Bread and butter #350 (Ben's 31st Birthday.)

We went to Jumbo @ Dempsey!!! Superbly fresh and yummy seafood!!!

Expensive but worthy treat for ourselves. We've worked hard at 329 while SM worked hard in the forests (he's so burned).

BT can't wait to lean on SM's sturdy shoulders. The wine's really good. :)

MQT! :)

Papa, mama and mei mei.

Happy Birthday, BT. Welcome back, SM. Good job XY, for ur Time-out. Good job TW, for your KL work. And many thanks to both of you for being sweeties.

烈火雄心 III

This is one of my favourite Hong Kong drama serials. I remember that I was deeply touched by the 烈火雄心 I when i watched it years ago. The friendship between the three firemen (one of them is 王喜) was deeply touching... and I like the strong will of the female fireman!

Standing by your principles and not giving into negative pressures... Why some parents have high expectations on their children... how one's personality and life experiences can influence one's working style... understanding a person's background and life experiences before you judge him... how care and concern can be stifling if it is not communicated to others appropriately... are positives that easily forgotten when negatives get overwhelming... how each and everyone of us can make a difference to others...

Out of difficulties, make miracles. :)

Bread and butter #349 (Give A Hand! Bazaar)

The Cactus Club aims to build resilient children who never give up when the going gets tough. The club provides opportunities for the children to develop strengths in character through self-awareness and through the sharing of thoughts and feelings with one another. Children of the club also enjoy a sense of accomplishment through music, performances and challenging tasks.

Pom Pom Spider made by yours truly last year.

My very first masterpiece! :)

Paste beans paste until I almost went crazy.

The hardworking spider is one of the analogies we use to teach our children from Cactus Club the importance of perseverance. For those who attended Volunteers’ Connection last year, they sang the song “Never Give Up”. (Do you still remember? :P)

Plaques without decorations yet. Decorations include cactuses, flowers and spiders.

This year, Cactus Club will be taking up another challenge. For the past 3 weeks, our children have been busy doing pom pom spiders and motivational plaques. And we will be selling them at an upcoming bazaar on 20th March 2010, Saturday at Tiong Bahru Plaza!

Do drop by (between 12pm to 8pm) to support these hardworking children!

-Email I sent to my volunteers and friends.

On the day itself...

I had a nice BK Breakfast with Eliz, MZ, JY and VL. It has been a while since we dined together! Right after that, we set up our booth... MZ and JY excitedly chose the plaques before anyone else. Hee, I am very very honoured to have people appreciating our plaques! They are the first two children lovers who purchased our plaques. :)

Other children lovers who supported the event include WC, LX, Kenny and friends, dearest Laoban, Morene and friends. THANK YOU ALL for coming!!! Sincere gratitude goes out to ALL OF YOU who supported me and my dear Cactus children for the past few weeks- be it physical, financial or emotional support! And, special thanks to BT, XY, GT, Mao, MP, and CH who personally helped SA and me with the touch-up of the plaques and making of the pom pom balls... and to the colleagues for bearing with my constant singing. LOL!!! :P

Preparing for the bazaar has been a physically and mentally tiring but very meaningful process. I know that my children will benefit from the process and that's the most important thing.

NEVER GIVE UP!

Dearest Tom Albrecht,

WER BIST DU?! I can't seem to locate your website anymore, and I can't even find any news on you on Google... where have you been??? :(

My only memory of you is your two albums which I've kept by my side since 2005. I was (and am still) praying hard for more music from you, simply because your voice is lovely and your songs have impacted me a lot.

You never knew how much "Dass du lebst" meant to me when I was feeling lost, upset and alone. When I translated the lyrics, I felt like you were singing that to me and encouraging me not to give up on life, just because I'm worth it. I really love that song.

I know you're not some big superstar... and when I couldn't find your website, I was kind of horrified. Are you still alive? Are you doing something that you always wanted to do? Are you still making music? And are you still believing in your music?

If no one does, I do. I hope and pray that someday, many many more people will fall in love with your music. Dass du lebst.

Nodame Cantabile- The Final Score.

Caught the movie with Eliz, JY and MZ, only to realise that it's ONLY PART I?! I want to watch Part II!!!

Oh man, the movie was really enjoyable, especially the curry incident and how Nodame's teacher calls her "Baby-chan", LOL. Other hilarious parts include the sleeveless guy with cuffs and the guy who insisted on using an instrument with french origins... and of course, the hard work the musicians put in to make the orchestra work. Balancing daily demands of life and achieving dreams- that's how life should be!

I had a fabulous time laughing out loud in the theatre. Love love love Nodame Cantabile. And yeah, I have not forgotten my dream. :)

Bread and butter #348 (Chu Chu Train.)

Mrs Koh...
how are chu?
Hahaha wad chu?

You lah
Hahaha

aiyOOOO
wad chu la
chu chu
chu chu train?
haha

No larh
hahaha
im good! :)
how are you?

Bread and butter #347 (Reflections on 18th March 2010.)

Sweet stuffs.
Carrying my very sweet pink bag and sharing his popcorn with me (which appeared like a trick)... I thought that was really sweet and thoughtful. A whole family coming to fetch my boy together was really sweet too. That was the reason behind my Monopoly gift- to encourage more "quality time" within the family. It was so sweet to know that these lovely family members enjoy spending time with one another. :)

Two-way relationship.
How you react towards others will influence the way they react towards you, and vice versa. When they were mean towards him, he probably reacted negatively towards them and try to provoke them. At the same time, he develops distrust for them too. Before we even blame others, why don't we reflect upon our own words and actions first?

Manager.
Managing many things is a big big challenge, but I'm accepting any challenge with grace. I feel that they will all make me stronger at the end of the day. I will be able to master more skills and win more hearts. I feel this need to manage (what I need to manage) properly. There are so many things I wish to accomplish, and I know that time may not be on my side. I have confidence, and I really want to try.

BGR.
Open heart. Listening ear. Don't worry excessively. They'll grow from their experiences.

Beans.
All for the children. I'm not giving up, despite getting sick of the beans...

When fine means not fine.
Whenever we meet anyone, the most common question we will probably ask is - "how are you?". Many times, I think, "I'm fine" is overly used. Today, I realise that ''fine'' does not necessarily mean "really fine". It makes me wonder if all the "I'm fine"s that I heard actually meant "I'm not fine"......

Providing all I can.
I still wonder what else I can do... Attempted the most desperate act today (giving my name card). Today, he reminded me of Mutton Rendang and I can't help but feel that I could have done more. Why. must. they. go. through. these. :(

Bread and butter #346 (稳重男孩.)

I had an immense headache after my outing... my shower helped to a certain extent but I was still struggling to stay focused in session. But I'm glad I made it through, and I enjoyed the very interesting conversation myself.

Anyhow, someone said he enjoyed his chat with me... :)

I will work hard for you. Got to rest NOW so that I can work harder tomorrow!

Last Saturday: No mummies, heat only.

SK, LJ and me wanted to go visit the mummies at Singapore National Museum... but the section was closed due to the breakdown of aircon!!! We were invited to visit the History Gallery... which we gladly went for but suffered in immense heat...

Notice that the horse rider lost his head.

This is something related to past Chinese Secret Societies. The secret societies of the past were actually built to help assimilate new immigrants into society. The gallery is quite interesting and informative, but it was too stuffy and hot, and the stories were a little too long... Not sure how SK survived wearing that sweater throughout.

Ramen at Meidi-ya. Forgot the restaurant name. This ramen is better than Santouka's.

The very yummy sashimi.

Ended off the relaxing Saturday with drinks at Cafe Iguana. Not forgetting the nachos... :)

Bread and butter #345 (Wall posts by Miracles.)

What's your first memory with Cindy Koh?
Err not really sure i only know she come my class -M

Would you laugh if Cindy Koh fell down from window?
haha i won't lols.. i will save her.. she is someone important to miie.. ya -R

What is the first things that comes to mind when you think of Cindy Koh?
pretti.. nice.. -R

Do you think Cindy Koh could make a half court shot in basketball?
If she try and never give up she will :D -U

What do you love about Cindy Koh?
she is understanding..... -S

:)

Bread and butter #344 (A mother of countless.)

My relationship with my Lovables seem to have shifted to another level. My dear boy looked very tired today, while another boy shared his holiday experience with me... a bunch of them came to tell me that they "booked" me from 2.30-5.30pm. o_o Anyhow, I think they are between storming and norming now... and there are definitely some necessary (perhaps unpleasant) processes that they might have to go through, just like how others did. I'm staying hopeful! :)

I have been constantly worrying ever since yesterday afternoon. I know it's not helpful, so I will try to control myself... At the same time, I must bear in mind to always listen and try to understand. Most importantly, be there... Oh yeah, I need some more time to digest this. @.@

Been doing a lot of tracking these days... not sure if it's helpful, but I'm gonna try. After the -_-, I was desperately wanting to seek consultation from Laoban. It was a very short consultation but it helped me to stay focused for what I need to accomplish today. I kept reiterating the focus, and I think that really helped. Somehow today, everything turned out to be more positive. Other than a difference in dynamics, I think I would want to give myself some credit for focusing well.

Tomorrow I will be meeting my Terror. ;)

Bread and butter #343 (My dearest Poet.)

I was still worried about this, worried about that. After completing as many tasks as possible, I wrote out what I need to address tomorrow during my session... and sent a reminder sms.

The replies amused me and made me smile... and the last sms was actually a poem. Hahahahaha... he's so cute lah! :)

As much as I wanna focus more on theories, I can't help but feel that the therapeutic relationship is still slightly more important than the former. Theories are here to stay, are always there... but a relationship is not stagnant... it brings with it a sense of dynamism and many times, surprises too.

Cheers to more poems, and perhaps even more pleasant surprises...?

BODY WORLDS - The Cycle of Life.

I finally pushed myself to go ahead for the exhibition alone. Timing just couldn't fit with any of my friends... and some other friends were unable to overcome their fear of meeting real human bodies. Actually, I was a bit unsure if I can handle it, but I was really very interested so I decided to just go. I'm so glad that I went ahead, 'cos I had a really good time.

"Using the groundbreaking process of plastination, BODY WORLDS makes public what was before only available to medical professionals. By showcasing nearly 200 real human specimens and more than 20 whole-body plastinates, visitors can better understand the intricacies, vulnerabilities and wonders of the human body...

The striking whole-body plastinates in BODY WORLDS - people who in their lifetime donated their bodies for plastination for the express purpose of educating future generations about health..." - http://www.bodyworlds.com.sg/

Process of Plastination: http://www.bodyworlds.com/en/plastination/method_plastination.html

NewCa.com: Body Worlds - Plastination Process - The best free videos are right here

The whole exhibition was educational and insightful. After examining each and every single piece of exhibit, I was in total fascination... I was touched by the selfless donation of the bodies, the hard work the scientists put into the plastination process and the effort of I'm-not-sure-who in putting all the exhibits in place. Really really admirable.

Whoever said that there will be a weird odour in the exhibition?! There isn't any weird odour. If there were to be any, then it must be from the smelly living human beings who came for the exhibition.

Anyway, I wonder if it's necessary to limit the audience of the exhibition. It was quite disturbing to see a toddler playing with the short glass panels that were surrounding an exhibit, with his parents trailing behind... and it was quite worrying to see the exhibits shake when a plump boy leaned against a full-length glass panel when there were "do not lean on exhibit casings" signs almost everywhere and I'm sure that boy came with his parents right (where were the parents?).

It was even more disturbing to see well-educated kids (or worse still, adults) leaning on the glass panels like nobody's business. I bet they can read better than children right? All these got me a little bit angry and I had to gently remind three people to show more appreciation towards the exhibits by being gentle towards them... -_-

And I overheard a young woman saying, "Oh man... his balls are just hanging there in public! Isn't that embarrassing?" And that was said right in front of the exhibit. I think she should have been embarrassed for what she has said. Utter disrespect for the deceased. And when I looked at her, I could detect no single sign of remorsefulness. What a shame.

No doubt the exhibition is very educational and I think almost everyone would benefit from such an exposure, I just wonder if things would have been better if there were to be adults around or more staff around to give gentle reminders for all to protect the hard work behind the whole exhibition and the dignity of the deceased.

A super interesting fact I learned today: According to the mammals' cycle of life, mammals' lifespans are usually connected to their physical sizes, for instance, an elephant or giraffe might be able to live up to 80 yrs old, but a mouse can maybe only live up to 4 yrs. With this in mind, looking at the size of an average human body, we can BY RIGHT only live up to 25 years!!!

For those who are older than 25 and you're complaining about life- get a life, man. You should be thankful for what you have now and for your future. The average human lifespan is so much longer than expected, we should treasure every moment of it!

Viva la vida! :)

Schumann Symphony Spectacular- Notes of Triumph.

We enjoyed pieces from Mendelssohn, Mozart as well as Schumann... who was mistaken by both me and Eliz to be Schubert -_- We were super excited to know that Schubert's pieces will be played because we both love Nodame Cantabile and one of his pieces was featured in the drama. Anyhow, the performance was really good. SSO played very well. Every note was crisp and clear.

Super nice view from within Esplanade.

Close-up: Doesn't this give you the Nodame Cantabile feel? Chiaki... T_T

I'm glad that we ended the day with lovely icecream! Especially after the so-so dinner.

So happy, even if my hair was messy. Eliz said she's gonna train her photography skills and take nice photos for me when we go Africa. LOL. Mount 5 photos and hand them to in person by September 2010, dear.

Eliz's.

Mine doesn't look very appetizing but it's yummy to the MAX!

Definitely going back there for more. :)

Nice symphony, nice icecream, nice ride back home together with Eliz.

What more can I ask for?

Bread and butter #342 (Professional Seminar 2010- Engaging Youths to Succeed in Schools.)

Presenting to you the fun side of the seminar, of course...

Us with the flags. =P

The pretty Social Workers from Clementi. =)

And the hunks...

Mrs Loh is my best friend.

My next-door neighbour.

The photo below looks like a collage of two completely different photos...

I'm standing behind him 'cos I wanted to look smaller in size. Hee.

Angel and me.

Photos taken during break time...

Our new friend in the field, Alvin.

My crazy colleagues.

Ah Meng's Angels.

Acting cute- a way of destressing...

and coping with hunger.

Finally it's dinner time!

My "family".

I personally like these photos a lot!

What's with the poses... hahaha.

Next day: Course!

Day 2: My group, Super Duper. I think this group name is meaningful leh...

Our very messy table... but I like!

What you see may not be what you get. Juicy Starburst sweets!

Why so serious.

My very funny neighbour, KF, who entertained me throughout. Enjoyed our lunches together and the good talk we had during day 3 about work! =)

P/S: Lunch was buffet... and I think I ate too much... Very hard to control eating when you face a wide spread of food lor... especially the yummy nonya kuehs with durian sauce!!! =P

P/P/S: Not forgetting the part when a group of students performed percussion. At that point of time, I was hoping that my dearest Miracles will have an opportunity to perform in public. To date, they have performed twice (albeit both are performances for 自己人 but they were still good experience)... and hopefully they will be able to perform in such occasions in the future!!! And yes, the percussion performance was moving. =)

(Updated on: 16 June 2010)