Monday, February 26, 2007
Being Voiceless
It's terribly frustrating being voiceless. My parents, for one, have this incredible knack of bombarding me with the silliest questions and then, when they don't hear my reply, they bark: "Can you just answer me?!" as if they have completely no idea I'd lost my voice.
Such is the kind of care and concern I have to put up with. Sigh. Still, my mom did give me some bird's nest tonic to drink. I think that's by far the best part about having this lousy flu.
Other than that, I'm pretty much like a mute. =\
"Thou shalt not speak a word," my doctor had commanded, along with the usual "no chilli, no oranges, no pineapple tarts, no nuts, but drink lots of water".
No pineapple tarts?!?! What's Chinese New Year without pineapple tarts!?! SUCH MISERY. Then again, the last few pieces of pineapple tarts in my house were consumed many days ago so there are none left to tempt me really.
And there are the dreaded anti-biotics again. Initially, I had this mental struggle whether to pop the first capsule into my mouth because once it's taken, I have to complete the entire course. And we all know how much I hate anti-biotics. Then suddenly I had this terrible coughing fit and when I finally managed to stop, I could feel my lungs crackling. That was like THE FINAL WARNING or something; I threw the darn capsule into my mouth without further hesitation. >_<
Just take a look at the amount of medication I have to take this time:
The red-and-orange capsules are the anti-biotics. The green ones are for my stuffed nose. Colourful tablets, huh? It's a pity they aren't sweets.
Oh man, when I get my voice back, the first thing I want to do is SING.
jOyZ blogged at 6:41 PM
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Thursday, February 22, 2007
Oh-So-Hooked
Alright, I'm oh-so-hooked on Heroes now. And it's only been two episodes! Episode 3 is taking forever... *growls*
Zhen'ai: I hope it isn't as much of an agony for you as it is for me.
*drums fingers*
*drums toes*
GAHHH... the suspense is KILLING me!!!
*drums fingers and toes*
I think I should mark more essays now.
jOyZ blogged at 7:59 PM
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Tuesday, February 20, 2007
To Kill Boredom... (edited)
I was super bored, came across this site and decided to just answer some of the quizzes. Try them if you wish. ;o
| Your Scholastic Strength Is Developing Ideas |
You can take a spark of inspiration and turn it into a full fledged concept.
You are talented at brainstorming, visualizing, organizing, and independent thinking.
You should major in:
Natural sciences
Computer science
Creative writing
Math
Architecture
Journalism |
Oh man, seriously, how true is the above??? I never knew! Hahaha...
Here's another one, which is so so so true...
| You Are Pretty Happy |
You generally have a happy, fulfilling life.
But things could be a little better, and deep down, you know it.
Maybe you need more supportive friends or a more challenging career.
Something is preventing you from being totally happy. You just need to figure out what it is! |
And a final one:
| You Should Learn Spanish |
For you, learning a language is about career advancement and communication.
Knowing Spanish will bring you tons of possibilities for jobs and travel. Bárbaro! |
Hm, I prefer French, really. :D
Oh yes, check out Indulgz. If anyone's been there before, tag to let me know if it's any good. Thanks!
jOyZ blogged at 1:13 PM
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Old And New
After thinking for months whether I ought to delete my old blog, I finally decided not to. In fact, I woke up this morning and promptly copied and pasted all entries in my 'new' blog to the 'old' one. I think I like this blog skin too much. Haha!
Even though there were a lot of unhappy memories, there were pleasant ones as well. And all these experiences made me what I am today. It is just unrealistic to say I want to forget everything. Rather than avoiding, I'm going to embrace them. Perhaps time will heal the wounds and dilute the joy. Whatever the case, they're all ME! LOL.
Okay, people, please tag soon. I miss all the taggies! ;D
恭喜发财！
jOyZ blogged at 10:31 AM
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Monday, February 19, 2007
:\
What a time to be ill. Hence, I'm not really in the mood to blog.
Happy Lunar New Year anyway.
jOyZ blogged at 1:05 AM
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Friday, February 16, 2007
It's Just Today
Parking is such expensive business. Haha. I was at Wheelock for less than an hour and had to pay $3 for parking. The outdoor carpark was TERRIBLY FULL. I waited for a space for like 15 minutes before finally giving up!
Oh well... I rarely get to use my mom's car on a weekday. Since she wasn't working today, I drove my brother and me to work. Hohohoh... I realise I'm becoming an extremely impatient driver. That's really something NOT good! ;o
Work was horrendous as usual. But I've learnt to throw all the ill feelings behind me once I step out of the school gates. x) La la la...
Unfortunately, I can't say the same for my marking load. -_-
Oh yes, I bought lots of junk food from Marks and Spencer. They don't seem to sell anymore super sinfully savoury chips. Haha. Ah well. Too much sodium is like poison to the body. It's just as well, really. Heh.
I haven't had lunch yet so I think I'll just satisfy my hunger with the chocolate digestive biscuits I bought at Marks and Spencer. xD~~
To Huiyi: Thanks, dear. *hugs* I'm more or less fine now. =)
jOyZ blogged at 4:26 PM
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Wednesday, February 14, 2007
A Few Things
I know. This is such an unpleasant thing to blog about especially on this day. Well, I don't know why. I just found out something about someone. Well, not exactly 'found out'. I've had my suspicions, but whatever I saw confirmed my suspicions. The discovery or realization isn't exactly something very pleasant to swallow.
I have a few things to say to this person:
1) Your reasons are way lame - with loopholes that will even cause people with an IQ of 10 to look at you with disdain. Please remember that I do use my common sense when I listen. I don't jump onto conclusions but I observe very, very closely. You have absolutely no idea how closely I observe people (words, mannerisms, dates, blogs - oh yes, I read blogs, which shouldn't surprise anybody) - thanks to my 'training' at work.
2) Everything is too valid... too reasonable... and most importantly, too coincidental. Remember, we Christians don't believe in coincidences. If you do, then I suggest you have serious issues to settle with God.
3) Despite remaining civil (and curt - more often than not), I'm starting to lose my respect for you. In fact, this respect has started to dwindle quite a while ago. You prefer to ignore/avoid to forget. Do you know, the worst kind of treatment anyone can receive is being ignored.
4) You're so stubborn that you don't even want to entertain the thought of the possibility that you could be wrong - despite opposing facts shouting right at your face. You insist on having your own way and when things go wrong, you silently blame other people for your stubbornness. Oh no, you don't verbalize this to them. All the grievances are kept in your heart and they just grow into something worse.
5) I've always agreed with the saying "Familiarity breeds contempt". Now, I see this in its fullness. *shakes head*
Whatever. I'm done.
jOyZ blogged at 5:18 PM
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Saturday, February 10, 2007
The Woes Of An English Language Teacher
The GCE O Level results were released yesterday. I can't say I'm too pleased with the EL results for 4B2 though there were some who did better than I'd expected (I'm really happy for them) and some who still couldn't make it through despite all that I'd done.
At first I felt quite bad about the whole thing. There were quite a number of pupils who met me regularly in small groups for conferencing. Some made it through and some did not. I was baffled because my advice to each of them was more or less the same - depending on their language ability of course. There were a few whom I felt may not make it through, but I had to remain positive so as to motivate them to continue to work on their language.
But after receiving a curt comment from someone, I felt very hurt and, as I thought about it more, I got angry. I thought to myself: was it really entirely MY fault? I really had done what I could. If I were deemed as ineffective, then my question is: how did those who made it through make it through?
My bosses were very kind about the whole thing. Honestly, if I would want to continue to feel bad about the results, it would be because they understand how tough it is to teach EL and how subjective it can be - being English teachers themselves.
It was quite demoralizing to see some of the 4B2 pupils' EL grades yesterday, but I cannot continue to allow myself to feel this way. There is still 4E to look after this year. I'll just have to push them (and myself) even harder.
4E: If you think I will be nice, think again. Because if you want to come back to school for Sec 5, getting a C5 and C6 for EL at N Level is NOT sufficient. If you're only aiming for that, you can kiss your Sec 5 education good-bye. Remember the statistics which Mdm Yani showed you at the beginning of this year.
To borrow Alexandra House's slogan: we all bleed red. RAH.
jOyZ blogged at 11:33 AM
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Tuesday, February 06, 2007
This Person (TP)
This is not going to be a pleasant entry. -_-
It's really a huge struggle NOT to have intense dislike for this person. I'd like to label this intense dislike as hate, but it sounds terribly juvenile. -_- Whatever. Let's call this person "TP" for 'This Person'.
TP is, for one, a big, fat liar. TP has lied to me not once, not twice, but several times... so much so that it's getting on my nerves. Who does TP think I am? I'm far more observant than what TP thinks, thank you very much!
Secondly, TP is too much of an attention-seeker. TP is extremely noisy... so much so that TP's voice and laughter (TP cackles actually) end up irritating me more often than not. It's fine if one is funny. At least, one is - you know - entertaining. TP is plain irritating.
Thirdly, TP has this disgusting habit of burping aloud. Don't get me wrong - I'm not against people burping. God knows - I wish I could burp sometimes to ease the discomfort in my stomach after a meal. But you haven't heard TP's burp. It sounds like a fat frog releasing an extremely loud and really sharp croak repeatedly (imagine the timing of the cuckoo bird popping out of the clock and back in, hooting at the same time).
TP appears to only enjoy provoking other people and basically does NOTHING constructive.
I don't wish to put people down. But I really cannot find a single redeeming quality in TP.
J'abandonne!!! ARGH!!!
jOyZ blogged at 9:35 PM
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Sunday, February 04, 2007
Final Celebrations
Alrighty, I just finished helping my dad clean up my mom's car. It wasn't as bad as I'd thought. At least I had a bit of exercise. HAH. God knows... the only exercise I do now is typing with my fingers. ;p
I had a great time last night. I met Abi, Gina and Joce at Wheelock's Sun Moon for Japanese cuisine. In between mouthfuls of feasting, we talked and joked, laughed and sniggered. Hahaha... As usual, Gina had us all laughing very hard. I think we were four very boisterous ladies guffawing away in the restaurant. Oops, except for Abi who's the most demure of us all. x)
After that, we took about an hour to decide where to go to. I suggested drinks or KTV. Everyone eventually agreed on KTV and I drove us to AMK's K-Box. Aifang joined us too. So we wailed, screeched and howled through the night from 11pm to 3am. Gina actually belted out this 10-minute medley by 古巨基, with actions and all. Hahahah! She could even sputter in between songs who the original singer of each song was! It was super entertaining and I was terribly tickled by the very silly MTV too. LOL.
Thanks, ladies, for an extremely entertaining evening and for barely tolerating my atrocious screeching. I know I was hogging the mic quite a bit for once. Hahaha. I couldn't help it. It had been quite a while since I had such fun singing. For once, I didn't even care whether I went out of tune or not! xD Anyway, I really appreciate your willingness to spend time with me despite your very, very hectic schedules. You sacrificed your precious sleep just to KTV with me till 3am! And I know you have not been having enough sleep - especially Gina. And poor Abi was shivering at one corner, half-asleep! I'm really, really touched and thankful for this special treatment. =) Thank God, it's just once a year, eh? LOL! ;D
Mel, you must come back quickly from Jakarta so that we can have another session! Meanwhile, please go and practise on your Mandarin evergreens: 梅兰，梅兰，我爱你 and 月亮代表我的心. Heheheheheheheh. =D
Oh, let me digress a bit here: I also received a few well-wishes via SMS from some ex-pupils last night. Thank you Melody, Sherlyn and Selwyn for remembering. I miss all of you very much! Thank you, Hui Yi and Priscilla, for your well-wishes too! Do come back to visit the teachers for CNY if you have the time. =)
By the time I chauffeured everyone back and reached home, it was 4am. My parents and brother were all asleep. I washed up and stayed awake till 5am. I couldn't sleep somehow - too high over all the singing I guess. Haha... It was really a good time together. I can't believe how much I've missed everyone and the time we used to spend together. =)
Well, well... that's the highlight of my birthday celebrations this year. A complete contrast to last year's. The surprises this year more than made up for the disappointments last year. I was just chatting for a short while with Mel this afternoon via MSN. She asked me what I would like to have for my birthday present.
I had to think for a while. I realised that I have stopped yearning for tangible gifts. What is more meaningful and precious to me now is to be in the company of good friends. After a year of wandering in the desert, facing rejection and depression from the outside and even within, I've come to cherish the little things that brighten my day now. Hence, I'm deeply thankful for the special treatment many have shown me on my special day.
I believe it's God's way of assuring me that He has never forgotten me. I thank God for all His blessings. Praise God, for being who He is! =)
jOyZ blogged at 4:49 PM
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Saturday, February 03, 2007
More Pleasant Surprises
I was in school this morning for EPC on Oral skills with 4 pupils. It ended at around 12.30pm, so I still had a bit of time left to plan very quickly what I intend to do with my classes for English next week. I find this a lot faster than typing in chunks of words using a word document program for the SOW. The CA framework is extremely useful in helping me plan for my weekly lessons - at least I'm more focussed when it comes to deciding which skills I want to teach my pupils.
I've just had my lunch so I'm feeling rather drowsy already. xO
I'll be meeting Gina, Joce and Abi for dinner later. It's a pity Mag and Zhiwei already have plans for the evening. Mel isn't in Singapore too because she's gone back to Jakarta. Anyway, I'm still thinking whether I should meet Joce a little earlier to shop before dinner at 630pm. Well, I'll mull over it as I blog. Hoho...
Work at school yesterday was pleasant. 4E had a big surprise for me. The moment I stepped into the class and saw the cake, the class burst out singing the birthday song. It was totally unexpected and it was no less surprising than the one Choir gave me the day before. Thank you, 4E. You were all very sweet. Even though you were not the first class I've taught to have celebrated my birthday with me, you were the first subject class to do so. Thank you for the cakes, especially the coffee cake which you bought for the teachers. Thank you for the cards and all your well-wishes. And as what Derrick has written, I hope you will not let me down where EL is concerned. ;) Most importantly, don't let yourselves down. I've dedicated my birthday wishes to you and Choir.
3H was very sweet too. Shafie and Abidin were waiting for me at the ground floor near the parade square and helped to carry my books and visualizer to class. They sang me the birthday song when I entered the class. Even though there were no cakes, no cards and no gifts - except for the scrawls they wrote on the board, it was heartening to see them doing something together as a class for once. Thank you, 3H, for the very nice birthday song.
Basically, everyone was in no mood for lessons! There was no way I could teach, so I decided to just give them all a break - since it was also a Friday. I did manage to finish going through a worksheet with 3H though before allowing them free time for the last period of the day.
Friday afternoon at school was surprisingly pleasant too. I met Yani for a very short and sweet but focussed target-setting for work review. After that I had a long discussion-cum-chat with Marilyn about our plans for Choir among other things. I'm really looking forward to the camp during the March holidays. Hohoho!
After that, it was dinner with Cheryl, Hwei Leng and Pei Chin at Marmalade Pantry. The food was not too bad. 3 of us ordered the same pasta dish while Hwei Leng had some wrap dish. I had a good time partly because Hwei Leng made us laugh quite a bit with her horror stories in school. Hahaha... Thanks, ladies, for the treat and a wonderful time.
Thank you too, Pikie and Zhen'ai, for your well-wishes via SMS. =)
I also received my bestie's SMS-message earlier this morning together with Cheryl's. If not for them, I would've been terribly late for my EPC sessions with my 4 pupils! Hoho...
Oh, here's a piece of great news fresh from the oven: Jane's expecting!!! I'm so happy for her and Benson. Their prayers are finally answered. Praise God! =)
Alright, I'm going to stop now. And take a nap! HAHA! Ciao! ;)
jOyZ blogged at 2:43 PM
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Thursday, February 01, 2007
A Very Pleasant Surprise =)
Je suis épuisé. I just got home actually. x\
But...... Choir really made my day today. =) I didn't know they had it planned. Ai Ming told me that they had been hounding her about it the past 2 weeks. And I had completely no idea what was going on despite the fact that I tried to watch them practise as often and as long as I could during the practice sessions. Thanks, Choir, for the birthday song, cake and well-wishes. =)
Thanks to Hui Shian, Paulina and Shi Lin too for getting the cake and for your wonderful gifts. I really appreciate the time and effort you've all given just for this mini-celebration. It was really a BIG surprise. Haha. I wasn't even this surprised when my beloved 5B '05 sprang a surprise mini-party on me 2 years ago at recess - due to John's very dubious acting skills! LOL! Still, it was no less lovely and I still remember it. =)
Thanks to Jia Yun, too, for remembering and for your well wishes via SMS. =)
And Oszie called me when I was on my way home!!! LOL! Yeah, I was really happy to hear from him. It feels really strange not to have him around in school now. I find it actually difficult not to miss this rolly-polly teacher and his hearty laughter. We must catch up soon. Thanks, Oz, for remembering and your well-wishes. =)
And thank You, dear Lord, for all these little blessings You've given me in advance. I may be alone, but You have never forsaken nor will forsake me.
=)
jOyZ blogged at 7:54 PM
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