Down memory lane

This is the patio of the bungalow where I spend my evenings, just doing my work or reading. Sometimes we do some entertaining here...my friends love this part of the house and my plants. It is also the place where I spent with 9 dogs..all fighting to sit near me..of course, in the end, they would be all over me....those were happy times.

Yes, I had nine dogs at one time, sometimes more if Snoopy gave birth. They were just part of our lives. It was also necessary to keep them as I was living in the jungle and there were lots of baboons, monkeys, wild boars, snakes and more.

So, the next few entries would be stories about the dogs and their antics...the snake stories (every estate madam will have these), being a planter's wife and more......

Memories of a house

This is the bungalow I had stayed for ten years in the estate. Although it is quite far away from civilisation, I had the best and worst times of my life....The next few blog entries would be about this place and the ten years I spent there. I am afraid that if I do not write about it, I might not remember it all or worse, I would not have time to do so....Who knows, one day, my grandchildren would be able to publish this some day....as Shakespeare said in Sonnet 18,

So long lives this, and this gives life to thee ........

The bungalow is shaped like an aeroplane...the picture is only the head....the long body is actually the three rooms all lined in a row...the master bedroom is the last room. There is a long corridor where my sons used to ride their bicycles and later, learnt to skate...

The lilies in front of the house is my favourite because they give a lovely aroma in the evening. Around the lilies is where I do my jogging, on the days when I feel particularly fat.....we used to do twenty rounds...
The bungalow is situated on top of a hill, surrounded by a jungle, complete with a mini zoo...

Being Happy

What makes me happiest in my life? I asked that question the whole weekend. I know that I am happiest when I am teaching and my students are learning. I am happy when they do well in the exam and most of all, their lives are changed or turned around because of me. I am most happy training other teachers and sharing with them what I have learnt or still struggling.Nothing gives me a high as in watching teachers face crack up when they identify with me or when they are so excited to try out what I have shared. I am most happy when I am performing whether it is in front of my students or teachers.
So, I would continue to do what makes me happiest. I do not have to wait till I have the necessary platform or power. I will do what I can in my small little world. And I will blog about this journey.

Pressure is a privilege...losing and winning

this week has been rather trying. Joel has gone for his chess competition again, a do or die situation as the state wants to select six players out of eight and he is no. 8. So, he went there knowing well that it was going to be a tough week. Day 1, he calls home to tell me he had to play no.1 seed and he lost lamely. then, he sms to say he lost again in the afternoon. He said he didn't know how he was going to last the week. Mummy's heart bleeds for him but this was something he needed to do, to summon his courage and face the pressure...mummy could only beri semangat sikit and prayed. Day 2, called early in the morning to say he lost again...meaning that he was buried, with maybe just an arm hanging on for dear life... then, finally in the evening, he said he had won....oh, thank God for that win. He needed that.I knew he would have to crawl back up....Day 3, he called early in the morning to say that he had beaten his fellow teammate...a sigh of relief.....

This is what a mum has to go through....When they win, we win, we celebrate, when they lose, we feel bad for them...but that is all we can do....we provide support and we have to let them go and make their own mistakes, learn and unlearn, suffer the agony of defeat and celebrate the highs of triumph. We have to help them face defeat, not to put the blame on any one but to help them analyse and face reality. For if we start blaming people or situations, we give them a false sense of security and reality...and they will not learn.
We teach them not to give up, to hang on and fight. I always tell him, it ain't over until it's over. Do not give up halfway or even worse, to give up even before you start.
I also teach my students that pressure is a privilege...Consider it all joy, my brothers, when you meet various trials..because pressure produces true character if you do not give in... You learn to be patient, to come apart and regroup, stay calm and not give in to the panic and fear of failure...then, you begin to rise and see the difference...the power of positive thinking.
Teach this to any child, and you will see the difference it would make in his life.

Happiness is not a state of mind.....

Happiness is not a state of mind but a choice. Today, instead of whining and complaining, I decided to look out for things that I could improve in school. The door of the staffroom was stuck with a lot of flyers, memos and announcements. Teachers will get stuck at the door, trying to read important announcements and notices. Besides, it was an eyesore. So, I suggested to my friend to shift the whole examination table to the back of the staffroom where there is already a big noticeboard. She immediately took to the idea and agreed to do the shifting while I went to class. When I came back, everything was completed and all notices neatly pinned on the new noticeboard. Everyone commented that it was a great idea. And I felt so happy having contributed something. How many people have commented on the eyesore but did not do anything.
Then another friend went home and turned up with a pot of laksa and stuff to eat. It was like the ball had started rolling and the joy was infectious.

my happiness project

I have decided to put to test what i know all this while about happiness. So, I will record whatever I experienced over here. Last night was a tumultous night for me because I heard suddenly that I might not get what I wished, wanted, prayed for and struggled for. So, came the tears and the uncertainties. Cried my heart out to God. I asked hubby to pray for me because the sadness overwhelms me and my tears were choking me. Haven't i prayed about it all this while? Haven't there been signs for me to go ahead with plans? I was really confused and lost.
This morning, I decided to put to test one famous rule, the power of positive thinking. So, I read the verse, Isaiah 26:3 and reminded myself that He would keep him in perfect peace whose eyes is on Him. I reminded myself that this is the day that the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it. I was determined to feed on His faithfulness. I wanted to believe in the laws of attraction. That if you think positively, you begin to attract positive things around you. And it worked. It's not that unpleasant things did not happen at all in school. First thing I arrived in school, boss called and asked me to get rid of rubbish all over the school after the sports. The first thing on my mind was 'Why me?' but I decided to be happy and just carried it out happily. I decided not to fret and complain. Then, my best friend called and she came over to school to have breakfast with me. We had a good time and I shared my troubles with her.
He knew I needed someone to talk. Then, later, someone donated 100 ringgit for my class fund.