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The Group of 5 first came together in 2006 when we went to Batam for traditional massage. It was a fun filled, relaxing, and warm excursion. After the almost 2hr-long full spa, Carolina, Linda, Mimi, Jenny and I did the usual rounds of shopping and makan. The most talked about experience was the spa's 'kang-kang' - a luxurious time for some but an uneasy one for others. I liked it v. much, though.

Dinner brought us together again recently. The four ladies gave me a lovely dinner treat at Cathay Restaurant. But it was the good 'young' company that I appreciate most. Jokes flew over sumptuous dishes - especially on abbreviations and acronymns. I can't remember them all, but Carolina and Linda certainly have created a variety of instant abbreviations to describe a host of typical scenarios.

Mimi had good news: her son Benson is now eligible - thanks to mom! - (and any pupil from his school provided they come within qualifying times) to participate in any inter-school swim meet. Woww, that's a first time achievement. We also wished Mimi a fulfilling time at the conference that she'll be attending at Cape Town for 10days later this month.

What is your interpretation when you hear the phrase: Lhong-piak, Hokkien for "to crash/ to hit at a wall"? We all had a good laugh when Jenny recalled the incident when she and a friend overheard a stranger on the street telling her friend (on mobile) that she's going to 'lhong-piak'. Intrigued by the phrase, they tailed the woman and realized that 'lhong-piak' means ... to withdraw money from an ATM machine! What would ABeng-ALian Singlish come up with next?!

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Byrd and JiaJia are two pet-friends that will always have a place in my heart.

Mother discovered Byrd as she was sweeping the hall one morning. Apparently the strong winds in the early morning had swept the nestling off the nest, and she had waddled under the sofa in our living room. Immediately I became foster mom - feeding, changing the soiled newspapers, getting a second-hand cage in readiness when she's able to fly, and simply just bird-talk with her. It was this bird-talk and feeding sessions that bonded us together.

She learnt at least three vocabulary: her name 'Byrd', 'up' when I want her to mount on my finger, and 'zhong-liang' for bathing. From the back yard, she can even chirp a shrill 'Byrd' response when I call out to her at the gate when I reach home in the evening. Whenever I said it's time for 'zhong-liang', she gets all excited - wags her tail and jumps all over me - and simply cannot wait for me to get the dish and set the water dripping. When she has enough splattering, she hops out of the basin - all dripping wet - and heads for a corner in my bedroom where she will spend the next hour preening and then resting, knowing that night has come and it's time to sleep.

When she is ready, she flies to a top most corner of the window grille, where she will sleep till first light. Then she will glide down right beside my pillow. And irregardless whether I am ready or not, she will wake me to demand her breakfast. With her beak, she'll open my lips and my eye-lids. If I had a late night and want to snooze, I get her on my finger and thrust her back to the window grille. It is a futile delay tactic because in less than a minute, she'll glide down and pester me again.

During the day, before I go to work, I will put her in the cage. She didn't like to be caged up, and inevitably I have to chase her round the back yard to catch her and put her into the cage. I will release her when I come back from work and she will be so ecstatic to regain free range liberty. Before her bath, she'll hop around the back yard and kitchen to investigate things, like the washing machine. One of her favourite activity is to hop onto one of my foot as I go about doing chores, and not only nip at a piece of skin and flesh, but twist it as well. It seemed that the louder I scream, the more it motivated her.

Jia Jia is the family pet and is closest to my niece. She is a long-haired chihuahua. When she first arrived, she was like a tiny ball of fur and can fit into a big pocket. When she is happy and excited, she will spin in circles. She loves chicken breast, so I'll steam the meat and divide them into smaller portion and freeze them for later feeds. She loves going for walks and car rides. And yes, she loves tummy rubs! In one of the photos, she is seen posing with the neighbour's pet pomeranian Goldie.

Byrd and Jia Jia. Long gone. But never forgotten.

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Ruth and Susanne brought me out for lunch - a hearty, lovely lunch at Waraku - on the eve of National Day. Our friendship came together in September 1991 when we first became colleagues; and over the years we bonded closer.

I am constantly learning from Ruth in many areas such as work professionalism, balance and management of time in work and family, and relating to challenging persons and situations in the love of GOD. She is one person who can keep her cool and objective perspective in the thick of things. Her swiftness in analysing situations and problem solving is amazing. Yet when she reminisces humourous memories, she giggles like a child.

Susanne is most creative in the elegant sphere. From personal choices such as clothes and accessories, to her expression of art and creative works, and to her style of teaching. Once she came up with an idea of decorating a 'Christmas Tree' with various types of shiny, transparent blister packagings - and it won first prize! When we met for lunch, she surprised me with a gift she created and commissioned to be produced to commemorate her 21 years in teaching. She painted a picture of a facade of the school and had it printed out on a ceramic plate. She is excellent in designing stage costumes and props too.

There are friends whom you respect and admire. There are those with whom there are no barriers in sharing our hearts. Then there are friends who support you when you need a helping hand. There are those whom you learn from and sharpen one another. Ruth and Susanne are GOD's gift of friends who are all of the above. May GOD continue to bless them, and their families always with His loving heart and His mighty hand.

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Friends-Forever Carolina and Linda brought me out for 5 wonderful things on the 5th of Aug 2008: 1) Jiak-hong 2) Lunch 3) Shopping 4) Tea 5) Chit-chat.

Bless Linda for her kuat driving, we zoomed about town and I was starting to feel like a child enjoying a joy-ride. Then she brought us to Kuriya, a Japanese restaurant, for a lovely lunch. Let me see - it's been eight hours already - and folks, I'm extremely ecstatic to report that I survived an excellent dish of fugu. My first fugu. Highly recommended. But only at licensed Japanese restaurants please. Ehh, what's that? Sorry to inform you, Tekkapasat is not a licensed Japanese restaurant. You may end up with a tekkaperutsakit if you try to buy fugu from there OK!?! (hope I didn't infringe design copyright of the Brangelina Twins Magazine)

Although we passed the fugu test, Carolina and I suffered extreme dizziness from the moray. No, no, we didn't order the moray eel. Did I say moray? Excusez-moi (Carolina will understand why I use this). Sumimasen (Linda taught me this when we -Linda, Carolina and I were in Ibaraki, Japan, in 2003 for the ACMR Conference). What I meant was the 'moire effect' - and it came from the design of the seat covering. I did not take a photo of it, but if you're interested to see a mild form of the seat, er, I mean, moire pattern, click on this link:

http://www.mathematik.com/Moire/

Hello? Hello? If you see 2 'Hellos' it means you've recovered from the moire effect. By the way, if you're interested to see the moray eel and the fugu (puffer fish), try Ocean Footage for short (I mean very short) clips of these two marine fishes and others too:

http://www.oceanfootage.com/

From the sea, we now go to shopping. At JL's I bought a down-feather winter coat. From the coat, we fast forward to cheesecakes. Then from tea, we proceeded to tete-a-tete-a-tete (3 persons, so add one more tete).

Finally it was time to - go home? No! We booked another date to fellowship again. Didin't I start off this blog entry with Friends-Forever? Finally ... finally ... it's time to go home. In the car, I nearly dozed off with a smile. Dreamily, I submitted my verbal report of the day to the 2 Girls: This has been a Relak-one-korner, jangan-tension, maintain-balance Day. Just before I took my ten winks, I think I heard them reply: Friends-Forever. I'm sure I whispered an amen.

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If there are any groups of my friends who can tolerate all my cheesy jokes, this group of former-colleagues: Joyce, Judy and Peng Choo would count as one of them. I got to know Judy in 1991 (that's 17 years ago), and Joyce and Peng Choo in 2001 - and instantly I know I can trust them. The topmost photo showed us getting together yesterday - they had very thoughtfully brought me out for lunch at Crystal Jade, hmmm, yummy. Thanks, Girls.

Joyce, Judy and I enjoyed our 5-day holiday in Adelaide in Dec'2005. We stayed in a cosy hotel called Hotel 208 - and we managed to meet up with former colleague Sharon and her family there, and they took us to many places, including a cherry farm that we liked tremendously. We also managed to catch up with former colleagues Felicia and Vanessa who have settled in the nice and tranquil city famed for its alfresco dining.

On the 4th day of our vacation, Joyce, Judy and I booked a full day tour to visit Kangaroo Island, one of its highlights being to watch sealions at Seal Bay. By the time we boarded the cruise back to mainland, it was already evening and we, being tired, napped in the coach as it travelled back to various hotels in the night. Abruptly, we were told we have reached our hotel. We hastily grabbed our bags and got up.

At the entrance just before we alighted, the driver - in an effort to confirm our hotel - he suddenly asked me (I had to be the one infront leading the two small gals under my charge, you know) - what is the name of our hotel. In limbo between nap and reality, and with the two girls behind me jostling - I garbled: Hotel 88! Trust me to mix up Adelaide's Hotel 208 with Singapore's Hotel 81!

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I would consider the camaraderie with fellow VPs - Ruth, Loke, Donna and Keith - to be one my most memorable moments throughout my 7 1/2 years as a VP, and about 17 years in special education. We were colleagues ... we were project co-members ... and we were course-mates for a full 7 weeks in 2007 at NIE for the MOE's Special Education Leadership Programme. But more than just that - we connected with each other - busy as we always were - as buddies.

Together we laughed, we understood, we agreed on differences, we lunched, we dined, we perspired, we gave, we took, and we supported each other. With due regards to others, I've never worked with a most fun group of fellow VPs till we came together. My highest respect goes to them. They have taught me plenty about work and about myself.

I wish them God's special blessings of wisdom, good health, happiness, safety, a fulfilling career and a very blessed life, always. They are not only friends forever, but memories forever too.

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The Ling Family and I got to know each other when they moved into my parents' former block in 2001. Being of the same faith, we had many common conversational topics. When my mother was ill in 2002, they kept my family and I in their precious prayers. Even though I moved out in mid-2003, we still kept in touch. Recently I met up with Zhanxian and Huiqi again - and I was blessed to receive their prayer-blessing for my forthcoming studies in Europe. From strangers to neighbours. From neighbours to friends. From friends to a family of our Christian faith. I cherish God's appointment for our lives to meet. God bless the Ling Family always.

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Our so-called "Group of 15 +2" participated in the 18th Asian Conference for Mental Retardation (ACMR) 2007 held in Taipei, from 17-23 Nov. It was a personally, socially, and educationally enriching week. The theme of the conference was Universal Design Environment. The '+ 2' comprise two highly independent workshop trainees.

(The 19th Conference will be re-named "AFID Conference" - Asian Federation on Intellectual Disabilities being more gracious in nomenclature. And it will be held in Singapore from 22-26 Nov 2009, after coming full circle since 1987)

In between presentations and concurrent sessions, the Group of 15 + 2 established camaraderie with a host of activities: study tours, friendship night, cultural night; and nightly excursions to various places, such as, Shilin Nite Market, Si Men Jing, and Danshui.

The official ACMR website is: http://www.afmr73.org/

After the conference, thanks to Dr Lohsnah and Mei Leng - our 'social convenors' - the Group of 15 continued to meet up for get-togethers. The night before was another dinner-gathering. We had lovely Chinese food at Crystal Jade. It was very kind of them to give me a sumptuous treat. On top of it I was overwhelmed by their presence and a present - a farewell gift in view of my forthcoming studies in Europe. Honestly, I hadn't expected all this. To borrow a phrase - "Sometime, someplace, somehow - when I least expect it - smile!!! - the Spirit of the Group of 15 from the ACMR2007 lives on!"

My heartfelt appreciation goes to Mr Jeffrey Tan, Mdm Goh Siam Imm, Mr Daniel Tan, Mr Keh Eng Song, Dr Lohsnah, Ng Mun Wai, Rosalyn Peng, Jessie Thia, Dylan Lim, Chan Mei Leng, Clare Kong, Tan Weiyan, Lin Qiao'er and Quintus Ong. Indeed, long live our Group of 15! Besides the photo of our recent dinner, I'm also posting some shots from Taipei, 2007.

Long Live Our Group of 15!

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A child grows. People grow. Colleagues grow. And colleagues can grow into friends. Former colleagues: Zarifah, Aminah and Elizabeth - are colleagues who have grown into friends with me - and I with them, over the years.

This afternoon, they took me out for lunch at a very special halal eatery that Aminah had discovered: "Charco's - The Flaming Chicken" at Blk 608 AMK Ave 5. We took bus 138 from AMK Hub and alighted at the bus stop after YioChuKang Sec School. One can also alight at the next bus stop and then walk backwards. It's opened 7/7 from 11am to 10pm. It boasts quality food, fresh salads, and Western Australia owned.

To be honest, I was initially going like, "... hmmm, izit going to be bbq, goreng, and heaty stuff?" I was honest with Zarifah. I know I can be honest with friends. And I know she can understand my honest reservations.

But when I saw that it was not just about roasted chicken and ribs - but that they have 8 gorgeous salads - 3 to go with each main meal - and not to mention other side dishes - all my reservations were squashed. Elizabeth was similarly pleased, like me, a first timer at Charco's. She was slightly under the weather, but she just couldn't resist a lunch with friends. All this while, Aminah was beaming with pride about her cool recommendation. We ordered 3 main meals and tried all the 8 salads, including the yummy creme-potatoes - with biryani rice on the house - and all washed down with a tall glass of lime drink - in-between of which flew updates and chit-chat. After that, we proceeded to have Emicake's newly launched ExpressoCoffee-D24Durian cake at AMK Central - and - TipTop curry puffs - and this time washed down with kopi tiam tea.

Friends and Food. Coffee and Chitchat. Irresistable combinations that can breeze you from 2:3o to 8:00pm in a twinkle of an eye.

Highly Recommended: Charco's and Emicakes. Excellently Recommended: Friends.

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The year was about 1989. I was living in Nallur Road and Puay Luan was living at Bayshore. As I cycled out to church on Sundays for the second service, Puay Luan would be returning home after the first service. That was how we met and made friends. In about 1996, Puay Luan found that she's got breast cancer. She had the usual treatments. If she had a masectomy, things would be been different today. She had a localized operation to remove the tumour. Just before the 5-year period that would have heralded the successful remission of the c.a., she had a relapse.

Everytime I read about people who passed away from c.a., the usual description would be so-and-so lost the battle to c.a. after a number of years. Why do they say that? Passing away due to an illness or disease is equated to having lost the battle. I have always been against that notion. If the c.a. failed to completely distress the person, I think the person had won. If the c.a. failed to take its full toll, I believe the person had won. And if the c.a. failed to restrict any good moments, the person had most certainly won.

As for Puay Luan - she won c.a. by a blessed, glorious margin, praise The Lord. Inspite of it, Puay Luan lived fully, courageously, in peace and in the joy and strength of God. She restored and reconciled her personal relationships with many people. She brought comfort, advice and happiness to many others. She lived a testimony of God's love. And claimed innumerable victories moment by moment, day by day and year by year. Puay Luan returned to glory last year on 1 Oct. No, she did not lose the battle to c.a. She beat it to a pulp and kicked it behind her footsteps. I thank God for crossing our friendship path. I am so proud to have Puay Luan as a friend, and one who rose far above c.a. by the grace of our God. The photo above showed me visiting Puay Luan's home on Christmas Day 2006.

Puay Luan was staying with Mrs L H Tan about a decade ago. Although it was for only about a year and a half, they remained firm friends. Puay Luan would always praise the kindness and motherly love that Mrs Tan showered on her, to me. That was how I met Mrs Tan. After Puay Luan's passing on, I kept in contact with Mrs Tan. The photo showed Mrs Tan and I having dinner recently at AMK Hub - because Mrs Tan lives just 4 blocks away from mine! Mrs Tan is a godly woman. All her three sons have theological qualifications and two of them are Pastors, praise Jesus! Her youngest and only daughter and her family live in Melbourne. Mrs Tan continues to make home visitations every week with her church pastors and members.

I am indeed blessed to have known Puay Luan and Mrs Tan by God's divine appointments. They are more than friends, for - they are sisters in Christ.

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The food was only so-so. But the company was great. The get-together comprise Porlin, Kwok Tai, A-Tang, CheePheng and myself. I had known this group of friends since 1976 - a robust 32 years. We reminisced the past, the recent, the current and the tomorrow. We talked about money - $-kaching-$ - and we talked about God. We talked about friends and we ribbed each other. We even called up to surprise Jimmy on his phone. It's amazing how my friends look so age-defying after these years. We miss the others dearly - Maureen, Adeline, Sin Hwee, and WW-Sim Ai - who were unable to join us this time round. May God's special and rich blessings continue to shower on my 'since-1976' group of friends.

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Today was an absolutely fulfilling day. After collecting my Netherlands visa, I visited the UK department to lodge my application for my UK visa. Then I bumped into former colleague Richard Lim and we updated with each other over coffee and barley. God is so generous. He topped it with another warm and cozy get-together with LayHoon, Ray, baby Darius, Carolina, Linda, Winnie and Yuyun. Of course, not forgetting LayHoon's Parents and pet canine Pui-Pui. Wow, it was chit-chat and food galore. We had 933 golden pillow, tau sar piah, Thai mango salad, prawn lettuce wraps, pastries, and naturally ripened durians - with bittersweet flesh, sedap! And while the ladies were chatting away while coo-ing with Darius - Ray helped me to update and install some software in my Toshiba notebook. God is so good all the time. He didn't just give me a fulfilling day, He gave me an absolutely fulfilling day! Friends from God - precious and forever. God bless them always.

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By divine appointment, Richard Lim and I bumped into each other at Tj Pagar MRT Station, and we managed to snatch some time for coffee and rapid update. Richard and I were former colleagues at the ex-MINDS-Yio Chu Kang Gardens School. In fact he was already a senior when I joined in 1991. He is godly man married with 4 children: 3 sons and a daughter. By God's grace, his children are blessed with diverse talents: Media communications, Life sciences, Sports therapy, and Language n linguistics. He has been teaching special education for many years now at Dover Court Prep School and he is also in charge of the school's senior level. With God's wisdom, he had the favour to develop and implement important and beneficial curriculum and programmes at his school - indeed he is an asset to any organization that he is working for. With his fulltime workload, and in addition to being husband and father - he is also pursuing his Masters in Special Education at NIE. Colleagues have often known Richard to be 'built like a tank' - and he still is. With God's strength, he is able to accomplish heavy workloads excellently, while sleeping few but quality hours each day. The last time we met was April last year, at YGS' 21st anniversary celebration. I have always held high respect and admiration for Richard - for his dedication for God, his family, and to pupils with special needs. Through the few years as colleagues, he has imparted vital lessons in matters of work, life and godliness. May God continue to bless him and his family.

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First of all, I wish myself and all my youthful family and friends - a Very Blessed Youth Day 2008. I always have a warm fuzzy feeling whenever I get together with friends.

This afternoon started really well with having lunch with Mona, Wenggie and Kevin @ Ichiban Japanese Restaurant. It was crowded since today is a school holiday in lieu of Youth Day yesterday.

After that, we visited LayHoon, Ray and their ooo-very-cute newborn son: Darius, who was delivered in Melbourne. They have relocated to Melbourne and are having a short visit here. We celebrated LayHoon's birthday too. Pui-Pui, the family canine, is ever so obedient and gentle. The special ang-ku-kuehs bought by Wenggie and Kevin were yummy - although I look forward to a bigger treat from them, ahem. (Wenggie anointed her home with holy anointing oil yesterday morning and hours later, sold their apartment at the price they wanted, hallelujah). Well - the very pregnant Mona and I just ate and talked.

Family and Friends - truly they are God's precious gifts to us. God bless them always.