The Dragon is Thirsty

With my usual gung-ho spirit, I innocently accepted the assignment early this year to speak to different key personnels of various enterprises in Hong Kong and China. Before I left, I told Joshua and Joanna that daddy is only gonna be away for 5 very short days, yet deep down, this verbal assurance left me wondering if that was really so.

A very humbling learning experience indeed, a friend commented that I was flying in aeroplanes and taking trains as if I was taking a cab ride from Buona Vista to Punggol. Indeed, I arrived Hong Kong by noon on the 16th March and delivered my maiden presentation on 'Innovation and Creativity: Unlock the Creative Potential of your Company to Overcome Economic Challenges' by 2pm. The challenge of addressing a group of senior executives from companies like 3M, China Aeronautical, Sky Technology, Fujikon International, etc, was simply mind-boggling. That said, in my opinion, it was a good start basing on the responses and feedback of the participants. The other comfort, it was delivered in English. By 7pm, I was rushed to the Hong Hum train station for a 3 hours journey up to Guangzhou. The journey continued with rushing from airport to airport on a daily basis from Chongqin then to Beijing and Tianjin (both cities in one day) and then to Shenzhen before rushing through customs back in Hong Kong 5 days later.



That said, I must admit, it was a good stretch, in more ways than one. Not least of which, it has at least afforded this wide eyed 34 year-old a ringside view of China's rapid changes. Compared to my previous trips to China, the landscape has very much changed in a short span of 5 years. It was no longer so much a culture shock as a business shock, particularly in their strong business models and quality management matters. Today, the business environment in the cities I spoke in has advanced so rapidly, it left me wondering how long would it take for the whole of China to advance beyond what Singapore has accomplished in the past 40 years.

The biggest (and most horrific) challenge is to speak fluently in Mandarin. Thank the good Lord that ACS had kept C in the Anglo-CHINESE School, despite how ACS-ians are infamously known for our competency (or lack of) in our mother tongue. Thank God for a wife who knows my every weakness and thus got me a Bestas electronic handheld dictionary on the birthday this year. Everywhere I went, I felt like it was the most precious 武功密集. I was religiously translating and rehearsing my talking points every waking hour, especially after some vehement feedback. With all honesty, I value 'honest' evaluations like "老师有时用中文不能完全表达意思", or some even more blunt 'request' to "改善语言表达能力". Apart from the fact that the Chinese speak speak Putonghua, I struggled constantly to un-learn translating words from English phrases.

The consultancy firm that hired me assured me that the task would be an easy one since we Singaporeans are highly regarded for our "law-abiding-ness" and our strategic East meets West approaches. I was shortlisted for the task primarily because of my Masters from US as well as my other business ventures and experiences. Yet, during my in-depth discussions with the participants, it was obvious that the knowledge I had may not be directly applicable when dealing with the mainland businesses (less resistance though from HK). The 'stretch' here takes on a new level where I need to constantly adapt and adjust to meet the local needs and their expectations. In addition, acceptance did not come automatically even after "boasting" about my credentials and experiences in businesses. Some outrightly pointed out that my my young and boyish looks (o Lord... do preserve my youth) was an instant disadvantage and one even jokingly commented that I ought to dye my hair white the next time I return.

Jokes aside, I thank the good Lord for the opportunity to witness how Singaporean needs to open our eyes and be less complacent of our achievements. What we achieved in the past decade, in my opinion can be easily superseded by a double or even triple jump with how fast the China's gates are opening up to the rest of the world. I have not ready solutions to how we can even try to 'catch up'... new innovative programmes/models? Education as a fast way to build capacity? Government to take the lead to make bolder political moves for further partnerships? A friend I confided in even suggested that it may even come a day where we are imported as 'foreign talents' to be chauffeurs, tutors, nannies to the Dragon babies.

For now, I thank God for the an overall positive feedback considering my many fears and weaknesses. On a scale of 1 to 10, the report card says it all for the following seminars. (Shenzhen had a different feedback form)

Course applicability 内容适用性
Hong Kong- 8.09
Guangzhou- 7.47
Chongqin- 7.5
Beijing- 8.63
Tianjin- 8.00

Content organization 内容编排
Hong Kong- 8.27
Guangzhou- 7.31
Chongqin- 7.94
Beijing- 8.75
Tianjin- 7.71

Activities, Discussion, Practice & Case Study 活动、讨论、练习及案例
Hong Kong- 8.55
Guangzhou- 7.5
Chongqin- 8
Beijing- 8.75
Tianjin- 8.41

Further Comprehension 对内容有深入认识
Hong Kong- 7.91
Guangzhou- 7.06
Chongqin- 8.38
Beijing- 9.00
Tianjin- 7.35

Presentation Skill 表达技巧
Hong Kong- 8.81
Guangzhou- 7.83
Chongqin- 8.00
Beijing- 9.00
Tianjin- 8.06

Ability To Simulate Participants' Involvement / Interactivity 促进学员参与
Hong Kong- 8.45
Guangzhou- 8.25
Chongqin- 8.19
Beijing- 9.25
Tianjin- 8.94

Applicability to Business Needs课程适合工作需要
Hong Kong- 8.09
Guangzhou- 6.97
Chongqin- 7.06
Beijing - 8.00
Tianjin- 8.53

And since it was a seminar conducted in Chinese, the following feedback were really very heartening....

- 觉新颖但广告意识强

- 创新的灵感来自于身边的任何细节，善于思考

- 很适合目前创新型发展的理念，建设细致的工具和技巧

- 通过互动引出结论，道理应让人留下银翔

As my good old school motto says it best...The best is yet to be

愿一切荣耀与赞美归给上帝！

(just wondering when I will ever be able to start blogging in chinese.... LOL)

My EQ... on Facebook? QUite accurate indeed

Facebook has a certain magnetic appeal in getting people to respond online... the frightening thing about it- to share (or more explicitly-to make public) private personal information. Yet, highly intrigued to find out whats my EQ- its an easy trap to 'play along' ????

John took the quiz What is your EQ (Emotional Intelligence Quotient)? and the result is Your EQ is 128

You usually have it going on emotionally, but roadblocks tend to land you on
your butt.On an average day, you're quite happy, together, and content. You live
your life well.Your emotions aren't always stable, but you can go along with the
ups and downs pretty well.You tend to be motivated, energetic, focused, and
level headed.You see the world pretty rationally, and you don't tend to over
dramatize things. When things are bad, you know they eventually have to get
better.

Whats ahead?

I am at a new crossroad of my life... stuck in search of new directions, nothing to propel me towards any specific doors of opportunity (especially in times like these), I lay in silence praying to my Father who has guided me faithfully all these 34 years of my life.

The following paragraph from the http://parallelmind.wordpress.com/ touched my heart as I thought of what would essentially be considered of value years down the road.

The new paradigm is one of individual creativity and freedom. Creativity
and freedom cannot exist inside an environment of fear; they can only grow
inside a matrix of love and openness. The new paradigm will not have the kind of
security that comes from amassing great stores of money, or from building a
fortress against unseen enemies. Instead, we will find security in our
relationships and the quality of our lives. Our assets will be counted not in
cold hard cash, but in the measure of our integrity, in the health of our
children and society, in the quality of our goods and services, in the
inventiveness of our ideas, in the consistency of our friendships, and in the
honesty of our partnerships.

The story of a pen...and ugly people

I held up a pen ... about to write.

Suddenly this pen remnded me of a story: one that illustrated the many facades of man's thoughts and the complexities around what kindness means.

Recently I witness something that was very disturbing in a hawker centre. A crippled and slightly autistic young lady was moving around slowly in Kovan selling pens for a dollar each. I bought a pen and continued to observe her and her interactions with others around.

Fact is, I got increasingly upset with how some unkind people simply shoo-ed her away, the way you would react to an irritate fly. One lady even turned her son's face away as the child wondered how they ought to respond to her. Did the girl deserve such a degrading response as even she suffered from leprosy? In her quiet ways, she was not persistent in selling her products and she simply walked away, expressionless. In my weak attempt to help her, I intentionally stepped forward before that mother and tried to donate some money to the girl. She surprised me with the rejection of the donation and pushed a pen into my hand. Was it blatant ignorance to my act of sympathy or a deliberate act to preserve her pride? None-the-less, I respected her decision.

Upon reflection, I only wished that even as there may be black sheeps among us, the kind hearted Singaporean spirit will prevail to discern and reach out to those who are genuinely in need. Yet in my heart, I was wondering if we still understand what makes our society a gracious one.

Out of curiosity, I decided to text some friends by sms to hear their point of view. Below were their replies:

My wife: Don't be sad. Just help within our own means cos maybe they have met so many to determine who's genuine.

Mr GY: Good on you that you cared! Take it easy. I guess those people are stressed by current climate.

Ms CL: She wants to do real work and so will not want to take money without selling her product. Yes, people are ugly and they need to know God. I would say buy pen if that gives you peace. Meeting people's needs is the first step in sharing the gospel in a practical way.

Ms SN: John, you encouraged me with your act. Ugly Singaporeans are everywhere. Even we are guilty at times. We just dun c the underbelly of S'pore enough. At times, I feel so lost too that I realised I am so unreal. Can't take the mask off, I am ugly too...

Ms YH: Despite her handicap, she is making a honest living. Well, you can't change those who rejected her but at least you did make a difference in her life.

Mr CH: What makes you think she really needs your $? Maybe she is part of a big syndicate? How much can a selling a pen, or a packet of tissue help her? Sometimes kindness does not pay. Maybe the people saw your act and may think otherwise about your intentions. Is that girl pretty?

The above responses were simply overwhelming. Not only because of the contrasting range of emotions and thoughts, but how a single situation may provoke very different perspectives. Indeed, this is a case of how natural checks and balances are already in place to maintain the core of our social fibre. Perhaps thats where individual creativity of making new connections can better our society as a whole.

Visionary thinking

My morning quiet time led me to reflect the importance of vision. Hybels (1994) offers 3 definition of vision as an important character quality.

Vision is

1. a God-given ability to see posible solutions to the everyday problems of life;
2. the ability to see beneath the surface of people's lives
3. the ability to catch a glimpse of what God wants to do through your life if you dedicate yourself to Him. (Hybel, 1994, p.23)

Indeed, it was refreshing to study the biblical context of vision through the conversation of Jesus with the rich young man in Matthew 19:16-30. Questions that triggered me to think about my vision include:

• Do I see myself obeying all of the commandments?
• Am I willing to give up everything, i.e., my earthly possessions, to bless the poor and/or to submit to follow Christ as he beckoned with "Then come, follow me"?
• At what cost?
• Do I put my faith in God and fully surrender to the hope of "with God all things are possible" (Mat 19:26)?
• Am I willing to be the last as Jesus reminded the disciples that the "many who are first will be last and many who are last will be first" (Mat 19:30)?
• Does Jesus see me as a potential heir of the eternal life?
• How do I honour God in the way I live my life?

Hybel provided an interesting analogy that if we fix our eyes on our problems, then its like spending our whole life spinning our wheels and cursing the mud. Conversely, if we cultivate vision and explore ways to deal with them, then "not only will you avert all sorts of discouragement, but you will also discover how much creativity and wisdom God wants to give his children who look to Him for help." (1994, p.23). Praise be to God for allowing us to come to Him and trust Him to open or close doors as we follow the vision He plants in us.

The promise that Jesus provided points towards a simple formula- Create the vision by claiming that all things are possible with God. Ask Him for wisdom and head out in faith.

Reference:

Hybel, B. (1994). Character: Who you are when no one's looking. England: InterVersity Press.

Tipping the Balance of Time Management

The encouragement below is from Stavros- my room mate back in Buffalo. A remarkable young chap who joined the program right after his marriage and straight off his honeymoon. I shared with my Stavros my recent dilemma of finding a right balance with work, family, masters project and time for personal reflection. Stavros rightly pointed out how creativity is needed to manage this turbulent state of doubt and insecurity. For lack of a better picture, this is one of the most memorable moments we shared with Nate in your parents' place and the wonderful spread of great Italian breakfast... Thanks Stavros for your constant blessings!



When I'm feeling sad i think of a lesson I learned from Tony Robbins. He says that at any given point in time we are making 3 decisions;

1. What am I focusing on?
2. What does it mean?
3. What am I going to do about it?
   

If you find that you are feeling overwhelmed and focusing on that, then you must decide what that means to you. Maybe it means that you are in the process of making great strides in your career, or maybe it means that you are making a sacrifice of your time for other priorities like family. So what are you going to do about it? will you remember that it it is all worth it and give your self a boost of energy. Will you determine that you need more reflection time and take it for yourself?

Just remember, it is all up to you. You make your own reality, the universe is merely conspiring to bring it to you. Choose wisely and consciously. you deserve the best.

At times I also feel a little overwhelmed by this transition. It is sometimes daunting to think i have no car, no job, not even a bed right now. But for the moment I am choosing to focus on the challenge at hand and the rewards it will bring. the fact that i'm scared only means that i'm scared and that it is perfectly normal. So what i'm going to do aboout it is keep winning small battles. Get the cable to work. Find a car. Make a few phone calls about work. Keep making progress on my school work.

I hope i can keep a strong mind about it. I pray for your & my best outcomes and journeys.

Reply to my blessed friend: Thanks for the timely reminder. Yet, if you may allow me too to encourage you...you have a supportive wife, great parents and a lovely Bungalow on St Thomas Island! Wonder why my thoughts drifted into seeing you as the Next James Bond! LOL

Will I become too distracted to Listen

Perhaps the pace of society goes by so fast, we sublimely loose some of the most valuable things around our lives. One of which I notice is that we rarely give or recieve the gift of truly listening. Yet, if we claim that 'time is the new currency' then does that mean that both time and money are precious in our sight? I think its not about the money, but rather about the time commitment required.

I recieved a call recently from an ex-student's mother. Over the phone she cried bitterly on how she failed as a mother. She struggled as a divorcee to do her best at work so that she could provide the material needs for her son. Her struggle led me to recall another online conversation with a dear friend in UK. I quote: "Yes, communication in families and now across the world (facilitated by the Internet) should underpin the change that is coming. Market forces alone will not fix things and adequately respond to those societal ills to be found across the globe." (http://thinkx.ning.com/profile/JohnYeo#chatter-2083458:Comment:5233)

As I heard my inner voice fearing a future where I myself may blindly become estranged to my children, I stopped to reflect what are the interventions I can proactively take to prevent that from happening today. The birth of 'Structured Fun Learning' (see entry of 28 Aug in http://joanna3117.blogspot.com/) with Joshua was in my opinion successful with him looking forward to the time we spend together each evening.

This came about I started asking myself from the pespective of a repentent father who had been uninvolved in my children's growth. The questions I postulated led to deeper thoughts..

• How has the gap between me and my family widened?


• What went on in their lives and who are those they choose to confide to?


• HOw often do I spend one-on-one time together?


• What were some of the best conversations I've had with them?


• Did I help them to understand the critical issues/dilemmas of thier lives?


• What will I say 10 years later when we step out of the house in the morning?


• What are some of the best conversations I've had with them?


• What did I learn about them from the small talks and did I "hear" the deeper issues that could have been on his/her mind?


• What was unique about that time together?


• Why was it easy for me to talk?


• How can I create an atmosphere appropriate for parent-child bonding?


• How can I proactively plan for interaction time together?


• How can I be more responsible and how do I push for accountability?

I am glad I pondered upon the above questions. The rules, though seemingly simple, are fundamental in shaping work-life balance. The harsh reality of survival, tends to tip this balance to a side that may bring about irreversible consequence. May the wisdom of the Holy Spirit lead us husbands and/parents into daily knowledge of the importance to just stop and listen.

My Vision, Mission & Anchors

“… the creative person also is a self-actualized person – a fully functioning,
mentally healthy, forward-growing human being who is also using his talents
to become what he is capable of becoming.” Maslow, 1968

My vision is to spread the cause of creativity to empower myself and others to live a more purposefully driven life!

My mission follows for the next five years to enjoy the liberation and fulfillment by explicitly thinking out of the box to create greater fulfillment and meaning through building strong connections with God, people, education, parenting, and blogging- deeply centred on values.

Having articulated my vision and philosophy, I have encapsulated them into the following 3 states of personal ‘mindfulness’ (Boyatzis & McKee, 2005):

• Consciousness- Self-actualization: To enjoy the process of deliberating, working through challenges, and building small steps of successes by bringing ideas into fruition;
• Connections - Synthesis and meaning making: Through collaborations and co-creations by strengthening relationships and driving new directions of work both within the Ministry as well as in personal areas by helping others to see ‘new meaning’ of common interest;
• Communication- Simonton’s 5th P of Persuasion: To be the catalyst that help other discover “ideas that are so good that they change the ways others think” (Runco, 2007) through networking, curriculum partnerships and blogs.

Salt & Light of the World

Matthew 5:13-16 (NIV)
You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses
its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for
anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.

You are the light of the world. A city on a hill
cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.
Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.
In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good
deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

A friend shared this with me ..."me pp may think that i am very stupid to let my bosses know where i am gg...and even shared with one of them abt my depression last yr and it was through God's grace tt i recovered. XX once told me tt she's very surprised tt i could be very open cos she no longer can trust anyone......i just felt tt by sharing i can also proclaim my faith, let other pp know how God has worked on and healed me...... "

I was encouraged by her trust in God. This was my reply to some of her concerns. I know I went through this phase of struggle just a few days back and God sent my own wife to encourage me too.

" Its a heavy rain cloud over your shoulders and I know that though the storm will come, once passed, you have grown as a person with what adversity will do. Think about a cup half full or half empty.... you may currently be filled with water. But only half full. What if I pour in another half cup of concentrated hot healing herbal fragrant tea. The analogy is how I see change especially to that of an uncertain future. There are just too much unknowns in life and thats why God never leaves us alone to bear all these heavy decisions- and thats why u have ** and us.

About being open as a person, that is how you -and even myself- our preferred way to engage the world, where our energy naturally flow to associate with people. Look at how Joseph the dreamer goes around to tell his family about his dreams. Yet the outcome was a betrayer by his brothers. But that was his immediate future. We may be hurt like others and *** is absolutely right. Yet, God honoured Joseph's faithfulness and used his talents -after many times of "failing" in life- and rose him to be a Pharaoh. Thus, we can only ask God- what is his plans for us. Trial and temptation may come, and we sure will fall, but thats where our faith will take us to a place where He knows whats best for us. And with each step, as we celebrate the small successes of experiencing His grace, we can testify his victory in our lives. Yes, I am looking forward to coming back.

Two days back, I sms Van to tell her how overwhelmed I am with all the assignments. She replied "Don't give up. Whatever difficult times and impossible it is, we have coped for the past 7 weeks. There is no mountain too big God cannot move it. (though I felt my paper assignments were even heavier than mountains). YOu can do it and will be back next week. Why don't you go out for some fun (I am not sure if she understands what this "liberation" can do to me...hee hee) Lonely and freedom days going to be over soon. (interesting how she paradoxically juxtaposed the two...hmmmm... sounds like what I will think to myself on the eve of my wedding day) We love you. Thank God Joanna is better already."

Our God is Jehovah Jireh.

A poem of quiet comtemplation

Surrounded by the beautiful majestic buildings built in the 1800s
o did my spirit sailed as I sat quietly by the Hudson River.

The stillness of Hudson river beckons me into deep thoughts

as I wondered, why did it have to separate two cultures-

of the old town of Troy and the clamor of Albany.

Yet as I lay ashore my dreams of yonder days

like the river, my heart was quiet, lonely, and pained.

A deep longing desire lingers....

Above photo from http://inkbluesky.wordpress.com/2007/02/10/river-calm-wallpaper-immigrant-painter-thomas-cole-madness-and-intelligence-linked/

Historically, Sir Stamford Raffles- founder of modern Singapore, was also part of the East India Company.

Interestingly read from the net a story of the Hudson river- extracted from http://flickr.com/photos/91454858@N00/2337508954 (beautiful shots of the river in this page too)

"It is named for Henry Hudson, an Englishman sailing for the Dutch East India Company, who explored it in 1609....The Hudson River, called Muh-he-kun-ne-tuk in Mahican, the Great Mohegan by the Iroquois,or as the Lenape Native Americans called it in Unami, Muhheakantuck, in Tuscarora, is a river that runs through the eastern portion of New York State and, along its southern terminus, demarcates the border between the states of New York and New Jersey. The Father of Waters would seem to have been known to many tribes by names more or less similar to that which it bears to-day. It is no doubt true—happily true—that very many of the streams of North America bear Indian names. But these have very generally been given to them by the whites, and were borrowed from the tribes living on their banks at the date of the discovery. The waters received the names of the clans hunting on their shores. The red people had no doubt names of their own for some of the streams in which they fished, but it is probable that these were applied to certain reaches only of the rivers most familiar to them. For some of the important lakes the Iroquois certainly had names of their own, for instance, Caniaderi-Guarunté, or, The lake gate of the country, for what is now Lake Champlain, and Andiatarocté, or, Here the lake closes, for Lake George. These significant phrases, as applied to those waters, have been clearly ascertained.When explorers and colonists crossed the ocean they gave, as a rule, the names of the wild tribes to the rivers on which they met them. Very few received European names. The exceptions on the Atlantic coast number just half a dozen; the St. Lawrence, the Hudson, the Delaware, the James, the Ashley and the Cooper. Of these only one, the Hudson, recalls, the discoverer.Strictly speaking, however, Hendrick Hudson, could not claim the full honors of a discoverer”…………….

Ultimate Greyhound Experience

I have been in US since June 8 and what happened yesterday would probably have been the most memorable incident for this trip (thus far!). As I made a detour to Denver to visit some friends down at Emergenetics Int., I decided to stay on to fully immerse myself in the Rockies experience of my life time.

I was back in Denver after travelling with the Harold, Vice President EG to Branby and Steamboat to conduct training for the leaders in these districts, I was ready to embark on my own to head up again to the mountains, by myself. And then, the excitement began. To be as factual as I can, this was what happened on the 26/6.

• 11.00am : Bought ticket to proceed to Glenwood Springs. Bus was to leave Denver station at 12.01pm and arrive at my holiday destination at 3.30pm (so I hoped).




• 11.30am: I placed my luggage in the queue and sat beside a new friend- Chen Bo, 陈博. He is 22 years old, just completed his college with Brown University (one of the Ivy Leagues)- with a scholarship by Oracle, he came from China to study Computer Science for the past 4 years. This young led had quite an adventure as he was tugging 3 huge luggages- of which he shared that he kept a DESKTOP and belongings of the past 4 years, as he travelled around US for holiday.




• 11.35am: Then came a dainty old lady who sat beside us and kept talking, singing and chatting-with herself. I volunteered to help her put her flowery 2 wheel bag so that she could reserve her place behind mine. Her bag which I handled has a interesting link later so let me call her 'Mdm Y'.




• 11.45am: Chen Bo rushed to see if he could get himself up the bus heading for San Francisco (oh yes, its a total of 19 hours of bus ride from Denver) I was glad he managed to get a last minute ticket. I quickly helped him to pull his luggage to the bus. However, as he only had one bus tag, he needed to run in to request for another. As I overheard a Mexican lady running in to buy that ONE last ticket too, I decided to help him push his luggage into the cabin first ... being a typical kia-su Singaporean, I do know whats best in that dire situation. Just as I was about to succeed, that lady ran forward and shouted, "I got it, I got it" Immediately the bus driver pushed out Chen Bo's bag and exclaimed, "I am full". Poor Chen Bo was still at the counter behind as the bus left the station. My heart went out to him when he ran back and all he could say was " What the F@#*...." He then realised that as the last ticket was 'open' for purchase, both counters proceeded to sell it at the same time to Chen Bo and the Mexican lady. They then got him a ticket on my bus that will head to Los Angeles thereafter he needed to change to San Francisco. I was filled with pity thinking it would be quite a ride for him.




• 12:05pm : Back to my queue, I helped Chen Bo join me as the line was getting realllllly long. I introduced him to my 2 new friends. Jacob was this fabulous man from Florida as well as this Chinese Filipino. Jacob is really one of the most friendly Americans I have seen so far. Our early conversation led me to admire how he gave up a 10 years post as a manager for Continental Airways and decided to rough it out by travelling around US and took on odd-time jobs to travel and earn a living. The Chinese Filipino worked for a company that service hotels and manage their servers. At the same time, Mdm Y-the old lady behind me sat on the floor and pulled out her bra from under her shirt and threw it straight into a nearby bin. I caught it and frowned as I quickly looked away.




• 12.30pm : The bus had not arrived. I continued to chat with my new group of travelling buddies. Jacob who has worked with the American transport system mourned that we should be glad if the bus can arrive within the next hour. He shared of his experience when the bus was full of passengers but at the transit with change of drivers, the other driver never turned up until 12 hours later. In my mind, my first response was , "Lord, have mercy...."



• 1.20pm : The bus finally arrived. Driver looked friendly. Passengers were relieved as we boarded the bus. After we were nicely settled, up came a big size man with long beard and long hair. He made his first impression as he called out while walking down the aisle "Who is the lucky one to sit beside me".. my eyes darted him as he moved to the back and sat with the rowdy group of teenagers. They loved him instantly as they were swearing and talking aloud. He was THE lead character so let me call him 'Mr X'.




• 2.45pm : Out of nowhere, Mr X shouted out from the back, "This is one of the most beautiful part of the Rockie mountain..." the driver reminded him to keep quiet as passengers were resting. Mr X continued and proclaimed his great love for America. Driver pulled over at the side at highway 70 and Mr X walked forward and called out "Whats your F*#$*ing problem..." The rest of the bus kept really quiet. I was scared.




• 3.10pm : Mr X shouted again, "Does anyone have gums... the children here have popping ears" No one responded and he continued shouting til someone offered.




• 3.30pm : Driver made a surprise announcement- he had to pull up at Frisco. He informed that the belt for the air conditioning was broken and had to call for the mechanic. A mechanic needed to drive all the way from Vail to repair and may delay for another 1.5 hours. The bus all mourned then in unison. Pulling up at a gas station with Wendy's, my buddies and I decided to dine. While waiting for rest to get off the bus, Mr X walked past and commented to this Korean lady who was travelling by herself, "Hey pretty, you wan to have fun with me?" She ignored him and he sneered.




• 4.00pm : We heard some quarrelling across the store next door. Apparently, old Lady Mdm Y made some racist remark to the Afro-American and I was told in her feat of angered, she....bared her saggy breast. She was then chased out. At the same time, someone came over and told us that the driver has called in the police to handle Mr X.




• 4.10pm : Police came and interrogated Mr X, with Driver and some others surrounding. We watched the drama from inside the store. We were told that Mr X was drunk, with his liquor kept inside the coke bottle that he was holding throughout the trip. When he opened his bag, to my horror, there was a PISTOL in there. Imagination ran wild with "What ifs...." Finally Mr X was gone.... to my great relief.... so I thought.




• 4.45pm : The bus was repaired and ready to go on. At this moment, I saw Mdm Y's purple sweater outside lying on the rock and I called out to driver that Mdm Y was missing. At the moment, someone spotted Mdm Y in a far away spot. She called out to Mdm Y but Mdm Y just walked on, in the direction away from the bus. "What the heck ..." I thought and I got off the bus to run after her. I was glad I caught up... half panting half shouting, I called out "Hey madam, the bus is leaving, ... come on, lets go" She took me by surprise by hiding behind a trunk and called back, "I heard you.... get lost... I am not going back... go go ....." Momentarily, I was at a lost, "Should I stay or should I go?" If I were to grab her by force, I could be arrested for sexual harassment. The earlier scene with Mr X and the police was not what I want for myself. "This is America.... " and Michael Buble's song of 'Home' came into my mind, so helplessly, I ran back to the bus. Everyone greeted me outside and asked what happened. I only could recount what she said. People started speculating what could have happened, as they recalled what happened to her in the store earlier.




• 5.10pm : After discussion, they formed yet another search party that consisted of a tall Canadian man, a young American lady and two bouncy teenagers. After 10 min, they returned with no news of her. My heart sank, and I happened to catch a piercing glare from another passenger. She must have thought I murdered her and threw her body into the swamp. "God.....save us" The funny thing was some of us started wondering if this whole episode was filmed or were we part of 'Lost- season III'. This was far more dramatic than we could anticipate.




• 5.30pm : Another police car arrived, and they proceeded to search for her. Ten minutes later, they returned and told the Driver to proceed. I then took her purple sweater and put it back where she left. Driver assigned me to bring her flowery bag to the Glenwood station.




• 6.45pm : The air con belt broke again and the driver decided to continue driving. The tall Canadian man volunteered to push open the top ledge to allow the cool mountain air to flow in. Another mishap.... his finger got stuck by the ledge and he yupped in pain... ah....



• 8.00pm : I finally arrived at Glenwood Springs. Deposited Mdm Y's bag and started to find how to get to the hotel. Jacob my good friend was a fabulous chap. He helped the 2 Norwegian ladies (one a teacher, another a grandma who runs some big company) find their long lost friend whom they met 30years ago, just by looking up the yellow pages. Amazing. He then helped to call the hotel and I realised it was about 2 miles away. I was exhausted and there were no cabs around. Thankfully, an American boy came along and told me of the free bus service that runs into town. God bless him... good begets good. We waited for a long while but it was a good chat. (photo of me, Jacob and the 2 Norwegian ladies)




• 9:15pm : 6 hours later than planned, I am sure glad I got to motel, safely in one piece. Anxiously, I called up Vanessa and told her the story.




• 27 June- 7.25am: I just completed this entry....and was looking forward to tell my son Joshua over Skye the adventure.... til then, I am heading later for the rafting experience down Colorado River- if class 5 was the worst, maybe class 4 would be just nice for me. Sure look forward to a SAFE experience across the Shoshone Rapids and Glenwood Canyon.

Rick Warren's Purpose Driven Life

I was thinking about what my friend shared with me about how I need to start planning for my future- how I need to plan for my children's university fees which would increase annually by 6% and how it is my responsiblity to provide for my family's needs. However, I realised that much of it though in a practical sense is true, God's provision will always come in a way that we cannot fathom.

PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE
By Paul Bradshaw
May 9 2008

Short Interview with Rick Warren, (PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE) You will enjoy the new insights that Rick Warren has, with his wife now having cancer and him having 'wealth' from the book sales. This is an absolutely incredible short interview with Rick Warren, 'Purpose Driven Life' author and pastor of Saddleback Church in California.

In the interview by Paul Bradshaw with Rick Warren, Rick said:

People ask me, What is the purpose of life? And I respond: In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity. We were made to last forever, and God wants us to be with Him in Heaven. One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body-- but not the end of me. I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions of years in eternity. This is the warm-up act-the dress rehearsal. God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity. We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn't going to make sense. Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you're just coming out of one, or you're getting ready to go into another one. The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort. God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy. We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that's not the goal of life. The goal is to grow in character, in Christ likeness.

This past year has been the greatest year of my life but also the toughest, with my wife, Kay, getting cancer. I used to think that life was hills and valleys - you go through a dark time, then you go to the mountaintop, back and forth. I don't believe that anymore. Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it's kind of like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good and something bad in your life. No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on. And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for. You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus on your problems. If you focus on your problems, you're going into self-centeredness, 'which is my problem, my issues, my pain.' But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off yourself and onto God and others.

We discovered quickly that in spite of the prayers of hundreds of thousands of people, God was not going to heal Kay or make it easy for her. It has been very difficult for her, and yet God has strengthened her character, given her a ministry of helping other people, given her a testimony, drawn her closer to Him and to people. You have to learn to deal with both the good and the bad of life. Actually, sometimes learning to deal with the good is harder. For instance, this past year, all of a sudden, when the book sold 15 million copies, it made me instantly very wealthy. It also brought a lot of notoriety that I had never had to deal with before. I don't think God gives you money or notoriety for your own ego or for you to live a life of ease. So I began to ask God what He wanted me to do with this money, notoriety and influence. He gave me two different passages that helped me decide what to do, II Corinthians 9 and Psalm 72. First, in spite of all the money coming in, we would not change our lifestyle one bit. We made no major
purchases. Second, about midway through last year, I stopped taking a salary from the church. Third, we set up foundations to fund an initiative we call The Peace Plan to plant churches, equip leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick, and educate the next generation. Fourth, I added up all that the church had paid me in the 24 years since I started the church, and I gave it all back. It was liberating to be able to serve God for free.

We need to ask ourselves: Am I going to live for possessions? Popularity? Am I going to be driven by pressures? Guilt? Bitterness? Materialism? Or am I going to be driven by God's purposes (for my life)? When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, God, if I don't get anything else done today, I want to know You more and love You better. God didn't put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list. He's more interested in what I am than what I do.

That's why we're called human beings, not human doings.

Food Glorious Food...

Reported in Straits Times (May19,2008) 'People are making more money and are eager to try other tasty food,' said associate professor Chai Weizhong, who studies public nutrition at Peking University. How true indeed! Adding to the better choice of food, I think people are spending increasing amount of time deliberating on food- what to eat, where to eat, how to eat and even when to eat.

I am saying this because I am putting myself through a 3 days detox program. Started yesterday, it was such a pain that I ended up feeling so weak, all over. It doesn't help pumping in 12 tasteless capsules of 'donno-what' in the morning and evening- suppose to sustain the energy to continue in the daily affairs. What makes it worst was when my family was dining in the food court of Great World City. Joshua's left over egg prata, pasta and Vanessa's pepper hot plate were far too tantalising to my senses. I confess, I did give in. The sips of Joshua's creamy mushroom soup had never so delicious in my lifetime. I could taste the richness of the soup, the succulence of the sliced mushroom and the aroma that simply filled the buccal and nasal cavity. So sinful.

Now that Van just finished her morning prata and I am half suspecting she slipped out on pretence to buy groceries, but in my wildest imagination to buy more snacks, chendol, kwa chap, etc. While I am musing over my self-imposed hunger strike, this need go on til tomorrow. She affirmed that I am doing well, knowing how easily I give into temptation, this was a real challenge. Just as bad as the Subaru challenge.

One thing is for sure, I realised that we spend many waking hours thinking, eating, shopping and even planning for food. Now that I am on total abstinence, it suddenly felt a sense of 'lost'.

Attitude part 2

After posting my thoughts on the previous workshop, I guess God wanted me to teach me another lesson on tenacity.

Yesterday, I helped out with yet another school with the training. On the way down to the school, I was told that the last session only had 2 non-English speaking teachers attending the session. It made me wonder, what are some HODs doing- was it to create training sessions so that they could clock it for their own KPIs? I was told that the HOD would get the whole of his mother tongue department down this time round since 'facilitation is key' to their program. The first teacher arrived into the training room, and immediately declared to the HOD that she needs to go and see a doctor. Some encouragement indeed. However, after realising that not many teachers arrived, she decided to stay on. Subsequently a few more came along, including the old guards from the last session. We were then informed later that the malay teachers weren't able to make it last minute, and that left us with 6 very dedicated chinese teachers.

After initial check-up with them, we decided we will do something that was totally unprepared and never done before- thats right, to conduct the workshop for the very first time in chinese. The teachers were more engaged, I supposed since Mr Mar-ting and Mr Yue Han (John in chinese) were both comically and oddly entertaining with our direct translation from the powerpoint. During the tea break, I was reliefed to hear that the teachers enjoyed the session, especially since they could not really follow the last one that was conducted in chinese. Moral of story- right attitude to listen and to adapt.

Attitude - its all that made a difference...

The ultimate human freedom is the

ability to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances.

Vikt Frankl

Its so easy to succumb to the negativity of situations and circumstances. I was pretty upset with how things were moving at times with working with teachers. It could be frustrating to draw out the "let loose" and work it through components of ideation and allowing room for people to fail-safe to experiment. After couple of weeks of partnering with the school below, I gained little encouragement from how things were moving.

The morning before the talk, the coordinator called to inform that perhaps taking small steps would be safer since its the first time they are testing the new pedagogy. It was even more disappointing to hear that teachers may not be most excited with the idea of training in the middle of their marking of mid year exams. Yet, it was a directive from management to carry on with the training. That was a huge blow considering the amount of consultation and discussion- but the customers always right. As I was driving, I prayed that I continue to provide my input as professionally as I can and to put their needs in the centre. I think the spirit led and changed my attitude as I saw that the teachers, though tired were open to learning and that inspired me to be honest with how they would like the session to be beneficial.

In the end, it was not the materials that mattered. It was the connection with like-minded educators that allowed the fruitful discussion. Isn't this the same when we are in classrooms as a teacher- to be MINDFUL of the students' state of mind of learning? Thats one of the core values as a facilitator. The letter below is a testimony that being professional also means that we need to be true to what we can truly offer.

Dear Simon,
I would like to put on record my sincere thanks and appreciation to Mr John Yeo for the successful workshop conducted for my teachers on Thurs 8 May.

Through the workshop, he has inspired my teachers to become more effective facilitators of project work which we are embarking on next week. In particular, his ideas on PBL and use of questions to provoke deep thinking amongst pupils were refreshing and have equipped my teachers with new ways to challenge our pupils' thinking. He was well-prepared for the workshop and able to engage the teachers effectively.

His advice for our unit plan on ways to make the tasks and questions more authentic for the pupils have also helped to enhance our unit design. His commitment and generosity in sharing and working with my PW coordinator is commendable and worthy of mention.

On behalf of my staff, I would like to thank Mr Yeo and CPDD for the assistance endered. I look forward to working in consultation with CPDD officers again in the near future in our TLLM journey.

Best regards,
Principal, XXXX School

所需要的力量你天天賜給我，你恩典夠我用

禱告 I Pray
讚美之泉 Stream of Praise
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5hwJL5fCvY

禱告，因為我渺小；

禱告，因為我知道我需要明暸，你心意對我重要。

禱告，已假裝不了；

禱告，因為你的愛我需要；你關懷，我走過的你都明白。

有些事我只想要對你說，因你比任何人都愛我；

痛苦從眼中流下，我知道你為我擦。

在早晨我也要來對你說，主耶穌今天我為你活；

所需要的力量你天天賜給我，

你恩典夠我用。

This song spoke to me twice this week. First time was on Sunday, when I was repenting on how I have fallen short of God's grace for me. Second time, as I watched the youtube and was so touched by the video- of how the boy and girl missed their father when he left the home. I recall how I used to hold back my tears each time I call home to listen to my 2 year old Joshua for 2 weeks then. THis time round, its double the whammy with both Joshua and Joanna and away for 2 months.

I guess, its His way of teaching me on reliance not by my strength and might, but by His grace.

E= mc2: Emotions of Mathematical & Cognitive Challenge

Was pretty frustrated with getting Joshua to learn how to count. Trying not to express in a negative manner, I tried to design games to help him understand simple additions. What went wrong? Why did he kept adding 5+1= 4?

In my desperate search for enlightenment, I recalled: Alan J. Rowe's book on Creative Intelligence- Discovering the Innovative Potential in Ourselves and Others

I was humbled by the apparent disconnect of what I always knew of my own son (his strong reasoning skills and creative nature) and what I believe is important as an educator (that every child is creative and intelligent in different ways).

Rowe clearly wrote that as educators, we rarely consider how everyone has different Creative Intelligence that affects how we view various subjects in school. A review of Winston Churchill’s life showed that he was largely self-taught because he had no interest in certain subjects. It is also frightening perhaps to acknowledge the inherent problem- that teachers focus on the students’ ability to do well in class rather than on other abilities. Rowe pointed that we can improve education, but we need new ways of “explaining” subject matter so that it is understandable by all. (p12)

David Perkins (Harvard University) co-director of Project Zero, studied the cognitive skills of artists and scientists. He believes that personality and personal values have a significant role in determining an individual’s creativity potential. A timely reminder of how much Joshua has inherited the "poor in maths" genes from daddy. Sigh.

I was even more struck when I realise that even though I have been conceptualising a research on profiling and differentiated instructions. I am keen to study how the application of Emergenetics (a profiling tool on thinking and behavioural attributes) on teachers and students could translate to better differentiated instructions in different classrooms. Yet, I was not able to even testbed the idea with Joshua. (Picture from http://www.amplitudetraining.com/emergenetics.php)

Now that I re-connect, I wonder, what could I do to help Joshua enjoy learning Maths? Perhaps, the more correct perspective should be 'how can I re-teach myself the concepts or principles behind maths.'

From the article: CREATIVITY, CULTURE, EDUCATION, AND THE WORKFORCE
Ann M. Galligan, Northeastern University
“Kids catch fire differently.” They learn at different rates, and often learn best through different means. The challenge for educators and policymakers is to find ways to engage each and every student with
appropriate avenues and opportunities to grow, as well as to monitor and measure their successes. While there is no question that numeracy and literacy are skills schools should develop, these in no way exhaust
the means through which humans reason, nor do they exhaust the means through which humans make sense of the world. "

To close, even in US, the stir on brain based learning is even highlighted as a religious issue. The following is an excerpt from Reverend Jeremiah Wright address in his NACCP address:

"Dr. Hale showed us that in comparing African-American children and European-American children in the field of education, we were comparing apples and rocks."

And in so doing, we kept coming up with meaningless labels like EMH, educable mentally handicapped, TMH, trainable mentally handicapped, ADD, attention deficit disorder."

And we were coming up with more meaningless solutions like reading, writing and Ritalin. Dr. Hale's research led her to stop comparing African-American children with European-American children and she started comparing the pedagogical methodologies of African-American children to African children and European-American children to European children. And bingo, she discovered that the two different worlds have two different ways of learning. European and European-American children have a left brained cognitive object oriented learning style and the entire educational learning system in the United States of America. Back in the early '70s, when Dr. Hale did her research was based on left brained cognitive object oriented learning style.

Let me help you with fifty cent words."Left brain is logical and analytical. Object oriented means the student learns from an object. From the solitude of the cradle with objects being hung over his or her head to help them determine colors and shape to the solitude in a carol in a PhD program stuffed off somewhere in a corner in absolute quietness to absorb from the object. From a block to a book, an object. That is one way of learning, but it is only one way of learning."African and African-American children have a different way of learning."

They are right brained, subject oriented in their learning style. Right brain that means creative and intuitive. Subject oriented means they learn from a subject, not an object. They learn from a person. Some of you are old enough, I see your hair color, to remember when the NAACP won that tremendous desegregation case back in 1954 and when the schools were desegregated. They were never integrated. When they were desegregated in Philadelphia, several of the white teachers in my school freaked out. Why? Because black kids wouldn't stay in their place. Over there behind the desk, black kids climbed up all on them.

"Because they learn from a subject, not from an object. Tell me a story. They have a different way of learning. Those same children who have difficulty reading from an object and who are labeled EMH, DMH and ADD. Those children can say every word from every song on every hip hop radio station half of who's words the average adult here tonight cannot understand. Why? Because they come from a right-brained creative oral culture like the (greos) in Africa who can go for two or three days as oral repositories of a people's history and like the oral tradition which passed down the first five book in our Jewish bible, our Christian Bible, our Hebrew bible long before there was a written Hebrew script or alphabet. And repeat incredulously long passages like Psalm 119 using mnemonic devices using eight line stanzas. Each stanza starting with a different letter of the alphabet. That is a different way of learning. It's not deficient, it is just different. Somebody say different. I believe that a change is going to come because many of us are committed to changing how we see other people who are different."

Bravo, Reverend Wright. Bravo, Mike Huckabee.
http://www2.nysun.com/article/68832

As to Joshua, dad promises to be more patient and creative to bring the joy of learning in all we do together!

With each passing week

My heart gets heavier and heavier. Counting down to my 2 months away from home. Though its good to be studying back in Buffalo, I know my heart was so torn 2 years back when I was there alone. THen I decided the family will come along. However, the difficulty of bringing both Josha and Joanna onto the plane single hnadedly for 20 odd hours is no simple feat for Vanessa. Doesn't help that I am aiming to complete rest of the modules over 2 months. Aryna offered to "adopt" me in her home in Florida during the break.... but how can I enjoy the disneyworld and all the theme parks I longed for since young, alone?

How heavy is my heart....

48th Coy Boys Brigade

Today, as I am thinking about my role and contribution in CPDD, received an email for Kok Keong, a fellow BB officer who attached a document for an ex-student's application to be a primer. What Jame's wrote really nailed my heart as an educator.



3. Relate any significant experience or Officers that you had with the BB that has touched you the most or taught you something valuable you will never forget.

James wrote, "Although the BB has been memorable to me, there is one person that remains etched in my mind. Mr John Yeo had been my officer, and later Biology teacher in my four years as a boy. Even though he has left to “spread his wings”, I am sure that no boy under his charge will ever forget him. As corny as his jokes may be, he was always fun to be around. He was like a mentor to us in his Lifeskills Workshop, and never ran out of faith in God. His faith fuelled him and guided him to continue inspiring us, always the role model, ever the leader. He is a part of BB that I cannot forget, nor will I ever try to."

Made me wonder, have I been flying without wings here?

LOST....about my future? In God I trust.

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. Ps 119:105

YOu are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in your word. Ps 119: 114