Lethian Reminiscence

Sri Lethia... where it all began.

For many of you who are wondering why I am 18 years old but still in Form Five, now I tell you why. I studied in a Chinese school till I was in Standard 3 and after that I transferred myself to Sri Lethia because I hated learning mandarin. And Sri Lethia DEMOTED me from Standard 3 to Standard 2. So I actually studied in Standard 2 twice. That is why I am 18 now but still in Form 5. I think Lethia wanted money that’s why they did that. Oh well I don’t mind. Everything happens for a reason.

If I did not go to Lethia I may not be here today you know? www.zlwin.blogspot.com will not be in existence at all. It was because I went to Lethia and had a driver to send me to school. She happened to fetch other students as well and one student happened to have tuition taken under this lady by the name Miss Joanne. So I went for that tuition as well and guess what?

EVERYTHING STARTED THERE.

Miss Joanne was (and still is) a Christian and she invited us to church. My friend didn’t want to go but I didn’t mind going so I went one day. And after awhile Miss Joanne got to know my mother and invited her too. My mother attended church when she was young but after she got married she stopped. So finally my mother and I attend church every Sundays and thank God my dad did not object.

And bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla....
(I will share this part of my life to you guys next time ok? It’s too long haha.)

So here I am finally!

I still remember those days when I was that little devil by the nickname Zero Cool in Lethia. I was seriously a “pain in the ass” (that’s what Shannon compared me to haha) I can’t remember how many times I entered the headmaster’s office and how many times my parents had to come to school to hear complains from my teachers. All the teachers hated me terribly.

Once I threw a brick into the school’s toilet bowl and broke it. I told my friends who saw it not to tell anyone. The next day I got called into the principal’s office. I knew it! One of my friends reported me! And the next day I found out who he was and in the morning I went to his classroom and beat him up. He dare not report that though.*chuckles.

And I used to do all kinds of bad stuff a normal 12 years old and below boy will do. I don’t smoke and take drugs ok haha. That’s too much. I stole my friend’s Pokemon cards and a lot of other stuff. Once a guy stole my whole collection of expensive Pokemon cards worth RM1457 (yes is still remember the number cause I was crying to Dax whole day long) and I did my own CSI investigation and found out who that guy was and I whacked him terribly the next day. =) after that he left Lethia and till now he is no where to be found.

Announcement:
Hey! If YOU are reading this, I want to tell you that I have forgiven you ok. You can come out from hiding now and let’s shake hands and be friends again ya. Sorry for beating you up though. Take care =)

Back to the story.
Too many bad and unworthy deeds for me to share here today. I shall keep it for now.
I left Lethia after I finished my UPSR and went to Dato Hamzah.

To my buddies who had been with me all those years – I miss you all.

My close friends and my partners in crime:
Lee Tung Lik
Boon Kai See
Dax Nah Khai Jian
Ang Liang Chuan
Chang Yi-Hsiang

Liang Chuan, we haven’t seen you ever since you left Lethia, if you so happen to read this post please contact me ok?

TO ALL MY SRI LETHIAN FRIENDS:

I left Lethia in November 2002 with bad impressions in all of you. I know I was an ass and I apologize for everything I have done. I apologize for spitting saliva into your drinking bottles. I apologize for stealing your textbooks and throwing them into the big longkang near my house. I apologize for everything. Teachers, sorry for cutting your tablecloths.

I was a bad influence last time and I hope you will forgive me. I am now a changed person because I met my lifesaver Jesus Christ. I now leave you guys once again but this time I hope I left with good memories and lasting footprints in your hearts.

All the best in your coming SPM examinations.
Do your best ok. But know that in life there is one very important thing:

Leave good footprints – this is what people will remember you by when time has brought us apart as we continue on different paths.

and...

Life is only worth living if it is lived for others.

Tunk Lik, Kai See and Dax Nah, you will never be forgotten. Time will and certainly will bring us to different places in coming days but I wish you all the best in life. Use it wisely for we have only one life to live.

God bless all.

Till we meet again.
____________________________________

The following pictures we taken on Wednesday. I must tell you that ALL the pictures have been reduced in size and quality. It is because it’s easier to upload them in my blog. If you want the original size pictures please tell me and I will burn them into a CD for you. And by the way, I am giving photography service as a part-time job to earn a little income. Inform me if I could be of any help ya.
All pictures taken using my faithful Canon Power Shot S3 IS and Canon Power Shot A620.

My crime-mates. From the left:
Lee Tung Lik, Chang Yi-Hsiang, Boon Kai See, me and Dax Nah Khai Jian.
Will miss you guys!!!




And yea I thought of starting a modeling agency. These are my models.
From the left: Jolene Tan, Shannon Keng, Sheng Giap, Suba, Yun Ling, Yvonne and May Zhee.

Time present and time past
are both perhaps present in time future.
And time future contained in time past.

Hard to swallow?

Probably.

Read on, you will understand if you concentrate hard enough.

Last Tuesday night was my last night of Additional Mathematics tuition class. It will probably be my last Add Maths class ever in my life because I know my future will have nothing to do with that haha. Basic maths is good enough for me. Earlier this year I was just fretting over the numerous Add Maths class that I will be attending throughout the year, I dread that subject yet I have to study for study’s sake. And time flies, I have now finished my Add Maths tuition *claps!

Earlier in the year I had a hard time counting down the number of days to SPM but now it is just about 172, 800 seconds away! For those who realized this they must be rather busy dating their books and trying hard to swallow every information. Time is short.

How you spend your time now will decide your every tomorrows.

After my SPM I will be going to college and moving on to my next phase in life. I will have to be more independent and responsible for the decisions I make. Each step determines my next step. Like a game of chess, one wrong move will prove fatal.

The days are coming to an end soon. Not much time left, Jesus tells his disciples, “As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming when no one can work.” (John 9:4)

What then are you doing with your time?

Nothing is ours, but time.

Are you spending too much time playing computer games? Blogging? Football? Shopping? Doing everything under the sun except what is of significance and value?

Warns the famous 16th century quote:
Time and tide wait for no man.

Time present and time past
are both perhaps present in time future.
And time future contained in time past.

Use every tick of the clock wisely,
Zlwin Chew

Monday is SPM, Pray for all the Form Fivers. Thank you =)

SPM COUNTDOWN!!!

Relax la...

Chill ya know...

It will come and go like the lightning.

6 MORE DAYS TO SPM!!!

The countdown begins! All Form Five students are busy preparing for their biggest exam this year. Appointments are being cancelled, movie dates are postponed, outings are being cancelled, and shopping spree has to be cancelled. No more talking on the phone for an hour, no more playing computer games, no more MSN-ing, no more 24/7 SMS-ing with friends, and no more CSI and Desperate Housewives.

NO MORE BLOGGING!!!

Fortunately and unfortunately I (Pinko) will still be blogging =)

As the SPM examinations draw nearer and nearer, everyone is busy preparing and getting ready. Busy doing a lot of revision and reading and memorizing. Workbooks after workbooks are being flipped and flipped over and over again. Many (including me) are burning the midnight oil with the help of Nescafe 3 in 1, I am no fan of coffee but it helps me to stay awake.

Everyone is preparing to face their big day...

Isn’t it good and helpful to know when the exams are? You are given a dateline for an assignment and you can then arrange your time to play and work so that your assignment will be done in time.

What if I give you an important assignment to do but I did not tell you the date you have to pass it up, all I said was just, “I will come and collect any time.” What would you do?

Wouldn’t you get started on your assignment and try to finish it as soon as possible because I might collect it the very next day? Or would you leave it undone and go catch a movie or two with your buddies?

How important is it to you?

If a task is given to you which you find not very important or beneficial, would you work hard to complete it? Most probably you won’t. So again, how important is it to you?

Jesus gave a parable in Luke 12:35-48. He talks of servants who are waiting for their master to come home from a wedding feast. The master will be happy and delighted with those servants who are still awake when he returns home, be it midnight or long after midnight when everyone are asleep.
Another parable was about thief. If the owner of a house knew hat time the thief would come he would certainly be awake and be ready to prevent the thief from breaking in. It is the same with Jesus; we do not know when Jesus would come back. Therefore, we must always be watchful.

The task is at hand. The mandate has already been given. Now it is up to you. Will Jesus come one day and find you working hard or will he find you enjoying yourselves, eating, drinking and being merry?

How important is it to you?

If the SPM examinations are very important to you, you will certainly work hard so that you will do well. If the task that is given to you by the Almighty God is important, will you do the same?

How important is it to you?

A mandate given by God should be the top priority in your life. If you do not see the importance of it, you will go on doing what you have been doing for many years and whatever you have been doing goes away in VAIN.

The countdown begins. We do not know the time or day Jesus will come back or we taken up to heaven. Work while it is still day.

How important is it to you?

If you don’t see the importance, you don’t see the need.
If you don’t see the need, you don’t see the reason of the mandate.
If you don’t see the reason of the mandate, you don’t see the world perishing.

The Mandate; The Great Commission:

Matthew 28:19-20
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

How important is it to you?

Does it matter anyway?

Graduation Day

Graduation Day

5 years have flown by since I first stepped foot into SMK Dato’ Hamzah. I came in an unlearned, inexperienced, unappreciative student and now I step out a well-learned, well-equipped and thankful student. I have seen many things these 5 years in school. I have been into hot soup and out of it many times. I have hated teachers, scolded them, stood up for my rights (and wrongs) and cried in front of one teacher while talking to her about my troubles. There were times I hated school and there were times I love school and now there will come a time where I will miss school.

After all, we all have to move on. Time waits for no man (and woman). Yesterday was my school’s Graduation Day celebration for all the Form 5 and 6 students. Everyone was busy flashing away... with their cameras I mean. Pictures of each other is the only thing they will own once all else fades away. When the friendship ends and communications stop, the pictures will be memories. I believe in the magic of pictures, it has the powerful ability to stop time amidst the ever-moving hand of the clock.

I will miss all my 5 Science 1 classmates. I will miss the wonderful time we had together laughing and singing in class and constantly irritating each other as well as the teachers. I will miss all our crazy antics and stupid behaviors. I will miss all those times when I went to school and slept the whole day in class. I will miss you all dearly. Nonetheless I am glad schooling days are over and I get to move on in life.

Wanna Dice Your Life? Throw'em.

A die (singular. Dice: plural) is a very unique object. It has six faces with black dots numbering from 1 to 6. It is used in almost every kind of board games and gambling games. A small cube but yet no one has control over it.

Picture the classic game of Snake and Ladders in your mind right now.

In a board game of Snake and Ladders each player can only move his piece with the dice. A player picks up two dice in his hand and shakes it, says a little “prayer” and throws them on the floor. Whatever happens next is controlled by the faces of the dice. If it shows 2+4 then your piece moves 6 steps forward. If you are fortunate you might land on a box with a ladder going upwards and so your piece jumps a few boxes upwards. If you are not fortunate enough your piece might land on a box with a ladder telling you to descend.

Nothing is certain.

The winner of the game is not determined by how the player plays the game or how he throws the dice. It is not even determined by the strategies he uses to play the game. In a game of Snake and Ladders there is NO STRATEGY at all. You are not in control of the game, neither is your friend.

The dice is in control, not you.

In our daily lives are we playing Snake and Ladders? Do we hold the dice in our hand and throw them, and after that, it’s que sara sara, whatever will be will be?

The funny thing about the Snake and Ladders board game is that I used to think that I was in control of the game. When I was young I like to play it with my friends and cousins. I thought that since I was the one who throws the dice and moves the piece I am in control. Only now I realize that the dice is, not me.

Who is in control of your life?

In the Snake and Ladder game nothing is certain. In life, nothing is certain either. You do not know what tomorrow brings. You do not know what will happen if you do this or that. You can only guess. You do not know where you will be in 10 years time. You do not know what the consequences of your everyday actions may be, you can only guess smartly.

If you play with the dice, nothing is certain except uncertainty.

Where then is God in your life? Where then is God in your everyday’s decisions? Where then is God in your plans? Where then is God?

Or do you dice all the time? You dice your decision making. You dice your future plans? Are you dicing your life?

Play with the dice long enough and you might just find yourself playing Snake and Ladders with the Serpent one day.

Got dice? God or dice?
Zlwin Chew