Day 77

I have an affliction, i like talking. Though not many will believe me.

Sometimes....i talk too much. Sometimes.....i just shut up. Most of the times i talk too much is in one-to-one situations, i clam up when three's a crowd.

This couple of weeks I've hung out at Starbucks twice over cups of Caramel Frappuccino and also at Timbre over drinks n pizzas last night. I've talked to many people recently, this includes the befriending session at the ycm interview session (i had my initial misgivings but it turned out fine). Thanks to those people who've listened to me. Hope it has been enjoyable to you as it was for me. To me, I feel that talking is somewhat theraputic. At home, theraputic means washing de toilet, reading a good book or playing the piano, it's a solo occupation. But recently I realised when there's someone else...it can be nice too. The benefits of talking are way underrated.

The next thing i've got to learn is to listen....

--
Yesterday was a pretty awesome day, had 2 meetings in the morning and after lunch but managed to squeeze in session of hosting a friend at home and enjoying baked chicken wings together! Lately i've not been spending enough time at home, luckily I found my way home because of the chicken wings that i couldn't resist. Also had a narrow escape of getting a fine for of all things....jay-walking.

Imagine having a almost clean track-record of jaywalking, one day you explicitly express your intention to jaywalk. Fortunately at the last moment you see a traffic crossing and you change your mind. You cross and the next second, you witness a traffic police stopping someone else who has just jaywalked. You heave a sigh of relief. Luckily you stood by your principles.

The fine for jaywalking in singapore is a tidy $500.

Managed to squeeze in a session of shopping too at TP. Haven't been there for a long long time so although somewhat awkward and embarrassing jostling among the aunties at a closing-down shoeshop, successfully buying a pair of sandles for mum somewhat gave a bit of satisfaction.

And of course the night at Timbre had lotsa gaiety. Though I 'nearly lost it' as xx so aptly put it when everyone intentionally dragged their feet to avoid the last train, it was funny trying to avoid Comfort taxis in favor of Silver-arrow taxis.

-Monday mornings and a spoonful of curry could be the tilting point-

Day 76

Watched Alvin and the Chipmunks and had a good laugh at the theatre. It's my 2nd film this holidays and the best so far. My favourite chipmunk has got to be Theodore....super cute with lots of baby fat! I never really fancied cute cuddley stuff, much less express it, but he's one of the few exceptions. Actually i only just realised after googling for pictures for this post that the movie's a remake of the original cartoons. Realised that I'd watched the cartoon when i was young...it's supposed to be from my "nian dai" but when my friend and i were recapping yesterday what we've watched i never realised they were one and the same. Brings back good old memories looking at the old cartoon pictures.


P.S. don't try to understand the previous post, it's an inside joke

Day 75

"The sun came out from the wrong side today!" Someone suddenly decided to come out of her homeostatic equilibrium of impassiveness and intoxicate all of us with a potent dose of Cl2. Free sponsorship maybe?

Oh anw changes have been happening around our tiny little enclave along bu lai de lu. We had our kitchen madeover courtesy of Ikea....did u see the newspaper writeup on Sat? Haha. And more recently we fell the tree in front of our house. Changes are good, they're refreshing and most welcomed. In Cedar, the principal used to say "Change is the only constant"....and later out of sec sch, i realised that people from other schools were saying the same things=( Hey! They copied us!!! I was pretty sure Mrs Tay was the first one who said that.

Falling a tree...homeostasis....hmm...recently i went to Chek Jawa too (on Wed). 6 hours on foot there and back. It was quite an experience to be so close to nature again. Some parts of Pulau Ubin was reminiscent of MacRitchie. A $2 bumboat ride to the island, you get to climb 120 steps up the tower to see the carcass of a snake, get chased by scary wild dogs, feed the never-been-to-the-city-to-be-introduced-insecticide mosquitoes, bask in the warm sunlight along the jetty, drink and eat "Thailand" coconuts, and see tiny crabs sumo fight! It was so cute seeing those scuttling little crabs with only one luminescent claw fight. They reminded me of legions of primeval knights with spears.

One day, maybe one day, I'll take Ame's advice an go for the guided tour where u get to go down to the marshlands and leave ur footprints in the sand.

Day 74

Went for OSA Appreciation Dinner at the Ballroom of Sheraton Towers. The atmosphere was very good, with all good people around, and we saw a fantastic video made by our very talented LYen to commemorate the 16th MC.

Jay Chou's Piano Duet with 宇豪

Still amazed...gg to be amazed forever...

Day 73

Was very touched when 'Giant' got me a Chocolate Tiramisu cake from Sweet Secrets so I got him doughnuts in return for his big day! What a lot of pastries this week...**jumping up and down**

Day 72 - Happy Birthday to Me...

ON To 22.....

Last night was a bizarre night. We went to Fish & Co. to celebrate my birthday. It was a late dinner, but I was moved that everyone who made it spared the time despite an incredulously hetic week of mid-term tests...("I'd wanted to 'fly' home to sleep")...*sheepish and grateful*

Afterwhich, we decided to go to Fort Canning!! For cake-cutting!!! At 10+ pm!!! Lol. We took the van up to the uppermost level, and had cake-cutting. What made it funnier was that nobody remembered to bring along a lighter, so I was 'blowing' out the candles. I'm sure the joggers there were intrigued to see a bunch of 'kids' celebrating with an Oreo cake out in the open like that, and asking them to take photos for us.

Nonetheless, I had a good time. I'm sure the mosquitoes at Fort Canning did too. It was a birthday to remember =) Thought a lot of effort was put in to choosing the gifts, THANKS PEOPLE!!! Love you guys!!! :-*

(I remember, ...I'm always very liberal with my 'kisses' on birthdays lol.)


21 Recollections.....

LIFE, believe, is not a dream
So dark as sages say;
Oft a little morning rain
Foretells a pleasant day.
Sometimes there are clouds of gloom,
But these are transient all;
If the shower will make the roses bloom,
O why lament its fall?

Rapidly, merrily,
Life's sunny hours flit by,
Gratefully, cheerily,
Enjoy them as they fly!

(Life by Emile Bronte)


My twenty-one years of journeying was not a smooth path, I don't expect anyone's to be easy, but those who know me really well would know mine is more scabrous than many. However, as I stood on the brink of 22, looking back, there was none of the expected melancholy. Instead, I was very glad.

If the years act to define you, why not say they empower you?

This year, I finally got so say there's nothing I really need. When my friends were thinking of what to get for me, they agreed that there was nothing I was in desparate need of. Isn't that a blessing?

While it's true that I'm still very busy (see my neck-breaking schedule), haha, I was glad that there were times in the previous year where I could slow down and find some peace with myself...

I was glad too that I met a lot more ppl this year. Before this, P & I were like the "Er Ren Shi Jie", but at Honours year, our "world" expanded....Lol. That's not forgetting the v supportive ppl I met through cca etc.

Once I thought that the "meaning" of life was sth very intangible? The freaks who coined that term or claim they know what it means probably have no idea what it means. But suddenly I felt that my 21st year was an extremely meaningful year? I can't explain nail the definition still, but there just isn't a better word for it as yet. Does that mean I'm growing up? =p=p 21st was a sweet year.

Feeling only anticipation for the new year.

Day 71

It can't be more than 1km as the crow flies from Raffles City to Suntec, but I took 1 hour to travel between the two. Ended up being the butt of all jokes on Fri when I met the OG for dinner (Grr...Pls rem to send the pig head sms...), and i had to accept graciously the honorific of being the blurest bus traveller in the world. It has happened far too many times, Ame said she cld help me no more =p

*Surround yourself with people who want the best for you, those who want you to succeed. Stay away from ppl who give you bad vibes....*

We brought the residents out for some mooncakes-feasting and lantern-carrying in the hot! hot! afternoon yest.

Day 70

=) Another successful workshop.

Although I felt that Con Spirito 2 didn't quite meet up to the standards set by the first one, I'd say it's because those standards were very high indeed. This time round, we did a fair job and I really have the team to thank. This team, some of them who have stayed with us from the very 1st workshop, and whom I had the chance of working together on several projects, are my bunch of very dependable friends. You all cld've refused help citing various commitments which i know you all have, but none of you did. Thanks for agreeing so readily to help with just a phonecall or sms fr Est & myself.

This time round Est & i could breathe easier cos you guys were around. As compared to CS1, i felt less of a control freak.... or maybe we're becoming 'old hands' at this? haha, agree Est?

Sun night was fun...how we went all the way to Demsley Hill for Ben & Jerry's but were too late, how we spent hours shopping for bbq stuff and bought Cranberry Promegrante juice instead (Anti-oxidents take away the oxygen in your body so you'd die but the juice is highly recommended by Jam & I), how we enjoyed JL's ghost stories and LY's singing in the van, and having Tim as THE DRIVER and LY as THE CLEANER. (It's more fun after stepping down) Lol.

Mon's workshop had a pretty good flow. Once again I was touched seeing everybody working like bees haha....so sorry to see everybody looking so tired by evening, hope you all filled yr stomachs to the brim while Est & i were working out at the playground ;-) I'm pretty glad i could participate in balloon sculting and singing of "The Bund", those were the highlights of the day for me :D

P.S.Guess how we did it??
- 30 ppl shared 3 rolls of toilet paper and in the end 2 rolls were left.

To know that at least one life has breathed easier because of you have lived, this is to have succeeded.

Day 69

As with every year, we went with Ah Gong & Ah Ma to the Mooncake Autumn Festival celebrations at the clan association. Erm think we've all outgrown lantern-carrying so we spent the bulk of our time immersing ourselves in the much more 'culturally-advanced' activity of guessing Lantern Riddles or 猜灯谜...haha We put our best foot forward to guess but our Chinese was just too sub-standard, so our 'best' was actually to pretend to look as if we were thinking really hard....(almost there ppl)!

YJ was stealing the limelight!

Day 68

Met up with the Sangkhem team yesterday at Cafe Cartel. Was glad to see everyone again, esp Katie and Duc who're back fr Vietnam. Most of us just came back from overseas and had sth to share abt. It's been pretty hard to meet up often, the only way to reprise the Sk days is to wear our HOPE tee in sch...haha. The relaxing dinner was greatly welcomed esp since i had quite an awful day at sch... nearly lost my thumbdrive, got caught in the rain etc. Thank goodness I found it (after dashing madly all the way fr Engin to AS7 =S ), had an excellent dinner and also received nougarts fr Daryl that made me feel (like a 'freeloader') but better.

Day 67

Ridiculously sunburnt, but all for a good cause. Was at ECP on Saturday with the MINDS kids as part of Volunteer-A-Day, a segment of Charity Fiesta 07. We built sandcastles! =D It was one of those rare opportunities where I got to interact with these special kids and they really melted my heart. There was a trainee called Sui Shan who jumped and gave me a warm hug although we've not met before. There were those with AHDH, super friendly and without inhibitions; and there were those reticient but equally wonderful ones, who smiled shyly at you when you look at them. To me, every one of these special kids were angels in their own right! And it was so nice to bring joy into their lives through a simple sand-castle building session.

Back at J8 on Sunday for the CF concert, I got to watch some of the mild-ID kids perform Angklung music. It was not by any standard fantastic but nonetheless it was a good effort put up by the kids. To see them transcend their disabilities, take centrestage and perform in front of a live audience, I bet it made their parents proud. While ushering the guests, I was floored by one lady who in a quite a rude manner refused to give up her seat which was reserved for performers only. But on hindsight, she was a parent of one of the performing kids...and I think because having to raise an 'special' kid is not an easy job, some parents like her tend to develop a steely personality. Coming across as rude or offensive wasn't intentional, it's just that they're conditioned to react as such. So i tell myself, I won't take offence. :)

CF team with Eunice Olsen

Day 66

Went for piano today and Auntie treated us to doughnuts from Mumsie's Oven.



Thought i'll give visitors to this blog a visual treat =D

Day 65

It was the last day the theaters were showing Jay Chou's Secret, and we mangaged to catch it. Brilliant storyline I'd say, never expected such fare especially since it was his maiden movie, in directorship and scriptwriting. Anyways, the guy's a genius! Touched me with his playing of the piano in the show. Truely a 音乐才子。The movie truely resonated with his love for music, imagine actually weaving a love story using "Chopin's" score. Love+ Music = 凄美。

Day 64

Heard this song by Eva Cassidy playing on tv. Didn't know fever can be so sensual too. Was down with fever on Sunday....and it was nothing like that. Well anyway i found someone in the same boat, my ssb lecturer. Caught in the rain, fever and sore throat. Lol. The ssb lecturer is a very funny old man who danced to some Jap music for us today. He DOESN't have the moves, reminds me of Pinoccio, but you really hv to hand it to him, totally someone who doesn't care abt image or appearance....esp for someone his age. In contrast, another lecturer this week refused webcast saying "with my face like that?...are you sure??" Lol.

Here are the pics of Saturday's Arts Bash, after the fireworks:

Day 63

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the August babies! We went to MOF at Marina Sq to celebrate today!

Day 62

First blading attempt at ECP last night during the post-camp bbq. Ha I took 1 hr to get from the rental shop at the Mac to our pit, then 0.5 hrs back. So it was considered an improvement *self-consolation* Hopefully i'll get a 2nd go soon =)

It was gd seeing all the camp ppl again. Edwin got us OP pencil cases but apparently no one knew it was OP.....many thought it was from the pasar malam...haha, can imagine Edwin's heartache "捶心肝".

~Trying out new things is fun~~

Day 61

86MB of zipped pictures in my inbox, those we took last night at Vivo.






Dim Sum buffet at DragonGate, tea at Hong Kong KimGary Cafe, shopping at Topshop and tons of photo-taking.

I forgot why but we decided to all put the same msn nick that day....."4S3 confused"...some sort of a demonstration of class spirit?? Lol.

Day 60

This has been a busy week.

I concluded my relief teaching stint. It wasn't as distressing as the impression I'd created ealier, that was just one unlucky bad day whereby i got the worst class of the level.

the top 5 highlights...

1) My sticker collection came to gd use....kids really like stickers!!! And story-telling!! I like story-telling!!!
2) I was particularly amused when some kids pulled me into their ghost-hunt, afterwhich even the cleaner lady knew me =X It turned out to be only some storerooms out-of-bounds to them.
3) It's nice hearing the kids call you "Miss T" everyday, evne those who you don't teach or only taught once. Sometimes they called "Mrs. T"....argh! Lol, i always correct those.
4) When some kids holds your hand, saying they wanted to be your 'partner'...Even when your instructions to line up in twos fall on deaf ears, you fail to get angry bcos you're under their spell...
5) I became the "snackiest" teacher around bcos of all the free periods i got. I sat in the staff room all day snacking away on all the packets of biscuits I brought.... Think I must've put on some weight from those.

I'm very thankful to the colleagues who were so forthcoming with their help and re-assurances. In my opinion, the best part of the job was the challenge of having to improvise along the way, coming up with games, lesson plans on the spot. It was a chance to learn, not only teach. You've to out-wit, out-run,out-talk, out-shout the kids, it's really not easy being a teacher. I really salute all pri sch teachers.

As the principal put it, "Classroom mgt is one of the toughest skill to learn. Once you master it, you feel like you can do anything in the world."

Mon night, I managed to squeeze time for a movie with Cat and the rest. It was supposed to be a horror movie called "Alone", but nobody in the theatre screamed. The story was gd, but not fun at all.

Tue night, stayover in school! For nussu flag counting! It was nice cos of the gd company. We had dinner at munchie and breadfast at engin canteen. Totally in love with the dessert stall now....think i'll frequent it often when sch starts. ^^

But i rushed here and there for the week to the result that i fell sick on Nat'l Day n had to stay home. Wasted 1 day =( Luckily in the evening we went to kent rd and I got to play Uno Stacko with the kids....Fun

This was the pic i drew during my free time in the staff room. You can see how much free time was that....

~Cheering for Edward Bacheras~

Day 59

"Who lives in a pineapple under the sea..." Today we did colouring at mwh. Managed to source for many cute fish pictures off the internet and whilst doing it, i came across Spongebob pictures and decided to throw them in as well since technically spongebob and his friends live under the sea. It'll be interesting to see the old folks fish up spongebob characters! Jam said maybe we cld do a jingle whenever someone fishes out SpongeBob :)

Anw only 3 ppl turned up today, Jon, Gary and I. We went for dinner at Kovan hawker which is in my opinion one of the best eating places in Spore (my family likes to go there). Last wk we had Roti Prata...every wk's a different treat aft session... Hmm....*smacks lips*