= FAVOURITE WORD =
Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge Him,
and He will make your paths straight.
[NIV]
New phase. More changes.
What would the future bring?
Monday, September 26, 2005
It's Been A While
I know. It's been a while since I last blogged. What have I been doing? Hm... I really can't remember. Basically, just marking at a more relaxed pace. The marking piles don't seem to end. Oh well. Never mind. I'll just do what I can.
Shouming's wedding is this Saturday and I haven't got anything nice and FITTING to wear! *panicks* I can't fit into the evening gowns in my wardrobe. Grrrr! And I haven't got time to go shopping. There's the church wedding in the afternoon and banquet in the evening. I'll need 2 sets of outfits. HELP!
My brother just went shopping with a cousin yesterday for his clothes. Guys have it so simple, you know. Just a pair of pants, a shirt and a tie. And if it's really formal, a coat. True, it's more 'fun' being a female - we can wear a great variety of clothing. But it's such a terrible headache CHOOSING something. Too many choices... so much so that I'm seeing stars. *blink blink*
There's another wedding coming up 2 weeks later after this wedding. Sigh. I think I should just wear the SAME sets of clothes! Weddings are really such expensive events, you know. Yup, even for people who aren't getting married and are just attending the wedding ceremony and banquets. Why? It's the ANG PAO, my good people. The ANG PAO. Yet again another headache - how much to give to the wedded couple.
My mom told me she's going to give one huge ANG PAO for Shouming and his wife-to-be - my dad's, my brother's and my shares all included, of course. It's a fat sum, I assure you. That simply means I'll see a few hundred dollars vanishing from my bank account very soon. Sigh.
I can't imagine what married couples will have to go through. I've had many friends who nearly broke up while preparing for their weddings. To be able to go through all the stress and end up getting married is really NOT easy. It's even harder to STAY married AND faithful, what with all the divorce rates shooting an all-time high in recent years. *kaboomz*
It's been a long while since I was last attached, but I'm quite sure I'm not looking forward to that sort of stress - yet!!!
;P
jOyZ blogged at 4:01 PM
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Saturday, September 17, 2005
Flu Again
Yeah, this is like the 4th time I'm getting it in Semester 2. I was already feeling really unwell when I woke up yesterday morning, but I decided to just head for work. It was a wrong decision really. By the time school ended, I had developed high fever. I couldn't stop shivering. I still had to wait for 1pm to arrive so that I could attend the IPP training, which thankfully took only 30 minutes.
I was completely dead to the world the minute I hit the bed - waking up only to take panadols, drink water and to go to the toilet. The fever was high - 39+ degree. I'm still having slight fever even as I'm blogging now. At first, I was afraid it might be dengue because I had suffered quite a few mosquito bites about a week ago. Thankfully, it's not.
Probably following my dad to church tomorrow for the 11am service. After that, I'll be heading down to Tampines for song practice for Kuang's wedding. Aunt Lay has asked me to be back-up vocalist for his church wedding and I've agreed.
Speaking of which, I really need to lose weight. I've got less than 2 weeks to lose all the weight! How am I going to fit into my evening gowns in time for the 2 wedding dinners?! Sniffs... Maybe this flu has come at the right time. Hopefully, I won't eat much and lose some weight in the process.
Yeah, FAT HOPE.
jOyZ blogged at 3:59 PM
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Wednesday, September 14, 2005
Senseless
I am exhausted. I slept at 4am this morning. I woke up again at around 5.30am. I slept again until 6.30am.
I need to check my emails. I really shouldn't be blogging.
I am obviously not in a clear state of mind.
I am not making much sense.
jOyZ blogged at 11:48 PM
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Sunday, September 11, 2005
September Holidays Ending
In a blink of an eye, the September vacation is almost over. Term 4 starts tomorrow and the graduating classes will be sitting for their Preliminary papers which actually started on the last Friday of Term 3. Once over, it'll be the last lap of intensive mugging for them. The pressure is certainly building up.
I've been going back to school for the GCE N Level Papers invigilation and meeting some pupils for English. Yesterday, I met some of the boys at the Starbucks at Valley Point in the morning. After that, I had lunch with Selwyn and Pikie at the Siam Kitchen at Great World City. It was actually quite a lengthy lunch - we chatted as we ate - but the time didn't seem long at all. Hopefully there'll be more makan sessions with them before they graduate. Er, but I must remember not to eat too much. I had like 1.5 bowls of rice yesterday. o_O!
Oh, I still haven't seen the new timetable for Term 4. I hope it isn't too bad. 2005 has been a crazy year so far, especially in Term 3. I wonder what changes 2006 will bring......
Seriously, other than *world peace*, I hope ALL mosquitoes will just die and become extinct.
jOyZ blogged at 1:46 PM
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Saturday, September 03, 2005
Something Stupid... Hohohoh...
I don't know why I woke up so early this morning especially when I only slept at around 2.30am this morning. I usually try to sleep in on Saturday mornings. ;)
Anyway, my parents will be coming back this evening from Thailand. I reckon I won't be at home at that timing. My brother had said he wouldn't be home. Yeah, both of us are steering clear of our parents' return. Well, it's the usual story - what else is new?
Hm, I wonder what I should do today. The weather looks terrific for a swim, but I'm feeling too lazy to go for a dip. Besides, I've just taken my morning shower. Hm, my brother and his girlfriend are still snoozing. I guess neither of them want to eat breakfast eh. Heh.
Oh, something STUPID happened yesterday. It's a long story...
Well, after lunching with Cheryl at Great World City's Crystal Jade, I went home - only to realise that my house keys weren't with me! I was stranded outside my own home in the rain. So I called Cheryl, who had gone back to school, to check my desk in the staff room. She couldn't find my keys. I sent my brother a message via SMS next to ask him what time he'd be coming home from NIE. He said he had discussion until 5.30pm (and NIE is all the way at NTU campus)! I asked him to help me duplicate the keys on his way home because I had a very bad feeling I'd lost the keys outside - probably they dropped out of my bag in the cab or something.
Just then, my cousin sent me a message to ask me if I was interested to go for KTV with her and her two friends. I was kind of surprised that she was so free on a Friday late afternoon. (Apparently, RJC had requested MOE to give the school a full-day break on Friday right after Teachers' Day, which MOE actually approved! So she had TWO days of break for Teachers' Day! So blessed!) Anyway, I called her immediately and wailed to her about my misfortune. Eventually, I cabbed to her place (since I couldn't go home and I didn't want to join Cheryl for massage) and joined her and her friends for KTV.
So after having a very light dinner (we shared a huge serving of the very famous claypot rice at the hawker centre at Smith's Street... I think that's the street name in Chinatown - I can't remember) we walked over to this really cheapo-looking KTV place Spaceship for our night of howling and wailing entertainment. Haha. It was really quite fun because my cousin and one of her friends were really into the songs when they were singing - moving and dancing to the music. I just felt like laughing because they were so entertaining, and was actually burping (because of the rather late dinner which kind of triggered off slight gastric) in between all the singing and laughing.
Then half-way through our singing, my brother sent me a message to say that he found my bunch of keys on my table at home! ARGH! But he also mentioned that one of the keys duplicated wasn't working, so he would be going back on Monday to get it re-done. Anyway, I was thinking since I've become more forgetful of late, having another set of house keys wasn't such a bad idea. xP
Back to the KTV... We sang from 8pm all the way to midnight and took a cab home. That was that - four hours of crazy screeching. By the time I got home, I was exhausted. Yet I went online and didn't sleep until rather late.
I think that's enough blogging for a morning. Woo! Tata!
jOyZ blogged at 9:15 AM
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Friday, September 02, 2005
Teachers' Day Celebrations And Reflections
It was certainly a memorable Teachers' Day Eve. We had the ACES Day workout and the Secondary 5 was absolutely fabulous, displaying great team spirit and a unity that I'd never seen before. As I danced alongside with Yani behind the whole group of them, I never felt prouder. 5B (and yes, even 5A), you looked amazing in your respective class T-shirts. The 'octopus' version of the workout was not merely a hint of the creativity you're capable of but also displays how participative and sporting each and everyone of you can be. That's the kind of spirit and synergy which will make any team grow and glow. =)
I received a lot of presents from all of you. Thank you! The surprise party was really sweet and I honestly had fun. (I'm very sure all other teachers did too.) But I have to apologise for being so late because I had to complete something which was extremely urgent.
My sincere thanks to Sherlyn and Candice for planning the party - I had an inkling that they were up to something because -ahem- Sherlyn was out at Ikea the previous night when I called her! Haha, she sounded so evasive. ;) Thanks also to Reynold for sponsoring the organizers in their preparation for the party. It was his way of saying 'thank you' to the teachers who've helped him in one way or another - especially when his own hard work has been recently acknowledged with the very prestigious LKY All-Round Excellence Award.
I've been teaching this batch of Secondary 5 since they were in Secondary 1. I think they've been through a lot. Quite a few had left the school for various reasons but it's heartening to see some of them still coming back to visit their friends and teachers. Honestly, the best gift I've received so far isn't any of the presents, cards or parties - but really having to see how much they've grown over the 5 years.
As I thought about this when I reached home after the party, I couldn't help but tear. I'm going to miss all of them very much. I may appear to be the most distant FT in the world or even the most unapproachable at times (because I am always scowling and scolding them) but it's really hard to let go of that high expectation I have in each pupil.
Sometimes the qualities I see in them make me feel so proud of them but, at the same time, so ashamed of myself. I see Eddie and Kelvin trying very hard to improve in their English Language. Each time I have to give a failing grade on their papers, I worry over how they would take it. Would they give up or would they keep trying? I'm glad to see them persevering. Their determination really amazes me - especially Eddie's. He's definitely improved since Secondary 1. I pray and hope that no matter how many times should they fail (either in future tests, examinations or whatever goals they have meted out for themselves in life), they won't ever lose this virtue.
Also, I see Tianguan has grown into a confident young man who's done excellently in his CCA. He's more sociable now as compared to when he was in lower secondary; he was so serious back then! But I must say he's one of the pupils who seems to know what I expect from them when it comes to behaviour and work. I don't have to keep nagging at him. Haha. He's also improved in his English Language too - his essays are so much 'cleaner' now! :)
I'd like to blog more but I think I shall save what I want to say to each of them at the end of the year. Sigh. This may sound cliched but I'm already experiencing mixed feelings. I know I will be definitely happy for all of them when they graduate at the end of the year, moving on to the next stage of their lives, but I know it'll be very hard for me to let them go when the time comes. Heh, so much so for all my hounding at them to be independent. I think I've grown to be too reliant on my Class Committee already!
Sometimes, I wonder if I will ever have the energy to nurture another form class once this batch of babies graduate. It has been a meaningful 5 years - filled with ups and downs, laughters and pains, as well as satisfactions and disappointments. The roller-coaster ride is leaving me to wonder if I will have the courage and energy to go through another cycle of teaching.
Well, well... I'll talk about this another time. ;P
Anyway, it's the start of the O Level Preliminary Examinations tomorrow. For those of you out there who have not prepared for this round of 'slaughter', prepare yourselves well for the real one in two months' time. Time flies. Before you know it, the Big O will hit you right between the eyes. Just give it your ALL these two months and give yourselves a chance to see how well you can do before giving up at this point. The joy will come in seeing how much you've improved since last year and that, yes, you can actually do it!
Still, whether or not you succeed, I am and will be proud of you - the sight of all of you dancing beautifully and in unison to the music of the ACES workout with the delightful 'octopus' groove forever etched in my memory.
jOyZ blogged at 1:04 AM
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