Mindspeaker Returns

I haven’t been blogging recently cos I’ve been sooo busy with work lately. But I don’t mind…its positive work. I know I’ll be appreciated and I enjoy it so much!

In the first two weeks of the holidays, I’d be teaching different children IT courses. Since its a break from their normal classroom routines, the kids are always delighted to attend. I can’t help but smile when I tell them I’m teaching them something fun or interesting and their eyes just light up with excitement. I could never do that with mainstream teaching. I just can’t. I’d have too many other things on my mind to worry about what to teach the kids. That’s why I salute those teachers who could do a damn good job, on top of all the other shit that they have to do. You’ll always hear me criticizing the teaching profession, but you’ll never see me criticize the teachers.

On another note…I never watched Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest till yesterday! When the third movie came out…I wasn’t really interested. However, after watching the ending of Part 2, I just can’t wait to watch the third one. We were planning to watch it today, but we decided to chill out at home instead. Maybe some other time.

Enjoy what’s left of the holidays everyone!  

I read with trepidation last Friday in the Today Paper that they were going to pilot some scheme where cyclists and pedestrians will be ’sharing’ the walkways.

Sharing? That’s not a word that cyclists actually know, you know. 

I’ve talked about it before. I had to put up with cyclists who do not give way. Who expect the right of way at all times on the walkway. They even expect my wife, my baby (in a pram) and I to move aside (even if there’s really no more space left on the walkway). They really expect us to move onto the grassy areas while they whizz past.

Sharing space sounds like a wonderful idea. Except for one slight problem. The walkways are usually very narrow. There’s usually enough space for two people to walk side by side. So usually, there is space for one pedestrian to go from A - B and another pedestrian to go from B - A. Now this is already a perfect unspoken rule for us pedestrians. However, some people choose to break this rule. Someone who is walking from B - A would purposely walk in A - B’s path. The reason being that there is a metal grating on B - A’s path. These people truly believe that the metal gratings would give way under them if they were to step onto them. So nevermind…as long as we’re ok…other people die…nevermind.

So…in view of that already present problem of space…I don’t really know how we’d have to give way to cyclists too.

Now…there’s some areas that actually create special paths for cyclists. These paths are separate from the pedestrian walkways. The ones at East Coast Park, Pasir Ris beach and Bukit Batok areas come to mind. Why can’t they just implement this system islandwide?

They say that they’d have cycling wardens for the pilot in Tampines. How that would actually change things….I have absolutely no idea. There is no space. No space! Having wardens would actually crowd the area at the walkways even further. 

I know Tampines. I studied there for 13 years. I know how crowded Tampines can be. The people who come up with these ideas obviously have their heads in the clouds. They do not live there. They hear a problem and just come up with the solution. But they are not the ones who have to implement the solutions. They are not the ones who have to experience the solutions at first hand on a day to day basis. 

The divide is becoming greater. The rich people are becoming more and more disengaged from the masses.

Just the other day…Suzanne Jung was telling us on National TV that she just learnt something new. She proudly chirped that She just realised that the last three numbers in the postal code actually identified the block number of HDB blocks! Now that’s something you won’t learn everyday. You’ve got to be in a competition (like her) to learn that fact. You definitely won’t be learning THAT if you happen to be working in Singapore for the past few years.

Thinking about the fact that Singapore is entirely enveloped with HDB flats, I am surprised that she doesn’t know that fact. You mean…all this while she only walk around District 10 and 11 huh?

I’m just saying this as another example of the rich influencing the whole of Singapore. They do not know the masses. How are they supposed to come up with the solutions when they can’t identify with the masses? 

Its going to be a case of "Let them eat cake" here one day…

The last few days of school are really hectic for me. Teachers, HODs and even the VP is piling up work for me. Somehow or other, all the meetings and competitions happen to fall at the end of this very week! So I have to help polish their presentations and competition materials.

So far…I’ve completed 2 big projects. I’m doing another 2 at this moment. Then there’s another 2 to be completed by tomorrow! Yikes!

The nice thing is that…they’re singing praises for my work. One of the HODs just now came up to me and told me that the P has been saying that she really appreciates the work that I’ve been doing so far. Its been adding value to the school. I was feeling a little down in the morning…thinking about the amount of work that needs to be done. But I felt energised the moment I heard that.

After I finished the work done for my VP, he praised me too. Then the Maths HOD praised me as well after I showed her the work I did for her.

Wah…kena ‘angkat’ so high man hahaha!

I truly enjoy my job. Its what I’m good at and I’m glad I can do what I love doing

Oh wow! They now have classrooms of the future! The Today paper has the headline "Chuck the Chalkboard". I was thinking that’s kind of funny cos we already chucked the chalkboards a long time ago. In fact, by the time I did my contract teaching (way back in 2001), schools were already using the whiteboard and markers.

I guess the newswriters must have really haggled for a long time to come up with a suitable headline to ‘throw out the whiteboard’. Maybe "Whack the whiteboard", "Wah liao no more Whiteboard" or "Wipeout the Whiteboards" may work.

Chalkboards are so passe hahaha!

Anyway, good luck to the teachers. I pity the stubborn old dinosaurs who already have a hard time just logging in to a PC. I wonder how they’d react to having to prepare lessons with podcasts.

Maybe Mr Brown can become a training consultant and train teachers on how to podcast

I almost didn’t get it…

While waiting for a lesson, I happened to look at my hp and I realised that I had a missed call. I recognised the number and called it back immediately. It was one of those office lines that had extensions, so I knew I wouldn’t get the person who called me. It was a tuition centre. I had done some relief tuition there a few times, so I expected them to call me with yet another gig. I was wrong…

It turned out that the tuition centre wanted me on a permanent basis. I was so happy to hear that. I got to teach once again! As I said before, I love teaching, but I hate being a teacher. So I accepted it without hesitation.

I’m grateful that I’m given this opportunity. The added income would be very helpful. Hopefully, more good things will come in the future, God willing.  

I finally went to my best friend’s house yesterday. The last time I met him was when he got married. That was waaay back in 2005. Its been 2 years now. While I’ve thrown in the towel with MOE, he has blossomed into one hell of a teacher. I’m amazed by his achievements. He’s presented in front of teachers all over Singapore. He’s also featured in MOE’s magazine. He’s got it all.

But he’s balding and he has muscle spasms now. 

Apart from that, I’m happy that we met during reservist. I told him everything that’s happened in my life and we talked about the crazy fun that we had in our NS and NIE days. He told me to stay positive and that’s the only way we should live our lives. Its amazing how we lead parallel lives.

We both lived in the Eastern part of Singapore. We both got married to someone from the Internet. We both started watching Hindi (yes, Hindi) movies at the same time. We both support the same football team. We both started blogging at about the same time. Well…he started when I restarted actually. But it doesn’t matter cos he makes me laugh everytime. Even in his blog. Thanks for those entries. You touched me even when you were so far away. Such a wonderful, wonderful  person

Anyway…I’m back at work. Some people thought that I’ve resigned from my job. Some people thought that I took leave. And some people thought that I was very, very sick hahaha…

Nothing much is happening in school right now. Everybody’s winding down as exams are over. I’m supposed to conduct IT lessons today but they’re having an emergency exercise and coincidentally they decided to ‘burn’ down the computer lab that I’m teaching in. How convenient. So all I’ll be doing today is to surf the net and experiment with creating websites. Haven’t done that in a long time!

I watched "Just Follow Law" recently. Bought the VCD as I caught a glimpse of it at a VCD shop. I couldn’t help but laugh at how Jack Neo managed to compile all the stereotypes (or is it realities?) of the civil service in this movie. I usually can’t be bothered about local movies, but this one is SUPERB. If you happen to be in, or you are planning to be in or if you are no longer in the civil service, go watch it. You’ll laugh at how accurately it is portrayed. 

And watching Fann Wong acting like an Ah Beng is added bonus too

Am I a bitter person?

Well…I used to be. I hated the people around me. I hated having to live with, work with and interact with people. I hated the fact that I had to put up with people.

The problem is that people are everywhere. Short…tall…thin…fat…beautiful…ugly…both in looks and attitude. You can’t avoid them. So how? Just be happy la…

I guess my few days in reservist, brought back memories of happier times. I worked with wonderful people who made me happy. People who made me feel that I provide value in their lives. People who appreciated me. Going back to my old workplace woke me up from this nightmare that I lived in.

I’m glad that I’m no longer a teacher in the MOE. It made me a bitter person. I had the courage to get out of it. My sanity…my life was at stake. When I left and started working somewhere else, I still felt some bitterness. But going back to happier times removed the bitterness that remained. Thanks to the past, my future is more serene.

I’ve learnt to let go.

There will be time when people or things seem to conspire to make me angry. I will not let these things get to me anymore. I will learn to find solutions to problems. I will do all I can to remain calm and happy.

There’s alot of happiness in  my National Service days. My life in the MOE was full of anger and frustration. I tried to find light in the darkness from back then, and I can only see one. You are that light. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.

Yes…its true that there’s too much hate and anger in blogs. I shall try to be the light in all the darkness…just like you.  

I haven’t been blogging for quite awhile cos I’ve been doing my reservist. I could have blogged at home, but if you realised, I don’t do that. Home Time = Family Time. I’d rather do my blogging during free time at work.

I had to go for a 4 day course during this reservist stint. Unlike my other previous stints, this one is at my new old workplace. It was wonderful. I got to meet old colleagues. I got to recall the best times of my life. My life would be perfect if I’m allowed to work there. But I’m not. So I’ve only got memories to play with now…

Anyway, as a fellow trainer myself, I was given a lesson in "Teaching Adults 101".  One of the trainers there was obviously in his element. It was as if he was BORN into this job. He knew his teaching content well. He had great rapport with us, his trainees. He knew what to say and when to say it. To me…he embodies the ideal perception of a trainer. I hope that one day I’d be as good as him…

And so it ends now. Back to reality. Back to my job. Unlike the past, I’m actually looking forward to my job after my reservist stint. I used to hate having to go back to teaching after my reservist. I’d have lost my teaching momentum. Most of the time the relief teacher would have done a lousy job. They’re retired teachers or people who never had a chance to teach. So most of the times, they’d cock up at the job.

Basically, when I come back, I’d have to clean up the shit that has hit the fan.  Fortunately, I’m no longer a teacher. I can just come back in and things would be just like it was before I left for reservist. Typing this down is actually putting a smile on my face right now heheh…

So here’s to more blogging entries in the future (barring any more reservist stints).

I saw a letter in the Today paper last Friday that mentioned bullying in school. Then another one in today’s New Paper too.

Both of these letters seem to suggest that teachers don’t seem to know or don’t seem to care that bullying is happening in their classrooms.

I guess its easy for the letter writers to say that teachers are not putting any effort into ending bullying cases. Yeah easy peasy. Tell you what…instead of writing letters to Today paper or whatever papers out there, why don’t you DO it instead?

Come and join the teaching profession. They’re showing the “floating pencils” and “dinosaur stomping” ads on TV again. It means that the Ministry of Education is recruiting! So if you feel so bloody strongly about bullying, come and join the teachers. Show all these bochap teachers how to do the job properly. Don’t just sit around on your asses and typing out letters and hoping that your letter can change the world.

Read this blog and see how “free and easy” teaching life is. In fact, I think the MOE should advertise this blog for their recruitment drive instead of showing us pencils that float in the air.

Something happened yesterday that put a smile to my face…

I was in a hurry to get a cab as I had rushed back home to take something for work. As I went to the taxi stand at Yishun MRT, I saw this Malay guy who was waiting in line. There was no one else around so I just stood behind him. Within seconds, a taxi appeared. As the guy was walking towards the taxi, some guy just practically DASHED IN to take the taxi!

The Malay guy was incensed. He shouted at the guy "Eh you know what’s the meaning of queueing up or not?!". And he added on a stare so menacing I think the other guy peed in his pants. He really kind of became smaller and whimpered away with a stupid doofus sounding "Ohhh…". All of a sudden he noticed there was a queue! He dutifully stood in line behind me.

Once in a while these fugly singaporeans get their comeuppance. It feels good too see it happen .

As I read this article: No Go For CPF Reversal Bid, I couldn’t help but remember what my ex-colleague said to me once.

"I’m the last batch of teachers from the pension scheme. After me, all the other teachers have CPF"

I’m not sure if she was from this same batch of people who want to revert back to the pension scheme. Long ago…back in 1973, civil servants were given the option to convert from the pension scheme to the CPF scheme. The GOOD thing about the CPF scheme was that you can actually use your CPF to pay for your housing! WOW!!!

So these people, thinking that the CPF is better than the pension scheme signed up for it. Now…they want to revert back to the pension scheme. Why huh?

Is it because with the pension scheme, they will get a monthly sum and lifelong free medical charges? That sounds a lot better when than the ability to pay for your housing loans.

Now I wonder…if these people are so desperately trying to revert to the old pension scheme, what about people like me who have no choice in the first place? 

Does this mean that the CPF is not as good as the pension scheme? Then how come we are using CPF now? So that I can pay for my house? You mean without CPF cannot pay for my house? Then what is it about the CPF which makes it better than the pension scheme huh? Its got to be better right? Since we’ve dispensed with the pension scheme and we’re all now using the CPF? Right?

*Blink Blink*

But how come those old people want to revert back to pension huh? And how come my ex-colleague is proud of the fact that she’s on the pension scheme instead of the CPF?

My wife’s been very reflective lately, thinking about life…and the afterlife. I don’t know why she’s feeling this way, but she’s getting me hooked to it too.

We never know when its time for us to go. And when the time comes, are we prepared to face it? What will happen to our loved ones? Our families and friends? I think about all this and I wonder…are there any friends of mine who have gone without me knowing? A nasty accident? A fatal illness? Suicide?

When I think of these questions, this Beatles song comes to my mind…

In My Life - The Beatles
There are places i’ll remember
All my life though some have changed
Some forever not for better
Some have gone and some remain
All these places have their moments
With lovers and friends i still can recall
Some are dead and some are living
In my life i’ve loved them all

Though i know i’ll never lose affection
For people and things that went before
I know i’ll often stop and think about them
In my life i love you more
In my life i love you more

Some things may seem to be gone…but they still stay the same.
..Remember.Smile.Laugh..

New guidelines on Fair Employment
I was reading this article by mrbrown regarding employers treating employees unfairly and the article above and here are my thoughts.

I simply don’t understand why they are trumpeting the fact that employers are no longer allowed to ask whether you’re married or not, whether you can speak Mandarin, whether you’re male or female etc. etc.

Oh so we can hide all that information from the employers FOR NOW, but can we hide them forever? Will it change the mindsets of the employers? So they’ll invite you to go for the interviews. Once they see that you’re a woman or gay or lesbian or cannot speak Mandarin or are pregnant, they’ll just go through the motion of interviewing you. And then they won’t select you. Its as simple as that. They don’t have to divulge why you’re not suitable.

In the old way, at least they slam the door shut BEFORE you go for the interview. Now…unemployed people can waste their money needlessly on transportation to the interviews and then get rejected.

The problem is not the hard copy of the questionnaires. Its the soft tissue in the area inside their skull. I don’t see this as a solution to the problem at all.

Its like this: After all the effort put in. Photocopy educational certs, testimonials, wedding certificate, birth certificate, paste passport photo onto application form (sometimes two!), write cover letter, produce CV, buy HUGE envelope to put everything in, buy lots of stamps to ensure that the envelope won’t disappear in the mail room. Then you wait and wait and wait for them to reply. Then you go for the interview. And you get rejected.  

I think employers HAVE to tell people why they are not accepted for the positions. Heck, some companies don’t even bother to inform the people that they are not accepted.

So what happens to the two photos I sent? Why don’t you return it now that you don’t want me to work for you? You keep for what? Put in your wallet is it? I could use it for my other applications. I don’t have to spend more money (since I’m unemployed) to take more passport photos. And return all my photocopies as well. That’s money too, you know. Or is it because you have to pay for the bloody stamps?

I’m not saying this because I’m unemployed. I’m saying this because I was there once. I spent many months looking for a job, going for interviews and getting nothing in return. Its very, very frustrating. There’s so many issues to deal with but nothing is being done about it.

And here they are…being proud of the fact that they’ve managed to get companies to delete the unacceptable questions from their application forms. Whoopeedoo! I did something good today!

Teachers being filmed. Happy slapping incidents. Phew! I’m glad I’m no longer a full-time teacher!

I wouldn’t want to deal with having my teaching methods scrutinised by millions of viewers all over the world. I wouldn’t want to deal with having to discipline pupils who beat up one another for fun. I’m just glad I no longer have to do these things anymore. I just teach kids how to use the PC and if they misbehave, I just threaten to stop them from using their PCs. This would generally shut them the hell up heheh…

Personally I feel that handphones HAVE to be banned in schools. There is absolutely no bloody need to have kids who hardly know how to cross the road properly to be lugging around handphones. Parents would argue that it would allow them to contact their kids during emergencies. Its funny how these very same parents forgot that when they were in school…their parents would call the office if there was an emergency. The school clerk would then notify the form teacher who would then bring the pupil to the office to call their parents back. No big deal. I don’t see why the kids of today can’t do the same. School offices still have telephones ok.  

There is simply no need for handphones in school. Here are the reasons why:

1. Kids do not know how to take care of their things. Pencils, erasers, wallets, water bottles go missing on a daily basis. So what would stop kids from losing their handphones too?
2. Teachers would have a headache trying to figure out who had ‘accidentally’ taken the handphones or find out where the handphones have been misplaced. And they have to do that while trying to coax the kid who’s terrified that he or she had lost their handphones.
   Kid: Mummy’s going to be angry with me. HOW?!
   Teacher (to himself/herself): Your pasal ah!
3. Kids would end up using their handphones for every other reason other than to call their parents, such as:
   - Taking photos of their friends who HAVE to show the PEACE sign and frame up their faces with their fingers.
   - Take photos of their friends in the toilet (this really happened ok!)
   - SMS one another. They’d cover their handphones with their bags under the table. They don’t realise that its obvious what they’re doing.
   - Video their teachers.
   - Video happy slapping incidents.

As such, I think that parents should forego this luxury item for their kids. It does more harm than good. If you really feel the need to buy handphones and give them to someone, pass them to me. Then I can open a handphone shop.

I was reading suganova’s blog about Public Apathy and remembered that I have more personal experience stories to tell of how ugly Singaporeans can be. So here goes:

Ugly Singaporeans Case #2:
Its got something to do with me and my wife. We were at Causeway Point to have dinner and go shopping one day. After dinner and shopping, we decided to get some McDonald’s Milkshakes. We got a seat near the fountain at the basement at Causeway Point and I went to buy the milkshakes while my wife took care of our baby.

By the time I returned, I saw our pram sprawled backwards on the floor while my wife is comforting our baby. I was shocked and asked her what happened. See…there’s two hooks at the back of our pram. We usually put our shopping bags here. Our baby would usually act as the counterweight to the weight of the bags so the pram won’t topple over.

However, whenever we picked up our baby, the pram would lose its balance and topple backwards, due to the weight of the bags. And that was what exactly happened. Apparently, while I was buying the milkshakes, my baby had started crying. So my wife had no choice but to pick her up and comfort her. Since I’m not around to hold on to the pram, it just fell backwards.

In front of passerbys.

In front of the people who were sitting beside her. In front of the two men who were sitting beside her. One man, in his thirties on her left. Another one, a teenager on her right.

Both looked up when my baby started crying. Both saw the pram as it toppled over the moment my wife picked up our baby. Both just looked on as my wife tried to stop our baby from crying while the BRIGHT RED PRAM LAY ON ITS BACK WITH THE SHOPPING BAGS ON THE FLOOR.

I purposely asked my wife what happened and loudly asked how come no one bothered to help.

As expected, these two able-bodied gentlebastardmen pretended not to hear me. Suddenly both lost interest in the pram and started to look everywhere else except the pram.

Amazing. Truly amazing.

I’m sorry to say this, but there’s nothing about our country to be proud of if people can’t even help each other. You can be the hub of this and the hub of that. You can be the star of all hubs, but it means nothing if we have no heart. NOTHING.