I had the best Chinese New Year weekend. Rushika came to Singapore so after the CNY celebrations in school on Friday, I went to the airport to pick her up. And then the fun and games began. I took her everywhere in Singapore. Well, as much as I could given the limited time we had. So I brought her to Lau Pa Sat where we had satay, bbq sambal sting ray and honey chicken wings, Arab St where she tried Shisha for the first time, shopping at Orchard Road and Marina Square and City Link Mall, Mexican food at Holland Village, Spanish food at Tapas Tree, a Spanish restaurant/bar at Clarke Quay, Alley Bar at Peranakan Place, went to Dempsey Road but it was closed cos of CNY so I was mightily pissed but nvm cos I can bring her again when she comes the next time, and we went to club at the Arena at Clarke Quay. Oh, and we watched a movie as well. Bride Wars at Cineleisure. It was a lot of fun. Honestly speaking, I seldom go to all these places cos Im too busy so it was nice to take a break and actually enjoy my own country.

And it was nice to see Rushi again after 2 months. Felt like old times, like when we were back in Perth. :) Rush, must come again ok! :)

We took like a gazillion pictures so here are some of them.
In my room, before leaving for Lau Pa Sat.

Mark joined us as well ...



My living room.



Lau Pa Sat

Arab St, trying Shisha.

Shopping at Orchard Rd. Rushi tried the potong ice cream and was impressed by the size (huge) and the cost (cheap).

At Clarke Quay, before going to the club.

Yuri, a Bolivian guy we met while taking pictures. He joined us in the club cos he was all alone.

At the Arena, the club we went to. Great music. Danced like crazy. Fun as hell.

At Chijmes.

Dinner and drinks at Tapas Tree, Clarke Quay.

Singapore River, Boat Quay and Fullerton Hotel

And on her last day in Singapore, I brought her for Mexican food at Holland Village. First time she had fajitas. It was YUM!

So I had a good long weekend. Now, it's back to work. I have so much work to do it's scary. Im looking forward to the March term break... 6 more weeks...Breathe...Breathe...

The class had to bring canned food to school and create a hamper to present the hamper to the old folks and the needy to commemorate Chinese New Year. Cos my class is probably, if not, the naughtiest and most- difficult- to- get- things- done class in the whole school, I was telling them from beginning of last week to bring canned food to school. And cos I repeated myself like a gazillion times, the whole class brought a can and some even brought two or more cans! I was so pleased! And me and Chan, being the form teachers, decided to be proactive and brought some as well. :) And during pastoral care session today, the whole class and myself started doing up the hamper. Some packed the hamper, some wrote the breakdown of the costs, some provided a write up on the hamper. A lot of noise. But a lot of fun. :) My class is a Secondary 4 Normal Academic class. Before I got them, I heard a lot of horror stories about them. But it has been three weeks into the school term and they have been nothing but adorable. Yeah, a little noisy, a little cheeky, some are mischievous, but aren't all students like that? I love the fact that they can joke around with me, but still get back to attention when I need them to be. I'm having a ball with the class. So after the whole hamepr wrapping thing, we took a picture of the hamper and I decided to gather the class together and take a class picture. I want to blow the picture up and place it in my classroom. Try and foster class pride and unity. :) And the pictures are hilarious. My boys are one of a kind. Just take a look.

The hamper. Looks a bit distorted but it came from the students' hearts and efforts. The pink wrapper and ribbons are courtesy of me of course. I refused to use the ones provided by the school. Ugly as hell. I kept telling the class, 'Looks fantastic!' And they looked at me and said, 'Ms Khai, don't lie. Its ugly.' I just laughed like crazy.



And these are my boys and girls. The girls are more sedate. Check out the boys in front. Not a single normal shot of them. I actually look normal next to them. :)



That's Chan on the left, my co-form teacher.



My babies..Love them. :)

2 days down before the long weekend starts. I can't wait.

I finally had some semblance of a weekend this week. I'm getting into the groove of work again so am able to plan my time better. So for the first time this week, I actually went home at 330pm on Tuesday. I went home, and took a nap from 4pm till 7pm! Much needed rest. I felt so much better after. The rest of the week I still did those crazy 12 hr shifts but at least I had a good and rested weekend.

I left school at 2pm on Fri and did a few things. I went down to Orchard Road and went for my waxing appointment, then I went to the gym and worked my ass off, then met a friend for coffee.

Then for the first time in two Saturdays I didn't have to go to school. So I slept in and only woke up at 10am! Had a late breakfast, watched tv, surfed the net, had lunch then changed and met Kathy for shopping in the city. And man, I forgot how much of a shopaholic I am. I spent almost $350 bucks. I got a cropped black cardigan, my Clinique facial cleanser, 2 mascaras (1 from Clinique and 1 from Body Shop), body butter, neck gel and eye shadow from Body Shop, a pair of flat shoes for school, 2 spag tops from Giordano, and a sports bra, sports bottom, a nude bra, a coloured bra and three pairs of sleeping shorts from Cotton On Body. Crazy. In a space of 3 hrs. Oh. And a bright pink Mango bag. Big enough to fit my gym stuff when I want to go to the gym after school.

And today, I'm going for a body scrub and massage at Amore Spa. Brought some marking home. Have cleared 1 class of marking and have 1 more to go. But Im really lazy. Think Im going to take a nap before my appointment at Amore.

Short week next week. Looking forward to the long weekend. Rushika's coming on Fri. Can't wait!

I just went through one week of school and I am exhausted. I had so many lessons this week and I was really nervous about teaching cos I haven't done it for 2 years so am a bit rusty. But teaching is like riding a bicycle. Not that I know how to ride a bicycle but everyone tells me that once you know how to ride a bicycle, you will never forget how to do it. And it was like that for me. The minute I was in the classroom, I felt so comfortable. I had so much fun in the classroom. And did so many things with my students. I teach 2 classes of Sec 2s, 5 classes of Sec 3s and 1 class of Sec 4 and I taught, showed them videos, made them do group work, talked rubbish to them, told jokes, jumped around the class...It was so much fun. But cos I exert 110% energy in the classroom all the time, I am drained at the end of the day. I forgot how tiring teaching is. I used to be able to teach, do admin crap and still go to the gym after. This whole week, my gym attire is still stashed at my desk. I brought it on Tuesday, hoping to gym after school but didn't manage to. Hopefully next week I will be able to gym cos I will be more seasoned. Cross fingers. I've been so busy at work and clocking in 11 hrs of work everyday, Mon to Fri. I come in at 7am and have been going home at 6-7pm almost everyday. It's crazy. But I have to cos Im still trying to get used to juggling everything. So a bit of sacrifices for now.

I am looking forward to the weekend. I have to go back to school on Sat for CCA and then on Sunday, I am going to watch 10 hrs straight of American Idol Season 7 rerun. They are showing an American Idol marathon on cable and since I didnt catch Season 7 last year cos I was in Australia, Im going to catch up.

Im tired....Update again soon.

Happy New Year everyone! I know it's a bit late but better late than never. I've had such a busy week! It's crazy. Just preparing myself for school. Got some good classes, some difficult classes, my form class is a naughty one but so far Im enjoying them. Had my first three classes today. And I threw myself right into the teaching. And Im loving it! :) Forgot how much I enjoy being in the classroom.

Im exhausted though so not too much writing in this entry. Loads of pictures though. Went to a party, organised by my ex students on New Year's eve and had a blast seeing all my old kids again. :)

Beam, one of my best kids and Miranda, my colleague.



Some of the kids, with Derek and Miranda.



Zhenping, the sweetest boy in the world. He cooked for me during one of the Teachers Day. Sweetheart.



Jasvin.



Beam.



Zhenping, all grown up n handsome.

Then last weekend, the whole family went out to celebrate my bro in law's bday. Went for an Indonesian buffet at Kintamani, Furama Hotel. Good affordable food. My treat! Cos Im earning again!:)

New Year's resolution for 2009? Do a good job in school, keep working out and exercising, and open my heart. :) Happy New Year again everyone!