Day 58

We went to Settlers at MP, and when our time ran out, we hopped across the street to Hong Kong Cafe for supper/dessert. I was so looking forward to night cycling, but there were a dozen reasons why we shldn't go that night, so the plan was scrapped. Xuan and i stayed over at Lynn's last night and it was quite cool cos her room was such a....girl's room....It opened my eyes to what a girl's room shld be like. Plus we got to see an endangered species in her house, a pig-nosed Turtle. Completely Lovable, it even had an ornament for it to rest on. Had brunch with Xuan at the nearby hawker ctr and we got to chat for quite a bit on the train ride, reminisent of those bus journeys home when we were in vj.

And here's a pic we took at Settlers. Digicams are so ubiquitous nowadays, every event or outing that we hv there are pictures to post, ppl wld become blasé after some time right? Sigh*

Day 57

It culminated into the most mortifying experience. None of the disaster remedies wld hv helped. I cursed every infinitesimal split-second i had to remain at the scene...

My 2-day relief teaching stint would have ended on a high note had they not decided to extend it and then drop another bombshell this morning. I was to relief a P1 form teacher. Gosh....P1, it took everything out from me to get them quiet and sitting at their desk but their silence cld not last more than 10sec. By the last period (P.E. lesson) I was gasping at them to stop running around the hall! Alas when the bell rang for flag-lowering, the principal strolled past, saw me struggling to gather the class, and so decided to bestow her own 5-minute chider. These 5 minutes....cost me dearly. When she was done, the class stampeded down to their classrooms to take their bags. And they HAD to cross the entire school population already assembled at the courtyard. Everyone was looking as they ran to their classrooms, trailed by their teacher(me) and then head back again to join everyone. Teachers, students, HODs, even the whole line of parents who stood by the gate looked on as the "circus" performed.

If I thought that I had made an impression on the first 2 days, at the end of today, I'd become infamous.

No one needed to hear my defense, I believe all of them had cast their silent verdict on the new teacher.

The Fairy Reel

A awfully nice poem, especially if you read it aloud.

The Fairy Reel

Neil Gaiman

______________________________________________

If I were young as once I was,

and dreams and death more distant then,

I wouldn't split my soul in two,

and keep half in the world of men,

So half of me would stay at home,

and strive for Faërie in vain,

While all the while my soul would stroll

up narrow path, down crooked lane,

And there would meet a fairy lass

and smile and bow with kisses three,

She'd pluck wild eagles from the air

and nail me to a lightning tree

And if my heart would run from her

or flee from her, be gone from her,

She’d wrap it in a nest of stars

and then she'd take it on with her

Until one day she'd tire of it,

all bored with it and done with it.

She'd leave it by a burning brook,

and off brown boys would run with it.

They'd take it and have fun with it

and stretch it long and cruel and thin,

They'd slice it into four and then

they'd string with it a violin.

And every day and every night

they'd play upon my heart a song

So plaintive and so wild and strange

that all who heard it danced along

And sang and whirled and sank and trod

and skipped and slipped and reeled and rolled

Until, with eyes as bright as coals,

they'd crumble into wheels of gold  . . . .



But I am young no longer now,

for sixty years my heart's been gone

To play its dreadful music there,

beyond the valley of the sun.

I watch with envious eyes and mind,

the single–souled, who dare not feel

The wind that blows beyond the moon,

who do not hear the Fairy Reel.

If you don't hear the Fairy Reel,

they will not pause to steal your breath.

When I was young I was a fool.

So wrap me up in dreams and death.

______________________________________________

Day 56

~music.culture.life~

That's the slogan at DXO@Esplanade. I was there today for the event i was mentoring for YCM. Today has been an exceptional day for me, I'm feeling very blessed as I'm writing this, not to mention a bit 'high' such that i thought i couldn't put it off till the morning to write this. I think XX, Des & Daryl are feeling the same way too bcos we just parted ways not long and in less than half an hour they called me out again.....for a late night out. Lol. Unfortunately I rejected their kind offer becos of my 'curfew hours' and also because my shoulders ache badly now. I'm still able to hold out a little longer to type this now-- credit goes to my sis who has just given me a nice shoulder massage. Thank You :)

There was absolutely no hint this morning that the later-half of my day wld be so great. I woke up the latest and had to eat 2 last burnt eggtarts because the other kuehs were gone. And I was having a hard time deciding whether to go to mwh or meet up with the rest to celebrate xx's bdae. Both of which i really wanted to go. MWH bcos aft today it'll be the 2nd coffeeshop outing i'll be missing (the last time was becos i was sick) and I was intending to pass the aunties some presents....XX's bdae bcos i've been missing many class gatherings alr. But for XX i was willing to 'sacrifice' cca.

Met WH and des at Taka at 2 to buy a cake for xx. We went to Rive Gauche-- our class ever-beloved confectionary ever since ZH started the trend. We knew xx didn't like chocolate, but which cake to choose? With raised eyebrows, I volunteered "I've seen xx order mango juice often"....and we all settled for mango cake. Haha. It's amazing we didn't know xx's preference after so long.

Anw the bdae girl was told no one else cld make it except lynn n Sy so she only brought 2 of the Taiwanese biscuits for them. She gave such a huge gasp when the 3 of us popped up at Sushi Tei to suprise her. It was a spirited gathering, xx was talking so animatedly and loud that though i didn't tell her, i thought that the whole restaurant cld hear her. Another suprise came when she returned from the washroom to find a cake waiting for her ;D Gal, so much effort went into the execution of the suprises, i hope you were touched!


Left them at 4+ and rushed to DXO. Alone the whole evening, i was sitting at the bar counter...trying to focus all my attention to the glass of Coke i had because i felt quite conspicuous...I was all alone when everyone was in groups and my top was glowing luminious under the strobe lights (no one had warned me against wearing white). Gosh. Then we played a game whereby we picked one of the cards littered on the floor and had to find our partners with the matching cards. The first 6 couples to complete the challenge were invited onstage. I went and Lo' & Behold there was more installed. We were grouped into fours to form a band. Our group "Hair-Raisers", whose name was proudly contributed by me, won the next round. We were to mime a rock concert to the music rolled out. 1 person was given a wig and a toliet brush as a mike. 2 were given brooms to act as guitarists. Another was given a pot and chopsticks to act as the percussionist. I was one of the guitarist and we rocked to the music. Our group won because the lead singer was so immersed in his role he jumped off-stage. Lol. A courageous performance by all of us.

There were music performance by artistes from Music Story, Project SuperStar finalist Candyce Toh and students from the various ITEs. Best of all, the event climaxed to an end where everyone hit the dance floor. I only looked on, but the energy exuberating from the dancefloor made my heartbeat quicken too. I shld be down there too, if only my friends were with me. Lol.

Then I won at the lucky draw, both 5th (a DVD player) and 6th prize (a hi-fi set). Gosh...I went upstage to carry the huge prize and when I made it back to my seat, I was called up again. It was utterly embarrassing cos I heard many ppl say "Again!!" Tonight's group was really hung up on the lucky draw, at every prize....they urged the mcee to pick another winner if no one came up within the count of 3. So you cld imagine the 'unkindly' reception when i went up yet again.

And because of my huge win tonight, I was unable to even carry the stuff further than the entrance of the pub. In the end stood stranded outside the pub waiting for S.O.S., waiting for all of them to finish their ktv session and come to help me. Standing for an entire hour in heels....that explains the shoulder ache. But god was kind to me, the DXO band started playing al fresco right before me, their crooning deeply engaging, and i even got to watch the soccer match b/w Japan & Australia on the plasma TV. Haha. Halfway through, fireworks lit up the sky....they were having NDP preview today. What a coincidence! I need not tell you how good the view from the Esplanade was...

Finally everybody came and we ate dinner at Makansutra at the Esplanade. We were supposed to meet at Clarke Quay, but everyone accomodated me because of my unexpected new extra baggages and changed location. Thanks again!! We ordered a spread of Hokkien mee, Oyster omelette, Char Kuay Teow, StingRay, Chicken Wings, Carrot Cake....Awesome.

Haha but halfway through, I got a fright. I knocked down my water bottle and it hit a cat on its head. I totally didn't know that there was a cat beside me, much less that my bottle wld hit it and it would stare at me for so long....Hate cats n i didn't dare to look down. It was Daryl who picked up my waterbottle and told me to say sorry to the cat...Sorry...

Anw I got home and Leng told me my name was in today's newspapers. I had won us a $15000 Kitchen makeover. Actually they called me last wk but I was not gg to announce this until we were done with it, but since WH also phoned me to confirm if it was me....i'll confirm that yes it's me....Lol.

I said last night that "Tomorrow will be better" and it was better!

Thanks to Des & Daryl who helped me carry all the stuff tonight, all the way to Boon Keng =) Thank you all for the excellent company today!

Day 55- Book Review

upon Leng's request, i'm gg to write a book review today

Basically this only for your benefit since you said u didn't understd much and wanted my interpretation:

thoughts on THE ALCHEMIST

this book is written extremely beautifully. the script is simple but the essence of it....poetic, illuminating. We already talked abt this and i feel that the reason that i was awashed with reflections while you felt lost was because i linked parts of the book with my own life, my own experiences. I thought that it's also best to just focus on a few paragraphs that are more important.

1. "It's true that everything has its Personal Legend, but one day that Personal Legend will be realized. so each thing has to transform itself into something better, and to acquire a new Personal Legend, until, someday, the Soul of the World becomes one thing only..........That's why alchemy exists....lead will play its role until the world has no further need for lead; and then lead will have to turn itself into gold."

I liked this paragraph because it talks abt progress, and that translates into hope. Hope for a better future. Before reading this book, I thought alchemy was hogwash, i thought of mad scientists giving up their lives just to persue sth that was impossible. But this book gave a brand new meaning to Alchemy.


2. "When I first reached through to it, I thought the Soul of the World was perfect. But later, I could see that it was like other aspects of creation, and had its own passions and wars. It is we who nourish the Soul of the World, and the world we line in will be either better or worse, depending on whether we become better or worse. And that's where the power of love comes in. Because when we love, we always strive to become better than we are."

This one underscores the meaning of our lives. It's not abt love in the romantic sense, but more of humanely love, all-encompassing kind. We all leave behind a legacy that exceeds our lifetime. It doesn't have to be a legacy that you have to be aware of, doesn't have to be something great........but we all leave behind an imprint on this Earth, this Universe. And it makes you want to leave behind as positive an impression as possible.

3. "Everyone, when they are young, knows what their Personal Legend is. At that point in their lives, everything is clear and everything is possible. they are not afraid to dream, and to yearn for everything they would like to see happen to them in their lives. But, as time passes, a mysterious force begins to convince them that it will be impossible for them to realize their Personal Legend...." and "We, people's hearts, seldom say much abt those treasures bcos ppl no longer want to go in search of them. We speak of them only to children. Later, we simply let life proceed, in its own direction, toward its own fate. But unfortunately, very few follow the path laid out for them- the parth to their Personal Legends, and to happiness.......So we, their hearts, speak more and more softly. We never stop speaking out, but we begin to hope that our words won't be heard: we don't want people to suffer because they don't follow their hearts."

I was worried when I read till this part because it reminded me of my own Personal Legend. I thought abt what I wanted to study (you know what)......but I kept it buried in my heart. I still think of it sometimes and i still cling on to the hope of fulfilling it one day. But I'm worried that my heart will "speak softer and softer".......I want to be like the boy who told his heart to sound the alarm if he was "off-course" and swore that he'd heed the alarm bells if it rang. The "mysterious force" is not so "mysterious" afterall to me, it takes the form of family commitments, financial problems, fear of the unknown etc. But apart from all that, I felt the author was creative enough in his approach on the subject. He had approached it from the heart's perspective. It's like there's a little voice calling out inside you and many ppl just blanket it out, that's when our lives fail to have a meaning, we lose track of our Personal Legends.

See, I singled out these paragraphs because they were related to me. But there r others too, like how the boy speaks to his heart, how he cleverly improves the business at the crystal merchant's, the story told by the king abt the spoon of oil, how the boy was told to observe the omens, how he spoke the Language of the Universe in a foreign land......all of it is touching in itself.

But gal, you also don't hv to read too deep into the story la......along the way i was enjoying the scenery too.....like i loved how they called the wind "levanter", and how the shepherd boy came from a country called "Andalusia", all the beautiful names. Remember "Maktub"-- the most beautiful things in life are not seen, heard or spoken but felt by the heart.


thoughts on AMERICAN GODS


thoughts on ANANSI BOYS


(I'll do them later......)

Day 54- Ipoh Cameron Trip

~a Pensive adagio~

I feel i've been guilty of negative knee-jerk responses....like when ppl invite me to sth, i say 'no'; when someone says i like you, i say 'no'; when someone asks do you want sth, i say 'no'; when answering how are things gg, i say 'fine'; when someone ask me how is your trip...i say it's 'ok', when actually i cld've said 'it was great'.

Then afterwards i'd grimace inwardly, wishing i'd said more or "yes please"...

My first response to "how was the trip?" was "it was not bad but i wished we cld've seen more if not for the rain". I was reflecting on my weekend trip to Ipoh and Cameron when i realised that the truth of the matter is that it didn't take me long to list some things that were worth remembering. Amongst all the griping on what we didn't do, there were events that shone through (at least for me) and these ought to be retained.

For this trip, what was most important for me was the cultural exchange. Ipoh wasn't very much different from Spore in terms of architecture landscape but it was different in its people. I found it really exciting to be part of a whole Cantonese-speaking population. And they were not like the unfriendly Hongkongers i met in HK. The generousity extended was sincere. I enjoyed ordering food in Cantonese, listening to the stall vendors speak Cantonese, learning Cantonese with JL from Cat and LY etc. When we were in the Dianxin restaurant, an old lady held my arm and said sth to me in Cantonese when we left the table and i smiled bk....(which coincidentally reminds me of the Language of the Universe from The Alchemist which I'm reading now). Many thanks to LY and his family who also GENEROUSLY hosted us.

I remember how the fruit seller who supplied us with so much free fruits that I ate the most the nx morning, and the sweet corn that we had to lug back to Spore and which is still in my fridge. I remember the vendor selling honey who was generous with his compliments and with his honeycombs samples. I remember how some friends from Cameron drove down to help jumpstart our engine when our car broke down midway bk to Ipoh. Thank you lots!

When we were in Ipoh, we got to taste white coffee and I got to stock up on sweets and mashmallows :) We also got to visit the temples in the hills where we fed the tortises kangkong and the columbarium. When we drove up to Cameron it wasn't particularly scenic but i sorta felt like i sat through a geography lesson. Terraced land, landslides, freshwater streams, plantations.....flashed past. We were split in 2 cars and kudos to the drivers cos while we got to sight-see, it was tiresome for them to drive us for hours.

The climax of the trip wasn't Cactus valley for me, but the Pasar Malam. I can't exactly pinpoint why, maybe it was because we were recharged from the steamboat dinner, maybe it was the nice weather. Or maybe it was the whole buzz of the night mkt, its many stalls that sold flowers and tea and toys, and the sweet smell of fried food that wafted through the air.

Cactus Valley was also memorable. The place was brimming with flowers of every kind and we got to pose for so many photos until eventually my camera battery was exhausted. I enjoyed the opportunity to once again appreciate Nature. So much greenery and fresh air for our lungs that cannot be matched in Spore.

Unwittingly ever since we boarded the bus we were already part of this whole cultural exchange...the wakeful sleep we had on the coach watching some stupid show called "big bad wolf", the number of highway toll booths Cat n I were trying to count, the lack of streetlamps along the journey... In Ipoh, I found out Orange plus Watermelon juice is completely unheard of and if you order that you'll be charged double. I enjoyed shopping at the departmental store and listening to LY speak Cantonese and Malay to the salespeople depending on whether they were Chinese or Malays. It made me wonder what if I were born in Msia.....maybe my dialect won't be so bad afterall (and my grandparents wld be proud of me) and i can switch between languages easily. One part of the cultural difference which i failed to fit in was......"littering"....

Lastly, i'll remember the purple cabbage, purble broccoli, purple yam chips, chocolate-coated strawberries, and the vermillion roses we tried to 'sneak' past the customs (actually we just brazenly carried them past). I'll remember drinking so many cups of water in the morning as forfeits such that everyone was rushing to use the toilet. I'll remember the "Rock" game which we couldn't get enough of. I'll remember Cat getting high after the beer session on the first night.

Suprisingly yesterday AhGong made me a sour plum drink which I had for the first time 2 days back in Ipoh.


http://picasaweb.google.com/sheeyee/IpohCameronTrip
http://picasaweb.google.com/jun240885/IpohTripJuly07

Day 53

Cedarian gathering on Wed. During dinner at Waraku restaurant, the staff there were v fired up, shouting orders and constantly patrolling the aisle and getting WF all annoyed haha. I reasoned that it was some sort of "psychological tactic" used to hurry the dinners. Like once they see your plate empty they suddenly appear at your side to clear them so that you do not dally ard and make the ppl queuing outside wait too long. But ironically we spent nearly 10 min trying to get their attention when we wanted the bill so i wonder if my reasoning was correct. Anw i had this 'uma tama don' which sounded like some profanity that i was almost in a whisper when i ordered my food.

The turnout was good 7 ppl, almost our whole ol' clique of 8 since everybody's back from their exchange prog. We took a stroll along Clark Quay to check out 'from outside' the pubs n eateries by the riverside. I didn't know they gave the place a face lift such that it now looks more happening. Along the way i picked up a Turkish ice-cream....

Everyone

Turkish Ice-Cream!

Day 52

I think it's been too long since i last went to the zoo so yesterday when i saw a monkey i was slightly entranced. The resident spotted it and grabbed my hand asking me along so i grabbed another resident's hand and all of us went "monkey seeing". This particular monkey was 'huge' and it actually climbed into one of the wards and stole an egg to eat! It broke the egg by dropping it from the 2nd floor...another amazing feat. Anw i was also gladdened that the residents actually responded to the monkey.....becos sometimes when i'm talking to them they stare blankly n i keep wondering if they understd me. It's nice to keep them engaged cos i won't want to sit 24/7 with my mind totally blank. When i'm old nx time...(maybe in a home like that) i hope someone does the same for me :)

Day 51

Attended ahChong's wedding reception on sat. Congrats to the newly weds. A very compatible couple. Although we're like sort of 'distant' relatives, when i saw how caring he was towards his wife and i was happy for them :) 777 couples got married on 070707 and it's so cool to be able to say you know at least 1 out of these 777 couples and didn't miss out on all the excitement!

Well as distant relatives we only meet once every cny....anything other than that wld be what Chinese describe as "red/white" affairs. It's a pity not knowing your relatives well.... Like every cny we go there n watch a video of one of our supposed cousins at the lion dance tournament. They're natn'l champs who rep spore yearly n are extremely talented, but there is that sense of detachment somehow watching them from the blackbox. Finally we got to meet them in person today! I tried breaking the ice with 2 'new' cousins and we mumbled a few words to each other. it wasn't a terrific exchange but at least, they got to know of our existence and that was the takehome of the wedding today.

~Birkenstock sandals r not for gals only~

Day 50

Seem to be mtg up with the same ppl many times this wk. We went to ECP today and played some games at the beach....frisbee, charades, 'lao ying zhua xiao ji', BFSF etc. and each demanded forfeits. Ended with an egg tart feast and then headed to the arcade to watch Yq do the parapara dance. It looked fun, if i hv the chance one day i'll try it too.