Time is fleeting by

Hi,

I hadn't realised that it has been some time since my last post! Time has gone by so quickly that days merge into nights and nights fade into the dawn of more days.

What have I been up to?

Well, apart from household chores, I've been frantically trying to understand how internet marketing works. This is by no means an easy thing to grasp, for me that is.

Perhaps it's because the grey matter has curdled to an extent that it is no longer easy to understand concepts and to apply whatever one reads.

I've been reading and making copious notes, getting a bit of insight here and there. However I've yet to put it into the bigger picture to make some sense of it. To me it's like fitting pieces of jigsaw together and when the pieces don't fit, it can get frustrating.

I'm stymied at the moment and just realised that I haven't been posting in my blogs.

This weekend is a busy one, with tomorrow taken up with our bi-annual standardisation of IELTS examiners. Then Sat and Sun will be spent at the Oldies' Computer Camp.

This is an annual event sponsored by the state government to give the seniors an opportunity to get hands-on experience with the computers. So I hope to learn a bit more over the weekend.

Learning is a continuous process; it doesn't stop at all. Yet I see there are some people who are quite happy in their own world, not bothering to update themselves in this IT era. To each his own, I guess.

Do please visit my website http://www.peggy-chan.com and I would love to have your comments. This would help me in my learning process. So a big thank you to you.

Tweet

Do you know your ABC?

Hi,

Do you know what ABC stands for?

No, it's not the alphabet that you learn when you begin your schooling, neither is it the Air Batu Campur or Ice Kacang, the delightful dessert that can cool even the hottest temper.

I learnt it a short while ago while attending a short course on internet marketing.

It stands for Attitude, Behaviour and Character.

I learnt that your success in whatever you do, depends on your ABC.

If you have a lackadaisical attitude, you will never achieve your goals. That is true because success depends on how you committed you are, how focussed and how consistent.

One's behaviour also affects one's image. First impressions are lasting and if your behaviour is less than what is perceived to be acceptable, then this could affect your relationships whether in business or social circles.

Character is very important. One can put on a front but not for long. You can fool someone but you can't fool everyone all the time. Somehow your true colours will come out. If you are caught in a dicey situation, how you behave reflects on your character.

Some people have said that they can tell one's character by looking at one's face. I have my doubts about the accuracy of this but in a general way, you can tell if a person is up to no good by his behaviour, the look in his eyes and the way he talks.

I guess experience has a lot to do with it. I remember my granny telling me that she has eaten more salt than I have eaten rice and so it is advisable for me to heed her advice. She was very good at summing up a person's character.

That was why I always introduced my boyfriends to her. She was one astute lady.

So if you have wise grandmas, do listen to what they have to say. They may be old and out-moded but they have racked up more experience than we have. Just be alert to the pearls that come out of their mouths!

Please visit my website at http://www.peggy-chan.comDo go there to get your freebies.

Thank you.

Tweet

Growing Up

The pains of growing up today and the yesteryears are quite different.

In the past, adolescents used to respect their teachers and elders a lot more than the present generation. Teachers were highly respected and if you were to get a bad report from your teacher, rest assured that your parents would give you a hard time over it.

However these days, youngsters do not really hold their teachers in high regard, for whatever reasons best known to themselves. They post nasty comments on the internet. In the past there was no internet; at most we would just whisper among ourselves. Last year, some secondary school students posted on the internet the sordid details of their school principal's private life. Where did respect come into this?

In my experience as a teacher and principal, I have come across cases of students and parents having fist fights!! It wa
s certainly a sorry state of affairs. I also had parents calmly telling me that they shared their cigarettes with their young sons. We were having an anti-smoking campaign in school and a couple of boys had been caught smoking. So their parents were called in and that was the answer we were given.

Doesn't it make you wonder what these parents thought about their responsibilities towards their children?

It is no surprise though that some children are having a harder time of growing up and adjusting to the changes going on, not only in their bodies and minds but also in the world around them. They are exposed to so many unsavoury things and even with some degree of parental guidance, the rites of passage are not easy for them.

Mentors who are caring and patient can help them, especially if they can build a relationship of trust between them and their mentees. For some this would be a godsend especially if they come from dysfunctional homes where parents are too busy or unable to communicate with them.

Somehow,they have to cross the divide or build a bridge if parents are not to lose further ground with their erstwhile offspring. Perhaps it should begin right from the first years of a child's life. Gone is the time when a parent demands respect. Now he has to earn it. A relationship fostered in love and understanding coupled with a lot of patience combined with firmness, will see the bond of friendship between parent and child. I believe that this friendship bond is very important so that any issues that arise can be settled without any unneccessary pain. The two-way communication is very important and only love and understanding can bring this about.

Tweet

Catching Up Across the Years

Yesterday fifteen grandparents got together, a few of whom hadn't seen one another for 40 years or more.

Can you imagine how wonderful it was? Some of us last saw one another when we were in our early twenties and now we are in the sixties!

Yet the easy camaderie was there, spontaneous and joyful. Somehow the link was still there and still very strong. What is it about Brinsford Lodge that binds its graduates with such strength and affection? The bond that exists between Brinsfordians no matter how long the lapse of time is unique.

Mention that you are a Brinsfordian to someone whom you didnt know is a Brinsfordian as well, and the response is somehow shades warmer.

The ties that bind under the old English sky are silken and strong. We reminisced together, sharing little episodes that still stand out in our respective memories.

Some of us had hitch-hiked together throughout the British Isles and we had also traversed Europe on the eurorail having adventures that make us wonder at our youthful daring.

We used to hitchhike in pairs and would meet up in youth hostels at the end of each day. I remember Debbie and I were given a ride in a hearse, together with the coffin, en route to picking up its soon-to-be tenant. The driver, full of Irish mischief, teased us relentlessly and we were secretly trembling with fright. It was such a relief when he dropped us off along the road where we waited for our next ride.

Evelyn was our leader in a group of ten, with only one lucky guy Frankie when we made our way through a few European countries using the eurorail. On the way to Switzerland, we had embarked on a coach which wasn't going to our destination but we didnt know that. We didnt realise that coaches would be uncoupled during the night at a particular station and we had to be sure we were on the right one. Unfortunately, we were fast asleep when that happened and when the train stopped, we found ourselves in a small town far away from our destination.

It was already dark and after some hassle we managed to locate a youth hostel. Four of us were hungry enough to venture out to look for food while the others called it a day. I remember we were accosted by a couple of Africans and it was getting to be rather annoying when to our relief two Swiss policemen walked up and we got them to escort us back to our hoste.

Thanks to Evelyn's leadership, we got on to the train the next morning and arrived at our destination safely.

There was so much to catch up on that the three hour lunch was not long enough and we were discreetly informed that the waiters had to get the place re-arranged for high tea. Even out in the lobby, there was a reluctance to part for it had been so good to re-live the memories of our youth. Sum Choon had come in from Kota Bahru, Evelyn from Hong Kong enroute back to Switzerland where she now resides, and I from Kota Kinabalu.

All good times do come to an end and we parted with promises to get together once more next year. However I hope to meet up with them on a more frequent basis, now that there are cheaper airfares and with the relentess passing of time which seems even faster than before, comes a greater sense of urgency that I must make more opportunities to meet up with loved ones and "golden" friends before Destiny cuts the thread of life.

Somehow I cant see the link for images on this page so I invite you to look at my Facebook for the photos of these grandparents. You can find my facebook at www.facebook.com/peggylimchan

Tweet