths, Timothy how she wants the toilet to be cleaned. Due to communication problem, we couldn't really understand her. She was quite frustrated and sometimes will raise her voice. The youths and I tried to be as patient as possible and do what she wants us to do.

Eventually, at the end, the Malay lady saw that we were sincere about serving her and she was really very thankful for us. "Terimah Kasih" she repeated again and again. We were also glad that she was glad. We then came together and took a nice photo. It was a very good experience for all of us.

In life, there will be many people that we meet who appear unloveable at first. But if we perservere on and serve them, they'll eventually know that we care, and change. For me, as I'm going to be a teacher soon, I know that I will definitely meet students that are not so easy to handle. But if I perservere on and serve them, they will know that I truly care.

Do you have anyone in mind that appears unloveable? (Especially your family members) If so, perserve on and serve!

Community Living

All these photos were taken on the day of my graduation earlier this June in NUS. As I look at them, I was really reminded of my NUS days.

I realised that all of the friends that I took photos with, they have touched my life one way or another. I really want to say a very big THANK YOU!!

As I reflect, it is really true. We need to be in a community. I had a great community of friends when I was in NUS. Life wasn't boring at all while I was there. In fact, it was filled with joy and laughter despite all the tests and exams.

Are you in a community that gives you hope, strength and encouragement when you truly need it?

For all the teachers out there, the KOPI-C event is really to help us build a community of teachers who will share our experiences (good or bad) and be an encouragement to one another. It is simply not easy to be a good teacher nowadays. We need one another! (Haha.. Resources sharing is also important of coz!)

Come and drink KOPI-C!!

Dear teachers, are you apprehensive about going to school everyday? Are you tired out my classroom management rather than finding joy in teaching? Are you running out of creative juices for lesson plans? ..... Don't drown your sorrows alone! Come check out KOPI-C!

Teaching is no longer a lonesome routine with KOPI-C, where teachers can gather, share ideas and encourage each other as they journey together in their teaching career.

Inviting all teachers out there!!! Come along for a chill out session with fellow teachers on 17th November 2006!

Limited seats available. $5 per person. Cool drinks and cool food. A time of fun, laughter and inspiration. Networking among fellow teachers (gathering of FUN teachers).

Not to be missed! Register by 9th Nov 2006 via email! Drop and email to Guanghan at kinchio@yahoo.com

Give me a 2nd chance...

Today, as I was driving home late at night, I wanted to get home as quickly as possible. I stopped my car at a junction, waiting to turn right.

There was this car in front of me. When it was time for us to turn right and go, the car in front didn't move at all. At first, I thought the driver didn't know that he can go. Hence I flashed (or highbeamed) him once to get his attention.

Now, that didn't work. I became a bit irritated. I flashed him a few more times, and when there's still no response, I sounded my car-horn a few times. It became clear that the driver made a mistake. He wanted to go straight, but he stopped at the lane that only allows right-turning.

I was thinking that even if he did make a mistake, he should still turn right. That's the traffic rules, in a sense. I flashed and horned him a few more times, hoping that he would co-operate.

To my horror, instead of turning right, the car in front went straight ahead when it was still red light (to go straight)!! The driver actually broke the law. After that, I quickly turn my car to the right and went home.

Upon relfection, I realized that I was pressurizing the driver to either turn right (which is what he didn't want) or go straight ahead. I thought the driver wouldn't break the law even if I flashed and horned him. I was wrong. He actually did. I could have indirectly caused an accident.

Couldn't I just be patient and wait for the next time the traffic light turns green for me to turn right again? Perhaps the driver in front wasn't familiar with the roads in that area, and hence made that mistake. I myself do make many horrendous mistakes when I'm in unfamiliar territory. Perhaps, I can just give him a second chance.

In life, too often than not, we don't give people chance to explain. We judged and condemmed far too fast. And that might cause them to do something rash and unexpected. Today's incident taught us that we need to give others a second chance. Furthermore, sometimes we ourselves can be the one who needs that second chance.

Would you give another person a second chance?

Today is a Gift

Somebody once told me, that today is a gift, that's why we call it the present.

To be honest, after 25 years, I come to realized that life can be very unexpected at times. I have experienced first hand what it means by "Life is like a box of chocolates. You will never know what you are going to get".

Well, some of the surprises in life can be pleasant, whereas others are seemingly not so pleasant. But sometimes, those not-so-pleasant surprises can turn out for the better, beyond anyone's expectations. =)

This blog is created to share with you some of my daily happenings and my thoughts. If my language is poor, please forgive me. After all, I'm less linguistic than most people.

Today, I just want to share with you an interesting story that my Physics lecturer in NIE told me:

"Long long ago, there was this king, and he had a very wise servant. He will always seek advice from this servant and the latter has never failed to give the king good advice and comments.

One day, the king went hunting, and he brought along some of his soldiers. The wise servant followed as well. While hunting halfway, the king was so eager to go after the animals that he lost his way, and was suddenly alone.

Out of nowhere, a dog came out and attacked the king! The king was alarmed but he was too slow in evading the dog's attacks. Eventually, the dog bit his finger, and ran away. The king's finger was severely infected and when the soldiers found him, they had to cut the king's finger off. The king looked at the wise servant and asked him, 'Is this a good or bad omen?'.

'Good or bad, hard to tell, my Lord, ' said the wise servant.

What kind of answer is that?? The king was so furious that he threw his servant into the dungeons.

A few weeks later, the king went hunting again with his men. Again, he was over-enthusiastic and lost his way. This time, a band of cannibals appeared and surrounded the king. They tied him to a stake and was getting ready to barbeque him.

All of a sudden, the cannibal chief stopped the procession. He told his fellow cannibals that they cannot eat this person because he is not perfect. He only had 9 fingers!! Digusted at the king, the cannibals released him.

Upon reaching the palace, the first thing the king did was to set his wise servant free. He realized that if he didn't have his finger cut off, he will be eaten by the cannibals. What his wise servant said about 'Good or bad, hard to tell' actually make sense.

When the wise servant met the king, the king apologised for throwing him into the dungeon. But the wise servant said this 'My Lord, thank you for throwing me into the dungeon. If you hadn't done so, I will be with you when the cannibals came and they will eat me alive since they can't eat you.' "

Hence, let's cherish everyday, and even if unpleasant surprises happen, take it in the positive light. Remember, "Good or bad, hard to tell".