Beautiful Mondays

I love Mondays. It is the start of work for a whole week. I feel invigorated after a lovely weekend, especially after service at church where I feel refreshed and rejuvenated by the sermons and the inspirational singing. It is like having my batteries recharged so that I have "new cells" and energy to tackle the challenges that present themselves for the next seven days! On Sunday evenings I like to take stock of all that had happened during the week, and analyse my mistakes and make new resolutions for the following days ahead.

Now my Mondays are even brighter. I look forward every evening when I tutor Zhi Yi and Zhi Wei. They are both bright kids and as much as I am teaching them, I am also learning from them! It is amazing how well informed today's generation is! The older generation sometimes think that today's youngsters are nonchalant. I suspect young people like to act cool, flippant and "tidak apa" (nonchalant), but deep inside them, they worry about their families, the government and their future! Zhi Yi and Zhi Wei are very sensitive to the environment around them. When I asked them what they would do for Singapore if they were in the PAP (People's Action Party), their answers were quite astounding! The two brothers are mature beyond their years!

I also look forward to seeing the children's pet dog, Goldy. This is the first time that I came across a dog who loves to eat anything that is edible! Goldy even loves fresh cuts of apples, cucumbers and tomatoes..... he would make good advertisement material as the Singapore government is encouraging her citizens to eat more fruits and vegetables. Sometimes I would arrive some 30 minutes earlier, so that I could walk Goldy together with Zhi Wei. Goldy would sit next to his favourite master during lessons and observe all that is going on. How wonderful if dogs could also speak! The maid, Leah, would often give me a bowl of delicious home cooked soup.

Sometimes I wonder why Mondays are often described as black or bleak Mondays. Let us paint Mondays with blue skies and sunny weather. Even if it were cloudy or rainy on Mondays, let us remember that there is always a silver lining behind every cloud!

Gan Chau

Adventures of a Little Daihatsu Cuore

When I saw the little black Daihatsu Cuore 650 cc, I knew it was just the right car for me. After a year, I could scrap the car at $8,500/- which was the purchase price!
For the enlightenment of my overseas readers, all cars in Singapore are scrapped after ten years and certain amounts of refunds, depending on the capacities of the cars, will be made to the owners. Owners can still choose not to scrap the cars, but higher taxes will be levied on the cars.

When I was driving the car on the expressway, I noticed that many motorists on motorbikes and even drivers of luxury cars would turn to look at my car. I was getting a little nervous and asked my friend, Carrie, if the drivers found my car so cute as to warrant a second look. Or maybe they found the driver so oooo cute! It was only when I met my friend, Mr. & Mrs. Tham, did I discover the actual reason. The car number plate ES6263J had struck first prize in the 4D lottery the previous week! No wonder the owner had disposed of the car cheaply and bought a brand new car.

The previous owner of the little Daihatsu Cuore had also installed a little fan. It was sensible because of the small capacity of the engine. I noticed that whenever it rained, my little car would cough like an old man and if it rained even more heavily the cough would become worse and the engine would stall! Once I drove my eldest sister to the zoo, and it started to rain and my poor little car started to cough, and refused to move! "Your car is so lousy!" complained my sister. "Don't worry, sis, we can walk to the zoo; it's quite near and when the sun comes out I will be able to drive the car again." I tried to comfort my sister.

I had to park the car on the roadside, and left a big piece of paper on the windscreen with the words, "Dear Mr. Policeman, please do not fine me. My car has rheumatism because of the rain and cannot move. Owner is at the zoo with her sister from Malaysia. The car will move again when the sun comes out. Thanks for your great understanding!"

Despite the rain, we armed ourselves with umbrellas and enjoyed visiting the zoo.
To my relief, the police had not fined me and the car started moving again two hours later when the rain stopped.

One evening after school, I was trying to rush home as someone was coming to visit me. Just then, my colleague, Mr. Ong, asked me for a lift. Soon afterwards, it started to rain, but as I was in a hurry, I thought I would take the risk with my little bone shaker. As we were driving along Farrer Road, I was horrified to find the road was flooded as the rain had suddenly become very heavy. Mr. Ong realised I was very worried, and said, "Don't worry Choo. Just put in gear one all the way.... don't shift the gear." I was praying very hard for in front of me was a Mercedes Benz and I could see the four wheels churning the flood waters as the car moved along. From the corner of my right eye, I could see a car half submerged in rain water on the opposite side of the road. I kept praying that God would see us through the floodwaters. Eventually when I came out of flooded Farrer Road, I felt so joyful... I could almost identify with the feelings of Moses when he crossed the Red Sea!

The next morning, a colleague told us that her brand new Subaru Legacy 1800 cc was stalled in the flood at Geylang Serai.

I was asked by my colleague to help him invigilate the O level examinations. He had promised to take his family for a holiday during the December holidays. Since I was not travelling I decided to oblige him. I asked to invigilate at the school nearest my home without realising it was the biggest examination centre as private students had to take their examinations at Fairfield Secondary School. It was not easy to prepare the time table for some 24 invigilators as I did not have the experience of Chief Presiding Examiner.

December is also usually a wet month in Singapore. My assistant and I had to go to the Ministry of Education at Tanglin Road at 6.00 am to collect the question papers and to handover the papers at around 6.00 pm everyday for a month. Everyday, I prayed that my car would not stall. On the last day of the examination, after handing in the papers at 6.00 pm, my little Daihatsu Cuore broke down. I was so full of joy. My assistant was very puzzled and confused for she had never seen anyone so happy when her car broke down.! It was only later that she realised the many precarious journeys of faith she had taken with me in the amazing little car!

Once I was cleaning my little car, and I saw an elderly man staring at my number plate. Suddenly he spoke loudly in Hokkien, "Ah Moi, you have struck it rich! Your car number came out first prize." I told him I was not in the habit of gambling. "Why are you so stupid.... the Money God wants to prosper you and you don't know how to be prospered". I shared with him the above adventures of faith I had taken with my little car, and that this kind of joy and blessing can never be replaced by even the first prize in the 4D. I would not know what to do if my little car had broken down in the morning, with the rain and traffic jam, and 630 candidates waiting for their O level examination papers! Even though my little Daihatsu Cuore had been scrapped some twenty years ago, whenever I feel discouraged or pessimistic I would think of my little car, and my faith and spirit would be uplifted.

Gan Chau :-)

A Little Get-Away

My eldest sister, Lee Lee, phoned me from Johore and asked me to visit her and her son. My nephew, Samuel, a specialist engineer, has been transfered from Kuching. As I no longer operate the restaurant, Rialto, my time as a real estate agent is now more flexible. I can chose to take off from work any time. I also wanted to use the opportunity to teach my eldest sis how to write letters via email and how to start her blog. She writes very well in Chinese and Bahasa Malaysia and taught these two languages in the secondary schools before her retirement.

I asked the bus driver which would be the best stop to get down as I wanted to choose a station that is not so crowded. He suggested "Kota Raya". When I reached the station, I tried to use the public phone. Strange! The equipment was faulty, but it could still "eat up" my ten cents coin!

When I reached my nephew's rented condominum in Plentong, I was very impressed. Beautiful building! However, my heart sank when I heard that the phone line had yet to be installed! Hence, it meant my nephew could not even use his computer, even though he had already paid for the telephone line in January! Plentong is only 30 minutes drive from Johore Bahru. I thought perhaps I might teach my sister at an internet cafe, but there is no such cafe in Plentong. I am so sad that although Johore is so close to Singapore, yet the authorities are so slow to emulate their friendly neighbour. Please do not misunderstand me, readers. I do not wish to have that "mightier than thou attitude", but it will bring me great joy if I could also share in my neighbour's progress and well being. When we see our neighbours doing well, we also want to rejoice with them in their success.

Never mind. Since I could not use the computer, I spent the time learning how to cook new dishes from my sister who is an excellent cook. My nephew has a huge collection of videos, and we watched a number of movies - Pride and Prejudice and movies by Jacky Chan. I also danced along with my sis and her four winsome, little grandchildren.

In all my travels, I have learnt to adapt and to get the most out of every visit. I try not to complain what I cannot find, but to make full use of what I can find in all the cities I had visited. In China, it did not bother me that the CAAC (Civil Aviation Authority of China) often cancelled or delayed the flights.... I would go around the airport and look for people that I could chat with. Jokingly, I said that CAAC stands for "China Airlines Always Cancel".

In Nepal, especially in the remote villages, we had to learn to use "toilets without walls" and despite the cold, mud floors, I could sleep soundly. The mountains are so lovely and the locals are so warm and friendly. Although the Nepalis have little, they are so generous and hospitable!

I enjoy travelling. Each time I come back to Singapore, it makes me more appreciative of the privilege of living in this efficient, well-planned, clean and green city.

Gan Chau