Teachers' Day Celebrations

The celebrations sucked - 2 hour picnic followed by the boys WATCHING teachers / students / parents play Captain's Ball. But the follow-up to the celebrations was FREAKING awesome. Them Boys came to visit!!!

At first, just very few ex-boys came and we chatted for a wee bit then I thought I'd head home early but they somehow persuaded me to stay on with them a little longer. They even offered to carry my bags of gifts for me... I was won over, obviously. I'm glad too. Them Boys started streaming in bit by bit and I was overjoyed. Many I've not seen since they were P6 while the rest I've lost touch with. They were teasing me because I was grinning like a total retard when I saw them... they know the effect that they have on me and that boosted their ego a tad too much!

In the beginning, we sat, chatted and bonded. I made new acquaintances as they introduced me to some I never took notice of before. Then more streamed in and the group got bigger. I loaned them my soccer ball to play with and that was a big mistake! They reminded me of the times when I used to play soccer with them and we all started laughing hysterically at all those painful memories. "Painful" because they always made me goalie and... well, their aim got better as they were always aiming for me and not to put in the goal *pouts* Needless to say, some reenactments were played out and I kept on using Jaben as my human shield. Shrieking whenever Nicholas got the ball; his kick is painfully deadly accurate...

Bored of sitting around doing nothing... well not exactly nothing... they kept on misplacing my stuff and got me thinking that I was such a scatterbrain that I forgot where I left my stuff... but anyway, they decided to play soccer for real at the plaza. I was nominated as designated cheerleader [self nominated... I didn't want to be goalie again :( ] And more of Them Boys appeared! I was ecstatic so drinks were on me. What made my day was that I got to see Ivan after so long! Gosh. We had such an amazing bond and he really looked up to me but after a disagreement we couldn't really see eye to eye anymore and that particular group and I parted ways. It broke my heart not to be able to hang with them.

But he came today and it was as though he had put all of what had happened between us behind him. Even his friends came up to me and spoke to me. He loves soccer but he chose to sit and chat with me instead. Aaaahhh... it was turning out to be a fantastic day.

Soccer didn't last long. They decided to have lunch while Avery and I chose to chill in the comfort of the staffroom. Oooh... Avery wrote me THE sweetest letter. I literally teared when I read it... he always knows what to say and give to get me all sappy and mushy. That's why I love him so. Oh and guess who decided to join us? Ivan :) The 2 clowns decided to play with my war props and put on a pretty wicked jackass-like demonstration. I have to admit, it was bloody hilarious. But it was nice to know that things were normal between Ivan and I.

Even that got boring after awhile so we decided to join the rest and I'm surprised at their level of energy. They were playing basketball. Shirtless. Them Boys are getting handsome-er and hot-er... am I allowed to say that? :p

The sweet thing is when I decided to leave, they all decided to make a move too. Eh, MP (Ms Parveen) going already. Let's also go... not fun already... It was a total awww moment for me! I followed Avery back because he goes to the church near my place so he suggested we hang till it was time for mass. He was carrying my bags of gifts, so I didn't complain :) He went up his place to bathe and change. He came down looking dashing and we took a bus back to my place. I was starving so we ate at KFC before he walked me home and made his way to church. Here I am now. It was truly a freaking awesome day for me.

Lost in A Control Station... L-O-S-E-R

It's amazing how childish some people can be... nay, annoying. I mean seriously, who gets lost in a control station?! So I gave you the wrong exit, try another. Or ask one of the control station staff; that's what they're there for - to give directions. Wandering aimlessly for thirty minutes in the same location will not make the block appear. Walking by the same bus stop three times will not get you to your destination. Plus, you knew you were on the wrong end when you checked the map and yet you still stood there?

But what really got to me was how you treated me after; like I should be the one apologising to you! Geez... grow up. You're in your mid-20s but you act like an infant! Crying and sobbing because you were frustrated at having to walk so much. HOW BIG CAN A CONTROL STATION BE!?

I'm disgusted at how you behaved that day and your mum took your side and totally gave me the cold shoulder. But hats off to my mum and aunt who stood by me :)

Bittersweet

When I stepped into class today, my boys sang me a birthday song. It took a lot for me not to tear in front of them. I'm such an emotional wreck around my birthday la... Oh, speaking of which, there was drama in the household but to make up for it I FORCED everyone to sing me a birthday song, even my second brother came up with a rendition of his own. Food was fantastic of course - mum cooked.

I'm not looking forward to this week. It's the second last week of Term 3, so it'll be a mad rush to clear our workload. Plus, the holidays are nearing so no one's in the mood to do anything! On top of that, my cousin's getting married on Saturday but it's a 3-day affair starting fron Thursday night. I'll be so SO shagged.

On Day 2 of The Best Days of Our Lives

It was a spectacular performance! The Day 2 cast did a fabulous job. I'm so proud of them :) Plus, the response from the audience was much better than from the night before. Probably because they're older, I guess.

I'm really going to miss the musical. I'll miss the cast - teachers and students and I'll miss rehearsing for days and nights on end :( Oh, I know who the mystery bouquet is from! Hee hee... that would make my bouquet count to 3!

I have to admit, I do miss being on stage. I miss everything about it; the lights, the stagefrights and especially the applause... Sometimes I wonder to myself, why didn't I pursue that career in theatre...

Enough about that, today I intend to have a quiet day in and a simple drama-less family dinner tonight. Sigh. Like that's ever going to happen. I hate birthdays.

On Day 1 of The Best Days of Our Lives

A crowd of seven to nine-year-olds, repeatedly screaming your name, as they wait hopefully for you to respond, by smiling, waving, or looking embarassedly at the other teachers. Finally you do all 3, and the crowd goes wild, repeating the process in ...the hopes of catching yet another wonderful performance.

That's exactly what happened at opening night last night! Thanks Bryce :) When I stepped on stage, my boys started screaming and shouting out my name. It was an amazing experience and it was hard to stay in character but of course I could manage *cough cough* When it came to the finale... I didn't have to act anymore so there I was grinning and waving at my darlings... Guess what? A parent came back stage and presented me with a bouquet of red roses! I love the theatre.

The musical went smoothly and the boys were fantastic! I'm going to miss the Day 1 cast so much... especially my son. Even he said that we bonded too late... but our hugging scene at the end came so naturally to us, I believe because that would be the last time that we'd perform together :(

Oh, of course photos will be up soon... once I've recovered from this. Even the backstage crew - the Sec boys helpers - are falling ill :( The poor dears... I've got to get them some Vitamin C sweets instead of feeding them all those unhealthy snacks :p

Get this... I received a call from a florist informing me that I will be receiving flowers between the hours of 2 - 5pm today (day 2). When I asked who this customer is, all I got was that it's a surprise... I hate surprises... so stay tuned to find out who this mysterious sender is.

It's Times Like These

The rehearsals are draining!!! I'm so exhausted when I come home but I can't seem to fall asleep without tossing and turning in bed for what seems like ages. It'll be over soon; performance is tomorrow and Friday. I didn't tell my form class that I'm performing so they'll be in for a surprise tomorrow. I only get to see them 1 out of the 5 days this week and I'm glad that there's no exam but just AMODES to fret over. I had full day rehearsals on Monday and Wednesday and had to skip class. It's PSLE Oral on Thursday and Friday so the boys don't have to be in school. I could only see them on Tuesday but because of the assembly programme, 3 of my 6 periods were taken away. Of the 3, 2 were used for a test. I wasn't in the mood to do much with them anyway. And we wonder why the boys always seem to be in a holiday mood.

I bought the berry version of Brands Essence of Chicken to keep my energy up tomorrow. I'm literally dragging myself around and I'm in the foulest of moods. I feel like such a sloth. Thing is, a part of me will miss meeting up for rehearsals twice a week. I will miss waving hysterically at my son from afar and showing him off to anyone nearby, that's for sure. But I'm sure the boys will feel it more. They have really bonded with one another eventhough they are from different levels / classes. Oh well, we move on.

Speaking of moving on, he had to sms me today and enquire if we were going to meet on my birthday. That sms took me by surprise because I thought it was decided that we would not be able to meet and I was coming to terms with that. But how he phrased his question as "do you want" and not "can you meet" made me literally sit down and weigh the pros and cons. I decided that albeit the possibility of the meet-up being very awkward, I should still meet him else there'll forever be the lingering "what if" series of questions. Plus, I do miss him terribly. I just don't want to cry :(

p.s. my shuffle play HAD to play Everlong...

I Won't Let This Build Up Inside of Me

I miss him. I hate to admit it but I do miss him terribly. In spite of all the antics and pranks, underneath it all, he was still a good friend to me. He was loyal, caring, understanding and above all compassionate. But it is good that we had to part ways; things were getting a tad too weird between us. As the saying goes, "Expectations are the mother of all fuck-ups." Sorry Fabian :p

Now, I play Vermilion Part 2 daily and on occasion Morning Glory only because the songs remind me of him.

I still love you, dude, but you have to learn to treat me better.

Pseudo Star

Not good. Not good at all. Apparently my videos are circulating in schools. Cedar Girls, Montfort and Cat High have seen them. But they were taken ten years ago! I was young and naive and I didn't know any better!!

Before you get the wrong idea, I partook in some MOE videos willingly and I was paid a handsome sum for each. Unfortunately, I have not seen them at all. I was promised a copy but they lied to me...

These Precious Moments We Have So Few

I blame Syakir. I can't get 2 songs out of my head; Pop Goes My Heart and Way Back Into Love from Music and Lyrics. I do find it very odd though that he listens to a whole lot of female artists...

So much for having a well-rested long weekend; it was downright crazy from start to end. I can't fathom how quickly the days passed by and it's back to school tomorrow. The horror. The horror!

Friday was the National Day celebrations in school which was THE WORST event I have ever attended. Things started going wrong right from the moment the bell rang to signal the start of the school day. Albeit the frustration and exhaustion, I have to admit that I was pleased the event was close to a disaster. Evil, I know but it was that ass who was the IC for the event. Off the top of my head, let me share with you some of the downfalls:

• the staggered timing for the main jigsaw activity did not run according to schedule, leaving the boys restless and bored in the classrooms
• when my class did eventually get to the hall to piece together the puzzle, our pieces were mismatched and we had much difficulty forming the puzzle
• upon completion, the boys were expected to carry the completed puzzle down to the parade square. My boys are Primary 1 boys and the puzzle is as large as 12 students' desks put together
• obviously the brains behind this project did not foresee a problem of carrying a large flimsy structure down 3 flights of stairs (with 2 corners to turn) because my boys had to break up the puzzle back into its pieces in order to be able to carry it down the flights of stairs onto the parade square
• because of the above, my class had to assemble the puzzle AGAIN. And by class, I do mean me inclusive
• sing-along in the scorching hot sun. For at least an hour. The hall was empty...
• we had no clue what the emcee was saying coz the sound system was dreadful. Non-existent would be a better adjective.
• our day ended at 11 because they gave the boys a 30 min recess. Not all the stalls were open. We could have ended earlier but NOOOOO... the boys had to be given recess...

Successful event, my ass. A bunch of the colleagues and I were discussing about the pre-hullabaloo for this event and that how the actual event was such a let down as compared to the hype he was creating. We can't wait for the feedback form to be given to us.

We had musical rehearsals next :( but thankfully Syabil and Syakir were awesome enough to wait for me (I ended at 2) and I really needed a break. I was fed and entertained. What more can I ask for? I love Them Boys for being so tolerant and for treating me like a princess (rare but there are those moments).

I headed home to pack my stuff as I was going to do an over-nighter at Amara's with the bride. Saturday morning was the wedding which consisted of me looting the groom and best man, the tea ceremony and the church wedding. I bummed at home for some time before heading down to Marriott Hotel to have dinner with my Aunt who just flew in from down under.

I spent the whole of my Sunday watching Saw 1 to 5 and for that I completely blame Faqih. Sometime near the evening, my mum decided she wanted to crash Marriott Hotel again. Plans were made to have our National Day celebrations there (Yes, we ALL said the pledge at 8:22pm). We could see a third of the fireworks from the hotel room. We pigged out, joked, watched the end to a horror movie before falling sound asleep at 11pm. Yea, age is so catching up on me.

We woke up early on Monday morning (4am for everyone else and 5:30am for me) and headed across the border. It was a mad-ass road trip to JB & Kota Tinggi. It was literally non-stop eating and shopping for us. I managed to snooze a couple of times too. I did try to convince everyone that Mango is really Rambutan and I'm pretty certain I managed to get some of them confused... not convinced, just confused. We reached home at half past 6 after having dinner near Labrador Park. Here I am now, typing this out and still not believing how quickly the days went by and wishing desperately that the work week passes by just as quickly so that I can enjoy the weekend again!

I Must Learn to Say No

I am so glad that THAT's over. Everyone heaved a huge sigh of relief but mine was for a different reason. I truly hope that now I can finally sever ties with you. You were bad news from the start and you have not changed one single bit. I'm surprised how our interventions have had no effect on you at all.

You still make up stories. You lie, deceive others and yourself and you claim to have everyone else's interest at heart. It awes me how you have made up a whole history of our friendship and how the story changes when you tell it to another person. Like the saying goes," Tell the lie long and hard enough, it will become a reality."

You should have seen the look on your parents' faces. You were so cold to them; it broke my heart. I can't imagine the number of times that you have broken theirs. They are good people and they deserve a better daughter. Maybe it is a good thing that you have left them.

This month has given me much to think about. I finally saw him after so long and I wanted to scream out at him,"PICK ME INSTEAD!" I couldn't look him in the eye as I was afraid I might have broken down in tears right there at the wedding. I miss him so much and it pains me that we have to be kept apart. Yes, I want you on the 23rd. I can't go through with it without you by my side.