tick tick tick...

Tick tick tick....

I look over at the tiny yellow alarm clock I bought yesterday.




... tick... tick... tick.....



I put it to my ear (it's smaller than my ear).

tick... tick.. tick.....
.... the sound kinda tickles my ear.
Heh.
Tiny tick-ling clock.

Packing Do's and Don't

DO NOT:

• Pack on the very last day.
• Freak out.
• Get emotional about material possessions.
• Keep getting distracted by facebook.
• Chuck stuff randomly into a bag. Unpacking will be a bitch. I promise.
• Forget to eat amidst the packing frenzy.
  

DO:

• Think positive - it's really NOT as bad as you think. Really!
  
• Give yourself at LEAST 3 full packing days.
• Plan - Look at your space and divide it up into categories/sections. Chances are your room/house is already nicely categorized (ie. cosmetics, clothes, kitchenware, etc)
• Work on 1 or 2 sections at a time. Don't look at the WHOLE mess at once. Attack bit by bit.
• Put some happy/motivational music on. Dance, sing, smile, cry while you pack.
• Give yourself rewards and breaks in between. It's no small task!
• Be as unsentimental as you can - a lot of accumulated junk can be thrown or given away. Don't pack it up, ship it, and then end up not using it or throwing it away. Yeesh.
• Remember - you are packing stuff away. Not your life. Differentiate the two.

That being said..., I'm about 70% done and on my last packing day.
Wish me good luck!! :)

The Gym Song (ORIGINAL!)

*cheesy grin*

(note: You can share and/or download the song if you like it. Please like it...)

The Gym Song

Wake up, go to the gym
It's time to get yourself moving
No one else can do the right thing for you, but you.

Takes a little will power
Each time, you will get stronger
Keep your eyes set on the prize
and just move, MOVE!

I know that you're tired
everyone around you is too,
but if you just give up today
then what will we all do? So...

Wake up, go to the gym
It's time to get yourself moving
No one else can do the right thing for you, but you.

Little things that turn your day around.

I was on my way home bone-weary and slightly grumpy... only to find that it was pouring.
ARGH!!!
Work clothes and bag full of papers do NOT make a rain-worthy combination!


So I popped into the small Family Mart on the curb before entering my soi and bought a blue plastic raincoat.

Five minutes later, I was happily plodding down my soi.
Bag safely under the coat.
I couldn't help but smile to myself - the last time I pranced around in the rain, donned in a raincoat, must have been when I was just a kid.



Ahhh... to be a kid. :)

Back in the swing of things...

I guess it's been a while since I've written - really written about what's going on in my life.
Maybe cuz there's been so much!

I'll start with the "lighter" stuff before getting deeper.

Last night I played for a charity gig - the August Bangkok Tweetup organized by In Search of Sanuk. It went swimmingly! Admittedly, it was a little challenging - being a one-woman band playing for such a noisy crowd. But I knew they were having a great time and couldn't help the noise level. Hope I didn't come across to pissy asking them to shut up hahahahahahaa... It's just - unless you have been a solo performer, it's really hard to explain how frustrating it can be (and challenging) singing to a crowd that is too busy shouting at each other than listening.
(tho I know there were some avid listeners, and I was very very thankful for that!)

Anyway, 2 weeks before the gig, I came up with an idea - to make a "Fan Card" to give to people at my shows - just to publicize my music. Yes, it's time to get serious about my music - I did say I'm getting serious now!

So I approached my good friend Deanna cuz she does great designs.

Here's the finished creations (modelled by my gals).


Charmaine, Chervie, Deanna.



Fiona and Laura.



Simply Shimona! ;)


You can read her blog post on the process by which Deanna designed my cards. (I chose 3 designs for print, in the end)

It's been a while since I've posted pics up.... so here are some from last night:


Dolled up for the gig, and ready to go!





Mini-MC Reunion!??!





Look at this MC Alumni crowd! It was awesome! (I didn't even get a proper shot with all the MC alumni in.... too bad.)






Serenading the hot night away....






****

Work this year is different.
I have a completely different role, new challenges, and a new approach to work: it is not my work - it is God's.

I finally came to the realization that I'm not here simply because this is what I like to do, but because it is what I have been called by God to do.
It's very easy to separate spiritual matters from work... but why... really?
Every minute that I live, I am called to live for God.
What I do at work, and how I do my job is no different.
So now I'm learning to let God teach me what I need to do at work... and also to go to Him for advise. Instead of leaning on my faulty human intellect/emotions.

****

Friends/Family/Community

This aspect of my life has been a very interest facet. Well, ok... obviously, it always is - but I've been thinking and praying about it all lot more lately.

The people we interact with - whether it's the family that God chose for us to be born in, or the friends that we make... are put together for a purpose - the purpose of refinement and workign towards spiritual maturity.

One thing I noticed, pre-dominantly in the female friends I have... is that we go through SO much of the same struggles.
Relationships are tough.
Whether they be platonic friendships or more intimate relationships, or familial ones.
We human beings are so prone to muck up everything because of our own selfish desires... and just lose sight of the bigger picture altogether.

Then we have to most important relationship of all - the one that we are so lucky to be able to have - the one with our Creator.

Weighing all the time I spend contemplating my human relationships, how much time do I spend pursuing my relationship with God?

Food for thought..... ;)

****

There's so much more... but I've gotten lazy to write. hahahahaha...
So I'm just gonna post some more pics of my activities over the last few weeks.





This is what I look like driving to work every morning. The glasses are to stop the dust from getting in my eyes. Why ELSE would I wear pink glasses??? :p


The chaos that IS my Counseling Room every lunch hour. (It doesn't LOOK too chaotic, but trust me - you can't HEAR what it's really like!)



Staff "Field Trip" - on the way to a fab Mexican Buffet.




Enjoying the fantastic food... Mmm....




Teachers at work - Staff Training session. (We work hard and play hard!)



I FINALLY got to see the fountain outside the park near my house in action. :)



Dinner with Charz and Ben (not pictured) at our newly dubbed favourite restaurant!



Fooling around with a guard's cap. SSSssshhhh!!




Cute earrings! :p




My flooded soi - the day I wore my gum boots to school (Friday) and STILL got my feet wet.

My New Ride!

Been just a flurry of activities since I got back to bkk.
At first, it felt kinda strange and slightly depressing (the night I got back) - being suddenly all alone, after having the company of my parents for the last month.... but I think I'm adjusting back to being alone again.

Proof that despite my extrovertness, I am a true introvert - I love my space and alone-time. :)



So... yesterday, with the help of a friend from church (thanks Bun!), I managed to purchase a brand new Yamaha Fino! And of course He christened it with showers of blessings from above as soon as we bought it and Bun drove it back to my place from the store. Heh.

Without further ado, I give you.....
FOXY FINO!!!

Ain't she a beauty? :)
Complete with cute box & tiny windshield. Ehehehehe....
I decided on brown despite being tempted by a sexy hottt pink one... cuz I figured the less attention I draw to myself/mybike the less likely to be pulled over by cops and the less likely bike thieves will try to steal my bike. (YES, I bought a chain lock too - u can see it in the pic if u look closely.)
Anyway, brown is totally retro... AND it's the colour of CHOCOLATE. How can u beat that????

Now... before you get all paranoid and give me the too-familiar lecture about how dangerous driving around bkk is... lemme just say - Foxy Fino is a neighbourhood fox. No main roads or highways. Only back sois. I even bought a Bangkok street map (it's a thick book not unlike the Singapore Street Directory) to map my way around the little sois behind my house.



Now, you'll have to excuse me - it's time to explore the neighbourhood and have some lunch! :)

So what DO teachers do exactly (besides teach)???

Here's what I did today that did not involve any "direct teaching time" (in no particular order whatsoever, except the order by which the tasks come to my mind):

• Put together next week's spelling list,
• Wrote the whole of next week's lesson plans for all subjects,
• Encouraged and praised my kids for having learned and matured since they first started Grade 3 (yeah, one of those pep-talk-sermons),
• Printed, cut, signed about 20 some certificates for class awards,
• Talked to 2 of my students about their behaviours,
• Banned 2 kids from the reading corner for fighting with the pillows,
• Updated the Powerpoint slideshow of the class awards,
• Got the class to clean and pack up the class neatly,
• Locked up all textbooks and other items liable to get vandalized by the weekend class,
• Got a new timetable,
• Got confused by the new timetable,
• Worked on the class newsletter (which is pretty much done except for a final check),
• Figured out how to integrate some extra composition worksheets into my Language Arts classes next week,
• Updated the school blog,
• Updated the online classroom,
• Chose the Student of the Week for next week,
• Chose and posted the Big Word of the Week for next week onto the online classroom (complete with online dictionary link and 3 examples of how to use the word),
• Marked journals,
• Ran a Whizz Kids game,
• Supervised class meditation,
• Gave and received a few hugs,
• Taught the kids about how to cheer a friend up,
  
• Ate half a lunch,
  
• In the counselling department, I also:
• Designed, printed and cut appointment cards,
• Supervised my intern,
• Met with a teacher to talk about when to set appointments for student observations and one-on-one counselling time,
• Checked on the progress of the Counselling Room (which should be open for walk-ins next week),

Those are just the ones that come to mind right now.
At least I didn't have to deal directly with any parents today - it can sometimes be quite tiring.

All I can say is.... it's been quite a day!

Album Cover Tag Game

OK, so I did this last night on facebook and figured it's so cool, I should put it on my blog too:




1 - Go to "wikipedia." Hit “random... Read More... Read More”
or click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
The first random wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.

2 - Go to "Random quotations"
or click http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3
The last four or five words of the very last quote of the page is the title of your first album.

3 - Go to flickr and click on “explore the last seven days”
or click http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days
Third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

4 - Use photoshop or similar to put it all together.

5 - Post it to your blog and tag other people. FUN! ;)




ps: I hereby tag you, YES YOU!!!

Hello, how are you?

I'm fine, thank you. And you?




Pleasantries....

Sometimes I really hate pleasantries.
They're just so cursory and meaningless.
Of course when it's said between 2 mere acquaintances, it helps minimize awkwardness.

Maybe I'm just too honest.
I don't see a point in putting up pretenses... despite how I know sometimes those walls are there to protect us.

Maybe I've been "damaged" by the performer in me - where I feel the need to express truth and honesty in my actions, words, and music.... else I become just another shiny manufactured product.




Along with pleasantries are those oft-asked questions such as
Where are you from?
What is your occupation?
Do you have any siblings?

I still have issues with the last question.
Not because I don't want to tell them about my wonderful brother... but just cuz there's a kind of conflict in me - unsure of whether to launch into the whole story, or just be technically honest and say I don't have siblings (anymore - which, when I say that... I feel like stabbing myself for the betrayal).
Either way... whenever I'm asked that question, my heart skips a beat and my response can be pretty automatic and perfunctory.





It's been more than a year... and though this is the reality of my life, sometimes I can't really believe it myself.

I miss him.

Crazy Weekend....

Well, to say the least, there was lots going on this weekend.

Let's see...
I wrote 2 new songs (which I SHALL record and share at SOME point, promise), and performed for the Valentine's Day celebration at NewSong (jamming with the guys was grrrreat!)...
Hung out at a Single's Party after and danced like mad in someone's room after that ahahahha...

Then yesterday, a bunch of us spent the day visiting historical ruins at Ayutthaya Province.
Don't ask me exactly where/which temples/ruins we went to... this is why I don't teach higher level History/Geography!

Pictures will be up sometime this week... when I get my work done.
Lots of work this week - Feb is a short month which means good news and bad news for me...
Bad news - End of month work like class newsletter and awards needs to be done somewhat sooner.
Good news - payday gets here faster! YAY! LOL....


OK, some mundane details...
Today after work, I need to buy a pair of black pants cuz the zipper on my favourite pair broke (ACK!), fix my now well-worn favourite pair of green sandals (what is it with my favourite stuff dying out on me??), give my feet a good soak and figure out what to do with blisters..., and cook (maybe)!




It's Monday.
Sigh............................

Instant Classroom Mood Changer

Today it took me a good 3 hours to feel humanly awake.

A friend suggested that I hold a class arm-wrestling competition, where the class winner wrestles me, to perk the class up a bit.
I was so intruiged, I did it immediately at the end of my previous class.

Immediately, the mood of the class changed - my students were having fun, laughing, and cheering each other on.


That's one thing I've learned - that sometimes if the classroom climate starts getting to a point where it hinders student learning, that just means it's time to slot in a short Mood-Changer!



Ps: The strongest kid in my class is a strapping Indian boy, and unfortunately for him, he got beat by a girl - me. I've been grinning like a fool ever since. Heh.

Ahhh... kids...

I'm quite strict about handing in late work.
If kids don't hand in their work on time, not only do they miss out on playtime during lunch (have to do their work then), they also get their cumulative team points deducted.



This is what some of my kids wrote today
(in a reflection essay on why it is important to do work on time):

The kid that gets shouted at all the time:

"... Late work is not good for me or anyone else.
You will also minus your group
and then they are going to shout at you."




The totally overwhelmed kid:

"... doing work on another day might be bad for us because
we are going behind while we have to do many worksheets and
WB homework TB homework and so many homework
that you ever had in your whole life!"




The business-kid:

"... Imagine you were an engineer and you had to fix something and you waste your own playful time and when you are going to fix it you were two late and then you don't get your salary and then maybe you get fired or no salary for a month you need to
be responsible or else you can lose many things."

Note: I've typed the quotes out word for word, letter for letter...

Busy Busy Busy....

I've been blogging a lot - in my head.... other than that, am pretty busy with work and prepping for the arrival of the parental unit:


MySpace Countdowns


Will prolly update more next week after my folks have left and it's back to just me in my li'l box.


Ps: Baked salmon again and it was 100% better than before! *yataaa!!*

I Feel Naked Without It....

.... left my cell at home today.

Who's Gonna Love Me?

I'm such a loser.
Nobody wants to be my friend.
I can't do anything right.
Why can't I be like her/him?


Admit it... Haven't you thought something like this at some point or other?

As any human being, I've dwelt on these kind of self-deprecating thoughts from time to time.
Today as I walked the passageway towards my Little Box, I caught myself just in the nick of time.
What am I thinking?
Do I really believe this?
I sure feel like I believe it.... but that can't be true!


Now, after some food and a good sit down... (and a firm SOS prayer)
I'm beginning to see the light again.



Feelings are just that eh?
Feelings.

We have a right to feel them.
But it doesn't mean we need to necessarily dwell on them or even believe them.


****

My parents arrive on Thursday!
YAY!!!

****

It's getting warmer in Bangkok.
So why the heck are (some) people still wearing jackets/sweaters/scarves????
Eh....

Back to Work!

First thing I saw after turning my alarm off:




A very round, very bright....

... MOON!





Good morning! :)

Absolutely Fantastic!

This is How Time Flies:

MySpace Countdowns

Oh the Boh-Liao-ness of it All!

One of my favourite things when studying in Polytechnic was listening to morning radio while on the way to school.

There was Joe and the Flying Dutchman, Glenn and Rod... and various other breakfast radio duo combinations.

I'd laugh/smirk/grin to myself in appreciation of inane (boh-liao) jokes, not caring if passers-by thought I was crazy.


Here are some snippets I heard this morning that made me laugh out loud:

**

DJ 1: Apparently 42% of people make new year resolutions.
DJ 2: So few? How come?
DJ 1: Who knows....
Pause.
DJ 1: Anyway, 90% of the 42% have already broken their new year resolutions.

**

"It's a dog's life.
Go pee on a tree."

**


o__O

Investing in the Future

Seeing my two grandmas lately, and even my parents and aunties and uncles who are getting older, has gotten me thinking about old age.

We can't deny certain facts in our lives - we are born, we live, we die.
Some die young, some grow old and die.
Some people, when old, lose control over many things - their physical body, their mental state... it's just a matter of time.

Or is it?


Many of the sicknesses and troubles of old age can probably be attributed to lack of foresight/planning/control in youth.

Let's face it - the great problem of the young is that the young tend to live like there's no tomorrow.
In other words, the young do not usually think,"Oh, if I continue to party every night and sleep late, I will be incurring a huge sleep debt and which might one day lead to Parkinson's when I am old."

Ha.

No, I've been through that blatant blindness, and have passed the stage where I can do something without thinking twice about the consequences.

One of my favourite quotes from this movie called Closer is:
"She has the moronic beauty of youth"
I think it's just so aptly described,
Youth have a kind of beauty that will never be revived - it is a moronic beauty, a kind of beauty that is entirely disrespectful of the reality of life that we live in.
Because at that age, we can still afford to take everything for granted.


Well, here are several articles I came across about how what we do and what we eat affects what kind of old person we will become:
Blood Sugar Linked to Good Brain Health
Brain Malnourishment Triggers Alzhiemer's
REM Sleep Disorder Linked to Parkinson's



So... at the start of this new year, why not start planning:
What kind of old age will you be investing in?