United and Milan

What a way to end the day! United versus Milan. Honestly expecting United to cruise on this game. Simply because I really think its time for the entire Milan squad (except 3 perhaps?) to retire...

To defend against a robust team that rarely gives up is not easy. Milan may be experienced, but that definitely is not enough when challenging a near full strength United team.

I do hope Golden Balls gets a good reception from the fans. He deserves it. With his stylish tattoos and hip wife and his one trick that he's very good at(i.e. deadballs), he at least seems to be a genuine nice bloke in this day and age of spoilt football stars.

So here is my money on United to win by 2 goals.

Lessons from a 6 year old.

A couple of months ago, I was in the car with my family, happily enjoying the ride (my wife is the designated driver). My younger boy, Shakthi suddenly started screaming, "look! look! AEROPLANE!!" My elder boy Adithya and myself looked up quickly. Thanks to me being in front at the time, I was able to see it. My beloved son alas was not able to.

"Where? Where is it?" he queried, eagerly looking everywhere. Well, by that time the plane was obviously long gone.

"Hey Adi, tooooo late!" I told him abit too condescendingly. Being 6, he was quite miffed about it. But after sometime, we forgot all about it and continued our journey.

A good ten minutes later, "Look! Look! another aeroplane!" This time it was my dear Adi, who had spotted one. Trying to make amends for my condescending tone earlier, I asked, "Where? Where?"


a quiet reply came from the back....."Tooooo Late!"

The Most astute manager in the world.

Arsene Wenger has finally found the number 1 problem as to why his team finds it difficult to perform... THE FANS! Great one Wenger. With you starting a winning streak, nothings gets better than to tell your fans to top celebrating.

This man has totally lost the plot! Next thing you know, he is going to start a campaign to play his games in neutral stadiums. That would be fun.

For a guy who has managed to deflect and shift blame from his players whenever a controversy pops up, he must have gone into auto mode when he heard the shouts (of joy) of the fans.

Wake up Wenger. There is a reason that this is the number 1 sport in the world. No fans = no status.

Old people too free? BAH HUMBUG!

I went to Changi Aloha Resort a couple of weeks ago to celebrate my cousin's 21st birthday. To commemorate the occasion (ahem) My family and I decided to book 2 rooms for us at the Changi Village hotel.

The day after the party, My parents, wife, kids and I went for a walk to the nearby food centre. What a surprise it was to see that there was a festival of some sort going on. Upon investigation, we found that the Grassroots club (RC?) had organised an enviromental awareness day for the general residents.

I must say, I have never enjoyed myself in such a long while. The games for the children, the magic show and of course what I considered the highlight was the stars of the show. Many of the organising committee were there and it was endearing to see that nearly everyone was a senior citizen. There was so much joy in their eyes and smiles were aplenty as they connected with the residents.

I thoroughly enjoyed the dance performance put up by the committee. They put people half their age to shame! Who said that the younger generation have to look after the seniors? They can still teach us a thing or two by the looks of it. I honestly believe they know what it takes to be a useful member of society. I wish I can be that active when I become a senior citizen.

Kudos to the committee for making a passerby stop what he was doing and getting him to feel part of the Changi community.

Who wants to be a Vasantham Star?

I read today's newpaper about our very own Ken in Singapore Idol dissing a wannabe star. It is not surprising that he felt there was no need to apologise as he had never even heard of the term Vasantham Star.
A joke however tasteful when made at the expense of the majority, we are told to be careful as it misconstrues the perception of others on that particular race. When it's done at the expense of a minority group, we are normally told (if we speak up of course) it's just a joke... take it in the right spirit.

Kenny boy, a mistake was made when you dissed not just her but the entire Indian (or Tamil speaking) population with your comments. Whatever your intentions, it came out the wrong way. A celebrity, whatever your intentions, should keep your personal views private especially in a multi racial environment like Singapore.

However, don't worry. you are not alone. Just a few days ago, a chinese colleague during an office meeting started speaking in the "indian" slang whenever she had an apology to make. It was very interesting as a social experiment to see how the laughs came when she did it. Everyone was seemingly fine about it. I just can't wait for my turn to chair a sharing. I'm told my 'Chinese' slang is almost the standard of Russel Peters.

I will be happy to share my adventure with you when I do it. So, while our dear Ken may not be apologising for such a 'trivial' matter, I am sure that the incident is "much regretted." (a very politicised term for saying I feel your pain brudder, but so what lah, u can't touch me)

The NLS Experience

Transformed by the mission

I remember the first time I learnt that I had achieved success by clearing the interview process. With another feather on my cap to mark, I was puffed up, ready to change the world with my ‘vast’ 10 years experience of teaching.

What a shock it turned out to be.

Coming to the school, I later learnt that we would be practicing our prepared lessons to an audience of 17 to 18 year olds from the original GSVTC. Myself and Jeff, though apprehensive, were confident that with our life experiences in teaching and the ‘real’ world, we would be able to turn the kids around and make them appreciate life and life long learning.

It was perfect. We did everything right. The pupils enjoyed the lesson. They were so filled with the love for learning and looked at us in awe at our teaching prowess. Yeah right…

1 pupil left after the first 10 minutes, laughing out how she couldn’t believe we were teachers in the first place. Another child came to ask me if this was a joke while the rest looked at us piteously as we tried to salvage what was left of our pride.

That was the baptism of fire we were put through when we first came to good ol’ NLS.

Living life in NLS was never an easy task. There was always something interesting happening in our part of the neighbourhood. From counseling to multiple house visits to playing hide and seek in the Bedok Reservoir area with my good friend Rosli (or Simon, has he likes to be called from time to time), it was an interesting life.

Coming from the mainstream, black and white was always clearly demarcated when it came to dealing with students. However at NLS, I truly learnt what it meant to be that every child is unique. We tried to be fair when we could, but the pupils always knew we had their interests at heart.

Being in the school, living the dream was definitely a bed of roses. We could smell every flower, view all the beauty, but at the same time, feel the prickles of all the thorns when we did not handle them properly.

Their optimism, belief in their teachers and the love they had for all of us is something that I will always cherish.

To all the pupils and staff of NLS, I would like to thank you for the experiences that changed me. To modify a quote I heard once not long ago,

I came (jaded)… I saw (with open eyes)… you reaffirmed (my purpose in life)

With many thanks,

James Clifton Alexis
Friend

Week 3 and counting

With the H1N1 supposedly coming to a full cycle, it is good to see how lax everyone has become. No one bothers to cover their mouths when sneezing or coughing, washing of hands after toilet use has gone back to the good old days of just wiping your hands on your pants. I love Singapore! Ask the average citizen and he will tell you that its over! Back to life as we know it.

What a country. What a people. I am so proud to be a Singaporean.

Haiz...