Life is a bed of roses, with thorns. :)

The era of auntie-hood...

Little N must have been thinking, 'who the hell is this auntie...'

Haiz... growing old is mandatory, but growing up optional. >:P

天时地利人和。

天时地利人和很重要。英雄若生不逢时就无用武之地。况且我也并非英雄。

针无两头尖，做了抉择必定要有牺牲。要坚持还是要另寻出路，是非难论。

回头草我也吃了，感觉是又熟悉又陌生。 有时信心十足， 有时却有种被轻视的感觉。 怪不得人，起初选择离开的是自己。

说也奇怪，回头草本身的天时人和不在， 但它竟是个踏脚石。若没‘回头’，就没有那次偶遇。。。 The rest is history. :P

结果是好是坏还太早定论，但到目前为止我还没后悔 。只是看到刚收到的邮件，得知帆船教练课即将为老师们开班，心里还有点痒痒的， 有惋惜的。。。

的却说实话，以我的资格，在帆船圈子里若不努力挣扎的话是无法立足的。或许我不够执著，或许帆船与我之缘份也不过是如此。已尽。

Thoughts of the past...

Open minds close gaps.

Clear thoughts cloud doubts.

Calm hearts disturb fears.

Still prayers move mountains...

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Visited colleague in the hospital for the second time in a few days. He had an operation to remove fragmented spinal discs and he seemed to be in a better shape and less pain now. The common conversation invariably becomes one on work related issues. Some things and people take time and education to change.

Another colleague who went visiting with me went for dinner after that. She related how busy and unbalanced a working life she had previously that there wasn't even time to settle her bills and the likes. Her friends were also her immediate colleagues and she lived and breathed her job. But at the end of the day it didn't matter even if one went an extra mile or not. Had to get own priorities right and do what had to be done.

I went back to my former school as I knew some of my ex colleagues had to stay over to prepare for the annual camp. They were having dinner opposite the school at the coffeeshop. Met my former sailors there too. It was nice. But my ex colleagues looked really tired, and the kids too actually. As usual the whole coffeeshop knew who I was as the kiddos greeted me in a sailors' voice. Yes, I have moved on but part of me still gravitate towards the sailors. For now...

Animal Misadventures...

Random post:

I want to go jogging but the shoes are in the wrong country. Hahaha...

While shopping for books just now it suddenly occurred to me that I have had several misadventures with animals. But yet I kind of still like them. There are others who develop phobias after one or two traumatic encounters. Guess I am dense?

Animal misadventures:

1) Got chased by monkeys. (Long long time ago.)
2) Got chased and almost bitten by a big black dog in Bangkok. (Again, long long time ago and with an interesting story featuring the spiritual world.)
3) Got bitten by snakes and centipedes and bats. (Research, surveys or gardening... the snakes were only mildly venomous... remembered that my sis went on to chop the baby centipede thaat stung me into pieces...)
4) Got grabbed by a chimpanzee in Jakarta Zoo also long time ago. (Had a shock, cried and went over to pat another monkey... haha)
5) Got twisted by an elephant as it tried to eat plastic with peanuts again in the Jakarta Zoo. (That was just prior to the chimpanzee grab... also explains why I cried at that time I suppose.)
6) Got hit on the head by a baby elephant in Thailand as I was afraid of handfeeding it bananas and threw it on the floor for it instead. Yes, that was again long long time ago... Afraid seems to have been lost from my dictionary...
7) Brushed an urchin while trying to avoid 10 more. Oh almost touched a stonefish... doesn't really count I suppose. Haha...
8) Stung by jellyfish. Or and got stung by something unidentified while sailing... throbbing pain, but went to sail again nonetheless...
9) Stepped on a toad barefooted and had a swollen, itchy sole for about 2 weeks.
10) Got attacked by clownfish. Yes. Got attacked by nemos... -.-

Haha...

Hmm...

Yes, I am in holiday mood. It feels pretty odd as my other friends are working. The teacher friends of mine just had their term break, which to them was like term 1 week 11. Heh, this term 1 week 11/12/13/36 term has had been an insider joke for some time to come already, coined by one ex-colleague. The situation has not improved. This is what teachers in Singapore have been facing and I don't think I can survive that kind of work life anymore. Shudders.

Anyway tomorrow onwards I will have to switch to research mode and be good, read up the materials and prepare syllubus. Hope things will be clearer by the end of this week. Laws of attraction... think good positive thoughts. Hehehehe...


是风在动还是云在动？非也；是心呀。

We are the choices we make.

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No more horsing around...

Was practising my push kicks last night on a wooden partition that didn't move much to my previous weaker push kicks before I trained in MTTC. But last night it shifted about 5 to 10 degrees and startled my walking tissue boxes and teddy bear and myself. My domestic helper came out of her room to check as she thought something fell. O.o

For now I shall just shadow... Heh...

Anyway, I still have so much to learn, to control my temper etc... there but not there yet.

Hmmm... 会不会是一厢情愿想太多? Hehehe...

Gonna raid the bookshops...

Heh, am back in Singapore for the term break. Had the possibility of not being able to come back as planned just a few days back due to some documentation and red tape issues. But things have been smoothed out at the end of the day. Goodness, have to really say, life has been treating me well!

For some reasons my lappie decided to play havoc with me though... now the touch pad and the web cam is not working. It has been a long bad IT day for my lappie for some reasons. In the end had to borrow a mouse from the school com lab. Hehe. This will be a working holiday, will have to bury myself in libraries and raid bookshops and start to set papers. BUT there will still be time to meet up with friends la. Last time it used to be 70-80% of the holidays burnt. Now it's probably closer to 40%.

Won't be going to Perhentians, but my future term break is right smack in September in the middle of mola season... a whole 2 weeks! Muahahahahaha, finally?!?! Let's hope I would do a wakie and prob private muay thai session somehow in these 2 weeks. Go disturb the sailors maybe? Hmmm... Haiz, the sad thing is that most of my friends are working now, will have to meet in the evenings or in the weekends... Heh oh wells.

Another Fri the 13th :D

Had an eventful Friday the 13th yesterday. Hehe... and to think that it is the second Friday the 13th this year. Eventful but not stressful or suay fortunately.

I berated one student after marking his mock exams papers. This student had the potential. But his handwriting is bad, he writes too much and often gets carried away and writes out of point. It is heartbreaking to see his work. Pages and pages packed with words that are worth very little because it is out of point. The lack of paragraphing didn't help.

I had reminded him nicely at least 3 times in class what his problems were, but still no changes in the mock exams. Not even a visible attempt. I got so mad that I actually seeked him out to give him a piece of my mind. His classmates were stunned. He seem visibly shaken, I suppose I was a little harsh in my tone too. I do hope it got the message through though. Haha. Then I had to speak to another of my student who freaked out and didn't perform for his paper. This one I didn't berate him. He needed to be calmed down, not given a stern warning. Not that I haven't scolded students before but this is the first time I got so fired up that I seeked out the kid in a short time after marking his paper to give my piece of mind. Not professional I suppose, but some issues had to be addressed when it is still fresh. See how it goes now...

I got so inspired by my colleagues that I started a FB group (yeah only now then I started one) called Singlish, not only la! I am happy with the support I get, heheh. After last weekend's trip, I get to know more colleagues etc and have more people to talk to now. Hehehe nice.

I had a really good muay thai training session. Refer to previous blog. Hahaha!

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Had my hair cut too short at the back. -.- Lol... had hair cream bath and it was nice! Finished marking my papers in the morning too. Happy happy... Enjoying life for now, abiet on my own. Heeez... Oh wells.

Never assume too quickly.

This week I learnt, yet again, not to take things at face value, not assume too quickly and if possible to go check things out personally. I suppose that is a life long thing that we will always have to learn and relearn. Finally went to check out the other muay thai gym in Jakarta after witnessing some in my opinion rather callous attitude in the previous one. I had put off checking out this other gym for some time as a casual call to them to ask for a schedule proved to be bewildering. They don't have a fixed schedule, you can pop in as and when. That got me wondering how effective it would be.

But anyway I was really put off by the one I was with initially recently. It was too slack and for some reasons the instructors do not seem to be into the art, it was like as if it was just a job to them. Friends told me that it would be generally how recreational clubs are like over here too so I took it for granted too and stayed put. Until finally I thought that there wasn't any harm done checking out this other one out after witnessing the callous act... Haha, and oh boy, I should have checked it out way earlier.

I stepped into the gym and all eyes were on me. Intimidating sight with a roomful of guys, some with lean bodies packed with rippling muscles and tattoos. (The nice bods are already a good sign that I am in the right place.) But they were curious about this single bespectacled Chinese female checking the place out rather than another else. After the initial shock the instructors proved to be helpful, welcoming and reasonable. Indeed, there are no fixed schedules, groups pop in as and when. So there is this buzz and energy effusing from this gym all the time. I sat and watched the action and went back the next day to try out for one session. That session sealed it. I have found THE PLACE for now.

For the price of slightly under Singapore $6, I had a 2 hours worth of workout with my techniques fine-tuned like they had never been before, shown some pretty neat moves despite some language difficulties, got stretched up and had a good rub down in the end that I didn't feel muscular soreness the following day. But I almost cried in the process. No nonsense massage and stretching to loosen the muscles are painful! All these from a pretty intimidating looking instructor who is actually really professional and nice. Haha. I am definitely going back to this gym for sure and may even forgot the remaining lessons from a signed package the first gym, written off as lessons learnt.

What is more interesting is that on my way back a familiar voice and face called out to me. An instructor of my previous gym has now joined this new gym. Tried to ask why but language barrier was a good excuse for him not to say much. When I asked the previous gym as I hadn't seen him for some time they said he went back home to Sumatra... Yeah right... Sigh. Wherever there are people, there will be politics I suppose.

Hehehe... am so excited of the prospects of improving on my MT and getting leaner in the process. Yes, I know what some of you are thinking, I am hopeless and that even if I jump into Singapore river no one will believe I am not a butch. Lala. Well, never assume prematurely! Hohoho!

Sick sick world.

The world is sick and we are all part of the problem, and the people who can really decide and make changes chooses to be the problem for selfish, short-sighted goals and out of sheer ignorance and inertia.

Yerp. Back to emo/depressed with the stupid human race mode. Reading the papers didn't help. Big time. On the smaller and more personal levels seeing how gym turn down an enthusiastic potential newbie because of 'management decision' on trials and packages didn't help. Seeing the problem of littering in the streets of Jakarta and not being able to find a bin to dispose mine doesn't help. Having to explain the need for moral integrity to pupils who tried to cheat while the whole world out there is cheating just compounded the irony of just how sick we all are.

Yes, individuals may do something about. No matter how small the impact is, at least that is a commendable effort. But come on, who are we trying to kid anyway?
>_< Frustrating!

One seastar at a time, for now? I guess that is the way for now...

12 hours! O.o

OMG,survived and just gotten back from the long weekend trip... there was a jam all the way from Bandung to Jakarta!!! That was excluding the other jams we had at a mountain pass... What was supposedly an 8 hour bus journey stretched on to be a mega 12 hour snake. This experience makes me a more patient person I suppose, or a more impatient one. I can imagine myself back in Singapore snapping at people who complain about bus rides lasting more than 1.5hrs. Heheeheeeheeee.

This is indeed a trip of endurance, in a cramp non-airconditioned bus. But it wasn't as non ventilated as thought of. At certain times it was really cold. I suppose since the air wasn't conditioned, we were at the mercy of the elements. The key was low budget, so there was a very kampong feel to our accommodation and bus. A few of us decided to pay more for other accommodation, which was still very reasonably priced to us. The organiser kept apologising that we were not enjoying ourselves.

Had to explain to him that the fault's not with him, it was with us. Don't take it personally la. Haha. Still we had some fun out of Jakarta. Though I think I would think twice in future to leave town over the long weekends so as to avoid the jams.

Okies, school and photos later. :)

We are going to the beach!!!!

I SO MISS THE SEA!!!!!!!!!!!!

And, we are going to the beach over this long weekend!! Yippee. Green Canyon, Pangandaran Beach here we come!

Colleagues organised this trip solely for school staffs. The organisation of the trip itself revealed some idiosynscracies of the Indonesian work ethics and culture which I find both endearing and bewildering. Anyway hope it will be a good good trip. Can't imagine that I am actually feeling high and dry and having sodium and nitrogen deficiency symdrone in the land of 17000 islands! :D

Yerp, am going to take photos too, it will be my camera's first trip to the beach too! Hahaha. So exciting! :P