An Adventure to Live

More than a week ago, something hit Singapore.

Remember in the past whereby people queued up for Hello Kitty! at MacDonald's?

But this time round, it's something different. More than 15,000 people queued up OVERNIGHT at Suntec City to get the World of Warcraft Expansion Pack.

15000!!!

I think majority of those people who are engrossed in playing World of Warcraft are guys. I know myself. If I have the game, I would be playing it a lot too.

What draws many guys to this game is that this game paints a fantasy world to them. This world is so huge that people can spend a lot a lot of time exploring it. Every moment is an adventure where you can kill enemies, form new alliances with other places and complete quests.

There is something that is inside guys that goes for adventures. Guys like to take risk. They like the thrill of it. Even if some guys don't enjoy playing World of Warcraft, things like roller coasters and viking boats do have appeal towards them.

The name of the blog of a very good friend of mine, Ee Jay, is "Life is either a daring adventure or nothing". On this blog, the key quote is by Theodore Roosevelt:

"Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorius triumphs, even though checkered by failure... than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat."

A Battle to Fight

Saving Private Ryan


Maximus (Gladiator)


Maverick (Top Gun)

John McClane (Die Hard)

William Wallace (Braveheart)

All of the above are famous male characters of movies. Movies that were blockbusters in their times. Some of the movies, you will probably know. The rest might not belong to your era.

Interestingly enough, each of those characters was either a solider, gladiator, pilot or cop. They all had battles to fight. There's so much passion in them that they were willing to lay down their lives. Some wanted vengenace. Some wanted freedom. Some wanted glory. But they all fight.

One of the toys that will always excite a small boy is of course the toy gun. And if he can't get his hands on a toy gun, he will probably just get some stick-like object (like the broom) and pretend it's a gun or a sword. He will be in a world of his own, looking for enemies to kill or dragons to slay.

And the cartoons a boy enjoy always involve some kind of fights and triumphs of good over evil. When I was young, my favourite cartoons include Transformers, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, X-Men, Batman and Spiderman.

I think that as guys, there's has always been something fierce deep within our hearts. Hence, every time we watch any of the above movies, there's always a longing to be like the main character.

In modern day society, it has always been taught that aggression is no good. Well, I feel that instead of curbing the aggression inside guys, we should turn it to become some kind of passion towards something more worthwhile.

And I'm not just talking about being passionate for sports. Even doing well in studies can be considered a battle for guys.

Guys, look for the right battles to fight for. And when you do find them, FIGHT.

I Want to be a Warrior!

A few months back, I was reading this book called "Wild at Heart" by John Eldredge.

In the book, I was really intrigued by many of the things the author wrote about guys.

In a nutshell, this book basically says that guys nowadays have often forgotten what it really meant to be like guys.

What the author is trying to say is that at the very core of every guy, there's something that's WILD.

I personally believe in the 3 wild characteristics that the author mentioned. I could really identify myself with them.



1. Guys need a Battle to Fight.


2. Guys need an Adventure to Live For.


3. Guys need a Beauty to Rescue.


For the next few postings, I will talk more about each of the above 3 characteristics.

I want to be a Warrior!

IS THERE A GAMING ADDICT IN YOUR HOME?

I love playing computer games. There's no doubt about it.

Thankfully, I'm not addicted to it. My belief is that it's okay to game once in a while, but don't get addicted.

The article below was on The Straits Time a few days ago. I hope that it'll enlighten us more on the topic of computer gaming addiction.


Jan 17, 2007 - The Straits Times
By Tan Hui Yee & Chua Hian Hou


IS THERE A GAMING ADDICT IN YOUR HOME?

It may start out looking like a harmless hobby, but for more and more Singaporean youths, video and computer games are becoming a serious obsession.

Five or six years ago, about one patient under the age of 19 admitted to the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) in a year would have problems associated with gaming or Internet addiction. Now, about 12 of the roughly 200 new young in-patients the institute sees every year need treatment for such problems, said Dr Daniel Fung, a senior consultant psychiatrist at the IMH's child guidance clinic.

The warning signs are varied, but not difficult to spot: withdrawal from social activity, worsening grades, restlessness when away from the computer and even outbursts of anger if prevented from playing games. The problem is significant enough that a new centre was opened in August last year to help young people truggling with game addictions. So far it has handled more than 40 cases. Touch Community Services, which runs this 'cyberwellness' centre in Bukit Merah, provides mentoring and counselling for young people and also works with their parents on the problem.

The rising number of cases comes as online video games like World Of Warcraft and MapleStory become more popular. A 2004 report by research firm IDC put the number of gamers here at more than one million.

In one case the centre saw last year, a secondary school boy had lost touch with many of his friends after moving to a new estate and resorted to online gaming to get to know people. According to Touch's cyberwellness and sports manager, Mr Poh Yeang Cherng, the boy eventually became hooked, spending more than 12 hours a day playing the game MapleStory. Once an extrovert, the boy turned moody, his grades slipped and he began playing truant. After the boy went for counselling, he made friends with the staff and mentors at the centre. Meanwhile, his mother attended workshops to understand the difficulty her son was going through and joined a support group for parents having similar problems with their children.

Today, the boy spends only about two to three hours gaming every day and has found a new group of friends.

Mr Poh said it is important to understand the child's motivation. In some cases, he may want to feel the sense of achievement, or like the competition or immersing himself in another world. By identifying the motivation, it is easier to address the problem.

Experts said that parents can prevent their children from becoming video game addicts by keeping a look-outfor the warning signs and engaging their kids in meaningful activities. They also said that some parents who notice signs of addiction do not react until their children begin failing exams or throwing temper tantrums.

Delaying action can allow the obsession to get out of hand, making it harder in the long run to help the child get back on track.

The Power of Words

Last night, I was just chatting on MSN with a young lady who's in Sec 4.

She told me something that shocked me.

"My teacher told my class that our standard (in terms of studies) is lower than most of the other students from other secondary schools in the area."

And to be honest, she came from a really good school.

When the teacher told her class that, many of her classmates (including her) felt like giving up on studying. They felt kind of lousy and hopeless.

There's a saying "sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me". I personally think that it's totally not true.

Words have the power to make or break a person, especially so if he or she is young. However, many times, we (including myself) speak carelessly. Often, we hurt people because of that and we don't even realise it.

I'm going to be a teacher soon. I must really be careful of the words that I release towards my students. Words of praise, encouragement and blessings, that's why I should aim for.

I found this simple poem on the Internet and would like to share with everyone. I hope that we will only speak words that will edify others, and not tear them down.

A careless word may kindle strife;

A cruel word may wreck a life.

A bitter word may hate instill;

A brutal word may smite and kill.

A gracious word may smooth the way;

A joyous word may light the day.

A timely word may lessen stress;

A loving word may heal and bless.

2007 is a Year of Victory for Me!!

How time flies.. 2006 passed by just like that. But I'm really thankful for all the things that happened.

Key highlights for myself include:

1. I was baptised in Faith Community Baptist Church in Feb.
2. I got attached in Jun.
3. I graduated from NUS in Jun.
4. I taught for the 1st time in Tanjong Katong Sec. School in July
5. I started my term in NIE in August
6. I finished 10km Standard Chartered Marathon Run.

This year, 2007, I believe it's gonna be even more exciting. I want to share my top 3 resolutions with everyone. I think the more people we share our resolutions with, the more we are motivated to accomplish them.


1. I want to be an excellent teacher.

As the saying goes "a mediocre teacher teaches, a good teacher motivates, an excellent teacher inspires". I really aspire to be a teacher that can inspire my students.





2. I want to spend more time with my family, including my brother's family.

I look forward to every Saturday whereby my niece (4 years old) and nephew (3 years old) come to my house. I always have so much fun playing with them. This year, I want to make it a point to intentionally come back home for dinners and spend time with my family.




3. I want to complete 21km Standard Chartered Marathon Run this year.

I have ran 10km in 2005 & 2006. I think it's time for me to go for another level of challenge - 21km run. The last time I did 21km was when I was in the army 6 years. It's not going to be easy, now that I'm 26 years old, but I'm willing to train and try for it.

Connected with Nature!

Last Saturday, I went MacRitchie Reservoir together with some SM3 students whom I'm befriending. We had a great time there enjoying the nature and it was the first time I went through the Tree-Top Walk.

It was really quite a nice walk with all the monitor lizards, turtles and even monkeys. Here are some photos of us.

Once in a while, instead of always being busy with things to do, we should really make time to enjoy nature (though there are many limited choices in Singapore).

What is Greatness?

Some people have been asking me this question after reading my previous blog entry.

"What is Greatness?"

Many people might think of war heroes like Winston Churchhill, or fictitious superheroes like Superman. But I really think that "Greatness" is much more than that.

This question brings to memory a story which I have heard over the radio quite some months ago. I hope that by sharing this story, everyone can a bit understand what I meant by "Greatness".


Ripple Effect

A man took his grandson to a fish pond and told him to throw a stone into the water. The grandfather told him to watch the circles created by the stone. Then he asked the grandson to think of himself as that stone.

The grandfather said, "You may create lots of splashes in your life but the waves that come from those splashes will disturb the peace of all your fellow creatures.

"Remember that you are responsible for what you put in your circle and that circle will also touch many other circles. You will need to live in a way that allows the good that comes from your circle to send the peace of that goodness to others. The splash that comes from anger or jealousy will send those feelings to other circles. You are responsible for both."


I think that each of us do create ripples that affect the lives of the people around us. We have the power to influence (esp. our loved ones), whether we liked it or not.

When we create ripples that add value to the lives of the people around us and transform their lives for the better, I would call this "Greatness".

Are You Ready For Greatness?

Last week, I went to watch "Night at the Museum". It was quite a good movie with lots of laughter and I enjoyed it a lot.

In one scene, Larry (our hero) was about to give up his job in handling the "weird" museum. And Teddy Roosevelt tried to encourage him. The conversation went on something like this:

Larry: That's it. I'm giving up. Nothing I do seems to solve the problem.

Teddy: You can't do that, lad. You can't give up just like this.

Larry: Oh yes I can. I'm going to give up.

Teddy: Lad, some men are born great, some men have greatness thrust upon them. You are one of them.





I was really quite intrigued by what Teddy said. I went back home and did a little research using the internet.

I found out that the origin of Teddy's wisdom came from a letter in one of William Shakespeare's works - Twelfth Night

"Be not afraid of greatness;

Some are born great,

Some achieve greatness,

And others have greatness thrust upon them."

I believe all of us are unique and have our own strengths and aptitudes. We all have the potential to become someone great.

We may not become great in the lives of everyone around us. But we can influence and be great in the lives of some people at least. We all have the power to influence.

Are you ready for Greatness?

Powerhouse Youth Camp 2006

I finally got the photos of Youth Camp. Just want to share these photos with everyone, especially those in my group - Group 2.

The camp was really fantastic. Really. We had so much fun together as a camp. There were more than 150 camp participants + facilitators.

Together, we managed to climb more than 7000 storeys of HDB flats, passed the ball more than 7000 times (without dropping), and dashed more than 7000 metres.

It really shows that by one person's strength, it may seems that we can only accomplish little. But if we have a team of like-minded people, with one heart one spirit, we can do so much more.

Countdown Party 2007

Yesterday evening, I had a countdown party at my church at Singapore Expo Max Pavilion. It was really the best countdown party that I had ever being before.

The theme for the countdown party is RETRO. We all dressed up or haired up to the 60's, 70's and 80's fashion style. Check out all the creativity!







































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