Children's Wisdom

A 1st grade school teacher had twenty-six students in her class. She presented each child in her classroom the 1st half of a well-known proverb and asked them to come up with the remainder of the proverb. It's hard to believe these were actually done by first graders. Their insight may surprise you. While reading, keep in mind that these are first-graders, 6-year-olds, because the last one is a classic!

1. Don't change horses until they stop running.

2. Strike while the bug is close.

3. It's always darkest before Daylight Saving Time.

4. Never underestimate the power of termites.

5. You can lead a horse to water but How?

6. Don't bite the hand that looks dirty.

7. No news is impossible.

8. A miss is as good as a Mr.

9. You can't teach an old dog new Math.

10. If you lie down with dogs, you'll stink in the morning.

11. Love all, trust Me.

12. The pen is mightier than the pigs.

13. An idle mind is the best way to relax.

14. Where there's smoke there's pollution.

15. Happy the bride who gets all the presents.

16. A penny saved is not much.

17. Two's company, three's the Musketeers.

18. Don't put off till tomorrow what you put on to go to bed.

19. Laugh and the whole world laughs with you, you have to blow your
cry and nose.

20. There are none so blind as Stevie Wonder.

21. Children should be seen and not spanked or grounded.

22. If at first you don't succeed get new batteries.

23. You get out of something only what you see in the picture on the box

24. When the blind lead the blind get out of the way.

25. A bird in the hand is going to poop on you.

And the WINNER is...

26. Better late than Pregnant

Man of semi-leisure

That's my new profession.

And I'm loving it.

I'm no longer chasing after rainbows or thirsting for power.

Instead, I guard my free time with my life and resist doing anything not worth doing.

I am still gainfully employed, albeit I dictate my terms of employment. I still get a decent amount of bread and butter. But I am no longer interested in cheap picnic ham in disgusting quantities. I prefer high class applewood smoked leg of ham.

In short, quality - and not quantity - has become the pursuit du jour.

I have time to do what I like to do and I have time to rest. To take a walk down a path and smell the flowers along the way.

I consider myself retired at this moment and what I am doing is really post-retirement stuff. Of course, I do not rule out beginning a second career, something on a higher plateau of human existence.

Power is addictive. But clinging on to power is like clutching at moonbeams. You cannot but be dictated to if you want to stay on your high perch.

Freedom and life, however, are very different but yet equally powerful things. Once you get them, you would never want to cede them. And they are yours to keep because you know how you can work things around to keep them.

Experience is a dirty word

Experience can be a dirty word. In my case, it is a dirty word.

Because of my experience, I resist practices which have no value.

I refuse work which have no purpose.

I despise people who have no principles.

I abhor being mentioned in the same breath as other lower life forms.

I avoid losing my self in the race to the top.

And most of all, I pity those who allow themselves to be lackeys of the screwed up system.

You are busy?

I don't buy that excuse anymore.

You may be busy but you can't be busier than I am. So stop your excuses and give me the 3 minutes I need to get your work done.

I am not one of your problems; I am one of your solutions. If you are going to find excuses so that your problems cannot be solved through me, I am not to blame.

You have not seen what it means to be busy - at least not in your little hole. I've seen more in my short stint that you in your entire life.

Believe you me that if we are to trade experiences, I could be delivering a lecture on human existence while you would probably be still trying to figure out the basic definitions.

And then it clicked...

There is a time for departure even when there's no certain place to go.
- Tennessee Williams

I was writing my farewell message to my colleagues before the end of my last day of work and I wanted to end it with a quotable quote which aptly captured the essence of my decision without divulging too much.

There is some uncertainty now, although being employed in a new job is certain. I am sure I will excel at this stage of life, becoming a freelancer and my own boss finally.

I have never set out to being my own boss. I lack the discipline. I have no interest to make more money than I can spend or live with guilt because some of the earnings might be through some less than above-board dealings. (I see not giving my best during tuition lessons as one such example.)

And then, I chanced upon what Tennessee Williams wrote about having to go, despite not knowing the next destination.

While I had told people that I'll be off to studies - eventually I will - I am still pretty much in a floater mood. Not that I want to. I need to.

I need to re-absorb life. I need to be re-energised, re-charged, renewed (you can say recycled too, I am ambivalent about namecalling), reinvented, rejuvenated, reinvigorated, re... Some re's are redundant but you get the drift.

So, where am I off to next?

Another suitcase another door?
Don't ask anymore.
- Evita

Do I look like I am flying?

Returned to the office today after a break in Perth. All around, things look good.

17 Feb is going to be my last day at work. I start at my new job on 18 Feb.

While I was not at all exhilarated since I had to go back to work and worse, I just had a blood test, someone told me I look so happy, like I was flying.

I know happiness can be infectious but certainly, I am given more credit than I really deserve. I didn't think I was flying. I was back at work as usual.

Really looking forward to some normality returning to my life nonetheless. I think I have earned my right to demand that.

The rest

6 Feb - Fremantle and then Burswood for the Reunion Dinner

7 Feb - Bunbury. Rained at 4.10 am and a total of 42 mm of rain was recorded. Usual average precipitation for the entire month of Feb for Perth is 12 mm. Many major accidents. So exciting. Cool and lovely. The plants came alive.

8 Feb - The Fishy Affair - the Australian Bush Platter of roo, croc, emu, camel and barramundi. Harbourtown shopping. Bought 3 pairs of bermudas from Nike. Nothing else.

9 Feb - Margaret River, then Busselton. Mad hours behind the wheel. Stupid plants started flowering. But hey, they won't have enough rain to make fruits. So that is a waste of stored food.

10 Feb - Fremantle and Sobiaco

11 Feb - Home sweet home

Swan Valley

5 Feb

Swan Valley wine tasting self-drive.

Craziness. 32 km stretch of vineyards and wineries, melon and grape sellers, and shops peddling weird ware ranging from wine bottle stopper-dispensers, ceramic plates and cups, fine dining ware and what have you.

As usual, 3 hours ain't getting us to as many vineyards as we wished and as I am the "skipper" aka the driver plus I am not an alcohol drinker, I am not at all disappointed.

The drinker on the trip was also already quite worn out after tasting the umpteenth chenin blanc, the umpteenth verdehol, the umpteenth merlot, the umpteeth rose, the umpteenth shiraz (so crude, the shirazs!).

So we drove back and the navigator was understandably irritated by having to navigate with both alcohol in the veins and a street directory on her lap. Anyway, to cut the long story short, I drove back almost blind. And I made it. So, there goes.

It's scorching hot here and there is nothing more comfortable than standing under a jet of cool water in the shower. Go figure.

Is it my fault?

I cannot imagine that the d*ck head of a cab driver was so rude during my ride from home to the airport.

I got on the cab after loading up my own bags in the boot. By right, he should at least customarily step out of the car and ask if I needed help - yes, such pretense would mean good service. I wouldn't need help, of course, since my bags weighed but 16.1 kg and 3.9 kg - this one is empty really, and I would have been able to handle them myself.

My principles are simple - if the bags are too heavy for you to handle, then don't expect the cab driver to handle them for you. If your bags are not too heavy for you to handle, then handle them yourselves. Leave the cabbie to do his job, which is to drive you from point to point safely.

Sure, this morning's traffic a b*tch. Hey, it's 7 am in the morning and all the office workers needed to drive their cars to work. How else can they justify spending so much money on the cars if they are not going to take them out and contribute to the traffic gridlocks and congestions.

Ok, I got on the cab and I greeted him good morning. He did not even reply. Oh, my god. This is going to be one ride.

Along the way, I decided that I needed to teach him a lesson. It's peak hour, I'm going on a trip that I am *so* looking forward to, and I get such sucky treatment from you. So, I took out my dollar coins.

The final bill came to $11.90. Not a princely sum but I live but 4 km to the airport. So I unloaded 10 dollar-coins and a two dollar note on him.

I wouldn't have given him even that 10-cent tip but I don't see it as a tip. I see it as a means of relieving me of a $1 coin which I otherwise have to lug to Perth and back.

He was such a mannerless id-10-T that he did not even say thank you when he got the money. He quickly checked if I would have passed Indon lookalike coins (a tenth of the value) in the car.

What a sh*t head and what a *great* way to begin an otherwise *dour* morning.

I am *so* looking forward to this trip...

Oh man, you call that...

COFFEE?

This is... unacceptable. Well, the flat white had a little overzealous head - when it is supposed not to have much - and it sticks together quite well... like a mousse.

The coffee smells great but tastes far from great.

I need my harsh fix!

Can we help but stereotype?

As I type this in the Gelare ice cream bar - it's 8.12 am and I am really there to have my morning fix - my attention is diverted to a South Asian couple with a baby asking for the high heavens.

I suppose he wanted the takeaway coffee in a mug and he also wanted small size for everything. Man, takeaway coffee in a porcelain mug? Since when? Even Starbucks - aka Sucks - don't give you their mugs for free though they do throw in a shot of coffee if you buy a mug from then. And since when are there small size of anything since there is only one price indicated on the menu boards? Sigh.

Ostensibly, and understandably, the cashier at the outlet was a little perturbed.

Two stereotypes here - South Asia Couple and Poor Service Guaranteed from Lowly Paid, Possibly Lowly Educated Service Persons.

We need to improve on our service. We can't change the SAC but we certainly can still serve with a smile. It is hard but that would go a long long way, if Singapore ever aspires for something big, such as the Youth Olympics.

Leave of Absence

In Perth, Australia, from 4 to 11 Feb.

Will check in whenever I can.

Just to make it clear here before I go: If something were to happen to the flight - say it has to turn back because of some technical glitch, I am calling it. I'll not take the next flight out. Suddenly, even taking a holiday seems such a chore. Sigh.