A little Inspiration... The Teacher

Stories like this, always have a way of putting the right perspective on life.


Jean Thompson stood in front of her fifth-grade class on the very first day of school in the fall and told the children a lie. Like most teachers, she looked at her pupils and said that she loved them all the same, that she would treat them all alike. And that was impossible because there in front of her, slumped in his seat on the third row, was a little boy named Teddy Stoddard.

Mrs. Thompson had watched Teddy the year before and noticed he didn't play well with the other children, that his clothes were unkept and that he constantly needed a bath. And Teddy was unpleasant.

It got to the point during the first few months that she would actually take delight in marking his papers with a broad red pen, making bold X's and then marking the F at the top of the paper biggest of all. Because Teddy was a sullen little boy, no one else seemed to enjoy him, either.


At the school where Mrs. Thompson taught, she was required to review each child's records and put Teddy's off until last. When she opened his file, she was in for a surprise. His first-grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is a bright, inquisitive child with a ready laugh." "He does his work neatly and has good manners...he is a joy to be around."

His second-grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is an excellent student well-liked by his classmates, but he is troubled because his mother has a terminal illness and life at home must be a struggle."

His third-grade teacher wrote, "Teddy continues to work hard but his mother's death has been hard on him. He tries to do his best but his father doesn't show much interest and his home life will soon affect him if some steps aren't taken."

Teddy's fourth-grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is withdrawn and doesn't show much interest in school. He doesn't have many friends and sometimes sleeps in class. He is tardy and could become a problem."

By now Mrs. Thompson realized the problem, but Christmas was coming fast. It was all she could do, with the school play and all, until the day before the holidays began and she was suddenly forced to focus on Teddy Stoddard.

Her children brought her presents, all in beautiful ribbon and bright paper, except for Teddy's, which was clumsily wrapped in the heavy, brown paper of a scissored grocery bag. Mrs. Thompson took pains to open it in the middle of the other presents.

Some of the children started to laugh when she found a rhinestone bracelet with some of the stones missing, and a bottle that was one-quarter full of cologne. She stifled the children's laughter when she exclaimed how pretty the bracelet was, putting it on, and dabbing some of the perfume behind the other wrist. 


 Teddy Stoddard stayed behind just long enough to say, "Mrs. Thompson, today you smelled just like my mom used to."

After the children left she cried for at least an hour. On that very day, she quit teaching reading, writing, and speaking. Instead, she began to teach children. Jean Thompson paid particular attention to one they all called "Teddy."



As she worked with him, his mind seemed to come alive. The more she encouraged him, the faster he responded. On days where there would be an important test, Mrs. Thompson would remember that cologne. By the end of the year he had become one of the smartest children in the class and...well, he had also become the "pet" of the teacher who had once vowed to love all of her children exactly the same.

A year later she found a note under her door, from Teddy, telling her that of all the teachers he'd had in elementary school, she was his favorite. Six years went by before she got another note from Teddy.

He then wrote that he had finished high school, third in his class, and she was still his favorite teacher of all time.

Four years after that, she got another letter, saying that while things had been tough at times, he'd stayed in school, had stuck with it, and would graduate from college with the highest of honors. He assured Mrs. Thompson she was still his favorite teacher.

Then four more years passed and yet another letter came. This time he explained that after he got his bachelor's degree, he decided to go a little further. The letter explained that she was still his favorite teacher, but that now his name was a little longer. The letter was signed, Theodore F. Stoddard, M.D.
The story doesn't end there. You see, there was yet another letter that Spring. Teddy said he'd met this girl and was to be married. He explained that his father had died a couple of years ago and he was wondering...well, if Mrs. Thompson might agree to sit in the pew usually reserved for the mother of the groom. And guess what, she wore that bracelet, the one with several rhinestones missing. And I bet on that special day, Jean Thompson smelled just like...well, just like the way Teddy remembered his mother smelling on their last Christmas together.



THE MORAL: You never can tell what type of impact you may make on another's life by your actions or lack of action. Consider this fact in your venture thru life.

How NOT to ABUSE work e-mail...

Many employees (government servants especially)  seem to use the free workmail provided to them  as a way to fight with each other or their bosses. They seem to forget the etiquette of formal e-mail writing and end up offending others. Work etiquettes are not taught in school, hence it is learned through weeks, months or even years of experience. But sometimes, as employees evolve to seniority, they tend to forget their manners in writing e-mails to bosses or colleagues and end up (intentionally or not) offending people.

Remember, everything linked to internet is permanent. Once you post that hate mail, there is no turning back.

Here are some rules to use workmail respectfully:

1. Re-look, re-read your e-mail again and again before pressing that SEND button. Correct typos and replace casual words with formals especially writing to higher ranking colleagues.

2. Check if you want to "REPLY TO ALL" or not. You don't want your desk neighbourhood clique gossip to reach everyone in the institute.

3. Keep e-mails short. You don't need a 300 word introduction to "...there's a meeting tomorrow."

4. Write CLEAR and PERFECT subject lines.

5. Don't forward hoaxes. Keep your political lies in Facebook or your personal blogs.

6. Let people know their e-mail has been received. Yes all you need to say is "thanks, i will take action ASAP." Don't leave em hanging and wondering if you read their mails. (Of course everyone loves the "oh sorry I didn't receive your e-mail" excuse).

7.  ONE subject per e-mail. Seriously!

8. Read your e-mail as the receiving end, see if they could be offended. Do NOT write an e-mail when you are stressed or angry. You will regret it.

9. DO NOT respond to provocations. People will bring up some hot offensive issues from time to time. Even if it bugs you, never respond.

10. Keep your class. Only use e-mail for work issues. Funny stuff belongs to facebook.

Those are the basics...! Have fun working and stuff...!

Poetry : To The One I Never Had

Writer's Block sucks... However, my brain managed to squeeze out some ideas.
A humorous approach to one sided crush. Nothing cheesy.

Remember you said I was too costly?
Well, of course you couldn't afford me
Second rate is your only target
I guess your taste is based on budget...

Goodbye now, and also good luck
From now on I do not give a F-
I'm off to be with he who loves me
Enjoy your Mrs Fat and Chubby...!!!

Read whole poem here.

A little inspiration... The Boy With a Temper...

A long time ago there was a boy. He was smart, talented and handsome. However, he was very selfish and his temper was so difficult, that nobody wanted to be friends with him. Often he got angry and said various hurtful things to people around him.

The boy‘s parents very concerned about his bad temper. They considered what they could do and one day the father had an idea. He called his son and gave him a hammer and a bag of nails. The father said: „Every time you get angry, take a nail and drive into that old fence as hard as you can.“



The fence was very tough and the hammer was heavy, nevertheless the boy was so furious that during the very first day he has driven 37 nails.

Day after day, week after week, the number of nails was gradually decreasing. After some time, the boy started to understand that holding his temper is easier that driving nails into the fence.

One day the boy didn‘t need hammer and nails anymore as he learned to hold his temper perfectly. So he came to his father and told about his achievement. „Now every time, when you hold your temper all day long, pull out one nail“.

Much time has passed. At last the boy could be proud of himself as all the nails were gone. When he came to his father and told about this, he offered to come and take a careful look at the fence. „You did a good job, my son, though pay your attention to the holes that left from the nails. The fence will never be the same. The same happens when your say hurtful things to people, as your words leave scars in their hearts like those holes in the fence. Remember, we need to treat everyone with love and respect, because it doesn‘t matter, that you say you are sorry, the scars will not dissapear.

Here it comes...

It's final exams week.. Here comes the last minute assignments, tests, quizes... etc...

Taking internet too seriously...

Internet has been a medium for hermits to express their feelings to the world, mostly feelings of anger and hatred. It is a way for youngsters (mostly) to seek attention from the public be it in a good way or bad. For a long time it has been more harmful than useful, causing friendships and relationships to fall apart. And sometimes, nations.

It was the MH370 tragedy that inspired me to write this blog entry.

When I was first introduced to the internet, it was still a dial-up. The one where you connect your phone to the computer and dial 1515 and listen to the screeching and screaming of whatever it was on the line. In that limited speed, all I could do was go on mirc or icq to have 5 minute conversations with my classmates about homework. Or leave a long ass love mail to long distance boyfriends.

Technology took the highway when internet evolved too rapidly into the homes of every human being. We now live in a time where Myspace and Friendster was just a blur memory.

But 15 year old girls will always be 15 year old girls. Only back then in my generation, we didn't have facebook to express how we crave for attention. All I had was a diary kept safe and hidden in my old bedroom, and 15 years later I thank God that was all i had. Even though teens are allowed to feel lost, insecure and troubled, they seem to carry on being 15 even as they apporach 30. The desperate need to make an impact to the world becomes a priority. They would do anything to become famous, even if it means hurting and offending others.



MH370 was a sad tragedy than affected the whole nation. It showed the whole world who Malaysians are. One entry after another revealed the true attitude and mindset we have. It was indeed a dark era.

While there were hundreds of self pro-claimed aviation "experts" sharing thoughts and theories about what might had happened, there were also hundreds of bloggers (who mostly know nothing) who shared ideas and speculations; some leading to obvious lies and fairy tales. There were many ways people tried to share a little bit of fame from the mystery by posting photos, hoaxes and mocking 'bomohs' and political leaders. Accusations were thrown everywhere, causing people to start yelling at each other. Rumours where spread, creating false hope. Conspiracy theories haunted the minds of even the educated. The nation divided into speculators and believers, supporters and haters.



Before internet, everyone kept ideas to themselves. They had time to think whether they should say or not what they intended to say and most would decide to just let things go. They read valid and published news and articles and analyze quietly in their own deep thoughts. No one was offended. Life was peaceful and people were smarter.

But I guess, this is the era we live in. And since there's no changing it, we have to accept it. My job as an educator is to remind my students to be careful on what they post on the internet. To think ahead the impact of what they put up. To read their facebook status again and again through all perspective before hitting that send button. To think wisely and maturely... And most important, to not take internet too seriously... I may sound like a grandma but Internet is usually a place where I read Wikipedia and laugh at 9gag (and not to forget my online shopping and workmails...) Venting is just internet on a day off which is usually followed by regret.

Happy blogging people :)

60+ Earth Hour 2014 @Penang

Didn't expect it to go the way it did...  Although WWF reported it was a "major" success, for me it was hardly a success. Why? Because noone cared.

Honestly I chose to join the walkathon because I was bored and it looked like an interesting social activity to be a part of. Of course, I am a WWF supporter coz I once had a weird fetish towards pandas and stuff. Plus, I needed something to brag about on my network besides complaining about my daily 8.00-5.00 routine.

The 60+ earth hour sucked but the trip to Penang was awesome. Not only did I get to spend the whole day with my buffy, I also got to shop books! The Big Bad Wolf Book Sale was held in Time Square, Penang and for sure I wouldn't miss it. After the booksale, we googled places to hang out while waiting for 6pm and Gurney Plaza was our choice. And I can conclude Gurney Plaza was the highlight of the day. Penang wasn't as fun as it used to be when I was 10!

Ok back to the Earth Hour event. The concerts were horrible. Honestly, for a high-profile international society like WWF, they could have done better. I could sing better than the singers who literally croaked the whole 3 songs. The only decent show was by the musicians. They rocked and saved the stage. The dancers define awkward. The emcee was cool. He managed to control the lameness of the event by his jokes and impromptu activities. But as the countdown to lights out ended, the event epicly failed.

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2...1..!!!! Yelled everyone in hopes of a miracle to save the day.

Nothing. All lights were still on as though it was just another day.

Then the walk began despite all awkwardness... All along the route, lights from shops were switched on brighter than ever. People stared at the walkers probably laughing at the effort and as though it didn't sucked enough, it rained. Yep. All 500 (yes, they lied saying there were 2000 participants) people were drenched wet as half of them ran to their cars and half ran for shelter. As we reached the finish line, we did what sane people would do. We drove home!

But like I said, even if the event defined what 'failed mission' means, the fact that I spent it with Mr Awesome made it worthy. I had a great time squished by Ironman and Panda. And, it was time and money well spent :)

HAPPY EARTH HOUR!!!