Its interesting, and am thankful.
In Dec, God has provided me with...
1) Supper Buddy's Car. (Whoa Hoo! Thanks WF! )
2) Opportunity to make new contacts
3) A possible Opportunity to do a Project
Wow. It means a lot to me. So am thanksful. The opportunities just came in the email through a good friend.
Praying for wisdom, courage and creativity. Plus, the ability to make friends and make a difference.
Can see many possibilities this morning when received the email. :) O well. Its a good sign.
What's more, this week, J has lent me her car, while she is away in Sydney. :) So am very blessed and happy. :)
Monday, November 23, 2009
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Massive Cook Out!
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Sis invited friends to party.
And we cooked up a storm!
Menu:
1. Caramel Popcorn
2. Spam Jenga (Inspired by game)
3. Cute Octopi Sausages
4. Seaweed Potato Salad
5. Blue Eggs Pasta Rhapsody
6. Meatballs and gravy galore!
haha... :) Enjoy. :)
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Birthdays are celebrated in a Big Way over here. :)
2 special birthday girls, St and Ja.
So... the girls decided to go to Brighton Beach!
It was a "cool" day out!
The sun and the colors "brightened" my day!
Haha...
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Mary and Max- Stop Motion Claymation Feature Film
It's a really touching story. But, what was really amazing was how it was it done!
Saturday, November 07, 2009
Thursday, November 05, 2009
The World is Flat
A brilliant book, just went through a few chapters.
It's recommended reading for all who want to understand the world to come.
I'm serious.
:)
Friday, October 30, 2009
Amusing Story on the web
The Blueberry story: the teacher gives the businessman a lesson - Front Burner
Catholic New Times, Dec 15, 2002 by Jamie Robert Vollmer
"If I ran my business the way you people operate your schools, I wouldn't be in business very long!"
I stood before an auditorium filled with outraged teachers becoming angrier by the minute. My speech had entirely consumed their precious 90 minutes of in-service. Their initial, icy glares had turned to restless agitation. You could cut the hostility with a knife.
I represented a group of business people dedicated to improving public schools. I was an executive at an ice-cream company that became famous in the middle 1980s when People Magazine chose our blueberry flavour as the "Best Ice Cream in America."
I was convinced of two things. First, that public schools needed to change; they were archaic, selecting-and-sorting mechanisms designed for the industrial age and out of step with the needs of our emerging "knowledge society."
Second, that educators were a major part of the problem: they resisted change, hunkered down in their feathered nests, protected by tenure and shielded by a bureaucratic monopoly. They needed to look to business. We knew how to produce quality. Zero defects! Continous improvement! In retrospect, the speech was perfectly balanced: equal parts ignorance and arrogance.
As soon as I had finished, a woman's hand shot up. She appeared to be polite and pleasant--but in fact, she was a razor-edged, veteran, high-school English teacher who had been waiting to unload.
She began quietly, "We are told, sir, that you manage a company that makes good ice cream." I smugly replied, "Best ice cream in America, ma'am."
"How nice," she replied. "Is it rich and smooth?"
"Sixteen per cent butter fat," I crowed.
"Premium ingredients?" she inquired.
"Super-premium! Nothing but triple-A." I was on a roll. I never saw the next line coining.
"Mr. Vollmer," she said, leaning forward with a wicked eyebrow raised to the sky, "when you are standing on your receiving dock and you see an inferior shipment of blueberries arrive, what do you do?"
In the silence of that room, I could hear the trap snap. I was dead meat, but I wasn't going to lie. "I send them back."
"That's right!" she barked, "and we can never send back our blueberries. We take them big, small, rich, poor, gifted, exceptional, abused, frightened, confident, homeless, rude and brilliant. We take them with ADHD, junior rheumatoid arthritis and English as their second language. We take them all! Every one! Mad that, Mr. Vollmer, is why it's not business. It's a school!"
In an explosion, all 290 teachers, principals, bus drivers, aides, custodians and secretaries jumped to their feet and yelled, "Yeah! Blueberries! Blueberries!"
And so began my long transformation. Since then, I have visited hundreds of schools. I have learned that a school is not a business. Schools are unable to control the quality of their raw material; they are dependent upon the vagaries of politics for they are a liable revenue stream and they are constantly mauled by a howling horde of disparate, competing customer groups that would send the best CEO screaming into the night.
None of this negates the need for change. We must change what, when and how we teach to give all children a maximum opportunity to thrive in post-industrial society. But educators cannot do this alone; these changes can occur only with the understanding, trust, permission and active support of the surrounding community.
The most important thing I have learned is that schools reflect the attitudes, beliefs and health of the communities they serve. Therefore, to improve public education means more than changing our schools; it means changing our society.
COPYRIGHT 2002 Catholic New Times, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group
Catholic New Times, Dec 15, 2002 by Jamie Robert Vollmer
"If I ran my business the way you people operate your schools, I wouldn't be in business very long!"
I stood before an auditorium filled with outraged teachers becoming angrier by the minute. My speech had entirely consumed their precious 90 minutes of in-service. Their initial, icy glares had turned to restless agitation. You could cut the hostility with a knife.
I represented a group of business people dedicated to improving public schools. I was an executive at an ice-cream company that became famous in the middle 1980s when People Magazine chose our blueberry flavour as the "Best Ice Cream in America."
I was convinced of two things. First, that public schools needed to change; they were archaic, selecting-and-sorting mechanisms designed for the industrial age and out of step with the needs of our emerging "knowledge society."
Second, that educators were a major part of the problem: they resisted change, hunkered down in their feathered nests, protected by tenure and shielded by a bureaucratic monopoly. They needed to look to business. We knew how to produce quality. Zero defects! Continous improvement! In retrospect, the speech was perfectly balanced: equal parts ignorance and arrogance.
As soon as I had finished, a woman's hand shot up. She appeared to be polite and pleasant--but in fact, she was a razor-edged, veteran, high-school English teacher who had been waiting to unload.
She began quietly, "We are told, sir, that you manage a company that makes good ice cream." I smugly replied, "Best ice cream in America, ma'am."
"How nice," she replied. "Is it rich and smooth?"
"Sixteen per cent butter fat," I crowed.
"Premium ingredients?" she inquired.
"Super-premium! Nothing but triple-A." I was on a roll. I never saw the next line coining.
"Mr. Vollmer," she said, leaning forward with a wicked eyebrow raised to the sky, "when you are standing on your receiving dock and you see an inferior shipment of blueberries arrive, what do you do?"
In the silence of that room, I could hear the trap snap. I was dead meat, but I wasn't going to lie. "I send them back."
"That's right!" she barked, "and we can never send back our blueberries. We take them big, small, rich, poor, gifted, exceptional, abused, frightened, confident, homeless, rude and brilliant. We take them with ADHD, junior rheumatoid arthritis and English as their second language. We take them all! Every one! Mad that, Mr. Vollmer, is why it's not business. It's a school!"
In an explosion, all 290 teachers, principals, bus drivers, aides, custodians and secretaries jumped to their feet and yelled, "Yeah! Blueberries! Blueberries!"
And so began my long transformation. Since then, I have visited hundreds of schools. I have learned that a school is not a business. Schools are unable to control the quality of their raw material; they are dependent upon the vagaries of politics for they are a liable revenue stream and they are constantly mauled by a howling horde of disparate, competing customer groups that would send the best CEO screaming into the night.
None of this negates the need for change. We must change what, when and how we teach to give all children a maximum opportunity to thrive in post-industrial society. But educators cannot do this alone; these changes can occur only with the understanding, trust, permission and active support of the surrounding community.
The most important thing I have learned is that schools reflect the attitudes, beliefs and health of the communities they serve. Therefore, to improve public education means more than changing our schools; it means changing our society.
COPYRIGHT 2002 Catholic New Times, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group
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