My Sponsored Children!

Makara

Mitchell

Jamna

There are many ways of helping others out, but one way that I have always wanted to contribute is to give needy children a good environment to grow up in.

I am very fortunate to be born in Singapore, where we all lead a fairly comfortable life since young. We are given an excellent environment to develop and grow. Many luxuries that are alien to the more unfortunate ones, just appear to come naturally to us.

Some time back, I made the decision to sponsor a few children, to do my part in giving them a better living environment.

Most of these children were born in poor families with total annual incomes of less than USD $300.

Sponsoring a child only costs USD $28/month, and I figured that I could part with that money that would otherwise be spent on more suppers.

1 supper = $4
7 suppers = $28 (sponsor a child for a month)
21 suppers = $84 (sponsor 3 children every month)

So taking into consideration that I have supper 21 times a month (usually 32 [8 times a week * 4 ]), I thought the money would be better off spent helping the children who need it, than using it to make myself fatter.

=)

And if you're interested, check them out.
ChildFund

Thoughts, thoughts, thoughts

Life is not about the destination...

It's about the journey.

Money is not the end, its just a means to an end.

Means = Money
Goal = Freedom, or [Insert your dream here]

And then I read this from Anthony Robbins,

“Goals are a means to an end, not the ultimate purpose of our lives. They are simply a tool to concentrate our focus and move us in a direction. The only reason we really pursue goals is to cause ourselves to expand and grow. Achieving goals by themselves will never make us happy in the long term; it's who you become, as you overcome the obstacles necessary to achieve your goals, that can give you the deepest and most long-lasting sense of fulfillment.”

---

Recently I've been speaking to two friends about their dreams, and how they want to achieve it. One has a burning desire to take care of everyone's soles while the other is plotting to revolutionize the tutoring industry.

Two vastly different ideals, one identical fervent passion.

I would be most glad if I could assist them in any way; I hope I can be part of these revolutions too!

I honestly believe that everyone has a dream, and a vision of what you want to be.

My more pressing doubt though is...

Are you getting closer to that dream?

Sat Noon Humour

A friend in need is a friend indeed

DZ: anyway
DZ: i saw the banner u did for ur parents
DZ: if u need help with graphics
DZ: u know i can help u right

Swee: HAHA
DZ: no underlying meaning

---

FML

Makan Sutra

Something I did up for my parents' stall:




Actually this was one of the many posters that we came up with for their stall. haha.

You are what you read

I think we all know that we are what we eat, but I just thought that maybe that could be applied to reading as well.

I have a love-hate relationship with books. When I was young, I really loved reading, and just like any other primary kid out there, my favourite author was Enid Blyton.

I had every Enid Blyton book, or at least what I could lay my eyes on when I entered the bookstore. Haha.. My gifts, prizes were all spent on books, and reading was likely my only pastime during my lower-primary years.

And then, I grew out of reading. Don't ask me why but I kinda stopped reading after the Secret Sevens and Famous Fives... It's like I could no longer find any new books by Enid Blyton and I took it as a cue to stop reading too.

The only books I read since then were the books that were part of our English Literature curriculum in secondary school, and even so, I did not finish any of the books. "To Kill a Mockingbird" totally killed off whatever minute remaining interest I had in reading.

That lull period of non-reading lasted for a very long time (more than a decade!). I am actually referring to reading of books here, not newspapers, magazines, websites, etc.

So it took more than ten years, and some positive influence from a book fanatic to get me to pick up my first ever read. I wouldn't say I was hooked, but I was just pleasantly surprised that I could finish reading the book (yes cheap thrill I know).

Previous limp attempts to read failed terribly as I could not bring myself to advance beyond the first few pages. I find myself drifting out of the story after only a few minutes - I had the shortest attention span!

So having picked up reading again, I can say I have benefited immensely. I read mostly non-fiction books and my shelves are lined with tons of those now. I get excited when I enter bookstores, and many a time, I find myself buying more than what I can read.

But..... my attention span is still short. Or rather, you could say its highly selective. haha. There are still books that I have bought that I do not read beyond the first few chapters, as they are just plain boring. These books drone on and on about the same stuff, sometimes it feels like I'm reading an article spinner!

---

Anyway, my point is that having picked up reading again, I have learnt quite a fair bit. Different insights, thoughts, experiences, ideas, reflections can all be derived from the yellow and unattractive pages of a simple paperback (or sometimes the e-ink interface of my Kindle). When I find myself devoid of ideas, I start reading.

It always gives me perspectives. I like to read, and to think out loud. Oh well, and if you still remember Bookworm, you will remember their slogan:

And if you're interested, this is what I'm reading now:

It talks about how to welcome change into people's lives, why do people always focus on the bad things and never the good things, and how not to fall into the deceptively comfortable trap of the status quo... (I've only read 2 chapters so far)

Okay, happy week ahead!

Starting a New Phase

Time flies...

In a jiffy/blink of an eye/(insert phrase learnt in secondary school to describe passing of time), it's already April!

So 3 months into the year, I have come to a realization that time is way ahead of me. Ok but this post is not supposed to be about me; it's about my parents.

It has been 3+ months since my dad gave up his Econ minimart and he has been a happy homemaker all this while. haha.

Watching korean dramas, helping out in household chores, going for walks at ECP with my mum on alternate days, and really just lowering a few gears, after being so caught up with work for the past 30 over years.

While it has been a good break after all that toil, I think we do realize that he is still too young to retire.

So today, my mum and dad will enter a new phase of their lives as they take over a canteen stall at a primary school!

I hope that they will enjoy it very much. =)