On Taking Calculated Risks
What Dr. Maxwell Maltz said above and below is something I can totally relate to. Many times in my life I’ve taken actions (not without risks!) and there had been moments I got them right but many times wrong too. In the beginning when I was younger, I often felt guilty, terrible, and miserable, but as I grow older I realize […]
Coursera: Nutrition and Physical Activity for Health
Today I received my very first certificate from Coursera for the course NUTRITION AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY FOR HEALTH taught by University of Pittsburgh.
UNHCR and Coursera
It was through the UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, that I discovered Coursera. I volunteer as a teacher and currently there is no teaching opportunity at my location, but I look forward to the day I could start. Meanwhile, on their recommendation during an orientation session at their Kuala Lumpur office, I signed up for the course Foundations of Teaching for Learning taught by the Commonwealth Education Trust.I’m thankful to UNHCR for showing this alternative way to lifelong learning […]
Why I Blog
“The reality is, I blog in order to clarify my thinking and archive my best ideas. In short, I blog for me. (But you are welcome to read along!)
It shouldn’t make any difference whether you have ten readers or one hundred thousand. [...] If you are writing, you are achieving greater clarity about your life, your work, and what matters most. That’s enough. And more than most people have.” —Michael Hyatt
Hari Raya Haji with My Taxi Driver’s Family
Hasan, my taxi driver invited me to his house today to celebrate Hari Raya Haji. He lives just across the road from my apartment. At 10 a.m. his wife and almost-2-year-old daughter were waiting for me downstairs at their block and ushered me up to their home. They are no strangers to me because sometimes they accompany him when he fetches me or his other customers.
The phone in the house rang. When she’d hung up, she informed Hasan called and sent his apologies for not being there because he has customers. Public holidays are the best time for additional income, I remember he told me this some time ago.
I’m bowled over by the simplicity of their living space. No furniture—[...]
Interview with Author Joan Hon
Today, I have the great honor of hosting an interview with Joan Hon, a remarkable author and academician. Besides writing books, she also taught Physics to Junior College students and mentored Olympiad students in one of Singapore’s top Junior Colleges.
The Penang-born Singaporean author, already in her sixties, was here in Penang on Tuesday, October 12 to share about her journey as an author. The engaging Book Talk was held at Precious Ones Collections. Now she shares more on my blog! She wrote a science-fiction romance STAR SAPPHIRE (1985) under the pseudonym Han May, which won a High Commendation Award from the Book Development Council of Singapore in 1986, the same year she was awarded a Commendation prize for her book RELATIVELY SPEAKING on her father and childhood memories in Penang. Please join me in welcoming Joan Hon!
Joan Hon Book Talk
I’ll be taking a day off from work on 12 October to attend a book talk and meet with author Joan Hon. Such bookish events are rare in my part of the world (Malaysia), so when Jo Lau contacted me about the author, I was excited! The Internet brought Jo and I together in July this year in a blog event. She is a Singaporean living in Penang with her husband. Jo told me she found me through my blog and I’m really glad!
Here’s more on the bookish event: […]