LanD of GiAnTs

from left-right: tommy tham(20), yi suan(17), soo seng(14), tony ong(21), soo kang(22), christina ong(24), soo sin(20), hannah tham(14)

on d 3rd day of cny (which is today), i went to ipoh-d yearly routine, however i missed d previous 2-was too bz catching up wif frends in sitiawan.. so, there i was in my cousins' house..
look at me, i aint dat giant after all... i'm d eldest yet d shortest of d bunch.. just wanna prove to those who think dat i'm f** & too t***, it's in my gene, i cnt do anything.. frm today onwards, i'll choose to b happy wif who i m

an OXpicious year..

Wishing my dears an OXpicious Year

to d oxen especially, a blessed year wif greater achievements filled with abundance of WEALTH & HAPPINESS

08 X'maS in SG

exactly today 1 month ago i was in d train heading to singapore...... was rather excited as i'll b spending my christmas in SINGAPORE!!! it started of quite well wif me getting up at 5.30, hoped on a bus which headed straight to d lrt station...

it was indeed a long & lonely journey.. after watching edward scissors hand for d 3rd times, d train finally reached Sg..........

it was christmas eve when i get there.. well, was i surprised to c d 'simple' party at my cousin's place was WOW-d food, people, games and drinks were *double thumbs up*... singaporeans do know how to CHILL...

my touring ard sg started d next day......

day 1 (late morning): Marina Barrage
basically, marina barrage is a huge dam-so there's water all ard.. my tour guide aka cousin who works in PUB (pub is not d 1 in ur mind, it's Singapore national water agency) used to ask me to drink frm d tap without filtration, i alwiz hesitated to do so.. dats y i was brought here to c for myself how clean d water in sg is..

a nice place for recreation-a curving pathway to d green rooftop where kite-flying, sight-seeing (a full panoramic view of the Singapore city skyline can b viewed) & paktor-ing can b done all at d same time..

a high-tech n cool gallery which is also very informative...

d deco are fantabulous too...

d miniature of d dam where visitors can c d whole process from watching falling rain to....

.... water from the reservoir discharging out into the ocean.


d 9 facts of d barrage & d significant ones are flood control, water supply and recreational attractions... dats bout it... say bye bye to d water, millions of plastic bottles and reservoir..

day 1 (afternoon): Hort Park

say hello to greeneries.... very soothing to look at all the beautiful flora.. d different theme of each park makes dis hub rather unique.. Hort Park is actually the shortened term for Horticulture Park and according to the National Parks Board, Hort Park is "a one-stop gardening hub for gardening-related, recreational, educational, research and retail activities under one big canopy in a park setting".

an enormous pomelo grew from a petite tree...

a circular garden surrounded by bamboo wif me in d middle...

d yin & yang garden.. notice d grass-amazing right?

beautiful plant isnt it but hav no idea d name of it so i called it 'cabbage'..

fascinating huh, a long stretch wif lotsa gardens n flowers.. dis park is absolutely worth a visit..

day 1 (nite): Kent Ridge Park
met up wif d beh siblings and went for a walk (a long 1) after a sumptuos dinner...

there we (d 2 who lurve to b in d pix) were in front of a tank..

day 2 (morning): Sentosa
needless for me to say nethhing, every1 knows Sentosa Island...

first stop, d merlion-a huge 1 compare to d 1 not in sentosa... we hav a very intelligent & knowledgable tour guide, pith soh.. quoted a line frm his blog, "Please note the scales on the merlion, it’s a shape of a ‘Bagua’, the fengshui / taoism stuff…just if you guys don’t know, the 1 dollar coin and other banknotes like the $10 also bear the ‘Bagua’ symbol". i neva know bout dis (understood coz i dun read much) but my cousin who has been living there does not hav any clue as well... (pix courtesy of pith soh)

d usual us in front of d merlion... (hope u readers out there wont get tired looking at our faces)...

d 2 cameramen (yong's bro, pith soh n my cousin, dawson) finally appeared.. we were at d merlion's mouth..

next stop, images of singapore... we spent quite some time in dis building becoz it was very impressive.. greeted by magnificent presentation of how singapore come about.. d hologram was unbelievable.. d wax figures were so real.......

sandwiching a real 'ghost' (not made of wax)... a funny guy who admitted dat he eats incense n will sometimes appear in d pix, n ii'm glad he did appear..

us again on an antique bike..

wud lurve to join their reunion dinner-it looks yummy..

asking d fortune teller to giv me some 'signs'

1 n only groupie taken at d malay village..

us at d LUGE, after a long queue..

can u read dat, it says: Southern most Point..

saw me?.. didnt receive any pix of me on dis hanging bridge.. so, show u guys my cousin wif his coke..

climb 3 storeys up just to take dis pix...

fort siloso (i memang si b*d*h for choosing dis place)... oni get to walk, walk n walk n look at tanks, artillery, missile....

there's exhibition (wif detailed elaboration) on all d wars happened in sg.. shud hav visited dis place when we studied history (i might b more interested after looking at all those 'gorgeous' sweaty army)

1st time riding a double-decker bus... very windy n d feeling was beyond words..

ok, dis is a skyride which come together wif LUGE (a scary ride but d others lurve it, n for them, once is neva enuff).. saw my muka penakut? i closed my eyes most of d time, it was super scary (it's as if riding a cable car without protection) when it stopped in d middle and swing, i was like omg, m i going to walk out of sentose alive?

day 2 (nite): tian xiau er

it's dinner time, how glad i was.. i had a eastern-style dinner, very yummy........

oni d 2 of us, but can u c d numbe of dishes-prawn, beancurd, duck, fried rice.. tsk tsk tsk-very greedy but all especially XO fried rice *thumbs up*.. gonna miss d food...

day 3 (morning): Sentosa

we didnt manage to catch d pink dolphin & 3D, visited sentosa 2 days in a row.. grrr, blame d holiday season-all our time is spent on queuing.. but there's oni my cousin n i.. yong n bro went home already..

b4 seeing d dolphin, we hav to visit d underwaterworld.. d underwaterworld is rather small if we compare it to d 1 in langkawi but more fish.. if u wanna hav a shot wif d dophins, u need to pay a sum-forget bout it coz thian thian did say "d dolphin is pink becoz they r affected wif penyakit kudis"..

how can i leave sentosa without a pix of its beach...

day 4: Chinatown

my cousins wan me to experience d cny mood in chinatown... it was just days before x'mas but i was lucky becoz d cny deco is up.. wat can i expect in singapore's chinatown? more chinese??

not really, there were lotsa tourist (as if i'm not 1) n i got some cheap shawls-regetted for not buying more..

tasted lotsa food.. n glutinous rice ball is one of them... it's special becoz of d filling-black sesame wif peanuts gravy n u can get it all year long (no long wait for d festival)..

the buddha tooth relic temple, also a museum and on d roof, there's a beautiful garden.. once again photo grabbed from pith soh...

d inner chamber.. wif my cousin ann who had just given birth to a prince charming.... a very beautiful and unique temple becoz of d beautifully carved Buddha images on d walls..

den i had my dinner at Clarke Quay and had our walk at orchard road to witness d workers removing x'mas deco........ dat's how i end my trip... though i was there for 5long days and 4long days in my previous trip, i have just managed to cover not even half of sg.. hmmm, nvm-will b there again when rayson enters kindergarten....

p/s: to my avid readers, sorry for not updating my blog regularly.. hope u guys wud enjoy reading dis long-winded entry...

NoTTy stUDEnts of miNe

i've talked a lot bout my students.. now, come and meet them..... they can be sturbon, disobedient, lazy and drove me up the wall most of the times but i must admit without these students, my days in iic would b dull... they were my previous sem students, surprisingly i missed teaching them.. by teaching them, i've learnt to accept d differences in every human being.. being different is not a sin infact it's a gift..

d top scorer: zureka... i'm impressed wif her as she managed to score 93 for my subject...

my 2 brilliant and diligent girls: ain and irfa..

these r the ones who neva skipped my class.. frm my right clockwis: azurin, mardiah, zalina, suria, hasima, aini and linda..

another bunch of well-behaved girls: haswani, laily, suraya, yuhaniz & ruhayu...

d boys who always make me giggle: syafiq, abu, taufiq and hafiz.. another 1 (raja) was absent.. they were my angelic devils... they alwiz cheer me up in person n their essays.. i'll alwiz remember d day when i taught them to sing 'Que Sera Sera'-d pronunciation of 'que' was turned into 'kuih'.......

d bunch dat girls were craving for: d 2 izzudins, aidi, ashrof and irwan d playboy.. all performed beyond my expectation.. i'm more den happy dat they walked into my life..

from them, i know i cant b racist and i learnt not to lose my temper easily when unnecessary and unanswerable ques were asked.. i hav to accept d differences of culture of my students..

from them, i learn how to rebel.. be wat i wanna b..


from them i learnt friendship n happiness.. these r d 2 most significant elements in their life, d rest r secondary.. it is d oni class dat every1 talks to every1 unlike other classes where they have their own group..

from them i learnt to b humble at d same time arrogant.. they taught me keeping silent will bring me nowhere, at d same time forbid to brag on d knowledge we possess..

to ms. christina's students, *if oni u r reading dis*: Just want to tell you guys, how grateful and pleased to have you as my 1st batch of students.. Every single one of you has left a mark in me, though you guys were naughty and annoying at times but I enjoy teaching all the 180 of you… u guys wud b d ones i missed most if i happened to leave iic one day..

so far, so....

*continuation of d title* miserable...
i need to focus!!! concentrate!!!
do not knnow wat is going on wif me recently (since d beginning of dis year)-i hav been living in misery since i got bk from my holiday...

things go haywire, me too..
1st, some dirty food make me sick for 2 long days..
2nd, got some serious scoldings where i dun even hav a chance to speak (i just lowered my head n accept evything-it's a reprimand, wat can i do-he is far more superior n better in it) from 'a frend' for my wrong fingering while playing d 2 strings instrument.. y on earth i opt to join dis club during my first sem in uni? becoz i lurve music, n wud like to try sth new.. i'm happy when i was able to play some songs wif it but do i deserve scoldings for failing to curve my fingers (it's a habit i acquired since i started learning piano when i was 9).. izit a sin, to not to cut my fingernails... i'm not gonna earn my living by playing dat instrument.. loosing my dignity is 1 thing, tarnishing my passion is another-at d end, i did not get to enjoy myself during d reunion as i was still bothered by wat had happened in d afternoon.. *sigh* dis had happened b4, it was more to a rebuke... have undergone several unhappy moments in dis club yet i m still sticking wif it-wat d hell is wrong wif me?- as for now, i did feel a lil' regret - i shud hav joined some other clubs n mix wif ppl from d same bkgd..
3rd, failed to answer 2 phone calls which i assumed r frm utar headquarters..
4th, i left a number of important documents which i need them quite badly for my new job application in d office..
5th, d bus dat i travelled in broke down in kg.koh just now (thank god it has reached kg.koh, not somewhere in d highway) and at dat moment i really had to pee and my dad was still on his way (it was a torture, trying to hold bk n carrying my luggage)
6th, still pondering y m i so upset, who or wat is causing dis?

can u c, y everything doesnt seem right? when will things turn out good? when m i going to get my life in order??
at least i know how to comfort myself: everything will b fine during cny, it's d ox year (my year-remember?) *keeping my fingers cross*

izzit TRUE?

i think it's pretty true..

moral of d story: dun club in order to avoid all d fuss-ohh, it applies to me oni, not to u 'happening' girls out there...

sick + sad

dis is not my year......
d 7th n 8th day of 2009, i was laying on my bed...
throwing out 5 times from midnite til dawn.......

havent been dis sick for as long as i can remember,
so i was bed-ridden for 2 long days..

no one cares for me (wat can i expect, staying wif a bunch of strangers)
d aunty especially (i think she hates me), when i asked her to drive me to a clinic, she was so reluctant, dropped me n off she goes (god knows where)..
when she came to pick me, i was dizzy n d discomfort of my tummy was real bad....
dont u yearn for some attention when u r sick???

d level of stressfulness staying in dat house is undescribable,
i hav to be very careful wif every movement, my every action is like being watched..

for dis coming long cny break, i will search for a job in sitiawan, doesnt matter d post, if there's someone or a company/factory/school/bank hiring me, dats it: I WILL QUIT MY CURRENT JOB & SHIFT HOME IMMEDIATELY!!!

why GOD created TEACHERS?

"A Teacher presents the past, reveals the present and creates the future."

i've been doing a lot of thinking recently..
yet i cant find d answers for what i'm looking for...

does a teacher live in fear?
fear of d surroundings/people etc etc....
talking about fear, my sleep has neva been peaceful...

does a teacher worry as much as i m?
d minute i open my eyes, d 1st thing dat struck my mind is "will d bus come?"
wil my students come to d class?
n why arent my students listening to me?
am i dat bored?
y dun they listen to me? (it hurts when no1 is listening to me and i feel like an idiot talking and writing on d board in front alone)

does a teacher feel demotivated to teach a class wif very small number of students?
smaller number, easier to handle-no u r wrong, it's as difficult as handling 35 grown-ups wanna be.. i dun get any cooperation becoz wat they want is me dismissing d class early...
d urge is here (there's a little devil in me asking me to quit n enjoy my stay at home but d angelic side of me is stronger, wat will happen to my students if i leave them like dis?)

so d question is: shud i quit being a teacher and be a corporate lady who wears formal smart looking clothing with heels?

before u answer, u hav to know, i'm a pessimist, a self-doubter, i scare being among d strangers and i'm not interested in counting/math... so, wat shud i do??

p/s: i know dis is not a very good entry for dis brand new year.. apology..