Thank you, Gerry. Opportunity knocks and my first book is born!

The Stories Of The Scissors Sharpener’s Daughter

Gerry and I.

Okay, okay, I admit it.

I have been procrastinating on my book for the past years.

There are several reasons for this.

I doubt anybody would be interested to read it. I fear people would laugh at my mistakes. I worry over the financial cost involved.

I think many writers shares similar setbacks too.

But all that changed yesterday when I met Gerry Robert, the famous author of the international bestselling “The Millionaire Mindset.” At his preview seminar, Gerry managed to convince me to put aside my doubts, fears and worries.

In such a short time, I managed to learn a lot from Gerry. He was such a warm, humorous, cheerful and generous guy. Gerry was unselfish in sharing his expertise with his audience. I am looking forward to learn more from this impressive mentor on the field of writing a book.

After hearing him speak at his preview seminar “Publish A Book and Grow Rich” I think the time has come for me to get my book out and be done with it.

And then move on with life.

“Anybody can write a book. The moment you start writing the first word, you’re already an author” Gerry said. Boy, I love that, because I have always thought you need to write like J.K. Rowling or Margaret Mitchell to be qualified as an author.

“You don’t need to write a blockbuster, a masterpiece or to win a Booker Price, your book does not have to be perfect,” this Canadian author, motivational speaker and trainer said in his preview seminar to a group of budding writers.

“Many Malaysians have got their books written after attending my seminars. One lady even went out to sell her book before she started her first page. You just have to have confidence in yourself.”

“Another lady even asked me, should I use Queen’s English or American English and I told her it doesn’t matter.”

“Move into action. Just write your stuff, get the book out and see the money start rolling in,” he said as a matter of fact.

I have a vast collection of short essays that I have compiled into a little book called “The Stories Of the Scissors Sharpener’s Daughter“ to be on sale soon. It is about growing up in a small tin-mining town called Ipoh where life is simple and innocent.

See My Book’s Preface.

If you are interested to read my first book, drop me an e-mail.
francesyipyfliew@hotmail.com

And have I told you that I am going to start on the second one? I assure you it will be sensational.

For me, writing is a passion and I can’t stop…..

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At the preview seminar I met Sharifah, a successful lady from Penang who was inspired by Gerry’s book, The Millionaire Mindset.

Thirteen years ago, she was too broke to attend his seminar but today, she have a bungalow, a car and six schools. It shows that if there is a will, there is a way.
Positive Mind Positive Results !

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This is awesome, Mom!

“Open Sesame! Open Sesame!” Uncle Li called out loudly at the doorstep last Sunday morning.

He had in his hands, two bags of books.

My children were aroused from their sleep; they quickly jumped up from their beds and rushed out to see what the hullabaloo was all about.

“Uncle Li?”

Of course they were taken aback with what they saw.

“Your mommy always complained that both of you are playing too much online games; so here are some books to help keep you fellows away from the screen!” he was grinning wickedly at them, with some mischief in his eyes.

Among the books in the bags are “Oliver Twist” by Charles Dickens and “The Adventures of The Secret Seven” by Enid Blyton. There are also several other books to improve their general knowledge. Altogether there were about sixteen of them.

“These books are from my own collection, so you better take good care of them!” he told Nicholas and Alexandra, who were delighted with their sudden good fortune.

The year-end seven weeks school holidays are here again. Just as I was figuring out how my children are going to spend their holidays in a meaningful way, here come my savior.

Uncle was god-send. Now I don’t have to worry of going to the public library anymore. I couldn’t thank him enough. At least my children have something else to occupy them other than “War-craft”, “Angry Birds” and Facebook.

I was very delighted. This is awesome! Very cool indeed!

Gone are the days when children loved to play outdoor games or enjoy the simple pleasure of reading an interesting storybook in a little quiet corner during school holidays.

Schooling, tuition and homework took up most of their time.

Their only past time is to play computer. Most of them are computer geeks. Yes, computers are their lives. Online games and Facebook are their daily diet.

Personally, I have nothing against computers. I needed them too, to do my writing, to network with friends and to catch up with the current news.

But the problem with modern technologies is that they robbed our children of their innocence and childhood.

Everywhere I went to, I saw children, some as young as five or six, busy sending sms on their ipads or playing games on them.

Can you see children today talk less, write less and read less? I have encountered some who are very remote from the adults, their parents included.

I certainly would not allow this to happen to my children. I wanted them to be able to communicate with us effectively and coherently.

Call me an old-fashioned mom if you like. Or say that I am not trendy enough, I don’t care. I think there is a limit to what my children can have.

Although many of their classmates already have their mobiles or ipads, I have yet to get these for them. I don’t intend to at all. I only got them an iphone to share. Maybe I will get them a camera someday soon. They loved photography too.

Like many parents, I have a hard time with my children whenever they planted themselves in front of the computer. Once they are there, you can’t tear them away.

In the end, I have to put a password into the computer. They needed my permission to get start on a game. I also put an alarm clock next to it so that when their playing time is up, it will ring like mad and made them jump up from their seats.

Extreme measures, yes, for geeks like them. But it works well for me.

Although some of you might think it was a bit late for teenagers like Nicholas and Alexandra to read Charles Dickens or Enid Blyton (I read them in primary schools), but you can be a grown up and still enjoy such books. Good books are timeless.

So, for this long holiday, my children and I will spend our time reading story books together, looking up new words and brushing up on spelling. Good bonding time for the children and I.

I really have Uncle  Li to thank for this treat.

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From the floor ……..to the stage

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Yesterday morning, my husband and I sat with other parents on the floor (on chairs, actually); watching our children performing for us on their graduation day.

We watched with pride as our children performed song after song, dance after dance to the thunderous applauses from the floor.

No more Chinese chopstick, umbrella or fan dances of yesteryear.

Gone was the Malay ‘candle’ or classical Indian dances.

Neither were there the Western cowboy or Rock & Roll dances so popular during my time!

Also missing were those classical princesses, fairies or butterflies in their glittering costumes that I used to envy so much when I was a child.

No sights of Joseph, Mary, baby Jesus and the three wise men either.

Oh yes, the graceful swan in white fur was banished off and the agile ballerina in pink tutu was very obviously absent.

They were all passé. No longer fashionable anymore.

Today’s theme was very contemporary. Everyone sways their hips and was in for some real fun.

The children danced and sang happily in their party dresses to tunes of “Fireworks” by Katy Perry, “On the Floor” by Jennifer Lopez, “Party Rock” by LMFAO and many more.

Their teachers and headmistress looked on proudly.

Everyone mingled around in the hall, taking photos and video. It was a casual and inclusive affair.

We even managed to raise more than fifteen thousand dollars for a student from her year who was recently diagnosed with lupus and was hospitalized.

There was a lump in my throat and some tears welled up at the corner of my eyes as I watched my daughter being called up to the stage to receive her medal for coming out first in school in English story-telling competition.

When it was time for her and her fellow school choir mates to sing a beautiful song in Mandarin, I reached for my tissues.

“We have grown up at last, there were many dreams for us to chase, just like the little red dragon-flies in the pond…….” they sang enthusiastically and boy, how emotional it was for me and I guess, for other parents as well.

It was not so long ago that Dr. Lim, the gynecologist told me it was a baby girl in my womb; months later, she was born smoothly and we brought her home in a little basket.

Her elder brother  frowned with jealousy when we gathered to watch the new arrival in awe.

She suckled and suckled endlessly on my breasts….oh,  the times when I have to wake up to change her pampers and sing her lullabies in the still of the night were endless too!

I still remember that morning when I took her to school for the first time. She was nervous and looked awkward in her school uniform. She spent the first day completely lost in a room of strangers.

And today…today, she has to bid farewell to her classmates of the past six years; a chapter was over and a new one was waiting to be unfold.

A whole new world was waiting for them.

It will be a new milestone for all these twelve years old youngsters soon for they will be going on to secondary schools early next year.

How times flies….how fast our kids have grown up without us realizing it.

When she was a baby, I was sleep deprived. I silently wished that she will grow up in a wink of an eye.

But here she is today, a full fledge teenager with pimples and taking an interest in the birds and bees; suddenly I wished she was still a baby whom I could pick up and cuddle softly in my arms.

Grown up she did, almost as tall as I and there was nothing I could do….

Sitting on the floor, as a mother, looking at her baby on the stage, I felt happy, sad and vindicated all at the same time.

11.11.11 is a remarkable day for mother and daughter.

🙂

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Protected: Children’s Day Party……then and now. 儿童节的回忆

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Protected: Entertainments from a bygone era: Spinning a tale from the strings….(Part 2)儿时的娱乐 ~ 上二集

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Protected: Back to the days of colorful flour dolls and some childhood candies…… 儿时小甜品

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Protected: The passing of a skillful dressmaker from Ipoh……. 裁缝师 “二姑” 永别了

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