Winners and Whinners

I should keep my blog untastefully short and plain today. Just to update people who were concerned with my disappearance over the past few days.

For the record, Saturday turned out to be one of the less eventful weekends I ever had. Waking up at six"ish" on a bright Saturday morning is hardly a good way to start the weekend. Being assigned to man the zebra crossing just in case some over zealous zebras decided to take time off to cross the road ( I know it is LAME), while being asked to put on a fluorescent yellowish vest which make me look like a mobile disco van. All we need are just brooms and we would be mistaken as doing CWOs. IN fact we are actually doing that, we are after all CHIJ Walkathon Officials. So was there a hidden agenda behind our role as road marshalls? ...Hm... that's food for thought. Together with the red cap which make me look lke a total mismatch, I decided to do the best of the whole attire and put the luminous vest away, assuming that my height and towering presence will be enough to stop any waylaid traffic, cars or girls.

I also discovered my niche as a traffic controller which I could do as a part time basis. All I have to do was to raise my right hand with authority, and I have the ability a-la-MOSES to part the traffic and allow the Israelites opps, IJ girls to cross the road. With my cool looking shades and floral beach bermudas, all that was lacking was a staff. I can just imagine myself in the traffic police uniform with a whistle in hand and wearing white gloves. A career that "commands" respect. At the junction of balestier road and thomson road, I can just experienced how Sir Stamford Raffles felt standing in front of the Victoria Theatre and along Singapore river, with his arms folded, bored and useless. Have you ever thought of what our dear man is pondering about?




After the walkathon, I actually spend the most productive part of the day with my girls playing netball, or should I say instructing them on how to better play the game. Easy said than done, for somebody who is not really an excellent player, all I can provide are pointer in theory. If it work, good, well, theoretically it should. We will know about it by Wednesday. I was also impressed by some fo the girls attempts to do the cheerleadering. It may seems totally unproductive for me, but I can say that this is the most relaxing period of time I had with the class since adventure camp, away from all the nitty gritty stuff of academia and administrative mind-boggle.

As for the fund raising, I think I will make good my promise of a BBQ for the class. They truly deserve it. In the beginning we set a modest goal of 3000 and we did not just hit it, we actually exceeded it! Make that $5290. We will most probably be the top class! How's that for exceeding the target! I hope the girls would hold fast this feeling of exceeding their goal and channel the same to their studies.

The netball carnival is on tomorrow and I believe that the girls are excited about it. I regreted that I would not be able to be there with the girls and I would love to be there to see them as a class. Deep inside I know that this will help to bond the class. had a talk with a couple of my girls; it was nice to see them getting upset and frustrated about the netball carnival. I am not sadistic but I see this as a genuine concern for the class and the desire to do well. As I mentioned in class and to some of you ( not going to be too lor suo ie looooooooong winded) Everybody is different in their own unique sense, and everybody see things in their own perspective. As a class, we need to understand that we work together as a team and we learnt to see each other viewpoint. Sometimes, in our preoccupations, for the matter, people get clouded by our own prejudices, beliefs and values that we failed to understand the basics behind the human - we are different! There is never right or wrong in a judgement just the consequences that you will have to face. Even in a judgement we can learn, develop and equip ourselves with experience that could be so valubale in your everyday life 5, 10, or even 30 years down the road. Maybe a month or even a year later you will all look back at this with fond memories and may even laugh the whole matter with a shrug of the shoulder. And that my girls, are what winners are made of!

I look forward to 3/4's victorious return!