Friday, December 03, 2010
Farewell to a bit of history
Monday, November 22, 2010
TwinSqueaks
Meet TwinSqueaks. Tentatively, this is what they would be known as, until we have figured out who is who. They look so perfectly alike that if you have seen one, you have met the other. Here is one of them. Doesn't she look sweet and innocent?
Here is another of them. Or...maybe it is the same one. Hm...I can't tell.
The menagerie is growing. We put the cages side by side, and PipSqueak is very curious about them. She keeps coming out to look, with her ears pricked up and nose quivering.
Yes, they were an impulse buy. I have been looking for a Syrian actually, and we met some. There was a pretty grey one, but I just don't feel anything for it. Then there was another wild-haired spitting male Syrian hamster, but it looked more like the Tasmanian devil. We can't imagine having it at home and we wouldn't dare to groom it!
Then suddenly, a dear little face looked out at us from the tank. They are such pretty little things that I wonder how I could have missed them at first! So, the inevitable happened. They are settling down very well and playing actively.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Expert teaching
For all the learned theories of language acquisition we have read in the university, I still find it a mystery. Parents (and early childhood teachers), don't imagine for a moment that we are the ones who get them to understand language. Most of the time when we teach a child words, we focus on nouns - 'cat', 'dog', 'apple'. Sometimes, but rarely, we move on to adjectives - 'happy', 'hungry'. Then, in the gap between our teaching and full speech, the child somehow puts in 'is', 'on', 'to', and other functional words that have no real content. Most mysteriously of all, he develops a sense of personhood and differentiates between 'baby' (in the third person), and 'I', between 'mummy' and 'you'.
How does it happen?
The biggest social hazard of being a language teacher is that parents are always anxious to get tips and tricks from me, as if I have some secret manual that we teachers possess and guard jealously. I declare that there isn't, and everything I know, I am not afraid to reveal in class. Sadly, they are invariably disappointed by my response.
What is the parent to do? I feel that language learning is far more holistic than we dare to admit. We would like to think that if we could force a child to read more and write more, he would improve. But we forget that for every hour he spends reading and writing in Standard English, many more are spent listening and interacting. If a family's lingua franca is Singlish, which is likely to have more influence on him? Basically, if parents want their child to speak well, they have to model good language practices for him. I remember that when I was young, mummy explained to me the logical relationships implied by 'but' and 'because'. And my father taught us 三字经 and 唐诗. Nowadays he still corrects the wrong characters in my Chinese smses. In retrospect, they have probably helped me tremendously in my academic pursuits.
I understand that parents are anxious to give their children a headstart in English, our language of instruction. But I think parents who are less proficient in English are better off speaking to the child in Mandarin instead. Besides, then they can save on Chinese tuition. To my horror, someone once told me that he isn't good in either language. Then...what language does he think in? But that is a cosmic question I can't deal with today.
How does it happen?
The biggest social hazard of being a language teacher is that parents are always anxious to get tips and tricks from me, as if I have some secret manual that we teachers possess and guard jealously. I declare that there isn't, and everything I know, I am not afraid to reveal in class. Sadly, they are invariably disappointed by my response.
What is the parent to do? I feel that language learning is far more holistic than we dare to admit. We would like to think that if we could force a child to read more and write more, he would improve. But we forget that for every hour he spends reading and writing in Standard English, many more are spent listening and interacting. If a family's lingua franca is Singlish, which is likely to have more influence on him? Basically, if parents want their child to speak well, they have to model good language practices for him. I remember that when I was young, mummy explained to me the logical relationships implied by 'but' and 'because'. And my father taught us 三字经 and 唐诗. Nowadays he still corrects the wrong characters in my Chinese smses. In retrospect, they have probably helped me tremendously in my academic pursuits.
I understand that parents are anxious to give their children a headstart in English, our language of instruction. But I think parents who are less proficient in English are better off speaking to the child in Mandarin instead. Besides, then they can save on Chinese tuition. To my horror, someone once told me that he isn't good in either language. Then...what language does he think in? But that is a cosmic question I can't deal with today.
Friday, November 12, 2010
A Grief Ago
I have been thinking of getting another hamster, but the Fat One reminded me that they erm..don't have very long lives, and the traumatic experience would happen again not too far in the future. So, get a dog, she suggested. They last longer, at least ten years.
I say, if one really wants to escape the sadness of losing a pet, get a tortoise. Or an elephant. They are more likely to outlive you.
The regrettable truth is, nothing is permanent on this side of heaven, and we are all cursed to suffer big or small bereavements one day. There isn't any point trying to avoid the inevitable, we just have to learn when it is time to let go. There is a season for everything. A time to be born and a time to die...a time to weep and a time to laugh (Ecclesiastes 3).
Sometimes I think that our pet ownership gives us a glimpse into Eden, to a time before the Fall, when Man was given dominion over the earth. I suppose it is a little like having all the animals, lions and all, as our pets.
Thank God that we can look forward to a time in our redeemed future when the wolf will live with the lamb...and the young child put his hand into the viper’s nest. They will neither harm nor destroy on all (God's) holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea (Isaiah 11).
Only then would we be free to love without the pain of parting anymore.
I say, if one really wants to escape the sadness of losing a pet, get a tortoise. Or an elephant. They are more likely to outlive you.
The regrettable truth is, nothing is permanent on this side of heaven, and we are all cursed to suffer big or small bereavements one day. There isn't any point trying to avoid the inevitable, we just have to learn when it is time to let go. There is a season for everything. A time to be born and a time to die...a time to weep and a time to laugh (Ecclesiastes 3).
Sometimes I think that our pet ownership gives us a glimpse into Eden, to a time before the Fall, when Man was given dominion over the earth. I suppose it is a little like having all the animals, lions and all, as our pets.
Thank God that we can look forward to a time in our redeemed future when the wolf will live with the lamb...and the young child put his hand into the viper’s nest. They will neither harm nor destroy on all (God's) holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea (Isaiah 11).
Only then would we be free to love without the pain of parting anymore.
Tuesday, November 09, 2010
Prayer and Worrying
One very useful tip Pastor gave during sermon is this: to replace worry with prayer. To worry is to constantly talk to yourself about what troubles you. So instead of talking to yourself, talk to God instead. The same faculty that frets can be trained to pray. What a good idea!
I tried doing it, and when I paid more attention to my thoughts, I noticed that I am nearly always worrying! It doesn't matter what I am thinking, or what conscious thoughts I have, somewhere at the back of my mind, looming like a dark shadow, are the things that worry me. They never quite go away, though they don't intrude into my activities or words.
Which means that if I were to follow Pastor's advice, I am going to be praying day and night! Well...it beats constant worry, so never mind, I shall just do it anyway.
I tried doing it, and when I paid more attention to my thoughts, I noticed that I am nearly always worrying! It doesn't matter what I am thinking, or what conscious thoughts I have, somewhere at the back of my mind, looming like a dark shadow, are the things that worry me. They never quite go away, though they don't intrude into my activities or words.
Which means that if I were to follow Pastor's advice, I am going to be praying day and night! Well...it beats constant worry, so never mind, I shall just do it anyway.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
of Mice and Men
Those two Squeaks.
Of course I never had any illusions that my love for them is reciprocated, but even then, their pragmatism is too blatant. Now that they live in the playpen with all the toys and food and bedding they like, they have gone wild completely. Even BigSqueak, who used to climb happily into my hand, has taken to hiding, ninja-like, in dark corners. They are having the time of their lives of course. Which other hamsters in Singapore live in such luxury?
And hence they now completely ignore us, not realising that all these good things come from us. They don't want to play with us anymore. 'Don't bother me when I'm gnawing my sunflower seeds', 'I'm digging a hole in my favourite box, I shall dig all the way to Australia. I'm too busy to play with you!' To think that in the past, when they were confined to their cage, they used to wait eagerly at its door whenever we walk pass the cage, for food and to be allowed to come out for a few minutes of freedom.
Oh the perverse nature of fallen creation! I half wonder if in God's eyes, the Israelites of the Old Testament had not behaved in exactly the same way. They prayed and cried when the enemies were at the city gates, and then forgot all about God's law when they had victory. In fact, we aren't much better either. While enjoying the liberality of God's hand, we quite take for granted or even forget the giver's love. We get too busy to serve God, too busy to care about the Great Commission, well...too busy to worship God.
V is sure that if we remove everything from them, they would be sweet and cuddly again. But I would rather not. Since they are only hamsters, they shall be allowed to indulge in their wayward little free wills.
God, of course, has rather different expectations of us.
Of course I never had any illusions that my love for them is reciprocated, but even then, their pragmatism is too blatant. Now that they live in the playpen with all the toys and food and bedding they like, they have gone wild completely. Even BigSqueak, who used to climb happily into my hand, has taken to hiding, ninja-like, in dark corners. They are having the time of their lives of course. Which other hamsters in Singapore live in such luxury?
And hence they now completely ignore us, not realising that all these good things come from us. They don't want to play with us anymore. 'Don't bother me when I'm gnawing my sunflower seeds', 'I'm digging a hole in my favourite box, I shall dig all the way to Australia. I'm too busy to play with you!' To think that in the past, when they were confined to their cage, they used to wait eagerly at its door whenever we walk pass the cage, for food and to be allowed to come out for a few minutes of freedom.
Oh the perverse nature of fallen creation! I half wonder if in God's eyes, the Israelites of the Old Testament had not behaved in exactly the same way. They prayed and cried when the enemies were at the city gates, and then forgot all about God's law when they had victory. In fact, we aren't much better either. While enjoying the liberality of God's hand, we quite take for granted or even forget the giver's love. We get too busy to serve God, too busy to care about the Great Commission, well...too busy to worship God.
V is sure that if we remove everything from them, they would be sweet and cuddly again. But I would rather not. Since they are only hamsters, they shall be allowed to indulge in their wayward little free wills.
God, of course, has rather different expectations of us.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Standard Singlish
The mistake is probably excusable, since it is made by goodenglish.org. One can hardly expect it to get its Singlish right.
On one of its posters, in imitation of typical Singapore English, there is an expression 'You got eat already or not?' I have to protest that this expression is an unflattering and inaccurate caricature of Singlish.
The problem with this sentence is the expression of its perfective aspect. In standard English, it is expressed as 'Have you eaten...?', with the compound verb 'have eaten' carrying present perfective meaning.
In Singlish, the perfective aspect is carrried in 'already', as in, for example, 'the bus come already' (the bus has come). On the other hand, 'got' is sometimes used to indicate past tense, as in 'the bus got come' (the bus came).
I think that the sentence in the goodenglish.org poster is simply carrying too much, and redundant information. The expression should simply be 'you got eat or not', or 'you eat already or not', but not 'you got eat already or not?' Excuse my purist streak, but not every mangled expression is Singlish. Singaporeans who do speak Singlish intuitively follow systematic rules too. We may speak wrongly, but we don't speak like idiots.
Maybe it is the first sign of creolisation - when the users of the pidgin forms begin to recognize new language structures, and can identify whether an expression is correctly incorrect, or incorrectly incorrect. Hm...maybe we don't want to get there, of course. This brickbat aside, I support the Speak Good English movement.
On one of its posters, in imitation of typical Singapore English, there is an expression 'You got eat already or not?' I have to protest that this expression is an unflattering and inaccurate caricature of Singlish.
The problem with this sentence is the expression of its perfective aspect. In standard English, it is expressed as 'Have you eaten...?', with the compound verb 'have eaten' carrying present perfective meaning.
In Singlish, the perfective aspect is carrried in 'already', as in, for example, 'the bus come already' (the bus has come). On the other hand, 'got' is sometimes used to indicate past tense, as in 'the bus got come' (the bus came).
I think that the sentence in the goodenglish.org poster is simply carrying too much, and redundant information. The expression should simply be 'you got eat or not', or 'you eat already or not', but not 'you got eat already or not?' Excuse my purist streak, but not every mangled expression is Singlish. Singaporeans who do speak Singlish intuitively follow systematic rules too. We may speak wrongly, but we don't speak like idiots.
Maybe it is the first sign of creolisation - when the users of the pidgin forms begin to recognize new language structures, and can identify whether an expression is correctly incorrect, or incorrectly incorrect. Hm...maybe we don't want to get there, of course. This brickbat aside, I support the Speak Good English movement.
Friday, October 15, 2010
His/Hers
His
Hers
I admit, I'm a beauty product junkie. Hey, which woman isn't? Ruefully, I took stock the other day, and conclude...I just have to throw some away. They are taking too much space, and deep in my heart, I know that I'm never going to use them again. Why did I buy them? Because...because...they seem like such good ideas! Like the FaceShop paste that promises to pull out all your blackheads (didn't work), or the mask that envelops my face in oxygen foam...(I see no difference after that).
Sigh...if all these products only do half of what they claim, (like the 'miracle broth' space age cream), I should look about 12 years old, because they are supposed to 'reverse ageing at the DNA level'. (HAH!) But there are still fine lines around my eyes, so I'm obviously a s*cker prone to wishful thinking and vulnerable to hyperbolic marketing :(
This is merely half of the damage. You guys haven't seen my vanity table yet.
Wednesday, October 06, 2010
Who's there?
BigSqueak looking out inquiringly when we knock on her door. If there is food, she'll come out. If not, she goes back to sleep, ay, and closes the door with tissue paper too.
Friday, October 01, 2010
Waiting is the Hardest Work of Faith
The hardest part about waiting is not knowing when it would end.
Sometimes God answers prayers almost instantaneously, but occasionally, He allows the trial of waiting - of waiting for circumstances to move, of waiting for emotions to change, and of waiting for explanation to emerge. And dear Lord, times like that, it feels like the prayer hasn't been heard. Is there someone else at the other end of the telephone line?
As Christians, we are impressed by stories of how God parted the Red Sea, or even made the sun stand still, but honestly, I suspect that these miracles aren't as difficult as molding the human heart. Whatever involves only strength and power is probably easy for God. He can even call the world into existence in 6 days. But to guide the course of our thoughts and feelings, that is a delicate operation because God gave us free will. After molding us to be the best that we can be, He wants us to be recognizably and uniquely us. And that is why waiting is inevitably part of the Christian experience.
We wait because others take time to respond to God, we wait because our minds take time to renew, and we wait because God somehow has in mind a greater plan which we are not aware of. And in the meantime? How do we lessen the weariness of waiting?
I rather like the reflections in this article: Dogged Devotion
While faced with the unknown, we should focus on what is known i.e. God's unfailing love. Even if God's ways are inexplicable, some things He makes unquestionably clear - His love on the Cross, and the power of resurrection.
We can bear with the wait, because we have hope.
Sometimes God answers prayers almost instantaneously, but occasionally, He allows the trial of waiting - of waiting for circumstances to move, of waiting for emotions to change, and of waiting for explanation to emerge. And dear Lord, times like that, it feels like the prayer hasn't been heard. Is there someone else at the other end of the telephone line?
As Christians, we are impressed by stories of how God parted the Red Sea, or even made the sun stand still, but honestly, I suspect that these miracles aren't as difficult as molding the human heart. Whatever involves only strength and power is probably easy for God. He can even call the world into existence in 6 days. But to guide the course of our thoughts and feelings, that is a delicate operation because God gave us free will. After molding us to be the best that we can be, He wants us to be recognizably and uniquely us. And that is why waiting is inevitably part of the Christian experience.
We wait because others take time to respond to God, we wait because our minds take time to renew, and we wait because God somehow has in mind a greater plan which we are not aware of. And in the meantime? How do we lessen the weariness of waiting?
I rather like the reflections in this article: Dogged Devotion
While faced with the unknown, we should focus on what is known i.e. God's unfailing love. Even if God's ways are inexplicable, some things He makes unquestionably clear - His love on the Cross, and the power of resurrection.
We can bear with the wait, because we have hope.
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