HK....So Far..... Errr, no pun intended....

I'm currently holed up in a teeeeny tiny place aptly called cozy studios. It's alright I guess for temporary lodging except that the previous tenant was a super duper heavy smoker and the smoke dah melekat in the curtains and aircon..... Quite the choking. To make things worse, they DO NOT have my vicks inhaler. They don't have the Vicks brand here. Fortunately, Mdm S has agreed to send me a vicks care package soon. Thanks darling!! What would I do without you.

I'm getting very very frustrated with the rental situation in Hong Kong. The prices are EXORBITANT! I mean, terrible..... they are asking for $4k for a place the size of a 2 room flat in SG, I mean, you tell me lah..... teruk tak???? Today we went to see an apartment at this place called the grand promenade. It's a brilliant place. It's on the 62nd floor!! Imagine that! My ears actually got blocked while going up the lift...It's small but new and bright and has a fantastic view. But the rent's HK$20k .... which is about 4k sg.... it's completely unfurnished. so not a good deal at all.....

In the evening we went to see this place at Causeway Bay, right next to a fire station. the building's a bit old but it's right smack in town and the place is relatively big compared to anything we've seen so far..... The owner's english, he and wife are going to tokyo so looking to rent out the place. I like it. It comes fully furnished, internet ready, cable enabled and the rent's HK$15K. which is not too bad considering the deal..... good vibes about this place. hope he likes us enough to lease it to us...

Speaking of good vibes, or rather lack of it..... at one of the places we went to visit today, we were greeted by police and the body of a man who either jumped down or fell off.... no matter what, I told MBB under no circumstances are we even going to consider THAT place......

After being here for 2 weeks, i dare say that Hong Kong is very much like New York...Not that I have ever been to New Yorkl ah but from whatever I have read about NY and seen on tv, there are many many similarities.... In both places, the steet sides are always shaded coz the buildings are so tall.... both places have Times Square, Radio City, Soho, Central many things lah....

So, if we do get the ang moh's place, I'll be living right smack in the heart of town. Something to really look forward to.....

By the way, friends and family, who loves and misses me, please feel free to send care packages consisting of spices, ready to use mixes, kicap manis...... all these I will welcome with big open arms....

To Go Please!

I have realised that there are boxes in my house that have not been opened since our May 03 move. And then now, I've to pack some more. I don't like!

I hate packing!

Any one interested in earning below minimum wage?

Aaargh!!!

Blueberry Cheesecake

For this raya, my early guests get to have this. It's not too sweet and absolutely yummy! Thanks Serene for bringing this into my life....

MBB says that the cheesy bits are very cheesy.... hmmm...and also that they're delicious. I love that it's not too sweet. My baby sister also likes it, she who simply hates trying anything new.

I think when I'm settled in HK, I'd love to learn to make this. So anyone, any recommended recipies?

My Future

These lovelies of mine came to visit last night. They are close to my heart coz they we were there when I first picked up a chalk ( yes... I started teaching when it was still the chalk and board) and turned around to face 40 monsters hidden behind big gorgeous eyes. They were there when I addressed as 'cher' for the first time. They were there when I was this naive, much younger and lighter person who had big dreams and fancy schmancy ideas as to what a teacher is. They were there when I broke down when the profession was getting to me.

They never knew it but it was their smiles, their silly antics like drinking minyak kapak, like throwing up in front of my classroom, like throwing up bandung in my class, like almost burning down Holiday Inn Kuching, that time and time and again brought me up from whatever low I was experiencing. And now, when I'm on the verge of another milestone in my teaching adventure ( or lack of it, heh ) they are still there. For that my dearest, I'm truly honoured and grateful.

These group of lovelies always restores my faith in the younger generation. In times when you have insolent adolescents who defecate into plastic bags with the intention of smashing their biological war'bags' onto their teachers' cars, who pee into their teacher's hot water flasks, it's a blessing to know these lovelies who are set achieve greater things in life. One is to become a business IT manager, you know, the ones you see in banks who look so tres chic they might as well have just stepped out of a fashion mag. 3 are set to join the medical industry, one as a doctor, mind you, and the other 2 will be nurses. Another is almost ready to be a great engineer.... the other 2 while waiting to start their tertiary education in the local universities, are moulding the future...

I'm very proud of them, they've grown up to become level headed adults who have pertinent views on issues, who are not at all afraid to voice out how they feel ( can i take credit for that guys? I also not afraid to voice out my opinion ) not just for the sake of it, you know? Very proud I am, indeed.

My lovelies, don't fret, yours truly will be back here next year, then we can have another makan session, maybe this time we'll get something other than pizza....

Now that I have my medical set for old age, free medicine and free care right Ilman, Shariena and Yanti? I also have all my plastic needs covered, yes Ain? Afiq has all my IT needs covered.....And Miss K and Z can always come teach my kids, just need to find a lawyer and accountant...

Anyhoo, I love you guys! Please do come... Disneyland's waiting for ya!!

Eid Mubarak

A whole month of Ramadhan has passed and it's with a heavy heart that I bid farewell to it.... Lebaran has come and passed. I was excited about this raya. I had already booked the car to drive my lovelies around. My baju was going to be matchy matchy with MBB. I had ordered my fav kuihs. Looked like I was all set.

Then one by one things started falling apart. First, the car that I had booked was stolen and I had to wait till raya eve to confirm that I had a repalcement car. Then my seamstress called to say that my baju could not be ready by Raya coz she had fallen ill and was unable to jahit my baju. Then my Pa in Law was admitted to the hospital for infection of his dialysis point.

All I could do was, what else? Cry lah, me being the cengeng wedok that I am. But everything turned out ok I guess. On raya morning, Mak had dialysis so me and Far went to visit our dad. Miss him I do. But we had fun with our 'conversation' with him.

After that I went to fetch Ma in Law to the hospital. What happened there irritated the crap out of me. Let me tell you, I was to bring Mak around that afternoon, so when we went to the kubur, we were not dressed for raya lah, I was in jeans and a blouse. So was Farah. After i dropped farah off, MBB and I went to the hospital. To cut a long story short, i waited bloody long for the outlaws to come. The worst part was, PIL was so eager to go home but these people just took their own sweet time to come. When they finally came, they were all dressed up in their fancy schmancy raya clothes and yours truly was in jeans!

You tell me pissed or not? Raya some more, Chet!

So as a result, my time to start bringing Mak around was of course cut short lah! Bloody toads! No respect for other people's time but, the next day when we were a little late, their faces, blacker that the wok's piku! Like I cared!

Anyhow, the rest of my raya went on uneventful. For that I'm grateful.

On another note, I have been slowly and very reluctantly packing my stuff. giving away clothes, deciding what things to be given to who, what things to bring along, what to leave behind.... everytime I do this, tears just roll..... Feels like giving away your life like that.....

Well, this is the start of something new... Next week potential tenants will start coming to see the house. I'm getting a family from the US... How exciting....

To all, Selamat Hari Raya, Maaf Zahir Batin.

It is The Start of Something New

After all the hype about High School Musical 2, I have decided that I much much prefer the first one. But that's not the point here.

The point is, I have received the confirmation. This should start my ball rolling.

It sure has put me on an emotional rollercoaster. I am finding it so hard to let my lovelies know. How do I assure them? How do I convince them that it'll be alright?

So now, so many things to do, so many details to work out and cover, so overwhelming.

But it is definitely the start of something new.......

I love them Donuts

After Dunkin Donuts closed in Singapore, I'd get my fixes only when I was in neighbouring JB. When in the DD shop in JB, you'd be able to tell who was Singaporeans by the number of donuts on their trays. The ones with trays overflowing woth them donuts would most likely be Singaporeans.

But now, there's suddenly an outburst of fancy donuts coming out after the rain. There's the long queue donuts which are amazing and usually bought in large quantities especially after you have to wait nearly an hour for them and that buying 2 just will not do. Then there's the neighbourhood donuts which are also as yummy but not as creative as the long queue ones.

Then they have this.

Yummy Donuts. The shop's name that is. Only the bluberry donut tasted a little funky. The rest were aptly named so. I especially like the almond choc one. The chocolate was heavenly and the almonds were plenty. Yummy yummy yummy!!!

How Do I?

My life as I know it is about to change. Big time. Will it change the way I live? Sure! Will it change how I work? Of course! Will it affect how I feel? Definitely!

It has made me waaaay excited. It has also made me very very apprehensive. It has made me worry. It has made my hands tremble. It has made my heart go faster.

How to react? How to? How to?

P/S: Snowball, you know what I'm talking about. Just between us ok? I'm not ready to talk.

That Crazy Fish

I just have to show off this picture. To show off how good the food looks and to show off how good my new 10.1 megapixels Casio Exilim is..... hehe

This was the smoked salmon that Mdm F went crazy over during the dinner....

We Are 6

This year our wedding anniversary was shadowed by another wedding. Not mine, I promise. Heh. It was a cousin of mine who got married. To this little adik, Congrats and may you be as happy as ..... ME!

Initially quite upset by the fact that we'll not have our customary hotel stay and wonderful dinner, I quickly got over it as I was swept into the festivities of the wedding.

The next day MBB surprised me with a bouquet of lilies. I felt a little bad as I had not gotten him anything but i broke lah darling. Year end I get you something ok?

Ayang, I know I give you a lot of grief about many things, but to me, it's a sign that I still care. I think when the time comes that I don't bother anymore, it'll be a sad sad day. For all that grief and more grief to come, I sincerely do apologise. Thank you for bringing meaning and brightness into my life. Although you know what I really want in my life now, I thank you for understanding that you might also not ever get it. Thank you for being there when things were really bad. Thank you for being there when I had thought it was the end of the world. Thank you for holding my hand and making it all ok. Thank you Ayang. I love you.

To my kakis reading this, I know, come get bucket from me ok?

Yee Ha!!

We had a somewhat fun evening last night. The theme was Wild Wild West. Some of us got dressed up and some of us got reeaaaaaaally dressed up.Haha. Ok, it was fun to see.

This was our table. Yours truly simply threw on a $20 white cowboy hat rented from Costume!Costume! While I liked Serene's Bar Maid Do, I thought Saadiah looked more like the Ethnic Outfit of the Kadazans from Sarawak. Mdm J wore the wrong scarf, but thanx to her trusted buddies, that situation was quickly rectified. Check that out here. I was quite surprised that quite a few of my colleagues actually took the time to dress up. Some were really into the theme. Some were really really sexily dressed. Sadly, a few comitted serious fashion fauxs. Well, c'est la vie. We had fun noneheless.

We also had the 3 Amigos specially carriaged in from the Wild West. They proclaimed that they would sing any song we requested. But when I wanted them to do Pussycat Dolls' DonCha, they sang some country road song by a dead fella. Humph! But they were funny! They could even do the oh-so-brokeback pelvic thrusts after the song.... hehehehe

And by the way, the food was good!! The dessert was excellent too. There was also terrbly wonderful wonderful salmon, which I think Fiza got drunk on.... hahahah.... After dinner, we had a wind down session of bitching, fries, grumblings, shiok coffee and plenty of bengs and lian...... hahahah.... All in all, it was a good night. My sincerest thanx goes to our school's SWC, especially the little red indian chief.

Happy Teachers' Day y'all!!

Finally, It's Happened To Me!

Well well well, my lappie has crashed. Along with ALL my data, my pictures, my exam papers, my downloaded music, legal and otherwise. Aaaaarrgh!!! I do hope my Techie Yoda can salvage my darling lappie without my data being lost. Right now just a little apprehensive, ya know?

Very Proud, I Am

His shoulders were hunched and a look of sheer desperation and full fledged humiliation was splashed across his face. He did not have the dignity to look at us in the eye. His words were few and far in between. But that was then, feels like a lifetime ago. NOW, he is part of the elite 3Guards. This 18 year old has been through a lot. A LOT. While I hate what some people have done to him, I very resentfully have to, on hindsight, perhaps thank them for what they did to him. The ordeal that he has gone through, I pray to God no other persons have to experience. He managed to pull himself up and I hope, MBB and I had a teensy weensy bit part in that. He has definitely become a mature young adult who has his whole life in front of him. I hope he stays strong. If his strength of character and maturity is anything to go by, I am sure he will do just fine. I also hope that he knows that MBB and I will be there behind him. All the way, my dear.

Perhaps, this is God's way of letting me have a taste of what parents go through when their precious sons have to undergo NS. You think?

From A Distance

Yesterday saw me up and in school at 9am. A rarity in itself. But I got to meet Datin together with AhGek, we had breakfast. Nice. Lama dah tak buat macam tu.... Why was I in school yesterday? My department had a PSLE oral and parenting styles workshop. All in all it went quite ok, though some people will probably have much negative things to say. Rumah dah siap, pahat masih berbunyi....... To be expected lah.... I'd be surprised if it didn't....

The parenting bit of the workshop gave me a ta pau back that I think I should pay some attention to. It said, "Surround yourself with positive energies, if there are people who when they come to you are always whining and always full of complaints, if these people drag you down and drain you of your energy, DISTANCE YOURSELF."

Wise words. Zak, it's time, no?

This Crazy Little Thing Called Stress

Have you ever felt your chest so tight that you need to yell out LOUD to get some relief? Have you ever felt so frustrated that you just wanna punch the living daylights out of some people to regain your sanity? Have you ever wanted to bitch slap some people back to oblivion just to get then out of your hair? Have you ever wanted to literally kill some people because they just think that they are so damned bloody clever, that God-Help-Them they are the ONLY ones in this place who's working, that they are the ONLY ones who knows how to work? Have you ever just gotten the shit shocked out of you when some people can say one thing and then in the very same breath say a COMPLETELY different thing? Have you ever felt so desperate because you cannot just tell these people off that all you can do is cry very very angry tears?

If the answer to ALL these questions is YES, then you tell me lah, is it stress?

Dalla Sua Pace

I got this from the Story Teller....
Mozart's "Dalla Sua Pace", an aria from his opera "Don Giovanni"

The original Italian:
Dalla sua pace la mia dipende;
Quel che a lei piace vita mi rende,Quel che le incresce morte mi dà.
S'ella sospira, sospiro anch'io;È mia quell'ira, quel pianto è mio;
E non ho bene, s'ella non l'ha.

The English translation:
On her peace mine depends;
What makes her happy brings me life,
What makes her sad brings me death.
If she sighs, I sigh too;
It is mine that anger, those tears are mine;
And I have no peace if she does not.

How true I thought this is of my relationship with HER. Unfortunately, sometimes, in HER pursuit for harmony, for affirmation, I get rendered speechless... Sometimes, the people we love the most, are the most difficult to love.

Itchy Fingers

I'd like to think I'm this spontaneous-fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kinda gal. Maybe 5 years ago I probably was lah. Why, Mdm F was just remarking how reckless we were when we were younger. But since age and well, weight have caught up and and slowed me waaay down, I have, sadly become somewhat a stickler for all things routine. Heh..... Probably retribution for accusing Datin of being an obsessive compulsive all these years. So it is that now, I have this ability to realise just exactly when my barang has been changed or disturbed. So imagine how unsettling it was to find my seat at the office readjusted not once, not twice but EVERYTIME I got back to my seat! I mean, what gives.....?

To you who has been happiliy helping yourself to my seat, go on, use it, but just DON'T go and itchy fingers and adjust here and there lah!! Haiyah!

White Flag

With this I hereby announce, I officially give up. I'm done.

So Plastic

I'm so fake, I can't it believe myself.
All for HARMONY???

Aaaargh!!!!

That Which Does Not Kill You Makes You Stronger

There are many things that people go through in life that either make or break them.

I mean, my life is brilliant right now, I have a really nice although messy hole in the sky that I call home, I have my mum, who is, other than the fact suffering from end-stage renal failure, a really great and strong woman whom I love to bits, I have my brother and sister whom i love terribly although they sometimes they are the ones who are the most difficult to love...heh. Then there is my husband, who is my pillar of strength, my conscience, my soul. The one who saves my from my endless sleepwalking escapades, who ends up not getting enough sleep as well.... and of course my wonderful extended family and friends.

I have a great and wonderful but thankless job that I unfortunately love. Nothing picks me up like when the kids' faces suddenly lights up when something I just said makes sense to them. As I said, my life is brilliant.

Recently I met someone.

I am very dismayed at how not strong the person is. Especially in the capacity that this person is in. I had an encounter with this person that makes me question how this person makes decision. Then another incident happened and this person never bounced back from it. I know I probably don't have the whole story, but to my understanding, this incident led to this person completely giving up. I mean GIVE UP. If it is just because of that, I ought to give this person a kick in his John Brown hind parts.

The following may sound like I'm whining, but let me assure you that IT IS NOT a journey of resentment. I lost my dad ( read: he died ) my only ally, when I was 14. I had to work and put myself through school. Sure, I became an idiotic teen, but which adolescent didn't? Then when I grew up and finally started working, I thought I can finally let my mum enjoy life after having to work so hard when my dad died. Then we found out that she has end stage renal failure! Imagine what a blow that was. I really thought that she was going to die. So now, other than the stresses of work, I have a bag of worry EVERYTIME she goes for her dialysis on tuesdays, thursdays and saturdays. The dialysis nurses always tell me that there had been cases where patients just collapse and die during dialysis because their hearts cannot take it. So much for comforting me right??? Let's not even get started on the financial implications of her treatments.

Then I had 3 miscarriages. Effectively, I would have had 3 kids, the oldest would have been 5 this year. Then I found that I have diabetes. Then we found out that MBB's nose isn't working so well and is in dire need of an overhaul. Sigh.... They say when it rains, it pours huh?

Now, if I had let all these get me down, I probably would have died already. So when I heard the reason this person just wants to give up, I completely lost all respect for him. If everytime something difficult comes around, you run, then, my dear, you will be running for the rest of your life.

Well I wish you all the best. May your life be easier from here on.

Boys in Da Club

Look at these 2 boys....they're six now and that's them celebrating their birthday. At Raffles Town Club no less. My first party at a country club..... Ooooohhh.... Pool party some more....hehe. I hope they like their gifts. I had a headache when buying their gifts, I mean, seriously, what do you get 2 boys who has practically everything??? Anyhow, when invited to this swanky soiree, I decided to bring along my 2 lovelies.

They had fun. I know it'll be an experience for them. They had so much fun that they refused to get out of the pool when it came time to go. So now I owe them a trip to the pool. When we decided to take them and was allowed to, we rented a family car, packed them into it and made a day of it. I was happy. It felt like I had a real family. It felt like i was just like my other friends who all brought their broods to the party.

I just realised that after a while, all the little broods all joined up and became 1 big party!

So cute that they all ended up wearing blue swimsuits... Anyhow, I was happy, I was 'mummy' for the day. But it also mad me very sad. It just reminded me of what I don't have. It reminded me of what everyone has and that I don't. It made me very very sad. Sigh....
I love MBB and how he understands when I get upset about that which I don't have. I love it when he tells me that as long as there's the two of us, we've got the world and all it's charms...... as long as there's the two of us.

Maybe Baby

Congrats to CPL and Lynn for being preggers!! I want some baby dust sprinkled on to me too..... But I think, maybe I'd need to be swimming in the baby dust. Heh. I think I need to try and let it go. I think I need to begin to accept that I may not be receiving that joyful bundle after all. I think I need to just live and let live.

I think I need to pester MBB for a baby. The four-wheeled kind. Heheh...

Not Ready To Make Nice

Forgive, sounds good.
Forget, I'm not sure I could.
They say time heals everything,
But I'm still waiting...

Words of the Dixie Chicks ring in my ear. That's precisely what me and MBB are feeling at this moment. We have apparently been big fat suckers. Doesn't it suck when the realisation hits you right between the eyes? You just realise what a fool you've been all this time. So now with nary a shred of dignity, I do pull out from this very very deceptively warm and loving realtionship. So now with the heaviest of heart, I do say Thank You.

Never again. Even though I really love the 2 small ones, NEVER AGAIN.

Perceptions

Perceptions can work to you advantage. Or not. 10 years ago i would not have given two hoots to what others' perceptions of me would be, but now, it is a completely different situation. I do give 2 hoots how people perceive me. In fact I give many hoots lah. I do hope that with this reappearance, people will not assume to liken us. I'd just hate that. We are 2 very very very different people ok!

Yummy

I am having a huge craving for this.

Chicken anyone?

Cheesed Off!

As I have said before, there is a certain limit to the amount of crap that I can entertain from people, and for this particular group of people, I have increased that limit possibly 10 fold. I think before crap hits the ceiling, I'm not doing this anymore. I hate the way you make me and MBB feel inadequate about ourselves, well, more MBB than me lah. I have very thick skin, if you'd care to look close enough. You people don't know very much and it's disturbingly disgusting how with little knowledge you act like Mr-and-Mrs-Know-It-All. My crappy dears, a little ( in your case, very very very little ) knowledge is a bloody dangerous thing.

All I want to say to you now is, Good Luck, May you prosper in how small you are.

Back To Basics

MBB has gone back to operations. That means he's solving the problems and issues that arise in relation to the servers and whatever program platforms this Citibank has. That means irregular hours. That means LONG, LATE, irregular hours. That means not seeing muchof MBB on weekdays. That means CONSTANT and MANY smses. That means highly likely I-GOTTA-GO-BACK-TO-WORK weekends. That means MBB tired most days. THIS SUCKS!

Wish I May Wish I Might - Part 2

That one particular person, these also I like. Heh.

All, available at Tiffany&Co.

Hint, hint, hint.......

Wish I May, Wish I Might

If any particular person wants to know, I love this.

Hint, hint...

Men Oh Men Oh Me Oh My!

I love MBB, I really do. But last night, I surrendered myself to another. 4 others to be exact. They just simply took my breath away. They were so .... yummy. *wink* It was a surreal experience for me. Never before had 4 men given such pleasure... All at the same time some more.... Heh, it was somewhat an orgasmic experience. An aural orgasm... Please lah, don't be so twisted. I'm not as exciting as THAT.

But last night, THIS gave me a super high. I actually saw these 4 handsomely beautiful men. Of course 'saw' is a relative word lah but I saw them. I was seated to the right of the stage on the balcony. We had quite a good view of them. Apart from the fact that the seats were a bit small ( actually, we all know it's not the seats that are small lah huh ), I had a great time. The acompanying music was superb, especially the drummer, I thought and as it turned out he WAS the musical director of the concert. No wonder so good lah, director you!

But what impressed me the most was how effortless these guys made operatic singing seem. There were no gimmicks, no pyrotechnics, no wadrobe malfunctions -although a wadrobe malfunction by these guys would have made my day :) Their whole performance was simply just about their voices and their voices were mighty fine. Yours truly was very very impressed. Till next time boys, somewhere... somehow...

So Far So Good

It's been 18 days since 07 has come around. So far so good. Pretty much settled into work. I have managed to get into a system where I will not be overwhelmed with 3 x 40 compo scripts at any 1 time. My only hope is that I am able to sustain this order I have created. Heh.

My classes are alright. My senior class while very resistant initially are now a joy to be with. Granted that they are a little slow and NOT AT ALL prepared for the major exam they are to sit for, they are definitely very very willing to learn. I thought it a bit wierd that they are so clueless about their major exam. Sigh, poor kids, but we all know who ought to be shot right?

My middle class are my darling from last year,so they are very in tune with my style of teaching. So quite easy fo me to instruct them. Now that I think about it, my middle class is more atuned to the fact that they will be sitting for PSLE.......

My junior class is just the best. I love them, going into that class makes me happy. I taught some of them when they were just starting out and getting them again is great!

BTW, I have an interesting evening planned out tonight......

I had the opportunity to drive around last weekend. It was a wonderful feeling! I enjoyed it so much, I did not want to return the car. This coming weekend, managed to rent another car, so off I go again!! Hurray!!

I was informed that our MT dept will have another Immersion. I have another shot at China again!!

Well, as I have said, so far s good!!

A Good Sign

Leaky noses, scratchy throats and long unruly hair,( MBB's, not mine ) made our New Year somewhat not-so-hot. After cups of tea and many,many anti-histamines later, we were feeling quite the miserable. But as I lay on my couch, cocooned in my anti dustmite comforter from Ausinno, MBB got a little shock as I squealed excitedly while pointing outside my window.

This was the cause of my excitement.



Isn't it just gorgeous? MBB says it's a good sign. I hope he's right.

Goodbye 06, Heloooo 07!

2007 has started on a Monday. It will end on a Monday too. There are NO public holidays on Sundays. This year also has the highest number of Saturdays and Sundays in recent times. So, come on now, enjoy 2007, probably the shortest working year in your life!

Happy New Year!

Big Jolt

We had a staff meeting followed by the various committee meetings this morning. What a big jolt back to reality. Much to be done. Felt somewhat unreal. As Fiza quite aptly puts it, she's in denial. Heh.

Got a new leader today, positive vibes all around. A gesture made showed that he has the makings of a leader who does not only think of himself. Looking foward to working with him.

Well, 2007, may you bring with you blessings and the much needed changes.

I Did It!

I woke up to a snoring husband, a stiff neck and a really groggy head and after looking out of my window, a very very very heavy heart. It was raining... Noooo...

And so it was that I prepared for my final lesson and my test sans the butterfly soiree in the stomach this time but more of a dread. Why did it have to rain again?! The now-no-longer-snoring husband tried to comfort me. So sayang I of him but unless he can stop the rain, I was considering not even going.

And so it was that I told myself to heck it and just go. Rain and all.

And so it is, after 32 lessons albeit 1920 buckeroos, after a kerby during the first attempt, of which I of course failed, after 2 insructors and after buckets of rain, yours truly finally did it. Proud of myself, I am. Something long overdue this is.

Happy birthday my Mak Sayang. I know your many many doa helped. I hope this is as wonderful a gift as I can ever give you.

Ayang, I know we agreed on 2008, but ah, my hands very the gatal.... *wink*

My Gastronomic Getaway

I had loads to write about my getaway to KL. But I thought I'd tease a little first. More to come...

You Know You're In Malaysia When.....

You know you're in Malaysia when pakciks old enough to be your father calls you kakak.

You know you're in Malaysia when every kilometer or so, you gotta fork out coins to pay the toll.

You know you're in Malaysia when ladies are so particular about donning the tudung, but hey, it's perfectly ok to wear capped sleeves and show more skin especially by wearing low necklines and even lower rise jeans.

You know you're in Malaysia when you're in a major department during the Christmas season surrounded by Zara, Prada, Coach, Tod's, Gucci and more and yet Lovehunters' music wafts through the air.

You know you're in Malaysia when you're along a major expressway and on a road sign, you see ' RESTORAN AH CIK, IKUT KIRI'

You know you're in Malaysia when you're in a restaurant and gets served only 1 glass of water when there's obviously the 2 of you.

You know you're in Malaysia when you have to ask 3 people before you get 2 slices of lemon.

You know you're in Malaysia when after the water and lemon fiasco, they still screw up your bill.

You know you're in Malaysia when it cost 20 cents for a third person to sit in a cab and 40 cents for a fourth.

But.... if MBB gets posted there, I'll be so the happy. Almost everything is Halal you!

Say Cheese!

I found me a new toy to tinker with this hols! It has gotten me ooh-so-excited!! Espcially after that very UNsatisfying photoshop affair...I had actually thought you'd have to own a polaroid to do this but guess what? You DON'T!! Like the collage? That's my first product. So cool!!

On a different note, I managed to convince MBB to let me whisk him away for a short getaway. Just to say thanx for tolerating my countless mood swings and whinings and crying and being depressed... I love him to bits that man.Thanx for taking the time out Ayang...the 2.2 thingy was also a contributing factor lah. If got time but no money, also no point, no?

Lovely Cuppies

I got these for my nieces' birthday. They are absolutely yummy!! The previous ones I got had hard icing. But these had soft soft icing that just complements the not so sweet cake bit of the cuppy. So sedap!! Anyone interested, go visit her very happy website.

An Update

I'm on my year end break now. Many, many things have happened since. Some good, some, well.... not so.

The PSLE results came out. My kids did very well. As a class, we scored 6A* and 26 As. I am truly truly proud of them. I think our hard work paid off guys! Can't say the same for 3 of my Higher Malay kids though. Sigh... They should have listened to me when I told them to drop it. Aaargh!!

My niece who is in P1 has managed to score Band 1 in all her subjects! Very,very proud of her. So in conjunction with her birthday, we bought her Mary Jane Crocs and a cllection of well loved Ladybird series books. She must've been upset with the books coz she was more interested in the pink bow we had stuck on the books.

At least they were excited about the crocs. MBB got me a pair too!! I like... makes me feet look very girl.

Then I went on a night tour. With Datin Paduka Baginda. We went to Mt Faber, Esplanade, Mustaffa Centre. Then we had shiok supper of satay and chicken rice at Lau Pa Sat. Then we went vegetable shopping at the Pasir Panjang Wholesale. Let me tell you, it was an experience. It was wonderful. We got to buy very very fresh vegetables at very very cheap prices. It was really fresh. Though I got the impression that the sellers were not too happy with selling such a small quantity of vegetables to us. Heh. What made it worse was that I forgot to take pictures. So busy with my veg, I was. Then we went to Jurong Fishery Port. Horror stories of how smelly it was gonna be preceded the place. But when we got there, safe for few sections outside the main market, it didn't smell at all. The sight that met me gave me quite a shock. There were hundreds of huge fish that was very neatly arranged on the floor! There were bins after bins of fish and prawns. They were quite cheap. I bought a kilo of prawns and ikan kembung. Incidentally, my ikan kembung has already been used to make my very successful ikan sumbat sambal. Heh. After marketing, we ended our night... err.. morning at Al-Azhar with prata and drinks. We also tried to figure out if the people at the table next to ours were loan sharks as in thepeople who actually owns the money. As it turned out, Datin saw one of them peeing by the side of the road. Heh.

Know Them

I read this at PostSecret. It's quite scary when you realise that the person behind the voice might be that very quiet student of yours. Simply because the fella is well behave and presents no behavioural problem whatsoever even when taunted by friends, does not mean the fella is coping well. Although it actually might, but it can also mean thatt the fella is afraid to speak up. In my line of work, I have to constantly remind myself to KNOW my pupils.

Georgia On My Mind

See that girl in white? I miss her. Terribly. Especially during the Raya season like this. Wished she was here. If she were, I could've gone and gotten me some kuih tetek. I know, Don't Ask! But them kuihs are damned shiok. Actually I miss her whole family lah.

Introduction's in order I guess... The guy behind her is her laling husband, Sean. The young girl in front of her is Elza, her cousin. The gorgeous lady seated in front is Aunty Suliah with Aaron and Leslie. They are gorgeous kids aren't they? Although their mommy calls them monsters. What goes around comes around lah babe.... you also monster what.... heh.

I'm really looking forward to their coming down in May. She had better come and see me..... If finances allow, maybe MBB and I can follow you home eh?

I See You!

We got ourselves a web cammie! So fun! Now I can talk to Has AND see her all the way in Athens. Hooray!! We spent quite some time being silly. The cammie also has a photo function. Sekali sekala perangai macam budak kecik tu macam seronok kan? Thanx Ayang for getting me the cammie! I absolutely love it!

Things That Make You Go Hmmm

Some people are just so unprofessional.

Something Meaningful

Read this today while waiting for buka. Very meaningful I thought. So share lah...

“Your children are not your children.

They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself.

They come through you but not from you,

And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts.

For they have their own thoughts.

You may house their bodies but not their souls,

For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit,

not even in your dreams.

You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.

For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.

The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,

and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far.

Let your bending in the archer’s hand be for gladness;

For even as He loves the arrow that flies,

so He loves also the bow that is stable.”

~khalil gibran

on children.

the prophet, 1923

So Happy!

I just found out during the marking exercise that the great big soon-to-be-opened IKEA at Tampines will have a HALAL restaurant!!

I finally get to eat Swedish Meatballs after years of whiffs. Had even considered going to Dubai for a taste. Now, no need lah.... Hurray!!

Cannot wait. IKEA Tampines, better, faster open soon ok?

So Penat!

It's day 2 of the PSLE marking. After 2 days of sitting down for 2-3 hours on end, my butt has officially lost it's loving feeling. I'm tired.

And I still have 2 days to go.

Sigh...

So Sedap!

I brought MBB here on Wednesday for Iftar. The great concept design, excellent food, efficient service made MBB's dining experience very the truly pleasureable. Too bad about the price though. Had to dig deep into my pockets. At $58+++ a pop, I kept insisting that MBB ate our money's worth. Usually at $38+++, the price was increased with the inclusion of a Middle Eastern/Mediterranean spread for the Ramadhan Buffet.

There was a great variety of fare available. More than the lunch spread apparently. Throughout dinner MBB was trying to explain to me why he felt the price was so. It was all about the ingredients he said. I had to agree lah. They used the freshest raw stuff to prepare their food. From the lamb chops to the Min Chiang Kueh to the coconut sorbet. They were so sedap.

The Mid.East/ Mediterranean spread was interesting. While most dishes came with names I had never heard of, they had the better known shawarma, falafel, humus and stuff like that. They also had something that I had ony heard of. They had Babaganoush. I was tickled pink when I read the name.It was actually a thick sauce of eggplant, sesame seeds, tahini, olive oil, lemon, and garlic. While I was excited to finally find out what babaganoush was, I was not too keen to taste it. It looked quite gross. Heh. I also had Buddha Jumps Over The Wall. That was a first for me too. How it tasted? Hmmm..... it was alright I guess. I liked the stock it was cooked in. Very fresh.

Well, we are looking forward to going there again, in November when my SIL celebrates her birthday. She's finally gonna get to eat her duck. Yaay!!

I hoped MBB enjoyed dinner and I think he did. If his purring everytime I rubbed his...... err.....tum tum was anything to go by, I think he definitely did.

* WINK *

C'est La Vie

I have a craving for this.

Aren't they just gorgeous. Ayang, maybe this weekend we'll do grilled seafood for Iftar, yes? I like the fasting month. Apart from the miniscule and however negligible weight loss, this fasting month actually makes most Muslim families sit down together to break fast. Something the Chinese folks have been practising for ages. It's a wonderful thing, sit down dinners. Brings the family close if not closer. Family members talk about each other's day, what their highs and lows of the day were, basically just communicating. How nice.

For me, breaking fast could have been a terrible experience. While I'm in Chicago ( read: Choa Chu Kang ), MBB's in Tasmanania ( read: Tampines ) Hehe... Well, it might as well have been Chicago and Tanzania since we're not together. Luckily I have my mummy. She is Godsend. Despite her dialysis, she still will preapare food for us. Great food by the way.... On most days I will be at her place breaking fast with her and my baby sister. Sometimes it upsets me that MBB breaks his fast at his desk in his office with just a cup of coffee and an OCK curry puff. So it is that tomorrow, MBB and I will have our first buka out together! I am excited. Feels a little like going on a first date...

Some people should learn to appreciate their families more. Some others should be thankful for having easy lives and wonderful families and NOT rub it in our faces. I have come to a realization that I actually do know some really conceited, I'm-better-than-you-I-have-everything-You will-never-have-anything kind of people. Well, c'est la vie. I'm just thankful for my life.

Drowning

I'm so overwhelmed it's difficult to breathe.

I need a breather.

I need a break. Especially from some people.

I need something to happen to restore my faith in people who the kids call T-E-A-C-H-E-R.

Please, let it be soon.

All I Have To Do Is Dream

Where: At my desk, in my study
When: Abt 1.45 am
What: 3 stacks of mock exam papers staring me in the eye.

Instead of finishing the compo strewn all in front of me, courtesy of my fan, I decided to berangan ( Malay for building sandcastles in the air.) So I started surfing the internet. Note to self : NEVER have the laptop set up when piles of marking are just waiting to be marked. Anyhoo, then I thought, what car do I want when I eventually get 1? So off to car manufacturers' websites I surfed. Then I saw this and immediately fell in love.

Drool............

Ramadhan Is Coming

The fasting month is barely a week away. I like this month-long abstinence from food glorious food. It not only gives my digestive system a rest, it'll also give my purse a break. I have come to a realisation that I spend A LOT of moolah on food. I also like it as it will make my blood sugar readings really low. Explains why I like seeing my GP for my diabetes assessment during this period. Heh. This month-long refrain from food also will make me lose some weight..... I think maybe I will document my weight loss progress when the fasting starts....

Came across this poster announcing the coming of Ramadhan. I really like it.

For the uninitiated, in the Islamic faith, Satan, said to be the root of all evil, will return to hell for a vacation during the month of Ramadhan. So whatever wrongdoings and sins committed by Muslims in this month, will be credited fully to themselves.

Well, to all my soon to be fasting friends.... Happy Fasting!!

Pot unLucky

Bringing food to a potluck is always a gamble. This weekend, my pot, was really unlucky. Excpet for MBB, no one else touched it. Notwithstanding my rather yummy pasta, no one touched it. It then occured to me that one should just be minutely courteous and just 'taste' it. Rasa je. Nevermind that I had spent about 3 hours prepring the damnned pasta. It would be nice to just acknowledge my efforts by taking some of it and putting it on your plate and then just poke it around with your fork. You don't even have to actually eat it.

So much for courtesy.

With that they have catapulted themselves into a whole new playing field, The Out Laws.

Sigh...Mr Kerby Got The Best Of Me

The rain, the nerves, ooh the nerves, the fever and the diarrhea all got to me.

Then again, no excuses. I did do the KERBY. While inside some more..... chet!

Ok. 3 months to go.

It's Just Nerves

6 is the number of times I could not breathe.

4 is the number of times I crapped.

4 is also the number of times I almost vomitted.

2 is the number of times I actually did.

I have never been THIS nervous.

Tsk tsk tsk tsk.

Butterfly Flutter By

I am nervous.

The diarrhoea, the crampy stomach sure as hell are not helping. You know the feeling you get when your teacher says "See me after school!" during the first period? That horrid sense of foreboding, not knowing what punishment will be meted out to you? Double, no quadruple that and you'll know how exactly how I feel.

I wonder if the fella will let me stop to crap.

Nevermind Lah

Does it not just suck when things don't go the way you plan?

Sigh...

Come on, time to find a new distraction!

Oh Yas!

Was very very the impressed by this.

Then this came along and wowed me.

Now she's teasing me with this.


Faster, faster release it here first, ok?

Lazy Saturday

MBB and I decided that we were not going to do anything remotely related to work today. So I decided that I was going to satisfy myself.... with a long time craving.

We went to NYDC @ Wheelock and had the jazzy brownie. Exactly the way I had wanted it. The brownie was soft, warm and chocful with pecan. The ice cream was cold and milky french vanilla. The drizzle was warm, thick choc fudge which melted into the ice cream. Very light whipped cream, handful of peanut bits and a fresh half cherry topped the whole thing off. I was in heaven! It was yummy, yummy, yummy and I was one satisfied woman. Heh. It will be a long time before I will want another brownie.

After that, we spent some time getting lost @ BORDERS. I love that place. Makes me feel clever. Heh. Got me a Torey Hayden. MBB got the collection of jokes and humorous anecdotes from Reader's Digest. We then went to this place. This place is new but it was so cosy with many armchairs. When we saw a corner being freed up, yours truly quickly went to settle herself there. After we settled down, MBB went to order our drinks. We decided to go with fruity drinks instead of our usual fixes.

That's our drinks with MBB's book. While we were surveying the surroundings, MBB looked up and saw this.

So pretty. Apparently the whole 'roof' of Milennia Walk is made up of many of these 'funnel' like thingies. I took this picture by simply looking up from my super comfy armchair. Incidentally, all pictures in this blog were taken by MBB's Motorola Razor V3X. Resolution's quite good. After we were done being in awe of this architectural amazement, MBB quickly started on his book while I, continued taking pictures. Heh. I like lah.

Thanx Ayang for a wonderfully lazy today.

Singapore Idol

I was watching SUPERNOVA on 18 and suddenly thought with dismay what a joke our Singapore Idol is. Everything about it is a joke. Everything. From the hosts to the judges to the fans and of course to the biggest joke of all, the contestants, with a few exceptions. Let me give you a blow by blow account of my claim.

There's 2 hosts. Whatever for? I think Gurmit has done a fairly good job of it last year, so why do we need Daniel the POSER Ong this year? What is up with the inconsistent American accent? and do you realise that he asks the same questions to every contestant? Any idiot can do that. Even the next Singapore Idol can do that. Err... who? The next Singapore Idol? Who else? Joakim Gomez lah. I think Gurmit should be the only one hosting this programme. Although he mispronounces a lot of words, he has the depth and experience to always play off the person he's talking to and asks questions relevant to that person. Dan Ong on the other hand, should just stick to radio.

What is with the judges and their trying-too-hard-to be-clever comments? Especially Ja. I like her but she's got to realise that her wit falls on deaf ears. Our audience are simply NOT astute enough to understand her sarcasm and double meaning. I think Florence is tone deaf. The fact that she 'actually enjoyed' Joakim's performances makes me doubt her credibility. I think Dick could do well to just say what he really means. But the lamest has got to be Ken lah. I mean he claims to be straight up, frank and tell the truth. I don't see him living up to that at all. Why does he not just say that Joakim cannot sing and that he is a joke to this competition? And week after week he does nothing but puts Hady down. Last night he called hady's performance a dime in a dozen. The saying is 'A DIME A DOZEN'. Get it right Mr Lim! Does he not realise that by saying that, he's saying that EVERYONE'S performance was the same as Hady's? Wake up and face the music!

The mosh pit should be called the swamp pit and the fans in it, swamp things. Why? Cos they never know when they should shut their mouths. While the contestants are doing their do, these 'fans' should shut up so everyone can hear them. So the judges can actually hear how bad Joakim is. Enough with all the incessant yelling and screaming. These fans should also start choosing and supporting the contestants who can actually sing. Come on fans, this IS a SINGING competition. The people who are safe each week are mostly people who CANNOT sing. Are our standards that low? What is so good about Joakim? What is so great about Jasmine? They cannot sing lah.....

Now the best part! The contestants. If I had my pick, the final 3 would be Mathilda, Jonathan and of course my Hady. The rest leaves very little to be desired. However, if the voting goes on the way it has been, the winner and the next Singapore Idol will be Joakim Gomez. Who incidentally should take a deed poll and change his name to Butcher Gomez. Why? Cos he bloody well butchers each and every song he err... sings? My heart actually aches when I see him perform. And he is so smug when the judges gives him negative comments because deep down he's saying 'nyeh nyeh nyeh nyeh nyeh, you can say all you want but everyone will still vote for me...nyeh nyeh nyeh nyeh nyeh'. Then we have Nurul, who can somewhat sing, if only she drops her fake American accent. There's Jasmine, Paul and Rahimah who all need to do some growing up before they can be the singer they truly can be. Of course there's the not very young, not VERY good looking but Very talented Mathilda, Jonathan and my Hady. Because they are not very young and not very good looking like Joakim ( God Forbid! ) they don't get very many votes and thus are left gasping for air every week.

You tell me now, Singapore Idol, a joke or not? Maybe it should be renamed to Singapore Idiots?

Lost

I teach. I like teaching. Especially when in the process I am able to laugh with my kids. Those times will, more often than not, turn out to be good days. When I joined the profession, I must admit it was because I screwed up my A levels. But what is important is that I grew to love it. I loved being with the kids. I had wonderful colleagues. I had a leader who, at that time, I thought, was some kind of wonderful. All these factors made me want to get out of bed every morning and skip to work. Taking a day off even because I was sick was very uncommon back then.

Sadly that situation has changed.

Now, while I still enjoy being with the kids, while I still have some wonderful colleagues, my leads have changed and because they have their own styles, my some of my colleagues have changed too. Work is no longer a place I want to skip to, I find 1001 excuses NOT to go EVERY single morning. I still love teaching, I really do but it's just not the same anymore.

I used to think that because teaching is all about imparting knowledge to the kids, EYERONE will be kind enough to share ideas, share experiences and share love. To be a teacher, does one not have to be, at the very least interested in kids? These small adults, while rambunctious and crazy are rather quite good judge of characters. They can see through your crap quite instantaneously. I have many colleagues now, who don't even like kids. They don't even think that their kids deserve a smile from them. You tell me, Can?

I also have colleagues who join teaching to climb corporate ladder. That in itself is an oxymoron, doncha think? I know MOE is trying to corporatise schools. I see that in the workload but I don't see the leads equipped to be supportive of that kind of structure. I had thought Education is a public service, so what ladder is it that they want to climb? Rubbish!

With more corporatisation happening, more and more leads are losing heart. Not that the corporate shit is getting to them, but in trying to be keparat err..... corporate, they become ( in ahgeks's words ) cold hearted. Picture this, you have a 4 year old child, who is having her heart operated on, and when approached for leave, your lead tells you it's not fair for the class that you will be away. How? Can? Those kids in the class have their own parents..... what about your child? Should anything happen to your child on the OT, then it's ok, you have 30 more in the class.... Is it? What rubbish!!!! You have kids, where is that motherly instinct a woman should have? Have you no compassion????

Lost my faith in this profession, I have.

Sourpuss

Sourpusses, wet blankets, sour grapes or whatchamacallit are alive and working in my office.

I simply don't understand these people. YOU go aroung complaining about what others are doing to raise funds when these others don't even bother YOU with their work. YOU go around calling them KIASU when they are merely trying to go a little further with their efforts.

If YOU think they might raise more money than YOU, then do something about it lah. Stop BITCHING. Somewhat inclined to call you a bitch but that would be insulting bitches the world over.

I have mixed feelings about what kind of person YOU are. But after today, I know. YOU are just a mean, grumpy, selfish person. Luckily YOU are married, otherwise YOU will be one of those people who will end up with 40 cats or something. How unfortunate that will be for the cats.

Tsk. Tsk. Tsk.

Cravings

I have this craving for warm gooey choc fudge brownies with cold vanilla ice cream laced with hot fudge. Yumm..........

Anyone wanna take me out for some?