Ongoing December Splurges

So I got a little crazy today. I purchased a whole bunch of cute items. And by cute, I do mean cute. Kawaii cute. Heh.

Cute, yes? Leng recommended this shop, Sunflower, at City Square Mall. They even personalise bags, pouches etc for you. All you have to do is to choose a design from a catalogue. I spent a good hour in the shop! There were so many cute things to look at!

From top: bunny hp pouch ($18.90), pink wristlet -for my portable hard drive ($22), iPhone pouch - since I don't own one, I'm using it for my iTouch ($18.90)

From bottom: hair ribbon - for the fun of :p ($7.90), pearl earrings ($8), blue angel hp strap - for Mum ($10)

I spent $85.70 in total. I thought it was pretty awesome that quite a number of the items in the shop are hand made and therefore unique. Yes, I have succumbed to cute-ness.

Meet Up with the SR / TK Girls

After a very long time, Raudha, Noraida and I, met up. And I'm truly glad we did. We were good back then and the times we spent together were nothing less than awesome!

Our first stop was this place, Strictly Pancakes, which serves delicious pancakes with everything delicious that you can think of.

Raudha's Potatoes Leeking Cheese.

My Beef Me Up.

Noraida's Garlic Buttered Prawns.

Not only are the dishes delicious, but I love their presentation of each dish as well. Not bad for a quaint, barely noticeable eatery.

We then headed to Ion for some stationary and make-up shopping. Next stop was Haji Lane for obvious reasons of course, more shopping.

My new travel companion.

I love how stunning this colour is! A steal at $35!

Till the next time girls! I love ya'll much much!

Phony is Spelled with an 'F'

I find you very fake. We had this huge argument which I will not mention here else people will know who I am speaking of. But we had this HUGE argument, which was silly because it showed me what a complete imbecile you are. If everyone around you at that moment, inclusive of me, told you that you were wrong and that you should not have done what you did, I do not see why you had to take it out on me. I pointed out your mistake, being a caring friend, and you turn around and accuse me of taking sides! Then when the rest pointed out that they too felt that you were in the wrong, you continued to take it out on me!!

Back to the point where I find you fake. Correction, very fake. You approach me to make amends and you immediately return to your annoying self. Were you blind? Could you not see that I was in the midst of important business and could not spare the time for your ever-changing emotions? There is an appropriate amount of time before one is forgiven and the unfortunate event can be forgotten. That appropriate amount of time is not immediately after you apologise.

Argh!!!

Narnia 3 Review

I've had a major (over)dose of fantasy these past couple of months. In eager anticipation of Harry Potter 7 Part 1, I had to catch up by watching the other movies. The Goblet of Fire is still my absolute favourite of the lot, with The Order of the Phoenix coming a close second. For The Chronicles of Narnia 3, I had but to watch the first two movies to catch up with the latest installment. How else would anything make any sense? I've not read the books nor do I intend to, so I had to rely on the movies to follow the sequence of events.

Now that Harry Potter will be old news sometime mid of next year, I'm guessing the Narnia series will take over the throne unless of course some other fantasy flick / series reveals itself. There's like what, 4 or 5 to go?

The Narnia series has a pretty simplistic plot and is easy to follow. The difficulty, without compromising the plot, is that it has way too many characters and it takes you a while to keep up. I love the special effects for this one. My favourite CGI would be Aslan, of course. He has such an aura about him and you cannot but hold your breath to try to absorb all which he says. And AND there's a dragon! A fire-breathing dragon! The richness of the effects astounded me, I'm sure you can tell.

The only flaw, but not a major one, is that very quickly the pace of the action scenes quickens and you find yourself darting your eyes to keep up. Somewhere near the end or 3/4 way through, things slow down and you can digest what had passed and what's to come.

My favourite character would have to be the annoying, whiny, rather spoiled Eustace. The actor who played him, Will Poulter, in my opinion, played the role to perfection without over-acting one bit. He made the movie, without a doubt as he played a very valuable character in a good portion of the films. New guy, doubts himself, but finds courage and saves the day. It's such a pity that he dies in the series. I would love to see how his character develops.

My verdict? A must see.

Me is Happy

So the year end bonus is in... so what to do but to splurge a little, yes?

This Guess mini bag I bought for mum. Original price - $119. I paid $65.90.

This Guess mini wristlet is for me. Original price - $99.90. I paid $49.90.

Yes, I am a very happy girl with my purchases today! I take my shopping splurges slow and in small doses. Keep a look out for my other purchases ;)

A Quick Note on How Awesome I Am

So the Band teacher ICs requested for my help to emcee their Band event. I was not their first choice, not that that matters to me. They had asked a few other teachers but they were too busy. Then they asked me and I could not resist the chance to help out at a school event, especially since it was an emcee-ing task! Albeit it being last minute, and a night event, I penned it down into my planner.

I was already busy that Friday (10/12) with CCA from 9-11am and lunch with friends. By the time I returned to school, it was close to 4pm and time to get down to business. No script was prepared for me, well at least not a proper script. I had the programme and the sequence of events and a detailed briefing by the band teachers of what was to happen for each item.

I studiously sat down and wrote my script for the next 2 hours. I had a quick dinner, changed and prepped myself for the night. I was excited! Boy, was I excited. I love being on stage and addressing an audience, for whatever the reason or occasion.

Not to be too full of myself but I rocked it. Considering there was no rehearsal, I did a pretty darn good job. Best moment of the night? I mispronounced "percussion" twice! I read it as per-kar-sern. Yea. Not once, but twice. At the end of the event, I ended off with, "Thank you parents for gracing this occasion with your presence. On a more personal note, thank you for bearing with my while I butchered the word "percussion". Have a lovely evening and happy holidays." I kept my cool and that is professionalism.

The post emcee-ing was pretty awesome as well. I managed to spend time with the P6s. We goofed around etc... I will surely miss them.

Time

Now that my colleagues (not all) are aware of my transfer, they have made it a point to speak to me. I'm not saying that prior to it they hardly spoke to me, but it was always work related and small talk most of the time. But recently I've noticed that they literally stop what they're doing and they talk to me. Not chat but talk. I know it's the hols and all, but I've CCA and packing of my table and admin shit to clear and I'm not the only one, so I do happen to bump into my colleagues now and again.

That's always the case though isn't it? Only when you know that someone will no longer be part of your life, do you then try to find the time to spend as much time as you can with them. It's human nature, it's one of our many big flaws.

Sadly, only because of the news of my posting have I had the time to spend time with some of my colleagues where before I could not find the time to. I'm glad that I finally did manage to spend time with them, be it a chat, talk or lunch / dinner get together. That got me thinking, how quickly time passes you by and you get caught up with work and everything else which I find less important, that you forget to find the time to spend it with the people around you.

I promise to make time for my friends, new and old.

I Have Great Friends

I am truly blessed with great friends. As a parting gift, my bunch got me a photo frame and they attached a recent group photo of us. They also each wrote in a card and when they presented both the frame and the card to me, the waterworks started. My initial reaction was to scold them for getting me something but I was very very touched by what they did.

My guys on the other hand, took it upon themselves to "warn" me about the new environment to prepare me for what I may have to encounter. It got me very worried but it was sweet, what they did. They feel the need to protect me still! How cute is that!

I'm going to miss them terribly and I'm pretty certain the feeling's mutual. I must must not go MIA and do my best to keep in touch with them.

When It Rains, It Pours

Today was a tough day for me to have to go through. It was P1 Orientation and the last official working day for the staff. I was not present for the staff activities this week as I was down with the flu so I could not really get a chance to see them since the news of my posting.

Watching the school's corporate video got to me. Like, real tears were streaming down my face. Seeing the images of the boys on the screen and being amidst my colleagues and it finally dawned on me that I am leaving and that I will no longer be a part of the school. At least I'm part of the video, so I'm leaving a part of me behind.

The feeling got worse as I was clearing my desk and it all went downhill from there, as I was walking out of the school gates. Gosh. I must really close this chapter in my life in order to open up the next one.

Harry Potter 7 Part 1

I managed to catch part 1 of the final installment of Harry Potter. I love it! It leaves you with so much suspense and anticipation for part 2 that I will have to watch it again and possibly again before part 2 comes out in cinemas.

On the down side, it was long... not the duration of the movie, but the lack of action made parts of the movie draggy. Only 1 hocrux was found which means the other 3 would be found in part 2. I'm not too sure about that though, all that action in a 2.5 hour movie... I have my doubts since they promised to stay true to the book.

All that said, I can't wait for part 2!!

Posting's Out!!

ACS PRIMARY BABY!!!

The best is yet to be... they better hold to that part of the bargain.

Signs of Ageing

I am in so SO much pain. I played badminton with the boys and that lasted less than 2 hours and now I am in pain. Heh. I feel like someone hit me all over with a bat. I didn't feel anything at all till much later, after my nap. This should be a lesson for me to exercise regularly but nah... I doubt I'll do anything about it, exercise-wise. I am such a sloth.

Hoorah for the Hols!

The holidays are finally here! It was a crazy year and an even crazier term and I've survived it *throws confetti*

Next week and the week after, we only have to return to school for 4 hours. I'd rather not return at all, but it's better than a full day at work, yes?

I Am A Supervillian

I did something so mean today and I am thrilled about it. I cannot go into the details but she got what she deserved. That's for treating the people around her badly and for acting like we are inferior to her.

It was a slap (metaphorical) to her face when her blunder was surfaced not only by me but by a few others. And boy, was she enraged! I could not help but to grin openly and reiterate the mistake. I admit it was mean but she deserved it.

There will probably be repercussions but I do not care about that. You mess with my friends, you mess with me, bitch.

PSLE Marking

The PSLE marking days were fantastic, each and every single day. I had the time of my life!! I marked with a bunch of really awesome and fun teachers. Which proves my theory right. Being a marker is tons better than being a recorder.

I really hope that I'll bump into them in the future.

Sounds Like A Terrible Idea to Me

I can't believe he asked me out. I'm trying my best to believe that it's innocent and that he means nothing more by it than to catch up and have dinner.

But why is my gut telling me otherwise.

Food That Never Dies

I came across this link and it is scary. As if watching Fast Food Nation didn't gross me out enough. A NYC photographer created a Happy Meal Project by photographing the meal everyday for 6 months (180 days). Yes, she left the meal (burger and fries) on a table, waiting to see what happens. As the days pass, you will notice that the meal looks the same. No mould, no bugs, no worms. She commented that the smell of the meal disappeared after 2 days. Others who tried a similar experiment commented that even their pets (dogs etc) would refuse to go near the meal even after a day of it being left out. Still hungry for a cheap, quick meal?

Style Me Poor

Watching The Style Network is going to make me a poor person. Well, at least I'll look fabulous!

Saras' ROM

I still cannot believe that she is married!!

For many reasons. One, she's my age. Two, I've known her forever and now she's moving on with her life while I'm still at where I am since I first met her. It's not just her actually, a whole bunch of my peers have moved on; married, with child or soon-to-pop-with-their-first. I feel no pressure to move on. Just putting it out there.

It's truly at times like these when you realise how time flies and how grown up one has become. 6 years of friendship and counting.

We couldn't get a shot with her... but that's me in a sari! A ready-made one but a sari nonetheless!

Don't I look so grown up and womanly?

I am so very happy for Saras and I wish her all the married bliss in the world.

Students teach Teachers

I still remember my first year at Cat High. Technically, it was just 6 months as I was posted in Semester 2, so I only had to teach a class for 2 terms in the second half of the year. I was a terrible teacher. I was too strict, unforgiving and not that compassionate. I was very by the book and I'm pretty sure I wasn't well-liked. But I did get the grades though.

4 years on from that day, I have toned down considerably. I am still strict but I allow some leeway and only under extreme circumstances do I enforce punishment. But I still do get the grades. And I am a whole lot happier teaching now than I was when I first started. The main difference is that I connected with the boys. It took me some time to realise that they are people too and they have feelings. They have their off-days as well and need some time to themselves. I can't force them if they're not mentally up to it. Just like adults. That to me, is the difference between a good teacher and a great teacher.

Yan Wei, from my P5 Health Ed class invited me to his 11th birthday party. Now, I have been to a couple of birthday parties but what made this special for me is that this kid is in a class that I teach only a period a week. I see them once a week for 30mins. His class has 40 pupils and in a single period lesson, I would speak for the majority of the time while the rest would have to listen to me. The unruly and the talkative ones would get my attention. Yan Wei, is quiet. He'd be the kind of kid you'd often overlook. I knew him the year before because of the musical but we didn't have a chance to interact. So it came as a surprise to me that he invited me! Obviously I had to go. Imagine the amount of courage he had to muster to invite a teacher he hardly spoke to!

Go, I did. And I am glad that I did. I saw the boys of the class in a new light and they saw me in a new light too. I am not uptight and I do not put on the teacher act after school hours and especially not outside of school. I enjoyed their company at the party and I am sure they enjoyed mine too. We got to know each other on a more personal level and a newfound respect was built. They are still kids after all, and tried to push the boundaries but they knew their limits too. I honestly felt sad to part ways and head home when the party ended.

I still stand by what I said, the pupils whom I have taught, have taught me to become a better teacher. Now that's something NIE doesn't teach you.

DinDin with Leng & Family

All I need to perk up my day and make me feel good again is meeting up with my extended family - Leng & Family. I love Leng with all my heart and I am glad that she is in my life.

It was a simple dinner at an under-rated place. I love the Sakura at Sengkang's Compass Point. It serves above decent local food at affordable prices. What makes the place special is that it hardly is crowded even during the weekends. Like I said, under-rated.

Shopping Frenzy

Ooooh... I just bought a whole bunch of material and I cannot wait to tailor them! Shereen told me about this place that does ready-made saris and I must say the stitching looks fantastic! So I went down to Little India with my mum and aunt and we got ourselves some material and made our way to that tailor. It's Deepavali soon so we couldn't give everything to the tailor but I got my measurements done for the sari I'm using for Saras' ROM. I'll be collecting it in about 2 weeks and I cannot CANNOT wait! Yay!

I Can and I Will

I felt so mean completely faking my enthusiasm for the dinner just now. But it was for the greater good. They want me to play nice, I can and I will. I even shocked myself how good I was. I almost believed the role that I was playing.

Thing is, this won't be the last time. I am pretty sure that I will have to play nice, again and again. For how long more, I do not know. But just to keep the peace in the house, I will do my part. I really hope this pays off somehow.

The Saga Comes to an End

Last night, Jeeshan and I spoke to each other and in the eyes of those present (Siraj & Daddy), you could say that we cleared the air.

But a part of me is still confused and skeptical about last night.

Is it possible that after all the things that were done and said, that things can go back to normal ie back to when we were close? Because right after that, he enters my room and starts talking about movies and music. For me, that seemed too quick for me. I needed to digest whatever's just happened and erase the bits of memories of the saga from the past 8-9 months. Or is it just me with the problem?

The frustrating thing for me is that I'm not even sure why I feel confused and skeptical. Apparently, he was already giving me the cold shoulder prior to the hospital incident. Then by the time it came to that, he felt that there was a communication breakdown between us and he didn't know how to get to me / communicate with me, that he just continued with the cold shoulder treatment. I have no recollection of that nor did I ever notice that there was a communication breakdown between us prior to the hospital incident.

It just doesn't make sense to me. He said that as my brother, he's never stopped loving or caring for me, but why then did he do and say all of those things to me? I don't think we tackled the issue of respect because I strongly feel that that's the main issue and that's why he acted the way he did the past couple of months. Or is it just me with the problem?

I think of last night and I have more questions than answers.

Hari Raya Revelations

People have gotten today all wrong. Yes, it is a day to seek forgiveness from your elders and from those whom you have wronged but do you have to wait till today to actually apologise to them? If you've made a mistake and you know you're in the wrong, why can't you just apologise at that very instance of revelation. Why wait.

What got to me was that I received an apology from someone and the person even managed to tell me exactly when the mistake occurred and what the mistake was. Mind you, this mistake occurred MONTHS ago. Why wait so long to apologise especially when you realised that you were in the wrong and you knew it all along. I have no qualms with generic apologies but to be so precise and specific about 1 incident, now that's just unhealthy.

It gets worse. I was explaining to someone how I feel that the word "sorry" holds no value and therefore people abuse it. An apology does not solve any of the inherent problems the quarreling parties may have. The issues need to be addressed in order for the parties involved to move on. I don't see how saying sorry can mend the relationship without addressing why they were arguing in the first place. I'm not saying that apologising is irrelevant, it just shouldn't be the only solution.

The person laughs and says that it doesn't matter because we are all human anyway and we will make the same mistakes over and over again. I was appalled. No wonder we live in such a dysfunctional world. We make mistakes and then apologise knowing fully well that we will make that very same mistake again. Why the hell apologise in the first place?! The apology is to serve the purpose that you are telling the other party that you respect them and that you would not repeat the mistake! Even my P2 kids can tell you that! I've overheard a conversation where one of them apologises to another for shoving him. The other kid turns around and very calmly says, "Each time you shove me, you apologise. Why apologise when you're going to make the same mistake again." 8 years old, imagine that.

We Live In a World Filled with Idiots

This seems to be the running theme these past few months.

I refer to the recent news of Pastor Terry Jones' claims of wanting to burn the Quran on 9/11. Now, he must be (one of) the biggest idiots alive today. How can he possibly think that burning a holy book will solve anything? It will only prove what a giant jerk he is. For an adult, he really is very immature and short-sighted. His claims only provoked more anti-US sentiments, causing a greater rift between Muslims and non-Muslims which has resulted in many casualties and the deaths of protestors. What is he trying to prove by engaging in such an act? He claims that Islam is fascist and a pro-violent religion. And the Christian way is to burn a Quran? What an idiot.

What I don't get is why the US isn't doing anything to stop this lunatic? Other countries ban such acts and they would act swiftly to ensure that the culprit is silenced before he can further spread his hate and malice. What we have now is other churches hopping on the bandwagon protesting that if Jones' church won't burn the Quran, their church will. I mean, Terry Jones is but one man, how difficult can it be to silence him? But to allow him to shoot his mouth off to the world and allow his words to ignite anti-Islamic sentiments and spark off all these riots and protesting, is just idiotic!! They should have just clammed him up before he made matters worse. Pay him a visit and scare that coward so that he'll shit in his pants.

Spend Time with Positive People

Life will always throw you curveballs. That is a constant that can never change. So the most you can do is to prepare yourself for when shit hits the fan. Some of you may say that I am cynical but I believe that I am just being realistic. Which is why people who are constantly smiling are liars! But that is a discussion for another day.

What I wanted to tell you is that since things won't go your way most of the time, it is vital that you surround yourself with positive people, who have your best interests at heart. Misery loves company after all and why torture yourself by being around negative-soul-sapping individuals. They'll make you feel worse and not provide you with the moral support and encouragement which you need to help you pull through your trying moments.

Which is why I am thankful that I have my NIE mates. It's been 6-7 years since we've graduated but we're still close albeit not meeting up that often. Each meet up, however rare, truly brings me such joy which words cannot describe. That says a lot, coming from a language person.

True friends do not judge but are forgiving, accepting and compassionate. Most importantly, true friends are loyal. They are my true friends and I love them with all my heart.

They Are So FULL Of Themselves... and shit

I cannot believe that they are angry with me! I had to take boys out for a competition and they were mad because they travelled all the way down to school to take me out and because of my CCA, they couldn't. So it's my fault that they made a wasted trip.

What a bunch of brats.

How am I to know that they were going to take me out if they do not inform me of it beforehand? Even when they came down, there was no mention of an outing. At least all the other kids informed me the time that they were coming down to visit as well as asking if I were free to hang with them. It's called being courteous. I cannot assume that they will come down to see me and then take me out. What if they don't? I'd feel like such a loser and it's my freaking day and I will not be made to feel like crap.

It's completely their fault for not informing me of what their plans are. Even if it's a tradition (or so they claim), I have a life and I cannot just drop what I'm doing just for them. Not anymore.

In other news, the celebrations yesterday were mediocre. The skits were amateur-ish and very slapstick. Yes, I can put up a better performance with my boys but no one asked. The special programme for teachers was a complete farce! They served cocktails and peanuts! Hah! They turned part of the school hall into a freaking bar! They even got a bartender to do some tricks. But myself and a few other Muslim colleagues walked out because honestly, how insensitive can they get? It's the fasting month, you morons. It was not just food and drinks that you displayed in front of us, but alcohol as well?! Morons.

How to Tell If Your Cat Is Plotting to Kill You

I love this link! Cats are awesome and this proves it.

Expectations. Screw You.

He ruined my night for me. All I wanted was a simple dinner but he had to be a pain in the ass. Couldn't he just put his baggage aside just for one night? He knows how important this night is for me and yet he had to make it all about him. Not just that, he had to be pissy and in the most foul mood I've ever seen him in. ARGH!!

And he had the cheek to ask me if I thought that the night was a disaster! I wanted to push him onto the train tracks. I'm so mad at him.

My Birthday Gifts from My Colleagues

This is from Joseph. He made the card on the spot by stealing my FB profile pic. I love the card! It's absolutely beautiful! The candy, he ran to the shops near the school to get it and he ran back to school to pass it to me. So sweet, right?? Okay... okay... I may have exaggerated on the running bit BUT he was all sweaty and out of breath when he passed me the stuff ;)

This is from Jacinta. Can you believe that she did it on the morning itself? She is so bloody talented! And... *blush*... she said the 3 words that I've always wanted her to say to me... "You complete me"... *blush* She is such an awesome person and I really look up to her. I'll miss her the most in the school :(

Now these are from Jasper. I joked that the gifts were perfect for me as he knows me so well. The masquerade mask represents the proud side of me and the Dead Fred pen holder represents the violent side to me (you've to stick your pen into the hole which is actually where his heart is). He too is another person I'll miss. He is such a warm, understanding and positive person. He always knows what to say to make me feel better.

And this beauty is from Saras. I love her. She is one of my closest friends. She surprised me with this bouquet the moment I walked into the staffroom. Ain't it gorgeous?

Such a great day today :)

I Always Cry Before My Birthday

I was watching TV in the living room. Jeeshan enters and switches the channel. I tell him that I was watching the TV and there was no response from him. I repeat my statement and he raises his voice... Go inside and watch then... I say out loud, "WOW." I walk to Mummy and tell her what happened. She doesn't do / say anything but continues to cook. So I go to Daddy to tell him. Daddy comes out from the room and Mummy only then enters the living room to ask Jeeshan why he did what he did. And that's when a shouting match occurs.

Jeeshan claims that because I have a TV point in my room, I should watch television in my room and because he does not have a TV point, he can watch it outside. I state my point that that's not my issue. I ask why he could not just say that he wanted to watch the TV but chose to rudely switch the channel. Then he says that I am the rude one and that I need disciplining as all this while I've been ignoring him.

I repeat my previous statement. Then somewhere in between he says that he paid for the TV, so it's his so he can watch it and he's banned me from it. I mumble something about me paying the bills for the cable. Then, I say that I marvel at how he treats his family and he says that this only applies to me, and not to anyone else in the family, whilst pointing a shaking finger at me. Could be anger, could be the smoking. Who knows.

Then Mummy bursts into tears.

Long story short. I did not want a scene. I just wanted justice. He obviously was in the wrong. Mummy heard and saw what happened but she just let it be. I don't understand why she couldn't just settle the issue at that very moment. Why let it be? I'm not asking her to take sides (even though I'm obviously the victim here) but letting that matter slide means she's condoning his action.

6 hours later and no apology from him. Not that I want one, or that I am expecting one but if I were to make a blunder, I'm pretty sure there'll be hell to pay and apologies to make. But why does he seem to get away with his actions, with no consequences to bear.

If the relationship matters to me, I would speak to him and apologise because that's all he wants from me. But why would I want to, especially after this? He had 2 choices... one, to ask if he could watch tv or two, to change the channel. He chose the latter. We all have choices and we are defined by our choices in life. How come I seem to be paying the price (I seem to be getting lectured and told to be the bigger person) for the choices he makes?

Sigh.

Moving On

I finally applied. It took great courage, considering I'm such a coward. Now I have to wait till November before I get the results. I don't really care where I go, just as long as I'm out of here (there).

Next step is to apply for admission to do my Degree when registration opens on the 18th.

I'm really glad I'm getting all of this done. I've been pushing it back for far too long.

Amanda's BBQ

What completes a long weekend? Why, a BBQ, of course!

Amanda opened her pits (heh) to her friends and colleagues and I had a pretty decent time. I brought salad but it was not a hit. Who knew? The food was heavy. As in huge portions were dropped onto my plate so I couldn't enjoy eating as much as I would have liked. But it was more the company that made the night lovely.

It was also the first time that I was introduced to Amanda's guy, Steve. Nice bloke, but much too hands on, if you get what I mean.

Ah, I'm so glad it's a day off tomorrow. I can sleep in.

High and Dry

It's getting harder and harder to find time for myself these days. Any free time that I do have, I spend it listening to songs or watching the music videos to those songs. It's a bit sad, really.

I used to have numerous hobbies and I could spend hours lost in them. Now, I barely have the energy nor the interest to do any of them.

Reading, gives me a headache now and I get very agitated sitting still for too long. I've a couple of books on hold, loaned by some of my friends. Gah. Plus, the books that I do own, many are un-read. I loathe what I have become.

Even watching movies, it takes me a really long time to decide on what I feel like watching. Midway through the movie, I lose interest and I feel like watching a completely different genre altogether.

Yea. I have severe attention span issues. Possibly something I caught from the boys. Heh. I'm glad the long weekend is here. I can finally have some me-time!

Hoorah for the Long Weekend

It really could not have come at a better time. I got home early from school on Thursday (Around 3-ish) and I had lunch while watching a bunch of episodes of Scrubs. At around 5, I decided to nap. When I woke up from my nap, it was already 8! Yea. I know. I got out of bed, took a piss and fed Athena and I went back to bed. I woke up the next morning and got ready for school.

Like totally, the long weekend could not have come at a better time. I've never felt so burnt out before.

Maybe I Could Be A Celebrity After All

This week was another week of makan-meetings. But I didn't survive as well as I did the previous time this happened.

Monday: I had lunch with my colleagues at Pizza Hut. Really, J8 is getting boring; the choices are too few and what makes it worse is that the Indian Muslim stall at the Food Court has been replaced! There's nothing Halal left there. Racists... Any-who, lunch with them was almost a no-show. I had to be very passive-aggressive with them to get them to leave the school and all it's bad karma and rejuvenate for the week. Operative word: aggressive. But they were thankful for it and I'm glad we all managed to find time out of school to chill and be far far away from work.

Tuesday: Mona took me out for lunch, partly because she wanted to thank me for getting her a gift for her birthday and she wanted some girl-time. It was great spending time with her. She's like a big sister to me and I'm her slightly annoying yet still loved by all little sister. Again, J8 has nothing so it was Swenson's and we bumped into colleagues there! They were having dessert while marking :p Such sad sad lives we lead.

Thursday: I had dinner with the IT guys. Yes, I have officially made my mark as a geek and I have been spending a considerable amount of time with them. We headed down to Thai Express at J8 and wolfed down our meals. We were starving! I like spending time with them as they have the inside scoop to the school and they are in the know of the latest gossips. It's fascinating, really. Gay, but still, fascinating. Heh.

Friday: Woo-hoo! First out-of-J8 outing! Darron, Amanda and I headed down to Serangoon Gardens for dessert and munchies. It was lovely to chill and just talk a whole load of crap and to not think about school. I'm devastated the Coffee Bean outlet is no longer there though.

So that was another week of my celebrity life. Unfortunately, on Saturday, I was too shagged and was feeling a little down to join my cousin for some RnR (aka major shopping spree).

It's funny how when I've just decided to move on professionally, I seem to be getting closer to my colleagues. That's going to make the parting even harder. Oh well.

NE Show 2010

The NE show sucked ass. This is my first so I'm not making a comparison but as a stand-alone event, it was terrible! I hated that they pop-ified all the traditional songs and killed the patriotism that I used to feel. They had the mobiles and they made it look like it was Chingay instead of a National Day Parade. The only fascinating thing about the event was the flypast! Even the videos that they showed were badly done... it was of Singaporeans f-ing up the pledge!?

The weather was good though.

I spent the majority of the time chatting with the boys, eating their snacks (which they offered!) and pasting the tattoos on them. The funniest bit was when I got trapped when I was returning to my seat and the boys decided to embarrass me by singing to me out loud! The gaps in between the rows of seats are very narrow forcing you to almost walk along the path like it's a tightrope. But with the funpacks and the boys own bags, it was like leaping over hurdles. At one point, this kid from choir, grabbed my hand and started singing Sing A Song for Singapore - the theme song for this year's NDP. Then the 2 rows of classes turned to me to see what the commotion was and... they joined in!! So now I had 2 classes belting out the chorus to me at the top of their voices *blush* One kid even changed the lyrics to Sing A Song to Ms Parveen. I wanted to die. There were other schools present too.

But yea. That's my take home of the parade. I bonded with the boys instead of the nation.

I Can't Be A Celebrity

I'm very surprised I survived this week and can live to tell the tale.

I spent my Monday night working on a Stress video... yes, the irony. But I am very proud of it. I hope the boys enjoy it! And I hope I get the recognition for it too.

Tuesday: I had dinner with Serena near Mustafa as she was craving for Indian food. Heh. I love her so much! She has so much life and warmth about her, that meeting her always perks me up. She's leaving the country soon... for a guy! I think that is both brave and romantic, something which I'm pretty sure I would never ever do. That's what I love most about her. She has this if I don't try, I will never know attitude. How cool is that? The days at IJTP were memorable because of her.

Wednesday: I had dinner with Ismadi at my usual 2 pit stops at Arab Street. It is always awesome to meet up with my NIE bff. Heh. We can't stop talking about Star Wars or his travels. He brings out the adventurous geek in me.

Thursday: I had dinner with David at Thai Express and then we proceeded onto my favourite dessert stall. Hey, any moment with The Best Friend is awesome. He's trying to convince me to a Scrubs addict but I'm like meh... It can't beat How I Met Your Mother and it definitely can't even be half as funny as The Big Bang Theory. We shall see...

Friday: I had basketball CCA till 4pm then I met Aqil for dinner at Ichiban Sushi. It was really good that I met him. We had such a fantastic talk and I'm so much saner after it. The next few days, thinking about could-have-been is going to kill me. I'm deeply bummed out by what happened. But oh well, we move on.

In a nutshell, I had Indian, Turkish, Thai & Japanese cuisine all in a week. God, I'm such a glutton!

Gah. I should get ready. I'm taking the P5 boys for the NE show. I'm only excited because this is my first NE show and I'm going with the Goodness boys!! *blush*

Oh Happy Day!

From the looks of it, I can safely say that today was a success! The Fashion Show was well-received and the boys really got involved in the voting much to the delight and amusement of the teachers. The food ran out and a number of boys came up to me to tell me that this was the best recess that they have ever had *beams*

Ahhh... I'm so glad RHD is over for us and I can finally breathe a little bit more. It's back to reality and to catching up with my back-logged marking.

It was madness, yet there is a sense of emptiness now that I have fewer things on my plate. Not that I'm complaining *wink-wink*

On a side note, I had to do 3 videos within this month! I SHOULD make a profession out of it.

Meats and Sweets

Today was spectacular. Well, after school was spectacular, not during. We didn't have Contact Time (Yippee!) but we were told to organise our own interest groups. A colleague and I needed to head down to the Concourse to get some traditional games for RHD and the rest of them wanted to eat. So I suggested for us to make our way to Arab Street since I had plans to go to the Concourse. We coined that, our "Learning More About Arab Culture" interest group. Yea. We are so full of it!!

I absolutely love this place, Amirah's Grill. They know how to prepare their meats. Every meat dish served has been absolutely delicious and the portions are sufficient to fill you up, but not too much. I love their lamb dishes the best but I would avoid the saffron rice. If you're a meat-lover like I am, you must go to this joint.

Not sure if you can see from the pic, but this place is also Egyptian-themed! And Nefertiti is on the entrance as well as on their business cards!! Mere coincidence that I absolutely love this place! True story.

For dessert, I took my colleagues 2 shops down the row for some good old-fashioned baklava and apple tea. I love the ambience and the decor at Alaturka. That was THE life that we were having right at that moment and I'm glad they enjoyed the places I recommended. It's totally an Indian thing to want to feed and satisfy the masses!

I never tried any of their main dishes as I solely reserved this spot for my desserts. Amanda was hungry so we shared a dish. This minced lamb and beef with Turkish bread was extremely delicious. It was like chomping into a really well-herbed hamburger. It made me recall the scene from HIMYM where Marshall was on the search for the Best Burger in New York. As I was savouring each bite, I felt as if everything about me was in slow motion. Another true story.

So there you have it. A very satisfied bunch of women who love their meats and sweets.

D-Day

The months of preparation have finally come to an end. Tomorrow is CHS Family cum Homecoming Day. My favourite-est event of the year and also by far, the most exhausting to organise. It is exhausting both mentally and physically. I love it for the most part because I get to see my current boys and ex-boys and well, that's basically why I love the event so much *grin*.

I will be shagged by the time I get home tomorrow which will be late LATE, way too late for an after school event. Oh well.

Ich Liebe Dich Paul!!

I'm so tickled by all these fluff news pieces about Paul the Octopus. Seriously, in this day and age, we are relying on a mussel-obsessed octopus to predict talent-based matches? I'm not bought over. Then again 100% accuracy... that is something...

I did say that I didn't have any upsets this year over the WC but Germany not getting into the finals is a major blow for me. Indeed they are young but they had so much promise. Well, I guess I have to wait for 2014 then. They should be in top form by then.

I wonder what plans there are for Paul... sashimi anyone?

World Cup Fever

This year's World Cup is bloody fantastic!

There have not been any major upsets for me. I mean it did bum me out when Brazil went out after losing to Netherlands but the Brazilian side was a terrible team. Yes, they had flair and amazing footwork on the field. But when it came to crunch time, they could not perform. It looked as though they did not have enough practice on their set pieces and they were fumbling around, unsure of who's where. The only plus-side to the Brazilian team is that they can always out-score you. You score 2, they'll score 4. Somehow they'll manage it. But the modal is "can" - meaning ability. Unfortunately for them, as much as they pushed forward, they could not make it through the Dutch defence.

It was good that France backed out in the group stages else they would have been slaughtered in the preliminaries. It was very evident that they threw especially the last game away. Their coach is a terrible coach and it is a wise decision from him to leave after their disappointing performance.

I've never supported England so I shan't say much here. I never really thought they were anything fantastic. Unless you're watching the older matches, then they are indeed a sight on the field.

My prediction is a Germany vs Netherlands finals. That would be a match to stay up for! Both teams have scored brilliant goals and they have made it through by sheer skill unlike some which was by sheer luck *cough-Argentina-cough*. Like seriously, Argentina had to beat Greece, Nigeria and Korea Republic? Woah. So tough. Pppfffttt. If they had some real competition, I'm positive they wouldn't have made it that far.

I'm not so familiar with the Netherlands' players but they do seem like a strong well-put together team and they have been getting stronger and stronger after each match. Then again, I can say the same for Germany. It is beautiful, watching the Germans play. They've a tight formation and they don't seem to lose on their set pieces. Plus, they have such precision in their shots and passing. I liken them to robots. Hahahah... I am SO excited! I can't wait!!

Starhub - First Bangla Channel In Singapore

You won't believe what I received in my inbox this morning. It infuriated me and further proved that the world is full of morons.

First Bangla Channel in Singapore. Seriously? This is how you want to advertise the channel? Are you out of your mind?! Bangla is the official language of Bangladesh and Bengali but do they not know that the word is more commonly used as a racial slur / insult. I can't wait till it blows up in the forums. Then we shall see how Starhub does damage control.

Quality of food is dependent on service and company

Today was spectacular. Spectacularly full of food, that is. I am such a glutton, I scare myself sometimes.

Dinner was with the cousins at Newton Circus. Tons of people say that the place is over-rated and over-priced. But I honestly do not mind spending a little more for a comfy environment and for good service.

There wasn't excessive touting except for this one stall. It's a month old and it prides on serving "different" food from the other stalls. How different is this place? Nasi Lemak, Nasi Padang and the likes. Like seriously? People come here to get their fingers and hands dirty eating seafood, shellfish and the likes. Why would anyone want to travel all the way there just to eat something ordinary and which can be found cheaper elsewhere? I was very annoyed with how pushy the stall owner was. It was bordering on pain-in-the-ass and desperation. You could see it on his face.

I like Goodman. Always tasty food and always efficient service. Plus, the dude has tons of stories and jokes to share! We truly enjoyed ourselves and stuffed ourselves silly as well.