masterwordsmith-unplugged

I confess. I was a rascal whilst in school and so were my peers! (My former students know this as I have played many pranks on them so it will not affect my reputation at all. *grins*) As some of you might have noticed, I have not been blogging as much this week because a childhood friend and her family (missionaries in Bolivia) were in town and my days and nights were spent eating, laughing and reminiscing about our 'wonderful' past.

Sim and I were classmates from Standard 1 to Form 3 and we remained in the same school right till sixth form whilst Michelle and I were classmates from Standard 5 till Upper Six. Sim and I were in the express class and skipped Standard 4 in school and joined Michelle's cohort in Std. 5. So much for history.

Looking back, I am sure many of us had our moments while in school, be it at kindergarten, primary, secondary or at tertiary level. As for me, I think I began fighting against discrimination when I was in Standard 5. So did Michelle.

The Librarian

Back then, we had this skinny librarian who worked full-time in the school library. I think I read practically every single book on the shelves with the exception of sci-fi books. Even though the library was my favorite haunt, there was one thorn in my flesh - the librarian of course!

She would put aside ALL the brand new books including the Nancy Drew & Hardy Boys series for the student librarians. I was outraged and protested on the basis that all were equal regardless of whether one was a student librarian or not. While she justified that the librarians were offering their services to the school and earned the privilege of reading new books first before it was released on the shelves, I argued that since it was a voluntary service, the fact remained that all were students with equal rights, equal opportunities and that one should have access to the books on a first come, first served basis! I was only 9 years old then. My loud protests were brushed aside.

Fuming within, I plotted to take revenge :-(. Very delinquent but then, I am only human!

My third aunt had just arrived from California and gave me a small vial of pepper. I took it to school, the next day with certain intentions. As usual, after school, I headed for the library and went straight to the counter. I asked for the latest books and again, was told that it was to be read by the librarians first! By then, I had poured the pepper onto a handkerchief and rolled it into a ball. Very patiently, I asked the librarian if I could get the books and the same monotonous 'NO" rang through the library.

Gingerly, I took out the handkerchief and threw it at her. The pepper flew into her face and she started sneezing and the others gasped with horror as the librarian began to scream in anger.

I was sent to the Principal's Office and defended myself as I gave my speech on discrimination and unfair treatment given to the others. I am grateful that the Principal then was very understanding, did not punish me but told me why it was wrong. I still remember telling her why what the librarian did was wrong and whether students could enjoy reading those new books at random! With much compassion and understanding, she said she would look into it..and I believe she did.

It was only last night that I discovered that Michelle stormed out of the library on another occasion for the same issue with the librarian and was also sent to the Principal's office. Thankfully, both of us were not punished but given good counselling, otherwise, we might have turned out differently.

The Teacher

It is amazing how one's core values can be formed even from a very young age. I still recall we all fumed when our form teacher used to scold and hit one of our classmates with a wooden ruler and called her "Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!" just because she was slow in maths. Then all of a sudden, she stopped coming to school one day. One of my friends called her home only to discover from her dad that she was suffering from a brain tumor. A few weeks later, she passed away when she did not respond to the treatment as the doctors were too late in diagnosing her condition.

I believe that I developed a very strong dislike for those who intimidate others, even at that young age. Amazingly, we talked about this situation last night when we enjoyed cakes and latte at Summer Garden Restaurant, Vale of Tempe.

In between the serious recollections, we were quite tickled at the recollection of the many silly tricks we played both on teachers and one another. Forty-two years - that is how long we have known each other. Our reunion was filled with many eating sessions as seen in the photos below:

American Capuccino

Carrot cheese cake, Chocolate malt

@ Summer Garden

Norwegian Salmon Salad@ Ingolfe Kneipe Restaurant

Salmon Roll @ Kocha Taiwanese Restaurant

Grilled chicken breast@ Ingolfe Kneipe

Sausages and saukraut @ Ingolfe

Kneipe

Undoubtedly, each one of us must have unforgettable experiences from our childhood or school days. To be honest, such memories created by a child's experiences are indeed powerful because they influence a child's memories that directly or indirectly affect the adult's life. If we think carefully, every day of our adult life is touched by the memories of our deepest childhood experiences.

The Boxer

Our greatest adult fears were probably created by childhood memories. Our greatest adult anxieties (mine would be taking exams!!!!) were produced by childhood memories (as my mom always stressed the need to excel).Our most negative adult views of ourselves are the product of childhood memories (I was called "Fatty" when I was in primary school and I grew up with very low self-esteem).

Once, when the class teacher was recording our weight, this girl ran to the weighing scale, looked at the reading and screamed my weight to the rest of the class. **** is a fatty, fatty bom bom and her weight is ***lbs. I just lost my cool and punched her on the nose and was sent to the Principal's Office again. The following year, I was not allowed to be a prefect even though my friends voted for me!

Yup. I did that. For so long, I had suffered the humiliation of being given names such as "Fiat 128" etc.

Ironically, last night, my friend's son asked us for the identity of the fattest girl in the class. Me of course. And he asked a very pertinent question - Were you deeply affected? Obviously!

Honestly, our most important adult goals have their roots and origins in childhood memories, even our adult drives as well. Our adult attitudes, adult perspectives, adult expectations, and adult view of life are all powerfully influenced by our childhood experiences and memories.

The purpose of this pose is not to wash dirty linen in public or to make a fool of myself or to destroy my reputation. I opened up a small little window to let you take a peek at my inner person because I know that somewhere out there, there could be someone who is like me...hurting in some ways and I hope that in a small way, I can help that person to come to terms and achieve closure on that issue or situation and to move on to a higher and greater plateau in life for more wonderful accomplishments.

If you are a parent who is reading this, make and build beautiful memories with your child, for him or her to be a better person and better parent one day.

Have a lovely evening!!!

Test yourself with these thinking exercises. The solutions are at the bottom of the page. Don't be lazy. Try hard to figure these out before you look! It'll be a lot more satisfying.

1. There is a man who lives on the top floor of a very tall building. Everyday he gets the elevator down to the ground floor to leave the building to go to work. Upon returning from work though, he can only travel half way up in the lift and has to walk the rest of the way unless it's raining! Why?
This is probably the best known and most celebrated of all lateral thinking puzzles. It is a true classic. Although there are many possible solutions which fit the initial conditions, only the canonical answer is truly satisfying.

2. A man and his son are in a car accident. The father dies on the scene, but the child is rushed to the hospital. When he arrives the surgeon says, "I can't operate on this boy, he is my son! " How can this be?

3. A man is wearing black. Black shoes, socks, trousers, coat, gloves and ski mask. He is walking down a back street with all the street lamps off. A black car is coming towards him with its light off but somehow manages to stop in time. How did the driver see the man?

4. One day Kerry celebrated her birthday. Two days later her older twin brother, Terry, celebrated his birthday. How?

5. Why is it better to have round manhole covers than square ones? This is logical rather than lateral, but it is a good puzzle that can be solved by lateral thinking techniques. It is supposedly used by a very well-known software company as an interview question for prospective employees.

6.. A man went to a party and drank some of the punch. He then left early. Everyone else at the party who drank the punch subsequently died of poisoning.. Why did the man not die?

7. A man died and went to Heaven. There were thousands of other people there. They were all naked and all looked as they did at the age of 21. He looked around to see if there was anyone he recognized. He saw a couple and he knew immediately that they were Adam and Eve. How did he know?

8. A woman had two sons who were born on the same hour of the same day of the same year. But they were not twins. How could this be so?

9. A man walks into a bar and asks the barman for a glass of water. The barman pulls out a gun and points it at the man. The man says 'Thank you' and walks out. This puzzle claims to be the best of the genre. It is simple in its statement, absolutely baffling and yet with a completely satisfying solution. Most people struggle very hard to solve this one yet they like the answer when they hear it or have the satisfaction of figuring it out.

10. A murderer is condemned to death. He has to choose between three rooms. The first is full of raging fires, the second is full of assassins with loaded guns, and the third is full of lions that haven't eaten in 3 years. Which room is safest for him?

11. A woman shoots her husband. Then she holds him under water for over 5 minutes. Finally, she hangs him. But 5 minutes later they both go out together and enjoy a wonderful dinner together. How can this be?

12. There are two plastic jugs filled with water. How could you put all of this water into a barrel, without using the jugs or any dividers, and still tell which water came from which jug?

13. What is black when you buy it, red when you use it, and gray when you throw it away?

14. Can you name three consecutive days without using the words Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, or Sunday? (or day names in any other language)

15. This is an unusual paragraph. I'm curious how quickly you can find out what is so unusual about it. It looks so plain you would think nothing was wrong with it. In fact, nothing is wrong with it! It is unusual though. Study it, and think about it, but you still may not find anything odd. But if you work at it a bit, you might find out.

The solutions are below. But first - be game enough to try hard to figure these out before you look! And leave a comment to share how many correct responses you scored if you like. :-) Thanks!




















'Solutions'
1. The man is very, very short and can only reach halfway up the elevator buttons. However, if it is raining then he will have his umbrella with him and can press the higher buttons with it.

2. The surgeon was his mother.

3. It was day time.

4. At the time she went into labor, the mother of the twins was traveling by boat. The older twin, Terry, was born first early on March 1st. The boat then crossed a time zone and Kerry, the younger twin, was born on February the 28th. Therefore, the younger twin celebrates her birthday two days before her older brother.

5. A square manhole cover can be turned and dropped down the diagonal of the manhole. A round manhole cannot be dropped down the manhole. So for safety and practicality, all manhole covers should be round.

6. The poison in the punch came from the ice cubes. When the man drank the punch, the ice was fully frozen. Gradually it melted, poisoning the punch.

7.. He recognized Adam and Eve as the only people without navels. Because they were not born of women, they had never had umbilical cords and therefore they never had navels. This one seems perfectly logical but it can sometimes spark fierce theological arguments. (Just what a HUMOR list needs!!) ;^)

8. They were two of a set of triplets (or quadruplets, etc.). This puzzle stumps many people. They try outlandish solutions involving test-tube babies or surrogate mothers.. Why does the brain search for complex solutions when there is a much simpler one available?

9. The man had hiccups. The barman recognized this from his speech and drew the gun in order to give him a shock. It worked and cured the hiccups--so the man no longer needed the water. The is a simple puzzle to state but a difficult one to solve. It is a perfect example of a seemingly irrational and incongruous situation having a simple and complete explanation. Amazingly this classic puzzle seems to work in different cultures and languages.

10. The third. Lions that haven't eaten in three years are dead.

11. The woman was a photographer. She shot a picture of her husband, developed it, and hung it up to dry.

12. Freeze them first. Take them out of the jugs and put the ice in the barrel. You will be able to tell which water came from which jug.

13. The answer is Charcoal.

14. Sure you can: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow!

15.. The letter "e," which is the most common letter in the English language, does not appear once in the long paragraph.



Have a nice day!

I think you are smart, don't surprise me.I am sending this only to my smart friends.
See if you can figure out what these words have in common:

1 Banana
2 Dresser
3 Grammar
4 Potato
5 Revive
6 Uneven
7 Assess

Are you peeking or have you already given up? Give it another try. Look at each word carefully. You'll kick yourself when you discover the answer. Scroll down for the Answer.










































Answer: No, it is not that they all have 2 sets of double letters.

Real Answer:



In all of the words listed, if you take the first letter, place it at the end of the word, and then spell the word backwards, it will be the same word.

Have a nice day!