Marielle my middlechild

Marielle is my middlechild. Her name is a French form of Maria. Notable bearers of this name were Marie Antoinette and Marie Curie. But we never did name her from these famous women. Her real name is Maria Ellenne. We fondly call her Marielle.

She took her O levels here in Singapore. She then completed her Business course at TP . She is now a bank officer at OCBC.

Today is not a special day, actually. Why am I writing about her? Well, "type ko lang". One thing
the month is coming to an end. She is not clueless actually. Got me?

Thank you Marielle!

Kindness

For sure all of you have experienced acts of kindness even from strangers.
Herewith are some quotations on kindness :

"Some day, after we have mastered
the winds, the waves, the tides and gravity
we shall harness the energies of love.
Then for the second time in history of the world,
man will have discovered fire."
-TEILHARD de CHARDIN

"I am done with great things and big plans,

great institutions and big success. I am for those tiney and invisible loving

forces that work from individual to individual, creeping through the crannies

of the world like so many rootlets, or like the capillary oozing of water,

which, if given time, will rend the hardest monuments of pride."

-WILLIAM JAMES

"People say that we're all seeking is a meaning

for life......I think that what we're really seeking

is an experience of being alive, so that our life experiences

on the purely physical plane will have resonance within

our innermost being and reality, so that we can actually

feel the rapture of being alive."

-JOSEPHCAMPBELL

A child sharing her food made me think that yes, we adults can learn from children. That inspired me to think of kindness for in this world of dog eat dog and crab mentality and jealousy among adults, I tend to forget that I need to be kind. If a child can be too kind to share her food, why not we adults share what we have?

Happiness and fragments

January 26, 2005 is a happy day for me.
I am completely happy today as it is my Mom's 82nd birthday. She may be far away there in Pangil, Laguna Philippines, but I know she is well and okay and is happy with my younger sisters.
I am confident that after our trip to US to visit my daughter and her family, I can invite her again to visit us here in Singapore.
I can already imagine her happy face upon visiting the birds in Jurong Bird Park and the animals in Singapore Zoo and meeting and touching the pink dolphins in Sentosa.
Happy Birthday Mom, the woman of the year in Laguna province back in 2000.
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Benedict the most hyper in K2 has a long talk with me. He told me he wish to go to Woodlands Ring Primary School next year. I told him that in order to be accepted there, he needs to listen to teachers and concentrate on his activities. He promised me he will and added that he already knows how to spell long words. He really spelt them correctly. In my joy, I hugged him and he hugged me too. What a kid!
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The Today newspaper had an advertisement: Test Drive a Mac Contest. It was written there that it is an opportunity to challenge the perception that Macs are built just for people in the creative industry by just test-driving the Mac and then stand to win one.
Of course I did apply. But what are my chances to be chosen if they only need 10 contestants? Nevermind, there is no harm in trying. Who knows, I might be chosen. Then I will have my own Mac. Yipeee!
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My husband received a Chinese New Year bonus. Wow! I am really really happy.

Pessimism

Life is great really! But at times no matter how bright our days are, some people will make it a point to darken our bright days. Though how we take it, or our attitude on this behaviour is more important, still we get affected. Take my friend, I can't fathom why she always see the dark side. Others may conclude that she has a very low self esteem that is why she behave that way. All I can say is that she is a pessimist.Maybe this words of wisdom from Phil Bosmans will help her to be "alive" again.

There are people
who give out light.
And there are people
who darken everything.

PESSIMISM

You are not a pessimist if you grieve over a deep wound in your heart or when a sea of problems weighs you down. Neither are you a pessimist when you are deeply saddened by the unbearable suffering of so many innocent people. Nor because of the savage violence and injustice in the world.
A pessimist is a person who spends a lifetime in a darkroom- developing only negatives. a pessimist is a person who says it's going to rain, when the sun is shining. When things are going well, he say's it won't last. He's suspicious whenever anyone is kind or friendly.
A pessimist has poor eyesight: he never sees the pretty things.
A pessimist has poor hearing: he never hears the good news.
He feels the pain but not the joy. For him everything is dark, empty, sad. He never turns the coin over, to see things from the other side.

Medical diagnosis: "Pessimism has a detrimental effect on digestion and blood pressure."

Conclusion: "Optimists live longer than pessimists"

Afterthought: "Pessimists don't live, they are dead long before they are buried."

Are you a pessimists or an optimists. Do you try to see the other side of the coin? Or you just make a judgement based on hearsay?
Life is great, of course. Let us all make this world a better place and let us live longer....

Why Napelle?

I don't intend to make an entry today but I decided to. I feel elated because of what my daughter just told me. You see, she asked why I used the name napelle for my other blog : around the world on my pc. I told her it is a combination of her Dad's and my initial. She then searched napelle in google and then and there she found out about this waypath.com .

pls go to this site: waypath.com/topic/bnews_edu.html if you are interested to know.You will see there the subtitle when: 26 days, 8 hours, 29 minutes ago.

I am thankful to the people behind this site for the acknowledgement and on highlighting my opinion. Thank you.

If you can't laugh, you can't live

* please note the book Give Happiness a Chance
by Phil Bosmans

It was Hari Raya Haji yesterday, a public holiday here in Singapore. I looked at my book cabinet and yeah I noticed this book written by Phil Bosmans, the head of an organization in Belgium known as Bond Zonder Naam. It was an old book actually and was published here in Singapore in 1984. But still, I can see the relevance of his words in today's everyday living.

Here is an excerpt:

Laughing is healthy.

You need to laugh.

Humor is healthy.

(you can ask The Ca T)

Do you think enough about this aspect of your health?

if all your anxieties give you wrinkles in your heart,

you will soon have wrinkles on your face.

Laughing frees you.

(why not see how Kiwipinay giggles)

Humor relaxes you.

A laugh can free you from needless intensity.

a laugh is the best cosmetic for your outside

and the best medicine for your insides.

if your laugh-muscles work regularly

your digestion will improve,

your appetite will be stimulated,

and your blood pressure will stay down.

Humor gives you a sense of proportion.

(Mr. Batjay can show you how)

Laughter and fun don't only influence your metabolism,

but also your sorroundings.

They lessen the tensions

and the tears.

Laughter and fun free you from the deadly earnestness

about leaden problems,

free you from that miserable daily drag.

laughter and fun are the best remedies

for the drugging of your heart and mind.

laughter and funopen out new spaces

for the still unknown joys of life.

A day when you don't laugh is a lost day.

A Distraction

Blogging had widened my horizons. I met new friends, I learnt more about people, places and other significant things and revelations that made this life worth living. I will never ever leave this privelege of learning, through this medium we call web log.
Television on another hand is another invention that make our life full of fun. This distraction that proclaim me a couch critic again is very enjoyable.
Wow! I really enjoy life.

Keep your chin up, Miss

I am on leave today. It is a nice feeling to be away from work just for a while. So I decided to meet somebody in my field for a small chat at Ang Mo Kio. I hope our meeting will turn out positively and be evaluated by the higher up on my favour. I am looking forward for the result next week.

On my way home as I was walking to the MRT station, two men whom I presume were from Africa approached me. They asked how they can get to Lavender. They explained that they asked people in the nearby bus stop but all of them never even bothered to answer and never even looked at them. After I told them what MRT line to take, the taller man asked: "maybe because we are black?" I saw the hurt in their faces. I felt their pain. I just answered that maybe it was because of the language problem.

Have you ever experienced being ridiculed? Did people look down on you even your loved ones because of a mistake you have no control of? How then did you react?

Meet a woman who held her chin up inspite of everything. Here's her STORY

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAULA LUZCELLE

My entry today, 14 January 2005 is dedicated to my youngest daughter. Today is her natal day and I wish her the best of everything. Whether she will be a teacher, a stewardess or an engineer after she graduate at Ngee Ann this semester, I will be supporting her choice all the way.I composed this poem for her.

When I woke up that morning

smell of roses

light of a new day

music of the angels

touch of a warm breeze

all made me

triumphant.

When I woke up this morning

kiss of a baby

cry of a seraph

feel of a magnet

voice of hope

all seduced me

to say

My pretty baby

My Paula Luzcelle

Now a lady.

Happy happy Birthday!

Elle in black with Erwina and Wanseen




Elle in white with Wanseen

Corrie, the conspiratorial caterpillar

Since my lesson is about caterpilar, I told my children the story of The very hungry caterpillar by Eric Carle. My children told me that they already heard the story and wanted a new one. So I told them I will tell them a new story. I decided to write an adapted story. Though I told myself, I will be minimising my blogging, I feel that I want this story of mine to be a new post here.

Corrie, a young caterpillar, gained attention from her fellow catterpillars when she learnt how to make designs on every leaf she eats. She can make designs, like flower, star, heart and so on, by just nibbling the leaves. When she started showing off the leaves she nibbled with designs she made, the caterpillars adored her.
One day in the light of the moon, a new caterpillar was hatched in the nearby garden. This caterpillar named Laci, later learnt how to nibble leaves and make designs better than Corrie. Soon, she gained friends who happened to be Corrie's old friends.
Filled with envy, Corrie formulated a scheme. She decided to conspire with her ant friends.
On Monday, Corrie the conspiratorial caterpillar asked her ant friends to place sweets on Laci's garden to attract the red ants.
On Tuesday, the red ants smelled the sweets and went to Laci's garden.
On Wednesday, the caterpillars heard Laci shouting to the red ants to get out. They then crawled to Corrie's garden.
On Thursday, the red ants managed to make the other caterpillars fell ill by biting them.
On Friday, Corrie declared that Laci was the root cause of the red ants' migration to their garden.
On Saturday,Corrie spent her time designing a scheme how to attack Laci. While she was kept busy by her scheming, the rest of the caterpillars including Laci started to make a cocoon for their hibernation.
The next Sunday, the caterpillars nibbled their cocoons and became beautiful butterflies, Laci the fairest of them all.
On the other hand, Corrie forgot to build a cocoon and she died a caterpillar, never ever fulfilled her dream of becoming a butterfly.

Children learn values from a story. I hope adults can also learn lessons from a simple story.

Academic Year 2005

It is the beginning of the academic year here in Singapore. All pre schools, primary and secondary levels started the academic year. And of course, I am so busy preparing everything for my children. Teaching children is really a tough job. But since teaching children is my passion, I find fulfillment in every preparation I do. People might reckon that this age level is the easiest level to teach. I don't think you are right. If you think you are right, I challenge you to provide me with your reasons for saying so.
With me very busy, I feel I will minimise my blogging on this site of mine. But there is one blog of mine that I will try my best to visit everyday: my news blog. It is of my opinion that the news around the world makes us a better person. I feel that I am a better person, not only because of my family, my education, my career, but because of the news all over the world. Do visit my site if you can at www.napelle.blogspot.com. I am sure with the news around, like me, you will be inspired to face your everyday life with meaning.

My boundless joys

Kyllenne and Darrielle wearing pink and blue cheongsams respectively.
They are one of the reasons why 2005 is a bright year ahead for us.

An Enlightened 2005

A year has passed
Lesson there was.
Relationships to mend
Sometimes need to bend.

Memories of last year
Will keep forever.
Friends and foes detest
Will surely not forget.

Experiences encountered
Joy and sadness mattered
Accepting "I am mistaken"
Yields a life enlightened.

AN ENLIGHTENED AND TRUTHFUL 2005 TO ALL!!!!