Happy boxing day!!

It's been about three weeks since I last blogged. What was I busy with? I guess I was busy packing my room. Guess what, holidays is coming to an end, and I've yet to watch any DVDs that I had bought from Batam... :(

I started watching 9pm show, 破天网, 11pm 台湾龙卷风 and 12 midnight 包青天... Thus, every night I will sleep at 1am or even later. Usually I would not be able to sleep. Just like now, so I would be playing with my iPhone games. I'm pretty sure first week of school will be terrible for me. I will definitely knock out by 9pm everyday or have naps in the afternoon.

Anyway, it's boxing day today!!! But my best friends and I have no habits of buying gifts for one another. So well, only got one gift from my sis-in-law. :) But it's totally fine for me. As I grow older, I realized I was never really quite fascinated with Christmas and definitely not gift giving and receiving. Maybe it was because I used to be very poor. It is a very stressful thing to go for gifts exchange. And why was I poor? I never received anymore allowance since I was 19 yrs old because I was paid by MOE in my nie days. But life was really tough then trying to keep myself alive. Even when I started teaching at 21, there were still times that I did not have enough to get a meal. God blessed me with wonderful friends that provided food and transport for me when I had nothing in my pockets. So gift giving was never my forte. To me, food and transport are more practical. I would rather spend my money to give my friends a treat. Christmas to me, is just a day that my Jesus was born 2010 yrs ago.. I celebrate this day knowing that the Messiah came to set us free and that He is the One who has been blessing me all this while.

On this boxing day, I unwrapped the box of gratitude to thank all my dearest friends for your love, warmth and care all these while. Some of my closest friends had grown distant, but I will never forget how each one of them had blessed me at different points in my life. Lastly, I thank God for all these wonderful ones that He had placed in my life. Thank You, Jesus!

In loving memory of my grandma

After the demise of my grandma, I had lots of thoughts from what I observed these few days. Finally, I mustered all my courage and asked my mum about my family history and realized it wasn't as simple as I thought.

I always thought my grandma had 8 children. In actual fact, it was my grandfather who had 8 children. His first wife had 4 and she passed away in World War 2. Then he remarried my grandma and had 4 more children. The aunt who lends me car is the firstborn and my dad is ranked second of my grandma's own children.

The first uncle and first aunt that I always called are my grandfather's first wife's children. It was no wonder my first uncle didn't want to come down on the first day initially. :( But his son, my cousin, is such a filial person. He's the most caring and most giving. In the end he did and did his part as the eldest son. I guess I know now why there were "strife" in the family previously.

Anyway, I also realized that my grandma was a good cook. She used to sell bee hoon, coffee and tea. With my youngest aunt and another aunt (don't know from where), my grandma would carry the big pot of bee hoon and go to construction sites to sell. My mum mentioned that her cooking was excellent. I don't remember much except her ngoh hiam which she would make every new year. Everyone looks forward to eating that every new year.

I also realized my grandma was born in 1920. We collected her ashes yesterday and saw that her bones were not brittle like my Dad's and there was not much traces of black. According to the person helping us with the collection, traces of black means too much medicine in the body. Holes in the bones means the person was suffering from osteoporosis. My Dad's bones were like that. My grandma was such a fit person because her bones had little traces of black and her bones were whole though broken up into smaller pieces!!! She had only been to the doctor once (2008) in her entire life. I feel ashamed of myself. :(

I'm guilty of not visiting her often enough. I will miss her. She was really loving towards my brother and I. Even though she had lost much memory due to old age, she still remembered my mum, bro, dad and I occasionally. She always thought I'm still studying and wants me to study hard and be filial to my mum and dad. I will never forget her words.

I've never said this to her before:

I love you, ah ma! Rest in peace.

What a year...

The year is coming to an end soon... But I've not really rested since the last day of school. But I guess God has His perfect plans for me.

First week of hols, I was in school for meeting and P1 registration on Sat.

Second week, I went for a two and a half days Handball Course at ITE EAST. Everyday after the course, I would join the P6 leader's retreat at Aloha Loyang. I had fun playing with them. Got to know some of them better through this short time spent with them. If only this kind of interaction was done in the beginning of the year. Anyway, I will miss them.

Just when I thought I could rest after the handball course and retreat, my grandma passed away. I rushed back after my course on Wed and saw her "sleeping soundly". She lived to an old ripe age of 91 and I'm glad that she went away peacefully without sufferings and pain.

So since holiday started, I've been sleeping late and waking up very early. For a sleeping monster like me, this is really a torture. The funeral is going to last till Sun and we will collect the ashes on Mon. So I really have to hang on till Mon is over. After which will be time to do work again. :( What a holiday!!!!

I pray for strength and comfort for my whole family and hopefully the family doesn't fall apart after the eldest in the family is gone.

Updates

My throat swelled up and I was in pain again after eating last Friday. My NUH surgeon told me to go to any clinic to get antibiotic.. I'm currently on antibiotic and I guess it really helps.

Anyway, the first week of hols is almost gone. We had department and SEM meeting on Mon and Tue. Conducted a NAPFA TEST for all teachers to get them familiarized with the testing on Wed. I think I was badly cursed by many teachers behind my back. Well, God bless them. Nevertheless, I was very encouraged by those who did their best.

In a few hours' time, the P6s will receive their PSLE results. I pray that they will be happy and satisfied with their results and be able to get into their desired secondary school. Even if they don't, may they have the resilience to handle setbacks.

Fri will be Staff Retreat - Mamma Mia@107!!! I pray that my group will win the cooking competition and even if we don't, may we enjoy the process of grocery shopping and cooking as a team!

Sat is P1 orientation. Have to speak to parents again. I pray that I will not fumble but will be confident and be able to answer any questions. I pray for NO nasty parents.

Sun will be sabbath day! May I truly enjoy the day in church, fellowship after service and celebrating the union of a good friend at night!

So dear God, thank You for the days that had passed. Thank You for the days that are coming. May everyday be a day of victory, filled with love, joy and peace. May I be slow to anger, quick to forgive. May those around be blessed! In Jesus' name I pray, Amen!!

My tray in office

This was what happened when I was on MC for 2 weeks....

A card made with love

One of the teachers had told my kids to do get well cards for me. As usual, my sweet girls did. A group of them presented their cards to me today. I find the wordings really funny. However, I'm really touched by their gestures. I can't help but smile at the innocence of these children.

Disappointed..

I'm currently resting in the staffroom.. disappointed with our kids. First of all, had PE with a class in the morning. As usual, some girls refused to do anything. Some stood around, so afraid of making mistakes and afraid of the boys laughing at them. I GIVE UP! 

Next, I went to Netball notice board to check on the survey. Still out of 21 pupils, only 3 wrote their availability. I walked around the main block, many pupils were not around. Finally saw one netball girl. She said she forgot to ask her parents, again. I asked her if she could help me to look for the rest of the girls. She replied, "Huh! Cannot, I'm doing something." I'm pissed. Anyway, I saw some P6 pupils with nothing to do. Asked another girl to help me. She also rejected me. Alright. I'm not gonna chase anyone again. By this Friday, if I do not get the responses, we will not have any holiday training. If we can't take part in any competition next year, forget it. There will never be any EAGLES Awardees, no captain, no vice captain, no Outstanding Awardees from Netball.

Ok, I've finished complaining. I shall rest my case. It's time to go to my monstrous class.

Harris Batam

I'm currently suntanning at the poolside of Harris Resort, Batam! There's Wifi here! So I can blog and Facebook as and when I like... People with whatsapp can msg me too!!

Anyway, the staff here are pretty nice! But the breakfast is so so and their timing for shuttle bus is terrible. We waited pretty long yesterday because they wanted to make sure all their guests had boarded the bus. Good customer service I would say. But they are punishing good early folks like me!!!

By the way, I'm looking forward to the 3h spa treatment at 1pm! Hurray!! And another spa tomorrow at another place before coming back! I'm truly enjoying myself lazing around on this island. :)

On my way to Harbourfront

I'm currently on my way to harbourfront!! Going to take a ferry to Batam to chill and relax for 3 days!! Haha!!! As if I didn't chill and relax enough for the past 2 weeks. But this trip was planned and tickets were bought before my operation. Really didn't expect my mc to be 3 weeks long. If I know, I don't have to go at all!

Anyway, I'm looking forward to this trip! Looking forward to suntan and read a book by the poolside. I pray for good weather these few days and protection!

I'll be back on Sun afternoon. Do not miss me!  And then it's back to work on Mon (don't know to be sad or happy..). Bye everyone!!

One week gone...

After resting for a week, I thought I'm well. To my horror, I sense the lump in my throat still. When will it subside? Will it cause me further pain and problem?

I've been having nagging headache since the operation. When will the headache be gone?

One more week to rest my throat and mind. Ironically, my mind is bothered by work in school. Maybe that's why my rest is not restful.

Had fun with photo apps!!

Check out my cute little niece, Chloe!!

Feeling unwell

Since yesterday, I've been having very severe body aches on the neck, shoulders, back and arms. I really don't understand why since I did not exercise for a week and I did not carry anything heavy. My mouth is pretty alright now except for the muscle aches that extended up to my cheeks causing headache.

So, last night I finally relented and pushed a new mattress into my room so that I can sleep better instead of sleeping on the sofabed. Because of this sudden, urgent shift, my room's cluttered and there's limited walking space. I really need to pack and throw A LOT OF THINGS away. But I feel weak physically to do all these now. I really pray that God will heal me quickly that I can get on with normal life again.

The new bed was really comfortable that I overslept this morning and was late for my doctor's appointment.

The doctor was happy to see me and he said my wound is healing well. I was told that the antibiotics can cause stomach upset (which is one of the problems that's bothering me now). He advised me to drink some yoghurt to keep the good bacteria in my body.

So although my wound is healing well, I'm fighting diarrhea and body aches. All these ailments be gone in Jesus' name!! I want to be up and running soon!!! Amen!

Can't sleep again...

I finally finished marking the two stacks of workbook activities. The life of a teacher is terrible. Despite being sick, we still have to be responsible for other people's child. Who knows, I might get some complains soon about me being on long MC. But I guess I wouldn't care much for now. I just pray hard that my kids will learn to handle the questions and problems on their own when I wasn't around and do well for their Maths paper on Wed.

I hate to say this, but I think I'm dying of hunger and malnutrition at home. My mum was so afraid that I couldn't swallow anything hard and all I had for dinner today was a small plate of plain rice soaked in soup. I made myself a steam egg earlier on and I was so hungry and giddy that I made myself a glass of Milo. Till now, I'm still very hungry. I need some meat and veggie!!! If not, I think I will die soon... :( Living in the hospital seemed to be a better choice.

I need solid food soon! I need my energy back in order to recover quickly. I sound like a glutton here, but, I'm really famished!!!

Bored and restless!!

I'm very bored at home now. I thought I will be happy staying home everyday. I guess I won't be. I need to get my momentum started to do something. It doesn't feel good to have some nagging worries at the back of your mind all these while.

Right now, I can only feel hunger. Nothing that I eat seemed to fill my stomach. Eating too much of the same food puts me off. No energy to do anything at all. I need lots of energy!!

Things that I need to do:
1. Mark two piles of work
2. Key in strengths of pupils into cockpit and make changes to remarks
3. Email leave instructions for the next few days
4. Pack my room
5. Make myself happy

Random: I want to eat chawanmushi!!!

Experience in NUH

Somehow I woke up early today and couldn't get back to sleep. Maybe I had been used to waking up every few hours to take temperature and blood pressure during my stay in NUH.

This was my first time staying in a hospital and I must say that I am very happy and impress with the trainee nurses, nurses and staff nurses. The trainee nurses were very nice to the two ah mas next to me. They will talk to them, make them happy and help them to the toilet. Even for me, they would ensure that they push my solution stand into the toilet and wait for me till I'm done and then push the stand out again. Imagine, I visit the toilet very often. One even waited for me while I was bathing and making sure I was alright.

Anyway, it was their last day of attachment on my second day of stay and I could see that they really miss the ah mas. The Ah ma on my right missed them too!!

As for the doctors, I must say that they are very busy... I waited for very long on the first day before seeing the doctor. I was seen by other doctors when I admitted myself at 2pm. Was in the ward by 4pm. But only seen by many doctors again at 6plus and then finally had my drip at 9pm. Too many doctors came and gave their own opinions. Some wanted me to try porridge before my surgeon came. So I tried and I cried in pain in the hospital. What a shame! The ah ma on my right had to console me and tell me not to cry. My brother arrived and was shocked to see me crying so badly. The staff nurse came and administered a strong painkiller on my thigh which caused my thigh to hurt till now. It was only after that my surgeon came and advised that I go on clear feeds for the next few days. So clear soup, soup, soup!

I'm really glad that I'm home now. It was quite a pleasant experience except for the need to wait for long hours before the doctor came. All and all, I must say that the stay was really pleasant. I thank God that I can sleep anywhere, everywhere and anytime. No insomnia because of a new environment. And although the ah mas beside me freaked me out on the first night, they were considered pretty mild.

Thank God for good rest, good nurses, good neighbours, good doctors, good friends.. I am blessed!!

Day 3

Today is my third day in hospital. I jus drank a bowl of soup and a cup of tea. The pain came but still manageable. I shall be trying some solid food later on. If I can eat, I should be discharged today. If not, I will jus stay on and continue to be on drip. I'm very very hungry.

Since Tuesday's operation, I drank:
2 cups of Milo, 1 green bean soya milk, 1/2 a glass of milk, 2 and a half bowl of soup and a cup of tea.

How much weight will I lose??

Somehow, I feel like staying here for one more day because no point going home feeling the pain and helplessness. But on the other hand, I want to sleep on my own bed and start marking that two piles of work. The drip on my hand is preventing me from marking.. And my blood seems to be stuck inside the tube and the fluid doesn't seem to be flowing in. And I need to go to the toilet every 2h. It is such a chore to carry that bag of solution everywhere I go.

My hospitalization leave should be extended till next week. So I shall desert my class for their SA2. Sorry kids! :(

Thanks everyone for your concern and prayers! May all the pain go, in Jesus' mighty name!!! Amen!!

Cant get to sleep

It is about 4 am now. I'm lying on my bed not able to sleep. Was woken up by the two ah ma next to me. The one on my left is hallucinating and the one on my right is grouchy. The grouchy one couldnt sleep and she talked to me. I don't have so much energy to entertain her.

Anyway, thank God for the drip now. I'm no longer in great pain because I don't have to swallow food. Though I still feel a little hungry, this beats having excruciating pain in the mouth.

Sorry to make some of u worry about me. I'm fine now! Praise God!! Hopefully this state will remain even after I'm discharged!

I feel like dying..

I've never felt such intense pain before. This is worse than Extracting four wisdom tooth. I really feel like killing myself. Nothing seems to help. Tears flowing non stop at each attack. I simply can't drink or eat anything at all.

Dear God, please take away all e pain. This is unbearable...I can't take it anymore!

Update on surgery

Reached NUH at 9.30 this morning. Was given the robe to change into and laid on the bed by 10plus. Waited till 1plus before I was wheeled to the operating theatre.

At about 2pm, I was finally given anesthesia and the operation starts. At 3pm, the operation was over and they woke me up and wheeled me back to the ward at abt 4pm. I was told by my doctor that they managed to get the stone out from the duct in my mouth. I was elated.

However, at 5pm, the inside of my mouth and throat was very painful. Tears flowed non stop from my eyes. I got painkiller from the nurse at 5.15pm. And finally got to drink some milo. The pain only subsided at about 5.30pm. And it came back at 7pm!!! I cant take painkillers until 6h after 5.15pm. It was then that another doctor told me that they cut a hole in my mouth to remove the stone as it is too big. That's why pain is inevitable. I just have to tahan till 11.15pm to take painkiller again. And I have to ground the painkiller and mixed it with water to drink.

Discharged at 7plus and reached home at 8plus. Tried eating my cold porridge at 9.15pm. But two small mouthful caused the great pain to surface again. Drinking honey doesn't help. So I stopped eating. Even swallowing saliva brings about extreme pain. I guess I will jus drink COLD MILO for the next few days. What a torture! I wonder how to brush my teeth.... I think I rather have the cut on my neck than on the inside of my mouth. This is really terrible!!!! I want to cry!!

Feeling extremely tired..

I'm currently lying on the bed at the Day Surgery Ward of NUH Kent Ridge Wing. It is terribly cold here. The blanket doesn't seem to help much. And obviously I have no food in my stomach to help my body keep warm. My stomach is growling as I'm writing this and I wonder how long more before I will be going to the operating theatre.

My poor mum had been sitting here with me since 9.30am. And she has to wait for me till everything is over. Poor her!!!

I thank all my friends who SMS and Facebook me to show their support, care and love for me and also to pray for me. Thank you, Wen for calling me yesterday and today to pray for me. I'm not so afraid now. I'm feeling hungry more than anything else.

Will update everyone again when it is over!

The day draws near..

I was given relief today. I went in to mark my stuff and started playing Chinese Chess with a boy... Took me one extra period just to play with him. However, I enjoyed it lots!

Tomorrow will be the day that I've been waiting for... Am I scared? I think I am. I'm trying to curb my fears.. Gonna pray and meditate on His Word tonight.

Gonna miss them...

I sat at the sheltered pathway chatting with Adeline during P5 & P6 recess. We talked about how street smart we were when we were young and how straight our pupils were these days. Indeed, sometimes I wondered how come the young people these days doesn't use their common sense to do work and even to play. Maybe we spoonfeed them too much from the very beginning.

As we talked, I realised that I taught this batch of P6 pupils when they were in Primary 1. It was my first-second year of teaching. I remembered having a very great year because I was amused by their cuteness.

I remembered:

1. I had to spend one PE period to teach them how to take out their plastic name tags from their PE shirt.
2. One girl cried everyday for the first two weeks of Term 1.
3. One girl was so small in size and her water bottle was proportionate to her size. I told her to refill her water and she said her mum told her she could not refill from the water cooler because she could only drink lukewarm water. I went to the staffroom to fill up her super small bottle for her and told her to get her mum to buy a new BIGGER one for her.
4. One girl hid under the table and refused to come out.
5. One irritating class that always made me angry during the last period of the day.
6. One boy had to go for an operation and I took a picture with him and prayed for him.
7. I played an alphabet game with all the classes and took pictures of them. (But I can't seem to locate the photos. Sad!)

And if I remembered the people correctly, it so happened that the person mentioned in no. 2, 3, 4 and 6 are now in the same class. They came from different classes in P1 and ended up in the same class in P6. What fond memories for me!

6 years have passed by just like that. They are going to graduate really soon. I think I'm gonna miss them lots next year.

Old body

As I age, my body breaks down more often. Common isn't it?? My dear friend, Eunice, always says that I am a young person with an old body. 

Last week, I overstrained my knees while trying to show exaggerated landing for the pupils to see my landing foot clearly..

This week, the knees and right ankle reacted by giving me pain after I ran around the school getting the pupils ready for psle.

So yesterday, I went to Watson and got myself a pair of Ebene socks and a pair of Ebene knee guard to help blood circulation and to ease the pain. I hope they help because they cost a bomb. Bought a set for my mum too! I also bought effervescence form of Vitamin C+Zinc too because I have been falling sick lately. It is time to build up my immunity and health-a sign of aging.. 

P/S: I made a mistake in my previous entry. Going for surgery on 19 Oct. Not next week. 

Updates...

I'm having my break now... and feeling really tired. Should have slept earlier last night. Yes, I tell myself that every morning but I can't bear to waste the night and will sleep at about 1 am at night.

I MUST FINISH MY MARKINGS today!! Time is running out! I have 3 heavy topics left to teach and many pages of workbook, worksheets, and iExcel to complete. I wonder if we can finish everything since next week will be PSLE marking days and the kids won't be in school.

And next week finally I will be going to remove the lump that is causing me so much discomfort and probably caused me to fall sick so frequently this year.

Last but not least, ALL THE BEST to all my students who are taking PSLE this coming Wednesday! Do your best and let God do the rest for you! You can do it!!!


  

Kid's Talk

P6 Boy 1: Ms Goh, you changed hairstyle again?
Me: No. I didn't.
P6 Boy 2: Ms Goh always changed hairstyle one. And it is always the same as my mum. When her hair was curly, my mum's hair was curly too. Now like that also same as my mum...
P6 Boy 1: Now nicer. The ugliest one was the curly hair.
Me: -_-""

Exhausted...

It is one of those exhausting day again. Woke up feeling really tired. No energy to do anything... no appetite for food. I'm sick of canteen food. The first 3 lessons of the day killed all my remaining passion for the day. I asked myself again, is it worth it to be firm? Some chose to stay in class. I gave up. Brought only 19 out and 6 of them quarrelled. I don't want to scold them anymore. It is already Term 4 Week 2. They are left with 8 weeks to be with one another and they are making themselves and myself unhappy. I surrender. No wonder so many teachers quit or left the school. No wonder our passion for teaching die. No wonder many of our health deteriorated.

I am reminded that I must be a God pleaser and not a men pleaser. So I shall still be firm. But I need to be kind to myself and stop being affected by others choice. It is their choice to decide what they want to do with their life. I choose to be firm. Even if they are not happy with me. I must remind myself that I CAN NEVER PLEASE EVERYONE. Be nice to myself!! 

Birthday Week

Had an advance birthday celebration with my dear Terry Ah Di, Kim and her boyfriend, Joel. Thank God for the wonderful friendship that we share. I am always proud of them for their growth in God and amazed in what God has done in their lives.

Kim was one of the pupils that I had when I first went for teaching practicum at Eunos Primary. I'm really amazed how God has brought us together and brought her to where she is together. A victorious girl! Terry was brought to church by a friend who left the church. Despite that, he stayed and continued to be the giant in the kingdom of God. Both of them went to SOT and graduated just 2 weeks ago. Words alone cannot explain how proud I am for them! 8 years of friendship!!

On Tuesday, I went for the long awaited crab feast with Deb and Shi. Thank God for our wonderful friendship too. We've known each other for about 10 years! Our friendship is still going strong! More than words can describe. Anyway, we had the best crab feast that day!

Salted egg crab



White pepper crab

Black pepper crab

In the midst of eating crab, LL smsed me to wish me happy birthday. She also got her daughter to sing a birthday song in English, Chinese and Malay. So sweet of her. Thanks LL! Though I do feel a sense of awkwardness and distance between us lately. Still, I thank you for your friendship and thought. Thank God for the friendship that we had for the past 7 years!



I wasn't really looking forward to Wednesday (my actual birthday) because I had to bring 3 pupils out for a Sports Fest until 6pm. Which means my birthday will be spent AT WORK and I could not enjoy any "ME" time. Anyway, what makes things worse was I did not get to participate in any sporting activities as what was promised in by the event coordinator. 2 colleagues and I were only there to listen to 2-3 hours of talk. I hate all these talks.

However, what brightens up my day was to receive 2 cards from some pupils. I'm touched by their kind gesture and love toward me. It is really heart warming to read nice words from them.







Thanks girls! I will also remember all of you without fail. Thanks for brightening up my boring day with your effort, love and friendship! I'm looking forward to my busy Thursday more because I have lesson with your class. Ops! I sound pretty bias here. I do love most of my PE classes. MOST.

In the midst of my busy day, Da Jie came to my seat and gave me a surprise present! Last year she gave me one too! And it was way more sexier than this one. Lol! Anyway, thanks Da Jie, though I don't think you will get to see this.

When I got back from the sports fest, saw a packet of sweets and a note from Joanna on my table. Thanks Joanna for a sweet sweet thought! 

 

At night, I met up with a few CG members for dinner. Thanks Merf, Cwenn, Xuemin, Eliz, Weilieh, Ben, Eunice, MK and Nick for taking time off to celebrate my birthday with me at Sushi Tei. Everyone's tired so I can sense your love lots! 

On Thursday, I made a super last minute decision to have lunch with my Da Jie and Er Jie (who's supposed to be Da Jie actually). Anyway, I meant it to be a quick quick lunch but it ended up pretty late cos we had a good time talking and laughing at Parkway Sakae Sushi. Guess what Er Jie gave me??!

 

It was very thoughtful of her to wrap this hamper up herself and filled it with my favorite drink plus my recent new morning booster-chicken essence! I've been in lack of sleep this whole week and feeling tired. Started drinking chicken essence every morning since the start of Term 4. This will last me for a few weeks! Thank God for this friendship too. 

And of course, I thank all those who smsed or messaged me on Facebook to wish me. It still takes effort to do that. It's always the thought that counts. Appreciate all of you!  



忙里偷闲

现在的我在忙里偷闲。还有十五分钟就要给学生补课到三点钟。我打算从三点到五点留在学校做工。五点休息到六点，然后准备到无招牌海鲜吃晚餐！我好期待今晚的螃蟹大餐！！

Heart broken

I was extremely heart broken when I fought so hard for a class to come for PE and some of the girls in the class refused to move their butt. I wondered if I did the right thing to get them out of their class for a break from school work.

However, even if only one in the class appreciates my effort, I will still do it. I guess I will let them be and focus my effort on those who wants to learn and play. I pity the few girls in the class who have a more positive attitude.

Heart broken as I am, I am still who I am. I'm a PE teacher!

Holidays!

I love holidays... I know some of my students do not like holidays. I'm enjoying my holidays but it is already Wednesday!!! Four more days and it will be back to reality and never ending work.

I'm currently at Robertson Quay's TCC marking with Shi. The place is freezing cold!! I forgot to bring my jacket.  I hope I can finish all my marking today and enjoy the rest of my holidays..

Just a short update:

Last Friday, 2 pigeons dropped dead in front of my netball girls and I. The girls started asking me why this happened. I had no idea at all. Probably somebody poisoned them. Then some other pupils told me they spotted 3 other pigeons dying at gate 1. I went to take a look and the security guard told me to go out and talk to my "special" pupil who was holding on to the dead pigeon and playing with it. 

Then on Sun, I went for a one day trip to Malacca with my CG. We didn't managed to eat the Assam laksa and chendol from Jonker 88. But we had rice ball chicken rice, chendol, laksa and peranakan food.

Mon I stayed home to pack my super messy table and room. Till now, I have not opened up any presents that my students gave me for teacher's day.  And my niece was born!!!

On Tue I went to school to do some marking and settle some claims. Then I went to Parkway to have lunch at Sakae. It was a mad rush. Lesson learnt: Next time cannot go parkway during lunchtime if we are rushing for time. After that, i went home to pick up something, bought lunch for my bro and went to visit my SIL and niece in the hospital. My niece is very pretty and adorable!!

At night, I went to kbox with Shi and Deb to celebrate Shi's bday. We stayed till about 2am before leaving and sending Shi and Deb home. By the time I'm home, it was about 4am.

This morning, I went for a massage with Shi and we are currently at TCC at Robertson Quay. So after blogging, I'm gonna continue marking. We are going Seletar Airbase for super spicy chicken wings! Will update again soon!

Enjoy the rest while we can!!! Fruitful week!!!

Helpless...

I'm currently using my iPhone to blog!!! It has been a really busy week. I was busy marking, teaching my pupils how to do fractions in 3 days... :( other teachers can use other subjects to teach and rush for exams... For me, I only have two periods a day with my class.. I'm very frustrated with this and the fact that the last two period is only 50min and not 60. Not forgetting that as a form teacher, I have to inform the pupils of every event that the school is having and collect every single form which a NIL return is required.

Yesterday was the LONGEST day that I ever had. It felt the longest because I almost broke down. I don't like people stealing away my PE periods ALL THE TIME. I'm ok if it is once in a while. But, every lesson is too much. I feel sorry for that class when they looked earnestly at me with their eyes "begging" me not to forsake them. I felt really helpless then. I AM NOT A HOD. I wouldn't want to undermine the authority of the form teacher too. But I felt that my authority of a PE teacher has been undermined. I let them down and I let myself down as a PE teacher.

This incident really affected my whole day.. As I think about how much worse it will become in term 4 when everyone is getting ready for psle, my strong emotions caught me by surprise. Yes, psle is important. But health is more important than results. The pupils need to have a time to relax and play. Balance is the key to life!! Everyone needs to know that!!! Stop torturing the kids. Give them a break!! I spoke to that teacher before, but it doesn't help. Thankfully, my current RO believes in letting pupils exudes their energy in play during this critical season. I hope that once she had spoken to the teacher on my behalf, my relationship with the teacher will not be strained. I really hope that class will get to play. Many of them are getting bigger in size.

Sigh!!!

Some updates...

Went to AH yesterday to collect my report and see the doctor. I was a little displeased with the fact that the doctor told me that another doctor will be in a better position to give me advice on what to do and told me to go back again today. Although I was angry, I still let them arrange an appointment for me today, not knowing that the appointment is in the morning. Anyway, I have no choice but to see him in the morning.

So I took a half day leave to see the doctor and he told me that I had a 3-5mm stone in my left salivary gland. There can be many reasons how it was formed but he was unsure about it. From the scan, there seemed to be another smaller one next to this. So well, he advised me to get rid of it before it grows bigger and causes even more problems.

He told me he will first insert a scope into my duct to try to fish the stone out. However, if it is unsuccessful, he will have to operate on my neck to remove the stones together with the salivary gland. Sounds pretty scary as he mentioned it is close to my nerves and may affect my mouth. After hearing all these, I was pretty scared. Plus he had with him 4 trainee doctors. They each took turn to feel the lump in my throat. I guess, they will also follow him into the operating theatre when I'm having the surgery.

I left AH and went back to school to teach my form class. After school, went to NUH to sign the documents as I will be having my surgery there instead of AH. What a hassle! My surgery will be during the PSLE marking days. So I guess my lessons will not be affected much unless I take more than a week to recover.

So Christians out there, please pray for me that everything will go smoothly, that I do not have to be operated on. And also the whole process will not be painful and I will recover in a week. From now till then, I have more than a month. I pray that there will not be pain and a miracle will happen.

我想投降

我快不行了。青奥运把我搞地头昏脑胀。要确保每一张票都不浪费，我到处跑，到处问， 到处忙。结果还让家长投诉。人人都有自己的要求。难道他们不能为校方和老师想想？

我还以为今天是最后一天带学生出去，接下来日子应该好过多了。结果，一名学生得了手足口症，需要天天打电话询问他的近况。一名学生又弄伤了脚，需要全班同学换课室。我连上厕所的时间都没有了，还要替学生解决友谊上的问题。天天有家长打电话来投诉这，投诉那。

我好累哦！！从来没有一个班给我这么多问题。我也从来没接过这么多家长的电话。我真的不行了。遍体鳞伤的我，好想放弃这一切，逃到一个可以让我放慢脚步的地方好好＂养伤＂。

我真的不想管儿童节的事，可是我还是被卷进去负责游戏。开会开会开会！！我那有时间赶出要的计划书？！每天被人催的滋味真不好受！我希望今年是我最后一次和她有接触。我不讨厌她，我讨厌被人催的感觉。

明天又要去医院看医生和拿检查报告。说难听的，我还蛮希望自己得了重病。

救命啊！！！！！

My love...

This is a super stretching month... for my bank account... all my friends' babies are in their first month or celebrating their birthday!

I was going to show all the babies' photos... but the photos just don't load up well. So I can't show all of you my love... :(

Anyway, I'm VERY tired. Every day is long working hours. Events after events.. I wonder when all these will end. I can't wait for the year to end and move into 2011. I can't wait to see my "bro" joining me in work in 2011.

My schedule for this week...
Mon: Vegetable farm after school.
Tue: YOG Handball after school.
Wed: Children's Day meeting after school (but I'm going for medical appointment)
Thu: My only day of rest
Fri: Netball after school

Will next week be better? How can I finish marking this way? I'm really tired. Never felt so tired and unmotivated before.

A different experience

Rushed a cab to AH this morning. The staff at the main entrance opened the door for me and waited for me to get off the cab.

When I reached the CT scan department, I waited for a short while and was greeted by smiley staff... She told me change into their gown and put on an extra cover becos it will be very cold inside.

I was given a catheter again!!! I couldn't believe it... The doctor didn't tell me last week! I was very cool when I stepped in, but started perspiring when the nurse told me about it. Anyway, this time it is on my left hand and it wasn't as painful as before...

It was really cold in the scanning room. I shivered (don't know whether fear played a part). They explained to me that they will be pumping dye into my body so that it will be clearer in the scan.

I was told to close my eyes, not to move and not to move or swallow saliva at certain point. The minute the dye entered my body, I could feel the flow from my left hand to other parts of the body. Interesting thing was, it was chilling and numb on my left hand, but hot sensation on other parts of the body. I was fascinated by this creation of God... :)

After the scan, an elderly staff attended to me and asked if I want a cup of Milo because I was on a fast the past few hours. Then the removal of the catheter wasn't as painful too. So thank God for that. Excellent service by this department. They were assuring and friendly. I did a survey for them, giving them full marks!

Then I went to their cafeteria for breakfast. Quite a tranquil place. Maybe next week I should bring my work their to mark when I visit the doctor again. :)

I took a cab back. The cab driver told me to have a great day when I alighted at my area.

I thank God that although I had an unhappy day in school, but was greeted and treated with respect outside.

Breath-taking sights are Marina Bay Sands!

Last night my mum suddenly told me that her friend has a room in Marina Bay Sands and she was thinking if she should go. Of course I encouraged her because it was a rare chance to visit the hotel and the SkyPark. In the end, I drove her there and had a chance to see the best view of Singapore. Enjoy the beautiful scenery taken by my humble digital camera again...

This swimming pool is awesome!!!! It looks like you might just fall over the other side. Sorry for the blur picture.

And the skyline of Singapore is ooOOooOOo!

Ok the rest of the photos are taking a long time to load and I'm retiring to bed. So I'm stopping here. Nothing beats seeing the view for yourself. It is worth the trip and money!

YOG Opening Ceremony Rehearsal

I went for YOG Opening Ceremony Rehearsal with one student last Saturday. Took some really nice photos with my humble digital camera.. Enjoy!

Look at the picture below. Notice the Singapore flag at the underside of Marina Bay Sands?

Too much smoke after fireworks. But I still managed to capture some fireworks!

Can you see the stars formed by the lights?

The cute Merly and Lyo!

That's all I have to offer for now... looking forward to watch the real Opening Ceremony tomorrow. But I guess I won't be at home.. If you are home, do switch on the TV to watch!