Stories of me and myself

These are some quotes I came upon when I was playing a game online. Some are also from colleagues' workstations, which I blatantly plagiarised. Haha! Some are pretty retarded though. Hee. Enjoy.


Never argue with an idiot. They bring you down to their level and then beat you with experience. (I like doing that! Hee.)

The art of diplomacy is to say "good dog" while looking for a bigger stick.

The only substitute for bad manners is quick reflexes. (Haha!)

Some days you are the windshield, some days you are the bug. (No, You are always the bug. I am the windshield. Hee.)

If it jams, force it. If it breaks, it needed replacement anyway. (Oh well... I agree.)

If at first you don't succeed, give up. No use looking like a fool. (Disclaimer: I do NOT subscribe to this.)

If you can't hear a pin drop, there is something definitely wrong with your bowling.

If you don't like my attitude, I've got others.

A photographic memory is no use if it's never developed. (The pun is quite nice, I thought.)

Never mess up an apology with an excuse. (Yeah I totally buy this.)

Bills travel through the mail at twice the speed of cheques.


If you are still reading, it means you are entertained. =) I don't care. There's no other possibility! Hee.

Had an interesting dinner with Meowmeow last night (my supposed mysterious date who's apparently more adorable than others.) at Lucky Plaza.

We explored the entire Lucky Plaza, from Level 1 all the way to Level 5. Not that we were carrying out some NUS survey, neither were we there to interview Filippino maids (still remember when Lumpy told the entire lecture that I couldn's spell "Philippines". Hmph!)... we were there to patronize an Indonesian chicken rice place. But in order to find it, there's an initiation course. You need to wind in and out of the many alleys, take all escalators and peek into every single corner. Then you'll finally get your food. When you find the place lah. (That happens when you don't know the name of the eating place, nor where it is, and the directory isn't extremely helpful in informing you whether it's an eating place or not.) I'm more than willing to oblige though. Heh.

But I must say Lucky Plaza really needs a Geographer to help them plan the layout man... it's so laissez-faire! So much so that the directory has to be in alphabetical order instead of by categories! And different parts of it reminded me of different shopping centres! The Japanese building opposite Cuppage which has lots of Japanese karaokes, Beach Road, Far East plaza, Yang Tze building, etc.

Anyway, we settled down for our dinner. Boy did we work hard for our dinner! Heh. The food was not bad... but it's Indo food lah... (ever since the last time when I was sick in Indo, it kinda turns me off. Heh.) Anyway, the funny thing is that as I was talking... Meowmeow started tearing. (Nope, I didn't make her cry... I wouldn't bear to right? Haha! She probably would never allow me to forget it! *grin*) But neither was she too touched that we finally found the place. The reason was cos the chilli was too hot! Hahaha! But I decided not to make her embarass there and then... cos I'd rather blog it and tell the whole world instead! Hahaha!

But it was a nice night out, short and impromptu as it was.

I learnt something today from a HOD.

A primary school boy was drawing a fish on a piece of paper. After drawing it, he told everyone around him that the fish was as stoopid as everyone else. When asked why, he answered that the fish was stoopid enough to open his mouth so wide to be caught by the fishing hook.

So what's the explanation for this analogy?
If you don't wanna get arrowed, don't open your mouth so wide.

But I was thinking, sometimes you don't open your mouth, you also get arrowed what. Hmm, cos there are always tai-kos who just throw the fishing line and immediately hit target! =)

Whatever it is, just take it as it comes lah. We can always go beyond our duties and responsibilities. We might someday be in the position where we really need help from others... and imagine, when we do ask for help, no one comes forward... and if we arrow, they make noise. Why make things difficult... if it's within our means, just do it lor.

Even doing simple little things well is an act of serving God. And if we do them well, God will be able to trust us with bigger things.
(Just that I can't even do simple things well... I don't even remember the day or the date anymore!)

I think communication is really important, but I'm still learning it. I don't know how to express myself when it concerns deep issues, matters-of-the-heart, things which might hurt someone, etc. I guess it's a skill, or is it a practice? Hmmm...

Was reading "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus" yesterday. In MPH. Haha! I came upon a point which I had just discovered recently, which made me feel momentarily intelligent and gained a glimpse of hope regarding my intellect. Haha! Cheap thrill.

Anyway, have you ever ended up in a big fight, or have a complete change in attitude towards your partner when things were supposed to be excellent? Like a silly thing like not holding the door open for you, saying something mean to you in a joking manner and you take it the wrong way, etc, and you flare up? Apparently there's a 90/10 principle to it. If you think it through calmly, or pen your thoughts and feelings down, you will probably realise that the thingy that triggered your unexpected emotion only constitutes 10%. 90% of whatever feelings you had probably stemmed from past feelings that were unresolved, like hurt, pain, rejection, fear, etc.
This results because we feel so comfortable with that someone that we feel safe to be our own true self and hence past emotions are given the opportunity to make their appearances, regardless of whether we conjured it up or not.

From the girl's point of view, it is said that we just need him there to listen, to accept us and to shower more love even if he doesn't understand a single thing, and not fix the problem. How true is it? Possibly true for me.

Anyway, it can only navigate down this road if he understands this and knows that when we flare up about almost nothing at all, it largely isn't about the thing that triggered it. And for us, we need to communicate that. But I have to admit that communicating it is not easy. Not easy at all. Lots of trust and faith and love is needed. If we don't feel safe or accepted, we will never open our heart and share. But I guess an easier way of sharing is to write. Whatever it is, communication should be foremost. If you read yesterday's papers, there was Singapore's longest union... about a 80-year marriage in which the husband advises that they seek each others' advice about things, and respect each others' opinion and they share everything. Only then will the union grow stronger.

Learning in progress.

When the alarm sounded today, in my stupor I frightened myself.
"What day is it? Oh no! It's Monday! I haven't done my reflection! How?!"

When I went to class to distribute their class test and provide feedback, many of the kids were absent. Guess what your silly friend thought?
"Oh today is Friday? Wow... so many of them are in choir? Hmm. Huh?? Does that mean have 2 classes later??"
Why? Cos Friday's the choir concert and choir students have the day free.

That's not all. I came back to the staffroom when HBB asked if I wanted to attend her lesson. So I looked at my timetable and casually asked her if she had just returned from lecture. She stared at me in astonishment. I had thought it was a Wednesday today!!

What is WRONG with me??
I attribute it to the fun fun days I had on Tuesday and yesterday, when it didn't feel like school at all, and I was out playing most of the time. (In casual way yesterday somemore! Haha!) Yeah, I think students here are too smart lah... no need to study... every week has some major school event in which school declares a holiday. I am not complaining. Haha!

26/7/06

You know, many of us will be scared off or be cynical when we hear this, cos it entails lots of work, and many deem it unnecessary. However, I belong to a different camp, and I'm proud that I do. I think it's a very important aspect of education, in fact I think it should hold more priority in some sense. Why? Because if it is carried out well, students' characters will be moulded, they will be touched and if their lives don't change forever, at least their outlook will change for the better and this experience will forever remain a chapter in their lives.

Why do I feel so strongly about this? Cos I have done it several times, as a student, as an undergraduate, as a teacher trainee and now as a teacher. And I always felt that it was very fulfilling. But let me illustrate this current service learning activity that I'm involved in.

This particular arts class which I teach decided to do a service learning project for HCA Hospice Day Care centre. It serves to relieve care-givers by providing day care services and to entertain these patients. Here, they aim to increase the life in the days of the lives of the patients. Patients here suffer from terminal illnesses and only have about a year to live. However, when you interact with them, you realise that actually they are full of life, enthusiastic and they make you want to do so much more for them, and you feel so encouraged by their optimism. The nurses there are friendly, lively, jovial and really a perfect bunch of workers who are dedicated to the patients' well-being.

Last week, I watched the students practice a dance that their fellow classmate had choreographed, simplified by another classmate, and I was absolutely touched by their effort (not to mention amused by their silly antics as well). They were really dedicated to learning the dance, a full sense of ownership, and no one complained even though they might have had 2 left feet and 2 left hands. Lots of laughter and commitment. I'm proud of them. Especially when the dance was fast-paced with somewhat complicated moves.

At the hospice, they quickly warmed up to the patients and several were soon attached to individual old persons. Fun chatter, loving massages, attentive looks of concern, initiative, enthusiasm in persuading and encouraging the elderly to participate in activities, etc. I felt a sense of pride for this bunch of kids. Just like a parent. But age-wise, I might as well just be one of them! I clicked with several patients, who told me I looked young, just like one of them. (Heh, I agree!) And the interaction with the patients alongside the kids also helped me to get to know the kids better, and for them to know me better too. Lots of laughter. I liked it.

They performed the dance they had painstakingly choreographed, an Indian dance to a catchy tune and simple but funny movements and the Chicken dance. The patients were really entertained, and were very willing to dance and sing along to the tunes. As I was the self-appointed official photographer and videographer, I felt a sense of warmth, of happiness. I was totally engulfed in the love that exuded itself so naturally. I could not help grinning from ear to ear. The kids all attached to their partner, encouraging them, being sporting enough to join them in forfeits from the game, entertaining them, etc. I sincerely can say that the students were touched, and indeed learnt something from the patients.

This was all confirmed when many of them teared when we had to bid our goodbyes to the dear patients when they had to return home. Mass crying session, especially for those who had grown attached to their aunties or uncles. I sent every single one of them off on the van and shook ther hands, or hugged them, telling that they had touched me and thanking them. Tears welled up in my eyes and I felt my heart ache. An uncle told me to come back to visit him again, an auntie told me that she was really really happy, and several of the old ladies teared as well, and I couldn't help but hug them and soothe them.

In the midst of this suffering, I still have to give thanks to God for providing us with the opportunity to learn from them, to share the love that He has so freely given, to touch their lives, and to be touched, for this learning opportunity for both teachers and students, etc. One signed up to be a volunteer, and I do hope more will come forward. It truly is a fulfilling experience, "beyong words" as one of the kids mentioned.

Death is a scary thing, and no one is ever ready for it, no matter how eager we are to see God. This experience helped to put life into perspective. What are we here on earth for? As an uncle told me, all your wealth and riches can't be brought with you to your grave. All the time you spent slogging, day in day out... you neglect things that really do matter in life, like family, friends, health, etc. Lost opportunities. Treasure the people around you. Place your values on what matters most in life and eternity, and not on things that will pass away. And when problems occur, swallow it and trudge on with strength... there is support around, you never have to suffer alone. And if you think you are the worst suffering person on the earth, look again. And give thanks.

Attended a talk on the national weather study project held at the PUB. (See how cool teachers are? Heh.) The best part of it all was meeting friends there, and having colleagues to joke with as well. Too bad Pengy wasn't there... I would have loved to meet her. Oh! I was also tempted to kidnap this Thai girl, whom everyone agrees is pretty, witty and cute.

We were 'treated' to presentations by the winners of last year's contest. I must say that their presentation skills are quite impressive. At least they don't have a piece of paper which they read off, or having chunks of words on powerpoints and reading off... Though it was quite disappointing that many of the kids were non-Singaporeans... well, is it cos we locals are lazy and not as enthusiastic as the foreign scholars?

The highlight of it all had to be the chicken wings! Hahah! Yummy!! I love chicken wings! And these were really tasty! Like buffalo wings! I like! And though I egged pinpy on to clear the tray of chicken wings, she was too paiseh to take the last 2 pieces. And greedy me, on the other hand, had already gobbled 6 of them! And of cos I had to introduce Pengy to the caterer! Hoping to get some royalty in chicken wings.

And it all turned out perfect cos Pinpy had tuition a couple of hours later and I had some time to waste too. So we hung out at Centrepoint and patronized Prints. Cool shop. I love the colours... orange especially, though I have to admit that the pink is rather pretty too. Bought a cute card which reminded me of a keychain I had. The envelope was more ex than the card! (Guess what I did? Heh. Do without the envelope lah! Hahaha! Did you guess??)

Ended up at BK with Pinpy as she had her dinner. Good company. Especially when we decided to try using the video-call to Pengy. It was hilarious and quite exciting actually. You could see her moving, and you could see yourself in the camera too! But the reception wasn't fantastic. In order to hear the other party, you had to put it to your ear... and of cos your friend will just be admiring your ear! Close-up view leh... what a privilege! =)

And all in perfect timing... when Pinpy thought it was time to abandon me, K turned up right on the spot. Haha! Bet he was out there crouching behind some railing and spying, waiting for the perfect second to turn up. Heh.

Happy day. Again.

Till I fell into the well.

24/7/06

I think I like teaching. I think I’m in the correct profession.
Why? Because….

I look forward to entering classes…
I like entertaining the kids…
I like being entertained… (and I’m easily amused by the kids’ antics and stooped comments)
I like the ‘intellectual’ debate we teachers have while preparing for lessons…
I like the feeling of simplifying complicated issues for students and seeing them see light… (or at least I choose to believe so)
I like it when they thank you at the end of the lesson, even though you didn’t formally end it.
I like chit-chatting with them, be it advising or just plain talk….
I like having the free rein to do what I want in my classes… (including being silly)
I like making friends with the kids and getting to know them better…
I like interesting them in Geography… even if my attempt is somewhat overt at times.
I feel like I’m in JC all over again when I watch them… and a sense of nostalgia overcomes me…
I can see things from their point of view and I empathise with them…
I teach my favourite topics and come out of class feeling a sense of glee, and my heart bounces.

Yep. I love Geography. I love my kids. Oh, and don’t forget the support that the Geog department gives me as well. =) The feeling is just great.

Happy.

22/7/06

I’m happily munching on my traditional sultana biscuits as I type this. Wanna blog about Beckaroo's birthday celebration on Saturday. Was almost completely zonked out from a nite filled with little sleep. Imagine the inertia to pull myself to our friendly supermarket NTUC where they have an uncanny way of making you feel all-auntie when they go, "ni shi member ma?", and you quickly brush them off saying no. (Well, pinpy apparently has taken the first step into auntie-initiation! Hee.) But I did get my butt down to NTUC where I really enjoyed myself. I think retail therapy works best for me when I'm in a supermarket. I think supermarkets rank on par with bookshops, or even higher in the race for my favourite place to hang out. (Eating places do not qualify for this competition.)

Anyway, I happily picked up the foodstuff to my whims and fancies before heading to make the most difficult decision of all - the BBQ tray, charcoal, etc. But before that, guess who I met? I met K's mummy! So coincidental! Hee. What would she think? Me shopping in a supermarket. Hmm, good I hope.

I bought so many things that I really wondered for the rarest time ever how I was gonna lug everything back home. But independent me succeeded... with very sore arms which lasted for the next few days. But with Meow's help, the food were prepared very much in time... we even had time to laze around on the hammock and all.

So here's an update to the food included.
1) Korean style sotong
2) Black pepper beef (cheapo slices cos I was too 'giam' to buy ribeye or even sirloin! Heh.)
3) Pork chops with herbs
4) Chinese style chicken wings (just the middle joints)
5) Asparagus wrapped in bacon (which Meow beautifully wrapped)
6) Cheese sausage (yummy cos the skin is crisp and the cheese oozes out when you bite into it!)
7) Sweet potato
8) Potato
9) Cherry tomatoes (the long ones, not the classy round ones with stalks)
10) Bananas (del monte ones cos it's got the slight sour tinge to it, yummy when soft)
11) Cheesecake (NOT cream cheese pie! Which Meow helped with...)
12) Marinated Meow (this was in the menu, but not available cos she arrived too late and the seasoning were already done by then, so I decided to make her more useful in other ways, like helping out instead.)

All this was carried out at the familiar pavillion at Meow's place, with a groundsheet and cloth laid on the ground, and the naturally dim yellow lights to create the ambience.

Estimation was so good that we finished every single thing we BBQed! =)
The fire was perfect too... the red hot charcoal just slowly BBQing the delicacies.
Initially when we started, the fire starters refused to work... extinguishing once you added it to the tray of charcoal. But when it got going, teamwork set it... the fire person, the fan person, the t(h)ongs person, the 'painter' (with butter), the food guard, the water person, the feeder, etc.

"Life is good." (Meow, 2006) with a satisfied smile on her face.
Chien: You have a life?
Meow: Now I do.

Yep, one of the best BBQs I have had. Cosy with close buddies, great food and great ambience. =) Call me if you need a BBQ. Haha!

Qn: What do you see when you hold a bee?
Ans: Beauty. Because beauty lies in the hands of the be(e)holder.

Boy: Could you please help me? Do you know CPR?
Girl: erm....
Boy: You have taken my breath away.

In an attempt to entertain. =) Don't groan lah.

Yes, I finally graduated from NIE. Not that I wouldn't have graduated... it's just that it seems so long even though it was just a year ago when I first stepped foot into that ulu place where even birds don't bother flying to. The silly orientation organised by the camp compaby I used to work for, with 'facilitators' younger and less experienced than me. Why do they let such 'instructors' do camps for us, rather than with Sec school kids? I think the logic is just so warped... sigh, no faith in such camp companies.

Anyway, I shouldn't have gone off the tangent. Let me do a little walk down memory lane, similar to what Pengy jiejie did.

a) Attending miscellaneous classes like:
1) Communications (where you had 5 min to do a speech - where Shutch talked about crabs instead of birds and mangroves at Sungei Buloh)
2) Ed Psych (which just bored me to death...), somewhat useless ICT ("you should be 'sinking' about 'sings'", and where I deliberately twisted her "New York" bell when she used it to get our attention - are we cows or what??)
3) Classroom management (where Shutch fell off the chair)
4) Youths-at-risk where the company amazingly got into (thanks to Ken or else I would have ended up with a creativity module which was not so creative), where the tutor was just amazing
5) GESL which was a pain for many of us, but not for me lah. I enjoyed mine quite abit. Heh.

b) Tutor K.
Where we first encountered Tutor K who got my attention cos he needed time to get used to us and 'warm up', his fascination with Mac (not McDonald's but Macintosh), his love for Big 'O', his funny socks, etc.

c) Microteaching
- Ken and myself tearing up the mahjong paper during CY's class when we got egged on by tutor K, which sparked off a whole series of pai-kia-ness in us from then on
- the memorable pet rock fish in Jo's class
- hiding in the cupboard with LL and J not knowing where we were
- SW's sharpness and constant "Yes, Daffy?" at any slight movement
- Pengy and YZ pretending to be cheena in my Captain Planet class (retribution! hahaha!)
- Rezal the blind father
- Mas's Oscar's performance in her role as the infatuated student in Chris's class
- Pengy's STARING
- Shutch's sexy pose during microteaching....

d) History class.
- The cozy few of us going crazy in the class, dancing to the hp tune "nanana... nananananana...nanana"
- laughing our head off at Sean's silly jokes or Wes's silly input
- going "ooh" over all the presentations cos they are so well done
- Wes's strict marking
- Sean's compassionate and intelligent marking
- CM using of MS Word for presentation
- PokeChar and PokeKar my bestest friends in History who never fail to amuse me
- culliepok (curry pok), hollog (hotdog), the hiding of CM in the car boot when we went to Joo Chiat, etc.

f) The many fieldtrips and outings we had as a company. All the various places which we visited spontaneously, the fun and laughter, the sharing, the support, the togetherness, the many photos and memories... the one aspect which made NIE a sweet memory.

e) The many friends who made NIE so much more exciting, who made all the piles of work we had to complete seem a breeze cos of they were stuck in the rut with us too, and all the laughter from the silliness of being kids. Let me give tribute to them in no random order...
- Pengy jiejie, the ah-lian who was my self-appointed secretary and natural worm in my tummy, a funny friend whom I really treasure.



- Pinpy - my long friend, my partner in procastination whose shoe I always steal while in class, and who laughs/giggles at every single little thing and is witty enough to make others laugh at every single thing she says butyet can be blur-er than even me! Haha!
- Shutch, who got posted to the same school 3 times in a row (!) but smart one she is. A friend whom I really care about.
- Ken, the meticulous one with the GIS system in his brain. One who will go far in life.
- Char, another one whom I love... can just grin at her and start giggling for no rhyme or reason. One whom kids will love as their teacher and mentor cos she's so full of enthusiasm and can connect to them at their level.
- Pokekar, the beauty with lots of brains and wits. She can transform from a serious intellectual to a little kiddo with a whiny voice in a matter of seconds!
- Wes, the auntie. What else can I say? Heh.

f) Practicum
- selfless sharing, as Pengy put it
- making time out to just meet up or talk
- where the little white car was apparently instrumental in connecting the dots of the future =)

Argh, photos won't load. Sigh.

I entered a class today, which was an epitome of the United Nations. It was made up of students from a minimum of 7 different classes. So yeah, it was a strange mix. But they are all united in one accord... and that is, Geography.

Ice-breaking consisted of the "Suaku Game", where I used paperclips instead of M&Ms cos... 1) No food is allowed in the classroom (not that I bothered, cos we are enclosed in an aircon room anyway! And if you know me, I don't exactly abide by ALL rules.); 2) BB advised me against it cos students might talk about it in excitement and other teachers might start to talk and point fingers at me, etc; 3) M&Ms are expensive (!) leh. Imagine me repeating the entire process for 5 classes? I might as well treat myself and someone else to a nice dinner! (Well, unless you tell me can claim under classroom expenditure lah. Heh.

Guess which is the pivotal reason for my eventual decision on 70 cents re-usable paper clips? Heh. I did my part in warning them not to eat them. And I did admit the reason why they didn't get M&Ms instead. Haha!

Eventually I did get them to sit down and do a little something for me. I wanted them to provide me with some biodata about themselves, a short description about themselves, why they took Geography as a subject and their targets (for Geog, not their love interests!). They did that pretty well and I was entertained with their write-ups, which were on obiang coloured paper (imagine shocking pink and green, though the orange was pretty attractive) which I had purchased, cut and folded nicely for them.

To wrap things up, I told them that Geog is superior and more applicable than many other subjects and assured them of the very wise choice they had made before releasing them.

And now I'm here marking, blogging and talking to my also-no-life teacher friends online, as I wait for dinner.

I am halal cos I'm not a pig. And it's important cos I am sitting beside BB. But it's also dangerous that I'm halal cos I might get eaten up anytime since I'm halal. Heh. (More so when it's apparently my fault in enticing her to snack whilst marking!) This whole notion of halal-ism emerged when BB was offered chocs and she turned it down, claiming that it was not halal. What an excuse! It set all of us ignorant ones thinking... is chocolate halal? Does it need to have the green fire-like sign to certify its halal-ness/ halal-ity? Is cow milk halal? How about the way they handle chocolates?!

Someone (a 'he') announced that he was going to have a baby. (But no, of course not him, but his wife.) He was concerned over whether the baby would affect his career, due to the fact that he has just changed his career and wants to settle down in his job first. He was told that, no, babies don't affect the father's life. A guy's life still goes on as per normal, but life will be a drastic change for his wife. After that, there's a life-long commitment somemore! One expert commented, "The tadpole just swim swim swim, then got caught, then gooooaaaalllllll......." World cup fever! She went on to say that it only takes a minute to score, but the poor wife got to carry it for 9 months! Argh!

He was worried that it is too fast and that he's not ready. The experts (the married ones with kids) told him that no one is ever ready. Even when you think you are ready, you will feel all jittery when the baby does make its grand entrance to the world. Hmmm...

And I learned that some people do want 4 kids, even in this time and age. Makes the family more complete? When asked why, it was speculated that it was to fill all 6 seats at the dining table. Haha! Why must we fill them with kids?? Put Mr Platypus, Space-between-head Pooh Bear, Chip the chipmunk, Maple the Monkey, Mr ah-Pui Pooh Bear and Pricky (aka Porky) the Hedgehog! Though I will make space for Dao Pork if he graces the occasion.

A subject head also commented that her teachers do inform her when they get pregnant. The funniest thing was when she was teased for being so detailed and informed, to the extent that she might even want to know when her teachers were trying for a baby.

For example:
Target: To have a baby at the end of the year.
Specifics: Baby Boy
Process: To start trying as often as possible.

Do you know that it's also possible to close shop as well? And do you know that you could keep engaging in the production, but not actually produce a product? And that the final product can't be planned too much in detail. Sometimes it can also be a limited edition product, especially when the factory has almost ceased production. I wonder why the Singapore Sale is still on when our replacement rate is only hovering around 1.2 when the replacement rate for the population is 2.1. There should be a China or India sale... more in abundance.

No, not study IN China, but study ABOUT China.

This is the second time I’m typing this entire thing again cos I have no idea what button resulted in me refreshing the page, which conveniently erased all the intellectual sentences that I exhausted my tiny brain cells to form and type! *growl*

Yes, so what about this China Studies? It’s going to be a new subject which will be offered as an ‘A’ Level subject beginning next year, 2007. (Yes, we are in year 2006 now if you haven’t realized! I’m saying this cos I always write my date as 2007 instead, or 2004! Why? I dunno, maybe you do?) The purpose of this China Studies is to develop and produce a core group of youngsters who are fluent in the ways of the Chinese, and are so in tuned with their culture that they can understand them inside-out. This will serve useful to Singapore in terms of economic and defence cooperation, whereby Singapore can develop solid relationships with the new superpower of the near future and tap on their resources, thus making Singapore relevant in the new world order. In fact this is quite pertinent to us lah… We are merely catching the new wave, before others do… before they bo-chap us… leaving us to wither and die. In the race to be the top nation in terms of wealth and prosperity, this is a prerequisite lah… forward and far-thinking, the government will argue. This is a necessity for protecting the nation’s interest and future!

So, yesterday I went for a meeting about CS (China Studies, not Counter Strike lah…) Initially I was very enthusiastic cos my impression was that it was an immersion programme in China. So of course I was very gian… But I soon learned that it was actually a regional study. Similar to those general 1101E courses we take in NUS to fulfill some requirement. In CS, we will study the history, politics, society, culture, etc about China. And above it all, we will explore GEOGRAPHY, which subjugates all the previously-mentioned aspects under it. Wahaha! Geography rocks! (And it’s not only about rocks!) Yeah, so since it falls under my area of interest, of course I was attracted!

I wonder to what extent I had made my interest known. (But I’ve already indicated my interest to my RO, mentor, etc.) Why to what extent? Cos I felt overwhelmed and outnumbered by the Econs people at the meeting yesterday! ALL of them were economists… from the 5 new teachers to the person giving the presentation to the subject head to the HOD to the VP! Gosh! And I was a mere geographical fry. So yeah, I thought they were pretty narrow-minded to some extent. But it’s fine… they did think of cross-boundary issues. Where was the other Geographer who is qualified to teach this course and the history people when I was all alone?? *sob* Hahaha!

The only thing that is holding me back is the perceived (and of course, actual) workload, because if I were to take it on, I would have to straddle both Geog and CS, atop of the normal CT duties, Project Work, CCA, committees, etc, as they are unlikely to offload me in these aspects. (A teacher’s life is hard = A teacher has no life). So do you think I should still be so garang as to follow my heart?

I view this as an opportunity… a challenge. Why? Because CS is so new, so brand new that maybe even MOE doesn’t have a clear picture of how it’s going to be carried out. So it’s actually up to the teachers on the ground to construct the teaching package and we have the freedom to do as we please in constructing the lessons and materials! And since it is so new, we blaze the trail. And I think this excites me a lot. How often do we get the chance to do something which no one else has done? (Well, other than the proposed podcast for Geography when we were in NIE…) It’s like venturing into unknown grounds, like exploring a whole new terrain. Thrilling right?!

Should I take it up or not? Will I be able to cope? Tell me what to do. Please pray for me. Pray for wisdom, pray for hope, pray for opportunities, pray for courage (to speak up in front of all the economists in the arts department!) and pray for strength? Thankeryou…

I came upon this issue of asexuality on Channelnewsasia several days ago when they had a mini interview with people who proclaimed to be asexuals. Found it quite interesting so I looked it up a bit.

This is taken from an article:
http://dir.salon.com/story/mwt/feature/2005/05/26/asexual/index.html?pn=3

Sexual short circuits can also be caused by childhood trauma -- which, experts say, is often much more subtle than a specific experience of sexual abuse, or even, say, a parent's warning that masturbators go blind, then to hell. "Becoming a sexual human being is a long and subtle process and many things must go right in one's family of origin for the child to connect sexuality and love," says Aline Zoldbrod. "I have had several patients who came into treatment asexual, completely confused, because they came from 'good' families. But on closer examination, it turned out that certain necessary ingredients were missing: these patients got good care in practical ways -- they were fed, clothed, sent to school -- but they were not touched lovingly by their parents at all. They simply had never experienced physical pleasure in their bodies that they linked to the emotional pleasure of being in a relationship."

Therein, she says, lies her main criticism of the asexual-positive "movement." "It assumes that becoming sexual is simple and easy, and that if sexual feelings and urges don't come 'naturally' they weren't meant to be," she says. "But being sexual has to be learned," she says -- and many people who somehow missed out during their sexually formative years can indeed catch up in sex therapy, though certainly not overnight. Zoldbrod describes one woman who spent a year learning from scratch to enjoy touch: aside from frequent therapy visits both alone and with her husband, "her husband had to give up on intercourse and just touch her non-sexually for months and months, so that she could develop her own innate good feelings about touch and then connect them to her love of him -- and then, later, to sex," says Zoldbrod. "At the end, when she experienced sexual pleasure and sexual drive, she said, 'I can't believe this is my same body.' Her life was profoundly altered, for the better."

David Jay counters by questioning why sex itself is presumed to be the holy grail. "It's not a question of whether asexual people can be made sexual through therapy or drugs, it's a question of whether they want to and whether doing so will improve their lives," he says. "If someone just doesn't like sex then it may, or may not, be easier for them to just get along without it than to go through a long, expensive process of therapy. If, on the other hand, their issues with sex are tied to issues with things like intimacy and vulnerability, then those will play out just as much asexually as they would sexually, and they'll probably be just as likely to seek help. To me, it seems like giving people access to a healthy sex life isn't the issue -- it's giving people access to healthy relationships and then letting them decide where they want sex to fit."

So what are your views?

I think asexuality emerged due to the postmodernist world which we are living in now. All the individuality, free will, freedom of choice and expression, etc. Hmm, I understand why people subscribe to postmodernism... it means the freedom to do anything you wish, assert your rights and all and nobody can say anything. In some ways, it's like an enjoyment of all the desires which we have, and to avoid any kind of oppression.

But whether it is right in God's eyes is a different issue altogether. Well, I guess the only way, or rather, the best way, is to evaluate our actions based on God's words and ways. If it contradicts what He has taught, then whatever we engage in, regardless of how strongly we feel towards it and how perfectly right it is in the world's eyes, it is still frowned upon by God. No matter how hard it is to resist the flesh, we have to always obey God. Why? Because God loves us, He knows what is best for us and will only provide us with the best. He is never the source of temptation. When God is with us, who can be against us?

Quick congratulate me!!

Guess what??

I tried a different stall at the canteen just now! *grin*

Egg prata with a piece of yummy chicken. A mix between tandoori chicken and butter chicken... well, it's up to your imagination, cos I don't know what it is either! But it was a good choice. Heh.
Not that I am sick of the veg rice (not yet), but I have had a craving for prata several days ago. So yeah, Prata stall earned my patronage by chance today! =)

College day was a memorable event.

There are 2 individuals whom I "met", but sadly didn't say hi to (though I wish I had! No courage... too small a fry). K so who were they? No, not Superman nor Spideyman nor Batman or Wonder Woman (though they are Super heroes in their own right).

K so who are they? The first was Elizabeth Choy, whom I managed to get a peek of. At first I didn't realise who she was, but after some questioning around, I discovered who she was! She's a war heroine, who got tortured by the Kempeitai with electric currents to force her to admit her "crimes", while her husband was made to watch. She amazingly survived and did alot more worthy things in educating the younger generation. I apologize for the simplicity of her biography and her greatness. But really, it's thanks to God's grace that she has survived to be an inspiration and make important differences in others' lives.

http://ourstory.asia1.com.sg/war/headline/ec200.html

The next individual is Kishore Mahbubani. Before this, only the name Kishore was familiar, and ignorant me knew nothing about this great man. Well, his credentials are far-reaching and impressive it is. He was the Singapore Ambassador to the UN and even the President of the UN Security Council! WOW! But that's not why I admire him. I admire him cos he's a wise man, and has his values rooted. He gave a speech that day at College Day, casually with his arms folded. He mentioned that both his happiest years were spent here, though ironically 1965-1966 were Singapore's gloomiest period. He concluded that this school has to be something, to cushion its students and make them feel so safe and happy despite the somber mood of the day.

As he talked on, I was mesmerized and paying total attention to his speech... not moving a bit. Maybe cos the topic that he was talking on was of much interest to me. No, not the outdoors or play lah. He was talking about how when Asia emerges, how will and/or should we react to it or embace it. Sometimes I am intellectual too k, well, just in a blue moon or so. Heh. Anyway, he was talking about the shift in superpowers, and the change in geopolitics. Out of the next 4 predicted superpowers of the world, 3 of them would be from Asia. The superpowers, when ranked in order, would namely be China, USA, India and Japan. And those were my predictions too! Yay! Haha! Cheapt thrill.

He gave an acronym - RTV, and he stressed that it's not "Road Tax for Vehicles". Heh. It actually stands for "Read, Travel and Values".

"R" for Read:
He encouraged us to read more from different authors from different countries. He promotes fiction books over non-fiction books. Only then will we be able to learn about their values, their ideas, their philospohy...

"T" for Travel:
He encouraged us to travel more, not to commercialised and tourist-saturated places like Los Angeles, New York, London, etc, but to less-developed countries... even Africa! Yay! More reason to venture there! Heh. I totally agree not cos of my adventur(ism) and my si-gin-na-ness to venture into the unknown and blaze the trail and go off the beaten track. Well, not totally at least! Haha! But I cannot deny the fact that you do learn a whole lot more from these places, and you become so enriched with the culture... it makes you think, and to some extent, changes your worldview on things that were usually taken for granted. So yeah, anyone up for venturing to some unknown place to me for some adventure?? =)

"V" for Values:
He confidently assured us that none of us will experience success throughout our lives. There will definitely be times when we fall or fail. And the only thing that will keep our heads above the water and allow us to stand up again is our values. This is not to say that academic qualifications are not important (He did everything that Singapore defines as successful, that is, academically, and came up tops in everything possible, but he cautioned us because at the end of the day, it's our values which matter the most.), but they are not the MOST important.

Yep, so now my blog has a slightly more intellectual tone to it. *satisfied* =)

I have to say this has re-fuelled my desire to venture a little more into geopolitics. Heh.

This is another back(b)log.

On the last day of the IT fair, we went to Suntec. Stoopid choice right? Caught in the traffic jam on the road and even in Suntec itself. But it's worth it lah... to meet these 2 old buddies of mine. Not that they are old... cos if they are old, I will be old too. Just that it seems we are years apart in mentality at times! Haha! (up to you to decipher whose mentality is not there! Ha!)

Anyway, since the whole of Suntec was packed with humans and computer hardware, we decided on Muthu's Curry. Why Muthu's Curry at Suntec and not Race Course Road? It's a cheem question yet to be answered. But I have to say that the Suntec branch is rather high-crass lor. Gek-seh one leh... use PDA to take order one leh. We ordered Curry Fish Head, Butter Chicken, Mutton Curry, Tandoori Chicken, 3 rice (bowls, not grains, you kuku) and papadam (which was super popular amongst us). Why order so much? Dunno. Ask that Miss Mei Li Mao. (Please lah, it means "Miss No Manners" and not "Miss Pretty Cat"! Hahah!)

So yeah, here's introducing Miss Mei Li Mao and her food. *applause*


Here's introducing Miss Janetong and her food! *Even more applause*


Here's Daffy and her food! *Silence*


Oei! Clap lah! Or salivating already? I meant salivating over the food lah, what are you thinking?!! *grin*

Okie you can salivate over this.

Curry fish head.
Some interesting facts...
1) Do you know that you can suck the fish eye dry till only the eyeball is left?
2) Do you know that you can break open the skull and suck the brain dry?
3) Do you know that the cheek is the yummiest portion of the fish head?
4) Do you know that only big fishes have tongues (which are of course edible)?
5) Do you know that Muthu's curry fish head is served with slices of pineapples only, without the usual ladies fingers and brinjals? *upset*


Heh. How many of you are put off curry fish head now?

Artistic creation of leftover curry and pretty garnishing right? I give you the permission to present me with an award. *grin*


K shall stop spouting (not spRouting) nonsense. Bye.

NAH! I want to eat this.

Kampong chicken.


With more sauce (sesame oil and soy sauce) please.

Caught Superman yet? Not as in catch him and hold him in your arms... (hmm, that sounds like a grreat idea! Haha! Oops?) He's charming right? So gentlemanly, the way he held Lois as they ascended up... awww... And so mightily strong when he lifted the krypton island out of earth despite the krypton growing and affecting him. And his cape, his bod, his new underwear, that curl (stress that 'l') in his fringe... *googoogaga*



















Haha! No lah, I'm not crazy over him. Somebody mentioned he looks plastic-ky, resembling Ken, barbie doll's boyfriend. No wonder he's called Kent Clark. Heh. I thought the show was very long and draggy though I loved the little boy. So guai.

"Have you taken your vitamins, etc, etc?"
"Yes mum" repeatedly and good-naturedly. *Blissful sigh*
And even though he had power, he still needed his inhaler! Haha!

Discovered some parallels between "Superman" and Jesus Christ too.
About Superman hearing cries for a saviour, and he being the son who was sent to Earth, etc. Quite nice links, I thought.

Oh, and I decided to be Super(wo)man too by offering BB my marking services for free. I offered to help her mark the J2 Geog papers. My RO looked flabbergasted and looked at me with lots of concern.

RO: "Do you know that the first lesson you need to learn is to NOT (with emphasis) offer your help?"
Me: "Err...."
RO: "You're sure about this? JC2 you know? You sure? You're gonna regret this..."

Hmm... is it? Haha!

To put it into context, she is someone who asked (innocently) a fellow colleague to mark her History scripts, when that colleague is teaching a Geography. We heard the conversation and complained that he didn't offer to help.

RO: "You didn't ask what! Christian school you know? Ask and you will receive and your joy will be made complete."

Really? Hmm... I want to fly with Superman....

Thank God for digicams, whacky friends and this lappie which FINALLY enables me to load photos! So these are some of the crazy things Pengy jiejie and myself did, which added to the craziness, laughter and fun of it all. Jia4 buay dua, si gin na! =)

This photo was hilarious. Only Pengy jiejie can be so skinny as to fit into the canon! "1...2...3... pull the trigger!! And there goes YP jiejie soaring into the sky! Oh? No what... she's still stuck inside the canon!" Heh.


Eh? Where is Pengy jiejie??


So how do I look like as a baby tree?!


"I want climb high high!"


Catch me if you can! "Neh-neh-nee-poo-poo..."


Apparently Pengy jiejie caught me, and now I'm Daffy Pocket.


But if I am Daffy pocket, then Catholic boy is teeny weeny Kel pocket! Hee. So small I can crush it like a co-ko-roach... Hiak hiak hiak... But I won't do it on purpose la... it's more likely that I'll forget where I put him, crush him by accident and give an innocent "oops!" Haha!


But after blowing me up like a balloon, I was soon big and strong enough to piggyback her! Let's go onto the windmill!!


Happy gals... cos we got to play a whole lot! Heh.


And after it all.... "Mummy I want ice-cream! NOW!" *whine*

Several of us (all Geographers except Mr Physicist) went to Malacca over the weekend for a short getaway. Why Malacca? Cos it's cheaper lah. Went there to eat, shop, eat, shop, eat, shop, eat... Like Hong Kong or Bangkok right? It's nothing like Hong Kong lah... You're not missing anything. Hee. But yes, just for the record... I did NOT end up at Malacca, Mongolia, Maldives, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mexico, XiaMen, ZaMbia, ZiMbabwe, SoMalia, RoMe or RoMania. Ha! *smug* (Reason being that I didn't book it!) Though I don't mind any of these countries!

So yeah, here's a photo with the blur effect for artistic purposes.


We went for the supposedly famous chicken rice balls. Nothing terrific leh... I prefer my Thomson road Kampong chicken. More fantastic. Heh. Loyalty. But with DR's infamous comment about them "Squeeeezzzinggg the balls"... I think my appetite has somewhat fled. Heh. Not long after, we proceeded for Laksa. They sell chendol there too. But I figured my tummy will probably transform into a washing machine if I were to down both the laksa and chendol down. So I thought better of it.


We also found a traditional pineapple tart bakery. It's so memorable... the first bite takes your breath away. The pastry is so fine and crusty that it falls gently off the filling when you first bite it. Then you experience the heavenly combination of the tasty sweet and sour pineapple filling coupled with the light fluffy crust that melts in your mouth almost immediately. Woooo......

There was a Geographers' Cafe there, so being Geographers, we had to at least step in and sniff sniff right? The food there sucks, don't go there. Heh. But the ambience was quite pretty.


Didn't feel like eating there cos I wanted to eat from the roadside stall... (See? So smart! Heh.) So we went downstairs to buy fried carrot cake. So authentic. I like. The first packet we bought was yummilicious! But subsequent packets got worse and worse... Haha! Probably cos the crowd grew... so the standard fell. So inconsistent. But the funny thing was, cos we were seated upstairs, Pengy jiejie and myself shouted downstairs to place our orders with the uncle... and he took our orders. So fun! I love doing impromptu things. Heh. Especially with company! =)

Why? Cos she's outrageous! (I'm writing this cos she is NOT tech-savvy at all and I assume she'll never get to read this unless I decide to let her read it for fun and have a good laugh, or when and if either one of you 'betrays' me. Heh.)

She is so open-minded that her somewhat conservative daughter buay tahan! She claims that it's ok to be physical with someone even before entering a relationship! To me, that is a BIG NONO! So where do my morals come from? Apparently it's from Primary school's "Hao Gong Min" and the CME classes with Mr No-hair-wear-a-wig". But I think it's from the friends around me and the many happenings as i was growing up. Hmm, but maybe my mummy has a pont somewhere in there which I fail to comprehend. Oh well, what are your views?

She's the perfect candidate for SDU or even the government's family planning unit. She can be their Special Programmes Consultant! All the conspiracies... *shake head* Oh, not for planning smaller families, but to boost the baby boom and hit the population replacement rate! Aside: Not too wise to discuss her conspiracy here. Present the full sum of money before she talks. Or you could just ask her daughter.

Out of all the appalling or "creative" marriage proposals, I think she is most capable of having her hand in one of them. (Meow concurs. I bet Chien will too.) If she had a son, her son will go, "My mummy says you should marry me. And if you don't marry me, I can't go home tonight." Haha! K, I'm exaggerating. My mummy is not like that. She's very easy-going. Just that she will have a big part to play if she wants to. Like how Meow says my mummy might buy the ring and all and conspire with the guy as to how to propose, and then warn the guy not to breathe a word about her involvement. And of course, while this is all going on, she is on top of it all with other arrangements, without her daughter's knowing. Hmmm, let's see if any of this happens if I do get lucky.

Oh, and she won the first prize at a cooking competition! So proud of her! Heh. Eh, not that I see-her-no-up... it's just that I thought it was going to be a team effort with my aunt and my grandmother. The dishes didn't sound too exciting what, except for the black pepper chicken. Mee briyani by my aunt, non-oily vegetable soup (bet there could be a better-sounding name) by my granny and black pepper chicken by my mum. However, it turned out to be an individual competition. And she won! She was so happy... hee, taking photos on stage with the HUGE trophy (first time she has won a trophy and that trophy is bigger than any trophy I've ever won! Hahaha!) and shaking hands with the minister.... I wish I was there to witness it all.

Anyway, giving her some credit for her cooking is good. Now her confidence is built up. Hee. And now you can see why her daughter is so well-fed, and why my place is a restaurant! =)

Dinner was an ala carte buffet at Teahouse at China Square. A cosy 4 of us - Meowmeow, Chien, Catholic boy and myself. Not pig out JUST on tea. Though Meow Meow probably did that. Heh. I chose that place cos it's the first time every dish on the menu caught my interest. *grin*

Meow claims I conned her into dinner. Chien didn't know it was a buffet. HF didn't know it was today. Emay didn't know there was dim sum on the menu. K gals, my fault... Heh. Next time I suggest, someone else organise k? Hee.

Oh before I forget, I had the privilege to give directions based on memory and I felt like I was in virtual reality. Something like Mission Impossible 3 which featured Tom Cruise in China or the like, where you use high-tech methods to enter and navigate round a building or place... with someone giving you directions through your ear piece. I did exactly that with Chien as she combed Far East Square and China Square. Haha! Quite fun.

The funniest thing was guessing what she wore. Spaghetti straps? Skirt? Pants? White top? What bag? What shoes? What colour? Ultimate guesses which popped up were... "I bet she has long hair", "I bet she's wearing shoes", "I bet she brought both limbs". How ingenious!

Ok, now to the food. No photos here but you can fuel your imagination and whet your appetite.

Individual sharks' fin soup, herbal prawn (yummy soup), Peking duck, cereal softshell crab with curry leaves, braised beef brisket with radish, ostrich meat, tofu with mushroom, scallop with cuttlefish and vegetables, garlic kailan, salad prawn, salmon sashimi, mini octopus, jellyfish....

Topped up with varieties from the dim sum menu: siu mai, har gao, chicken claws (2X), char sao pau, deep fried prawn dumpling, chives har gao...

Dessert: Dried tang yuan with sesame filling, honey guiling gao (with no wu gui and no pot of honey for me to drink from), mango pudding which was supposedly yummy but I didn't get a taste of (humph!), cheng ting....

The fun part of it all was the laughter. The suaning of Meow Meow, her gaining comfort from her little teapot, us egging her on to exit from the exit door just a few inches from her to wallow in her pity, attempting to throwing food which you can't finish out of the exit door so that no one will know, making Catholic boy finish the food, plotting of ways to dunk Meow into water (Either a bucket or a toilet bowl), Catholic boy figuring out why and how Meow is the president of Calculus club, waiting for Chien to grow hungry in an instant, etc.

The wits of my friends. I like. Heh.

30/6/06

Guess what’s my favourite food at the school canteen?
No prize for the correct answer! I can think of 2 persons who can get it right. Heh.
Yes, it’s mixed vegetable rice! Why?
1) Got vege, got meat, got rice.
2) And there’s a variety to choose from!
3) And it’s cheap.
4) And the uncle and auntie are friendly.
5) And there’s LOTS of ingredients… more than the rice. Happy.
6) And the most important point is that the lady asked if I was a student or a teacher… that I looked very young, just like a student… and that my Geography has to be very good. (This I beg to differ! Haha! Invigilated the JC2 Geog paper and I can’t do the atmospheric question AT ALL! Hee.)

But yeah, I like the veg rice. In fact, that’s the ONLY stall I’ve tried! Hee. When I walk past the stall, they smile at me... and somehow I will U-turn after reaching the last stall.Soon you'll hear me go, "Uncle fan4 shao3" and start picking my dishes. Hee.

29/6/06

White specs? Red specs? Whie specs red specs white specs red specs white specs red specs. I want my mummy.

She is my encourager, whenever I want to spend. I am more cheapo than she is, so she usually just goes, “Buy lah!” Heh. Support in sin. Her taste is not bad too, in certain things lah… until she resorts to wearing UGLY bright GREEN cargo pants, flowery flamboyant blouses and HUGE out-of-the-world ornaments. Hmmm. Or maybe Meow Meow or Chien can be my taste-check. I don’t trust Catholic boy, cos he just wants me to look like him! Haha! And base on his no-standard-whatsoever for wanton mee, eer… I think it’s a safe way to go. =)

I applied for ODAC as my ECA, and I got it. One of the few that got my first choice, I heard. Praise God! I’ll get to upgrade and certify myself in the activities which I like, and go on camps and overseas trips! Woohoo!

School has been okay, cos I haven’t started teaching. I guess the stress between Sec school and JC is that the former deals with class management and student misbehaviour more, while the latter deals more with content expertise. Not that I’m terrific at any! But content challenges do make me think, make me feel like I’m in NUS again. Keeps my brain working. Not too bad a choice lah.

The other complaint is that my cubicle is so FREEZINGGGG COOOLLLDDDD!!! Brrrrrrrr……. Everyday BB and myself engage in aircon war with the thick-skinned enemy, with N providing the comic relief with her witty comments and outrageous antics. We secretly play with the aircon temperature, raising it up and hoping the enemy doesn’t turn it down. But we usually lose. I am for the idea of transporting my winter jacket here. No need for further preservation of the duck. Frozen liao. Enough for several years. I think that’s what they mean by me being bonded for 3 years.

28/6/06

No class today. Not complaining. Hee. There was an Arts meeting, but we new teachers were called back to NIE for a small group dialogue. Can I be honest and say, "What a waste of time?" I mean, it's only been 3 days!! How much can we talk about? How much have we been given to do? How much have we been exposed to? I thought it would be something of relative importance... but it was up to us to ask questions. Huh?

The funny thing is, they grouped us Geographers with Historians, a music teacher and an Arts teacher. That's acceptable, being that we are all arty farty and funky. But why PE people? So chapalang. PE people have got this sei3 of being different. Some of them carry it too far, I think. Like they are the kings and can do anything they like. Hmmm, but to some extent I don't really blame them cos if I were a PE teacher, I would gek4 sei3 too. Hahah!

But it was fun meeting PinPy. I missed her. It was nice sitting beside her and talking rubbish again. This time with Mr C peidumama to entertain us. But too bad Pengy and Wes were not around. Or we could all talk rubbish together. Haha!

A little on the small dialogue. It brought up this issue about whether we want to subscribe and sing to the tune of Yoda school(Huang, 2006) and be explicit in whatever we do to showcase ourselves and get promoted in the process, or whether we want to stay loyal to why we entered the force in the first place. Well, not saying that being explicit is to go against our values... just whether we need to be so flamboyant about everything.

The game. The political game. To play or not to play. I don't want to play it. But by not playing it, am I already playing it?
I want to be the hermit that I was, the lone banana plantation farmer. Happy in my own world. But how possible is that?
I guess satisfaction from the force does not only come from the students. Job satisfaction covers lots of aspects. Hmm, I only pray that God will guide us young ones in the correct path, to keep our hearts and minds pure and focus on the main purpose of education.

27/6/06

Observed a lecture. The students are quite bubbly. I like. Cos like me. Haha! When introduced, I wanted to say something witty. But I didn’t. Don’t know why. But they cheered when I was introduced. So yeah, some ego boost there, although they might have other motives for cheering. I don’t care! Haha! Easily pleased. Yeah, so I’m looking forward to having a fun time with them. Wanna be the funky teacher.

Received my timetable today too. I’m not complaining. God is good.

Got my biometric thingy done too. It's for attendance taking. High-tech. Next time use the eye lah... I don't like leaving my fingerprints anywhere. Later police catch.

26/6/06

First day of school. *Jitters*
What predominant feeling?

LOST. Really LOST.

Why? Cos the school is so huge! It’s like a gigantic organization where people operate in departments. Although the college looks great and fun, with strong school spirit, I still feel so lost. I am told that it’s cos I’m still new. Takes time. Yeah ok, but maybe cos I have no buddy who came in with me, not like the others who have newbies as well. So I'm perpetually lost. I need my trustworthy friends! Like Meow, Becky and Chien in NUS, Pengy in NIE, HF and Emay jiejie in church, Mummy at home, K now, etc. (Eh, I don't take them for granted... I'm just really blur.) Therefore I feel like I’m left alone to float or sink (I need to find a trustworthy friend who is willing to be my secretary), although credit must be given to my department and my neighbour in the same cubicle. Nice lot of people. Gonna have to trudge through the blurness…

But I have to say that the admin is really efficient. Several weeks before our first day of reporting, we were already assigned desks, with our big names printed by the side... with our pigeon holes labelled nicely ready for the correct pigeons to coop in, letterboxes up for students to leave their fingerprints, etc. Great.

25/6/06

Guess what? God brought my entire cell back and reunited us! Woohoo! What a nice nice feeling! YX from studies, EL from a European Choir competition, ELZ from a Japan missions trip. Full force now! Yay!

Sharing was fun. K managed to join us after BS. Lots of laughter, amidst Emay jiejie’s threats towards YX… “I beat you ah… I don’t let you eat… I ask mummy don’t cook for you.” And EL’s threats as well, “YX, I don’t like you. I ask Emay not to like you.” Hahaha!

We all ended up at Settlers’ for a fun time of games. Cranium, slam-wich, bomb game, UNO… Discovered everyone’s strong points… at answering questions, acting, drawing (even with their eyesclosed), spelling backwards, humming, etc. I also lost to YX in slam-wich, cos he’s more greedy than me and better at going, “Stop thief!” Hee. And the largest mammal in the world is not a Supersaurus (that exists in Dynomite, Meow meow will know. Hee.) but a blue whale, which is as big as 10 elephants put together! Wow!

Spend time with your friends. They keep you sane.

23/6/06
This is blatant copyright from Meow. But I am thus giving her credit here. =)
Let's all learn some Indo here.

Meow and friends were asked to explain how volcanoes are formed in Bahasa Indo.
How to explain plate tectonics? How to explain eruption??

Plate = piring
Explosion = Chi-ba-bong
To transform a word into an action = “mem- word – kan”

Therefore, a volcano is formed when the piring langa, causing it to mem-chibabong-kan”.

23/6/06

Friends, it’s been a long time since I last blogged.
A girls’ night out is always so memorable, so sweet, Mama Mia! *muack*

Not just ANY girls’ night out. But with my pet Meow and bimbo Chien. Though I wish Becky was there. It’s always a fun fun time of laughter. If only we can hang out as often as before... like in Uni when we could meet at any hour of the day/nite and come up with outrageous ideas like jogging to PGP, preparing surprise dinner/supper for Chien to walk a few doors down in her jeans, walks back home from Lau Pa Sat, hang out in each others' room, go to the showers together, toss ideas for term papers around, torture Dao Pork, etc.

To start it off, I arrived late (as usual) and so I called Meow to ask her where she was.

The response was, “We are in the toilet. Come find us.”
Me: “Which toilet?”
Meow: “First level.”
Me: “So many toilets on the first level!”
Meow: “Don’t know. Come find us.”

*Exasperation*

We went for dinner. The first thing Meow asked was, “Guess what I did today?”
She basically went for course and played 5 hours of cards while waiting for her oral exam. What a slacker! Guess what I did today? I was supposed to go for a Stats course, but I took MC! Was feeling drowsy and needed a good rest. So that’s another slacker for the day! When Chien asked us to guess what she did, we pretended not to bother about her. Haha! But apparently she also slacked the day away playing with her boss’s little boy, teaching him to like pink. Nature or nurture??

After dinner we went shopping. Spectacles trying is quite fun. I’m tempted to get a pair of WHITE glasses. What say you?

A good nite spent with close buddies. Worthwhile.

Since it was getting late, Meow had to catch the train home to be in time for the last shuttle bus. Chien and myself walked to the busstop where we waited and talked. Her bus finally arrived. Mine didn’t. I turned to look at the board and realized that, hey, my last bus came ½ hour before! Argh. Then there were no more trains, no bus, nor did I have any money to take cab! Sucks. But the weather was good, so I decided to walk home. All the way home? I dunno.

Me: “Wonder if I can get a hunk in a selfish red sports car to give me a lift home.”
K: “If you lift your trousers, maybe a taxi uncle will stop.”
Me: “I think I need to swing my blouse in the air too.”

*Exasperation* Again.

Walking happily till it started to drizzle. I wondered if I should hide under the bridge. Decided not to, and to rush to the busstop before it poured. There, God was good. He provided me with light so that I could sit down and read comfortably. Only when I sat down did the rain really pour like never before. And K was sweet enough to come by to pick me up. Meow says the only reason he came is cos I was gonna pull up my trousers. Hmmm. Yuck. He cannot understand what a silly gal I am. Neither can I. I’m like that lor. Take it or leave it. Take lah. Haha!