My landlady has an only child. The girl is going to be 17 when she hits her birthday this year. She wasn't planning to learn to drive. Why? Because mum and dad said she has to dig money out of her saving account to learn driving. Not only that, she suspected she would become the official driver for her parents. Should she get into any accidents, points will be deducted from her license.
Since my son and I listened to her attentively and respected her view, she in turn listened to our view. We told her that learner's cost goes up every year, in 2004 it cost $750, by 2008 it was $850. Now it may cost $1050 or more.
Then we explained that it is very common that a young person passed his or her driving test and then leave the home town to study pre-university in another city. Unless dad coughed out $15,000 or so for a second hand car, most students do not drive. Once the two years are up, a "p" license will convert to a normal license.
She could see our points are valid. But of course it is her choice when she decides to learn to drive.
Monday, January 27, 2020
(1214) Child Labour
Today is the third day in Chinese New Year. There was an all girls troupe of lion dancers performing in the Giant Supermarket. I heard that the Giant chain of supermarkets in Sabah was being taken over by a group from Labuan. Already Giant in Tawau was in new hands with new name.
After lunch we were outside of Kentucky Fried Chicken. The door to KFC kitchen was open. Three boys were collecting paper recyclables in black bags on trolley to a small lorry outside. A boy that looked like 11 years old was wheeling the trolley. Another smaller boy that could be 7 or so was loading the trolley. A third one that could be 14 was standing up in the loading area to pack the bags tightly.
My son said that these boys probably came from the interior and were too poor to go to school. Their parents may have too many children to feed that they were farmed out to relatives near the city. The relatives found individuals who would feed, house, train the boys to a legitimate line of work. Near my place there is a restaurant that sells economic noodles for breakfast and economic mix rice for lunch. The lady boss is a fair, even-temper individual who trained her servers from young, maybe 12 to 14. As far as I could see, she had been having the same three servers (2 boys and 1 older girl) for the past 5 years and now there is a 13 year old new additional girl.
Well, certainly these boys will have a better future than the five glue sniffers who sleep rough in front of the shops. Being employed bodes well, they could advance to better jobs as time goes on. It is better than the undocumented children that hang around the dumb site. It is sad that the very state that produced the most resources happened to be the second poorest in my country. I certainly do not see Malaysian citizens being deprived of education in the Peninsular. But here, things are very different.
After lunch we were outside of Kentucky Fried Chicken. The door to KFC kitchen was open. Three boys were collecting paper recyclables in black bags on trolley to a small lorry outside. A boy that looked like 11 years old was wheeling the trolley. Another smaller boy that could be 7 or so was loading the trolley. A third one that could be 14 was standing up in the loading area to pack the bags tightly.
My son said that these boys probably came from the interior and were too poor to go to school. Their parents may have too many children to feed that they were farmed out to relatives near the city. The relatives found individuals who would feed, house, train the boys to a legitimate line of work. Near my place there is a restaurant that sells economic noodles for breakfast and economic mix rice for lunch. The lady boss is a fair, even-temper individual who trained her servers from young, maybe 12 to 14. As far as I could see, she had been having the same three servers (2 boys and 1 older girl) for the past 5 years and now there is a 13 year old new additional girl.
Well, certainly these boys will have a better future than the five glue sniffers who sleep rough in front of the shops. Being employed bodes well, they could advance to better jobs as time goes on. It is better than the undocumented children that hang around the dumb site. It is sad that the very state that produced the most resources happened to be the second poorest in my country. I certainly do not see Malaysian citizens being deprived of education in the Peninsular. But here, things are very different.
(1213) The Cost of Writing
It is interesting that the threat of death took away all my fears. In surviving, after spending much in medical cost, I need an alternate source of income. I am very blessed that my husband is my publisher. My eldest child is my editor and my youngest child is my proof-reader. Something like a family enterprise. Now that I am a published author, the next logical step is to give talks.
Now, if you are thinking of writing and publishing books, there are habits you have to pick up:
1. writing daily
2. my writing professor gave me the advice of reading good books, she separated her thumb and her index finger to be 2-3 inches apart and said keep reading weekly.
3. open your mind to life long learning - you must keep picking up new facts, new thoughts and new things to write about.
4. join a public library nearby and visit it fortnightly
5. love languages, be intoxicated with words, be accepting to new ideas
6. surround yourself with word smiths: language teachers, reporters, lawyers, writers, editors, people in advertising, people in public relations, bloggers,...
7. develop perseverance. If you want to be picked by a publishing house, you have to be able handle rejections, possibly years of it. Real gold is refined by fire. Real talents would last and perhaps win out ultimately against adversity.
Now, if you are thinking of writing and publishing books, there are habits you have to pick up:
1. writing daily
2. my writing professor gave me the advice of reading good books, she separated her thumb and her index finger to be 2-3 inches apart and said keep reading weekly.
3. open your mind to life long learning - you must keep picking up new facts, new thoughts and new things to write about.
4. join a public library nearby and visit it fortnightly
5. love languages, be intoxicated with words, be accepting to new ideas
6. surround yourself with word smiths: language teachers, reporters, lawyers, writers, editors, people in advertising, people in public relations, bloggers,...
7. develop perseverance. If you want to be picked by a publishing house, you have to be able handle rejections, possibly years of it. Real gold is refined by fire. Real talents would last and perhaps win out ultimately against adversity.
(1212) A Lifetime of writing
If I had accepted the high school- college scholarship, I definitely would not be here today. I would be exclusively Mandarin speaking. At age 13 when I joined a Malay school, I could not speak English, neither could I speak Malay. It was very difficult to overcome the language barrier.
I came from a poor family, at a very young age I was enterprising enough to sell articles to Chinese newspapers and magazines. At first I was paid in stamps, which I would use to write to pen friends outside of Malaysia. Later as the articles became longer, postal orders were used. The most I was paid for a single story was to Reader's Digest All in A Day's Work at US$30, it was a joke with a 63 word count.
Eight years after my first offer, I did accept an offer to study in Virginia, USA. It was not for writing. I was selected for being good in all three branches of Science and Mathematics. Of course being able to write well helped tremendously in the selection essays or statement of purpose.
In the university, I had to fulfil requirements. In year two I took a second level writing course and chose to write a term paper on my maternal grandma's biography. In year three I could not find anything I like and ended up with an independent study writing Chinese folk tales with my writing instructor. My instructor happened to be a professional copy-editor, she was surprised that as a foreign student I could produce work on par with publishable manuscript. She made me promise I would hold on to the eight folk tales and not throw them away. I actually brought it back from Texas both in diskette and in printed forms.
Thirty six years passed by. I still write almost daily, in my journals, letters, notes, e-mails, ... Then when my children showed me what a nifty way it is to store things on line, I started blogging. In no time was I convinced to publish my work. I didn't need money as my needs are few. I am fearful of being known. It is very easy to be totally anonymous. I have little ambition, and I no longer wanted to be rich. I have seen how my friends and classmates become rich and turned into people I could hardly recognise. And I dare not say that wealth would not change me to be a lesser person. And so I muddle on, year after year.
Then I was sick and came close to dying. I told my children I have stored on line 7 and 1/2 books. I offered to write down instructions on how to get them ready for publishing. They dared not take on the responsibility to publish posthumously. It was a mental choice to fight to live. By God's mercy, I won the battle and live to publish 3 books. The first was Stories My Grandma Told me. The second was Animal Stories and the third was a Chinese translation of book one plus an article left by my dad: The Stories of Four Generations. The fourth one is in the pipeline: it will be a collection of picture devotional articles, title to be determined.
I came from a poor family, at a very young age I was enterprising enough to sell articles to Chinese newspapers and magazines. At first I was paid in stamps, which I would use to write to pen friends outside of Malaysia. Later as the articles became longer, postal orders were used. The most I was paid for a single story was to Reader's Digest All in A Day's Work at US$30, it was a joke with a 63 word count.
Eight years after my first offer, I did accept an offer to study in Virginia, USA. It was not for writing. I was selected for being good in all three branches of Science and Mathematics. Of course being able to write well helped tremendously in the selection essays or statement of purpose.
In the university, I had to fulfil requirements. In year two I took a second level writing course and chose to write a term paper on my maternal grandma's biography. In year three I could not find anything I like and ended up with an independent study writing Chinese folk tales with my writing instructor. My instructor happened to be a professional copy-editor, she was surprised that as a foreign student I could produce work on par with publishable manuscript. She made me promise I would hold on to the eight folk tales and not throw them away. I actually brought it back from Texas both in diskette and in printed forms.
Thirty six years passed by. I still write almost daily, in my journals, letters, notes, e-mails, ... Then when my children showed me what a nifty way it is to store things on line, I started blogging. In no time was I convinced to publish my work. I didn't need money as my needs are few. I am fearful of being known. It is very easy to be totally anonymous. I have little ambition, and I no longer wanted to be rich. I have seen how my friends and classmates become rich and turned into people I could hardly recognise. And I dare not say that wealth would not change me to be a lesser person. And so I muddle on, year after year.
Then I was sick and came close to dying. I told my children I have stored on line 7 and 1/2 books. I offered to write down instructions on how to get them ready for publishing. They dared not take on the responsibility to publish posthumously. It was a mental choice to fight to live. By God's mercy, I won the battle and live to publish 3 books. The first was Stories My Grandma Told me. The second was Animal Stories and the third was a Chinese translation of book one plus an article left by my dad: The Stories of Four Generations. The fourth one is in the pipeline: it will be a collection of picture devotional articles, title to be determined.
(1211) The act of writing
There are three groups of people.
1. Those who write naturally
2. Those who write with great difficulties
3. Those who work really hard to write well
It is easy for group 1 to become writers.
It is inevitable that 99% of group 2 do not write daily for enjoyment.
I can think of two individuals from group 3: a form mate of mine became a staff writer in the main English newspaper. She was in my class at age 13. Later I joined the science stream but she chose the arts stream.
My youngest daughter's bus mate who became a cub reporter for a weekend newspaper in Silver City.
From the time I was nine years old I was aware that I enjoyed writing and could produce work that was passed around among the Chinese language teachers in the staff room. Most of the time I was embarrassed because I did not work hard and didn't really deserve to be praised.
At age 12 the headmistress offered me a private scholarship to a private Chinese High School. She promised me that should I continue to write well, the scholarship would extend to a journalism degree in Taiwan. The sponsors were a group of wealthy women who would like to see a female become the executive editor of a Chinese national daily.
I kept quiet about the offer because I knew that my mum and dad would force me to accept it. They both feel that I should confine my natural talents to serve the Chinese language, culture and community.
Being stubborn, I went to a Malay school and pursue my dream of becoming good in English. Looking back, it was a mulish habit to fight a disability. It would have been very natural and easy to pursue what I was born to excel in and become a specialist in that field.
That was not to be.
1. Those who write naturally
2. Those who write with great difficulties
3. Those who work really hard to write well
It is easy for group 1 to become writers.
It is inevitable that 99% of group 2 do not write daily for enjoyment.
I can think of two individuals from group 3: a form mate of mine became a staff writer in the main English newspaper. She was in my class at age 13. Later I joined the science stream but she chose the arts stream.
My youngest daughter's bus mate who became a cub reporter for a weekend newspaper in Silver City.
From the time I was nine years old I was aware that I enjoyed writing and could produce work that was passed around among the Chinese language teachers in the staff room. Most of the time I was embarrassed because I did not work hard and didn't really deserve to be praised.
At age 12 the headmistress offered me a private scholarship to a private Chinese High School. She promised me that should I continue to write well, the scholarship would extend to a journalism degree in Taiwan. The sponsors were a group of wealthy women who would like to see a female become the executive editor of a Chinese national daily.
I kept quiet about the offer because I knew that my mum and dad would force me to accept it. They both feel that I should confine my natural talents to serve the Chinese language, culture and community.
Being stubborn, I went to a Malay school and pursue my dream of becoming good in English. Looking back, it was a mulish habit to fight a disability. It would have been very natural and easy to pursue what I was born to excel in and become a specialist in that field.
That was not to be.
Thursday, January 23, 2020
(1211) smash the hand phone
The smart phone is a versatile instrument that most people could not live without.
More than ten years ago I was staying in a rental semi-detached on a road called Desa Mansion. It was an old housing estate very near to the city in a tin mining town. The average number of people staying in those big houses is four. Many such houses were occupied by the old folks whose children have flown the coup.
Opposite my house lived a young couple with one son and one maid in renovated splendour. There were four huge rooms upstairs and one spacious room downstairs. The young mistress was a beautiful woman. She owns her retreat house a few miles away. Whenever she had a tiff with her indulgent husband, she would disappear for a few weeks before being "courted" by her husband to return.
One day he must have laid down some unacceptable rules, she threw her new hand phone (purchased and given by her husband) onto his new car's windscreen. I happened to be weeding in my front garden and heard the crash. Soon a group of old ladies and maids gathered in front of my gate to look at the shattered windscreen.
If you have been following this blog lately, you would know a 13 year old boy who alternated between mom's and dad's abodes. He was given I-pad and I-phone when he was 7 years old. Both gadgets were abruptly withdrawn one November, he was angry enough to throw his phone at the wide screen TV. As a consequence of the action, he was denied a vacation in his father's town.
Here I note that the action of a child was not very different from that of a 35 year old woman who was a successful car salesperson.
More than ten years ago I was staying in a rental semi-detached on a road called Desa Mansion. It was an old housing estate very near to the city in a tin mining town. The average number of people staying in those big houses is four. Many such houses were occupied by the old folks whose children have flown the coup.
Opposite my house lived a young couple with one son and one maid in renovated splendour. There were four huge rooms upstairs and one spacious room downstairs. The young mistress was a beautiful woman. She owns her retreat house a few miles away. Whenever she had a tiff with her indulgent husband, she would disappear for a few weeks before being "courted" by her husband to return.
One day he must have laid down some unacceptable rules, she threw her new hand phone (purchased and given by her husband) onto his new car's windscreen. I happened to be weeding in my front garden and heard the crash. Soon a group of old ladies and maids gathered in front of my gate to look at the shattered windscreen.
If you have been following this blog lately, you would know a 13 year old boy who alternated between mom's and dad's abodes. He was given I-pad and I-phone when he was 7 years old. Both gadgets were abruptly withdrawn one November, he was angry enough to throw his phone at the wide screen TV. As a consequence of the action, he was denied a vacation in his father's town.
Here I note that the action of a child was not very different from that of a 35 year old woman who was a successful car salesperson.
(1210) Swear words
Swearing is like smoking. One can easily pick it up from family members and people around either at home or in school.
I had a Chemistry professor who said "sugar!" whenever she got flustered or upset. Most people would utter "sh*t" in undertone. My lab buddy, however, chose to say "shark!" whenever her experiments were going to pieces. We were doing organic chemistry experiments that were long, complicated and it was often tedious to get satisfactory result.
Here in a corner of Borneo, Chinese school boys say "Da bien" (sh*t) in abandon. I hear it in bus stops, shops near secondary schools. Interestingly, my son claimed that some of them limit such swear words to outside of the parental orbit. There is a tuition centre in my housing estate. Children were utilising hand phone to call for rides, often they play games and talk to their friends too. The few times I walked past, conversations were peppered with very colourful language, either in Mandarin or Cantonese.
Just a few days ago, I was commenting about English pronunciation, accent, and ability to persuade. One of the students in my son's tutoring group is 13 years old. He evidently has the gift of the gab. Without trying too hard, he could be witty and sarcastic. I said in passing that if he could improve his Bahasa (the national language, used in the courts), he would make a good lawyer. He laughed and said that would be over his parents' dead bodies. Somehow Chinese still think that lawyers subvert justice by saving murderers from death sentences. Anyway, he said that he would only get himself into jail should he swear at the judge in court when provoked. Interesting!
I had a Chemistry professor who said "sugar!" whenever she got flustered or upset. Most people would utter "sh*t" in undertone. My lab buddy, however, chose to say "shark!" whenever her experiments were going to pieces. We were doing organic chemistry experiments that were long, complicated and it was often tedious to get satisfactory result.
Here in a corner of Borneo, Chinese school boys say "Da bien" (sh*t) in abandon. I hear it in bus stops, shops near secondary schools. Interestingly, my son claimed that some of them limit such swear words to outside of the parental orbit. There is a tuition centre in my housing estate. Children were utilising hand phone to call for rides, often they play games and talk to their friends too. The few times I walked past, conversations were peppered with very colourful language, either in Mandarin or Cantonese.
Just a few days ago, I was commenting about English pronunciation, accent, and ability to persuade. One of the students in my son's tutoring group is 13 years old. He evidently has the gift of the gab. Without trying too hard, he could be witty and sarcastic. I said in passing that if he could improve his Bahasa (the national language, used in the courts), he would make a good lawyer. He laughed and said that would be over his parents' dead bodies. Somehow Chinese still think that lawyers subvert justice by saving murderers from death sentences. Anyway, he said that he would only get himself into jail should he swear at the judge in court when provoked. Interesting!
(1209) Music police
Mrs Francis is an avid orchestra fan. She watches musical concerts, opera, ballet, plays and visiting singer's concerts.
Her husband, however, is totally bored by such entertainment. It does not matter how mush the tickets cost, he invariably measures such events by how long he could sleep without snoring.
One day, his beloved daughter took part as Alice in a ballet end of the year performance: Alice in Wonderland. Well, he could hardly excuse himself this round. It looked like he had to suffer through it, whether he likes to or not. And the entire family and extended clan would be there to prevent him from sleeping.
It just so happened that Mr Francis sat on the second row dead centre in the auditorium. Every time he nodded off, the sweet young thing in front of him would turn her head swiftly to the right or to the left to talk to either seat partner. It was sweet justice, from the perspective of Mrs Francis, that every bout of sleep was interrupted by swishing hair slashing against Francis' bull dog face.
Believe you me, he didn't get to sleep at all. The long hair teenager acted unknowingly as a music police to wake him up time and again.
Her husband, however, is totally bored by such entertainment. It does not matter how mush the tickets cost, he invariably measures such events by how long he could sleep without snoring.
One day, his beloved daughter took part as Alice in a ballet end of the year performance: Alice in Wonderland. Well, he could hardly excuse himself this round. It looked like he had to suffer through it, whether he likes to or not. And the entire family and extended clan would be there to prevent him from sleeping.
It just so happened that Mr Francis sat on the second row dead centre in the auditorium. Every time he nodded off, the sweet young thing in front of him would turn her head swiftly to the right or to the left to talk to either seat partner. It was sweet justice, from the perspective of Mrs Francis, that every bout of sleep was interrupted by swishing hair slashing against Francis' bull dog face.
Believe you me, he didn't get to sleep at all. The long hair teenager acted unknowingly as a music police to wake him up time and again.
(1208) Courting allowance
Here in a back water town, I see many interesting dramas. I'll relate one.
Two families live within hailing distance. One on the left side and the other on the right side separated by about six houses. Family has a seventeen year old boy. Family B produced three pretty daughters. The middle girl who is fourteen years old chose our teenage boy hero as her boy friend. Please note that both families fully sanction the relationship.
In fact the girl's mum made plans that the boy's parents fully concur with. When the girl finishes her school certificate, at age 16(she must have skipped a year), both boy and girl friend will go to Taiwan to further their studies. The boy will go to university and the girl will go for make-up and skin care course.
Meanwhile, the boy is spending most of his allowance on her. He even saves up any extra to indulge her on her whims: maybe a facial in a new place that costs $120. If you look at his family background, you may see why it is so. The boy's uncle fell in love with a girl of a different race against the family's wishes. It happened that she was pregnant and they were forced to get married. He had no choice but to change his religion to follow her according to the law of the land. Sad to say the marriage did not last. She divorced him leaving behind two children for the father and grandma to care for. It is hard to believe but the eligible single father remained single.
Whether this relationship works out or not in the end, it does not matter. It is an acceptable girl. She is from the right race, right religion and correct background. AS the guy's dad and grandma are well to do, they don't mind indulging him with a hefty monthly courting allowance.
Two families live within hailing distance. One on the left side and the other on the right side separated by about six houses. Family has a seventeen year old boy. Family B produced three pretty daughters. The middle girl who is fourteen years old chose our teenage boy hero as her boy friend. Please note that both families fully sanction the relationship.
In fact the girl's mum made plans that the boy's parents fully concur with. When the girl finishes her school certificate, at age 16(she must have skipped a year), both boy and girl friend will go to Taiwan to further their studies. The boy will go to university and the girl will go for make-up and skin care course.
Meanwhile, the boy is spending most of his allowance on her. He even saves up any extra to indulge her on her whims: maybe a facial in a new place that costs $120. If you look at his family background, you may see why it is so. The boy's uncle fell in love with a girl of a different race against the family's wishes. It happened that she was pregnant and they were forced to get married. He had no choice but to change his religion to follow her according to the law of the land. Sad to say the marriage did not last. She divorced him leaving behind two children for the father and grandma to care for. It is hard to believe but the eligible single father remained single.
Whether this relationship works out or not in the end, it does not matter. It is an acceptable girl. She is from the right race, right religion and correct background. AS the guy's dad and grandma are well to do, they don't mind indulging him with a hefty monthly courting allowance.
(1207) To give or not to give
In the last blog, we talked about illicit hand phones that parents know nothing about. Let us follow such transactions through the years.
A bought a second-hand phone from a school mate. He placed it in another friend's house within walking distance from his home. As the phone ages, he could no longer continue to play certain games as they evolved until the old phone no longer could function efficiently running such a big program due to the memory constraints.
The old phone, however, is still perfectly functional. One could use it for What's app, We chat, sms, go online, take selfie and video. It has a certain monetary value for those who are not gamers. A could locate a buyer and unload his old phone before purchasing a brand new phone should he be able to save up enough dough. And of course such transactions are often risk prone. A friend's friend may not be trustworthy when it comes to financial dealing. Should any parent or teacher sniff any scent of such illicit sale or purchase, the authorities would clamp down on it and everyone loses either item or cash. Worse still, a person's credibility is totally gone in a moment.
Still, the smart phone is an essential part of our lives. You give it to a child too early and you create unnecessary problems. Yet if you with hold it for too long, your child will suffer the under development of digital soft skills which is so important for successful modern living.
A bought a second-hand phone from a school mate. He placed it in another friend's house within walking distance from his home. As the phone ages, he could no longer continue to play certain games as they evolved until the old phone no longer could function efficiently running such a big program due to the memory constraints.
The old phone, however, is still perfectly functional. One could use it for What's app, We chat, sms, go online, take selfie and video. It has a certain monetary value for those who are not gamers. A could locate a buyer and unload his old phone before purchasing a brand new phone should he be able to save up enough dough. And of course such transactions are often risk prone. A friend's friend may not be trustworthy when it comes to financial dealing. Should any parent or teacher sniff any scent of such illicit sale or purchase, the authorities would clamp down on it and everyone loses either item or cash. Worse still, a person's credibility is totally gone in a moment.
Still, the smart phone is an essential part of our lives. You give it to a child too early and you create unnecessary problems. Yet if you with hold it for too long, your child will suffer the under development of digital soft skills which is so important for successful modern living.
(1206) Game addict
Starting from Atari, video games on TV screen have entered the home as a means of entertainment. About 40 years ago, I spent an entire night glued to a monitor screen playing "dungeon and dragons". That was in the 24hour computer centre in the Science Building on campus. It was also the very last time I played any electronic game.
Here in a coastal city along the Eastern side of Borneo, it seemed that every other teenager is playing some smart phone game. That day as I walked past a Malay eating place two Malay teenagers were playing "Wang Tzi" (The prince) at 7am on a week day. It is a game from China.
Let us follow the electronic path of a sixteen year old boy. Dad bought him a smart phone for his 12th birthday. He made full use of it playing games of all kinds until the phone was worn out. Then he substituted each phone with his dad's cast off. By the time he is 14, dad confiscated his phone for weekdays because he was by then a game addict who would lose sleep to win. But dad did not know that he secretly saved up his allowance to buy a second hand phone from his school mate. He was smart enough to hide his illicit phone in his friend's house which is within walking distance from his home. Therefore even on weekdays he has access to games in the afternoons.
I heard from his friends that he was putting his game accounts for sale to raise fund to purchase new phone. By now he has invested many years of his free time to rise up in the gaming hierarchy and he has spent perhaps $1,400 into buying all kinds of accessories and software peripherals popular to teenagers in this part of the world. He is asking for $500 for each account. We will see if there is any takers!
Here in a coastal city along the Eastern side of Borneo, it seemed that every other teenager is playing some smart phone game. That day as I walked past a Malay eating place two Malay teenagers were playing "Wang Tzi" (The prince) at 7am on a week day. It is a game from China.
Let us follow the electronic path of a sixteen year old boy. Dad bought him a smart phone for his 12th birthday. He made full use of it playing games of all kinds until the phone was worn out. Then he substituted each phone with his dad's cast off. By the time he is 14, dad confiscated his phone for weekdays because he was by then a game addict who would lose sleep to win. But dad did not know that he secretly saved up his allowance to buy a second hand phone from his school mate. He was smart enough to hide his illicit phone in his friend's house which is within walking distance from his home. Therefore even on weekdays he has access to games in the afternoons.
I heard from his friends that he was putting his game accounts for sale to raise fund to purchase new phone. By now he has invested many years of his free time to rise up in the gaming hierarchy and he has spent perhaps $1,400 into buying all kinds of accessories and software peripherals popular to teenagers in this part of the world. He is asking for $500 for each account. We will see if there is any takers!
(1205) Change of perspective
It is interesting how a person can change her perspective quite a bit over the years.
Twenty six years ago, I was in silver city. As my youngest was in morning session for the first year in standard 4, I excused myself from my care group on Wednesday nights. To fit in the bed time for early rising, I started to attend a cell group from a sister church on Friday nights.
Veronica is the parent of a child in my youngest daughter's class. She invited me to join her group. For a consultant specialist in a private hospital, it is unheard of that a specialist doctor paid only $10 for her hair cut. That year, all three of her daughters were under the age of 10, so all four of the females would go to have their hair cut in the same saloon near the market. I must confess that I was a homemaker with zero earning potential, yet I paid $12 for a trim in a place near my housing estate. Well, I figure for a person without a car, the nearest place would make the most sense.
Lately, I visited her and wrapped up my third book in her lovely home. It was ten days of eight hour work to proof read and write up the preface and the epilogue. It was blessed silence in her mansion quite apart from the main road and traffic. I enjoyed three meals a day prepared by her maid. Laundry was taken care off. The phone was off and stored in a drawer upstairs. It was easy to do good work in such peaceful surrounding. Now I know why authors have their hideaway house. Only thing this poor and unknown author could not afford to own such a place. God has been good to me to supply me my good friend's home.
We talked about skin care one evening. Even though I have never been a well-to-do person, I invested money into my youngest' skin regimen. Somehow I knew she was destined for a public career, she has the looks, the personality, the capability and the poise to rise above the hum drum rank and file.
My hostess talked about how she spent money on facial for all three of her daughters. How the business worked is for a client to purchase a certificate worth $1,000 which will be valid for one calendar year. One could use it for facial or to purchase skin care products. That particular brand of products solved her elder two children's skin problems. From the details given, she was purchasing the fourth certificate a few days prior to my visit. I listened to all she said with patience and interest, but I know $680 for a year's worth of cleanser and toner would be way out of my daughter's pay grade, especially if she has to travel to a town three hours away for facials periodically.
Twenty six years ago, I was in silver city. As my youngest was in morning session for the first year in standard 4, I excused myself from my care group on Wednesday nights. To fit in the bed time for early rising, I started to attend a cell group from a sister church on Friday nights.
Veronica is the parent of a child in my youngest daughter's class. She invited me to join her group. For a consultant specialist in a private hospital, it is unheard of that a specialist doctor paid only $10 for her hair cut. That year, all three of her daughters were under the age of 10, so all four of the females would go to have their hair cut in the same saloon near the market. I must confess that I was a homemaker with zero earning potential, yet I paid $12 for a trim in a place near my housing estate. Well, I figure for a person without a car, the nearest place would make the most sense.
Lately, I visited her and wrapped up my third book in her lovely home. It was ten days of eight hour work to proof read and write up the preface and the epilogue. It was blessed silence in her mansion quite apart from the main road and traffic. I enjoyed three meals a day prepared by her maid. Laundry was taken care off. The phone was off and stored in a drawer upstairs. It was easy to do good work in such peaceful surrounding. Now I know why authors have their hideaway house. Only thing this poor and unknown author could not afford to own such a place. God has been good to me to supply me my good friend's home.
We talked about skin care one evening. Even though I have never been a well-to-do person, I invested money into my youngest' skin regimen. Somehow I knew she was destined for a public career, she has the looks, the personality, the capability and the poise to rise above the hum drum rank and file.
My hostess talked about how she spent money on facial for all three of her daughters. How the business worked is for a client to purchase a certificate worth $1,000 which will be valid for one calendar year. One could use it for facial or to purchase skin care products. That particular brand of products solved her elder two children's skin problems. From the details given, she was purchasing the fourth certificate a few days prior to my visit. I listened to all she said with patience and interest, but I know $680 for a year's worth of cleanser and toner would be way out of my daughter's pay grade, especially if she has to travel to a town three hours away for facials periodically.
(1204)Handmade mouse mama.
Looking at a book teaching mothers how to hand sew soft toys, I thought of one particular toy.
Until today, I haven't seen it. However, I have a detail description of it from my auntie. It is a cloth-made mama mouse. There is a hat matching the country cottage long dress. The mama mouse was holding a cloth basket made of cherry motive cloth trimmed with lace. Without using a ruler, I think from the hat to the hem of the dress is about ten inches. The overall colour scheme is pastel.
About six months after the birth of my last child, I lost the ability to walk. My toddler was sent to my parents' in laws, my baby was cared for by a day nanny who came to my house. My cousin who grew up in my parent's house (before I left for further studies and get married) bought and gave the above described toy to my toddler.
This is probably 26 years later. Yesterday I repaired a teddy bear shredded by a rather "violent" washing machine. The teddy was a Christmas present given by the church to my son (a Sunday School pupil) many years ago. My youngest was given a duck. The two duly exchanged their gifts. After all, the toy duck wore no clothes (therefore gender neutral) but the bear wore a sailor dress. Yes, that many years ago, even children under the age of 9 knew instinctively about such things.
I heard about the toy when my auntie was thinking of buying something like that for her first grand daughter. Interestingly my cousin the purchaser had forgotten all about the toy mouse. My uncle, however, gave my auntie an earful for contemplating to fritter away hard earned cash. He thought it would be ridiculous to spend $100 for such a toy. On the other hand, my mum firmly believed that a limited edition hand made soft toy would sell above $200.
*............
*
Until today, I haven't seen it. However, I have a detail description of it from my auntie. It is a cloth-made mama mouse. There is a hat matching the country cottage long dress. The mama mouse was holding a cloth basket made of cherry motive cloth trimmed with lace. Without using a ruler, I think from the hat to the hem of the dress is about ten inches. The overall colour scheme is pastel.
About six months after the birth of my last child, I lost the ability to walk. My toddler was sent to my parents' in laws, my baby was cared for by a day nanny who came to my house. My cousin who grew up in my parent's house (before I left for further studies and get married) bought and gave the above described toy to my toddler.
This is probably 26 years later. Yesterday I repaired a teddy bear shredded by a rather "violent" washing machine. The teddy was a Christmas present given by the church to my son (a Sunday School pupil) many years ago. My youngest was given a duck. The two duly exchanged their gifts. After all, the toy duck wore no clothes (therefore gender neutral) but the bear wore a sailor dress. Yes, that many years ago, even children under the age of 9 knew instinctively about such things.
I heard about the toy when my auntie was thinking of buying something like that for her first grand daughter. Interestingly my cousin the purchaser had forgotten all about the toy mouse. My uncle, however, gave my auntie an earful for contemplating to fritter away hard earned cash. He thought it would be ridiculous to spend $100 for such a toy. On the other hand, my mum firmly believed that a limited edition hand made soft toy would sell above $200.
*............
*
Sunday, January 19, 2020
(1203) Skills acquired
I ask myself what I did learn from the one-month work as child minder and cook?
The first answer is gratefulness that as a family we resisted big screen colour TV and wireless 24 hour TV programming. As my children were growing up, we moved from one rental property to the next. Without proper TV antenna, even a 20-inch colour TV screen was no fun to watch. When my children fell in love with the cartoon channel, it was my husband who veto having to pay $80 a month of subscription fee to Astro the cable network.
After I stopped working full time, my children were privileged to grow up with lots of children's books borrowed from public library. Imagine, if a mother gives 0-7 years of full time care to each child she bears, it usually equals to a career suicide if she has more than 2 children and if there is a gap between children. Yet I have seen friends who worked full time until the last child turned 7 before quitting their job to drive the car pools. Invariably they have tough time working against the habits of half grown children formed under other carers.
Of course those who worked that extra ten or more years would have accumulated much money in Employee Provident Fund. Perhaps they have invested in a well rounded share portfolio or own one rental property.
Going back to the topic at hand, I have achieved only two things:
1. The girl's table manners improved
2. Should the boy implement my suggestions, he would be able to overcome a range of social ineptness.
The first answer is gratefulness that as a family we resisted big screen colour TV and wireless 24 hour TV programming. As my children were growing up, we moved from one rental property to the next. Without proper TV antenna, even a 20-inch colour TV screen was no fun to watch. When my children fell in love with the cartoon channel, it was my husband who veto having to pay $80 a month of subscription fee to Astro the cable network.
After I stopped working full time, my children were privileged to grow up with lots of children's books borrowed from public library. Imagine, if a mother gives 0-7 years of full time care to each child she bears, it usually equals to a career suicide if she has more than 2 children and if there is a gap between children. Yet I have seen friends who worked full time until the last child turned 7 before quitting their job to drive the car pools. Invariably they have tough time working against the habits of half grown children formed under other carers.
Of course those who worked that extra ten or more years would have accumulated much money in Employee Provident Fund. Perhaps they have invested in a well rounded share portfolio or own one rental property.
Going back to the topic at hand, I have achieved only two things:
1. The girl's table manners improved
2. Should the boy implement my suggestions, he would be able to overcome a range of social ineptness.
(1202) Poltergeist?
This is a real incident that happened in Silver City many years ago.
There was this couple in my life group. Mr Tee was a contractor. Mrs Tee was a homemaker who takes care of toddlers as a profession. One day she tagged along with her sister to visit a tarot card reader. That very evening items started flying in her home. Mr Tee called the pastor and the entire prayer team turned up. After explaining how serious it was for a believer to dabble in the occult, the couple confessed in prayer. The phenomenon ceased.
In the same city, there is a woman who warned me not to let my children watch "Teletubie" on TV. She related what she read in a magazine. There was a brother and sister duo whose ages were four and two respectively. Their parents were active Christians. Yet the children regularly watched such TV programs, followed such video programs often and owned more than twenty such soft toys. One day the children were being extra difficult and the parents locked up every single one of the soft toys. Guess what happened? Objects flew, defying gravity. The end result was the Ministry team turned up in full force, Mum and Dad repented in prayer. The toys and video tapes were burned and destroyed that very evening.
At that time, there was no working TV in my house. The very next time such a program came on in my brother's house, I watched about five minutes of it with my children, my niece and nephew. To me it seemed artificial, stilted and not interesting. As I walked off, the children changed the channel immediately. Of course all of them were then more than six years old. Apparently that program was targeted at very young children. Since my children became avid readers at very young ages, it was not that difficult to discourage TV watching on normal school days.
There was this couple in my life group. Mr Tee was a contractor. Mrs Tee was a homemaker who takes care of toddlers as a profession. One day she tagged along with her sister to visit a tarot card reader. That very evening items started flying in her home. Mr Tee called the pastor and the entire prayer team turned up. After explaining how serious it was for a believer to dabble in the occult, the couple confessed in prayer. The phenomenon ceased.
In the same city, there is a woman who warned me not to let my children watch "Teletubie" on TV. She related what she read in a magazine. There was a brother and sister duo whose ages were four and two respectively. Their parents were active Christians. Yet the children regularly watched such TV programs, followed such video programs often and owned more than twenty such soft toys. One day the children were being extra difficult and the parents locked up every single one of the soft toys. Guess what happened? Objects flew, defying gravity. The end result was the Ministry team turned up in full force, Mum and Dad repented in prayer. The toys and video tapes were burned and destroyed that very evening.
At that time, there was no working TV in my house. The very next time such a program came on in my brother's house, I watched about five minutes of it with my children, my niece and nephew. To me it seemed artificial, stilted and not interesting. As I walked off, the children changed the channel immediately. Of course all of them were then more than six years old. Apparently that program was targeted at very young children. Since my children became avid readers at very young ages, it was not that difficult to discourage TV watching on normal school days.
(1201) Unexpected influence of toys
This is a continuing account of the nine-year-old girl. Prior to us starting the month, the father gave us house keys and a door key to a guest room. We could lock up whatever item deemed dangerous or interfering with daily lessons.
On the Friday right before their return to home town date (Tuesday), our sassy girl threw a challenge at my son. She thought he wouldn't dare to lock up her five soft toys. Normally he is a most patient and mild person, but throw him a serious challenge and you are going to have it- exactly what one does not want to happen.
And so the five soft toys were in detention over the week end. For the following two hours, she ranted. She screamed. She cried. She begged. To no avail! Then she calmed down and it was as if nothing unusual had happened.
The next Monday, we found her almost another person. Her American accent was fading. She began to make small grammar mistakes. Her voice was less shrill. She was less intense. Even her facial expression seemed different, less I-know-better-than-you and no more smirk. She run less. She looked for snacks less frequently. The desire to strut around naked was gone.
She began begging for the soft toys to be released. After ten minutes of argument, she gave up. We told her everything in the room would come out and the keys would be returned to her dad at 5pm. It was quite an extra-ordinary experience to underline how important it was for parents to choose toys, TV programs and activities that bring good influence to their children.
On the Friday right before their return to home town date (Tuesday), our sassy girl threw a challenge at my son. She thought he wouldn't dare to lock up her five soft toys. Normally he is a most patient and mild person, but throw him a serious challenge and you are going to have it- exactly what one does not want to happen.
And so the five soft toys were in detention over the week end. For the following two hours, she ranted. She screamed. She cried. She begged. To no avail! Then she calmed down and it was as if nothing unusual had happened.
The next Monday, we found her almost another person. Her American accent was fading. She began to make small grammar mistakes. Her voice was less shrill. She was less intense. Even her facial expression seemed different, less I-know-better-than-you and no more smirk. She run less. She looked for snacks less frequently. The desire to strut around naked was gone.
She began begging for the soft toys to be released. After ten minutes of argument, she gave up. We told her everything in the room would come out and the keys would be returned to her dad at 5pm. It was quite an extra-ordinary experience to underline how important it was for parents to choose toys, TV programs and activities that bring good influence to their children.
(1200) Sibling rivalry
Comparing eating habits, the 13-year old boy was a joy to feed. Dad took his two children and carer-tutors to eat a hefty breakfast. Lunch is at 12:30 pm. Tea is at three. No matter what I served, he took normal portions.
His sister, however, is different! Every half an hour she runs to the fridge. Even after eating an adult portion of duck noodle at 7:30am, by eight she munches on a few grapes. At ten out comes the orange to be pealed. Even when all fruits are eaten, she would dip her fingers into milo powder for licking. Of course it did not help that the sweet girl gets chocolates, pastries, donuts from neighbours and dad regularly.
Since she refused to co-operate in learning the national language, we located a few work books teaching cursive writing. As her brother was diligently reading and writing essays in the national language, she habitually runs in to disturb him.
Siblings fight. These two are rough. As they wrestle, run around the apartment, sits on each other by turns, my policy is non-interference as long as there is no broken bone or bleeding. They punched and kicked, yelled in pain and each heads for time out in different rooms. Since there is a 4 year age gap, the girl is obviously at a disadvantage physically.
Only once I was concerned enough to examine her back, noted a bruise and rubbed it with ointment I found. I really cannot understand why she kept going back for more punches and physical confrontations. It is as if she hardly suffers pain like any ordinary mortal girl.
His sister, however, is different! Every half an hour she runs to the fridge. Even after eating an adult portion of duck noodle at 7:30am, by eight she munches on a few grapes. At ten out comes the orange to be pealed. Even when all fruits are eaten, she would dip her fingers into milo powder for licking. Of course it did not help that the sweet girl gets chocolates, pastries, donuts from neighbours and dad regularly.
Since she refused to co-operate in learning the national language, we located a few work books teaching cursive writing. As her brother was diligently reading and writing essays in the national language, she habitually runs in to disturb him.
Siblings fight. These two are rough. As they wrestle, run around the apartment, sits on each other by turns, my policy is non-interference as long as there is no broken bone or bleeding. They punched and kicked, yelled in pain and each heads for time out in different rooms. Since there is a 4 year age gap, the girl is obviously at a disadvantage physically.
Only once I was concerned enough to examine her back, noted a bruise and rubbed it with ointment I found. I really cannot understand why she kept going back for more punches and physical confrontations. It is as if she hardly suffers pain like any ordinary mortal girl.
Friday, January 17, 2020
(1199) Good points
It is very easy to focus on problems and miss out on the good points of a child. I am still on the two children of previous blogs.
While the boy is a rather serious young person, the girl is full of smiles. I am probably an extremely low scorer on being touchy-feely, she still managed to wrangle quite a few hugs out of me every day.
Apparently last year during Christmas carolling the eight year old girl was physically chasing shy teenage boys for bear hugs. Apart from demanding hugs every fifteen minutes, she is a load of fun to be with. It was very easy to teach her to wipe dining table and wash her own cutlery and dishes. She is most enthusiastic about helping to prepare a meal.
As my son showed her a jar of homemade cookies given by a good friend, she agreed to a competition of cleaning glass shower door to earn a right to eat the goody. I showed her how to clean one side, she scrubbed and washed the other side. In the process, she came to appreciate how difficult it was for her home helper to earn the latter's wage. I suppose it is the case of a child from upper middle class family being cocooned by the parents' earning capacity.
While the boy is a rather serious young person, the girl is full of smiles. I am probably an extremely low scorer on being touchy-feely, she still managed to wrangle quite a few hugs out of me every day.
Apparently last year during Christmas carolling the eight year old girl was physically chasing shy teenage boys for bear hugs. Apart from demanding hugs every fifteen minutes, she is a load of fun to be with. It was very easy to teach her to wipe dining table and wash her own cutlery and dishes. She is most enthusiastic about helping to prepare a meal.
As my son showed her a jar of homemade cookies given by a good friend, she agreed to a competition of cleaning glass shower door to earn a right to eat the goody. I showed her how to clean one side, she scrubbed and washed the other side. In the process, she came to appreciate how difficult it was for her home helper to earn the latter's wage. I suppose it is the case of a child from upper middle class family being cocooned by the parents' earning capacity.
Monday, January 13, 2020
(1198) Running around unclothed
Not too long ago a mum in church moaned about her two year old daughter habitually took off any clothing and pranced about the house naked. That was because of sensorial distortion, it could be very uncomfortable for a child with autistic symptoms to wear certain material.
I am still writing about the nine-year-old I took care of for one month. She played with water in the kitchen sink until she needed to change her clothes. Well, it seemed an inevitable collateral damage of learning to wash dishes under a full jet of water.
Before she walked into the master bedroom, she started stripping. Then she walked stark naked into the attached bathroom to pee. I closed her bathroom door, told her not to show herself naked out of the bedroom. And I closed the bedroom door as well on my way out.
A few minutes later, she appeared with a short T-shirt but nothing on the lower portion and sashayed across the living room towards the balcony to retrieve an underwear. I promptly dropped the fish I was washing into the sink. She giggled and dodged the towel I located to enfold her. It was great fun for her to run around semi-naked. Her brother commented from the dining table that she habitually does that at home.
I am still writing about the nine-year-old I took care of for one month. She played with water in the kitchen sink until she needed to change her clothes. Well, it seemed an inevitable collateral damage of learning to wash dishes under a full jet of water.
Before she walked into the master bedroom, she started stripping. Then she walked stark naked into the attached bathroom to pee. I closed her bathroom door, told her not to show herself naked out of the bedroom. And I closed the bedroom door as well on my way out.
A few minutes later, she appeared with a short T-shirt but nothing on the lower portion and sashayed across the living room towards the balcony to retrieve an underwear. I promptly dropped the fish I was washing into the sink. She giggled and dodged the towel I located to enfold her. It was great fun for her to run around semi-naked. Her brother commented from the dining table that she habitually does that at home.
Thursday, January 9, 2020
(1197) poor little rich kids
The two children I wrote about in the previous blog have parents who are professional high earners. Yet I find them as curiously deprived children. One would imagine after school they would be transported home and fed by a family maid. Interestingly, the elder one was dropped off early morning at a tuition centre. He does homework and eat an early lunch at the centre. Then he was sent to school by a centre driver.
The girl was dropped off at school every morning. After class she and 25 others travelled in different vehicles to the home of her class teacher. An Indonesian maid served a simple lunch. The 26 children do home work in whatever space they could find in the teacher's home.
My children did not own gadgets as these two did. But the former grew up with a lot of my time and attention. We may not eat in very expensive places. Yet within out humble means, they are exposed to a wide range of different food. The two, I recently cooked for in December, seemed totally out of the normal range . As I talked about old cucumber soup, lotus root soup and potato-tomato-carrot soup (ABC) soup, they looked blur. But they regularly drink lady fingers soup. After all, grandma plants ladies' fingers year round in her land.
The girl was dropped off at school every morning. After class she and 25 others travelled in different vehicles to the home of her class teacher. An Indonesian maid served a simple lunch. The 26 children do home work in whatever space they could find in the teacher's home.
My children did not own gadgets as these two did. But the former grew up with a lot of my time and attention. We may not eat in very expensive places. Yet within out humble means, they are exposed to a wide range of different food. The two, I recently cooked for in December, seemed totally out of the normal range . As I talked about old cucumber soup, lotus root soup and potato-tomato-carrot soup (ABC) soup, they looked blur. But they regularly drink lady fingers soup. After all, grandma plants ladies' fingers year round in her land.
Wednesday, January 8, 2020
(1196) Imaginery friend?
An old friend called. An hour of update later, she asked how I have been. Then what I was doing.
Out of the six months or so here, I spent almost three teaching a 16 year old how to read in English.
It was a case of a learning disabled child being beaten repeatedly through the early years, he completely shut down as far as learning. Tracking his word recognition and understanding, I recorded 426 words within one month.
For 20 working days in December, my son and I assumed care for a brother and sister duo. The brother is 13 and will be in Form 2 in 2020. The sister is 9 and will be in Standard 4 next year.
The brother had autistic symptoms for years. He overcome most of his problems in Standard 6 and Form 1. Looking at his passing grades in Form 1 final exam, he seemed out of the wood.
The sister, however, is a problem. She refused to learn anything but English. At home, she has a room full of Pokemon soft toys. For 11 months a year, she lives with her mom a few hundred miles away from her dad. Here, she is spending a month in her dad's company apartment. I am well used to children playing finger puppets or role playing with soft toys. However, the way she talks to her soft toys is like she is carrying a one way conversation with an imaginary friend.
Out of the six months or so here, I spent almost three teaching a 16 year old how to read in English.
It was a case of a learning disabled child being beaten repeatedly through the early years, he completely shut down as far as learning. Tracking his word recognition and understanding, I recorded 426 words within one month.
For 20 working days in December, my son and I assumed care for a brother and sister duo. The brother is 13 and will be in Form 2 in 2020. The sister is 9 and will be in Standard 4 next year.
The brother had autistic symptoms for years. He overcome most of his problems in Standard 6 and Form 1. Looking at his passing grades in Form 1 final exam, he seemed out of the wood.
The sister, however, is a problem. She refused to learn anything but English. At home, she has a room full of Pokemon soft toys. For 11 months a year, she lives with her mom a few hundred miles away from her dad. Here, she is spending a month in her dad's company apartment. I am well used to children playing finger puppets or role playing with soft toys. However, the way she talks to her soft toys is like she is carrying a one way conversation with an imaginary friend.
Monday, January 6, 2020
(1195) Failures in school
I met a lady from Silver City lately. From her I heard of the following three youngsters.
Age Gender Passing subject
9 girl English
11 boy Science
13 boy Maths
The first two are brother and sister. This year, the boy is 13 and the girl is 9. At their respective ages listed, they failed all subjects except what is listed. The interesting part is their failures are all between 20 and 29%. All three of them go to Chinese Primary Schools.
One of my son's students, he is not listed above, he heard the information from me. He himself was scoring between 20 to 29% in all subjects when he came to us in September in Standard 4. He is 14 this year. He has caught up. For the last exam in 2019, he passed all subjects except History. Now and then he gets A s in Maths and English. He said that the fact that his parents sent him to a good English speaking Kindergarten helped him. He has a good foundation in English. No doubt he could not cope with three languages in the earlier years. Now that most subjects are in the national language, Maths and Science are in two languages helped him. It is possible for him to do well in three subjects.
His Kindergarten happened to be run by my church. It is indeed heart warming to know that he felt grateful to the good teaching he received there years ago.
Age Gender Passing subject
9 girl English
11 boy Science
13 boy Maths
The first two are brother and sister. This year, the boy is 13 and the girl is 9. At their respective ages listed, they failed all subjects except what is listed. The interesting part is their failures are all between 20 and 29%. All three of them go to Chinese Primary Schools.
One of my son's students, he is not listed above, he heard the information from me. He himself was scoring between 20 to 29% in all subjects when he came to us in September in Standard 4. He is 14 this year. He has caught up. For the last exam in 2019, he passed all subjects except History. Now and then he gets A s in Maths and English. He said that the fact that his parents sent him to a good English speaking Kindergarten helped him. He has a good foundation in English. No doubt he could not cope with three languages in the earlier years. Now that most subjects are in the national language, Maths and Science are in two languages helped him. It is possible for him to do well in three subjects.
His Kindergarten happened to be run by my church. It is indeed heart warming to know that he felt grateful to the good teaching he received there years ago.
Sunday, January 5, 2020
(1194) A clown
Many years ago, I was on a city bus travelling to a bus station down town. A small brown skin man was sharing with a Hindu bus driver and an old Chinese conductress.
Apparently, the small sized man who took out a clown's hat, said that he spent seven thousand dollars learning how to be a clown. You see, he has retired from a hard life of repairing roads. The days are long, and his wife expects him to help look after grand children. According to his holy books, he should share his faith with fellow men. And yet, how can an insignificant man like him do much for God? When he saw how children thronged around a clown during the festive opening of a nearby supermarket, a bright idea appeared.
Now he avails himself to bookings. Perhaps it is a birthday party. Maybe it is a lunch wedding reception in a community hall. Sometimes it is a school function. Or an anniversary celebration of a business enterprise. He juggles three balls. He distributes sweets to children. He tells jokes. He acted. Soon he will attend additional training fine tuning his art in sculpting balloons. Being able to add that to his repertoire will help him to command more fee per booking.
Now he meets people every time he clowns and does not lack folks to talk to. He talks about how God has seen him through tough times and lean years. He shares how the good Lord leads him to become a clown. After retirement, his dull life becomes exciting with many events and bookings. He makes new friends. He enjoys his new life as a clown. He was on his way to a town called Silibin to grace a birthday party of a five-year-old.
This incident came back to mind when my son showed me a photo taken during a wedding dinner of the founder's wife of the clown school in Kuala Lumpur.
Apparently, the small sized man who took out a clown's hat, said that he spent seven thousand dollars learning how to be a clown. You see, he has retired from a hard life of repairing roads. The days are long, and his wife expects him to help look after grand children. According to his holy books, he should share his faith with fellow men. And yet, how can an insignificant man like him do much for God? When he saw how children thronged around a clown during the festive opening of a nearby supermarket, a bright idea appeared.
Now he avails himself to bookings. Perhaps it is a birthday party. Maybe it is a lunch wedding reception in a community hall. Sometimes it is a school function. Or an anniversary celebration of a business enterprise. He juggles three balls. He distributes sweets to children. He tells jokes. He acted. Soon he will attend additional training fine tuning his art in sculpting balloons. Being able to add that to his repertoire will help him to command more fee per booking.
Now he meets people every time he clowns and does not lack folks to talk to. He talks about how God has seen him through tough times and lean years. He shares how the good Lord leads him to become a clown. After retirement, his dull life becomes exciting with many events and bookings. He makes new friends. He enjoys his new life as a clown. He was on his way to a town called Silibin to grace a birthday party of a five-year-old.
This incident came back to mind when my son showed me a photo taken during a wedding dinner of the founder's wife of the clown school in Kuala Lumpur.
Thursday, January 2, 2020
(1193) Providence
God is indeed merciful. I am a child who grew up in scarcity, I tend to hoard any surplus. My son, however, is a person of simple faith. He knew that he is in the very centre of God's will. Therefore he is not bothered by the fact that he could be down to the last ten dollars before pay day. Neither does he splurge should he have a thousand dollars extra.
Since I have been here in Borneo with him the last six months, God had mercifully taken me into his consideration. Before a week night group left, God already provided amply for the expectant short fall. It is part of a tuition teacher's lot to deal with parents' finicky preferences. As a group completed PT3 (used to be called LCE or PMR) the students chose to switch over to two week end sessions in a computer aided program started by a bright spark from the state's capitol. Here I can see the attraction, it is cheaper and it leaves week nights free.
For the month of December, I took charge of feeding and supervising two children. My son took on the responsibility of working with both for two hours each week day on the all important national language. Both children usually live with their mother a few hundred miles away. Their
father visits a few times a year. During the month of December, the children spends time with dad. Since dad has to work every weekday, and there is a swimming pool in the condo compound; I feel I could not in good conscience leave a nine year and a thirteen year old with no adult supervision. Should anything happens, I would never be able to live with not helping them. Thanks to the father's generosity, the short fall in income was covered fully up to next December. It was God's creative blessing that enables my son to stick to Borneo for another calendar year. Praise be to his name. From 2013, God has brought in part-time proof reading, part-time writing, and lately temporary
childcare and short-term tuition to keep us afloat in Borneo. Great is His faithfulness.
Since I have been here in Borneo with him the last six months, God had mercifully taken me into his consideration. Before a week night group left, God already provided amply for the expectant short fall. It is part of a tuition teacher's lot to deal with parents' finicky preferences. As a group completed PT3 (used to be called LCE or PMR) the students chose to switch over to two week end sessions in a computer aided program started by a bright spark from the state's capitol. Here I can see the attraction, it is cheaper and it leaves week nights free.
For the month of December, I took charge of feeding and supervising two children. My son took on the responsibility of working with both for two hours each week day on the all important national language. Both children usually live with their mother a few hundred miles away. Their
father visits a few times a year. During the month of December, the children spends time with dad. Since dad has to work every weekday, and there is a swimming pool in the condo compound; I feel I could not in good conscience leave a nine year and a thirteen year old with no adult supervision. Should anything happens, I would never be able to live with not helping them. Thanks to the father's generosity, the short fall in income was covered fully up to next December. It was God's creative blessing that enables my son to stick to Borneo for another calendar year. Praise be to his name. From 2013, God has brought in part-time proof reading, part-time writing, and lately temporary
childcare and short-term tuition to keep us afloat in Borneo. Great is His faithfulness.
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