The True Rafflesian Spirit

ok so went to seah's mum's funeral with shaun and choonwing.

he had 2 frens with him la, namely this guy called peter formerly from sji, and this other guy whose name i do not know from ri. the peter guy actually plays the drum and the bass guitar. and later he sent me and choonwing to choa chu kang mrt, while shaun home because it was on the way for him.

so wad i learnt by talking to these 2 guys is this:

WHAT IS THE DEFINITION OF THE RAFFLESIAN SPIRIT?
there is NO definition. you have to feel it for yourself.

the old ri boy is pretty soft spoken, to me he's really soft spoken actually.

but i tell you, he speaks with this kind of charisma that i swear no headmaster that i have known has it.

he has this certain ability to make you listen.

and he was the one who make us feel the power and the TRUE rafflesian.

no he did not raise his voice or be agressive/assertive to get this point across, there was not need to.

he did it in his own usual soft spoken way.

and he is very reasonable and understandable. where they start talking about how ri is going downhill, he would say that "times are different now, we cant expect things to be like they used to. it will take time for ri to be back like it was in the past". well this is not a quote, but the meaning is pretty much the same.

he was the softball captain. and still he's so concerned that he asked us how softball is doing now.

we can still feel the passion burning inside him, even after decades of leaving the school. the passion that he has for ri is one that i have never seen in anyone else. he still feels as proud to be from ri as say..like decades ago when he first joined.

i enjoyed the little stories that he told us. i think we all did.

maybe seah was right by saying we needed lecturers like this guy. we do need them. -nods.

and when we told him how tough ri was and stuff, he told us that we have to hang on and fight on, and that this will definitely benefit us when we go out into the working world.

i trust his words.

the passion that burns in him has both impressed and overwhelmed me.

and i dun see the passion waning away.

even tho we spent a relatively short time talking to him, he has left a deep impression on me.

i dun tink i'll forget this guy, at least not for the near future.

for i will remember him as the soft-spoken guy, who gets his points across ever so persuasively, and whose burning passion for the school still lives.

and for the man who has given me a valuable and priceless lesson on the rafflesian spirit.