FRIED RICE

That afternoon, Kat was stressed. Her son told her that he had to bring fried rice for potluck. She had two days to prepare. It was a big problem and she thought so hard how to solve it. She felt that she couldn't make delicious fried rice well. She didn't feel confident to serve her fried rice to other people. To buy it in a restaurant in the morning before school started was impossible. Finally she asked her friend to make it for her son, and she gave her friend some money.

Kat made fried rice only for her family - her children, husband and herself. Her husband always compared her fried rice to his grandma's. He always commented that Kat's fried rice didn't taste as his grandma's. This made her lose her confidence to serve fried rice. It happened for several years. Every time she made fried rice, her husband always said that it was so delicious, but not like his grandma's fried rice. 

One day, Kat and her husband laughed together. They finally got an idea - not a solution. When Kat couldn't make fried rice which tasted as grandma's, it was not a problem, so that it didn't need any solution. Kat's husband always said that her fried rice was so delicious...so what's the problem? They just needed to accept the fact that Kat's fried rice was so delicious instead of expecting grandma's fried rice that they would never eat anymore. It was silly to think much about some fried rice that they would never eat. Grandma had passed away 30 years ago.
So...focus on the things that can make you happy and ignore the unnecessary ones.

T-Shirt and Friends

Home sweet home. It's nice to be home after a day work. Time to relax. A cup of hot tea will be good to drink in the back garden. Some fried banana or fried tempe will make this all perfect.

This afternoon is so hot. 26.5⁰C. Before enjoying them all, of course I need to change my working clothes into the comfortable ones. I open my wardrobe and pick shorts and a t-shirt. No...not this one. This t-shirt isn't comfortable to wear on this hot day.
Finally, I took my old shirt. The black one, but it's not really black anymore. It has turned into browny black. It's tattered, there are some holes on it. Some parts are almost torn as it becomes much thinner than it was. The writing on it almost disappears and it's not easy to read. Yet above those facts, it's comfortable to wear. This t-shirt can cool my body. I feel getting good air circulation through it's very thin fabric.

A few weeks ago, during a holiday, we were cleaning the house. One of the activities was cleaning the wardrobe, sorting the clothes...which ones were still worn and the ones that should have been out off the wardrobe. When I found my old, thin browny black t-shirt, I put it back into the wardrobe. It's really hard to get rid of it. I love it. I love to wear it.

Friends are like my old, thin, browny black t-shirt. The longer you have them, although you get to know more bad things about them, it's harder to let them go out of your life. You will always keep your friends in the wardrobe of your heart. You've loved them.  3000 or 90 to 600?

Turn it Off

It was 7 a.m., the first day I entered the classroom in this academic year. I met the students who attended my class the previous year. There was nothing to be introduced as we had known one another. The classroom and its decoration did not change, only the wall had been repainted. We were all ready to start all academic and non-academic activities.

That morning felt hotter than usual. I thought of the air conditioner, maybe it needed a maintenance, or we needed to set the temperature or other settings so that it felt colder. I asked a volunteer to set the temperature. All students replied that we had to turn it off in the first and second periods. We could just open the windows.

We could turn it on at 8.30. Oops...sorry...I didn't know well about this new policy. Finally I found that this policy was made to support an environment-friendly school program.

This condition happens everyday. So far, for about three weeks the students have tried to adapt themselves to this condition. To my surprise, this morning when we were discussing about turning off the air conditioners, a student asked me. She asked,"How about the air conditioners in the teachers' room? Do you turn them off, too?" Oops! I never thought about it...about the air conditioners in the teachers' room, in the administration room, and maybe in the principal's room. As I know, The air conditioners in the teachers' room had been turned on in the morning before the teachers come. The office boys usually come earlier and turn them on.

Dear students, I'm so sorry about this. Tomorrow I will remind my colleagues to look back at this policy.
Dear teachers, let's teach with heart. When our hearts don't want to do it, why we ask our children to do it? Let's do it first with all our hearts, then our children will follow. Hmmm...it leads me to a saying 'monkey see monkey do'...huahahaha....

Taken but Uneaten

To celebrate Independence Day, we usually have a special flag ceremony. It is special...because we don't hold it in our own unit only, but four units from kindergarten to high schools attend the ceremony. In the last four years, our school has been in charge of being the flag raisers. This year is different. We are in charge of being the choir to accompany the ceremony. 

Since the ceremony would be held in the football court, I think about the bigger choir...not only 20 to 30 singers...but I have also set the limit...not more than 60. For a week, I opened the registration for those who wanted to join the choir. Some students who were the flag raisers before asked me if they could join the choir..and I said yes. After reaching 60 students joining the choir, I closed the registration although there were still some students who wanted to. 

My team and I had planned the schedule of the rehearsal. We had only 7 times rehearsal...and we had to leave the classes for it. At the first day of the rehearsal, a group of students quitted the choir. They told me they couldn't attend the rehearsals. I explained to them that they had taken the seats and left them while other students who wanted to get the seats had lost them. Finally, after seeing the value that I explained, some of them took the responsibility to join the choir, but the ones who had joined the flag raisers before went on quitting. 

Now the choir has less singers than it should be. No problem...when the singers are all responsible for what they have chosen. 
Don't ever take the food and leave it uneaten while others hunger for it.

Doormat

Early in the morning I woke up and I went to the toilet. Then after doing anything, I took a bath. Then before I went to work, I went to the toilet once again. That morning went as usual, I felt nothing wrong. I usually go to the bathroom at least three times in the morning before going out of my house.

I went home late that day. I parked my car and entered the house. As usual, I took off my shoes and socks, and went to the bathroom to wash my feet. I can't go to my room and lay down on my bed without washing my feet. It felt like I brought any dirt to my bed. 
Something strange happened when I wanted to go out of the bathroom. The doormat disappeared. Somebody must have taken or moved it. Consequently, I had to walk on the floor with my wet feet...uuuhh.... I didn't like that situation. It wasn't so important, but it was annoying.

Doormat. Its role is never recognised when it is there in the right place, but when it is taken away from its place, it's terrible. People will look for the doormat if it isn't at its place.
When doormat is in front of the bathroom, people will recognise the look of the door and its handle. When doormat is in front the house, people will admire the architecture of the house or pay attention to the paint or the material of the front door. Doormat is usually made in simple design...and people never recognise and admire it.

Are you a doormat in your community? 
Perhaps your role is unseen and no one realises that you are important.
When you do your job well...when you responsibly play your own role...then other people will really look for you in your absence.

Something Sweet

The final tests were over. The academic year would end soon. All students were curious to see the result. But they couldn't see the result of their work through the year so soon. The teachers were processing the scores of all tests and assignments.

As usual, after the final tests, before the students received the report card, they didn't have any class. They spent the days by doing non-academic activities, such as social activities and sports competition.

In this year-end, they almost forgot something. They remembered that they still kept some class-cash. They were confused how to spend the money because they only had two days left to meet their classmates. They discussed...they had arguments about what they will do with the money.
Finally, most of them agreed to buy some food or drink, and enjoy it together in a small party with their classmates.

That day I entered the teachers' room. I saw some nice boxes on the table in the corner of the room. What's this? Boxes of donuts! For me, donut was something sweet...so it led me to think that it must be a sweet gift. Eventually, I found that the donuts were from the students of 8A.... They spent their class-cash to buy donuts for the teachers...so wow!

When others thought about spending the class-cash for themselves, they thought about devoting it to their teachers. 
When others focus on themselves, you focus on sharing what you have to others. 
Thanks a lot...you're the winners...you've won our hearts. 
It's something sweet!

Fast Track

It was a nice Sunday in April. We - especially the children - had waited that Sunday for a few weeks. We were excited. We were going together...to the adventure theme park. Yes...we would have an adventure.

We set off from school and had about 2 hours travelling by bus until we arrived at the adventure theme park. We were really happy and curious about what rides we could enjoy. After we got the ticket, we entered the park. The children wanted to ride many kinds of rides. 

Yet, it was Sunday, there were so many people going there. As a result, to enjoy the Snake-Coaster the children had to queue up for about 30 minutes. Then we moved to Mega-Drop. There was a long queue at the gate. We tried to be patient. Suddenly, there were some children who went through a different gate. The park management called it 'Fast Track'. What happened there? Some children went through the Fast Track gate and they didn't need to queue up as long as the other visitors. They just waited for about 5 minutes and then they could enjoy the ride soon. After wondering for a while, we found that there was an additional ticket sold as Fast Track ticket, so that those who held the ticket could go without queuing up. We found Fast Track Gate in almost all rides. 
If you've got more money, you can buy Fast Track ticket...if you've got no more money, you queue up!

Is this a kind of bribery??
Teachers and parents, why don't you use this opportunity to teach your children how to fight and survive? 
I still believe that there are noble values in queuing up....

School Monsters

Monsters are everywhere. In the jungles, in the mountains, in the countries, in the cities...and even at the schools.

In the last six months, the students in this school have been talking about some monsters. They have been scared. They can't do anything when the monsters come. The monsters can do anything they want. Some of the students have even been so stressed for this horrible situation. 

The students had given up as they couldn't beat the monsters. They couldn't understand what the monsters wanted. Their marks drastically dropped. They couldn't change the monsters into kind and friendly creatures. They gave up. Eventually, they reported about the monsters to their parents...and then...the parents came to this school, seeing the principal and the homeroom teachers to report the fear that the monsters had caused. 

The 'principal' said, "A few years ago, those monsters came to this school. They applied to make a living here. Then we accepted some of them. We have trained them well. But the results are not exactly the same since they came from different habitats and backgrounds."

Then the 'principal' told he students, "You are lucky. You're in a good school now. At home, your parents spoil you. Every problem you face is solved by your parents. Now..here in this school...the monsters train you how to survive and be tough. The monsters have different characteristics. Some of them like to treat you as you wish...give you what you like. On the other side, you cannot drive other monsters as you want. They make you taste the difficulties in life. If you can't change the monsters, change yourself...change your manner...change your way of thinking about these monsters." 
The monsters won't kill you...and everything that makes you feel difficult but it doesn't kill you, it will make you stronger.