jacl's den

Conquering Negative Emotions

2019-10-06T23:48:00.004-07:00

Does being intelligent make you highly susceptible to psychological and physiological depression? This was a statement I read in a recent article by Sciencedirect.com. According to the article, a study was conducted by the American Mensa Society(no less) that those who scored highly or one of the top in the intelligence tests were examined and found to have the prevalence of several disorders compared to the general population.

While I am definitely not saying that happy, gracious people are not capable of being depressed or having some form of disorder, I am wondering how we can change this perspective that we must be feeling negatively nearly all the time. Deep within our brain there is an almond shaped set of neurons that play a key role in the processing of our emotions. The amygdala is one of the parts of our body that is fully developed the moment a baby is born. Once used to signal us of the dangers around us, it now serves the role of providing us opportunities to show or feel emotions for a different purpose. However, Pain is still Pain no matter how you view it.

During my early 20s and 30s, it was a horrendous challenge to be positive. Didn’t sleep till late as I could not stand to think of what was my life coming to. I was married to the woman I loved (Still am) and had just started a family. Yet, I had this debilitating idea that I was a fraud pretending to be happy. Even though I was successfully managing my working life, my inner child was still hurt and raw from the abuses I received as a child. I knew I was pretending.

Over time, as I transcended into the world of a public speaking through training, I learnt to visualise my feelings as something malleable and trained my mind to be positive. While it is definitely not full proof, it has helped me to exorcise some of the demons of my past. Here are my top five daily must-dos to keeping positive.

1. Start and end the day with positive affirmations.

Let the spirit of positive affirmations, start your day. Talk to yourself in the mirror, even if you feel silly, with statements like, “Today will be a good day” or “I’m going to be awesome today.” You’ll be amazed how much your day improves. Use it as a positive mantra for the rest of your day. Over time, you will even streamline your thoughts and emotions.

2. Use humor to transform the negative to the positive.

The one thing that kept me sane during my depressive bouts was the ability to laugh at myself. While not everyone can handle self-deprecation, I used it to make light of not just the situations but myself as well. When I was about to have my last child, I was going through a very bad place. Having left my job to start a business, not being sure if there was enough money to survive. I was at my lowest. During that time, I allowed myself to experience humor in even the darkest or most trying situations.

3. Mindfulness

While this may soon become an overused cliché, being present in the moment is a big deal. Most of us have lots of emotional baggage that we can trundle along whenever the mood arises. Being laden with the luggage can act as a tremendous strain on our well-being. However, when we take the perspective of allowing the emotions to run through on their own and we just observe without expectation, clarity occurs. It’s like being in the ‘zone’ for sports players. You just live in the moment and nothing else comes in.

4. Transforming the negative to the positive

I am a conundrum of negativity when the mood gives. It does not take much for me to get laden with pain. I am normally the first person to admit that I am so bad at things. Yet when we use transformative vocabulary, it really does make a difference! I used to get single digits for Math in Secondary School. It was scary as I really did not get the concepts. I always told my friends that I was terrible in maths and I believed it too. Yet in my 4^th year, I made a decision that I would tell myself, “ I am going to practice till I get it and destroy this blooming pain” With the attitude change and constant self- affirmation, my ungraded F9 become a magnificent A2. All because I stopped talking about how bad I was to declaring How I was going to whoop its a$$.

5. Surrounding yourself with positive and encouraging people

I made a decision a few years ago that I would surround myself with mentors and encouraging people. Amazingly enough, I found it at my local Toastmasters Club. Having a sea of positivity and encouragement works wonders for the soul. Which is why every parenting module will tell you that children need an enriching environment. Once you start searching, you would realise that there are more than we can count.

These 5 tenets are crucial to my well-being. I believe they will help you too. Stay blessed.

Never give up. Stay positive. Be happy.

Why we need to start speaking up

2019-03-03T17:52:00.000-08:00

3 steps to why we need to speak up.

Choosing to be silent when you do not appreciate what is being said may seem like a good idea but more often than not, the art of silence implicitly means that you agree with what was said. Silence is just as powerful as talking. Whenever you are involved in a situation, people are aware of all the input and lack of it. When you disapprove and don't say anything, it will not make you seem easy going. Doing nothing and allowing it to happen is just as enabling as wholeheartedly agreeing on a topic. People rarely thank you for withholding information. So speak up and let your opinion be heard.

1. Speaking up for the greater good. Most people are good-hearted by nature. Many stay silent because they don't want to harm, offend or criticise others. But when a person seems severely misguided or heading down a treacherous path, it's selfish to put our own need to be comfortable above the needs of the others. Worse, by staying silent, you may be harming the very people you hope to help. The worst case scenario if you speak up is that someone may disagree, but at least the issue is out and an active decision can be made. The best case scenario is that everyone benefits and recognises you to be someone to be 2. Demonstrate you are invested. Why were you invited to the conversation in the first place? You were probably recognised as someone who can make a difference in your area of expertise. Someone invited you into the dynamic. If you truly don't have an opinion, then find a better use of your time. However, if you are there for a reason you need to show your commitment to the process and the people involved by being active and vocal. Speaking up is an important form in integrity and honesty. Honesty builds trust, especially combined with tact and empathy. While the 3 may seem mutually exclusive, together they are a potent combination and a welcome to any conversation. By demonstrating your opinions vocally,people will recognize your independent thought and sense of empathy. You will never lack for trusting friends and followers.

3. No one else may see your perspective. You can't assume the obvious is obvious. Your experience and knowledge has value in a given situation. No one else has your unique perspective. That doesn't mean that everything in your brain is worth sharing, but with a little discretion and thought, you should be able to bring value in most situations. Also, people don't automatically recognize your skills, values, ambitions, and desires when you are quiet. If you wait around for people to notice or read your mind, you will likely end up on many paths that are not of your own choosing. You may end up with projects you don't want, missing promotions you do, or accepting tasks you don't have time or ability to complete. Recognise that yo are unique with your own independent thought and share to add value.

5 steps to having healthy Father – son relationship

2017-10-02T21:19:00.002-07:00

During the course of a man's life, there comes a time when blah ...blah ...blah.

Well in the spirit of this emotion that seems to manifest itself more and more over time, I have realised that I am a father and proud of it! So I am back in the saddle and I am going to focus on fatherhood and how we can be better fathers.

5 steps to having healthy Father – son relationship

In life, we meet a variety of people regardless of race, language or religion. Some are fleeting while others form the bedrock of our beliefs. How do we know we are in a healthy relationship? Yet our deepest beliefs begin forming with the very first set of caretakers we have. Parents.

According to leading therapist, Dr Beverly Amsel, when parental involvment is limited, children typically receive scant mirroring and encouragement. So Daddy, here are 5 steps to building an optimal relationship with your from crib to their teenage years.

Humility

Many fathers have a need to be seen as the strong, stoic and decisive role model. However, this may do more damage to your son. This expectation by him and others to behave similarly in their own relationships will forever riddle themeselves with self doubt and inferiority.

No one grows up knowing everything. Yet when working with our boys, the “Do as I say and not as I do” mentality is detrimental to the development of the relationship. Be open with your struggles and flaws growing up as a boy and share how you overcame them.

Friendly vs Friend

As our boys grow up, they will have their own cliques and friends. Don’t be a friend, be a friendly dad instead. The day and age of the unwavering patriarch has been replaced by the man comfortable with his own emotions. You will always be a father to your child. Focusing on being a friend will not do you any favours. Your child will look upon you in suspicion and deride your worth as a dad. Medeival as it sounds, there must be a heirarchy to the family structure for your son to understand the fluidity between boundaries and creativity.

Shared Moments

Shared moments do not have to be life changing or serious. Having a cup of coffee in the morning or going out for walk are just as great. Your son may not show it as he grows older, but this is what memories are about. He will definitely miss it if you put a stop to it. Talking about your son’s favourite movies or games, opens you to the world that he is privy to. Look for commonalities between your interests that span 10 to 30 years and share. There is no need for a tangible goal to achieve at the end of the session. This avoids the pressure of a checklist and hitting your conversation checklist. Remember, the role of the parent is to be a mentor not a coach. (Will discuss more on this in the coming months)

Following up on promises

One characteristic that all children need is Hope. The first person they look towards this is their own parents. By ensuring we deliver on our promises, we provide the impetus for our boys to build healthy relationships with others. What happens if we don’t follow through? We apologise. Don’t do it too often though. Or they will never take us or our words seriously.

Being emotionally and physically present

This has steadily become a taboo over the years. Human beings are a very emotion based species. We enjoy intimacy. Yet we are living in the times of suspicion and litigation. Never be afraid to hug you boy or even cry in front of him. Our boys need to understand that it’s perfectly alright to feel and show emotional pain in an appropriate manner. The habit of bottling it up is one of the primary reasons why the rate of suicide between boys and girls is so wide. So show your son it is ok to feel sad. He will appreciate you for it.

It is never to late to start a healthy relationship with your son. While these are not the only steps, they will start you on the right track as they start foraging into their teenage years.

Teacher Bashing 101

2012-05-10T22:06:00.002-07:00

I read an article about a concerned parent recently. He had made a police report on how his daughter had been verbally abused by a female teacher in class. If memory serves me right, it went something like this, "I don't want to see your face".

Yup, that's it. I know alot of you are probably wondering about why this was even an issue. Well, according to the Straits Times, the child who was 7 was unable to answer a question and so was verbally abused by the teacher.

The teacher was apologetic after receiving a letter from dear old MOE. So apologetic that she wrote a full page apology to the parent and the child for the abuse she had scorned on the child. Well, it kind of got me thinking, should we stop there itself? Why not we "out" the teacher and hold her to public ridicule as we do to all those who offend us over the net? Would it do any good?

I am all for verbal abuse. It's a Singaporean way of life. What's the use of having the skills if you can't practise it ? How many of us, upon learning a new language, look up naughty words? I know there are two categories of people here. Those who admit they do and those who are just plain bluffing. (Yup. That's right, I am looking at you)

To those of you who wish to preserve our way of life in the arts of verbal abuse, here are some tips that I humbly provide for your perusal.

(1) BUILD A RELATIONSHIP

     That's right. Before you plan on abusing anybody verbally, ask yourself. "Have I created a relationship strong enough with this person, to tear him a new one?" Not everyone (barring sado- masochists) appreciates receving abuse, espcially from those they have no stable relationship with.

(2) When abusing, PLEASE GIVE SOME CONSTRUCTIVE ADVICE
      Being constantly bombarded with negative criticism is not healthy, even for the best of us. Instead of focusing on the negative, provide suggestions on specific areas on which to improve. Remember, we are here to nurture the child, NOT show him all 18 levels of hell.

(3) Provide AFTER ABUSE ENCOURAGEMENT
    Speak to the child, tell him that you have not given up hope. You are concerned, and the concern was what led you to abuse the ears off the child. So share why you think they can and should do better. It is more impactful when you do this

(4) DON'T ABUSE!!
      Don't take out your frustrations on a child if you have to. Having fear ruling over your child's head is not something that is beneficial. Calm yourself and communicate. Don't eradicate. We all have our frustrations, try to control your own emotions. We are the adults afterall.

Finally if all else fails, why not ask yourself, if this is how you wish to be remembered, the great abuser of souls or a great teacher?

The choice is yours.

politics = wrestling?

2011-04-07T16:43:00.000-07:00

Wrestling has been part of many lives. While some would rather look on disdain upon the culture of sports entertainment, there are many of us who grew up watching hulkamania running wild or Rick rude gyrating his hips or for the younger generations watching Dx, waging a war on wcw.

While many claim it is a mockery of 'real' sport, how many of us have seen diving in football, or weird dancing moves at the end of a touchdown and not cringe at the 'fakeness' of it?

Does wrestling really deserve such a bad rep? The injuries are pretty bad when it happens( the dynamite kid, stone cold..) deaths have even occurred (OwenHeart).

With all this blood, high flying acrobatics and death defying stunts, you would think they would be canonized or sent to a mental asylum, instead they challenge their bodies and themselves to reach greater heights.

So mainstream has it been that some even go on to hold public office. Remember Jesse the Body Ventura? Well he is one such example. With the recent debate on puthucheary being introduced to be an mp, I would like to invite on behalf of the people, Two such icons to become Singapore citizens and represent us. Step forward candidate number 1:

Duane Johnson, The Rock!

Who else can lead the people but the peoples' champion? Bringing it to parliament and laying the smack down on overpaid, head in the cloud, jabroni waanabies , already an A lister , he would definitely be able to move on to become even the prime minister of Singapore. He would need a strong deputy who while enforcing the law, would still keep him in check. Step forward...

STONE COLD STEVE AUSTIN. He would let out a can of whoop ass if anyone tried to sue him for insubordination. And heaven forbid if they ask him why he said so. (Do I hear a 'what'?)

All it would take is two years from citizenship and as they have already sweat blood and tears for the people, they would be the perfect people to take over.

So let's give it out for the two.
PM Duane the Rock Johnson
And
Stone Cold Steve Austin

Free Security?

2011-03-20T22:08:00.000-07:00

Once again, I have to say how great it is to have a casino in Singapore (technically RWS is off shore:).
Now the government has no choice but to declare the revenues we are getting and thanks to that we have a beautiful waterfront in Woodlands. The waters around the little coast is beautiful and the area for kite flying and other assorted activities allow alot of people to have fun at different times of the day.
The huge play area with the ropes and the climbing structures are constantly utilised by kids and adults alike. The only thing that bugs me is why is it so close to a remand center? Is it because we have no other place to have the waterfront?

Could it be possible that after the Mas Selamat incident, out gahment has found a long term solution to security. Instead of just relying on the highly skilled security officers and prison officers the area will now be surrounded by civilians who will constantly be on the look out for potential illegal immigrants as well as potential escapees from the center?

Hey, hey I am not condemning the solution, in fact i think its great! As a citizen of this country, I do get bored from time to time. Coming to the waterfront, having fun with my children, or actually watch my children have fun as I wait at the side hoping to get a chance to bring the kids for a walk, observe flora and fungi, fly a kite... (I'm a closet nerd, can't be helped).

Now when i go to the waterfront, i get to be a lookout for the government too. This is my country and being an Operationally ready NSman gets boring during the off reservist time. So this gets the old blood pumping and i am ready to scream shrilly at potential enemies, escapees (anything... I dont care).

I could probably use my Gun - App on the Iphone and start shooting at them if things turn nasty.
So, thank you Singapore, I love the Woodlands Waterfront!

Dear Employee

2011-01-20T22:40:00.001-08:00

Dear employee,

Due to the current financial situation caused by the slowdown of economy, Management has decided to implement a scheme to put workers of 40 years of age and above on early retirement. This scheme will be known as RAPE (Retire Aged People Early).

Persons selected to be RAPED can apply to management to be eligible for the SHAFT scheme (Special Help After Forced Termination). Persons who have been RAPED and SHAFTED will be reviewed under the SCREW programme (Scheme Covering Retired Early Workers). A person may be RAPED once, SHAFTED twice and SCREWED as many times as Management deems appropriate.

Persons who have been RAPED can only get AIDS (Additional Income for Dependants & Spouse) or HERPES (Half Earnings for Retired Personnel Early Severance).
Obviously persons who have AIDS or HERPES will not be SHAFTED or SCREWED any further by Management.

Persons who are not RAPED and are staying on will receive as much SHIT (Special High Intensity Training) as possible. Management has always prided itself on the amount of SHIT it gives employees. Should you feel that you do not receive enough SHIT, please bring to the attention of your Manager. They have been trained to give you all the SHIT you can get.

To all my friends, have a great Dilbert Weekend!

A week in a lifetime

2010-04-22T18:11:00.000-07:00

Well, this has been an interesting week to say the least. It is coming to the end of the week. The rain has been making guest appearances whenever I am on my way home and I have finally understood what it means to be humbled by God's natural occurrences.

On my way home yesterday, I was blessed to see a double rainbow if i could call it that. This happened after the downpour that threatened to flood the Bishan MRT tunnel. It was a damn waste that I did not have my camera with me and my phone's batt was flat too!

Funny how it is. When you least expect it, HE decides to bask you in His glory and you don't have any evidence or anyone to share with at that moment. All we are left with is a sense of awe and gratitude that He is always with us.

All I can say is that at times when I feel that there is nothing worth feeling or seeing, HE comes and shows me otherwise.

Jack Neo - paragon of virtue!?

2010-03-10T06:16:00.000-08:00

With uncle Jack being outed by all his alleged mistresses, I begin to wonder... why are only the 'femme fatales' being persecuted by the regular man in the street?

Is Jack so naive that he is easily let on by girls who are a half to a quarter his age? If his wife says its ok, then you can imagine the great family system they have. I do hope they get used to it when such things happen to their kids.

He is a grown up. He has made mistakes. What bothers me is that he is so 'bochup' about it. He preyed on young girls with the promise of making them into stars. If alleged accounts be true, then there was even a 16 year old girl whom he was after, again with the promise of making her a star.

If she had agreed, I wonder if this would constitute sexual grooming? I understand that 14 and below is considered rape regardless of consent. Would being 2 years older make it alright if she had agreed? While this is purely conjecture, I thank God that he is not an important public figure to me. I do NOT look to him to guide the moral values of my kids but I thank him for this situation because I can clearly explain to my children that every human makes mistakes, but if he makes that same mistake over and over again, we can look to Uncle Jack as to how we can pretend to be nonchalant.

Thanks Jack,
you made my job as a parent much easier.

United and Milan

2010-03-10T05:52:00.000-08:00

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.

2010-02-08T06:13:00.000-08:00

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.

2009-11-02T20:29:00.000-08:00

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!

2009-11-02T19:54:00.001-08:00

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?

2009-09-25T11:26:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-25T19:49:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-18T16:59:00.000-07:00

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...

H1N1 Holidays!!

2009-06-25T01:36:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the compassion and precautionary measures of the Government. Will we see unscrupulous citizens taking advantage of the system by going to Indonesia and other nearby countries with H1N1 status? For if you do so, you have eight days from your day of arrival as additional holiday. Again students will not feel the pinch, adults? heh heh NO PAY LAH!

Instead of taking the absence to do their daily work and keeping themselves at home, will we see them at our shopping malls, swimming complexes and cinemas? Of course! We are Singaporeans, if we can find a lobang of course masuk!

Enjoy your hols.

(I wonder if those under LOA will go overseas towards the end of their Leave? another 8 days ah?)
:)

School's in!!

2009-06-24T06:22:00.000-07:00

Nervous to know that school is back. especially with the recent cases of H1N1 in Singapore and Malaysia. With parents being wary about spreading the diseases, i don't know how many will send their kids to school.

We can only pray that everyone is responsible in their actions. Lets enjoy school and hope everything turns out fine!