i am a flower quickly fading

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

friends

another really good place at serangoon gardens
tasteful elegant decor and atmosphere
plus great food at pretty reasonable prices - 12 bucks for a set lunch

lunched there with ms kwok and aaron
her thanks for us helping out with othello
we just ordered nearly everything on the set menu
there were 3 variations for the starter and main course so we ordered one each
and there is a 'high-tech' pepper crusher for cheap entertainment

im going to the gardens so often
not that its a bad place:)

8:09 PM
heaven in a wildflower

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

data entry

its so boring that even doing it at home doesnt help with much
but at least i get to slack and watch tv/surf the net at any time

but im never going to do it again
the words are not so bad
its the numbers that are making my eyes cross

1:44 PM
heaven in a wildflower

Saturday, May 26, 2007

year 1 sem 2

GEK1012 contemporary social issues of singapore: B+
SE1101E SEA: a changing region: B-
GE2218 leisure, recreation and tourism: A
GE2224 geography of social life: B
GE2225 methods and practices in geog: B+
CAP:3.75

i actually forgot that today was the release till like 10 in the morning
got a little jittery and started envisioning estremely bad results
cos i felt that the exams papers were not well done at all

mildly disappointed for social issues cos my term assignment and project were good
and i thought that the exam was not too bad
south east asia is a relief actually
i prepared myself for worse results - average term paper and bad exam
the 3 geog modules are each kinda expected
according to my term performances and feelings after the exam papers

as for the CAP
thank God it improved:)
not very big an improvement but its on the rise

this sem's results are really by the grace of God
and the many group projects that saved my butt
i havent been as hardworking as i ought to in terms of studying

Thank God once again:)

3:14 PM
heaven in a wildflower

Friday, May 25, 2007

words kindergarten teachers hate to hear

at least i cringe when its directed to me

1."ms lim seeeee..."*kid points finger to somewhere/something*

it usually means someone spilled alot of water on the floor or self
or dropped food on the floor
or someone pee-ed on the floor
or horrors of horrors someone puked somewhere

well i only help to clean for the first 2 scenarios
the main teachers handle the others

2. "ms lim, XYZ hit/push/say shut up/take my place.."
sigh..must play the mediator
and if not done to the satisfaction of the kids,
some are capable of going home and complaining to their parents
= love letter for the teachers to answer

and the worst one..
"ms lim, i got stomachache"
go figure

11:46 AM
heaven in a wildflower

Thursday, May 24, 2007

practice makes perfect

a cousins addiction in boggle has its merits
after playing every week..
my pri 1 cousin won first place [for her age] in a boggle contest in school:)

10:37 PM
heaven in a wildflower

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

the universal solution

body temperature a little too high = drink water
having cough = drink water
having a runny nose = drink water
dun want to eat any more = drink water
just recovered from any illness = must drink more water
have ulcers in the mouth = drink water

it no wonder the kids have to visit the toilet so many times in a day.
what enters the system must leave too what..

i worked the last day of this term today:)
no school the next 2 days cos of parent-teacher meetings
in total i worked just abt 3 weeks this month
and im almost certain that im going back for a while in term 3
each party needs each other mah

and the cook of the kindergarten is retiring:(
no more really nice lunches or food anymore..
but the teachers are giving her a high tea treat which they have asked me along
its a slightly weird thought - like what im i going to talk to everyone abt?
but they are all nice people so i think things will be fine lah:)
probably will end up talking abt uni and stuff
and at least half the time in chinese too!

4:41 PM
heaven in a wildflower

Friday, May 18, 2007

best weight gain method

*this takes a leaf from the "best weight loss method" post done in jan. i have no idea how to do hyperlinking to a post so you have to look for it yourself. and someone teach me?

its go to be to work in kindergarten
seriously all the walking home from work and general working with kids
isnt enough to burn the calories that im ingesting

and why? let me count the ways..
1. the teachers buy stuff to treat each other to eat. since starting to work in BA i have had soon kueh, min chang kueh [peanut pancake], butterfly bun/fritter, a slice of marble cake and had a cup of soya bean milk. there was a dumpling too but i didnt eat it in the end. and all these is on top of the good lunch that the job provides.

2. the kids have a daily snack that ranges from rice with steamed egg to dry hor fun to biscuits. for the bread and pandan cake or "malay cake" [as i know it, not sure the exact name] the auntie usually slightly overprepares in case the kids want extra. and if there are leftovers she needs to "get rid" of them. and she has taken to asking me to bring them home. today the bag of 'butter and sugar' bread she gave me can feed my family for 2 breakfasts! and we [me, mom and bro] finished it by the night..looks like my family is on the way to piling some pounds too..

3. the endless supply of birthday cakes that kindergartens have to endure. seriously a week cannot go by without someone celebrating a birthday. and often the cake is also distributed among the teachers. today was particularly bad cos there was 3 seperate parties which actually translates to 3 slices of cake to eat. i ate one [ the kid was from the nursery class], conveniently forgot the one in the fridge and declined the last when it was offered.

4. the fact that once i reach home i just 'nua' and surf the net and stuff. extremely sedentary plus there is something abt using the computer that makes you hungry easily so snacking becomes pretty common. i have attributed it to my early lunch at abt 1120 everyday - by say 4pm confirm hungry again right?

no wonder some teachers have commented that i have lost weight
i was too well-fed the last time, and now too

11:18 PM
heaven in a wildflower

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

sick fellows

- yesterday
the kids in the kindergarten are dropping like flies
especially for the afternoon class
the day before 8 out of 20 kids were absent
and today the sick toll increased to 10
the class feels extremely empty

really hope i dun catch anything from them
we sent a boy home yesterday cos he puked and had a fever
and i was the one who had to change him out [teachers were cleaning up the place]
pray it isnt stomach flu or something horribly contagious
i have been taking redoxen almost religiously everyday since i started work
so far it has been working quite well:)

-today
the attendance is much better
though most kids have disgusting hacking coughs
not a good thing cos many just cough out without covering their mouths
imagine all the viruses that are floating in the air..

but God has been very good
i havent fallen sick yet
except for a day of a seriously irritating runny nose abt 3 days back
have still been strong and healthy so far though:)
if i recall accurately within the first month last year i fell sick twice
guess im getting smarter at "siam-ing" the germs huh:)

7:09 PM
heaven in a wildflower

Sunday, May 13, 2007

drama night and related happenings

aaron and i as "assistant directors" with ms kwok aka mel. we were more like figure heads lah but well we did go down to help and do random stuff from running scene sprints to applying make up for the cast. i guess if only we did this during our A level year, we would understand Othello a lot more and pick out the little details that only numerous readings/hearings/watching would bring.
the "super thick skin" j4 drama seniors. but hey we still think it important to support the juniors that have come up behind us. also in picture is wan jin, su zhen, ben, terry. too bad jasmin had to go off early. we are still so chummy that even our clothes sort of colour match. haha..not, we last met during 2006's drama production! and erm..2 bodies inside are imposters - jerry and emil:)
the a2 people who went on saturday. py and gan watched on friday and both are extremely photo phobic - at least py is. you can probably notice drama people and a2 people overlap quite a bit:) [the 2 imposters are still inside] and that includes the teacher too.
a nice back shot of the "castle koppies" of a2. nice huh:) and it was taken by me:) the walking on the track to get out of the school via the back gate is an activity that is missed by most. i hardly ever did unless we were going to places like the j8.
wan jin:) a dear friend i made in year 1 when we participated in the drama syf production. and although she left school at the end of year 1, she never quite left drama:) we are at ice cube in the gardens.
jerry's ice cream and included a "magic potion" that came in a test tube. its basically a glorified and alcoholi-fied version of cookies and cream ice cream. and thats aaron having the honour of pouring the baileys into the desert. cheap thrill i know:)

the messy table shots after we have been sufficiently satisfied. those are the blue lit tables that produced scary looking pictures. and the metal pot on the fondue set is a replacement cos the waitress toppled the first one while bringing the tray to the table. the poor girl dropped a fair bit on her own jeans.
the group who was at ice cube.

anyway..my terribly busy time is over:) drama productions ended the last show tonight and well aaron and i, having sat through many shows, were getting rather bored. we could pick out bloopers and messed up lines. but the meeting up with old, some literally long-time-no-see, friends was very good:)
after the show some of us decided to go and hang out. and where else besides the gardens? we went to ice cube again and spent a good 92 bucks there! well it was 7 people and we ordered quite a lot of food - 3 starters of calamari rings, mozeralla cheese sticks and cheesy fries, wan jin and i shared a fondue set while the boys had individual deserts and terry and emil ordered some main course thing. we sat at the high top blue lit tables that gave our faces an eerie shade of blue/green if a pic was taken without flash. we had a lot of fun with that although the pics look rather scary, seriously.
it was eat eat eat and talk talk talk basically. mostly random stuff with occasional laspes towards army life [as usual]. and i guess cos it was mostly a2 people there we talked a fair bit abt classmates, a little exclusive i know. but i think it wasnt too bad and everyone sufficiently enjoyed ourselves:)
finally left at abt 1230, actually told my parents that i should be back by 12.. man..my frequency of staying out late is shooting the charts recently. luckily my parents are still ok with it. i got a ride home from wan jin's mom. and we realised that she sent a christmas card to the wrong jane lim! haha..quite a hilarious thought actually. although rather embarrassing for her..
really had fun tonight. and we always say it but we should do it more often..else its like once a year meeting [for the drama people] only. at least the a2 people meet roughly every 3-6 months:)

1:16 AM
heaven in a wildflower

Friday, May 11, 2007

a life alive

each time i think that im "dying" - the gross exagerration we often casually use
i get a jot to remind me i am alive
well and truely alive

10:27 PM
heaven in a wildflower

Wednesday, May 09, 2007

when home = hotel

so far this week
i having been eating dinner at home at all
and for the next few days too

well..i havent been home earlier then 1015pm in the first place
*i "cheated" on mon and tues when i had a couple of hours in the afternoon
and this is to remain constant at least till sat

still have to wake up early for work
tired man

10:57 PM
heaven in a wildflower

Tuesday, May 08, 2007

choc fondue lesson

heat fondue chocolate too much
it starts boiling
and seperating - the oil floats over the cacoa

fortunately the process is reversible
but it was mildly scary while it lasted

11:30 PM
heaven in a wildflower

Sunday, May 06, 2007

pure indulgence

3 people
a swensens 8 scoop earthquake

9:08 PM
heaven in a wildflower

Friday, May 04, 2007

'happyness'

to a four year old kid..

-running around a basketball court/playing in the playground. hear their laughter and squeals and you will really feel the joy oozing out of them:) its really heartwarming watching them run with their hands spread out and their hair dancing in the wind.

-being praised for cutting something out well. the kids today really tested my drawing skills - from triangle to square to rectangle to circle to heart to star. some collected coloured paper cut-outs of each shape and they beam when told that its good. well..some were really quite good for their age.

-putting both hands over the mouth to give a flying kiss at the end of the school day. mmmmmu-AHHHH [something like that]

-seeing mommy [or the equivalent] at the end of the school day. machiam release from prison like that.

-being different for the rest of the kids. this is going to be hard to explain..but girl W asked me to read a book for her and as usual a group of them swarmed around wanting to listen. i sat one one of the kid-sized chair, placed the book on the table and started reading aloud. it got a little crowded and so i picked up girl D who was closest to me and placed her on my lap [actually picked up isnt very accurate cos she is on the bigger side] she was so smug about it and gloated to her friend "see..i sit here:)"

6:05 PM
heaven in a wildflower

Thursday, May 03, 2007

working holiday

been back at the kindergarten to work since weds
its the same group of kids that i worked with last year
so its good lah..most of them are familiar
and some of them vaguely remember me

most things are basically the same as pre nursery
except the work they do now are slightly more "chiem"
and i have more stuff to do this year cos they are really shorthanded
not teaching but things like temperature taking and simple admin jobs
and school dismissal - handing them back to their parents/maids/"fetchers"
had to do the afternoon class alone today
was pretty stressful cos i havent be able to recognise alot of them
so i handled the problem by..
*open the door*
"hi..im sorry i cant recognise everyone yet so you all have to tell me the child k"
well..helps that the kids know who is supposed to fetch them

but its great seeing how a year of school did good for them
stuff that they couldnt do last year are pretty ok this year
like greeting teachers in the morning and singing properly to songs
and going to the toilet on their own instead of having someone [me] watch over
and its really cute listening to 4 year olds say "you're welcome!" albeit automatically

this year is slightly more tiring compared to last year cos there are more kids
but overall i still really like the job
the kids make it pretty easy to like it
except for a few 'hair-pulling' moments like tantrum throwing kids
well..i have kinda learnt how to deal with it since last year
so still can lah:)

8:54 PM
heaven in a wildflower