Nostalgia

A dinner was organized on the 19th Jan 2013 for all ex education officers from the Perak Education Department who served from 1982.It was a good gathering of officers who are now at least 70 years old or more.one former Director Of Education is now 80 years old and can hardly hear but other than that in generally good health. There were a lot of hand shakes and hugs and it really felt good to meet people whom I worked within the department. I have fond memories of my stint in the department.Being one of the few Chinese officers there practically all my colleagues and friends were Malays but they all treated me well and accepted me for what I was and there was no discrimination.The Directors were all nice to me and I particularly remember one Director's advice when I first met him " being the only non Malay you must not be seen to be too smart or too stupid " and I followed this advice throughout my tenure in the department and it was with this that I was able to get along with everybody .Working in the department was actually quite fun.the bosses never interfered in our professional work as long as what we did was within the national policy.We had monthly meeting when we would inform what we had done for the month and bring up any problems which we could not handle and the committee would all chip in and find a solution.This was team work and the leaders brought this about. At work , we went by ranking and the protocol which went with it was followed.But after work and outside the office we were all friends and colleagues and this was the factor which created a fine working condition. Today looking at them I realized what the ravages of time can do to us .Most of us are on one kind of medication or other and body aches , hearing and eyesight loss are common ailments among the aged and there is no discrimination or favoritism here .Whether you were the Director or just a rank and file there is no escaping this kind of condition.Indeed I felt quite blessed that I am in relatively good health and can still play a round or two of golf and still drive from KL to Ipoh and back which many of them cannot do now. It was a happy occasion to meet old friends and we had lots of stories to talk about and a lot of updating like how are our children doing ,how many grandchildren we have and where are we now.In all a really good gathering among old friends and colleagues.

2012

2012 has come and gone and we are on to a New Year 2013.I do not even want to think of what the new year will bring as I believe in Que sera sera ( whatever will be ,will be) but cant help think of the year gone by with its joys and sadness which came along .The joy of seeing the grandchildren growing up and the children and their spouses getting on in life. Looking at them we realise that today's generation have to go through so much stress and strain unlike us during our time.We were fortunate to work just minutes away from where we stayed without having to go through the hassle of the daily traffic jams or at best the heavy traffic.Today's generation seem to be in one mad rush over everything that I cannot help but observe what this is doing to them.Impatience,curt remarks ,insensitivity and even shorter tempers are the result of the stress which they have to go through.Unlike us ,they seem to have less time for themselves .Some are fortunate to still have their parents around to help out here and there.Looking at this ,we realise that in monetary terms our children earn more than what we did but on the other hand I believe we led better lives. For us the new year is a blessing indeed .That we are able to go through yet another yearly cycle is blessing enough.To celebrate the New Year, Ching Ming, birthdays and festivities are things to be looked forward to and more important to be grateful that you can be able to go through the cycle one more time.As you grow older you become more aware of the importance of good health and also realize that good health is not something automatic but has to be built .Do not wait till you are sick to start taking steps to worry about your health.its too late then. I have always believed that a healthy lifestyle makes a whole lot of difference in our life>This involves not only our physical health but also our psychological and mental health.It requires discipline to pace your work, eat less of what you love to eat ,force yourself to be physically fit and regulate your sleeping and waking time.I have found that the maxim " early to bed ,early to rise " has its meaning and can help you keep healthy.Do not waste time playing computer games or be on the internet.There is a need for this no doubt but never indulge in this at the expense of your health.Sadly, I lost my elder sister and my bro in law from Spore last year and what makes me wake up is that both of them died of sickness.All the money in the world cannot save you if you do not start to take care of yourself. Its not easy to push your body to do some physical work but if you look at the bigger picture the physical chores you have to undertake will save you so much trouble in the future.It really is a matter of mindset and one's determination is a test of one's true potential as a person. Wish for 2013 ? A simple one....to be able to see my grandchildren grow up and my children live a better life and to be able to do the things I did but in a better way and in better health !