"Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen”. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

It’s just a small, white envelope stuck among the branches of our Christmas tree. No name, no identification, no inscription. It has peeked through the branches of our tree for the past ten years or so.

It all began because my husband Mike hated Christmas - oh, not the true meaning of Christmas, but the commercial aspects of it - overspending... the frantic running around at the last minute to get a tie for Uncle Harry and the dusting powder for Grandma - the gifts given in desperation because you couldn’t think of anything else.

Knowing he felt this way, I decided one year to bypass the usual shirts, sweaters, ties and so forth. I reached for something special just for Mike. The inspiration came in an unusual way.

Our son Kevin, who was 12 that year, was wrestling at the junior level at the school he attended; and shortly before Christmas, there was a non-league match against a team sponsored by an inner-city church. These youngsters, dressed in sneakers so ragged that shoestrings seemed to be the only thing holding them together, presented a sharp contrast to our boys in their spiffy blue and gold uniforms and sparkling new wrestling shoes. As the match began, I was alarmed to see that the other team was wrestling without headgear, a kind of light helmet designed to protect a wrestler’s ears.

It was a luxury the ragtag team obviously could not afford. Well, we ended up walloping them. We took every weight class. And as each of their boys got up from the mat, he swaggered around in his tatters with false bravado, a kind of street pride that couldn’t acknowledge defeat.

Mike, seated beside me, shook his head sadly, “I wish just one of them could have won,” he said. “They have a lot of potential, but losing like this could take the heart right out of them.” Mike loved kids - all kids - and he knew them, having coached little league football, baseball and lacrosse. That’s when the idea for his present came. That afternoon, I went to a local sporting goods store and bought an assortment of wrestling headgear and shoes and sent them anonymously to the inner-city church. On Christmas Eve, I placed the envelope on the tree, the note inside telling Mike what I had done and that this was his gift from me. His smile was the brightest thing about Christmas that year and in succeeding years. For each Christmas, I followed the tradition - one year sending a group of mentally handicapped youngsters to a hockey game, another year a check to a pair of elderly brothers whose home had burned to the ground the week before Christmas, and on and on.

The envelope became the highlight of our Christmas. It was always the last thing opened on Christmas morning and our children, ignoring their new toys, would stand with wide-eyed anticipation as their dad lifted the envelope from the tree to reveal its contents.

As the children grew, the toys gave way to more practical presents, but the envelope never lost its allure. The story doesn’t end there.

You see, we lost Mike last year due to dreaded cancer. When Christmas rolled around, I was still so wrapped in grief that I barely got the tree up. But Christmas Eve found me placing an envelope on the tree, and in the morning, it was joined by three more.

Each of our children, unbeknownst to the others, had placed an envelope on the tree for their dad. The tradition has grown and someday will expand even further with our grandchildren standing to take down the envelope.

Mike’s spirit, like the Christmas spirit will always be with us.

Editor's Note: This story was originally published in the December 14, 1982 issue of Woman's Day magazine. It was the first place winner out of thousands of entries in the magazine's "My Most Moving Holiday Tradition" contest in which readers were asked to share their favorite holiday tradition and the story behind it. Learn how you can honor a loved one by giving something different this year by visiting www.WhiteEnvelopeProject.org

Just went to the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Office to deliver Prof Krishna's card. Many thanks to those who took the effort to come back to school for the card signing session :)

Guess what! it's XMAS! haha as if you guys do not already know.

Rainy Xmas eve added a tinge of melancholy to the festives.

and the RESULTS...
results were out yesterday. You know, the funny thing about getting a degree is not so much of a proof that you have mastered an essential set of knowledge which would stay with you for life. The truth (which we all know) is we're only going to remember, perhaps, 1% of the things we're taught. Nonetheless, university education, to me at least, is broadening my horizon (cliche 1) and engineering, in particular, is the training of the mind (cliche 2). I'm a cliched person.

On that note, we are inevitably faced with the stress of doing well and that seems to defeat the purpose of education. We are all so familiar with the complaints on the education system being too factory-like (and we're luncheon meats waiting to be packed into cans), too elitist, too pragmatic etc. Changes are visibly taking place in the education scene but yes there will still be concerns over when the education utopia can be achieved in Singapore.

PERHAPS, education is the responsibility of oneself. Whoever says one can only be educated within the premises of a school ought to be put to death by getting buried under textbooks. Anyway Just 4 Laughs :)

Finally got down to reading some news these days after an avalanche of Engin Club stuff to complete. I was browsing through the net and came across this.

http://enquirer.sg/2008/10/03/protest-on-campus-censorship-continues/

Yes, it's dated like 2 mths back and
yes that just shows how in tune I am with the current affairs.
Nonetheless, for the benefit of those as updated as me... here's the synopsis:

The NTU newsletter Chronicles reported on the "visit" (he wasn't really invited by anyone though) of Dr Chee Soon Juan to their campus some time in September. The university vetoed against publishing this report in the student newsletter and this pissed quite a few media students off. They, then, did some protest in Hong Lim Park and on campus. For more details, read this: http://enquirer.sg/category/news/

Anyway, I remain neutral on this event. But sometimes, I seriously doubt how people land themselves in jobs of management, when they give seemingly non-chalant and authoritative replies at the worst junctures, which only serves to make things worse. Managers are supposed to fix problems right?

“The Chronicle is a student newspaper but it does not have the right to demand what to publish. Ultimately the owner of the newspaper is the president of NTU.” assistant chair of SCI NTU, Associate Professor Lee Chun Wah following the banner protest in SCI.

Well. Did making that comment solve anything (especially when you've got a few aspiring fervent young reporters in the School of Communications already so pissed off)? Hmm.. yah you made them suck thumb and kept their mouths shut. Yup 100% success in getting them into the "since you pay den you decide lor" kind of attitude. That solves all problems isn't it? Happy ending! :)

You know, sometimes when you've got to speak to the senior people (especially when you're a student) you'd recived a few pissifying comments. Well, I personally have not met any of those mean university management before (engineering profs are all very nice). BUT if you ask a few of those NUSSU exco guys they maybe able to recount some.

No names mentioned. Let's call him the "bribery" guy.

Well apparently there was this prof, who replied to the suggestion of incorporating leadership position in the union and faculty club as part of the UEM credit, refered to it as "that's bribing our students to serve". Nice one there dude!

Engineering guys out there who took EG1413 would have noticed the severe personal insult/over sensation the word "bribery". Yah, and that probably solved the (his) problem!

Look didn't your MBA coach teach you about it? The rule is simple: spout a strong word to a student in an open dialogue and tada! You keep his mouth shut and you almighty manager solve the problem! Proud graduand of the MBA programme!

Perhaps it's that easy to be a manager :) I'll succeed!

And that was the end of another semester.

Freshmen should have gotten a taste of what Engineering smells like in their statics and mechanics/Electrical Engineering. The year 2 have experienced for the first time the full blown Engineering modules. While it was business as usual for the year 3s and FYPs for the final years. Whichever group you hail from, the result is the same - the usual NUS academic rigour. You know sometimes I really wonder why in the world I landed myself in the hair pulling experience of studying Engineering. It was heaven studying managerial econs this semester (as it had been always for business modules) which provided sanctuary against too much of Engineering. I must have shed more and more hair since I entered University. So much that even my dad asked if my hair growth was stunted from an overdosage of midnight oil. Of course, so much that I stopped posting for a while in awe of the exams looming ahead.

BUT! I still love Engineering. No, I am not saying this because I am supposed to say this on this pseudo-politically correct blog. BUT! put it a little chilidishly Engineering rox my sock! haha

It's the most challenging subject I've ever had in my entire life in school. Simple things are made even simpler because Engineering. They say that you need to experience hell before you know heaven. And really, Engineering has helped me in every bit of my understanding in Business. Somehow things don't seem so hard in Business compared to the hellish acad in Engineering.

Anyway, enough of those. You may have noticed the board and cabinets in E4 outside LT6 over the past weeks of mugging and yes they are meant for us~! The cabinets would display the proud achievements of our student athletes activities and the board would be a free expressions board for us to pen down any thoughts, well wishes and comments for the faculty. HOLD your MAGIC MAKERS. I have not put papers yet so plEASE dont any how colour the board hor!

Another thing... if any of you out there would like to post anything about the faculty or simply just some ranting, you can email it to me and I would copy and paste them onto the blog with no editing, unless of course, if the language is too overwhelming :).

can email me at weilei@enginclub.com

for now enjoy your hols peoplE!