I had a very good Deepavali long weekend. Monday was a school holiday, so I spent the day for myself. Sat was spent with Maya, collecting my race pack for the Great Eastern Women Run and then a little bit of shopping and gossipping, Sun was shopping time with sis and niece and nephew. So on Mon, I chose to have a leisurely do-nothing Monday. I woke up late (Ok, 9am. Not really late but late for my standards cos Im usually up by 6am everyday!), met Mark, my ex colleague from MOE for brunch down town (went to New York New York. Had the pancakes and eggs...Yum), gossipped a little with him and updated each other on the going-ons in our lives (Has been forever since we last met, about 10mths!) and then I left for the gym. Did an hour of yoga and then did a run. Then took a stroll down to Cineleisure where I had lunch, then went home.

Very simple but I had a good day. Like a day for myself. Sometimes I feel that I'm just everywhere. With people constantly around me. I like to have people around but sometimes, it can get a little overwhelming and you just need that time alone to kind of take stock....and just to enjoy your own company. I forget how much fun I used to have when I was away last year and it was because I was able to get some alone time for myself. I should do this more often. Calms my mind down a little.

About a week and a half more before the start of the school holidays. Im not really exhausted this term. Maybe because it has been a short term, and the craziness was more in the first 9 mths of the year. Things are slowing down....I need to recharge again...Can feel my battery dying slowly.

It has been a relatively quiet week. My babies are gone, cos their exams have ended. So I have been cooped up in the staff room, finishing up my exam marking, doing my markers report, and completing some administration (which is a total pain in the ass). And cos I have completed all of the above, it makes my afternoons really free. Previously, I used to spend it with my kids, talking whilst marking and laughing but cos they are not around anymore, I get really bored so I just go home. And for the first time in this year, I have been going back home at about 130pm and taking 3 to 4 hour naps. Which makes me really alert and awake at night. A rare indulgence.

Yesterday, a group of them came back. This is the group which will be following me to Bali year end. And they came to catch up with me. When I went down to my classroom to meet them, I was so happy and excited. :) Like a sense of familiarity and comfort. I had about 6 students in the class with me, and we chatted, and laughed, and joked, as they fed me with countless of the most rubbish and random stories. Needless to say, I was laughing like a maniac. And 2 of them even brought food for me! Indian cookies and sweets and muruku and doughnuts and a blackforest cake. Angels, I swear.

We ended the day having dinner and again, it was the best. I forgot how much fun these kids are. And they treat me like a princess and I feel so at home with them. I miss them like crazy, seriously. I am so looking forward to my Bali trip at year end cos these people are going to be with me. We are going to trek mountains together, walk down the beaches together, look at beautiful ravines and waterfalls together, sleep on coaches together, watching the sunrise and the sunset, for 8 whole days. I can't wait....

Having said that, my trips for year end are finally confirmed. Im off to Bali for a school trip from 14th till 21st Nov. (I am EXCITED!) Then I take a 5 days rest before I fly off to Melbourne for 10 days, from 27th Nov till 6 Dec. Then I fly back to Spore, and stay in Spore for 2 days before I fly off to Perth for another 10 days, from 8 Dec till 16 Dec. Almost a mth away! Best of everything. I get to be with people I really love for long periods of time; my kids, Nad and Jay in Melbourne, and my friends in Perth!! Rushika, Ryan, Mark, Fatima, Sharifah!!!!!!!!!!! Can't wait.

And to end off the year, Nad will be in Spore from 22nd till 27th Dec! YAY! And Fatima is coming too! 31st Dec till 2nd Jan! Im going to party so hard with her! YAY!

In the meantime, I just have to suck it in till Nov 14th. That's do-able......

Had a very tiring week. I have been going to the Tiong Bahru Exams Centre (SEAB) everyday to collect the GCE 'N' Level exam papers. I wake up at 5 am every morning, leave the house by 530am, to get to SEAB by 6am. Then I have to go back to school, and makes sure everything is ready; the school hall, invigilators, exam papers, for my 4N students to take the national exams. Then I have to be in the hall throughout the duration of the papers since I am the Presiding Examiner for the national exmas. After which, I have to go back all the way to SEAB to return the papers. No joke, I swear. I am so drained....

And cos SEAB is really near town, I have been gymming right after returning the papers. And I have not gymmed in 6 weeks cos of fasting month and getting back to exercising again can be a real pain in the ass. So I gymmed three times this week, I did a 5km run n an abs-buns- thighs class on Mon, a yoga class on Wed and a dance class on Thurs. I was barely functioning by Fri. Over zealous, as always.

And Chin Mai, one of my closest friends from Perth was in town for a whole week! I met him for dinner and cake on Thursday, and then I brought him to the clubs on Sat night. Been so long since I saw him! Like 7 mths or something. Chin Mai was one of my first group of friends when I was in Perth. He was there at every single one of my house parties, clubbed together, went for dinners together, chilled out together....Really , really nice guy. And he did so well for his Masters. He got the top book prize for research and got offered a phd scholarship. Smart ass.

And we had a blast at the clubs. I brought him to a retro club, cos he likes retro music. Sat there for about 45 mins, listened to the live band, and some EnVogue, Rick Astley (I know! It's retro baby!), Salt n Pepa. The fact that I knew most of the songs reminded me how old I am. Then, we went to a club which plays house and trance music, and I was so entertained by the weird people dancing on the podiums, with their luminous colored bangles and shaking their hands like their possessed. Then we ended off the night at a hip hop joint. More my kind of thing. Very nice music but crowd was really young though. But who cares. Good mix of old school hip hop and new ones, even played reggaeton. I like. And then I saw one of my ex students, from the batch of 2004. I actually didn't recognise him, but he obviously recognised him. He got really excited and asked for permission from Chin Mai to dance with me...LOL! It was so funny, and we started dancing and he started hugging me. VERY NOT COOL. I think he was a little drunk, and he kept saying, I cant believe you used to be my teacher. After 4 songs, I decided he was a little too touchy for my liking and decided to leave him. But, it was a fun night.

Here are the pictures I took with Chin Mai....

Brought him to eat Indonesian food.

Ion Orchard

Cannale for dessert

At Clarke Quay

Yesterday was the last day of school for my babies. They are going off for their GCE 'N' Levels on Monday, after which I wont see them anymore till they get their results. And given the new highly stringent criteria of getting promoted to Sec 5, I don't think Im going to see most of them back next year.

And I sent them off, by preparing a powerpoint presentation of the good times we had together as a class this year. Cos we are so close as a class, and we did so many things together, and took so many pictures, I collated all the pictures of various events and class outing that we had done together as a class, and did it up into a powerpoint presentation. And I wrote for each one of them a personalised note, giving support and encouragement. Took me a hell of a lot of time, but just shows how much I love them.

It was really difficult for me to let them go. That's the one bad thing about me. Most teachers are able to disconnect when they get out of the classroom but I have difficulties doing that. I get really attached to each and everyone of my students. And this year, has been an exceptional year for me. What started off as a 'OMG, I got the naughtiest class in the school as my form class' has turned to be one of my best and most meaningful teaching years. This is a highly difficult class but cos of the love and respect they have for me, they have made me enjoyed school so much. The highlight of my day is spending time after school with them, where they will just sit and talk to me for hours and make me laugh with their stories and jokes.

The class always tells me how much they love me, and how much I have made them grow, and impacted their lives, but I sincerely believe that they are the ones who have taught me more. They have taught me patience, care, concern, and unconditional love. The love they shower me is just astounding. They are wonderful people and I have faith in each and everyone of them. And I will miss them like crazy, and I got really emotional when I sent them off. They are not just students to me, but they are my babies.

I'm going to miss all of them so much.