Introduction to Facebook

This is an introductory course, not so much on the technical aspect of operating Facebook, but to clarify the misconception on its usage and suggest the activities laymen indulge in while swiping and scrolling Facebook. 

#1 Be inspired by daily motivational quotes.

The day may start of shitty with foul blues. And sometimes you just need a dose of motivation, a pat on the back and one knows everything's going to be alright, somehow.

#2 Be in tune about current affairs.

Yes, I can read the newspaper and I can watch the news, but Facebook will always be handy and convenient. It's not only a click away, but also a forum with an array of public sentiments on current issues. And from there, it spills over to discussion of social issues with friends and family.

#3 Be in the loop for for your hobbies

Handy information on the lastest play, movies, books, reviews, food places and exciting events happening in town.

#4 Be invited for events

Well other than weddings of course, there are theatre plays, movie gatherings, teaching seminars, alumni gatherings. Whoots and we partake in these frivolities of life, that makes life, worth living.

#5 Keep in touch with friends

People one don't get to meetup with often, one may follow up with what's going on in their lives, because they are people worth caring about. And that always make a follow-up date a tad more personal.

#6 Photokeepsate 

How may times have you realized your precious memories were lost because you've a) changed a phone b) deleted certain files by accident c) laptop crash or simply d) lazy to transfer photos from this phone to that, this laptop to that. Well fb is the one-stop memory vault you'll be scrolling to revive the past to realise at times how much age catches up!

#7 Reminder to others' big days.

Does it make a difference that one greets colleagues at work with a big smile and say happy birthday? Sure it does, it's a good conversation starter and makes others' day a tad brighter.

#8 Platform for narcissism 

Post something about yourself and seek others' acknowledgement. Build a persona surrounding a fairy tale life waiting fervently, counting the no. of likes one accumulated to calm the unstable soul. 

If one has come this far, one will  realise it only make up a tiny bit of the social media kampong.  Keeping oneself in the hermit shell is a way of life no superior then embracing the vibrance that the world has to offer.

Cheers, to the world of Facebook!

学习篇

六月假期前想充实一下人生，和彩韵报名了日语班，星期一是第一堂课，上了课后我们两人几乎把办公室的那条巷子变成了一个小日本。

说到学日语，作为一个语文老师，还真的会自觉和不自觉地挑毛病。再加上大学学了一年半的越南语，曾经也在某语文中心兼职了4年，教六七岁的小朋友华文。（哦，不能提及名字，曾经还被致电，让我将我的博文取下。T.T）

做学生真好，就是坐在椅子上被动地吸收、练习。

第一堂课，我觉得老师介绍太多的confuser, 让一开始接触日语的人感到有点焦虑。 一开始就讲了 Katakana, Hiragana, Kanji， 还有一整堆的符号。要不是曾上过 Introduction to Japanese Studies, 还真不太懂怎么一回事。一开始一起朗诵音节的时候，真的感觉好别扭。（原来这是我们学生的感受）不过后来大家就很自然了。

老师教得有点乱，一下子讲词语、一下子讲语法、一下子讲字形，一下子又讲句型。 当然整堂课下来还是很好玩的, 只是观察教学法是我的反射性动作。

如果是我教，我会先教一个句型，让班上的人可以自我介绍。（天啊，整堂课下来我们都不知道彼此的名字，连那个老师的名字都不知道！）

1）Watashi wa___________ desu!

然后，我会教一系列和行业有关的词语。教材里面给了一堆国家的名称，这是针对学日语的外国学生，而我们全班都是新加坡和马来西亚人呀！

2）词语（名词）：Sha-in (社员） Shacho（社长）kenshusei ( 研修生） gekksei (学生） Sensei (教师）等等等

词语（虚词）：你、我、他、她、我们、你们、他们、哪里、什么 等等

3）接着教对话句式，这是侯就可以开始解释语法。

a) _________ wa ________ desu.

Watashi wa Sensei desu.  


b) ___________wa _________ desuka?
Anata wa Sensei  desuka?
(Haii watashi  wa Sensei desu.)
(Iie watshi wa sensei dewa arimasen, watshi wa sha-in desu.)


c) __________mo _________desuka?
(Anata mo sensei desuka?)


Watashi wa __________ no __________ desu.

Watashi wa shain  no Sony Desu


来回练习这些句式，接着就可以把这些句型混着用。

4）最后，结束前大家要比较深入地自我介绍一番。 回家做句式的功课。下一堂课，谈兴趣爱好。

这就是一个老师去上课会做的... 哈哈，去黒别人。不过这样下来，我深切感觉到，一定要给我的学生做习字！原来那些词语对他们来说只像符号！ 

挺

生命中有知心朋友真好。

有時酸一下你。

重要時刻老會聽你、挺你。

你發怒的時候就在一旁陪你，給你打氣

幫你打小人

一起詛咒、一起罵粗話

也不懂他們哪裏來的情緒？

也不懂對你哪來的自信？

愛情昂貴又稀少

友情無處不在

卻成了大家忘了感激的

空氣。

Let's go 池上

From scratch

It's daunting to start everything from scratch every other time. Not only is it a time consuming process but you have to  deal with the raw fear repeatedly.

From scratch holds a lot of possibilities and perhaps positivities. It's almost like giving up whatever you've built and go back to ground level piecing everything one by one. All over again. 

From scratch tells of potential of a new journey. From scratch does away with the jadedness or moves in spite of the jadedness.

Doing away with the dread of losing, I start, from scratch. 

喜欢得全面

我喜欢才子

也喜欢凡夫俗子。


喜欢摸不着的灵性

也喜欢接着地气的踏实。


有时候我喜欢日复一日的频繁

偶尔也喜欢被打破的平凡。


我喜欢你脸上的微笑

也喜欢他眼角的皱纹。


我喜欢太阳般的朝气

也喜欢阴天特有的忧郁。


我喜欢抓不到节拍的快感

也喜欢静下心来的悠长。

Tomorrow

Someone ever told me these wise words. "Memories cannot be erased or displaced, but a part of the heart is growing bigger everyday."

Indeed memories cannot be replaced, but we are in control of determining the space it will take up in the memory vault. If we do not have capacity for new things to flow through us, the heart will bound to be choked by the past. 

Make some space for tomorrow! For every other ordinary day deserves to be appreciated. 

For someone else

When students come asking me for recommendation letters, I'd like to joke: "So what incentive do I get for writing this?" After all, It takes an hour to sit down and write a proper piece. And that is on top of all the form class testimonials we teachers have to churn out. And the answer is really... Years of puking blood, sweating, pails of tears, working the ass off weekends marking. Hahah...

What do I get from this? Probably one gets nothing from being nice, a little gratitude maybe some self reflections. It's ok, you just never know, these seeds will find a place to grow and provide shade for someone else.