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HAPPY GO LUCKY
by Jimmy Chua
September 2014
Copyright © Jimmy Chua
ISBN 978-981-09-1912-2
Published by Jimmy Chua
All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher or the author.
ESPECIALLY FOR:
Myself, My Mum, Dad and Bro….And especially U who appreciates what it means to be Happy and Go Lucky!
NOTE FOR READERS:
Be prepared for imperfect writing with LOTS of grammars errors and spelling mistakes, as it is my personal sharing with U from my HEART without editing from anyone beside my own effort Have fun and be INSPIRED by the journey of HAPPY!! U can be LUCKY too! :D
HAPPY GO LUCKY!
It was intentional that no references are used, unlike academic textbooks, because the words used are original! I am sharing about just being uniquely me! And so can U!
If you like this, please share with your loved ones!! Thank U!
THE AUTHOR
Jimmy Chua is a Singaporean who has travelled round the world, realizing his dreams along the way! The stories experienced by HAPPY are inspired by Jimmy’s own life journey! Anything is possible when we believe in whatever we are doing helps us in getting closer to living our desired DREAMS! And we don’t have to settle for anything less than what we want, that is the message, love ourselves for who we are, accept the past as it is past, and move on to doing whatever our hearts guide us to do! It is following our passions that make all the difference.
Jimmy Chua has tried countless jobs in his lives, escorting the President on the Police Bike, driving boat along Singapore River, working for an Investment Bank, famous Universities, Selling Life and General Insurance, Real Estate, Household Surveys, Credit Cards, Telemarketing, Selling Bubble Tea, Portable Air Cons, teaching meditation and most importantly selling the idea of DREAMING BIG and be HAPPY! :D
ONE
HAPPY is blessed to be born in Singapore, a place with freedom of expression and abundance of wealth in 1984. He is the only son in the family and so his parents have high hopes on him to realize his and their dreams!
Just like most of the people here, he lives in a 5 room HDB (Housing Development Board) public housing flat and starts off by studying in a PAP (People’s Action Party) Kindergarden. He goes on to a missionary school, St Gabriel Primary School managed by the brothers of St Gabriel. By doing well in the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE), HAPPY took a different route from many others to enroll in St Gabriel Secondary School; others went on to prestigious branded name schools which promise more opportunities to climb the corporate ladder.
HAPPY is Lucky that his parents aren’t aware and isn’t concerned about the race to qualify for prestigious scholarship. So far, pretty ordinary life, daily fights with peers in school, badminton and soccer games after class and no tuition classes! Yeah, HAPPY is truly Happy, being who he is, as his parents are different from many others who pressured their children to perform well in school, scoring Aces for examinations, learning enrichment classes such as Ballet Dancing, Swimming, and Piano and juggling multiple tuition classes beyond what is taught in school. There is no time to play with friends and bask in nature.
The ZOO in Singapore is a favourite hangout for HAPPY as the family signed up for annual family membership. They would spend each Sunday there, watching the animal performances, walking around and learning about the animals from all parts of the world. The monkeys caught the eyes of HAPPY as he aspired to be as playful and free, in the adults’ eyes, NAUGHTY! Hahaha… Sometimes, his cousins will tag along and they learnt to paint the flowers and animals such as Elephants, Tigers, Goats, Parrots, Polar Bears, Giraffes and Zebras. This counts as a weekly occurrence right up till his primary school days.
TWO
Life is very different when HAPPY enters into secondary school, some of his peers have moved on to more prestigious schools while new friends come into his life. St Gabriel is not considered to be a premium school that most parents would love their children to be in, however it boasts of its ties to the catholic mission to educate them with societal values added to the practical knowledge acquired in school such as subjects in Science, Mathematics and the Languages. In Singapore, English language is the primary language for all subjects taught and Mother Tongue: namely Chinese, Malay and Tamil are the languages taught in school. So each child is equipped with 2 languages that they can use in their daily lives. Well, HAPPY is always wondering why it is Mother Tongue, he was thinking if it is the language used by his mother, what about his father’s then? His Chinese language teacher Mrs Annie Koh in Secondary School clarified by saying that it is actually pegged to the ethnic race that his parents have decided, because some kids qualify for multiple languages.
HAPPY was posted to the best class at St Gabriel Secondary as he was among the top students admitted into the school based on his Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) scores. So he was posted to study in the Science Stream, where he has to juggle understanding the world shaped by the Physicians, Chemists, Mathematicians and Historians.
Well, a typical student has to do more than just getting good grades in school. They have to do community service (volunteer work) per year and HAPPY was involved in a flag day, carrying a tin can to ask people to donate their spare change. It was fun time for HAPPY as he gets to go out with his friends to the MRT stations and bus interchanges around Singapore and approach “strangers” with a tin can, holding onto stickers. Each donor is persuaded to donate if they do not already wear a sticker on their shirt or handbags for ladies, so it is just like paying for a toll fee to walk past these school children during their Flag Day! Hahaha..
And on Saturdays, HAPPY is busy with his Co-Curricular Activities. He joined an Uniform group, the St John Ambulance Brigade which teaches the members basic First Aid rescue operations. His parents are very happy that HAPPY is part of the St John Ambulance Brigade because it will teach him some form of regimentation that will come in handy when he has to enlist for national service in the army, police or civil defense force at the age of 18.
HAPPY has been counting his blessings because he realized that his friends around him are usually packed full of activities designed to “enrich” them, tuition classes on weekdays and weekends, beyond what is taught in class. What he really enjoys is a game of soccer, near the HDB void decks and open spaces. Sometimes, the residents complain about the noise to the police and the police will come chasing the boys playing soccer. And the boys will run, playing “catching” with the policemen, hiding in the different levels of the HDB flats around where they play – Singapore is full of high rise public housing and this ensures most have a comfortable home
