18th July, 2004
Too Busy for a Friend...
One day a teacher asked her students to list the names of the other students in the room on two sheets of paper, leaving a space between each name.
Then she told them to think of the nicest thing they could say about each of their classmates and write it down.
It took the remainder of the class period to finish their assignment, and as the students left the room, each one handed in the papers.
That Saturday, the teacher wrote down the name of each student on a separate sheet of paper, and listed what everyone else had said about that individual.
On Monday she gave each student his or her list. Before long, the entire class was smiling. "Really?" she heard whispered. "I never knew that I meant anything to anyone!" and, "I didn't know others liked me so much." were most of the comments.
No one ever mentioned those papers in class again. She never knew if they discussed them after class or with their parents, but it didn't matter. The exercise had accomplished its purpose. The students were happy with themselves and one another. That group of students moved on.
Several years later, one of the students was killed in Viet Nam and his teacher attended the funeral of that special student. She had never seen a serviceman in a military coffin before. He looked so handsome, so mature.
The church was packed with his friends. One by one those who loved him took a last walk by the coffin. The teacher was the last one to bless the coffin.
As she stood there, one of the soldiers who acted as pallbearer came up to her. "Were you Mark's math teacher?" he asked. She nodded: "yes." Then he said: "Mark talked about you a lot."
After the funeral, most of Mark's former classmates went together to a luncheon. Mark's mother and father were there, obviously waiting to speak with his teacher.
"We want to show you something," his father said, taking a wallet out of his pocket. "They found this on Mark when he was killed. We thought you might recognize it."
Opening the billfold, he carefully removed two worn pieces of notebook paper that had obviously been taped, folded and refolded many times. The teacher knew without looking that the papers were the ones on which she had listed all the good things each of Mark's classmates had said about him.
"Thank you so much for doing that," Mark's mother said. "As you can see, Mark treasured it."
All of Mark's former classmates started to gather around. Charlie smiled rather sheepishly and said, "I still have my list. It's in the top drawer of my desk at home."
Chuck's wife said, "Chuck asked me to put his in our wedding album."
"I have mine too," Marilyn said. "It's in my diary."
Then Vicki, another classmate, reached into her pocketbook, took out her wallet and showed her worn and frazzled list to the group. "I carry this with me at all times," Vicki said and without batting an eyelash, she continued: "I think we all saved our lists."
That's when the teacher finally sat down and cried. She cried for Mark and for all his friends who would never see him again.
The density of people in society is so thick that we forget that life will end one day. And we don't know when that one day will be.
So please, tell the people you love and care for, that they are special and important. Tell them, before it is too late.
And One Way To Accomplish This Is: Forward this message on. If you do not send it, you will have, once again passed up the wonderful opportunity to do something nice and beautiful.
If you've received this, it is because someone cares for you and it means there is probably at least someone for whom you care.
If you're "too busy" to take those few minutes right now to forward this message on, would this be the VERY first time you didn't do that little thing that would make a difference in your relationships?
The more people that you send this to, the better you'll be at reaching out to those you care about.
Remember, you reap what you sow. What you put into the lives of others comes back into your own.
May Your Day Be Blessed And As Special As You Are
Always yours
13 Feb, 2004
5th Feb, 2004
Translated from Chinese by K.H. Goh (Original Chinese transcript)
I believe every relationship in this world is built upon Fate. You reap what you sow.
***
Here is a Buddhist story:
There was a scholar who was to marry his fiancee;, but on the day of marriage, his fiancee; changed her mind and married someone else. The scholar was devastated and fell ill. His family seek all kinds of medical treatment for him, but still he showed no sign of recovery. They were about to give up hope on him when a wandering monk passed by. After learning about the scholar's condition, the monk walked to the scholar's bed and took out a mirror for the dying man to see.
In the mirror, the scholar saw a vast ocean, and the naked body of a murdered woman lay on the beach. A man passed by, looked at the body, shook his head and left. Another man who passed by saw the body, took off his robes to cover the body and left. Finally came a man passing by who saw the body, dug a hole and laid the body carefully to rest before burying it.
The scene in the mirror suddenly changed. The scholar saw his fiancee; in a nuptial chamber and another man was lifting her wedding veil...
The scholar blinked at the monk, confused.
Slowly the monk explained, "The woman whose body you saw on the beach was your fiancee; in her previous life. In your previous life, you were the second man who gave her his robes to cover her body. To repay your kindness in this lifetime, she loved you for a period of time and became your fiancee;. However, ultimately the man whose favor she has to return for the rest of her life is the third man who buried her. And that man is now her husband."
Enlightened, the scholar sat up and recovered from his depression.
***
It is truly amazing -- this thing called "Fate". There was a movie in which the theme song went like this: "You can say it is a big world, you can say it is a small world. But for the promise of this lifetime, we shall spend our entire lives to fulfil."
All of us are in this big grand masquerade, among the throng of people, we seek expectantly... in that electrifying moment when our fingers touch, the masks are removed to reveal our true selves.
Before this moment, we were drifting aimlessly, not knowing what we really wanted. Till you meet this particular person, you finally realize what you really want is not what you have wished for in the first place. It amazes you that standing in front of this person is a different you! You without any mask!
Fate is not something meant to be forced upon. What is yours will eventually come to your arms; what is not yours will never come to be. In any case, we should not lose heart and give up on our hopes for love that is true, good and beautiful.
The value of life, in a certain sense, is determined by the maturity of how we love. Of how we give and accept love.
Treasure what you have...
Time is too slow for those who wait;
Too swift for those who fear;
Too long for those who grief;
Too short for those who rejoice;
But for those who love...
Time is Eternity!
3rd Feb, 2004
1st Feb, 2004
POEM OF LIFE
When’s the last time you watched kids on a merry-go-round? Or listened to the rain as it tickled the ground? Have you followed a butterfly’s erratic flight, stood and gazed at the sun as it faded to night?
You had better slow down. Don’t dance so fast. Time is short. The music won’t last.
Do you rush through each day as if on the fly, never catch up however you try? When the day is done do you lie in your bed With the next hundred chores running through your head?
You had better slow down. Don’t dance so fast. Time is short. The music won’t last.
Have you ever told your child, “We’ll do it tomorrow?” And in your haste, not seen her sorrow? Ever lost touch, let a good friendship die because you never had time to call and say “Hi”?
You had better slow down. Don’t dance so fast. Time is short. The music won’t last.
When you’re running so fast to get somewhere You miss half the fun of getting there. When you worry and hurry through your day, It is like an unopened gift just thrown away.
Life is not a race. Do take it slower. Hear the music Before the song is over.
31st jan,2004
14th Jan,2004
This is really a good one. had a good laugh after
reading this.. hahahaha.. pple now are so creative ,they can even used all kinds
of words to form it. LOL... 
Dear Friends
In Singapore, living in Highly Dangerous Buildings (HDB), mostpeople have already got used to Paying And Paying (PAP).
Not only do you pay, you Pay Until Bankrupt (PUB). If that's not
enough, somebody still Purposely Wants to Dig (PWD) more from
you. So what more can you do when you are in the Money Only
Environment (MOE)?
When you are sick, you might be able to use your Cash Prior to
Funeral (CPF) fund, if you happen to be admmited to the Money
Operating Hospital (MOH) one time. If you are out of luck, you
may meet doctors who Never Use Heart (NUH) to treat you and you
will be Sure to Give-up Hope (SGH) ..
To help ease the traffic, motorist have to pay Cash On Expressway
(COE). If that doesnt help, they can always Eternally Raise
Prices (ERP) on the roads. If you don't own a car, you can always
make a Mad Rush to Train (MRT) or get squashed in a bus, Side By
Side (SBS).
Lastly, under all these pressure, there are not many places we
can relax, not even the good old place we used to go because it
has become So Expensive and Nothing TO See Actually (SENTOSA).
4th Jan,2004
THE DONKEY IN THE WELL
 |
One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. |
| Finally he decided since the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway, it just wasn't worth it to retrieve the donkey. |  |
| So, the farmer invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They all grabbed shovels, and began to shovel dirt into the well. |  |
 All the other farm animals were very upset about this, because the donkey was their friend. But they discovered there was nothing they could do to help him. |
 At first, when the donkey realized what was happening, he cried horribly.Then, to everyone's amazement, he quieted down. |
| A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well, and was astonished at what he saw. |
| With every shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing. He would shake it off, and take a step up on the dirt as it piled up. |  |
| As the farmer's neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. |
| Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well, and trotted off! |  |
 MORAL: Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. But each trouble can be a stepping stone. What happens to you isn't nearly as important as how you react to it. We can get out of the deepest wells just by not giving up! |
Shake it off, and take a step up!
3rd Jan,2004
There was this guy who loved two gals at the same time but he didn't know which one he loved more. Someone taught him. Ask yourself this question and answer it honestly : "When you are happy, which gal would you want to share your happiness with?" The one you think of is someone you love.
Ask yourself another question and answer it honestly : "When you are sad, which gal you want to share your burden with?" The one you think of is also someone you love. If you think of the same gal when you are happy & sad, that's the most perfect. But if you don't think of the same gal, I would advise you to choose the one you are willing to share your sadness with. In life, there are more sorrows than happiness. There are too many people that u meet that u can share your happiness with, not necessary your lover. If you live your life happily, you can also enjoy it alone. In sadness, however, there are not many people willing to share your burden with you. If you are willing to tell someone your happiness, I am sure that person has got to be someone close & an understanding person to you. But it shouldn't stop there. If that person only thinks of you when she is happy, but looks for someone else when she is sad, this lover is too unstable, she doesn't treat you as someone she can spend the rest of her life with. Of course, I will be very happy if I am the first person to share her happiness. But, if she is sad, I will be too willing to stay by her side & ease her pain. Only then, will I believe that I hold a very important position in her heart. If you are sad, who comes to your mind first?
********************Friendship is a strange thing. We find ourselves telling each other the deepest details of our lives... things we don't even share with the families who raised us. But what is a friend? A confidant? A shoulder to cry on? An ear tolisten? A heart to feel? A friend is all these ... and more. No matter where we met, no matter how long we've been together... I call you friend. A word so small, yet so large in feeling, a word filled with emotion, a word overflowing with love. Truly great things come in small packages. Once the package of friendship has been opened, it can never be closed. It is a constant book always waiting... waiting to be read... and enjoyed. We may have our disagreements... we may have our disappointments ...we may argue ...we may have concern for one another...friendship is a unique bond that lasts through all tribulations. A part of each of us goes into our friendships ... our humor ... our experiences... our tears. Friendships are foundations... necessary for ife... and love. Friends .. you and me ... you brought another friend and then we were three ...
we started our group ...our circle of friends...
there is no beginning .. there is no end.
Sometimes God wants us to meet many wrong people So that when the right one comes along, we will appreciate that person more.
2nd Jan,2004
Graduation - vitamin c
And as we talked all night about the rest of our live
Where we're gonna do when we turn 25
I keep thinking times will never change
Keep on thinking things will always be there
But when we leave this year we won't be coming back
No more hanging out cause we're on a different track
And if you got something that you need to say
You ratter say it time now cause you don't have another day
Cause we're moving on and we can't slow down
There memories are playing like a film without sound
And I keep thinking of that night in June
I didn't know much of love
But it came too soon
And there was me and you and we got so blue
Stay at home talking on the telephone
We'd get so excited; we'd get so scared
Laughing at ourselves thinking life's not fair
And this is how it feels
And we go on
We remember
All the times we
Had together
And as our lives change
Cone whatever
We will still be
Friends forever
So if we get the big jobs
And we make the big money
When we look back now
Will our jokes still be funny?
Will we still remember everything we learned in school?
Still be trying to break every single rule
Will little brainy Robby be the stockbroker man?
Can heather find a job that won't interfere with her?
I keep, I keep thinking that it's not goodbye
Keep on thinking it's a time to fly
And this is how it feels
