Papa and his taxi

Yesterday night, the postman to our flat and my sister signed for a letter designated to my father. It was a letter from his taxi company. Apparently, my father's taxi agreement with the company was to be ceased. He have to return his taxi 2 weeks later. There were no reasons stated for the cessation of the taxi agreement which left all of us puzzled. My dad seemed to take it quite well and he still joked that he can retire now. However, deep down in my heart, I worried for him.
I can still remember when I was 8 years old, my father came home one day and said he lost his job. But later, he found a new job as a taxi driver. I still remember I was crying when I knew about it. Since I was young and naive, I thought becoming a taxi driver meant that he would have to leave us. However, he still came home every night though sometimes he had to work late.
My dad is a hardworking man. He gets up at 7am without fail, rain or shine, every single day till night falls. He works even though it's Chinese New Year. He literally knows every single road in Singapore. I call him the 'road directory'. He has seen through his first taxi to the fourth one this year. I still remember me and my sister would pose with his taxi to take photographs. His recent taxi, a Hyundai Sonata was his pride. He would often tell me his ride is so comfortable and luxurious now. He maintains it well and keeps it clean all the time. The taxi was also a necessity. As my sister was often sick, he would ferry my sister to the hospital in his taxi. Sometimes, he would also wait for me at my workplace to bring me home after his work. Being a taxi driver was his livelihood. He has been one for almost 16 years of his life.
Recieving one such letter could crush any spirit. He was the sole breadwinner and recieving such a letter meant how he could feed his family, how he could pay for my sister's medical bills, and thinking what other kinds of jobs he could work without any qualifications. I don't know what went through my father's mind last night and it hurts my heart.
I wrote this so that I would not forget how I am feeling this instance. I want to remember not to take my father for granted. I want to remember what I have today, besides knowing God is my ultimate Provider, that my father worked hard for his family with his humble taxi. When my father is old and fragile, I will not throw him away. When he no longer can work with his hands and feet, I will be his.

Holiday

Realise that my blog is going to extinct soon. My last entry was 23 March and it's almost gonna be two months. Anyway right now, my contact time in school is a meagre 5 hours instead of 8 hours previously. One semester is coming to an end soon. Exams are just around the corner. Autumn is here and I'm starting to dread winter. Yes, I'm not a fan of cold.
I had my sister here in Perth for 5 days and it was great to have a piece of home with me. I brought her around Perth and it was great fun. The highlight of our little holiday is to this suburb called Rockingham. We took a ferry to the sea to see wild dolphins. They were really mild and playful creatures. Every time I go out into the sea, I will always marvel at God's creation. There must be a diverse and spectacular ecosystem underneath the waters.

Another creature that I find exceptionally adorable is the kangaroo! My Australian housemate was telling me that kangaroos are pests. They have to kill and eat them because they are feeding on too much leaves! When I saw and touched the kangaroos at Caversham Wildlife Park, I have concluded that 'Thou shalt not eat kangaroo meat".

With 2 bus cards, bag packs and some enthusiasm, we travelled to quite a number of places in Western Australia and hummed 'By The Boab Tree' wherever we go. Australia is indeed a beautiful place with flora and fauna to flaunt!

It's even more beautiful when you can share the wonder and beauty of this extraordinary land with someone you love.

I survived the Great Storm of Perth

It all started on a Monday evening. I did my laundry at noon and had left my clothes to dry on the laundry lines. I had this lecture at 4pm and before I head for class, I thought the sky appeared slightly overcast. I thought to myself that since I'll be back in an hour, it might not rain yet. Even if there was rain, it would just be a drizzle. Little did I know we were hit by one of the worst storm in Perth.

Walking back home from school, drenched in heavy rain was indeed miserable. I feared of getting struck by lightning. With all my clothes still out in the open, I went to collect and had them washed again. I should have collected them before I went for class but no use crying over spilled milk now.

After all the drama on my side, I watched the news and some parts of Perth were hit by the hailstorm. Some had to be evacuated from their homes while others had to clear water that had been flushed into their houses. Cities were blacked out too.

Perth wakes up to a $100m restoration cost today! However, I thank God for the sun and glad that people wasn't hurt from this storm. I pray those people stranded in the convention centre for the night can return to their homes today. As for the damages caused by the hailstorm, it may take a while to be restored back to normal.

The rainbow after the storm

Freoooo

Been rather lazy to blog. So I'm going to show some photos taken from the past week.

Baked my first ever brownies. YUM but I'll stick to one piece at a time.

Went to this suburb called Fremantle aka Freo. They have this place called Cicerella which serves delicious fish and chips. After lunch it's walking around the market and being entertained by buskers.

Week 1

I've survived Week 1 in school! I don't know why lessons here are not packed like sardines as compared to Singapore. When I was in NYP, there were lectures and tutorials one after another from 8am to 5pm. And I literally had classes everyday then.
Here in uni, I've got 8hrs of tuition distributed in 3 school days per week. I had one unit exempted because of my diploma. That explains why my tuition hours are so little but still?! With alot of spare time on hand, I try to use it meaningfully.
I think I'm more mature now than I was in poly. I used to sleep alot in class and do alot of last minute preparations for exams which in case you were wondering, they were futile. My 'hard' work didn't pay off because I wasn't serious about revising nor getting good grades.
For my first week in uni, I realised I'm actually keen to study. I listened intently (really) during classes. I did my pre reading and tutorial work before class and when i got home, I would spend some time revising and applying what I've learned to my previous nursing experiences.
Somehow, the teaching method here in Aussie differs from Singapore. The lecturer engages her audience with alot of questions. The Caucasians are the ones raising their hands and giving answers and asking questions, never Asians. However, you would see us scurrying to the lecturer after class, bombarding her with tons of questions that we should have ask but were too shy to ask during class. I guess it's the culture we were bred in.
I think it requires a lot of discipline and hard work to survive in a tertiary school setting. If I'm going to be sluggish and complacent in my school work, I'm quite sure I will not do well.
This week, I'm thankful for being back to school. It seems so surreal to be here. Nonetheless, I'm enjoying my classes and am still getting used to my lecturers' Aussie accents.
And I pray that I will not waste the time here, but make it a most meaningful and fruitful learning experience.
Till then, take care mate!

More to life

I'm still getting used to the life here in Perth. The pace here is generally slower. People do not rush on the road nor at work, neither do they walk as fast as me. Here in Australia, you just have to be patient and

The sun is scorching but it's less humid than Singapore. You don't really perspire but the heat is just as bad enough.
What I really like about Perth is that people here are very friendly. A stranger will just smile or greet you when you pass them by. Priority seats on the trains are always occupied by the elderly, preggys or handicapped people, never abled ones.
I love the sceneries too. It's breathtaking to gaze upon a starlit night, something you can never see in Singapore. I love the beaches too and today, my church friends Andrew and Linda brought me and Maj to Cottesloe beach.



There were alot of people swimming and basking in the summer rays. Well basically, they were enjoying life. It's quite strange to see such a big crowd on a Thursday. Makes me wonder don't Aussies have to work at all?
On the way back home, I saw alot of quaint cottages and nice houses. It's quite a common sight here. I was daydreaming how nice it would be to have afternoon tea with muffins at the front porch and enjoy life slowly that way.
In the car, we were talking about how people climb the career ladder to have that lucrative income. The higher you're on top of the career ladder, the more difficult it is to say it's enough.
Andrew commented, "there's more to life." I pondered on this sentence for quite a while.

Indeed, there's more to life than the houses we live in, the cars we drive, the amount of money we make, the warm fuzzy feeling of sitting at a nice quaint cottage sipping tea and enjoying this life. Although it's not wrong to enjoy what God has given us but if things on earth become our idol, it is not what God intend.
I'm reminded of the first question in the Westminister Catechism. It asks "what it the chief end of man?" and the answer, "man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever."
I'm thankful I learnt a little lesson from an outing to the beach today.

Yea, there's more to life. Oh Lord, help me be homesick for heaven.

Quietness

I can watch this all day. Love the tranquility.

A time for everything

I didn't fall immediately to sleep yesterday night even though I was really tired and my eyes were heavy. I thought about my colleagues, my patients and my two and a half years in the paediatric ICU. I've learnt so much there. There were the valuable nursing skills to the medical knowledge. But one thing I've gained the most is to know that life is precious and at the same time, precarious. I've learnt to appreciate the people I love even more. I'd seen countless children afflicted with pain and suffering. Some passed on while some lived on to tell the story. I often marvelled at their tenancity and courage toward life. It makes me want to "run the race and fight the good fight."
It was sad to leave this place and the people whom I had laughed, cried and worked with. There were some children whom I've haven't seen them got well. There were some people whom I have not asked for their forgiveness. There were also some people whom I have not told them that they have a special place in my heart. But there's a time for everthing and and a time for every matter under heaven. There's a time to search and give up, a time to keep and throw away. I may never be back here again but all the memories and lessons I'll always bring them with me wherever I go.
While clearing my locker after work, I peeled down this little card I pasted way back on my first day of work.



This will be my prayer still for as long as I'm a nurse.