A patch of the KTM Rail that will soon go down in the history books in the name of development. I was drawn to the green blotches/patches left behind by the mould and fungus on the belly of this disused bridge until I saw the sleek looker of a creeper edging a supporting hand on one of its pillars.

Finish in style,
finish with a smile.

~ Mohanadas Kandiah, 50,
Former heavy smoker gears up for 129th marathon, who has raced on many continents,
insists that enjoyment is more important than timings.

Patience can't be acquired overnight.

It is just like building up a muscle.

Every day you need to work on it.

~ Eknath Easwaran

Every now and then, when I get the chance,

I'll drive into Johor Bahru across the border to run some errands - a car wash being one of them.

The attap structure of this small car wash business and that of the adjacent open-air food centre spells nostalgia big time. It is as if I get to travel backwards in time every time I drive away from modern bustling Singapore into moderately quiet JB.

This pair of wonder twins came by church last weekend. Down and recovering from a searing sore throat, I stayed home and watched the service over the internet.

My challenges came swift and furious. The surprising sore throat invasion, the burgeoning issues I face at work with the challenging individuals in my classes and the new CCA, the Natalie laptop (I give a name to every PC/laptop around the house, yes) just couldn't power up on Tuesday morning when I tried to send work to the substitute teacher, the dilemmas of going to have dinner with a former student who had requested for the meet and attending my grandaunt's wake and funeral when I am on MC. Did I also mention that the other night, my heart sank a little when I notice that my less than three-month-old flat handphone not light up when I put it to charge - that was the night after I discovered a non-responding Natalie??? I had also just bought a new adaptor for her after the original one just breathed its last after my amazing Cambodia trip? The trend is clear - the walls around me are looming nearer and higher while some have collapsed.

Those words by Jayesslee came to mind often. Choose to rejoice in challenging circumstances. Given my melancholic disposition, these series of events gave me a breakthrough. I made that choice to rejoice.

And God came through.

The father of one challenging kid agreed to meet the school leaders yesterday, having been impossible to reach previously forever.

I took up the courage to strip down my netbook, Natalie, in a desperate attempt to remove the hardisk so as to salvage my work and personal data. In the process, I hit a road block and did not succeed in the extraction But I saw a loose screw at the corner where the chasis had broken off by a little pizza and where the problematic power button is. So I tightened it. If you know me well, I hate working on anything mechanic and electrical. I just think I suck at repairing things. I just pay people to do it. Correction. I pay cheap people to do a good job. :) But something told me to just try powering it up again. And the miracle came. Natalie came to life! I quickly did a backup of all my data which took almost the entire day. And now, guess whose keyboard I am tapping on to write this entry?

The sore throat worsened into the chronic cough I had feared. It gets triggered by cold air and dry or dusty conditions. And based on past experiences, when the cough steps in, I would cough for months. After my return to work on Mon, it also led to the harrowing experience of coughing til my head was throbbing. I had gone back because I had national oral exam duties on top of graduating and challenging S3 classes. I understand that MOE might not be too happy finding relief for me last Thursday and Friday when I was on MC. And I did not want my heads to get more rap from those folks up there in their lofty towers. I went against my conscience and came back to work when I had not recovered - to spread my goodness to all. So no Tuesday, I decided to revisited my favourtie and very sympathetic and effective doctor at Owen Road and she blessed me with a three-day MC to rest. Of course the bill came to a hefty $91! But the medication is effective. So I am getting my much needed rest from work, happening right now as I pen these thoughts.

As for the meetups? I decided to go ahead with the dinner appointment that was made weeks ago. We met at the not very crowded City Square for dinner. Another Mr Ho, he has been doing gaming animation for the past five years with George Lucas. Fancy that! The blessing? A nice catchup and finding out about the possibility of bringing my CCA kids to visit the Lucas office! AWESOME!

I also went ahead for my grandaunt's funeral and wake. She IS IMPORTANT to me. My conscience is clear. The MC somewhat gave me not just the time to rest but also the opportunity to attend her funeral yesterday during school hours. The added blessing - meeting my distant cousins again for the second time and establishing contacts with them. After the torrential period of doubts over familiar relationships and conflicts over my previous apartment, I made up my mind to treasure opportunities I have with family and friends. I will ignore the critics at work and move on with a clear conscience.

I chose to rejoice over my prevailing circumstances and God came through. :)

I believe God allows me

to stumble over rocks along the way

so that when I pick myself up

I can emphathise with others

and help them up in future.