The idea that grew and grew

As you would know by now, I have been working with a bunch of young kids to transform their school yard into a little green haven. With my limited resources, I could only bring seeds, stem cuttings and seedlings for them to grow every week.

They began to develop the joy of gardening and respect for nature. Some grew up deprived of parental love and never knew what it is like to care for others. In some ways, gardening helps bring out the nurturing side in them.

Working with these kids has been a rewarding experience. It has inspired me to work harder to make the garden a more productive one. The kids get so excited when they see results. They're eagerly anticipating a good harvest of sweetcorn which they might sell to raise funds. These aspiring entrepreneurs have sold mangoes and cookies in the school canteen.

Their energy is so infectious, it has inspired me to work towards my own dreams. I began toying with the idea of combining my love for gardening and animals to create something inspiring yet practical.

Once the idea was planted in my head, it just grew and grew. Finally, the time has come to roll out the first product - The "Grow a Little Love Everyday" 2011 poster calendar.

Promotional flier.

Featuring animals, flowers, leaves (28 types, each painstakingly illustrated by a very talented artist) and heart-shaped trees, the calendar showcases nature at its whimsical best. I hope the graphics will lift one’s spirit and feed the soul, inspiring one to give a little love every day.

The A2 size full colour poster is printed on the elegant 170gsm Antalis Sensation Tradition, bright white paper stock. The dates are laid out at the bottom so that it can easily be cut off if you want to keep the print hanging after the year is over.

I'm shamelessly promoting here hoping my readers will help spread the word around. As you know, the window for selling 2011 calendar is rather short, so any help is greatly appreciated.

It makes a great Christmas gift! 'Love grows by giving' is my new mantra.

The retail price is S$10 (USD7.50) per piece. Shipping cost within Singapore is S$3 for one piece (packed in a cardboard tube) or S$3.50 if you order two pieces. I am happy to ship all over the world but the postal rate varies according to the destination. Please feel free to drop me an email or comment if you have any queries.

My aspiration is to make this new venture a success. Please keep a lookout for more new products to come. With more money in my pocket, I will be able to grow more flowers in the school garden.

Run away

How many times have you allowed books to touch you and move you so much that you just want to run away and start a new beginning?

It has happened to me several times. I don't read fictions. I read about the life experiences of real people. By the time I finished reading Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes in 2005, I had already booked my flight to Tuscany. That summer, I spent the best days of my life wandering through the cobbled streets of Lucca, Florence, Bologna, Pisa, Venice, Trieste and Rome.

The same thing is happening to me again. Maybe I'm restless or my life is bordering on the edge of boredom but since I started reading EAT PRAY LOVE by Elizabeth Gilbert, I feel a deepening desire to take the next flight to Rome where she spent her days roaming freely after dealing with a difficult divorce.

I woke up at 3.30am last night to continue reading after I dozed off earlier in the night. I'm now at page 80 and she's still in Rome, learning the beautiful Italian language and enjoying the city. As the story goes, she'll later move to India where she'll live with her spiritual leader for 4 months, followed by Bali where she'll stay for another 4 months.

She's not living life aimlessly though. Before she left New York, she had signed a contract with her publisher where she would produce a book about her experiences in the 3 countries. How cool is that? Being paid to travel and in her case, taking time off to heal and fight the demons too. .
My mind was wandering through the streets of Rome as I stayed up reading. I felt compelled to take the day off and just continue the wonderful journey with her which wasn't always rosy of course. She went through extremely dark days of depression and nights sobbing her heart out in New York. The traveling helped her overcome the pain and misery and begin a new life.
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Her witty writing style makes the book such a joy to read. It takes me away to places I had been and new ones that I would like to see. I feel like I'm with her on the journey. Maybe someday, I'll make that one year journey...

Where is the Love?

Today, a mother wrote in to the papers expressing her disappointment...

Her 9-year-old son fell and broke two teeth while attending a course at a community centre. The course instructor did nothing. He didn't attend to the boy nor inform the parents. He told the boy to wash up in the toilet and continued his class.

She rushed her son to the dentist after class and was told by the receptionist to wait for his turn as "everyone is in pain and wants to see the dentist first". There was a long queue. When they saw the dentist two hours after the accident, they learnt that the chances of restoring the tooth would be higher if it had been soaked in saline solution or milk. Of course they didn't know that because the receptionist didn't bother.

I have seen the same scenario being played over and over again. This little girl at the neighbourhood clinic was having a bad case of asthma attack. Her face was extremely pale and her breath was laboured. She was having cold sweat and looked really sick. Her father was anxiously waiting for their turn. Ocassionally he would walk to the counter and ask the receptionist to expedite. There were lots of other patients waiting but no one volunteered to give up their turn for the kid.

I couldn't stand it any longer. I walked to the counter and told the receptionist the girl looked really sick. Finally, they brought her into another room for treatment.

In the same clinic, I have witnessed a middle-aged man with a 2-inch nail protruding from his thumb. He worked in the woodwork factory nearby and had gotten into an industrial accident. He wasn't given any emergency treatment either. He had to wait for his turn. Later, I asked the doctor about his condition and was told that the injury was too severe, he was asked to go to the hospital to seek treatment. Now was the waiting (in pain) even necessary?

Years ago, I almost severed my thumb while cutting cardboard in the office. I was in alot of pain and bleeding profusely. I rushed to the nearest clinic and asked the nurse if I could see the doctor immediately. There were 2 other patients before me. She said, "You have to wait. Or you can ask the other patients if you could go first". My thumb was by now wrapped in blood soaked tissues. One of them avoided me while the other said "No" and looked away.

I almost cried, not because of the pain, but by their lack of sympathy.

Where is the love, people?