Have you ever had such a BIG blister?
Yes, that's my foot. This is the souvenir I'm nursing from having conquered 9km. Apart from having to run in the rain (it stopped raining when the run was over) , I also had to contend with knowing my sock was somehow moving around & doing something nasty in my shoe. The moral of the story is - wear good socks. It can prevent this eyesore.
It's finally drying up & I am looking forward to the gigantic scab it will become. When the skin heals completely & the scab drops off, I'm going to send the scab to my friend in Hong Kong. After all, how often does one get scabs this big? Treasure should be shared.

Run for Hope 2006
Sentosa. Tanjong Beach to Sentosa Cove and back. 9km. 67 mins.
I'm pleased. What a great way to start the day....esp today.

Stephen Covey's The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
Haven't read it but I've borrowed a copy of the Personal Workbook. Flipping through, this quote caught my eye and I like it.

Life is not orderly. No matter how hard we try to make life so, right in the middle of it we die, lose a leg, fall in love, drop a jar of applesauce. - Natalie Goldberg

Anyway, in case you haven't read it also, these are the habits:

......for Private Victory.....
Habit 1: Be Proactive
Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind
Habit 3: Put First Things First

......for Public Victory........
Habit 4: Think Win-Win
Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then be Understood
Habit 6: Synergise
Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw

I have a bad habit of just skimming books for what catches my eye & not reading them cover to cover front to back. Anyway, this thing sticks out. He calls it "The Time Management Matrix" .
We spend time in one of four ways.

I. Important & Urgent
Crises, pressing problems, deadline-driven projects
II. Important & Not Urgent
prevention, pc activities, relationship building, recognizing new opportunites, planning, recreation
III. Not Important & Urgent
interruptions, some calls, some mail, some reports, some meetings, proximate pressing matters, popular activities
IV. Not Important & Not Urgent
trivia, busy work, some mail, some phone calls, time wasters, pleasant activities

Near the end of the book there are some pointers on how to start living the 7 habits. Again, this sticks out for me.

4. Spend more time in Quadrant II. Decide what is really important and work on that. Say no to those things that are not in Quadrant II and work on empowering others to free up more of your own time and energy.


This calls for a little practice.

No, I don't think so.
Sorry but I have to say no.
Hmmm.....I can't. Count me out.
That will be a no for me. N-O.
Nah....no go.
Nope.
No. No. No. Yes....it's a no.
Nada. No comprendez.
Bu ke yi.
Hmm tak.
Beh sai.
Tak boleh.

Aerial view
See the two dark blue parallel lines from left to right. That's the coral reef.
On this trip, we saw plenty of stuff. Personal favourites sighted were three turtles, a pair of baby black tip sharks, an adult black tip, flamenco dancer (floats just beneath the surface & related to nudibranch), a school of barracuda, also a lone barracuda lurking at about 10ft looking for prey (!), garfish hovering near our heads, trevally, parrotfish, a giant moray eel, a big puffer fish going in & out of the tabletop coral, a school of squid (it's squid season now) and much, much more.
We saw plenty of staghorn coral, tabletop, sponge, fire (don't touch!), fan coral (about two or three) and all kinds of soft coral. Apart from snorkelling at Renggis a few times, we also went to Tulai, Tomok & Genting.
I don't know all the names of the small coral fish but the variety & numbers seemed countless.
It was an excellent vacation.

Renggis Island off
Pulau Tioman, Malaysia
I was 13 yrs old when I first visited this island. Been going there, on and off, ever since. Renggis is only 100m opposite the Berjaya Tioman Dive Centre. But it is teeming with marine life. Matt is posing in front of the blue boat that belongs to an old family friend & boatman Hamzah.

Discover Scuba
Brings back memories. I was in Sec II when I took up the NAUI dive course. It took 6-8 weeks to learn & my open water was at Pulau Hantu, Singapore. Yucky. Nowadays, you still need to be at least 14 yrs old to qualify for Junior Scuba. But these two lucky fellows got to try it out because one need only be 10 yrs old to do Discover Scuba @ Berjaya.
They sat through a 1 hr crash course watching a DVD & then did a shore dive. Later they were dropped off at Renggis & did another hour at an average depth of 12m. That's Nazri the dive instructor. I trusted him with my children's wellbeing!!!!

Focus
There was a programme on Animal Planet (my fave channel) where prison inmates turn unwanted & rejected dogs into very obedient companions within a 30 day training schedule. My gut reaction was: of course they can, after all they have nothing else to do. That reminded me of a quote somewhere that some of the deepest books have come out of authors while they were imprisoned. There's something to be said of solitude.

Reckless driver, rude behaviour......
I was early for my next appointment after sending Elliott to school. So I parked in the school lot to sit out the awful traffic & drink my coffee. Cars were whizzing in and out. Noticed a black Lexus SUV that came zooming in maniacally. Thought to myself, " With people driving like that in school, I hope no student gets hit."
I realized later that this car was parked hastily a few lots away from me. This man, in home clothes & looking very irate, shouted at the top of his voice at another man who was standing near his car.
Rude man shouting (RMS) : HEY! WHY ARE YOU TALKING TO MY WIFE? (who was sitting in the passenger seat)
Teacher (T) : I was just asking her about parking here.
RMS: I JUST PARKED HERE FOR A MINUTE. BLAH BLAH BLAH...
T: You don't have to shout. I just noticed that ......
RMS: THERE ARE SO MANY LOTS HERE. WHAT'S WRONG WITH PARKING LIKE THIS? BLAH BLAH BLAH
T shouting now: Why do you have to be so rude? These are reserved lots and I was just asking....
RMS: DO YOU WANT TO GO SEE THE PRINCIPAL? LET'S GO RIGHT NOW!!!!
The long & short of it is that this RMS was completely unreasonable & looking for a fight. After a good 10 minutes of shouting at each other, he drove off in a huff & a puff.....as maniacally as when he drove in. I was so glad I wasn't dragged into it. They were, after all, shouting at each other right in front of my car. I thought it was a bit like watching little kids at war with each other. Except these were grown men....in their 40s.

Reframing my son's perspective
I invested some time talking to one of my sons today. A real conversation. Not the usual stuff like if he had any homework or what he ate for recess etc. I asked him what his perspective of life as a student was. It's very telling. Here it is:
Too many exams. A lot of homework. Teachers do weird things like switch off the fan in class. Not fun & makes everything dull.
It was a painstaking process but I think I was able to reframe his perspective after asking him a whole bunch of questions directed at helping him see things differently. It was like extracting teeth from a new born hamster. Very, very hard work. It helped that I was very motivated.
Now his perspective of life as a student is:
Exams will be over soon - about 7 weeks to go. He does have the knowledge to do the exam questions. After exams, he will have no more tuition, I won't nag him anymore and he can do whatever he wants.
If he finishes his homework fast enough, then he wouldn't have to bother with it anymore.
He does have fun as there are weekends to look forward to.
School is not all boring because there is only one teacher that is weird. Of the other two teachers he has, one is rather fun and makes class enjoyable, and the other one is OK.
The circumstances have not changed but his perspective has.....a little.

Appetitizing Dinner Talk?
The setting. Multi-generational family meal. Some are finishing the main meal and others are starting on fruit & dessert. The conversation is usually light & intermittent.
Kong Kong: Elliott....eat some prunes. They are very sweet.
Elliott: (no reply)
Kong Kong: Matthew.....eat some prunes. They are very sweet.
Matthew (looking curiously at the bowl of prunes but finishing his rice): Hmmmm...
Kong Kong: Luke....eat some prunes. They are very sweet.
There is a wide variety of fruit. There are oranges, apples, a lone banana, several mango....and of course, the bowl of prunes.
Kong Kong: These prunes are very sweet. Matthew, eat some prunes.
Matthew (in complete innocence asks this question): What do you call it when your poo is stuck?
Me (an incredulous look on my face & somewhat speechless): What?
Matthew: What's the word you use when your poo is stuck?
Tim (in a soft berating tone): Matthew!
Luke: I think I've just lost my appetite. Can I leave now?
Elliott (laughing disgustingly loud): HA HA HA HA....
Ma Ma: Constipated. The word is constipated.
Matthew (with glee): Oh yes!
A few minutes later......
Matthew: MUMMY! Remember when you were constipated in Mammoth (a ski resort in California) and you had to eat a lot of prunes?
Me: Yes, Matt. Thank you. I do remember.

Militant Mothering!
Think I've finally found a way to get around disputes with my boys about time spent on Xbox, computer, TV etc. Anybody who enters this play room now has to sign in! They log in & log out their time. This simple act of recording does wonders. After all, we all know how time flies when one is having fun. We don't believe that 2 hrs flew by when it only felt like 30 minutes. But now.....it's in black & white. It's been rather effective & I'm incredibly pleased. Now I wonder what other military procedures I can enforce around the house....

Isn't this hilarious? Things to look forward to. Ha!

Reflection
Just got off the phone for my teleclass for Foundation Coaching. Jim Clarkson, the coach trainer, shared there was research that showed that most managers are so busy with their work that they have no time to think. No time to stand back and reflect. A sign of the times.
Then I checked my email and read the devotional for the day from Max Lucado. It was titled the " Desires of Our Hearts." The last two sentences just jumped out at me.

See your desires as gifts to heed rather than longings to suppress, and you’ll feel the same joy.
Reflect on your life. What have you always done well and loved to do?

I must make time this week for some personal reflection.

This is my current fave snack. It really gives me a boost.
Unfortunately for me, my kids like it too! They unashamedly take from my secret stash in the fridge and I haven't had a chance to replenish it. No good....no good....

You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. - Jeremiah 29:13
(as told to Jeremiah by God between 627 - 586 B.C.)

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. - Matthew 5:6
(a quote from Jesus about 32 A.D., recorded by Matthew between 60-65 A.D.)

Three weeks after the wind ceased to blow, the sea lion had a dream. Now, as I told you before, there were other nights in which he had dreamed of the sea. But those were long ago and nearly forgotten. Even still, the ocean that filled his dreams this night was so beautiful and clear, so vast and deep, it was as if he were seeing it for the very first time. The sunlight glittered on its surface, and as he dived, the waters all around him shone like an emerald. If he swam quite deep, it turned to jade, cool and dark and mysterious. But he was never frightened; not at all. For I must tell you that in all his dreams of the sea, he had never before found himself in the company of other sea lions. This night there were many, round around him, diving and turning, spinning and twirling. They were playing.
Oh, how he hated to wake from that wonderful dream. The tears running down his face were the first wet thing he had felt in three weeks. But he did not pause even to wipe them away; he did not pause, in fact, for anything at all. He set his face to the east, and he began to walk as best a sea lion can.
"Where are you going?" asked the tortoise.
"I am going to find the sea."
The End.

Jesus said, "In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." - John 16:33

It was in May that the winds began to blow. The sea lion had grown used to wind, and at first he did not pay much heed at all. Years of desert life had taught him to turn his back in the direction from which the wind came and cover his eyes with his flippers, so that the dust would not get in. Eventually, the winds would always pass.
But not this time. Day and night came, howling across the barren lands. There was nothing to stop its fury, nothing to even slow it down. For forty days and forty nights the wind blew. And then, just as suddenly as it had begun, it stopped. The sea lion lifted himself to have a look around. He could hardly believe his eyes.
Every single leaf had been stripped from his tree. The branches that remained, with only a twig or two upon them, looked like an old scarecrow. And I do not need to tell you that there was no longer any shade in which to hide. But worse than this, much worse indeed, was what the sea lion saw next. The water hole was completely dry.

"....for he is a liar and the father of lies. " John 8:44
That is a quote from Jesus in reference to the devil.

The sea lion was not entirely alone in those parts. For it was there he met the tortoise. Now this tortoise was an ancient creature, so weathered by his life in the barren lands that at first, the sea lion mistook him for a rock. He told the tortoise of his plight, hoping that this wise one might be able to help him.
"Perhaps," the tortoise mused, "this is the sea. "
His eyes appeared to be shut against the bright sun, but he was watching the sea lion very closely. The sea lion swept his flippers once against his side, gliding to the end of the water hole and back.
" I don't know, " he said. "It isn't very deep."
"Isn't it?"
"Somehow, I thought the sea would be broader, deeper. At least, I hoped so."

"You must learn to be happy here," the tortoise told one day. "For it is unlikely you shall ever find this sea of yours." Deep in his old and shriveled heart, the tortoise envied the sea lion and his sea.
"But I belong to the sea. We are made for each other."
"Perhaps. But you have been gone so long now, the sea has probably forgotten you."
This thought had never occurred to the sea lion. But it was true, he had been gone for a long, long time.
"If this is not my home, how can I ever feel at home here?" the sea lion asked.
"You will, in time." The tortoise appeared to be squinting, his eyes a thin slit.
"I have seen the sea, and it is no better than what you have found here."
"You have seen the sea! "
"Yes. Come closer," whispered the tortoise, "and I will tell you a secret. I am not a tortoise. I am a sea turtle. But I left the sea on my own accord, many years ago, in search of better things. If you stay with me, I will tell you stories of my adventures. "

The stories of the ancient tortoise were enchanting and soon cast their spell upon the sea lion. As weeks passed into months, his memory of the sea faded.
"The desert," whispered the tortoise, "is all that is, or was, or ever will be."
When the sun grew fierce and burned his skin, the sea lion would hide in the shade of the tree, listening to the tales woven by the tortoise. When the dry winds cracked his flippers and filled his eyes with dust, the sea lion would retreat to the water hole. And so the sea lion remained, living his days between water hole and tree. The sea no longer filled his dreams.