TIME NEVER GOES BACK

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

@12:08 AM

WHAT I AM

I was bloghopping and I found this.
And I cannot agree less.

A teacher holds several roles.
She must love all of her children and treat them as equal but
special individuals, thus she is a MOTHER.
She must ask though provoking questions and encourage
exploration and investigation, thus she is a SCIENTIST.
She must sing loud and proud, even if she can not carry a tune,
thus she is a MUSICIAN.
She must run, hop, jump, skip, and tumble with the children,
thus she is a GYMNAST.
She must share accounts of far away lands and imaginary people,
thus she is a STORYTELLER.
She must bandage scraped knees and kiss 'ouchies', thus she is a
NURSE.
She must give words of encouragement, louder and stronger than
anyone thought possible, thus she is a CHEERLEADER.
She must listen with open ears and an empathetic heart, thus she
is a FRIEND.
She does not entertain, dictate, police, referee, lecture,
demolish, or judge.
She is a facilitator, enables, questioner, encourager,
organizer, nurturer, backer, advocator, and supporter.
A teacher holds several roles, each different in
action, but equal in importance.
To teach is to touch a life forever.

I love my job. No regrets.

Monday, November 27, 2006

@9:56 PM

THE ANGLO-MALAYS REUNITE

I was reading back my past entries. Yup the last time I met up with the girls was almost a year back! I still remembered our main topic of conversation; our heartaches over failing relationships.

The topic was still much discussed today. But it was yet still refreshing because we heard the other side of the coin!
Besides Melati and Huda, joining in the forum today was Nazreen!!
So we got the guy's point of view. Whatever that have been shared, did enlighten me but it does not change the fact that I feel jaded by all that has happened.

Anyway Nazreen's back from Aussie for a short break. I'm glad we could meet up today.
It's been a long time, isn't it? There's a lot for me to catch up on your development although not as much vice versa. Yes Nazreen, I know now that you have been reading my blog. It's good in a way. At least you are updated on my life despite the lack of keeping in touch. We have to thank friendster, blogs and msn for connecting people ay.

Anyway, we headed to Vivocity today for brunch at Secret Recipe and then dessert at Ben and Jerry's. I was really looking forward to taking lots of pictures at the rooftop park of Viviocity but my spirit was dampened by the continuous shower. So we were stuck indoors. Catching a movie was also impossible because the queue was super duper long and the next available show was many hours to come.

So Melati suggested donating blood at HSA. Actually she already voiced out the idea yesterday. I was eager yet scared. Hehe I'm afraid of needles and I've never donated blood before. But I was all on to take up Mel's challenge. Well there's always a first time to everything.
So why not today I thought.
So Melati, Nazreen and I headed down to HSA (Huda decided to head straight for home).
I was really all excited but..... anticlimax seh.... the centre is closed on Mondays!
What a disappointment!

Nevermind, there will be a day when I'll give back to society by donating my blood.

To Melati, Huda and Nazreen: Do keep in touch ya.
Nazreen, I'll be looking forward to your surprise calls from Aussie again :)

27th Nov....it's been exactly a year since that unfateful day.....

Saturday, November 25, 2006

@5:27 PM

A GOOD SATURDAY SPENT

It was a good start to my official school holiday (since last week was workweek and we were required to come to school every day).

We had signed up for an introductory inline skating course at East Coast almost a month back and finally the day arrived after many times being postponed.
It was organised by Inline Culture, meant for teachers.
The attendance wasn't very good but that just meant that those who came had more individual attention. So no complains about that at all.

So there were me, Farid and Joyce (another AFJ combination) who finally could make it for the course from Fuchun Pri and we decided to make our trip to East Coast worthwhile.
Luck was with us. My dad offered me the car which meant that we escaped the hassle of taking the public transport.

After fetching Joyce and Farid, we headed to Kallang McDonald's first.
Yeah Mr Farid had to treat us to breakfast for being super duper late.
Imagine we had to wait for him for nearly half an hour and each time we called, he's always saying that he was coming down when he was actually still in the shower ggrrrrr.

Free breakfast was superb and then we headed to our main destination; F1 carpark of East Coast Park.
It was initially our intention to teach Joyce to cycle, but guess what!
We couldn't resist the temptation of the clear tide and so we went kayaking instead!
That was super insane la! I had no change of clothes and we ended up going for the inline skating course in our wet attire.
If not for my tudung, I might have even jumped into the water since I was already wet to my waist.

Body checked. No bruises or scratches. I didn't have any major falls so that made the skating course good too! So let's hope the Fuchun teachers are interested in getting the company to conduct skating lessons in our school. And I bet Joyce will soon be dancing in her skates!!

Today was great. I had a good time.
We should do this again someday, and hopefully Lena and James can join us too.

Wednesday, November 22, 2006

@1:57 PM

EXCLUSIVE VIDEOS

Finally managed to upload these videos on YouTube.
The exclusive performances on the P6s Graduation Night.
Haha I enjoyed watching the Grease dance clip especially and everytime I watch I will end up laughing.
The teachers definitely had fun putting it up specially for the pupils. Imagine all the garang teachers now releasing themselves and transformed into the entertainers you never thought they could be.
One thing for sure, I know that performing is not my cup of tea. I cant even remember the steps! So you can see me often looking at Mrs Ravi for the next move. Well can't balme me too la. We only had one practice session so that dance was pretty much a spontaneous item more than anything else.

Well how silly we may look, I'm sure the teachers all had fun performing for the pupils.

Oops someone's not suppose to know that I've uploaded these vidoes online. He'll surely come marching down the staff room and scream at me!!
SSSSShhhhhhhhh

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

@3:33 PM

EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING

The trip was a great getaway from the hussle and bustle of the staff room.
Eventhough it was a trip with the pupils, I had fun. I'm sure the pupils saw the other sides of me there; the zanny me.

The 3 teachers who went along on the trip.

Oopss... well you pupils are just lucky. You can hardly see me like that in school!

The first day there was spent mainly in the adopted school. We taught the kids nursery rhymes and they in turn taught the girls how too play the kompang and the boys how to make a stretcher out of poles and ropes.

The visitors with their host.

Indeed life if full of its learning experiences, even if it may be from the less fortunate.
It was a great learning experience. Seeing their simple state of life makes me even more thankful for all the priviledges that I get to enjoy back at home.
I hope the short stint in the school struck an awareness in the hearts of the pupils of how lucky and fortunate they have been to be enjoying all the luxuries back in Singapore.

Up on the summit of Mount Jantan! Yippee we did it!

The second day was even more fun. The main reason why I agreed to join for the trip despite the last minute notice was because of the mountain climbing!
Yes another mountain conquered.The height may be much lower than Mount Kinabalu but it was just as challenging and satisfying. With much bigger responsibility of ensuring the safety of 23 pupils, I was glad the pupils were pretty much obedient.
There wasn't much problem although some parts of the trail were challenging. And I could see that the pupils were determined to complete the climb, which actually got the teachers and instructors panting. These pupils definitely have an outstanding level of energy!
I was responsible for the safety of the 23 P4 to P6 kids who came for the trip.
I must salute them for their perseverance and cooperation to keep the whole group going.

We managed to complete the hike within a much shorter time than the previous groups which impressed the instructors.

The view up on the summit was however disappointing. We were surrounded by trees and bushes and the place was badly littered. We could have climbed a tower to get a better view but considering the rusty state of it, the teachers did not want to risk the safety of the pupils.

It was a good hike for me. Maybe now I can consider planning for another mountain hike with the pupils?

Lunch was awaiting us at the foot of the mountain. Our depleting energy was replenished with the great food cooked by Dedy's Mum and the coconut drink. the pupils were soon all charged up again for the next challenge.

As though the day was not adventerous enough, we then headed for the obstacle course. And me not wanting to miss out on all the fun, joined in the pupils to complete all the challenges set. How to back out when the pupils were all cheering and begging me to do them all. But I don't mind it at all. I was there to enjoy myself. So I got a taste of elementary NS training and got myself all stinky and dirty.
I was a kid all over again and I definitely had a great time with the pupils.

Getting all dirty and stinky! But it was all fun ;p

The last day was nothing much except for sightseeing and a little shopping.

Well I did not regret coming along for this service learning trip afterall although I had a little bit of reservations initially. I'm all set to visit Karimun again.

It's hard to say goodbye.

May I go again for the next trip, Mrs Koh?

Thursday, November 16, 2006

@4:05 PM

SO I SAIL AWAY.....

I'm sailing off to KARIMUN!!!

I was informed only on Monday which makes this trip very much a last minute one.

*Where is Karimun Azah?*

Karimun is actually one of the islands in the Riau Islands province of Indonesia.

It's about a 1hour and 45 minutes ferry ride from Singapore from Habour Front.

And the best part is, there is Mount Jantan and we will be climbing it!!

*She'll be coming round the mountain when she comes, when she comes. Hippy ay ay hippy hippy ay!*

I'll be joining the contingent of 4 teachers including myself and 20 odd students from Fuchun for a 3-day Service Learning Project.

We'll be leaving very early morning tomorrow at 6am from school and will be back on Sunday night.

Let's hope that we will all have fun there and that the weather will be on our side.

Aargh I'm still in school now. Not a single has been packed..

Seems like the teachers are getting busier especially with the Speech Day tomorrow (which I'm sadly going to miss).

So no entries till Monday at least.

Till then.. take care to all my readers.

Raynard, thanks for the letter! So sweet of you.. And David thanks to you too if you actually found my blog.

Oh ya because of this trip, I'm going to miss Abang Rahmat's wedding too! How can I actually miss my cousin's wedding!

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

@12:19 PM

WHAT LIES AHEAD

My fate has been sealed... it's down in black and white.
I'll be teaching in the afternoon *WAIL!!!!!*
I hate to be in the afternoon. I had experienced it during practicum and the hours are not to my liking. And it's no consolation if you think I can wake up much later.
I'll still end up coming early to school and by the time I step out, the sun has shyed itself away from me.
It's pretty much like I'm in school the time shops do their sales.

I was informed that I'll be teaching Pri 3D..

I've been warned of some of my pupils.

They will be my future VIPs.

So D stands for.....
DISASTEROUS

DEMANDING

DEBASED

DEBONAIR

DAFT?

Nah... They will, at least by the end of the year, be

DECENT

DEDICATED

DELIGHTFUL

DEMURE

DARLING

DILIGENT
DYNAMIC

That's my promise to myself.

Saturday, November 11, 2006

@3:34 PM

DEGRADING STATE
After a crazy night yesterday, my bloodshot eyes got worse. I couldn't even wake up today to attend the course at Teacher's Network with Joyce. Sorry Joyce for abandoning you.

My body is aching and I'm running a temperature. Voice disappeared and nose running.

I just want to stay in bed today.

I'm just glad I wasn't feeling this bad last night.

Friday, November 10, 2006

@11:56 PM

I MADE HISTORY TODAY

that's the new band in town.... at least in the town of Fuchun Primary School.

This amateur band comprises of Miss Azah (nervous on the piano), Mr Farid (looking cool with the microphone) and Mr James Wu (professionally strumming the guitar).. and there you go the AFJ band. Just a short history of this group, it was set up by default when the newbie teachers were arrowed to join in the dance item for the P6 Graduation Night.

Thinking of avoiding the dance item (since we are bad at it), one of the members suggested to the concert manager that he will grab some other colleagues to put up another item. And so he grabbed me along with Farid. But due to some miscommunication, the AFJ was dragged into the dance item as well.

Well back to the AFJ's debut performance.... we hit the chords to James Blunt's You're Beautiful. I was a nervious wreck! How not to! That was my first time ever performing on the piano live in front of such an audience! Sweaty palms and stiffed fingers..... but with the strong back up from the great guitarist and the cool-looking lead singer, I hope we didn't sound too bad.

I've been playing the videos of the gig as well as the dance item repeatedly and I'm still laughing watching them after the 100th time.
Someone still hasn't given me the green light to upload the videos on YouTube and the size of the clips are too huge to email to them.... so let me enjoy watching them myself for now.

Well I had lots of fun tonight. The dance item to the beats of GREASE was fun! Despite all the wrong moves, I guess all the teachers should be given a big round of applause of being so sporting! Now the pupils can see the other side of their stern teachers.
No teacher wishes to be fierce but if we were to go along with your rythm, then the class will surely turn upside down and don't you dream of doing well in your PSLE.

To the P6s, that was your graduation night.
Your 6 years of primary education has come to an end.
I wish you all the best in your future endeavours.
The road ahead may not be smooth sailing but always have faith in yourself and never give up!
Treasure your school life. Studying is much better than working trust me.
Leave the school with no hard feelings towards your friends and teachers.

The teachers will miss you too....

Thursday, November 09, 2006

@5:43 PM

TOMORROW...

It's the P6 graduation night tomorrow. Not really looking forward to it, unlike the P6s......

Why? I'll tell you after tomorrow k.

Or more rightly put, I'M NERVOUS!!

Monday, November 06, 2006

@2:31 PM

ALIKE

We went to my dad's cousin's house last Saturday night. It wasn't just for the Raya visiting. His wife had a relapse from breast cancer. She was free for a year after being diagnosed in 2004. She tried to avoid chemotheraphy back then, she feared the side effects. She experiemented with traditional medicines and she was cured.

But it was all temporary. The cancer cells came attacking back. And this time, the traditional way no longer work. She has gone for chemotheraphy a few times. I could barely hear her as I stood behind my parents by her bedside. Among the few lines which I managed to catch was " Tapi chemo sekarang dah bagus, rambut tak gugur lagi..." (Chemo today is better, I no longer shed my hair).

She wants to see the positive side of things, although she broke down a few times as she updated her state ever since her relapse in August to my parents.

And as I watched her... my mind started wandering away. I could see my late Bik Kam on the bed. She too suffered from breast cancer which has taken her away from all of us. She left us about 6 years ago.

She stayed at my house during her last couple of months. And that was when I became especially close to her. I didn't mind letting her have my bed. I saw her state fluctuate through the days. Sometimes she would have the strength to sit down for TV after having dinner at the dining table. But there were also days when she would be moaning softly in pain, not even able to sit up to have a sip of water. Although she was very much on the bed, I still looked forward to seeing her everyday after school. I could feel her pain but there wasn't much I could do to ease it. Berat mata memandang, berat lagi bahu yang memikul.

It was obvious that she was putting on a brave front and she was determined to fight on. And it was also because of her strong will that she was very devastated when the doctor broke the news that there was very little chance of stopping the cancerous cells from multiplying.

I could still remember her words when I left her at the hospital just minutes before she departed. She wished to stay at my house when she's discharged and I promised her that she would.

Earlier that day, I had prepared the room for her. I changed the bed sheet and and tidied the room. She was supposed to be discharged that day but she never did. I should have stayed just a little longer by her side to bid her my final farewell.

Bik Kam, do you know that when they came to pay their final respect, many commented that they saw you when they looked at me? I still get that once in a while. It shows that many still remember you.

I don't want to just look like you. I also want to inherit your generous and kind heart.

Semoga Tuhan mencucuri rohnya Amin.

And back to my dad's cousin...
she still has the will to fight on top of accepting her illness as a test from Allah. During my visit at her house, I was observing my surroundings. I do not feel much abnormality. Her husband entertained us with cheerfulness. Her quiet son showed by brother his guitar skills. Nothing has changed despite the wife's condition. That's something I admire.

I am very sure, the positivity which the family exudes has pushed her to live on. She has a caring husband who faithfully stayed by her side to push her on. Her son, the only child filially massaged his mum when requested,

I admire her. I envy her for the love and support she is receiving.

My family has been sticking by me through thick and thin and I'm sure they will always.

Now I'm wishing for a caring husband. He who can be my extra pillar of strength.

INSYAALLAH AMIN AMIN YA RABBAL ALAMIN

Haha nothing wrong in wishing and hoping right?

Que Sera Sera.. Whatever will be will be. The future's not ours to see.....

QUE SERA SERA

Friday, November 03, 2006

@11:57 PM

BONDED AND REUNITED

I had my colleagues over for lunch after school last Monday... not all 100 odd of them but just the beginning teachers. The good 5 of us, sadly without Lena who was on MC due to the flu bug.

I'm happy they accepted my invitation. Mak cooked a whole spread of great food for them.

THANKS MAK!
For that sumptous meal and for entertaining the stream of pupils who came. I want to be a great cook like you too!

(eerr but I know I seldom step into the kitchen esp during the weekdays)

Hope you guys had a good feast too! And I would love to have you guys again at my house anytime! Ya, James has already promised my mum to come again for her fried chicken wings.

And once my colleagues left, my house received more visitors non-stop.

I had more visitors than any of my other family members.....

They came in all colourful outfits, looking all smart in their kain sampings and pretty with their handbags and accessories. They look different in their baju kurungs. All dressed up with make ups.

I will always welcome any pupil who wants to make a stop over at my house during their jalan raya with friends. However, the Fuchun pupils will have to do the extra homework in order to reach my house. I only gave my address and hp no to 1 pupil. Whoever wants to come will have to search for that particular pupil who has it.

Here are the snapshots of the current Fuchun and Pandan Mendaki pupils.

I'm more touched with the arrival of many of my ex-pupils. They have transformed; they have grown much taller, their voices have changed, they have grown from those playful little girls and boys into more serious teenagers.

It's nice to see them again after so long. Although it may take me a while to match the faces to the names over the phone, it will all be clear once they step into my house. Some came in taxis from as far as Teban and Jurong, some were pupils whom I taught 3 years back.

Ex-pupils from Chongfu and Mendaki pupils.

My envelopes are thinning. My gold coins are depleting. My lollipops are still in abundance. I think I will need to change more notes.......