From left to right: Weijun, Louisa, Jellinan, Me, Shahfiq and Yusuf.

I met up my 2005 batch of graduating Sec 5 students yesterday. I haven't seen them since they got their 'O' levels results in early 2006, so it has been almost 2 years since I last saw them. We met up for a late lunch at Village @ Hereen.

This was my 1st batch of graduating students. They were my first class of kids when I first became a teacher, I followed them through all the way from the time they were in Sec 3, when they were just babies, to Sec 5, where I saw them grow. And 2 years later, they have really grown. 19 year olds. I feel really old. This batch taught me patience, unconditional love and they really and genuinely loved me.

I've had 3 batches of graduating classes, but this batch is the one I love most. They made me laugh and cry and I have never worked so hard for any classes aside from theirs. And they didn't dissapoint me. They did well, at least for History, the subject which I taught them. Teachers tell me they are horrible, and naughty, and out of control, but I loved them cos they really cared about me. And respected me. There were mats, minahs, ah bengs, ah lians in the class but when they were in my class, they were all kids to me. I really enjoyed teaching them.

Shahfiq told me that when in school, whenever they were on the way to my class, everyone would be smiling as they walked to my homeroom cos even though they knew that I always gave them a hell of a lot of work, they enjoyed my lessons and knew they would have fun. Made me so happy. :)

It was really nice meeting them up again. They are all grown up, but it's nice to know they still remember me.

I went to Batam, Holiday Inn with my family over the Xmas weekend. Since I am leaving in about a month's time and will be away from them for about a year, we decided to take a family trip out. Nothing over the top, just a simple get away to the Holiday Inn Resort where we did nothing but eat, swim, lounge around in the suite, shop, and my sis, her husband and me went for a spa treatment. Rosemilk bath, followed by aromatheraphy massage. The best. Oh..and I managed to go to the gym on the 2nd day before breakfast where I did a half hr run...Hahaha...Paranoia.

Enjoy the pictures...

My sis and niece, just after we reached, having lunch by the pool side.

The 2 bedroom suite, with my babies and my sis. My nephew and niece were so excited and kept running around.

Off for a swim. My niece in her cute watermelon swimsuit.

My nephew, under the raining mushroom. He has been taking swimming lessons so he can swim pretty well now...though he's a bit of a panicky swimmer.

Being a starfish.

All bundled up.

Mom and me. Yes, I swam too but I refuse to put up pics of me in my bikini. Personal pride issues. Ha!

We had dinner at a seafood kelong near the ferry terminal.

After dinner, at the hotel lobby.

Before we boarded the bus to go shopping.

Me and my niece: She's in her new dress and hat, and I'm in my new tights, bought during our shopping expedition in the day.

Just before we left the hotel for Spore.

It was a very simple no frills trip but I had a lot of fun with my family. I'm excited to go and study but I'll definitely miss them.

On another note altogether, if you have not checked out the Mango sale, please do so asap. It's really good this time round. Of course, it's been on for 2 weeks, so if you are a Euro size 8 like me, you can forget about getting any decent stuff cos everyone in Singapore is a size 8. But cos I went to the sale last Fri , when it was only 1 week old, I managed to get some things in my size. Of cos, I went to 4 different Mango outlets (Taka, Wisma, Isetan Scotts, and the one next to McDonald's at Scotts Road as well) and spent about 4 hrs searching and jostling with the crowd. But worth it. Check out these bargains.

Velvet track pants ala J'Lo @ $39 (original price: $69), slim fit dark denim @ $66 (original price:$95) and leggings @ $7 (original price:$15)

Sleeveless tunic @ $25 (original price:$40)

Jersey knit dress @ $30 (original price: $60)

Pink longish T-shirt @ $22 (original price- $35)

Black V-neck sweater @ $23 (original price: $35)

I am a happy camper. I managed to get cheap things from Mango.Everything for about $200. So cheap lah!!! I'm going to lug all these, including my current stuff, to Australia with me.. My luggage is going to be so heavy... And I had a really good weekend. :)

Merry Xmas everyone!

Clockwise: Me, Mark, Leonard, Rodney, Weisi, Wan Ping and DDSW. DD gave us a lunch treat about a mth back to thank us for our contributions to the branch.

Yesterday was my last day at work. It has been so fast. One year has passed and I have managed to get through the year unscathed, even though there were very tough moments and a damn steep learning curve. Made real friends here, given a lot of guidance by my Supts and DD, exposed to things at a higher level.

There were moments when I thought I was not able to perform, when I doubt my abilities, and when I felt I made a wrong move by coming over to HQ. But at the end of this stint, I have definitely came out of it wiser and smarter.

Being in HQ is not as hyped as it is made out to be. As long as you are willing to learn, able to take criticisms, and have some level of efficiency and organisation, you'll survive in HQ.

Having said all that, I'm glad that the stint is over. When we saw the new SAPOs came down to the office for their first day on the 17th Dec, all the SAPOs who were leaving were grinning from ear to ear. Cos it means it's game over for us and we are passing the ball over to the newbies. And I am extra happy cos I get to go off about 10 days earlier than the rest cos my study leave starts this Fri, 19th Dec.

So for the last time yesterday, I took the train to Redhill, bought my choc pancake from Jollybean, ate it as I walked to my office, and once I was at my table, I sent out emails of thanks to my Supts, DD, Principals and Vice Principals I worked with and my friends I made here. DD gave each of us a book on leadership as a parting shot, my new PO gave me a pencil case, my Supt gave me a bag, another Supt gave me a vase...I actually felt sad when DD gave us her farewell speech. The branch has done so many things together!

And cos it was my last day, the SAPOs, old and new, had lunch together for one final time. And I hugged each and everyone of them and wished them all the best. Don't know if I will ever see them again but teaching is such a small fraternity, I'm sure we will meet one way or another.

And with that, I say goodbye to this chapter of my working life, and look forward to the next phase of my professional life. Studying again. :)



My friends. :)

I spent my whole Sat baking. From 11am till 4.30pm. My mom wanted to bake cookies for her colleagues for Xmas and since I am the Betty Crocker of the house, she asked me to help. So I slaved away in the kitchen making choc chip cookies, peanut butter cookies, cornflakes cookies and sugi.

I mixed, and I made the dough, and I dropped them on the trays, and I baked....At the end of the whole thing, I had doughy smelling hair, and hands, and clothes, I had a messy kitchen, I had a backache from seating for so long, and of course, these cookies.

1. Peanut butter cookies



2. Choc chip cookies



3. Cornflakes



4. Sugi



Felt like Hari Raya all over again. Without the Hari Raya songs playing in the background.

Anyway, going to watch Warlords today. Hope it's as awesome as it looks.

Taken from http://www.thecolumnists.com/johnson/johnson70.html

Been a shit week so far. The weekend was spent doing nothing. I just spent my whole Sat and Sun at home, unless you counted going to NorthPoint as going out, which I don't, and watched countless tv shows, slept, and ate and ate and ate.

Talking about eating, I don't know if I'm pms-ing, but I've been eating a lot. For the past few days, I'm perpetually hungry, and when I eat, I don't eat healthy food. I'm usually not a junk food person, aside from my weakness for doughnuts and cakes, which I curb pretty well I think. But this week alone, I've devoured a whole bottle of Pringles Sour Cream & Onion Chips (on my own), in the midst of wiping out another bottle of original chips (on my own as well), had a Cornetto Ice Cream Cone, some nonsense Jap biscuits, had KFC, instant noodles (which I usually steer away from)....Urgh....I usually limit my intake of sinful food to twice a week max, and fast food about twice a mth. But I've been very hungry and hungry for junk food...so I just eat and eat and eat. It's like I have zilch self control. And this week alone, I've only gymmed once on Mon. I better stop before I become a blimp.

Anyway, I'm digressing. I went to get my student VISA done on Mon, where I had to deal with a very very very rude woman who is unfortunately my officer in charge of my case (I'm not even going to bother explaining why she's such a bitch. Just take my word for it), and I had to pay $578 for it. Almost $600 for a bloody piece of paper that allows me to stay in Australia for a year. It's so costly cos of the strong Australian dollars. Shit. It's like Aus$1=S$1.28 or something. This is high, given the fact that the rate was only Aus$1=S$1.21 when I went over about a year ago. I have paid so much money already. My air tix, which set me back $1.4k, my laptop, $1.8k and my stupid visa, $600. That's $4k of my hard earned money. I keep telling myself, it's worth it, it's worth it, it's worth it.

Then on Tues, I met Angela for tea. I had a pretty good time with her, bitching about men.

But I feel....bored. I don't know why. Like, I have no mood to do anything. And just want to stay home and sleep and vegetate. Which is so unlike me, cos all my friends know I'm an energiser bunny who cannot stand doing nothing at home. I hope this mood passes by fast. I hate feeling lazy and heavy.

I met up a VP from my cluster, Eli, yesterday night for dinner and cake. We have been working in the same cluster for almost a year and he is one of the friendliest and least pretentious person I know. If you look at him, you wouldn't even think he's a VP cos he's so laid back. But he's a solid worker and a very, very young and successful VP. 10 years in the service and is already a VP. High flyer.

We have always talked during meetings but we've never gone out cos I felt it was a bit unprofessional. But now that I am already leaving HQ, it doesn't matter cos our relationship is no longer as colleagues but friends.

We had pizza and then tea and cakes at City Hall. Then we walked down to Raffles Place and sat and talked some more. Talked about so many things. I hung out with him till almost 11pm. And he bought me a gift and made me a card cos he knew I was leaving for Australia really, really soon. He's so sweet!

One more friend made. I'm happy. :)

Eli and me, having tea and cakes.

I miss my bf terribly. He's been gone for 2 months and time has passed by pretty fast. I make it a point to occupy myself with 101 things- Meet up friends, go out with family, gym, basically keep myself busy. It's been pretty ok so far. I talk to him everyday on the phone and on Skype sometimes but I still miss him. On most days, I'm ok. But there are some days when I miss him very badly and I start going into one of those moods. But I don't wail or cry or throw tantrums. I just keep to myself, and talk to him, or if it's too late at night, I'll just go to sleep. Yesterday was one of those days. I was shopping at Takashimaya on my own, and I felt a sudden sense of loneliness. I don't know why. Maybe I'm PMS-ing. Maybe cos it has been a while since I physically saw Dev. So I called him and started crying outside Kinokuniya. Urgh....He calmed me down and told me that we would see each other in 6 weeks time. He said we've gone through 8 weeks, what's 6 more weeks? I was fine after that. And went home, watched 'The Search for the Next Pussycat Doll' and ate 2 doughnuts. I felt way...better after that. The wonders of rubbish on tv and doughnuts. :)

But I miss my bf. A lot.

I finally got myself a new lap top. I went down to the SITEX Fair at EXPO on Sunday. The fair started at 11am but we were off by 1015 cos Vidhu said the queue to park will take about an hour, which I thought was an exaggeration. But true enough, we had to wait for almost an hour before we got a parking space. And the fair was very crowded.

Me, being a tech idiot, had no clue what I was looking for. I only knew that I wanted a laptop for me to bring over to Australia, which could allow me to write my thesis, make presentations, surf the net, and chat over msn. Oh...and there should be a web cam. And it should look sleek.

I took note of all these and went around the fair browsing through laptops. I narrowed it down to Toshiba, Acer and Sony and finally decided to get the Sony Vaio. Cheaplah. $1699. Plus $98 for international warranty. My sis helped me download my msn, Skype and what-have-yous. :) So now it's ready for use!

And here's my beautiful lappie. I'm using it as I'm blogging now. Damn sleek.

I got it in white cos I had to top up$300 more for a pink one. Which doesn't make any sense to me at all.



Then on Mon, I met Dev's mom aka Mummy. We met for lunch where I treated her to Desa Kartika, an Indonesian restaurant. Then we went to Marina Square to get her air tix to Melbourne. She's leaving 1st Jan to visit Dev. So exciting! And we had tea and cake after that.

It was nice meting mummy after not seeing her for about 6 weeks. I used to see her every weekend at Dev's place, and sometimes, on weekends, we would go out together for coffee or shopping. But she has been busy with the new baby in Dev's house so it was pretty difficult for her to get out of the house.

Mummy's like the coolest mom in the world. She used to be a VP, then became a school counsellor after retirement. She is very active. She used to bellydance with me, she does tai chi, line dancing, a lot of energy. And we have a lot of similar interests so we have a lot of things to talk about. I get a lot of sound advice from her cos she used to teach as well. I missed her and it was nice seeing her again. :)

Mummy and me. She's 66 but is a bundle of energy. And has a quirky fashion sense. She goes to my hairdresser's to do her hair too.



Hope everyone's having a good week. I know I am. :)

My best friend of 20 years got married on Sat. I went for her nikah (something like ROM) on my own cos 1. Our other common friend, Yuhana is in confinement, and 2. I didn't have my bf with me. So I went to her place at 10am on my own. She looked beautiful. Diana has always been a beautiful person. But on her wedding day, she looked extra beautiful. Very illuminating look around her. And she wore a tudung during her nikah cos of request by her mom. And she still rocked lah. Even with the tudung.

My best friend, before the solemnisation.



Deco in her room. Her mom sewed every single thing here. From the curtains, to trimmings, to bed cover.



A picture with her before she gets married off.



After the solemnisation. She's a maried woman here!



Her husband with the dowry.









I went for her wedding lunch as well with my elder sis and her family. And if I thought she was beautiful during her nikah, she looked even better in the afternoon. Her tudung was off, and she wore an ivory wedding gown. Gorgeouslah. Even my mephew, who's pretty jaded and doesn't give much comments, said she was very pretty. My niece called her a princess and wanted to take pictures with her.

Babelicious right? She's glowing.



My niece sneaked her way into this picture.



Walking down the aisle.



At the wedding dias with my best friend. :)



I told you my niece was so awe struck by her that she wanted to take more pictures with Diana.



Bride and Groom.



Yup, so my best friend is married. I'm happy for her, coupled with a twinge of sadness. And nostalgia. As she was seated waiting for her husband to solemnise the marriage, I kept loking at her and rushes of memories came back to me. When we were only 7, her with her pig tails and me with my tomboy cut, stepping on her fingers cos she was so picture prfect. How we became best friends even tho that happened. How she was always there for me in my ups and downs. How we went to college together and took the bus together every morning. Our first bfs, our first outings to AMK library, our first kisses, our worries, dissapointment, heart breaks. And now, she's married.

To Diana: Congratulations on being married. You are a beautiful person inside and outside and you look replendescent on your wedding day. I am not being biased cos you are my best friend, but you are probably the most beautiful bride I've ever seen. Enjoy your honeymoon and I'll meet you when you get back. Love you darling! Hugs.

I have had such a busy weekend. Wanted to blog a few days earlier but blogger was being a bitch. So could only update today. Wendy, and I met up with Mrs Ong, Mrs Yau, Angela last Fri for high tea at Goodwood Park Hotel. Nice place. Had a great time catching up on the latest gossip with my friends.

Ate so much food that day. Scones with cream and jam, fruits with choc fondue, eclairs, tarts, bread and butter pudding, and other sinful food. All these with English tea and coffee. Very, very nice. Can't wait to be back in school where all my friends are. :)

Photos taken last Fri.

Clockwise: Me, Mrs Yau and Mrs Ong.



Me, Anglela and Wendy



Someone took this shot of me and Angela checking out each other's boobs. NO!!! Such a pain!!!!



The real shot. I preferred the shot above, personally.



The girls