Some notes from the past

Here's something worth sharing from the past; an entry in February almost 2 years to the date.

Monday, February 20, 2006

ONE THING I LIKE ABOUT WORKING

If there is one thing I do like about working, its that when I'm working I don't think about anything else; can't worry about the finances, or how the future will turn out or how people's reaction. It's just me and my work; laughing with the kids at the challenge of teaching them something worthwhile learning. This still holds true. :-)

Audio: -/-
Biblio:
Cerebrio: How is it I can not go shopping and yet spend so much money

Some observations. My entry formats have changed. I think its because I now have less time to listen, to read and to think. A somewhat sad revelation.

Last week turned out to be a 'big' week. I was a completely wasted zombie on saturday. Even the laugh-a-minute Dim Sum Dollies at the Esplanade didn't get my spirits to stay high for long.

Met up with two old friends to get the low-down and major changes in their lives. Lets call them A and B. Two old friends are also engaged (not to each other) which is big news too. I think these turn of events just take a pounding on my insides and I am the sort that needs quiet time to process these thoughts. Not much time for that around here though...

Tomorrow, I'm going to check out this island called Semakau with my kids. I'm pretty stoked. We've got a yacht to take us out to see the sea. Apparently the conservation work that goes on in the island is top-notch. It used to be a dumping ground of sorts but they've done some major work on it!

Of making books, there is no end.

Since the last time I wrote about not having any more books, I've realised two other things.

I was under the impression that ever since being back, my love and habit for reading had dwindled. This was because a couple of the books I was reading were left unfinished when I moved to Singapore - and worse still, I had no desire to crack into them again, nevermind that they were written by notable authors whose books I thoroughly enjoy traveling the world through previously.

Given this strange state, I also stopped buying books because of my endless list of 'books to read'. But I've come to see I still love reading. Phew! This was a real dilemma as I went through Teachers' College: How could I teach reading and literature if I stopped reading!

I didn't so much stop liking reading as I did find myself in a new phase of life in which there seemed to be no books that related. Then there was a certain denial that I may no longer qualify as 'inter-cultural'. (One of my favourite genres, not only because of the couch-potato travelling but because I finding myself in there and empathizing with the characters.)

Yet, somehow, the books stealthily managed to find their way back into my life. Huzzah! And thank goodness! Despite whatever phase I may find myself in, the intercultural books still resonate deeply with me. I imagine this is because that is where my heart lies.

I've since read two books and also added three books to my bedside table. I visited the bookstore but still found myself incredibly fussy about the type of books I want to read. But, we all must be discerning since of making books, there is no end.

You know you are educated in Singapore when...

We are dealing with the topic of Education in our Senior English class this month. They *ahem* certainly like the opportunity to share their opinions and suggestions about what being in the system for the last 10-years has been like.

So, we came up with these....


You know you are educated in Singapore when...
1. You think a week without tests is unusual.
2. You think 'Holiday Homework' is meant to be done on your holidays.
3. Half your classmates are spectacle-wearers.
4. You go for 'enrichment' classes even before you can read.
5. You plan for the final national exams (O'levels) in your first year of school.
6.You spend your spare time at tuition.
7. You are willing to pay an arm and a leg for bootlegged test papers from other schools.
8. Your government discourages you from speaking your lingua franca.
9. You don't care how you get it as long as you get the right answers.
10. You are more interested in your friends' results when you get your test scripts back.

Some Pressure, Some Motivation

Also, as a side note, 2 of my form boys are team players on the school soccer team. The school team were having a bit of a hard time proving themselves on the field despite this season having home ground advantage. Since I was their form teacher and since I am such a strong supporter, I cut a deal with them. For every goal they scored, they were priveleged to do 1 less homework for me (that did not count toward their final grade). For every goal they let the opponent score, they would have to do 1 more piece of work for me. The latter half was actually their idea.

The rationale is this: they work hard on the field, they do the school proud, they do the class proud, they do me proud, they should get some perks. They let the opponent score, they play badly, all the more reason they need to work at school to do well in life ;-)

Yesterday, they beat their opponents 3:1 And both my soccer boys scored a goal each. Hurrah! We are all happy people!

Amazingly, when I met them this morning, they were pleased as peas about their goals - but didn't say anything about wanted to be excused from the long weekend homework...

2 Years Come May

I recently found out that my Singapore mobile phone contract was coming to its 2-year end. Which means to say, *gasp* I have been here for two years come May.

I can't believe I have survived for that long. I will have to survive for another 2 years. *grits teeth*.

This is only meaning to say that the red bag is probably more like 3 1/2 years old. :-(

Time for a new bag

Me: My bag broke. Time to go bag shopping this weekend..."
A: Okay. Lets get you a bag - it can be an early valentine's present!
Me: Maybe I think I could get it mended at a cobblers. I really like the bag. I can't bear to let it go so easy.
A: You can have two! One to go with anything red or black and another to match other outfits."
Me: But then I would always want to use the one my husband bought...

After we bought my new Timbuk2 Plum Black Berry Messenger bag...
A: I like that red bag.
Me: Yeah... its a good bag! (It is a good bag...) and it was only US$50! That's like...SGD$90+ And its been with me for so long all around Japan. Ever since I met you. A good two and a half years at least!
A: I carried it for you in Japan. Reminds me of going to school. Hrrrmm, you could carry the new bag - and I can have the red bag to take to work when its mended!

Like everything else. There are things my red messenger bag could do better but it is a great bag. On the other hand, I checked out how much my new bag would've cost and we saved up to $40 from the listed price online. I also wonder what its shelf life should be since it cost so much more than I would've thought it ought to.

Anyway, now I think I know where to put my Aussie & Japan flag patches.

Lost For A Good Book To Read

I had a whole list of books I had yet to read at the back of my mind. You know, the condition of the bibliophile who buys all the books she wants to read but hasn't got the time?

I realized I had this problem - so I stopped myself from buying books since moving to Singapore. Instead, I figured, I would buy DVDs - they were quicker to get through - till I had got through my stack of books. I figured this would take awhile.

I can't remember when exactly those thoughts passed through my head. But I remembered I had a stack to get through and I would aim to plod through it slowly so I could savour each story.

Today, we went to get tickets for our long weekend away next week, so I went to my bookshelf to get that book I would read by the pool and lo(w) and behold! I went through all of the books and I couldn't find one book from that 'stack'!

So, slowly and surely, I have finished reading the stack. Despite a million things to do from going back to school, a new job, getting married and setting up a new home, I have somehow managed to carve out more time than I imagined to read. I am 15 pages to the end of the book I'm currently reading, Imprisoned In Iran: Love's Victory Over Fear by Dan Baumann from YWAM.

Never in my mind have I ever been at a lost for a book in hand to read. Afterall, "of making many books there is no end"! There are many good books out there but I have not seen (or been looking for) a book to add to the bookshelf.

The books I want to read, are the books that make my heart ache to be somewhere else doing something else, far from the reality I lead here. So, I try not to read those books although they are the ones I enjoy the most. The rest of the books seem like a waste of time compared to the former. So here I am. A lost for a good book to read. Unbelievable.