Rustic Penang!

"Oh God, just bring me anywhere... yes anywhere away from the country. Allow me some form of escape... perhaps to Penang maybe...?"

A friend of a friend's wedding.

Ethnic pottery colums.

Vandalism or Art?

Big Bike

Fire Hydrant

Letterbox with "Polis"

Chicken

Interesting letterbox

Happy Me!

A local

Chinese temple food offerings

Shophouse

Mosque

happy me part 2

If I could run away to the Ashram and just meditate...

Being an educator (and especially one who specialises in the field of the arts and the humanities), the topic of education, culturedness and graciousness have always been central to my thoughts and reflections on the world that revolves around me. 

My country prides itself to be a very modern and advanced nation. The citizens pride themselves to be highly educated, ingenius beings with the capacity to score "A" grades in almost all subjects, especially Mathematics and the Sciences. 

And yet we need frequent reminders that we shall not litter. Actually we need frequent threats to remind us not to litter. Here, if one is caught littering, one shall be fined and the old Confucian punishment of shaming the individual publicly through the act of Corrective Work Order (i.e. sweeping the floor in the crowded downtown) will be imposed...

 

And yet we need frequent reminders in public transports to give up seats to those who really need them (i.e. the pregnant women, the elderly, the handicapped...etc)...

 

And yet we need frequent reminders to be ceourteous and graceful to fellow human beings through campaigns such as "Kindness Begins with Me" or "Pass it Forward Movement"... Actually if my memory is right, sometime last year, there was even a campaign to get citizens to SMILE more as there was a special world conference held here and we needed badly to give a "good" impression to these foreign visitors...

And yet we need frequent reminders to stop violence on the public bus by not using aggression on bus captains... 

And we call ourselves "educated" and "civilised"? Surely something is not right in our education system. Too much centered on paper-chase and accumulation of mundane awards perhaps? A superficial education that we are focusing on here? 

You see there is something wrong with our education, our mental views of things around us, and our values. We are not treating people right. We treat people only with money and power with utmost respect. We view the caucassions as superior while we discriminate our Asian neighbours ... well, unless they are rich and they speak with some American or British accent. Otherwise the Indonesians and the Filipinos are known only as "maids" and the Thai and Bangladeshi men here are known as only "construction workers". The Chinese from China are known to be "uncivilised" with them speaking so loudly in public places while the Indians from India are known for their "distinct smell". The Malays from Malaysia are known to be lazy (lepak)  drug-addicts, or if not they, together with some Indonesian men, are conveniently labelled as terrorists! 

I, as an educator, have failed terribly. Although I tried so hard to nurture some "human" values in my students, it has little consequence as the societal culture here is too overwhelming. Day after day, I start questioning on my role as an educator and whether I should continue to be one. A lot of time, I find bliss in travelling to the so-called "Third-World Countries", where the people are said to be poor and with no or little education but interestingly, they seem to be more "human" with more interesting characters when compared to my fellow citizens. Things are simpler. People are less arrogant. Stress level is lower and who cares about Gross Domestic Product when in another country, they measure national development through Gross National Happiness?  

So what prompted this long post? Of course the fact that my long weekend has been dampened by students who are spoilt and in my view "non-intelligent" and of course, an ugly, rude and unreasonable parent. If only I could run away from all these to an Ashram in India and do some yoga and meditation to clear this angst and negative vibe from me. Unfortunately I can't. So I shall just drink some caffeine, chill and read an entertaining book by Lucy Edge (a travel writer) called "Yoga School Droupout" while school reopens tomorrow. Adieu readers. 

  

Strengthening to Recover

While I travelled a bit and realised some unthinkable dreams in the year 2009, age started to come down hard on me. Stress at work has made me aged more than I ever thought possible. Time passed by too quickly that almost often, I could hardly catch up. 

Indeed 2009 was the year in which running took on a back seat. Sure I was still running now and then, here and there, but it was more "off" than "on". It went from bad to worse as I finally admitted that my runs in 2009 lacked vigor, enery and zest. If running was once inspirational, a way to de-stress, to reflect, to recover from setbacks in life, to dream big dreams for the future, later it however became completely uninspiring. And it became evident especially in the beginning of the year 2010 when a sharp setback in life made me turn again to running as a form of comfort but only to realise that I have grown weaker. An activity that once gave me so much comfort, and security, a pillar of strength, suddenly played an insidious joke on me as it became the very thing that made me extremely insecure and self-conscious. 

Nah, I have not recovered from the sharp setback which I experienced in the beginning of the year. The "no-confident" and uninspiring runs thus far meant that I have more or less lost a pillar of comfort and consolation for spiritual recovery. I have since withdrawn myself from outdoor running although I really and truly missed meeting the regular runners,  exchanging the big smile and waving the big "Hi" during our regular running encouters. I have yet to run for any major race this year. I still fear another disaster which could dampen my spirit even more. And while I am now in my "hibernation" mode, I instead enrolled myself in a fitness gym with a personal trainer to see me through and attending yogasana and pilate classes - indeed attempts on my part to build my physical strength as well as my mental strength. It has been about 2 months since the hibernation-cum-strengthening period. Today I feel good. I feel stronger. But I don't know if I really am stronger and better - both physically and mentally. 

This coming Friday will be my first test as I run my first 2.4km outdoor. For the first time in months, I'm coming out of my "hibernation" mode. Now the thing is I don't have to run this Friday. I could walk if I want to - just like how most of the other male and female colleagues merely walk. In fact I could be the only female or if not, just one of the other 2 or 3 femalesat my workplace  who will be running. I am tempted to give in and just not run - and not to be tested. But then again that does not do God any justice, righty? God blessed me with 2 able legs - perhaps not the most fantastic legs I agree - but definitely still 2 legs capable of not just walking but running too. I feel obliged to run and hence, I shall be tested this Friday. Wish me luck.