BPES Class of 1970 Reunion on 8 Nov 2008

"Blood, Sweat & Tears"

Saturday, 8 November 2008 will always be etched in the memories of the 23 of us and the 4 ex-teachers (Mrs Kanda was a teacher too, in BPES) who showed up at the Staff Centre in the Singapore Polytechnic campus as it was the occasion of the Reunion of the Class of 1970 from our beloved primary school, BPES.

A small core group of us started trying to locate as many 'lost sheep' as we could after our June gathering in preparation for this event slated for November. It was mostly difficult at times, heartbreaking at worst but we did enjoy the occasional joy whenever we managed to track down some long lost pals. Over time, the ingenuity of the human spirit cannot be denied. Separately, small groups of us were meeting up, either on the golf courses or enjoying a carefree afternoon sipping tea or having a cuppa together and reconnecting again.

The organizing team met up a few times to plan the evening proceedings and went away with assigned duties. We wanted to keep the evening light hearted and to allow ample time for people to mix, mingle and catch up. The highlight of the evening was to be a slides show flashback with many photos from our chequered and humble past. Kim Chuan kindly volunteered to put the show together (after all, he's got the most complete dossier on all of us !)

The evening itself turned out to be exactly wonderful as we had hoped it would be - a nostalgic journey down memory lane, filled with many poignant moments shared collectively in laughter and fun as we put the faces to the names we had known some 38 years ago. It was truly memorable and magical, especially during the slides show and personal reflections when our memory cells were working overtime trying to recollect our experiences and memories from years gone by. All went well, except for a small minor hitch through no fault of ours. The room aircon decided to pack up earlier that evening, so we had to improvise with some induced cooling. While that accounted for some 'sweat' and discomfort, the whole atmosphere at the gathering was one of tears of joy to be able to link up with some very dear friends and teachers after so many years being out of touch. We then resolved to press on with our endeavour to track down more lost pals from the Class of 1970, BPES.

As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. So, what more when we have so many pictures of that evening. Sit back, reminisce and enjoy but don't forget to re-connect with each other......till we meet again....at Freddy's house in January 2009.

Bon

Thanks to Janet, who managed to capture most of us, here are the pictures of our reunion for your viewing pleasure.........

Mr Chow meeting Lee Kuen.....

Mr Chow and Vincent

Mr and Mrs Kanda, Vincent and Mr Chow

Bala, Kim Whatt and Kim Chuan

Bon Hian has a unique way of shaking hands with Roy and Venkatacharie is amused.

Kim Chuan looking very pleased when Gek Lee arrived . He was the one who found her.

Way Seng wants to play on the piano??

Gunasekaran introduces himself

Kim Chuan was describing Tan Ah Yong whom he saw but didn't dare approach.

Sien Chi sharing his interesting childhood days.

Mohd Ali 's turn

Tan Kim Whatt saying "kongsi, kongsi".

Venkatacharie

Tan Kok Phang

Lim Yan Huay

Chor Lee Kuen

Chor Lee Kuen

Waiting for the show to begin.

Catching up.....

Mr Kanda couldn't imagine himself carrying Seezer who is 92kg now...

Mr Chow is proud to be addressed as "Mr Chow" by his current School principal.

Mr chow wants to see more new faces at the next reunion.

Mr Murthi, looking as young as ever.

Tan Kim Whatt thanking the organising committee.

The group that made the evening possible

Ditto

Mr Kanda had to leave early to avoid the JB jam.

Hellos must always be followed by goodbyes. How sad !

Ricky Tan, the bowling expert.

Vincent's turn to contribute

Margaret, can you read their body language?

Sien Chi is demonstrating how he ate nasi byrani with his hand.....

.....a very long story.

Guna corrected him.

Were Kian Seng and Bon Hian arguing over some issues? Should ask Poh Gek, she appeared to be eavesdropping.

Janet, our photographer !

Sorry, no more photos, Janet's camera battery went flat and couldn't produce the 'goodbyes' bits.......Anyway, a great job done, Janet.

Till we meet again.........

BPES Class of 1970 Reunion on 8 Nov 2008

Bala's invitation to our reunion :

Dear All,

I am very pleased to officially announce that we are now ready for our BPES
Class of 1970 Reunion which we were anxiously looking
forward for the past 2 months.The details are as follows:-

Date : Saturday 8 November 2008
Time : 6:30pm to 10:00pm
Venue : Staff Centre ( Via Gate 3)
Singapore Polytechnic
500 Dover Road
Refer Map Attached


We have managed to contact 40 of our BPES friends and 4 teachers. We are
expecting at least 30 of our friends and 3 of our teachers
namely Mr Chow Chee Wing, Mr Kandasamy and Mr Murthi to turn-up for this
historical event. It is going to be a wonderful and fabulous
evening and I am very sure all us are looking forward to catch up with our
friends especially after the lapse of 38 years for many.

We have gathered many good collections of photographs that were taken
during our primary school years and we will be running thru them
during this evening. I believe this will be the main highlight of the day
and the subsequent discussions and participation by all of you during
this photo review will be a moment that will remain with us for a long long
time.

Now we would like to finalise the list of friends who will be joining us
for this "once in a life time event".
For those who have already responded thank you very much.
For those who have yet to do it please keep me and Ai Lay posted.

Hope to hear from all of you soon.
I am looking foreward to seeing all of you again.

Regards
Bala

On the reunion evening.......

Nothing can be happier than catching up with old friends
L to R : Janet, Lee Kuen, Joycelyn

Mrs Kanda and Sien Chi waiting for someone?

What's happening at the other table?

Kim Chuan's turn to make everyone laugh.

more photos to come in the next post........

Visit To Mr Kanda's House on 1 Nov 2008

1st November, a day that I had been looking forward to had finally arrived. Planned months before, this was the day that some of us BPES-ians Class of 70 had earmarked to visit Mr Kanda at his home in Johor Baru.

Leaving my house at 7.30am, under a sudden downpour, I had this feeling of boyish excitement and a tinge of apprehension. Excited, because I was going to see my ex classmates, my teachers Mr Chow and Mr Kanda, after 38 years, when we parted as PSLE graduates. Apprehension, because I really did not know what to expect or how to react.

I reached the meeting point, Kranji MRT Station, at 9am. Moving around the station, I soon realized that I was the first person there. It was only when a voice, I distinctly recognized from the past, called out my name did I realize that I was not the early bird. Mr Chow was there earlier than me and spotted me checking out the place. Yes, he sounds and does look like the same Pri 5 and 6 form teacher of mine, packaged with a bit more flesh around the tummy, white hair plus the wrinkles that father time has bestowed on him. I was happy to see him and felt special that he could still remember me after all those years. Soon the rest of the gang, Sien Chi, Bala, Janet, Kim Chuan and Way Seng arrived. Bon Hian had prearranged to meet us at Mr Kanda’s house in the late morning. It was a feeling of joy that I can’t ever recall having felt all my half a century of life. We set off in 2 cars driven by Bala and Sien Chi.

A slight jam at the Woodlands custom did not dampen our spirits. Soon enough we were outside Mr Kanda’s house, which looked grand situated among a few rundown, burgled, bare skeleton of houses. Mr Kanda with his big smile together with his wife and son gave us a hearty welcome. Yes, after all these years, I was so happy to see the one teacher who actually carried me home when I was twelve due to sprained ankle.

Mrs Kanda, proudly brought out the Deepavali Goodies and yes, they tasted as good as they looked. Sitting in the hall, we took turns to spill out our experiences, stories and recollections of those wonderful years that we had all experienced at BPES. Of course, the one who took centrestage occupying most of the talking was none other than Sien Chi. Hmmm, I can’t recall if he was like that back then. Mr Kanda also highlighted the lawlessness in his neighbourhood which has seen “self proclaimed owners” who turn up in broad daylight at houses left unoccupied over a period of time and strip the houses of anything that is of value such as iron gate, railings, doors, windows etc.

Mr Kanda and his son, proudly showed us the replica car models which were displayed in the many glass cabinets. His collectables numbering in the hundreds, were the end product of his passion for cars since his “young days’ at BPES. Like father like son, the saying goes as his son also followed in his footsteps in not only becoming a teacher but also in his hobby of collecting models of spaceships. Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, Star Wars, Babylon 5 and other figurines etc were carefully placed in an unused room securely padlocked. In my view, there is more treasure here than what the thieves made off looting from the unoccupied houses.

Bon Hian made it to the house eventually around 11.30am, after indulging in a game of golf in one of those golf courses in Johore. Bala introduced me to Bon as another of Kanda’s son. Looking perplexed but accepting the intro, Bon shook my hand. It was laughter all around when he was given the real scenario. So much to share and in so little time.

It was now time for lunch and Mr Kanda brought us to an Indian Restaurant. Mrs Kanda, Sien Chi and myself were the only ones to use hands to eat from the banana leaf lunch feast. After all the reminiscing of years gone by, it was a fitting end filling up our stomach with the sumptuous Indian food.

It was with handshakes and warm hugs that we parted. The genuine hospitality and warmth we had experienced was indeed an experience not to be forgotten. I am really glad that I had this wonderful opportunity to catch up with not only my schoolmates of old but also having had the occasion graced by the presence of the teachers.

- Seezer Paulose

P.S

As we were about to leave, we noticed that Kanda's car was sliding towards the deep drain in trying to move off, as he had parked on the slippery grass patch beside the road.

Without hesitation, the 4 of us, able-bodied young 50-year-olds (Sien Chi, Way Seng, Kim Chuan and yours truly) helped pushed his car onto the road surface and saw him drove off before making our own way home to Singapore.

- Bon

Eight of our friends visited Mr and Mrs Kanda on 1 November, during the Deepavali week....

Mr Kanda's son, Uresh was there too.

A sumptuous lunch at an Indian restaurant.

Mr Kanda's passion in sports cars.........

Uresh has his own passion.......

BPES Class of 1970 Reunion on 8 Nov 2008

Some old photos that were flashed on the screen but had not been posted to the blog before.......

Can You identify our friends and spot the differences in them, then ( 38 years ago ) and now, when you met them on Saturday.

L to R : Peck Cheng, Ah Gek, Er Bee Lang, Mr Kanda, Tan Kim Whatt and Peter Koh.

(hope I am right about the girls' names)

Standing L to R : Gek Lee, Sum Moi, Bee Lang, ? ? Lian Huay, ? Peck Cheng, Tiang Moi, Lee Kuen, Susan Doris, ? Yan Huay, Kim Huay, Siew Eng, ? Poh Choon, Ng Mui Hua.

Front row L to R : Ah Gek, Janet, Chai Yin, ? Pushpa, Krishna Veni, Margaret, ?


Standing L to R: Ng Mui Hua, ? Susan Doris, Gek Lee, Sum Moi, Lee Yong, Poh Choon, Lian Huay, Yan Huay, Lee Kuen, Kok Phang, Kim Huay, ? ? Siew Eng, Margaret

Front row L to R: ? Janet, Ah Gek, Chai Yin, Bee Lang, Peck Cheng, Margaret, ? ?


Please help to identify the names.



Be patient.......more photos taken on Saturday night will be coming up soon.

Stop Taking Things For Granted

A man planned to move house for the third time in as
many years. He lived in a lovely beach house with
a magnificent view of the ocean. A labyrinth of
hiking trails strewn with wild irises and poppies
were at his front door. When asked why he might
leave such a beautiful setting. 

“Oh, I’m tired of it,” he responded indifferently.
“It was great when I first moved in, but now
it’s just the same old thing. I can’t see it anymore.”
“I can’t see it anymore.” How accurate the statement.
He failed to notice the ocean.
He walked by the flowers without so much as a glance.
He thought of his home as merely a place to
lay down his head.

Living in paradise, he might just as well have
resided at the city dump.
Nine people out of ten would have jumped at the
opportunity to rent this man’s house, yet he did
not appreciate its virtues. 




Human beings have a curious capacity to take
things for granted.
The most exquisite diamond loses its luster
with familiarity.
The most compatible intimate becomes boring.
Miracles like the daily sunrise fail to astonish
because they’re commonplace!
Repetition and time dull our sense of wonder.

We endow novelty with powers and attributes
that it does not really possess.
When a thing becomes familiar to us, the mystery
we have projected onto it is lost.
We see it without the overlay of our imaginings.



The irony in this idiosyncrasy of
human character is that we are disappointed
by the very things that used to excite us.
The once new job,  or leisure activity
is now tedious.
We feel let down rather than uplifted.
Disappointment is a consequence
of our expectation that an object or event
will continue to provide us with stimulation
regardless of how constant our contact.
Unless we adjust our expectations
accordingly, we will continue to feel deflated.

Anticipate boredom! But is this really a
serious solution?
Another alternative is to maintain a fresh
perspective on the commonplace by living life
with contrast.
If the man had spent time away from his ocean home,
he would have returned to it with “new” eyes.
He would have seen it again as he did the first time.

Improving Your Memory

"I remember the face but I've forgotten your name. "

Tips and techniques to help you remember.....

....you know, that thing..I forgot.

Having problems forgetting appointments, to-do errands, feeding your children and pets, picking up after yourself, getting out of bed... not to mention forgetting birthdays, and even anniversaries ?

If you are like many people, you will often find yourself forgetting something. In an age of computers, PDA's and many other devices - this may be ok for some folks, unless you forget where you put those devices. Others may want to increase their ability to memorize things - luckily there are a few creative ways you can improve your long and short term memory.

Use your senses & be aware

Practise creating vivid images/concepts in your head - using all your senses. Analyze your surroundings by sound, sight, smell, taste, and touch. Being aware all of your senses will give your mind more ways to associate ( and thus remember ) when it is time to recall something.

This is like form of meditation - which is good for your brain in a variety of ways. (see the article : Interesting Ways to Improve Your Brain)

Practise this tip of simply being more aware of your surroundings everyday and you will find your general memory greatly improved.

Humor & Vulgarity

If you need to memorize something specific try using humor or vulgarity as a memory aid. Make a nasty or funny limerick about something that needs to be remembered and you'll have a hard time forgetting. ( Great tips for students )

Don't worry, be Mindful

There has been alot said about the power of positive thinking. Recently, a huge bandwagon of new-age positive thought = positive outcome theories have been on tips of everyone's tongue from Oprah to your local convenience store clerk. Just do a Google search for "Law of Attraction" or "The Secret" if you aren't in the loop.

Negative thoughts fog our minds, but clearing out the negative and focussing on the positive also improves memory and concentration.

Stress is a big brain buster, so minimise stress and negative thoughts to keep your wits.

Apt Quote :"What to do if you find yourself stuck in a crack in the ground underneath a giant boulder you can't move, with no hope of rescue. Consider how lucky you are that life has been good to you so far. Alternatively, if life hasn't been good to you so far, which given your current circumstances seems more likely, consider how lucky you are that it won't be troubling you much longer. "

See the Future

Have trouble remembering to-dos, appointments, meetings, deadlines, birthdays and other future events?

Here is the secret : When you know you have an upcoming event you don't want to forget, picture yourself at the event. What are you doing, who is there, what does it smell like? Imagine the event...even better: imagine yourself taking the steps that lead to the event.

For example...let's say tomorrow you have to call the someone. Picture yourself in your home/office, picture yourself picking up the phone, imagine dialing the number and talking to the person of the other end.

Associate

Association is among one of the easiest and most used tools in learning. This is the process of taking the information you wish to memorise, linking it mentally to something else that is natural to you. When learning something new, try to associate the new concept with one to which you are already familiar.

Couple association with being aware using all your senses and you will have a higher rate of successful recall.

Chunking Information

Chunking information is a great mnemonic method to remember multiple items. Many people naturally use chunking to remember phone numbers : Instead of thinking "17342876642" we chunk it as 1-734-387-6642.

The concept of chunking comes from a famous 1956 paper by George A. Miller: The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two: Some Limits on our Capacity for Processing Information.

Write it Down

We generally think of "writing things down" as a means to NOT have to remember something. The paper does the work for us.. we just need to remember where we put that piece of paper...

But, writing things down has another effect : you clear your mind and take away the stress of "having to remember", and by doing so you actually have more room in your brain for remembering stuff. I know that explanation wasn't scientific, but it works.

To-do lists are championed by business gurus and soccer moms alike. Try writing everything down for a week or two and see how much this improves your memory & focus. A great digital tool for "writing things down" is provided by a website called Nozebe.com -- It is recommended for clearing your head and also organising your thoughts.