TIME NEVER GOES BACK

Sunday, December 31, 2006

@10:43 PM

AULD LANG SYNE

First and foremost, a Happy Hari Raya Eidul Adha to all my fellow Muslim readers.
And this special day also marks the closure of year 2006.
The year whereby I've embarked on my career as a professional educator (ooh sounds heavy), fully trained and all set to face the many more years to come insyaAllah.
1 full semester has passed by. Not dreading the job yet but in fact loving it even more.

Thank goodness I'm given a primary school. Thank you MOE for granting my request! I don't think I can handle the teens just as well. I can't say that the pass 6 months would be a good gauge of the long journey ahead, but it's reassuring enough to know that I am not regretting being where I am now. Because of this, I can look back and wave goodbye to 2006 with a smile.

So farewell 2006........
Hello 2007!

With the arrival of another brand new year,
may happiness surround all of you.
May what you see in the mirror delight you,
and what others see in you delight them.
May someone love you enough to forgive your faults,
be blind to your blemishes and tell the world appreciates your virtues.

I just want to be better, happier and be a more positive person.

Monday, December 25, 2006

@11:14 PM

This song is stuck in my head...
The lyric says it all

Christina Aguilera
Hurt

Seems like it was yesterday when I saw your face
You told me how proud you were, but I walked away
If only I knew what I know today
Ooh, ooh

I would hold you in my arms
I would take the pain away
Thank you for all you've done
Forgive all your mistakes
There's nothing I wouldn't do
To hear your voice again
Sometimes I wanna call you
But I know you won't be there

Ohh I'm sorry for blaming you
For everything I just couldn't do
And I've hurt myself by hurting you

Some days I feel broke inside but I won't admit
Sometimes I just wanna hide 'cause it's you I miss
And it's so hard to say goodbye
When it comes to this, oooh

Would you tell me I was wrong?
Would you help me understand?
Are you looking down upon me?
Are you proud of who I am?

There's nothing I wouldn't do
To have just one more chance
To look into your eyes
And see you looking back

Ohh I'm sorry for blaming you
For everything I just couldn't do
And I've hurt myself, ohh

If I had just one more day
I would tell you how much that I've missed you
Since you've been away
Ooh, it's dangerous
It's so out of line
To try and turn back time

I'm sorry for blaming you
For everything I just couldn't do
And I've hurt myself by hurting you

@5:57 PM

IDLE TIME

There's nothing of note to watch on tv and I shall thus idle my time away here. Blogging for me, I realize, can sometimes be directly related to boredom, especially when my entries are about nothing eventful. This has become an alternative convenient outlet for me to pass time. How sad that when I wish to catch up on some good tv shows, nothing captures my attention.

Just a few more days left before school starts. Year-end meetings are starting in a couple of days. Aside going away for short trips and meeting up with a couple of friends, I merely laze my days away at home. The bad rainy days have dampened my intentions of morning/evening jogs or perhaps I'm conveniently blaming the weather for deteriorating into slothdom. And yet I continue to possess and appetite for destruction; devouring everything in my sight, coupled with slowing metabolism. The battle of the bulge is becoming all too real.

But this holiday has not gone to total waste. I went for trips (first to Karimun, then KL and Perak and then to Bangkok). I got to finish up 2 sets of Korean dvds. I read more than eversince I started teaching (Yes completing 2 books and halfway through my 3rd in a month is highly regarded as a big accomplishment for me now). I afforded updating my wardrobe with more decent clothes (part 2 of shopping done last Friday and I managed to keep within the stipulated budget yay!).

I'm suddenly drawn to reflect on 2006. There are many 'to or not to's in my head right now. I hate making major decisions. I'm still in doubt whether the last life-turning decision I made was a right one.

Even blogging is starting to bore me now. I shall just end it here and get back to switching channels on the tv.

Nah I think finishing up my book is a better idea.

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

@10:59 PM

PART 2
Yay! Finally I see a gleam of sunshine today.... The long heavy downpour has kept me indoors and I've completed 'The Secret Lovers' in two days. Just in time before Mak and Abah got home. Perfect timing.

I showed them our Bangkok loot. *The things were still neatly packed in the bags until they got back because Azi and I wanted to show them every single thing we bought. I'm glad they are happy with what we got for them and everyone else.

We might have had our massive shopping at Bangkok but I think there is still part 2 to come.
Here are some things which I still need to get:
1) Working shoes
2) Bottoms: skirts and pants
3) Somemore tops for Azi and myself.

Since I am most likely not going to teach PE next year, I will have to top up my formal attires for school. Yay no more daily track pants and sport shoes! Hhmm so when shall part 2 of shopping spree be? I better settle my accounts and see how much more I can put aside.....

But hey my financial planners shouldn't be complaining since I've already set aside more than necessary for this month, right Ain and Haja?!

Monday, December 18, 2006

@9:45 PM

YET ANOTHER
Another country ventured.... another city conquered.
Bangkok, Thailand.
I suppose the Thai experience would not be completed without doing the following things:
1) Riding the Tut tut
2) 'Backpacking' at Chatucak
3) Eating the papaya salad and beef noodles
4) Eerr experiencing the obsence and prohibited... well glancing in is good enough for me :)
5) Going down the floating market
6) Getting a good body massage

Anything else to add?
7) Oh ya perhaps riding the elephant?

I did all the above except for the last 2. Nah I'll surely be screaming and cringing when they straighten out my muscles after 2 days of solid workout at Chatucak and there just wasn't an opportunity to get close and personal with the elephants.
I did massive shopping and bought a lot of things, not only for myself but for my extended family too! Yay! *Luckily I didn't exceed the baggage limit.
Food wasn't that all difficult... Although the halal sign is scarce, we manage to source out the places. And another unexpected thing was the cool weather. It was 'winter' season when I was there and the air was cool although the sun was shining hard. Besides cheap shopping, the weather is another thing I miss especially and seems like I'll have to entertain myself indoors since Mr Rain is very hard at work. With parents away at Malacca, I thought I could escape with some mischief outside. I guess Mum got her doas right hehe.

My return back home generally wraps up the year-end holiday. As soon as I set foot on Changi Airport, there was this instantaneous adrenaline rush of reality, of the fact that I've been shaking my legs long enough and work will soon set in. The staff meeting is just next week and school is going to reopen soon. So I'll have just a few days left to recharge and set my mind and body right for the coming year.

AZA AZA FIGHTING!!
*Oh no I didn't spell my name wrongly.... you just have got to watch Full House to know it.

I guess staying indoors without my parents isn't going to be that bad. I have it all planned out. I shall glue myself to my laptop and finish up another Korean drama series , ' The Secret Lovers'.
And that is all I'm going to do for the next two days.........

Let's enjoy the rain while it lasts.

Thursday, December 14, 2006

@2:23 PM

LIVING ON HER PRAYERS

Everyone has his ideals, hopes, dreams, goals... it pushes you to strive for something more, to have a purpose in life.

But why can't we be contented with whatever that we have?
Why must we crave for things beyond our reach?
Wishing and hoping for something that is uncertain?

So she has her own wish list too.
Some are achievable, some are unpredictable and a few may just remain ungranted.
She will need to make her choices, but does she have to compromise on her ideals?
If she holds on tightly to them, will she be letting go some golden offers?
And at the same time, she wonders whether she really deserves the best things in life.

Well.. she will need to loosen some rope but on which side? That's another choice to be made.

As for now, she shall live on the edge.
She shall not think of the risk of falling over.

She shall live on her prayers.

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

@12:23 AM

MORE ADVENTURES OF MY VERY OWN

Back from KL and Perak, I had other kinds of adventures. On Monday, the family spent some quality time together. After settling some stuff at Lavender and Marina Boulevard, we were suppose to meet up with Wak Imah and Wak Mail at Vivocity. But since we were early, Abah suggested driving up to Mount Faber.

That was my first time up there and I suggested going on the cable car. Arissa and Nabil were really excited, in fact everyone was. Not my first time on a cable car, but my premiere on Singapore's very own. Thanks to a kind-hearted staff at the counter, she gave a very good offer for the whole famly. We took a continuous ride all the way to Sentosa and back to Mount Faber again. Nabil was wailing during the initial part of the ride for fear of height and Mak too was squinching her eyes, especially when the cable car went above the waters.

It was one of those precious moments where the whole family could be around just to enjoy each other's company.... and I was enjoying every second of it.

We then headed to Vivocity and meet up with Wak Imah and Wak Mail who had been waiting for us for long. And this time, the weather was great and I get to go to the water park on the rooftop YAY! The kids really enjoyed themselves and got really wet, especially Nabil.

Earlier today, I had my first attempt at making sushi. Bought all the ingredients from Sheng Shiong and experimented with the ingredients.

It wasn't that bad for a first time. I like my california rolls better..... but I think I still like it best to go the sushi bars in Johore with the belt offering me much more variety.

I'm still waiting for Singapore's Sakae Sushi to go halal. They better keep their promise and I'll definitely be one of their loyal customers :)

Oh many would not have been informed.. I'll be flying off to Bangkok on Thursday people! Yessa! That's less than 48 hours before my flight. A very last minute decision to join Bik Ros, Halim and Athiyah. My sister will be joining too and we are looking forward to fantastic shopping over there!

* Lets just enjoy the remaining holidays and not think about school as yet.....

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

@4:17 PM

BACK FROM AN ADVENTURE
I'm back safe and sound apart from some bruises and small cuts from the water rafting and caving. But seriously the minor injuries were nothing compared to the fun I had throughout the 5 days and especially more during the rafting and caving in Perak.

Aisha, Mala, Sahira, Jumi, Kak Mus and myself; the self-declared CICAK TEAM did a few 'outrageous stunts' during our adventure there.

Day 1:
We stayed in an apartment in KL, The Zon, with a scenic view of KLCC and Masjid Assyakirin (especially panaromic at night). Our first stunt was to have a movie marathon, two movies back to back- The Red Kebaya and CINTA. We were quite apprehensive about being able to stay awake for 4 hours but with such excellent story plots, it was not a hurdle at all. Just as I have guessed from the title, I know I would enjoy CINTA very much and I did. 5 love stories spun into 1, it depicts the many meanings of that one powerful word. I could not hold back my tears and I could also hear Kak Mus sobbing beside me :).
Walking back to the apartment past 1am, passing by Masjid Assyakirin, it triggered inside me, "What's most important is to strengthen my CINTA for HIM and insyaAllah everything else will fall into place."

A quote from the show: Orang yang paling kita sayang paling susah untuk disayangi..... oh how true.

Day 2:
The itinery for the day was to go to Masjid India and Cultural Market for some sourvenir shopping and then karaoke at Redbox before we sent Kak Mus off to catch her bus back to Singapore (Unfortunatey she had to cut her trip short due to something which would determine her future haha. So Kak Mus dah sign ke belum? I hope you'll be in the uniform soon!) Karaoke was better than usual because this time, we were served with a sumptuous buffet. The spread included chilli crab, lemak chilli padi prawns just to name a few, many types of cold dishes, desserts, drinks and crackers. Surely Mak doesn't condone her children singing while eating but shall we make that day an exception?? :(
While sending Kak Mus off at Berjaya Times Square, we caught a busker in action throwing fire. Too late to catch the LRT back, the Cicaks decided to walk back to the apartment. Not as near as we thought but we detoured to KLCC when we realised that Salman Khan was still inside the building for the premiere show of Baabul (We actually wanted to grab the tickets too but it was already sold out the day before). So there we were, 5 groupie virgins waiting in anxiety for Salman Khan's exit from the building. Thank goodness it was not at all crowded but we were all dumbfounded when we saw him, good-looking as expected but he looked shorter than on screen!! But most importantly, I managed to charge forward and snap a good photo of him on Aisha's camera. That was stunt number 2.
Back at the apartment, everyone was all set to watch Fanaa.... no long after, Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol were staring at us instead. How I wished my charming Shah Rukh Khan was there at KLCC instead.

Day 3:
After 2 late nights at KL, we headed up to Perak. Pretty dead town where people seem to sleep in really early. The night was pretty much about cakes from Secret Recipe and the pamelo fruit.

Day 4:
De Day I was so looking forward too. We were picked up by Pacwest (now my trusted company)to Sungai Kampar for the white water rafting. It was all the Cicak's first time at rafting and I must say we are all set to go for a next one. 5 amatures plus 2 very friendly guides, we overcame the rapids and turbulence. It wouldn't have been fun if we did not get flung out of the raft, A few times in fact, whether on purpose or not. But the most memorable one was the last throw. Eveyone was all ready to end the activity when we were suddenly hit by a strong current and our raft hit hard against the rocks. Everyone was caught off guard and thrown out of the raft. Mala was brought away by the current, Sahira and Aisha had to cling on to a tree trunk for their dear life and Jumi and I held on tightly to each other. The water was actually quite shallow but the current was just to strong for us. The guides had to throw the safety float and we were all brought to safety.
We had cuts and bruises but we definitely had much more fun.

We then headed to Gua Tempurung where we had lunch and then we proceeded with the caving activity. I was like Angelina Jolie in Tomb Raider. Before stepping in, I thought it was just going to be some simple crawling and duck walking in the dark but it turned out to be much better than I expected. We had to swim through waters with the staclatites and staglamites restricting our movements. We had to squeeze through tiny holes and slide down steep slopes.
The staclatites and staglamites formations which grew an inch every 200 years were really amazing and I watched my surroundings in awe. Nature has so much to offer us and it is a pity if we do not bring ourselves forward to appreciate its beauty.

The Cicaks got themselves thoroughly wet and even dirtier this time. It was a really great adventure into an unfamiliar world.

I had a hard time getting the mud stain off my clothes.

Day 5:
7-hour bus ride back home..... with the great company of 4 other cicaks ( I didn't see any crawling in the bus :))
We shall plan for another trip soon. A higher grade rafting and another adventure insyaAllah.

Tuesday, December 05, 2006

@9:53 PM

MORE KOREAN

As if my craze for the Korean dramas ain't enough, I accepted Pah's invitation to JEC's ZingDo and Ain was there too. ZingDo serves Korean food and I settled for beef kimchi. Yeah just like the one in the dramas I've been watching *slurp!*

The noodle is pretty similar to maggi but the soup's nice. And they put a lot of beef in it too! I am surely going to be back someday to try the other dishes.

Pah's tummy is swelling real big. She's 'baking' well now, no more puking, and thus the chance for her to be out and partying with her friends. I'm already excited to see her little bun. You'll be a mum soon Pah. YYEESSAA!!
Ain (hhmm I can't find an authentic name for her), Pah and Jah; we've seen one another evolved from the innocent primary school girls in the blue pinafore, through Crescent days, parted ways in JC, reunited in NUS, to the mature ladies we are now. Although we may be busy with our jobs and family now, I'm glad we still make the effort to text one another periodically to meet up and catch up on lost time. Let this be till we wrinkle and we can gather with our grand children tagging along :)

Another friend will soon be signing her singlehood away and venturing into her very own marriage life. An advance congratulations to you Nana! You're going be one level up and I'm sure you'll be a fine wife. I'm looking forward to seeing you on the dias. Remember to smile ok!

Today was another happy day cos I get to meet all these wonderful people!

I better get going now. Haven't quite finish packing for tomorrow and I'm excited! I'm just praying for excellent weather particularly on Saturday and that we will have a good and safe trip.

See you guys after Sunday!

Monday, December 04, 2006

@9:52 PM

FULL HOUSE

Yeehar... record breaking. I finished watching Full House in 2 days!!
Haiz I love all these happy endings!
And I want to have my own house full of love too!

Of course a house as big as the one in this show will remain just a dream.

Now I can go on my trip with a peaceful mind hehe.

Any other good show to recommend?

So far I've watched:
1) 18-year old Bride
2) Stairway to Heaven
3) Winter Sonata
4) Princess Hours
5) The Successful Story of a Bright Girl
6) Full House
7) ??????????

*Goodness what have all these Koreans done to me?!*

@7:51 PM

I SHOULD HAVE
I decided to take a different approach yesterday.
Giving you the cold shoulder hurts just as much so should I be friendly instead?
We talked on the phone for a little while after so very long.
I wanted to know the directions to the place you are so familiar to.
Although I was hesistant at first, I took the risk.
I missed the chats we used to have.
The 5-hour long record.
I enjoyed the brief conversation last night although I was very conscious.
I tossed and turned in bed.
I was looking forward to this morning.

But it never happened as I wished.
I had told Abah that I would send Fadhil myself to the jetty today.
I was excited...
But the excitement turned into disappointment.
Mak and Abah want to send him off too.
No, I don't want it to be a crowd and so I stayed behind.
It's my regret now. I should have just followed.

I was there at the island for the course exactly a year ago.
I wished I could join Fadhil again this morning.

By the way, I just got news that I will be in charge of the school's Life Science Symposium competition. The deadline's very near. It's just the end of next month! And by then I should come up with a rap or song of four stanza (original) to illustrate "Frontiers in Science" along with the actions! Can I really do this??!
I'm feeling stressed because the school has been emerging champions for the past competitions. But of course the task assigned differs every year. Mrs Ravi actually trust me to do this?! Wah big task and so little time. I definintely need help here.
Well if anyone has any ideas to contribute, you are most welcomed to share them with me... at least with the lyrics.

But I'll put this task on hold first. I'm just so looking forward to my trip on Wednesday with the girls. Yay! I'm really going water rafting and caving this time wwoohhoooo!!!

KL and Perak here I come!