I love the blue sky

Sunday, October 30, 2005
2E 2002 & 5B 2005

I was looking at all the photographs taken on Graduation Day and Teachers' Day. Most of them were from some of my pupils who sent them to me via MSN.

It's been two days since the last day of school. Time really has flown by. Too fast. While telling my pupils to refocus on their 'O's after their graduation, it's not easy telling myself the same thing. My mind is just brimming with memories over the last couple of days.

It seems like only yesterday when I was still teaching my pupils...

1E 2001 - 2E 2002
They were a very mischievous lot of pupils. Because they were in lower secondary, I realised I had to set a lot of tough but simple rules for them to follow. I remember my long talks with some of the pupils - Kartini, Man Kit, Derek, Hong Ghim (who tried my patience, when he defied me), Alouis (who was forever talking rubbish in class) and many others. There were the Secondary 1 and 2 camps. And there were some of the girls - Madeline, Poh Yin, Wanrong, Amelia, Sofiana, Jaslin... Many of them had left QTSS even before this year.

Sometimes, I think back and I wonder if I'd been a lousy form teacher because I wasn't able to help some of them be at least interested in their studies so as to complete even their N Level. Even though I was always screeching at them especially when they were in Secondary 1, I tried to give them as much fun as possible during English lessons.

Their Secondary 2 year was slightly better. I think the kids really enjoyed role-playing during EL lessons. They used to be really shy and embarrassed when they had to act in front of their classmates during performance tests. But I think they'd grown in confidence over the two years. I remember making some pupils stay back one afternoon to record their performances on video. It was extremely tiring because we had to do a lot of retakes, but we had a lot of fun together. I remember one of the groups did a Hamlet play and the props they made were really good! Those were the few best memories I had of the class.

I also remember letting my guard down one hot afternoon during an EL lesson when an announcement was made to cancel the staff meeting that day. I was so relieved and happy that I shouted "YES! YES!" in front of 2E. The entire class was shocked by my outburst and they stared at me incredulously for a few seconds before everyone burst out laughing.

I miss 2E 2002. No matter how naughty they were, I realised that I'd grown to love them and saw them as really adorable kids. I will always remember patting Yong Hao on his head as I asked him if he'd been a good boy. He'd always smile and said 'yes' even though he and I both knew he had been mischievous.

All the anger, tears and heartaches which were so painful back then have somehow merged together with the wonderful times to become beautiful, meaningful memories.

3E 2003 - 5B 2005
The form class 3E in 2003 started out shakily. I knew 2D and 2E 2002 had forged very strong bonds in their own classes and the streaming at the end of their Secondary 2 year would mean a possibly difficult time for them in their new Secondary 3 classes. As their new form teacher, I could tell that the ex-2D pupils were very confident pupils who were academically stronger and more vocal. The ex-2E ones were more Mandarin-speaking and therefore quieter during my EL lessons. Perhaps they were still afraid of my tyrannical madness after knowing me in their lower secondary years.

I was rather apprehensive with this new form class. Although they were the academically stronger class because they were more hardworking than 3D 2003 (who were actually a smarter and more playful lot of pupils), I wasn't sure if I could help the kids forge new friendships and work as a class. Yani helped a lot. She was like their second form teacher, I guess. And it helped even more when they did generally well in POA as a class. Finally - it was something which everyone could identify with.

Realising also that this was a very different class from my previous 2E 2002, I decided to give them a little bit more freedom. It was also because they were older and therefore expected to be more sensible. While I appeared cranky most of the time to them - it was really my style to be totally tyrannical when it came to discipline matters and to having a lot of fun when it came to EL lessons - they soon learnt to read my 'mood swings'.

Things got better for the class in the following 2 years. For one, the Class Committee really learnt to take charge of certain projects (class cleanliness and class noticeboard to name a few). Although a few pupils had left QTSS after N level, the stronger bonds more than made up for the smaller class.

5B was a class of 31 unique characters, who had somehow argued and quarrelled (behind my back, I'm sure!) their way into becoming a fine calibre of pupils who'd made a great team.

To 5B: Despite your personal differences, you were sensible enough to put these aside to work together as one. This is true maturity. You've also taught me how to laugh more (with all those wonderfully hilarious presentations and lame jokes). 5B, you're indeed a class of your own. I'm proud of you.

Here's to an AMAZING 2 + 3 = 5 years!

jOyZ blogged at 1:33 PM

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Saturday, October 29, 2005
QTSS Graduation Day 2005

The long awaited day had finally come and gone.

It was a day filled with memories. No one was in the mood for lessons. 5B was furiously snapping away pictures of themselves and the AVT, where we had many good and bad times together. Even during the last two periods when they had to clear away all the decorations in the classroom, everyone was multi-tasking - clicking away on their cameras, video cameras and handphones while cleaning and clearing up.

Now that all the decorations are no longer on the walls and noticeboards, even without the photos, I can still see the silver words above the blackboard: Welcome to 5B. I think I will always remember the graffiti corner where many of the pupils expressed their emotions in huge scribbles and doodles: proclamations of who loved so-and-so, words of how stressed everyone was, words of encouragement and some weird-looking creatures (a dinosaur, a turtle just to name a couple of them).

I wish I had kept the certificate of the class's winning in the noticeboard competition - 1st prize together with 5A. A lot of effort was invested in putting up all the decorations and, for once, it was all done without my having to nag at the Class Committee! Unfortunately, I think the certificate was thrown away in the confusion while clearing up. :(

Once the classroom walls were bare again (except for the scotch-tape markings) and everyone was done with photo-taking and seated, I spoke to the class one last time in the classroom. I addressed each pupil one by one - telling them how much they'd grown or changed or what were the qualities I saw in them over the years. By then Sherlyn, John and Reynold were tearing. Somehow I had managed to hold my tears back even though a few times I could feel the tears threatening to well up, but I kept smiling and talking.

I hope I had not missed anyone out. In any case, they will be given a written and lengthier version of my personal message to them next week. (Yup. One last EL lesson with the class before they sit for the EL papers on the 9th November.)

The concert was heartwarming, I felt - especially the pupils' tributes on the PowerPoint slides to their teachers and vice versa. Some classes clapped when they saw their teachers' messages to them. Some cheered when their messages for their teachers appeared.

I felt this year's speeches (from both the Principal and the Guest-of-honour) had a lot of focus for the kids' benefit. The Principal stressed on the importance of putting the right things as priority while the Guest-of-honour (Picasso Tan, an old boy of the school) spoke about doing what interests an individual and excelling in it. It was a rather refreshing speech I thought - peppered with memories of his own school days at QTSS and NUS.

After that, there were the prize presentation and concert items. 5B performed the song 细水长流 with 3 of their teachers - Mr Goh, Mrs Yeong and me. Then some teachers performed another song item Reach with a few students. And finally, the highlight of the concert - an entertaining dance put up by 8 lady teachers - Cheryl, Marianne, Pei Chin, Seerin, Siew Hui, Serene, Janice Wee and me. We danced to the song Build Me Up Buttercup. I had requested Pei Chin to put this as the last item because I felt it would be good to end the concert on a happy note. Besides, I was afraid I'd cry if we'd ended with some sing-along.

I think the pupils enjoyed the dance. I hope they did. I remember Cheryl, Sherie, Amy, Geok Hua, Hwei Leng and I performing almost the same dance (with the same song) 5 or 6 years ago during Talentime and we dedicated this dance to Mr Quah, the then-VP, who was leaving QTSS at the end of that year. So, this dance holds a very special place in my heart.

At the end of the concert, I gave out the result slips to 5B while Yani went around to shake hands with them. She was crying when she shook hands with them, speaking briefly to them individually. The kids started to cry too and I tried very hard to fight back my own tears. It was more difficult this time because there were more people tearing. Jessica, Peixuan and Jocelyn came over to give me a hug and I spoke to each of them as I held them.

When Sherlyn hugged me, that was it. I couldn't hold my tears back any longer. I am going to miss her a lot - she's grown a lot over the years and had become an extremely good helper as the Class Monitress. I'm really proud of her contributions to the class. Candice, Pit Kun and Jiayun gave me a hug as well. I can't remember who else. I think I shook hands with almost everyone else. I was really touched when they came up to shake hands with me. Some even promised to do their best for the O Level EL papers.

I had to stop talking with them when Mr Chiang came over to talk to ask me if I knew where two of my pupils were because there had to be some changes done on their result slips. After that I went back to the staffroom and went down to the canteen for the refreshments. Some pupils from 5B and I were preparing a birthday surprise for Siew Hui. We'd bought her a mango cake two days earlier.

We had a bit of a problem getting her seated in the canteen. I think she suspected the pupils were up to something. While I was talking to some pupils from 4H, she suddenly disappeared and I panicked because I was supposed to keep her in the canteen while the pupils were getting the cake ready. Apparently, she'd gone back to the staffroom and was 'hiding' in the staff lounge. Haha.

Anyway, when she finally came downstairs, we gathered around to sing her a birthday song. It was quite chaotic initially because some pupils from other classes were toasting very loudly, splashing drinks at one another, going crazy. Heh. Anyway, the cake was cut and distributed around. I was really hungry because I had no time to eat the whole day. By then my gastric was already quite bad, but I still ate a lot anyway. Thankfully, my stomach didn't hurt as it usually does whenever I eat a lot too quickly.

While eating, I talked a bit with John. I am going to miss him a lot too. He's been a good Class Monitor. Even though I was very harsh with him, expecting nothing but the best out of him, he tried his best to deliver. He mentioned I was very tough on him - especially last year when they were busy preparing for the N Level papers and I still expected him to lead the class in updating the class noticeboard. Haha. I gave him my reasons and he nodded his head. I think he's probably come to appreciate and understand why I did what I did - I hope! Heh.

I went back to the staffroom and read the huge rolled-up paper from 5B with all their little messages on it and felt like crying again. I never knew I would shed so much tears for them. The past few months had been really torturous especially just before I went to bed every night. This week was especially bad.

Like what Gina said, I'm only human. I guess I'd been such a disciplinarian to my pupils that I thought I would not get emotional during their graduation. Oh dear, there's going to be a round two during the Graduation Dinner after their O Levels! Anyway, I hope everyone would be less gloomy by then.

I left school rather late. The school was still opened because of Drama camp. Some pupils were still around at the basketball court playing. As I walked past the school gates, my mind was filled with mental images of what I'd seen earlier in the day. God has indeed blessed me with a very special bunch of youngsters - the class of 5B 2005.

To my beloved 5B:
I know some of you are probably feeling lost and not exactly in the mood to study.
I ask that you put your thoughts and feelings on graduation aside for now and refocus your eyes on the O Level.
It's -The Final Lap-.
There will be Graduation Part II on the 30th of November.
Although not everyone will be there this time, I'm sure it's still something to look forward to after the 'O's.
I'll see you then.
This time, I will remember to bring my camera!
WAHAHAH!!!
ALL THE BEST!!! =)

jOyZ blogged at 10:33 AM

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Monday, October 24, 2005
细水长流

听着这首歌，我有许多感触。
它让我回想起往日的年少，无知，哀愁，梦想，老师，及老朋友。
时光已过，但回味总是甘甜的。

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年少时候谁没有梦
无意之中你将心愿透漏
就在你生日的时候我将小小口琴送
最难忘记你的笑容

友情的细水慢慢流流进了你我的心中
曾在球场边为你欢呼你跌伤我背负
夜里流星飞渡想象着他日的路途
晚风听着我们壮志无数

年少时候谁没有愁
满腔愤慨唯有你能听得懂
每当我失意的时候你将那首歌吹奏
琴声悠悠解我情愁

岁月的细水慢慢流流到了别离的时候
轻拍你的肩听我说朋友不要太惆怅
霓虹纵然再嚣张我们的步履有方向
成败不论切莫将昔日遗忘

多年以后又再相逢
我们都有了疲倦的笑容
问一声我的朋友何时再为我吹奏
是否依旧是否依旧

岁月的细水慢慢流流到了别离的时候
轻拍你的肩听我说朋友不要太惆怅
霓虹纵然再嚣张我们的步履有方向
成败不论切莫将昔日遗忘

多年以后又再相逢
我们都有了疲倦的笑容
问一声我的朋友何时再为我吹奏
是否依旧是否依旧

人生的际遇千百种但有知心长相重
人愿长久水愿长流年少时候

jOyZ blogged at 9:15 PM

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Sunday, October 16, 2005
A Very Wet And Dreary Sunday

It has finally stopped pouring. It has been so wet and dreary the whole day that I couldn't see the sun.

I just had dinner not long ago. Lunch and dinner today were leftovers from yesterday's buffet lunch. I think they were starting to turn bad. My dad was complaining of a slight unpleasant odour from the noodles.

Oh well, at the most it'll be just food-poisoning - which is what I really need to lose weight!!! Haha! Okay, I think I'm crazy. Never mind. ;p

Hm, duh... It's starting to drizzle again. Sigh. Oh well, at least I will be able to sleep more easily tonight... hopefully.

Things to do (urgent and important only):
1) Marking of 5B's EL Mock Exam papers
2) Marking of 5B's essays and personal conferencing with them
3) Marker's report of 3 Express EL Paper 1 Part 2
4) 5B's testimonials

Alright, I'm signing off for the day...

jOyZ blogged at 7:04 PM

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You Guang & Xiao Meng's Wedding

Yesterday was my cousin, You Guang's wedding. I didn't expect it I would be helping out much as Aunty Lay had only asked me to be the support vocalist for the church wedding, which I'd readily agreed to months ago.

As we were the groom's side of the family, we were only required to reach my aunt's place at around 10am. My family was one of the earliest to arrive even though we only got there at around 10.25am. Slowly, the relatives came streaming in. There were so many people that I felt claustrophobic in the living room!

The bride and groom finally arrived and the tea ceremony soon commenced. My brother had been roped in to do the home video so he quickly took his place and started recording. There was some discussion as to where the chairs should be placed so that the camera man would have a good position to take the pictures. Suddenly, my aunts realised there was no one to help rinse the teacups for repeated use. I had to stand in as the 'washer' that morning. Hahaha... It was quite an easy job - simply take the tray of teacups from the bride and rinse them in a basin of water and pass these to Aunty Lay who would pour tea into them again. But I had to be really fast - because there were so many relatives around! And because the whole living room was so crowded, I had a hard time trying to retrieve the tray of teacups from the bride (who couldn't move around much because of her wedding gown) and then passing the washed cups back to Aunty Lay.

It was a relief when the entire tea ceremony was over. I was so afraid of spilling tea all over the bride's gown with all the people teeming around! *mops brow* Thank God nothing of the sort happened. Hahaha...

After that I quickly grabbed a few bites before heading down to the church with Uncle Chye and his family for the worship rehearsal, while the other relatives went to the garden for more photo-taking.

We arrived at the church slightly after 11.30am and had about an hour of practice. The wedding was to start at 1pm, I heard. Later I realised it was supposed to be the time the guests had to be seated and the wedding march promptly started at 1.30pm.

We did 3 songs: 1) This Is The Day, 2) How Could I Live Without You and 3) 这一生中最美的祝福. The 4th song 我愿意 was a special item which I didn't have to support. I think everything went okay, though not fantastically. I'd forgotten how it's like to serve on the pulpit and looking at a congregation. So it was a bit weird at first. Everyone was so stiff-faced on such a joyous occasion. Haha... ;p

Anyway, after they were pronounced man and wife, we all started taking photographs with the wedded couple. Then we proceeded downstairs for the refreshments. I was utterly famished by that time! I think it was around 2.30pm. The buffet was quite a spread - my aunt had ordered food enough for 120 people! So I promptly abandoned the idea of going on a diet (again) and gorged myself silly. Still, I don't think I ate much though. I think there's seriously a limit to how much my stomach can take in now - which is a good thing. Haha. Unlike when I was younger... my stomach was like a bottomless pit!

After feasting on the food, my brother and I helped to stack up all the chairs and carried the tables back to their original positions. It was tough work doing such menial tasks in high heels! My feet really hurt after that. Thankfully, I didn't fall on my nose while moving around to clear up the place.

We packed the leftover food and went home. I quickly washed up, changed into my home clothes and slumped into bed. I was so tired that I couldn't sleep! It was ridiculous! I think I lay on my bed for quite a long time with my eyes wide open. Finally, when I could fall asleep, I was rudely awaken by the knock on my door - my mom was calling me to get changed for the wedding banquet. I was tempted to tell her I couldn't make it because I was tired. But, who wasn't? Reluctantly, I dragged myself up from bed, washed and dressed up. My brother left early to meet his girlfriend, Sensen, who was joining us for the dinner.

My dad drove my mom and I to Meritus Mandarin and we reached there at around 6.20pm. Again, we were one of the earliest so we sat down on the oh-so-comfortable couches and waited. My brother soon arrived with Sensen and we chatted a bit. The guests were coming in and the holding area was getting rather too crowded for my comfort.

While I was whining in my head to myself how I wish I had not left the house, there appeared to be some problem at hand. I saw Kuang talking to the people around him. Then Uncle Chye was looking around and saw me. I frowned. What happened? I looked at my brother who heard what they said. Limin (Kuang's sister who was the bridesmaid of the day) was late and Xiao Meng needed someone to help her with her wedding gown. I quickly stood up and volunteered to help. Since I was just sitting around and whining silently to myself, why not do something useful?

So Kuang set the elevator for me and told me the room number, 2226. Dumb me, I went to press on the 2206 doorbell and waited for quite a while before I realised it wasn't 2226! I must have been more exhausted than I thought. :O So I went to look for 2226, which turned out to be on the OTHER END of the terribly long corridor. Okay, nevermind, I told myself. Take it as a simple workout after the buffet lunch and before the banquet feast.

Xiao Meng opened the door to let me in and I told her why I was there to help her instead of Limin. The photographer was in the living room of the suite. He left the room when Xiao Meng told him I was going to help her dress up. The dressing up part was nothing really. All I had to do was just hook and zip up the gown for her because it was hard for her to reach behind to do it herself.

When she was all pretty and ready, we sat down and chatted a bit. I asked her how she was feeling. She said she was kind of relieved everything was going to end soon because she was quite tired - she only had 3 hours of sleep the previous night. I nodded my head sympathically. It was like that when I stayed over at Vanessa's place on the night before her wedding too.

We talked some more and just when she was telling me about how she met Kuang, the doorbell rang and I went to answer it. Xiao Meng's mother, eldest sister and youngest brother (who had came all the way from Hangzhou, China to attend the wedding) were at the door. They came in and started talking in some Chinese dialect. I sat on a couch and willed myself to become invisible. Haha. Kuang and 2 of his friends came up soon after and I took a photo of Xiao Meng with her mother and sister. Then all of us left the bride and groom in the room and went to the banquet hall.

The minute the elevator door opened, we were greeted by a cacophony of voices - all the chatters and laughters were jarring to my ears. I felt claustrophobic again when I saw how OVERcrowded the waiting area had become. I walked up to the reception table, signed my name and asked my cousin, Wendy who was one of the receptionist, where I was supposed to be sitting. It was table 8. Hoho... nice number. x)

I thankfully sank into the couch beside Sensen and my brother at one corner and spaced out. After what seemed like an eternity, the guests finally started walking into the banquet area. We all stood up and waited in line. My stomach was growling. Whatever I had chomped for lunch had been digested long ago. Before moving off, I grabbed 2 nuts from a nearby bowl, popped them into my mouth and muttered to Sensen I was hungry. She giggled. As we neared the entrance, my brother introduced Sensen to Aunty Bee, who smiled and said, "Wah, your girlfriend very pretty!" (Brother: *WHACKS* Not bad ah, you. Xiaorong also said that 2 weeks ago.) LOL!

By the time we got to the table, 2 of the seats were taken by an elderly couple. I realised that they were Sheila's (Uncle Guan's wife) parents. So we were finally seated as such (clockwise): Aunty Chan, my brother, Sensen, me, my mom, my dad, Uncle Guan, Sheila and Joshua (their 11-month old kid... HE'S SO CUTE OKAY!!!), Sheila's mother and, finally, Sheila's father.

While waiting for the bride and groom, we chatted a bit amongst ourselves. I saw Ching and Li with their husbands and sons (chubby boys), Uncle Chor Chye's family and some other familiar faces which I'd not seen in years. At around 8.30pm, the wedded couple finally made their grand entrance. Everyone stood up and clapped as they moved to their table. When everyone was seated, the lights dimmed again for the usual fanfare for the 1st dish. Once the plate of cold dish was placed on the table, I started grabbing food with my chopsticks. Haha... YES! I was THAT hungry!

In between mouthfuls of food, I chatted with Sensen. Though I'd seen her a couple of times before at home, I was usually busy in my room. Last night was a good chance to get to know her. Apparently, she has a younger sister who was an ex-student from QTSS! Singapore is REALLY small eh? Anyway, her sister's Jane Wong Ying Ying from Sec 4A '04. I taught her Maths for a few weeks when she was in Secondary 1A... with Gerard, Kenneth Yeo, Thu Aung and those bunch of boisterous boys. It seems that Sensen knows these people too. Hehe... this is so surreal man.

Anyway, after talking a while with her, I find that she's rather mature for her age. She's only recently turned 21. Speaking of which, she could've almost been my student! LOL! I was doing my NIE practicum at Queensway Secondary, where she came a year later after 2 other schools merged with Queensway. By then, I was already posted to QTSS. Hoho...

Back to the wedding dinner... I think I overate or something. Haha... what ELSE is new! The food was not bad - delicious and really substantial! We couldn't finish the food for some of the dishes, which was quite a waste. Sigh! There are people starving elsewhere in other parts of the world while here we have more than enough to eat. That's why my plate is always so clean - if I can, I will finish the food to the last bit. =I

I didn't take the dessert though. I don't have the habit of eating Chinese desserts which are usually too sweet for my liking. The guests started leaving soon after the last dish was served. I think most people enjoyed the night. I didn't realise it, but in the midst of chatting with my brother and his girlfriend AND stuffing food into my face, I had changed my mind about being sorry for losing sleep. I was glad I went for the dinner after all. The heartfelt thanks from my cousin (I thought he was going to shake my hand off! Haha!) and Aunty Bee was worth all the effort. =)

My brother and his girlfriend went for a late-night movie while I went home with my parents. I went online for a while. Though I was exhausted, I couldn't sleep. Yet, I wasn't really awake. I could feel myself spacing out and whatever I was doing on my laptop wasn't registering in my brain. Finally, I decided to call it a day.

What an eventful day indeed.

Congratulations to You Guang and Xiao Meng!
May the Lord bless your marriage as you honour Him!

jOyZ blogged at 1:10 PM

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Sunday, October 09, 2005
First World Problem

Argh! Dumb me. I didn't realise the school staffroom won't be opened until Cheryl told me last night when we were out marking at Liang Court. Argh argh arghhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Now, as what Cheryl had said, I've got a first-world problem: to mark in school or somewhere else?

Cheryl will be meeting Pei Chin to mark at Centrepoint later, so I could go there. But, we may end up talking. :x

Or, I could head down to Tanglin Mall again where I will be alone, which means I'll have better concentration. But no one will look after my things when I need to answer the call of nature. Hm. And I won't have company for lunch and dinner unless I drag people out to eat with me. HOHOHOH...

If I go to school to mark, I'd probably be marking in the Commerce Room together with the whole lot of pupils and whichever teachers are there. If it's too noisy, I'll have to mark outside the staffroom which obviously isn't air-conditioned.

Oh, and there's Valley Point to consider too. It's quite quiet there though there are some students studying there on Sunday afternoons. But there will be students studying elsewhere anyway. The food and drinks there are expensive though and meals would be a problem unless I eat the pastries there, provided I'm willing to pay so much for pastries.

Sigh. Then again, I might just mark at home. The sky is so cloudy and grey this morning. :( I don't want to be caught in a downpour. I guess if I leave my home now for somewhere, I won't. But I'm charging my handphone now and I can't leave home without it.

AaaaaaRrrrrrGgggggggHhhhhhhhhh!

Maybe I should just go back and sleep my day away!!!!!

jOyZ blogged at 9:23 AM

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Saturday, October 08, 2005
Plans For The Weekend

My plans to wake up early to start my marking marathon outside didn't quite materialize. I woke up really late - like 10.30am - and the sky looked gloomy and all ready to pour. It's raining now actually, so it's a bit of a hassle to leave the house with a huge bag of marking and a huge umbrella.

I suppose I can only do my marking at home now until whatever time Cheryl will be meeting me later. She said she had made tentative plans to meet Hwei Leng for dinner and asked me to join them. I haven't seen HL for quite a while, so I had agreed. They were thinking of eating 锅贴 at Tanjong Pagar. Yummy! Haha!

Anyway, I've just sent Cheryl a message to let her know I'm marking at home until whenever she's ready to meet me. After dinner, I hope to mark until really late - possibly midmight or beyond - provided Cheryl can too. Otherwise I won't have any transport home - unless I hitch a cab ride home and burn my already big-holed pocket.

Tomorrow will be Marking-cum-Personal-Conferencing Marathon at school, which will be opened from 11am to 8pm for the pupils' benefit. They need a conducive place for their O level preparation. I will be seeing some 5B pupils individually for their essays and marking at the same time. It sounds crazy, doesn't it? It can't be helped - the deadline for the submission of the EL end-of-year examination marks is this coming Monday, which is an extended deadline from yesterday. Most EL teachers couldn't finish marking by yesterday. This week has been just too crazy.

Last night, I had dinner with Cheryl and Mag at Tanglin Mall's foodcourt after waiting for Cheryl to be done with her meeting. Mag had ended her lessons early I think and she was so sweet as to come all the way to Tanglin Mall (she walked all the way from Orchard MRT Station with all her barang barang!) just to have dinner with me.

Mag dearie: Thanks for making that extra effort and having the patience to wait at McDonald's. It was really good seeing you again. Once all my marking is finished, we must meet again! Yesterday evening's dinner was a bit short for a thorough catching-up.

Well, I'm waiting for my parents to be back home with lunch. I couldn't decide what to eat so I don't know what they are going to dabao home. I've got craving for Fish & Co.'s mouth-watering fish and chips again. Sinful, I know. ;(

Hm, I hear the front door opened. I think my parents are back. That's my cue for brunch! Tata! ;)~~~

jOyZ blogged at 11:33 AM

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Wednesday, October 05, 2005
Things On My Mind

They are as follow, in no particular order of importance...

1) Marking of examination scripts for Secondary 3 Express EL Paper 1, Part 2.
2) Drilling of EL Paper 2 (from past years' papers and/or from other schools) with 5B.
3) Personal conferencing with 5B pupils for EL Paper 1.
4) Writing of testimonials for 5B.

At least the 4NT pupils are taking their N Level now, so that's one load off at the moment. I hope they'll do okay for EL, though I'm quite sure there will be a few who won't be able to pass the papers. Sigh.

Well, I've done what I could. All the drilling, nagging, scolding, persuading, blah blah blah.

Sigh.

jOyZ blogged at 12:33 PM

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Sunday, October 02, 2005
Shouming & Veronica's Wedding

Hohohoh... They are finally wedded... after 4 years of courtship!

Yesterday was a tiring day, though all I did was to BE there. I wasn't required to help out in anything, so I just behaved like all good guests - ate to my heart's content! Haw haw haw! ;P

Okay, I know. I've said I wanted to lose weight many times. And I will! xP

Back to the wedding.

We headed down to Shouming's new flat in Bishan. We were quite late - thanks to me. Heh. After bathing, I went online to clear my emails and lost track of time and had to dress up within 15 minutes - ironing my blouse and pants and applying simple make-up. I brought along my cosmetic bag in case I needed to touch-up a little because we would be heading down for the church wedding straight from Shouming's new flat.

I realised his new apartment is very near to where Kris lives. His new place was very nicely done up - simple and cosy. There were quite a lot of stuffed toys all around - his wife's collection. They had this cupboard in the study exhibiting all her toys - from Care Bears to My Little Ponies to Garfield. Haha... my brother, cousins and I were ABSOLUTELY AMAZED. They even had those tiny big-nosed stuffed doggies (I counted ten of them) lined up on top of their TV set! So cute! Haha!

We ate the catered food. There was the tea ceremony which took up a short time. Even the church wedding was rather short compared to some other weddings I'd attended. Oh, and it was the first time I heard Shouming declare openly his love for his wife. Haha. He was so nervous. The catered food was rather good, I thought. I ate again. :O But I had a bit of almost every dish, and I didn't really feel full. Heh, so I guess it should be okay - I didn't overeat! ;p

Hm, actually what I realised about the whole wedding - tea ceremony, church wedding and banquet - was that everything was rather short and sweet, although the banquet started super late like any other wedding banquets in Singapore.

I think I'm starting to understand why. After having helped out at 2 weddings, I realise the transition from the church wedding to the wedding banquet is very rushed. By the time everything wraps up at the church wedding and the wedded couple and their entourage reach the hotel, it is usually between 5pm and 5.30pm. The whole lot of them have to take turns to use the bathroom to bathe and dress up. And since there's only 1 make-up artist and the assistant, the bride and her bridesmaid (depending on how many bridesmaids actually), they need time to slap thick make-up on their faces (you'll be amazed on what they claim will make you look radiant for the night), set their hair and what not. Everything takes up more than an hour. By the time the bride and the groom are ready, it's close to 8pm or 8.30pm.

The guests, on the other hand, probably have an idea what's going on - either because they've had attended quite a number of weddings or they themselves have gone through the whole thing before. Either way, they will arrive between an hour and an hour and a half late from the time stated on the wedding invitation.

The food was alright, I guess. We were at Holiday Inn (old Concorde Hotel). Nothing fantastic - just the usual. I tried not to eat too much. Haha. I was talking my cousins about losing weight and Wanjun recommended SlimExcel. I guess I'll buy the bottle of capsules soon. Like tomorrow. Hohohoh.

Anyway, throughout the dinner, I was talking to Wanjun the whole time because Xiaorong was at the VIP table. Uncle Stanley came. I haven't seen him in years. He looked so much older than the last time I saw him.

By the time the banquet ended, it was around 11pm, I think. We hung around some more to take family pictures. It was kinda funny because it reminded us of a picture of Shouming, my brother, me and Xiaorong (in this order) taken by my mom when we were still very young. (The photo was shown on the wedding slides at the church wedding.) I was only in pre-primary at the time when the photo was snapped, I remember. In that photo, Shouming was the shortest, my brother the second shortest, I was the next tallest and Xiaorong was the tallest. Now, the order is completely reversed! Haha. Xiaorong is the shortest with Shouming as the tallest. If anyone is interested, that picture can be seen in my friendster. Hohohoh... x)

Congratulations to Shouming and Veronica!
祝你们：早生贵子，白头偕老！

jOyZ blogged at 10:37 AM

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