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.