Sunset

To my friends (and also a reminder to myself),

I understand that today had been a tough day filled with anguish, disappointments and sadness. There were many things that could have been but never did materialized. As a result, hopes were crushed, tears were shed.

I feel for you.

You know, the sunset is beautiful, isn't it ? It's truly of one those moments that deeply penetrates your heart and soul and makes you feel so fortunate to be alive. I know i feel that way =) But then again, the sunset only lasts for a few minutes before the sun disappears down across the horizon and darkness sets in.

A lot of times, we feel sad about this and at times, we miss the sun and wonder why does it have to set..

But if you only concentrate on the setting of the sun, you are missing so very much opportunities of watching the stars coming out to play =)

Remember, yesterday died last night. Every day is a new day and all of us have a choice to re-live our past or make the best out of the present.

I hope you make the right one =)

Adding Value

This week has been exceptionally great ! Hard as Biology paper was, i think it was one of the most exciting paper i had taken. It required a lot of thinking and logic and i loved it (though not sure if i did justice on it =D). Chemistry and Mathematics paper were nothing out of expectation. I also managed to help out with one of my best buddies with his speech contest. It was a fulfilling role and one that was extremely enjoyable and enlightening =)

To my friend, you did amazingly on stage. =D Congratulations !

Had a simple chat with an ex-BNTS trainee last night and we were exchanging ideas on leadership and roles on which he can do in his daily life. After that, i sent him a simple message of encouragement and what he sent back was way more valuable that what i could ever give. Just two words.

"Thanks, Sgt"

Simple as it may be, but its meaning was profound to me. I had quit Boys' Brigade for over 4 years now and to have someone still calling me by my ex-rank is really heart warming. A simple appreciation really paves a long way to the feeling of being remembered, valued and respected.

This morning i woke up feeling extremely great and suddenly i had a strong feeling about the phrase 'there's a reason to the meeting of people in your life, and it's up to you to create and define that meaning' I've known that all along but i never did really make any conscious effort to make and define the purpose of having meeting the people i have had in my life. The chat with the Boy really made me feel indifferent and re-energized once again to do what i do in BNTS and i want to make a resolution in life too,

I want to add value to the people i meet in my life.
I want to help people achieve their dreams.
I want to win with people

Winning with people

Leaders are people who have gone ahead, look back and help pull the people along with him. Leaders are people who help move everyone to cross the finishing line together and i want to be that kind of person, not only to BNTS trainees but also to the people i've met in life. But in order to add value to people, i have to first expand myself. I cannot lead and expand people if i myself do not expand further than them.

Things that i want to do during the 3 months break prior to furthering my studies in UK,

• Learn Japanese and German language
• Learn up on financial skills and knowledge
• Upgrade my problem solving skills
• Discover the best way to studying and learning
• Learning to play Sudoku
• Learn more on leadership skills
• Re-read and apply Mind Conditioning technologies on my life

.........and make a list for all of them to do one thing for each per day !

This is so going to be an exciting holiday with lotsa activities and growing opportunities ! =D
I have also designated a few people i've met in life to whom i will dedicate to help grow and add value to in life. To me, they are all potential eagles and all of them have the best imbued in them, and i hope, as a leader, i can help them discover and bring out the best they have in them.

There are so many eagles in my life. Sometimes, i think all they need is just a simple push off the cliff for them to fly and soar

Adding value to people, that's one unforgettable lesson i learn from two words "Thanks Sgt".
I hope i am able to add value to the people around me.
I hope i can help you guys be the best you guys can be.
I just hope that with God grace, i can finally make a difference =)

"Each of us are born for a reason but most of us do not make the effort to discover why. Success in life is not determined by how much you have done or accomplished in life. It's how many people you help along the way." ~ Danny Thomas

Disciplining

Before 2006, my definition of discipline was confined to good students burying their heads deep in books, not playing DotA and not going out loitering around town.

After NCO Training Course, i learnt a new definition - The Five R's

Discipline is,

Doing the Right Thing,
At the Right Time,
For the Right Reason,
In The Right Way,
On The Right Place.

And today, i learn to add another arsenal phrase into my definition,

Discpline is to constantly challenge yourself in a never-ending and consistent fashion for continuous improvement and doing at least one thing good you hate doing, every. single. day.



A promise to myself : I will continue to hold myself today to a higher standard than yesterday. So help me God =D

Discipline is the refining fire by which talents become ability - Roy L. Smith

Thank You All

Hahaha... wow.. this 20th birthday is one of the most unforgettable birthdays i have had..

First, i give thanks to first 'celebrators' - Wendy Loi, Siao Ting, Dina Lau, Angelina Sii, Amy Lau and Ting Yun Kai =)

We celebrated in KFC in conjunction with Polycarp's =). This one was the most unforgettable one 'cause managed to trick Polycarp.. foo yoh.. happy.. haha... used a lot of acting skills to lure him to KFC XD.. I thought we were celebrating only Polycarp's but turned out they celebrated mine together as well. Thanks guys !


Hahaha... then, thanks also to my classmates and roommates .. haha.. scary bunch of tricksters.
Thank you, Wan Qing, See Sern, Janet, Geraldine, Peggy, Wen Dee, Ying Hsi, Chui Lim, Zi Hong and Kai Ming... foww.. while i was taking a nap, Wan Qing woke me up with a serious face. He told me that PPP wanted to meet both of us and we are to get there immediately. When we walked until the stairway to the office, and then out came the cake.. aaa.. zzz... haha.. thanks guys =)

then finally, i also wanna express my thanks to KTJ juniors.. that was really unexpected ! Hahaha.. i thought we were celebrating another's birthday, but turned out they celebrated mine together as well. Ai ya... make me feel so 'pai seh'.. haha..

And also finally to all my facebook friends and umm..friends who sent me smses.. Thank you very much for your wellwishes.. i appreciate it ! I gotta apologize though, i'm going to have to reply you guys a bit later because i have a paper to take on the 7th of June. It's gonna take some time to reply 364 wishes lol... thank you very much ya all.. i am humbled, truly ^^

Thank you to all KTJ juniors for your pen gift, thank you Wendy Loi and the gang for the awesome photo frame (something i am definitely going to bring over to UK) and most importantly, thank you Polycarp for everything. Damn la.. out of 4 celebrations, 3 got you inside wan... haha.. i really don't know what to say, thank you bro, i really appreciate it. Thanks also for the chicken essence and the two books =) I really love them very much.

All in all, it was a great 20th birthday and i am looking forward into a new decade promised with exciting challenges and spectacular moments. And more importantly, it's going to be a new decade of achievements =)

Thank you to everyone, you really gave me a very special gift.. i call them, memories =)

Addition : Thanks to Chow and Isaac for that wonderful Chocolate Indulgence cake for my supper. Ich bin sehr Glucklish. Danke Schon. Viele Gluck mit dein Prufung. Alles gut !

Happy Wedding Anniversary

You know, 25 years is really a long time. I am really amazed.

Mum,

The last trip back, you reminded me how much both of you have sacrificed for us. I remembered when i was young, you used to force me to study. It's always 7.00 p.m. straight to the study room, i wasn't really happy back then 'cause NTV7 used to had their Pokemon series on air at 7.00 p.m.. I, too, remembered whenever we go to Uncle James house for visitation, you'll always force me to bring along all my homework there and whenever my cousins were happily playing there, i would be sitting at one corner doing my homework, most of the time with teary eyes. Darn. Boy.. was i unhappy that time..

Dad,

You used to jump into every opportunity to teach and correct our English language errors. I remembered when i was in primary school, you used to fetch me back everyday. Once in a while, well, not exactly.. more like twice a week...we'd drop by the toy shop opposite Sacred Primary school and i used to keep bugging you to buy the latest Pokemon game cards or the figurines, haha.. the last time i checked, i have 246 figurines and 654 Pokemon cards (forgot where i have stashed them..awww..). Also, you never fail to ask me how my day was every time in the car while you were driving and sometimes, i'd talk a lot; sometimes, i'd just give a 'good' monosyllable answer, but you never did stop asking, every single day.

Both of you used to send me here and there all the time during Saturdays and Sundays. At times during the Saturdays, you'd have to fetch me back and forth from band, Boys' Brigade gatherings, then for Taewkondo, then sometimes again back to church for Council meetings. At times, both of you would feel a bit tired and grumbled, but you never did stop me from going and you never did stop doing the 'driver routine'.

Looking back now and thinking back the times in primary school and secondary school, i kept laughing to myself. There was just so much memories for me to dig up and reminiscent.

But more importantly, i give thanks to God because He has blessed me with such two wonderful parents. At times when i do not show or do not say, do forgive me, but both of you are forever in my prayers every night to God and i just wanna say i love you guys very much and i've never stop giving thanks to God for that =)

If there's a reason why i am here today,
If there's a reason of who i am today,
If there's a reason for what i have accomplished today,
If there's a reason of how i am today,
I'd give thanks to God for that reason,
and the reason is because of the both of you.
I love both of you very much, mum and dad.

If i'd have to choose between a million dollar and great parents,
heck, sorry, i'd have to choose that million dollar...


....because i already have two great parents =)

Happy Silver Wedding Anniversary, i look forward to the next one ^^

The Human Spirit

Extracted from YouTube

The human spirit is so great a thing that no man can express it; could we rightly comprehend the mind of man, nothing would be impossible to us upon earth - Phillipus A. Paracelsus

An Educator To The End

Mr Lau, how've you been =) ? It's been almost two years and despite that long a period, we students still remember you and cherish the moments we spent together.

Hahaha.. do you remember the time when we were preparing for the various visitations from other schools and you taught me a lot about making Powerpoint presentations as well as designing our own websites =) ?

It still makes me laugh when you use to show me step by step on how to use Photobucket and to make hyperlinks. Every half a minute, i would be like, "Mr Lau, where are you !? Need you here." Hahaha.. but still amazingly, you never lose your temper. You're truly one of the most amiable person i've met.

Yup, you certainly knew that. What else could explain your eagerness to join in our every discussion and give your opinions ? Although at times when we didn't agree with your opinions, you still accepted our different views on different matters and you were pretty much cool with that.

A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops. We all miss you dearly; your coolness, your humor, your smile, ah.. especially, your smile =)

It's okay. We'll still see you one day soon, well perhaps hopefully not so soon, haha.. but still we'll meet you again. Knowing you, i am sure you're still keeping busy on high up there. So you keep up your good job there, you hear ?

We'll certainly meet again. I promise.