22 June 2006




















Bright Recipes to Dish Up Day, Night or Morning...

These were the 16 or so dishes i learnt to observe, help and cook during the past week. Sincere thanks to Sam (2005-) and Anna (1987-) who dropped by from distant galaxies to hand their slurpy recipes on to me...roll-call..here it goes...and not just in name or theory...

Green Curry, Asam Pedas with Toman Fish, Honey-Drizzled Pancakes with Fresh Strawberries, Stir-Fried Chicken with Basil, Thick Pumpkin Soup, Spagetti with Cream in Lemon Rind, Beef Spagetti, Tiramisu, Claypot Crabmeat Tanghoon, Honey Chicken Wings, Boiled Sotong with Garlic Dip, Boiled Vegetables in Fragrant Onion, Orange Beer, Greek Salad with Pine Nuts, Salmon Teriyaki, Thick Mushroom Soup...

Cooking takes patience and so does learning a new skill. It is an intuitive art, crafted and made to help us express ourselves in sight, taste, scent and sometimes, sound. We churn and make a meal out of frying sassy-seasalt- washtang of anonymous food with fickle pan, golden oil poised on a sturdy wok. Creation from chaos. The choppedsticked lined table comes complete with busy fingers stabbing fragrant flesh and stirrring herbs to make a soup-dish quite complete.






21 June 2006



Monday 19 June 2006 1.30pm...

Lives depart only to meet again. Meeting michael on an mrt platform was the last thing on my mind. Did not even know he was back, neither did he inform anyone. Life moves on a solid pace; we take rational steps and would not risk devoting time to fate and destiny. Maybe this empty space gives God a chance to act and twitch different distant roads together. We do many things before that; delivering food to granny, peeing in the washroom, ducking the rain...only to walk the platform, to the end line and feel the oncoming rush of a west-bound train. My good brother was there, leaning on the glass and our perplexed eyes met, casting a quizzical, miraculous look, beyond a mere surprise. The train door had to open and he had to leap out before seeing me making the sign of the cross, laughing, amazed, very amused and delighted to see an old friend who had been away for so long. There is no coincidence in this. The Lord intended us to meet. Lives depart only to meet again...God bending time so that two old friends may meet and be united to 2 more soul-friends. Another unexpected reunion waits to appear, there, just round the corner...unknown, open yet free. Our faith...our common road toward eternity.

To my brothers in faith- louis, edward and mike...we met today and we will meet again.

'What we shall be in the future has not yet been revealed but we do know that when it is revealed, we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is.'

1 John 3: 2

19 June 2006


This week ends with 3 reunions with my former classes: 00S14, 01A01 and 04A02. And not forgetting a long awaited reunion with my 3 brothers; edward, louis and mike over a passing train and many phone-calls thereafter.

I am leaving Singapore and my vocation (for now) with a deep sense of gratitude, having been given the chance to recollect many past and present journeys shared with friends and ex-classes alike. It will be interesting to meet most of my classes before i leave. 00S14 / 2000 made teaching GP quite relaxed and fun for me as a beginning teacher then. I still shudder at my style of teaching and the little that was learnt. They were a receptive lot and provided me with much patience and space to grow. S14 (and the likes of Kim, Weizhang, Xian Hong, Wilfred, Wee Pin and William) were a smart and cocky bunch who always had a heart for others and remained so to this very day. They are one of the most memorable classes i've ever taught. 01A 01/2001-2002 was my first CT class. I took them on with much joy since i coached them for most of JC1. Warm, affectionate though sharp by nature (they still are! Think Hazel, MJ, Aleen, Chooi, Shang, BingBing, Mark and Pat-she hates being called by that label) : those early months bristled with negtiations as we sought to navigate across sensitive terrains and mechanical rules on everything from attire, deadlines to punctuality. Being a subject tutor for them in Jc1 entailed a different stance as you take on CT in Jc2. Still, the months went by and there grew greater trust and regard for each other. They remain my first CT as always and i will always remember them for that. 04A02 / 2005 is on record, the 'final' CT class i've taken on before leaving service. They were a motley bunch, so incredibly diverse in their personalities and utterly coloured in many different shades. I lumped them into artsfour (jc2GP/2005) for the many hours of rare insights and pathsways we've taken; treetop hikes, sacred places, lit hikes.

Lives were broken, stories were woven and stiched and the occasional hollar across small rooms, classrooms and corridors which left one in tears. By then my journey was almost ending and the call came early to retreat, withdraw and rest but not before i could and want to tell them they were the most human and humane class i have seen, both in their wry vision to Life and the felt compassion and yearning to know and be understood. The final chapter of their lives proved was a fitting tribute & necessary closure for all that we've seen, felt and heard. Till this day, whatever happened in Arcadia on Farewell Assembly day, between and within the class will always be a sacred encounter between them and themselves. Many reflect an awkward shyness and occasionally respond with derisive laughter when they recall that day. Yet in the still and silent hour of prayer, I knew there was something more than ordinary emotion or spirit felt in that dim room that day- a flicker of chance, openness and genuine regard no one else but they would understand in the years to come...


Much of our lives are marked by mystery. Becoming human is'nt the easiest thing to do but it remains a necessary journey for all who desire more out of life and our ordinary and frighteningly mundane and mechanical existence. There lies contours we need to mark, point out and re-read once more, the brief glimpses into eternity that tempers our battered experience of life's lesser tragedies and blank compromises.

we give thanks..