Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Exciting job I have
To quote long pinpy fren, I so concur with her when she says that "the mountain of work just keeps growing it threatens to dwarf my (our) existence." (Long pinpy fren, 2007)
But you know what, I thank God that I can still find some desire in me to get things done... and some excitement in preparing the students for the last laps. Although there are lots of changes, especially in Civics classes... I welcome the change. I think I will learn alot this next half of the year. Nevertheless, there will be serious heartaches (on my part at least!) to let go of my babies to some new teacher... after I slogged so hard with them, and grew to love them. I should learn to not be so attached. (HOW TO?!!) I'm still attached to the bunch who went for the fieldtrip with me!
Well, we have to expect drastic changes now and then huh? Nothing is ever stagnant here. In fact, nothing is ever confirmed here! But it's a good thing right? At least one can say that you'll never be bored in my job. Everyday is different. Every semester is different. But if you are one whose entire world collapses due to some unforseen change, then this ain't the job for the weak-hearted and the structured! Heh.
Let's see what else comes my way. (If only the mountain range will clear off my path...)
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Farting
A lady went to the Doc's.
Lady: Doc, I have a gas problem. I fart very often. But it is silent, and is odourless. In fact, for the past 20 mins that I was waiting for you, I farted continously! But nobody knew because it was silent and had no smell at all!
Doc: Ok, take these pills and come back one week later.
One week later....
Lady: Doc! I don't know what pills you prescribed me! My farts are still silent, but now they are so smelly!!
Doc: Good! Now that your sinus has been cleared, let's work on your hearing.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
A tribute: "Never assume anything!"
My Geog colleague was posted out of school. It took us all by surprise. No warning system in place. Not that he knew either. How can one not even be informed or kept posted... especially when it's such a major issue? The worse thing is, it's the middle of the year! Just when we are starting revision for the Year 2s, how can a teacher be posted out?
The main reason is because we were declared excess. How can we possibly be in excess if I'm straddling both levels and both H1s and H2s? And piled with a civics class and project work?? But I guess, other schools have to be worse off then. But doesn't common sense tell you that Humanities teachers are high in demand? So if there is any school which has the 'intelligence' to declare excess, the BOSS will definitely transfer people out? Oh... too bad the head is too engrossed in his main business to give a heck about the co-curricular subjects. Any layman can tell you that Geography has TWO components - physical and human - and they CANNOT POSSIBLY be taught together in the same lecture or tutorial!! Where's the BRAIN?!!
*Gasps and covers mouth like a bimbo* "Oh, did it exist before?"
Office politics sucks.
Know what sucks? I should be the one to leave. Because I'm the youngest one in the department, and that's usually the practice. But this was an exception! He saw me that day and said, "Come here" in a tone that was never used before. He told us that he was leaving, and I was totally shocked. Then he dropped those words, "They prefer you over me."
Man... my heart sunk. Why do this?!! I'm guessing that my National Weather Study Project which came in 3rd, and the Geog fieldtrip were the deciding factors for me. But whether staying or not is a good thing is debatable.
My poor colleague has been bullied here, by various individuals, and it's good that he is leaving for greener pastures. Thank God for watching over him. He was just in the midst of regaining his confidence and this bomb had to be dropped on him. Thank God for posting him to where he might feel comfortable, where the culture is probably more suitable, where he knows people. I pray that he will have a better time there.
As for my side, I will just have to adapt fast. I think I will feel lost without him around, because he is the BRAIN. Who else can I turn to?? Although he's full of idiosyncracies, he's a pretty nice fella. I turn to him for advice with respect to academic stuff, and I must say his research skills and notes are tip-top. (Well, better than mine!) The rapport I built with him has been good too! I whine to him whenever possible. Haha! The school's just gonna lose a talent, a talent which nobody recognises except those who work closely with him and take the effort to get to know him. Well, I pray that the colleagues in the new school will be wiser, and provide him the encouragement he needs.
Apparently I am to take on his workload, his civics class and all the Yr2 classes that were previously under him. The prospect of taking his civics class is not exactly smooth-sailing, as they are the worst performing Arts class. And to have all the J2 classes (H1s and H2s) under my wing is quite daunting for a new teacher.
The worst thing? They are taking away my J1 civics class, after I built up such terrific rapport, set the tone right and got them working, etc. It sucks.
The best thing? No more project work! Yes!
But whatever they claim or 'promise' cannot be taken for real. Last year they promised me no civics class and all... I got EVERYTHING. So we'll see. Take it as it comes. If God knows I can do it, He will give it to me and guide me along. I just wanna do everything to the best of my ability, and whine a bit here and there. Haha!
Monday, June 11, 2007
Sabah 6th Day - 5/6/07
That's us girls at the shelter outside our rooms, awaiting the boys who were late for breakfast... Nice resort lah...
That's the serenity that we enjoyed, as we walked along the bridge from our rooms to the restaurant. At night, the entire sky was filled with stars. In the day, you can just enjoy the peace and the beauty of the place.
Since we were at Sepilok Jungle Resort, obviously we had to visit Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Reserve!
That's us taking a mass tourist photo, just like all the others. Heh.
And it was quite an eye-opener. Do you know that lots of foreigners (especially ang-mos) volunteer there... some for many years? They take care of abandoned baby orang utans and nurse them and teach them till they are old enough to return to the jungle. Well, the positive side is that they are being taken care of.... negative side is that many of them do not really know how to survive properly in the wild, or take care of their babies as they were taken care of by humans.
And many a times, the dominant orang utan gets released into the wild first, as they need him to procreate. =)
That's a little orang utan demonstrating his acrobatic stunts. Apparently they love hanging like that...
This is the dominant male orang utan showing off his back view. You know, like how those body builders show off their bodies... front, side and back view? My student found him so sexy we claimed him as her boyfriend.... haha! To find out that male orang utans actually have multiple partners! I think she should just stick to the Probiscus ah-pei of a monkey. Heh.
This is the common MacRitchie monkey. He's grooming himself, combing his leg hair. Haha! I took a video of this vain bugger. Quite amusing. Look at how delicate he is!
And that's him posing, with his stylo-mylo hairstyle... like the US Marines! =) But sitting in a gu-niang fashion!
A revamped central market in Sandakan, the second largest town in Sabah, after Kota Kinabalu. It used to be the historical capital during colonial times, so colonial past is rather evident here. Anyway, the market looks clean and all... not much culture to talk about? Not as exciting as one would expect markets to be! Heh.
Lots of salted fish (giam3 hee3) ... many varieties...
Look at the heaps of dried shrimp (hei3 bi4) and dried anchovies (gang1 hee3)!
Sting ray. Hmm... and the cut-up version at the back. Wondering why the eye isn't there? Because the fishmonger (hmmm, I remember studying 'fishmonger' in primary school!) put his finger into the eye socket and lifted the sting ray to reposition it for my photo.
Anyway, BBQ stingray, anyone?
Look at how fresh they fishes are! So fresh that their fins are still pointed up! Oh man.... steamed fish!! Yumyum!!!
I love wet markets. I think that's where you see the local culture of the place. What they sell, what they eat, etc. I remember being in Sabah when I was little (I'm still little), and visiting a wet market. I entered the market which was all dirty, smelly and wet. There were women cleaning huge shells, digging whatever was in it, and discarding the shells. I was so intrigued I asked them to give me a shell for fun. They were shocked... but they gave me 2 anyway! Heh. And I also remember fondly playing with the little chicks and cupping their warm bodies in my palms, hoping I could bring one or two home. But of course not... Heh.
It's all so different now. No culling of chickens or whatsoever. And all hopes of showing the kids this version of the local wet market were dashed... replaced by the sanitized version of a market. Oh well.
Anyway, we made out way to the airport. We were to arrive at the airport at 230 for check-in, but we mistook the time, and thought we were flying off at 230! So we had lots of time to waste at the airport. So I introduced a game called "Spoons" to the kids, and we played it for a really long time. Quite entertaining, since the airport was bare. Heh.
So that's the end of the 6-day fieldtrip.
I'm so glad it was successful. Especially after months of planning and multiple obstacles in the way... we broke record. It's the 1st time in 4-6 years since the Geography fieldtrip managed to take off! So yes, I'm really quite elated. And the best thing is, we all had a fantastic time and experience! =)
Sabah 5th Day - 4/6/07
That's me and my little durian tree, which I pray will gorw grow grow! As I was standing there panting it and stamping the board into the ground, I must have gotten bitten / eaten / sucked alive by the horrendous mosquitoes and bloodsucking insects there! Never had they swarmed upon me in such a short span of time! Like I was their superstar! A buffet spread!
And after much negotiation and collaboration and refusing to be bullied, we managed to go for the Oxbow Lake tour - supposedly the best in Kalimantan too! Why so much trouble? Because the guide realised that we were Geographers and interested in rivers, so he confessed that it would be a good opportunity to visit it. Moreover, it could fit into our schedule! So he called the agent, but they requested that we pay RM10 each to the resort for the transport into the city later. This didn't make sense at all, because this transport was originally included in the itinerary! Not that my kids couldn't afford the RM10. But if we were to pay for anything, the guide and the local guide should get the credit! Not the resort, or anything that was already included in the itinerary! So I argued, and called the Singapore agent and it bounced to and fro, until I won the battle. So we didn't have to pay for anything, but got to go for the tour too. But we did tip the guide generously.
And the all-cool local guide! He resembles the Canoeing coach! All full of fun, bubbly, always smiling, energetic, fit and filled with local knowledge. I like. Heh. My kind of "gorilla"... =) His name is Alloy. Nice hor? Haha!
Of course we had to trek for 30min or so to the Oxbow Lake... we were one with nature! And we were kinda apprehensive because there were lots of leeches! So we made our way as fast as possible. We came upon lots of interesting lifeforms... and even discovered that butterflies are attracted to wild boars' pee! And my, did we step into lots of wild boar pee and what-have-you! We even traced mini elephant footprints! =)
An example of a student's shoe being stucked in well, we-dun-wanna-know-what. But it did make us laugh out loud! =)
Know the pill bug or sog bug? When it is threatened, it curls into a ball. Can play gor3 li4 (marble) with it! Heh. I actually threw it into my pocket, wanting to bring it home. But after a while, I decided that if it got comfortable and starting uncurling itself and crawling in my pants, I would so totally freak out. So I took it out. Heh.
Can you see the nicely camouflaged frog / toad on the tree?? My gosh! Spend quite a hard time trying to figure it out! But I'm glad I got it on camera! Stare hard... search for its eyes! It might help! =)
Lantern Insect. Cool right? I would have never spotted it due to its camouflage! But it's such an interesting shape! Resembles a dinosaur!!
Another cool insect which I spotted, but can't identify. =)
These are the mating tractor-pillars. Hmm... looks like 3 of them together hor? Well well well... Is your mind wandering?? Maybe they are just keeping warm lah. Or playing stack-me-up. =)
See the leech at his finger? We just ultimately grossed out by the leeches there lah. There were like families of them lah! And they all landed on one of my student, as she brushed against this plant which was filled with them. We got so used to them that when we saw a leech, we would just pull them off and fling them away while jumping up and down going "EWW"! Haha!
And a memory of us in the forest, posing in front of a gigantic tree.
And the peaceful Oxbow lake, flagged by the tall tropical trees. Reminded me of Camp Little Notch in the USA... sigh.
The oxbow lake. Serene right? But this is not an aerial view lah... so can't really see the oxbow shape of it.
This was the unstable platform at the oxbow lake. If you didn't hold on to it, it might just float away, as it was held by flimsy ropes. And if everyone was to stand on one corner of the platform, it would sink! Haha! How often do you get such an experience?? Not without your parents screaming and freaking out! Haha!
See the fishies in the bottle? We caught it ourselves you know? Using our bare hands... by creating disturbances in the water. Cute right? We almost brought them home.
Playing with the mud bombs... which we used to attack each other and the shelter in which the rest of the kiddos refused to get wet and dirty. Heh. Whale of a time!
Posing with mud all over our faces and hands.
Us posing in the oxbow lake, with specially designed hair and mask on our faces. Though I have to say that it was rather smelly. Like the Kallang River. Haha! But then again, how often do you get to play in the mud of an oxbow lake with your friends / students?
Yep, and then we made our way back to Bilit Adventure Hut, where we bade farewell to everyone, especially dear Alloy... =)
Now enroute to Gomantong Caves.
That's us on the bridge, on the way to visit Gomantong Caves, the world's smelliest and dirtiest cave. And you wonder why we even go there right? Well, for the experience. For your information, we saw a whole hill of bird's shit! Hahaha! And hoards and hoards of bats and cockroaches!!! Super gross! After trekking abit and taking some photos and patting bats, we made our way out.
That's us outside Gomantong Caves. Observe the left hand side of the cave... do you see a witch? With a pointed nose??
That's me in my poncho. I am the duckie! We wore a poncho to avoid the raining birds' shit and the xiao3 qiang2 (cockroaches).
And a dead swallow. Sigh. I immediately thought of dear Pengy, whom I haven't met or talked to in ages.
And this very cool insect... with a thousand legs. This was found in the cave! What the heck is it doing in the cave??
After climbing up this rather steep slope in the cave, filled with loose gravel and 'stuff' and stepping on 'noboy-knows-what-and-nobody-wants-to-know-what', we had to take this photo for memory's sake!
This is the tool they use to obtain the birds' nest. The nest which the poor swallows painstakingly built with their saliva. But these birdnest picking jobs are highly risky. Though people still engage in it cos they briong huge, fat profits!
That's me seated at the back of the bus, just for fun. =) Reminds me of my Lake Toba Fieldxtrip in Sec 3 when I sat at the back of the bus (literally where the window was) with Julie and Weisian. The 3 rebels. Heh.
That's the 16-seater bus we got. Pretty cosy.
And we ended that night at Sepilok Jungle Resort. No no, no more jungle... today it's a HOTEL. With cable vision, air con, big, nice cosy bed, hot shower and all. Even though a xiaoqiang peeped its feelers through the hole in the basin and gave us all a shock, and a tingle down the back. So we stuffed a ball of tissue into the hole to prevent its entry. This was akin to how we stuffed a piece of plastic bag into the hole in the Adventure Lodge the night before to prevent the mouse from entering the room! Apparently the mouse was quite cute... well, some of them didn't think so though! Haha!
For academic stuff, we talked about the oxbow lake, hotspring and volcanoes, plate tectonics, comparison between Kota Kinabalu and Sandakan through the maps, and accounting for the layout....
Sabah Day 4 - 3/6/07
The Kota Kinabalu mountain range at the back
We of course have to pose at such a beautiful sight / site!
And the sun rises, with part of it partially hidden, like an eclipse.
And this is the west. Where you see one of the peaks of Kota Kinabalu, possibly "Donkey's Ears". Did you know that there are 9 peaks at Kota Kinabalu? =) And on this side, there hung the moon! So you turn and you see the sun. You turn again and you see the moon! Haha!
Experimenting with the clinometer. This can tell you the angle of the slope just by looking through it and aiming it at your desired slope. But of course, this is inaccurate, as we needed poles. I just improvised and asked them to use each other. Haha!
A nice view of the longhouse. I just love its structure!
Our rooms of 3 beds each are on the left. Each bed just consists of 1 mattress and a mosquito net. And the mattresses are placed side by side. But the room is pretty cosy. There was even a mirror and a small basin! In which I sliced the mangoes for the girls...
On the right was where we sat for debrief.
Sabah Tea Factory tour. Where we learnt about the different machines and processing methods. Yep, there are only 'ang mo' tea, 'ABNN' tea and 'Cheena' tea. Sabah tea is a pa4 zeng4 tea (mixture of different types). It's organic as well, as the fertilizer used is from the tea plant itself. And tea plants can grow into trees 10m tall!
Well, we said byebye to Kundasang Area, and headed for East Sabah. It was a 5-hour bus journey, in which we all knocked out. Heh.
At the shelter of Kinabatangan River. Waiting for the boat to transport us over to the Adventure Lodge for the night. Exciting right??
Say "hi" to Chin Chin, the resident "Evil". It would just trot over to you and lie on your lap and let you stroke it to sleep.
We headed for a cruise along the Kinabatangan River to watch out for mammals and the like. And we saw chimpanzees, snakes, normal MacRitchie monkeys (which raised its eyebrows at a student and another which almost peed on another girl!), Probiscus monkeys, etc. The boats were cool, and the breeze was relaxing. Just sitting on a boat was a good and relaxing after a long bus ride on rocky road!
Us on the cruise in the long boat along the Kinabatangan River.
A slither. Think it's a python. It's said that you will die of its poison in 10 mins if not treated.
Enjoying the motorboat and its speed!
That's the Probsicus Monkey. His big, long nose is characteristic of his species, along with his beer belly! Another ah-peh at the kopitiam! Do you know that he's the most loyal male out of the monkey kingdom? I think it's cos he's so fat and ugly he can't attract anyone else. So he has to be loyal. Heh.
He has to guard his family well. If not, some bachelor group will come along and fight him. If he loses, he will have to abandon his family. And his little kiddos will be abandoned by the new group and left to fend for themselves.
A camouflaged tree snake.
The Kinabatangan river at dusk.
After dinner (in which we feasted on GIGANTIC prawns which resembled crayfish), we got ready for the nightwalk in the jungle.
All of us dressed for the nightwalk. Covered all the way. Dressed like this to prevent leeches and other funny insects.
A kingfisher was the first we spotted. Looks like a fake wooden bird which the guides just placed in the forest to interest us huh? Heh.
A daddy-long-eight-legs, with a white body.
And a beautiful spider... We saw so many that in the end, we lost interest in it. No more novelty effect. Haha! But there was once when we spotted 2 spiders spinning a web together. I called it the "Web of love". Heh.
Pill bug, I think. It's hard, by the way. So not so eerie to touch. Heh.
Cicadas. The very noisy insect which sheds its outer skin. What you see here are 3 cicadas's outer skin. What is interesting is that, they all look so real! Especially the eyes! I thought this was a another prized possession! (This photo, I mean...)
Another posing tree frog. This one looks like the back view of an ah-peh sitting at the kopitiam huh?
And this is his side-view. I kinda like this photo. Heh.
The common spider web.
A spikey centipede. It's red where the spikes are. Quite scary... didn't dare to go near it lest it kissed me!
A bloated tree frog. So pui2 (fatty bombom) it seems like it will explode if I poke it! Not that I wanna poke it! Eww!
Another rare photo! A bat which was hanging in the middle of nowhere! A close-up of it shows that its face resembles either a pig or a bear!
Have you ever seen a real scorpion before? This cheeky fella was stuck to one of my kid's shoe! Lucky the guide instructed us to check our clothings and shoes and bodies for insects before entering the rooms!
Cool scorpion right? We were all so intrigued!
That night, we talked about meanders as we were all excited over the broad meanders which winded through the land as we descended from the mountains. Went into the technicalities of braided streams and meanders as well.
And because I believe that fieldtrips should not only widen / deepen our Geographical knowledge, but also allow us to grow in character, I had students reflect and share with everyone how they have grown in the past days. And it was not bad... several of the girls had now grown braver in the sense that they exposure to nature and inevitable insects had made them less afraid of flying insects and the sort. The rest expressed that the close-up with nature during the cruise and the nightwalk was a good experience.
I concur.
