the furniture in my room was rearranged!..

I wonder? Is it a crime being old and still keeping things that kids collect? I like to keep things and technically I have thrown many things away when we shifted house in 2000. If I threw everything away, will I be discarding my memories away as well? Hmmm.. something to think about .. I know I cannot bring things with me when I pass over. However, this should not dissuade me from keeping things! Some time I think we should not think things are not necessary thus we do not want to keep them. Everything has a story and is a special story for me and of memories that is precious to me!

Well came back from a meeting on dialogue with GD (SSA General Director). Is an enriching and great session and from the session, GD asked us to think about the fundamental of life and our practice of Buddhism. We have to ask ourselves what is happiness, life and death. The best way to start is probably to think about death first, then we will know what is life. I think is true cos if you do not know what is to die, then how would u know how to live? A bit too deep? This is the most basic of our existence! Then in Nichiren Buddhism, happiness is not something we crave from the outside, happiness is within us. We have to find happiness within our life! Honestly, I am afraid to ask myself about death, it gives me the shiver. In buddhism, we know is part of the cycle but somehow, I don seems to leap over it at this moment in time! I guess to fully appreciate life, I really need to think about death first!

Back to my room. The furniture has been shifted but is not the end yet! More shifting needs to be done. I think I will post a photo once the arrangement is completed!

I must like myself more! I must be confident! I m an unique individual! I m who I want to be!

"Anyone who has ever made a resolution discovers that the strength of that determination fades in time. The moment you feel that is when you should make a fresh determination. Tell yourselves, "OK! I will start again from now!" If you fall down seven times, get up the eighth. Don't give up when you feel discouraged-just pick yourselves up and renew your determination each time."

- Words of Wisdom by Daisaku Ikeda

Rainbow Connection..

.. Why are there so many songs about rainbows? What's on the other side? .. rainbow have nothing to hide.... have you been half asleep, have you been hearing voicees?... some day u find it, the rainbow connection, the lover, the dreamer and me!..

I simple adore this song " Rainbow Connection". Well though the gay flag is rainbow but hey, think not that but something more magical and a natural occurences beyond the creation of human! Human connection is really something marvelous, is either you click at first contact or u don.. u meet people whom u never tot you will ever. Then human comes and human goes! Today u have the best conversation and probably think she/he gonna be your best pal but tomorrow, u don even know where this person is or what happen to him/her. Sounds philosophical? Nope but probably this is what so marvelous about this. U really never know .. Just like Tom Hanks in Forest Gump said - Life is like a box of chocolate, you never know what u gonna get! However the faithful meeting of one person can change your life forever! This happens to many people n the best example I can think of is Daisaku Ikeda meeting Josei Toda. Toda not only opened up Ikeda to Nichiren Buddhism but he also presented to him a world that is beyond his wildest dream! Who will tot and definitely not Ikeda himself that he will one day be a figure of great admiration, a teacher, an author, a pacifist and meeting and conducting dialogues with people of influence such as Arnold Toynbee, Gorbachev, Rosa Park, Wen Jia Bao, to name a few.

Let's come back to the meeting of my insurance agent today. She told me if you have the will, things can be done! If we set our determination to doing something, we will definitely achieve it! Thus, I really need to set my antene onto the subjects I m pursuing!.. di di dididi..didi..

I m a dreamer! I m a lover! Is just me!

May the force be with you..

hmm.. back to blogging albeit reluctantly.. guess the blogging thing is slowly fading off my system....must be the age! well, then and again I m really glad that people do read my blog! wahhh.. that means I really have to be politically correct and watched my back when i write! Why the back? Well, to ensure no one plagurise my content when I m writing! Of course then, this is really highly unlikely and more unlikely than an earthquake with epicentre in Orchard Road!

The last week was a long week for me! Stayed in the office until almost 9pm on Thursday and Friday! The best part was I was at work on time so that means I worked more than 11 hours on these 2 days! What a hardworking soul I m! The reasons being I need to clear my stuff before my new colleague joins us next month and I want to give her a clean sheet to work on! Also cos I was out of the office for WHRA and meeting for 2 afternoons and 1 morning so lots of work accumulated! One of the meeting was at the place where the "force" originated! Make a guess cos is a commerical secret and I m not at liberty to divulge!

Took to facebook these few weeks and downloaded this from there. Taken when we were very young! Those were the days where singing and gathering at people house to take photo seems to take priority over studies! Presenting the NJC choir 93/94!

Attended the Student Division (SD) Concert today at SSCC's ICA! Seems a lot of abbreviations but then you will get use to them. The theme for the concert is "The World is yours to change" and "Pintar el Futura". They made it every spanish but only got 1 salsa dance (not exactly your normal salsa, is something with a pitch of violence and racial disharmony) and drums (this group is fantastic!). The best dance performance is from TP or Temasak Polytechnic comprising an eclectic mix of steps danced to a well pieced together composition of various artists and rhythm. A couple of band performances but being Singaporeans, we love our seats and we appear deaf to rock meaning no one stands up and rock or even warm to the beat! Perhaps students nowadays love classical music (meaning sensible clapping of hands when the conductor finally put down his rod and no unneccessary comments or even a sneeze when the music is being played cos any interruption will be rude and uncultured!). Well, I sit down too! 8P

To end all well meaning blogging, I should round off with some inspirational quotes:

"I don't know how man will fight World War III, but I do know how they will fight World War IV; with sticks and stones."

- Albert Einstein

"I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by."

- Douglas Noel Adams

Yeah! Always remember that deadlines are meant to be broken!

""Nonviolence" does not merely mean to refrain from violence. Violence erupts when one person blames another for a problem or conflict. Conversely, nonviolence is a way of life in which one resolves, “Let me be the one to change first.” If this spirit were to be embraced, how much more at peace would our families and society itself be."

- Words of Wisdom by Daisaku Ikeda

A new set out was initiated!

On the 15 Sept 07, a new set out was initiated! That is to increase the no of YWD in Delta Zone, Telok Blangah Chapter! Look at pic below and the aim is to increase the no of people we have now! Yup and this initiative will start with mass homevisiting at the end of this month. Ganbatte YWDs! This means I have to go and contact my YWDs and arrange to pay them a visit! Will also need to make guidance cards to be given to them on the day of the homevisitation!

Posing with the senior leaders! Stressed?

BTW, if no one knows, I also collect stamps! Not really the correct methods but I have removed the stamps from the envelopes and they are left to dry in the basket! Have taken extra care to ensure they do not adhere to the surface of the basket! Technically I think the professionals use a hair dryer to dry every stamp! I do not have that type of time!

Another highly recommended book - the buddha next door. Is a chicken soup type of book but is testimonials of SGI members in USA. The testimonials are divided into different sub topics such as relationship, health, family, finances etc. Testimonials are on how common people struggle with their personal problems and their environment based on Nichiren Buddhism. In the end victory is won for those who perseverse in their faith and practice. Frankly I m highly inspired and motivated after reading these testimonials and I m able to identify common grounds with some of these contributors to the book. The often mentioned and famous buddhist principle of turning poison into medicne is highly applicable to my situation. At the beginning of every testimonial, there is also a short apt quote by a famous person to relate to the experience that follows.

Some quotes are:-

" I choose hope because I feel a deep responsibility to do what I believe I am obliged to do - to pass the world on a better place than when I came into it.

- David Krieger"

" This lifetime will never come again; it is precious and irreplacable. To live without regret, it is crucial for us to have a concrete purpose and continually set goals and challenges.

- Daisaku Ikeda"

"We ordinary people can see neither our own eyelashes, which are so close, nor the heavens in the distance. Likewise, we do not see that the Buddha exists in our own hearts.

- Nichiren Daishonin"

Is available from Amazon.com and also Kinokuniya! Still reading but going to finish soon.

Mooncake Festival or Mid-Autumn Festival is round the corner. Bought a box of mixed nuts with bacon mooncakes from Shangri-la Hotel. Seen pics below. Mum has a sudden craving for mooncakes from this hotel. The packaging is good and thus is a bit more expensive than mooncakes from other places!

Mooncake? Yum or Yuck? Me not a fan!

Into the Chinese Calendar Month of August

Long since my last blog. What have I been up to? Well, nothing render of concern except I m still very busy at work n Gakkai!

On the 4 Sept 07, the Unit received its AST accreditation and that is a major project for me. I have been preparing for it for months! Me, I dressed up and even powdered up for the occasion! Some time I wonder whether I m too kiasu anot! Anyway, it was a half day event with an hour long presentation followed by an interview with the existing trainees before a short walk to the staff clinic. It ended with a general review by the accreditators. In short, they were quite impressed with the work we have here and decided to give us more training position. The tea is good but nobody seems to be interested in the tarts and muffins!


Yeah! Is over! The aftermath of the accreditation!

Last Sunday or the just past sunday, went to a concert by the SYC ensemble singers. A concert entited "Lluvia" of technically challenging pieces sang in Spanish! Yup, Spanish music and lyrics from the Basque, across to Cuba and Argentina in South America. A journal through landscape of differred culture and tradition though they all speak the same mother language! The first half of the concert was bit technical or boring in laymen term. The second half started off with a very interesting piece in which the singers performed some well chorergraphed movement on the stage while singing! It end well but I think the singers should smile more. It seems like some of them are trying to very hard to squeeze out the notes. This is evident by the cringed up expression on the face!

Now it is budgeting time! Hate that but must do n been having sleepless nite over this! Keeping fingers crossed! Deadline is coming fast n I have not even submitted the first draft to the boss!

Last Saturday was the exam daimoku for the Future Division Member. Besides daimoku chanting, we had a game on stupid qns or what u called 欠扁问答题 followed by a book review by a student on "Toto Chan" (highly recommended for reading, I was really touched by the book). We also did a short skit on selling shoes in Africa and my role is the African chief! The morale is on positive attitude to things around us. Make the impossible possible. Most of the times, it depend on our attitude and how we overcome our limitation and how we turns all deadlocks into possibilities! Imagine selling ice to an eskimo! Why not? I believe they will also enjoy a nice cold Coke with ice! It actually taste better with ice!

The FD ICs! We are fun people! Say "Hoben-pon Daini"!

Finally,

"Life loses its dynamism from the moment we lose the passion with which to live it. No matter what our age, we cannot afford to let the flame within our heart grow dim. We do not become unhappy because we grow old. We become unhappy only when we grow ever more unwilling to change as we age."

- Words of Wisdom by Daisaku Ikeda


Cheers Folk!

Happy Teacher Day!!

Happy teacher Day! To me and to all the NIE trained teacher in Singapore.. Why to me? well I happen to be a tuition teacher with more than 10 yrs of tutoring experience.. haha..

Hmm.. as a treat to myself as today is Teacher's day. I have decided to go for a hair cut.. basically to shorten my long fringe n some trimming to the hair. Also to impress someone by looking a bit neater!

I love happy ending and that is the main reasons I will only buy dramas, movies and books that end well. Who needs a bad ending? Well someone told me real life is not that happy but why would I want to read and watch some thing that make me sad! i don have to learn to be sad. BTW, am just listening to the song by Sally Yah and Ah Lam titled 选择 and the chorus lyrics is nice!

2005 - Hong Kong Ocean Park and withone of the mascots!

And finally the environmentalist inside me say:

We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.
~ Native American Proverb