Attention span and discipline

Jon was taken to task by his chief swimming coach last night.  As usual, he wasn't paying any attention and was looking everywhere except directly at the coach when the chief coach was talking to him about correcting his strokes to gain more power and speed.

Spoke to the coach later and found out that they had an similar problem with another boy much earlier.  Asked how they managed to overcome the problem and was told that every time the trainee doesn't pay attention, he/she is 'punished' by having to do more than the others i.e instead of the usual 100 warm-up push-ups, they are asked to do say 200 to 500 push-ups.  This is meted out if normal counseling fails.  The coaches usually explain to the trainees why they need to do what they are told ad that is sufficient for the trainees to accept.

I wonder if all Dyslexics are like this. Is ADD/ADHD part and parcel of a dyslexic?  Does Dyslexia causes ADD/ADHD to manifest in the person?  In Jon's case, my observations during his Kindy days that his alleged ADD/ADHD was caused by his poor eye-sight.  Since he couldn't see the board (Black or white), why should he pay attention to what's being written and shown there?  The teachers compounded his attention issue by moving him to the back of the class where all the toys were. 

Being in his shoes, what would you do when faced with this choice: a blurry white/black board that you cannot see and brightly colored toys that you can see?

We then got him corrective glasses.  Now his dyslexia manifests itself.  I've been wondering since whether his dyslexia was caused by the poor vision compounded by our "greenhorn" parenting or he really has dyslexia.  Now Jay is exhibiting signs of the same in his school work but yet he speaks much better than Jon, reads better and seem to understand maths better too.

As if I don't have enough on my mind lately what with the prospects of moving into a new, more demanding job happening next week!  Why can't technical jobs be paid just as high as sales?  I'd like to see a company try to sustain its' business by just having sales people and no back-office personnel for support! Let's see how long they'll last!

Well, crunch time for Jon this weekend.  He's in for 100m breaststroke and freestyle on Saturday followed by 50m breaststroke and freestyle on Sunday.  I'm not going to push him for the top 3 places, I'll just push him to do his best and meet or break his training timings.

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Spurring a Dyslexic onwards and upwards

We've been on the receiving end of Jon's grumblings and complains about wanting to stop his swimming training recently.   He was selected to take part in a swimming meet coming up in the first week of July so his coach has been pushing him hard to better his timing.  All these while they've only been correcting his strokes and kicks and not pushing for fast times. 

We've also gotten him a pair of brand new training flippers which is leaving a blister on his left ankle.  Somehow, all the brand new plasters that we bought doesn't stay on beyond the first plunge!  I'm contemplating getting him an ankle brace but I'm afraid that it would hinder his kicking or worse make him get used to a stiffer ankle movement and slow him down during the meet.

He's also not showing any interest in practicing his piano nor animation skills even after going for courses.  We are at our wits' end trying to spark some interest in him for other things besides playing online games.  He can sit in front of the PC playing this online game for hours on end but doesn't want to spend more than 10 minutes practicing his piano.

He plays his PSP till the battery dies, same goes for his gameboy too.  Jay, on the other hand, can put these electronic toys aside when he gets tired or bored with the games. 

I was told that Sam (Soon) needed absolute quiet so that she can read and remember while normally she'd be the one creating the noise in the house.  I wonder if all dyslexics are like this.   I have yet to see Jon read a book without pictures though I have reminded him many times before to start reading.

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Showdown 2010

Took the kids out last night to our first live Dance competition at KL Live Center, Jalan Sultan Ismail.  It was organized by 8TV and was telecast Live too.  

Entry Tickets were courtesy of Sam Soon (thanks, Sam for the free tickets.  The advantage of being home-schooled....you get to stay up late n win free stuff off the TV!).

We (Sam's parents and us) were probably the oldest audience there besides the producers and security.

The dance was Hip-hop and Break-dance (modern dancing) and there were 7 group vying for the title.  It's still in elimination rounds so no winner yet. 

We left the house at about half past 7, drove to Jalan Sultan Ismail, joined the queue there and promptly missed the entrance to the center!  Then I had to drive all the way down Sultan Ismail to go round the back along Jalan Perak and join in the queue there.

After arriving at the Center, we took a short break at the mamak stall downstairs.  The organizers were warning up the crowd at the front entrance then.

Well, I think Jon and Jay enjoyed themselves last night though they had to stand through out the entire show.  It started at 930pm sharp (Live telecast cannot delay one you know?).  No complains until near the end.  As far as I can tell, if Jon decides that dancing (Hip-hop n so on) is to be his calling, well..I'll let him do it as long as he doesn't give up the moment things get tough like his swimming training now.  He's been chosen to participate in a swim meet next month so he's under going some rather intensive (compared to his earlier swimming training anyway) training.  I've been sending him to the pool 1/2 an hour early so that he can warm up n stretch with the rest of the team but he's been complaining that he wants to quit swimming or he'd rather wait for mum to send him. 

Now mum only reach home by 7pm n have her dinner by 730 while I'd usually rush home like a mad man to reach home by 630-645pm, have an early dinner and we'd be out of the house by 730pm.

We had several talks with him about him quitting swimming before the competition and we highlighted several points to him: 1) we had invested money in his gears, 2) the chief coach has faith in him and so do the other coaches, 3) if he quits now, what is there to stop him from quitting every time gets tough? 

Not sure whether this got through to him or not, only time will tell.

Jay now wants to learn guitar but not going for lessons, he wants to learn on his own.  A child-sized guitar costs between RM170 to RM500 (depending on brand).  Though I've had lessons before (like 3 decades or more ago),  I really need to spend time to pick it up again.  Now with my pay constantly being late (like nearly 1 month late), my budgeting efforts have all gone to waste! And my pay's being done by an ISO-9001 company to make things worse.  Looks like the ISO certification has entrenched the wrong attitude and work-processes!

Back to work

1st day of work after the long MC...brain's already fried by 10am :(  Jay's down with viral fever and Jon's at home without internet access nor PSP or Gameboy. Boy is he going to tear up the house!


21-June-2010*updateP

The tension headache's back...3 weeks of bliss n now it's back with a vengence!  I didn't have much of a weekend to speak off as I'd spent most of my time popping painkillers and trying to regain some sleep.  It's bad enough to wake me up in the middle of the night and the op just made it easier for me wake up!

Jon's 2nd public piece

Here's his 2nd piece for the day...all without notes too.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5EP4nBTMVE

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Jon's 1st public piano performance

Here's Jon's first public performance playing the piano http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvUgTY9O5bA.  It was during Amrita Soon's "Sing for my guitar 2" session held at KKBC, Kota Kemuning, Shah Alam on 25 April 2010.

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SA op week 3

Ever since I started to meditate on the pain three weeks ago I found that I can tolerate it better even though I still needed some pain relief to swallow food or drinks.  The food needed to be blended and cooled and the drinks cold.  This is a precaution against the hot stuff either irritating the scars or opening up the blood vessels before they can heal and seal properly.

 day 2 - 5 was a struggle as I still didn't have enough energy to move around.  I was discharged 5 days after the op n spent the next week on my butt sipping cold water instead of eating.  By the end of the 2nd week, I was completely fed up of blended food esp porridge so I got myself some ice-cream.  No joy either as the cold made my throat hurt more and nothing worse than cold Ice-cream up the nose n coming out the front courtesy of the snipped off portion of my back palate.

Didn't even have enough energy to get online much less answer my mobile.  Finally, gathered enough energy to stay online for a few hours but only for a day in week 2.  Now in week 3, much stronger as I can now take solids again.  Lost a fair bit of blubber especially around the belly area.  Hope to replace it with red meat aka muscles.

Had a scare in Penang over the Wesak weekend when I took a really refreshing hot shower after driving for nearly 5 hours straight.  The second after drying myself, my right nostril started to bleed all over the washroom.  managed to stop the bleeding after about 20 minutes of stuff my nose with toilet tissues.   20 minutes later started the whole bleeding nose thingy again when I bent down to unplug Jon's PSP charger so that he has to stop playing n go to sleep.  Next day after wesak, went to the nearest pharmacy which coincidentally is located opposite the nearest 24-clinic in Batu Ferringhi/Tanjung Bunga area and stocked up on cotton balls to stuff my nose with.  Also we got tooth brush for Jay and myself (left ours behind in the morning rush to leave before 11am the day before).

Well, now that we've gotten the paper work for Jon's 1 month leave from school done, we've got to plan how to send him to the learning center 3 times week starting next week.  He's also going to participant in a club level swim meet next month in Seremban, his first competitive meet. Hope it doesn't turn him off swimming, his only exercise now.

Sleep Apnea op - day 1

May 13th, 2010 -  A day of infamy to most Malaysians 40 and above.  5 decades ago, a genocidal conflict organized by the losers of a local city council 'erection' to 'win' back the erection.  Since then life has never been democratic.

But closer to home, I was scheduled to "shrink" the minor turbinates in my nasal cavity and the back portion of my tongue after lunch so I admitted myself in Pantai Indah, Ampang for the op. 

2 hours later, I woke up from GA in great pain, did a near-death bed conversion and got rejected half-s-second later by God!  I was in so much pain that I asked GOD to take me away.  No thoughts of living on for my children or family...just instant death.

Half a second later (aka the next immediate thought) I meditated (the "Buddhist" aka semi-Burmeses way) on the pain and wished it be well and happy.  I reflected that pain is the body's way of communicating to us that something is wrong with it.  That pain is part n parcel of having a body that is subjected to change (aka decay n death).

In other words, GOD replied " Suck up the pain n grow some balls, boy! I didn't make you a Buddhist so that you can "fall back" on ME just because you can' take the pain.  My plans for you is to remain a Buddhist n show the so-called 'born-again' followers of mine in your extended family that you can be a better human being without having to be one of them, 'sharing' the Truth their way!"

About the op =- what happened while I was under the GA was that the Doc found that I had a slightly bent soft bone in my nasal cavity, enlarged tonsils as well as an extra thick palate at the back of my mouth so since he's already in there, why not just 'repair' these in one go rather than reschedule for another op later on.

These were the cause of my pain.

Technorati Tags: sleep apnea, snoring, low energy, depression

Sleep Apnea Op

Well, my op to reduce my snoring and sleep apnea has been scheduled for this Thursday 13 May. Hope it works out for me as I'm sick n tired of constantly feeling sick n tired.

It involves microwaving my lower turbinates (the organs that one sees inside one's nasal cavity), the back of my tongue (which was described as Level 4 blockage meaning the doc can't see my tonsils and uvula without using a tongue depressor n pushing down on my tongue) and a minor palatal cut (Kinda like a 'face-lift op for the back portion of my palate, just deep enough to remove some tissue n lift up the palate) to create some extra space at the back of my mouth.

All these means I won't be able to talk nor shout at anyone. A practice in patience and tolerance for at least two weeks. Or a silent retreat. And my boss wants me back at work the day after the op!

Its also a forced-diet two weeks on soft foods.

I'm hoping that this op can reduce my apnea episodes and re-energize me so that I can bring my work and personal life up a notch or two. A better quality of life you might say.

Sailfish for sale in Giant Kota Damansara

An aside from dyslexia:  this caught my eye (http://www.fishing.net.my/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=19652&whichpage=1) about a sailfish being sold on the 'fresh' fish counter of Giant Kota Damansara.

One:  Does it taste like sawdust when cooked wrongly?

two: how does one cook sailfish?

three:  buy it for the pets?

four: Its an apex predator like the shark, shouldn't we protect it like the sharks?

five: whose pockets are being lined by delaying the gazetting of protective laws against commercial harvesting of apex predators such as this sailfish?

six: Isn't it more lucrative and sustainable for the local community to take fishing 'kakis' (people, usually men, who are nuts over fishing) to Catch-Tag-n-Release these predators than commercially hunt-n-harvest them?

seven: very little information is known about sailfish biology, distribution, ecology, reproduction, etc to decide whether it is sustainable and viable to commercialize sailfish harvesting. Who has these facts n figures to back up the claim that we can catch-n-sell them?

Think deeply and reflect.

Can you tell? - part 2

Jon's so matured now.  Can't believe he's grown so much and come so far.  Yes!!!! I'm vindicated n proven right to trust my feelings!  I have listened to and followed the right advice from the right people!

Can you tell?

Check out (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiLrqsiTkYY)  or go to Youtube.com n search for Ah Family: Saving the Environment.

Is Jon really dyslexic?  Can you tell?

Jon is now 13yo.  After nearly 7 years of constant remedial work with teachers from the Persatuan Dyslexia Kuala Lumpur (including many years of 1-to-1 tuition with a teacher there) I now see the fruits of his labour!

This is proof that dyslexia is a gift that properly used, can be great!  Oh, one more thing...half of those kids you see in the youtube....they're homeschooled!  So non-homeschoolers, do not spend any more precious energy listening to the nay-sayers!  Homeschooling kids do socialize...as long as their parents socialize!  These homeschooling  kids socialize better than most of the non-homeschooling kids as their parent/s have the time to take them out on shopping trips to learn more about life n stuff so much so much so that I envy them (the parents), having so much interaction with their kids whereas we, working parents, barely have enought time to work thru their homework n then get enough sleep.

Learning challenged children will definitely do better homeschooled than being in a regular school unless they are fortunate enough to have really good teachers to guide them.

By the way, one of the girls is dyslexic ...can you identify her?  I've already given you a clue!

Security?

Yesterday would be remembered well by Jay, my youngest.  Our house was broken into last night while we were out for dinner.  The thieves tore the rubberized stop of my auto-gate and cut the padlock at our grill door.  They had left the main gate open n our neighborhood security guards on patrol saw the gate open while on their rounds. Fortunately for us, there were two wedding dinners going nearby n the hosts had requested for more frequent rounds by the guards; otherwise, no one would have noticed a missing car and lots more stuff from my house.

The guards thought we were in and called out to us for nearly 15 minutes before calling in their manager.  The manager then called us to inform us that we had forgotten to close the auto-gate.   Since they have no permission to enter our compound, they didn't know the thieves were still inside!

So the guards helped closed the gates and continued their rounds.  When we came back about 40 minutes later, we noticed that the stairwell lights were on and the padlock missing from the grill door thought both the sliding glass doors and the grill doors were closed.  Missus and maid went in to have a look-see downstairs while I waited in the car with Jay, engine running n the gates open wide for emergency escape.   Once they saw the mess left behind, we called the security manager to come over for help.  He arrived a few minutes later with a guard as backup.

We then asked him to accompany us in to check what the thieves had taken and also asked him to call for a patrol car's assistance.  While waiting for the patrol car to arrive, we did a preliminary check for missing items and found that the thieves had run off with about RM4K and our maid's passport which were kept together in a bag, Jon's hand phone and missus' watch.  Further checks with the patrol car's crew revealed nothing else of value was taken.  All the locked drawers were broken in, the rooms ransacked and my car unlocked with the keys still in the house.

My company's laptop was still where I had left it on Friday after work and my digital camera was still in its bag which they had taken out from the storage cupboard.

The cops' guess was that the security guys had found the gates open just after the thieves had gone in and while the manager was on the line with us, the thieves were planning their escape which they did right after the guards closed our gates n left.  Hence so many valuables and expensive stuff were left behind.  They had to run without making too much noise attracting the neighbors.  Strangely, our next door neighbors didn't report their dog was barking like crazy through out the break-in.

Jay was so frightened though he didn't show it, that he vomited and my hands were shaking like a leaf that I couldn't dial  my mobile.  By the time the Investigating officer arrived, we had settled done a bit and Jay was ready for bed.  All in all, the patrol car responded within 10 minutes of getting the call from their dispatch which took about nearly another 10 minutes to get through on a mobile.  The first call wasn't successful due to bad lines.

Jon, whom this blog is about, was safely and happily away at a 3-day, 2-night Dharma Camp at KKBC.  When everyone settled down at about 1230am, Jay knocked off almost immediately and I had a 'badder-than-usual' sleepless night generously sprinkled with nightmares and a few dreams.  Tomorrow's going to be a very hectic and busy day for us; going to Brickfields for the official police report, then off to the Indonesian Embassy for the temporary passport for the maid.