i am suppose to update on my melbourne trip.

28th Nov
gathered at Changi Airport to take 9 pm flight.


group photo at the airport


in the plane

29th Nov
reach the airport early morning, btw, melbourne is about 3 hours ahead of sg, so most of us were very very tired, body still operating in sg timing


at melbourne airport


in the coach bus

Our first few stops were to tour around the melbourne city:
Parliament house


Chapel (can't remember the name)








then it's to alfresco lunch beside the Yarra River


then it's more visiting to:
Museum






Captain Cook's Cottage


then it's back to the hotel to check in. well, the place looks clean and decent.






at night, it was to the Crown Casino. nice fire displays we saw.





and i've been inside the casino. not to gamble, juz to check out wat it is like inside the casino. only in there for about 15 mins

30th Nov
On way to Phillip Island to watch the penguin parade. on the way there, we stop by:
Sunny Ridge Strawberry farm for some strawberry picking










We had ice cream after we picked the strawberries




Had fish and chips for lunch


wildlife wonderland where our students have close contact with the animals



wombat


feeding the kangaroo


ostrich



Seal rock (beautiful sunset)










then last of all, penguin parade. We are not allowed to take photos or video the penguins. so we took some pics at the visitor centre






after we went back to the hotel, some debrief session




1st Dec
Great Ocean Road!!!
the beginning






then we had lunch at (i can't remember the town)




the 12 apostles
















Loch Ard Gorge




London bridge


Some group presentation at night




2nd Dec
considered the last day. went to Sovereign Hill, basically, this is an interactive museum where there are people dressed in period costumes, re-enacting the 1800s. cool. The students have the most fun here, panning for gold.



real gold smith


pose for the camera :)


real horse


man in police costume, 'threatening' one of us with the 'sword'


in the tunnel experiencing the miners' working condition




demonstration on how to pan for gold


our students serious at panning





then the rest of the day is for shopping. had a chance to sit in a horse carriage.


3rd Dec
HOME SWEET HOME

What a goooooooooooood start to the new year

1) i can't find any freaking roof over my head
2) i can't buy any freaking white shoes for my son
3) everything is going freaking not smooth

i rest my case

juz did some tests from tickle... guess wat, my zodiac sign should be scorpio.... hmmm, in the midst of doing another test now.... romantic fantasy

sandra, it looks like your romantic fantasy is the Breakfast in Bed

There are few things better than waking up to the smell of hot coffee and sizzling bacon, especially when it's right under your nose. Ahh, breakfast in bed. It's more intimate than a candlelit dinner, yet as comfortable as an old pair of slippers.Trusty sweethearts and reliable soul mates are the men of your dreams, not mysterious strangers from foreign lands. Whether it's cuddling next to a roaring fire, feeding each other pizza straight from the box, or gazing at the stars, your fantasy doesn't need to venture too far from reality. And that's cozy.

dun understand the results????

another test result:
sandra, your celeb look is inspired by Christie Brinkley

Even if your face hasn't graced the covers of magazines the world over just yet, you share this beauty icon's effortless sense of style. Like your gorgeous and radiant counterpart, you're probably known for having timeless look that never goes out of fashion.A natural beauty, you seem to understand that having a healthy body and bright smile is always in fashion. That's why you'd rather be well dressed in a way that isn't trendy or over the top. Leave the flashy glamour to other folks. You create a look that makes people focus on you and your natural assets. Keep it up!

ha, not much natural assets to boast of....

another test:

sandra, the recurrent theme of your dream life is Mastery

You're dreaming about maximizing opportunities and achieving well-deserved success. This means that in some area of your waking life, you are adequately prepared and things are working out just the way you want.

last test:
sandra, a Classic look will make you picture perfect

Fur-trimmed sweaters, afghan-like ponchos, or sky-high stiletto boots? No thanks. Your secret to photogenic perfection this holiday season will involve sticking to the basics. Simple yet elegant is your motto. And really, why waste time — or a paycheck — on fleeting trends?Cool and classic, you look forward to the fun and traditions that the holidays bring. Whether you host the seasonal gatherings or attend as many as you can, you find a way to put people at ease and make them feel welcome. 'Tis the season!

ok, it's back to work, enough of idling..

fear

today, was on the topic of fear. talking about how old people, or my mum's generation fear death. as we are talking, i was trying to figure out why do these people fear death. well, of course, i've formed my own explanation. then i went to OSHO to check out dec 06 issue, wola, there is an article on 'fear' and i read it, and guess wat...

an extract from the article:

You have fear -- don't ask why; just look into the fear, go into it, watch. Don't be in a hurry to analyse, to explain, to interpret, because if you bring in your interpretations, your explanations, the purity of the fear will be lost; you will start molding it into certain patterns, to fit into certain theories. You will start giving it shape and form and labels. You will start distorting it -- it will no more be the natural, wild phenomenon that it was. You will start training it, conditioning it, and sooner or later it has to agree with you -- it is your fear. It is your shadow; it is bound to agree with you. But you have destroyed a beautiful experience that may have led you into new spaces.

Let this fear which has no object become the object itself. Don't ask why -- why you are afraid. This is a wrong question. Ask 'What is this fear?' Ask what it is not to find an explanation but to go deep in it: What is this fear? 'What' is the right question.

wah, my first reaction was to ask the question 'why?' hmmm, see what i mean by this person's article is always giving me new perspective to how i myself look at things.

http://www.oshoworld.com/onlinemag/dec06/htm/osho_speaks_fear.asp#

this is where this article is located. for those who are interested, can go read it up. but warning, he has a totally radical view, about using this experience as meditation, then when you experience, you will be able to transcend, feel peace... etc. go read it, dun judge.

there are a few things i want to update, melbourne trip and max's photos. but i need to find time for it. now mabel is looking at me, looking at the pc screen and waiting for me to do colouring with her. wah, she really can give me pressure. as i'm typing, she is saying, 'so long...' and i haven't bathe yet! i think i need 48 hours a day.

i'm fat

recently read the newspaper.... a young gal in her early twenties, she is 1.65m tall, (that is about the same height as me) she used to be 55kg, but she still go for SLIMMING AND SHE IS NOW 49KG. she says she feels fat at 55kg. then ivy lee, she is 1.66m tall and she is 48KG. now, talk about feeling fat, i'm feeling extremely OBESE!!!!!! wtf! sorry, juz piss....

another pissy thingy... when it's raining, even though it's in the afternoon, but why can't some of the cars turn on their god damn headlight??!!?? dun they know anything about safety??? or are they trying to conserve electricity? (what a laugh!) then if i signal and cut into your lane in front of u, dun u dare horn at me, cos i can't god damn see ur car at all in the pouring rain without your headlights turned on.

Rainy morning

it's been raining these past few days. mood was slightly dampened by the wet weather. looking at the mood face picture i printed, trying to find an adjective for my mood. can find only 2, frus and depress.

whenever things happen or most things will have 2 sides. Was thinking of the forest fires in Melbourne when i started this paragraph. In Australia, they were lamenting on the dry weather and trying to conserve water. They would love to have the weather we had for the past few days, downpour, non-stop for 3 days. only downpouring for a few days will bring some relief to the water supply shortage. Over here, some were lamenting on the inconveniences of rain, not getting to work on time, those without sheltered carpark have a problem of getting everyone into the car esp if u are carrying a baby, some (housewives, i think) will be lamenting that the laundry is wet and damp, no sun... well, the list goes on. i was careful not to complain out loud about the inconveniences of the rain when i thought of in other country, they would die for a rainfall to occur. reminded marcus and mabel also, how cooling the weather is these few days that they had to wear a jacket, something they do when they were in Perth last winter.

the other thing i wanted to share here was, found out a website. www.oshoworld.com some spiritual guy who believes in shedding your past, who believes in people should be able to do what they enjoy doing and not what others wanted them to do, who believes in meditation (there are a whole list of meditation techniques listed on this website). word of caution - he's a radical thinker, maybe some may feel that his thinking too extreme. he may say things like 'religion in itself is a mistake' if i remember correctly. that was the heading, eye-catching, but i didn't get to read the whole article. so for those who wants to read his articles, remember to keep an open mind and take it with a pinch of salt if u disagree with his thinking.

i read a few of his articles. after two articles, too heavy going for me. but i kind of like welcome his perspectives into issues. yah, that's how i approach his articles, to help me gain another perspective into issues.

ok, i guess i'll stop here. not advertising for his website, juz my thoughts for the day, oops, i mean morning.

Ma-ia-hii Ma-ia-huu Ma-ia-haa Ma-ia-ha-ha

wah, i miss this one

kids do the dumbest thing

have a good laugh

Chen Weilian Debut Concert - Love Me

only half the song

i'll update about the melbourne trip when i've collated my photos. My set of photos are ready... juz that a colleague is helping collating the pics, so when i have the cd of pics, then i'll update about the trip.

in the meantime, now starting up my engine slowly in view of the new school year. imagine, next month this time, i'll be so busy in school and school has probably started into its 3rd week. gosh, as u grow older, time passes by faster.

juz bought a princess magazine and spongbob magazine for the eldest 2M at the 7-11 store. for max, think i'll get him a walker. and i have not bought the 2M's textbooks. bad mummy, not excited about their new school year, setting bad example. honestly, i dreaded marcus to go to P1, he will lose his childhood soon. so sad for him. i really hope he learns well and able to survive and cope with the demands of education. Of course, i'll guide him, being an educator myself, but i'm afraid that i go overboard.

nvm, we'll all take one step at a time.

thanks to friends who have been telling me that actually i'm not that fat. well, i guess fat or not, it's relative. but sometimes it's gross to see your cellulite forming.

flying off to melbourne tomorrow, sunday then come back. in a way looking forward to it, in a way not looking forward to it. well, it's a holiday, but it's not with family kind of holiday. i'll juz go with an open mind and learn and see new things. and of course, i'm going to take lots of pictures.

and I'm FAT!!!

no updates, because guess no mood, no inspiration. but honestly i was about to update.

attending this 3 full day workshop seminar. it's really good, although it teaches us how to teach our students, but the trainer puts it in such a way that we go through the activities ourselves and through it, i actually learn a lot of myself.

like yesterday we examine values. it was really hard to sort out 89 values into 'not impt', 'impt' and 'very impt'. then from the 'very impt' had to choose 3 values that holds dear to our hearts, wow, tough decision. but it forces me to think about my values.

then today learn about emotions/feelings. how emotions can affect our behaviour and actions, how our perceptions affect our emotions, how our past experiences shape our perceptions. it's really interesting and helps me to put all these in place. it really help me to gain new perspective into myself and relationships with people. i hope this inspiration stays with me... i tend to feel passionate only for the week... then next week, i tend to forget what i have learnt.

tomorrow is the last day of the seminar. looking forward to it thought it's tiring.

Sun Yan Zi - Yu Tian (full mv)

珊瑚海{KTV}

set, practise singing and go ktv

黑色毛衣{KTV}

can start going ktv liao

周杰伦

marcus and mabel used to like this song

周杰伦 枫

sad that the gal forgot her past

~ JAY'S 白色的风车~ ( TRANSLATED )

cannot stop crying

~JAY CHOU WT HEBE FULL MV'S 退后 ( TRANSLATED )

i dun like the ending

heartless

well, if anybody is interested to know my caption in MSN 'men are heartless, i must guard my heart.'

i know many will not agree with me, but things have had happened and it reinforce this thinking. even as i look at my son now, heartless. not appreciative of the efforts. I was juz thinking, next time when both of the sons grow up, they will set up their own family, their heart will only have their wives and not their mother, so i must bear this in mind. Maybe it's juz man's nature. To my husband, he doesn't see anything wrong with son not showing any care and concern or not appreciative. To my husband, as long as both sons grow up well and not kill or rob, have the necessary skills to survive in the society out there, he is fine whether sons appreciate efforts or not. It is juz woman's nature to take matters to heart.

Maybe this part i have to learn from men. i have to learn to let go of certain things. i must learn to detach myself from issues and sees things clearly. i must stop my daydreaming. if there is next life, next life i want to be a man.

Men are heartless, women must guard our hearts.

son son is so cute nowadays. and he is getting cheeky. my heart melts.

now he knows how to pretend to cry, trying very hard to force out his tears, then when u look at him, his cries instantly turns to a big smile. very cheeky boy.

and he is very very talkative. he grumbles so much juz before he sleeps, juz like complaining to me like that, sometimes he even grumbles with his eyes close. eyes shut, but the mouth juz goes on grumbling. had to 'sh' him to sleep.

he's my precious little gem, really love him

got this from another blog about Gemini woman:

GEMINI WOMAN
A good looking woman with brains, a very interesting person. She has a fast movement and she could not sit still or stand still long. She is able to do many things at the same time and do it fast.

yeah, i could agree with that, i could not sit or stand still long, i think i can multi task.

If you date her, you will feel like dating many women at the same time. You can not tie her down with the word "Love" because she cares about love but is it not a major factor of her life. You have to be able to adjust yourself to get along with her many different characters. She is a dreamer and has many dreams. She eager to learn something new all the time. Even she is the 2 in 1 mixed character type, she is quite lucky in love. You have to put all your efforts to win her affection. Even when she likes you and wonder about your wit, she will also see and inspect your bad side at the same time, because it is in her nature.

hmmm, am i that difficult in love? i dunno. A dreamer? well, maybe, who doesn't have dreams? Quite lucky in love? probably. to win my affection? hmm, i dunno.

She able to keep all kinds of mixed emotions without annoying you or letting you know at all. She can cheer you up by acting like a free little bird. Her conversation will not bored you. She able to talk to you in any subjects. She can make you feel like you are the luckiest man alive. She can make you feel like she needs all your care, but once she needs to stand alone, she can stand alone firmly an comfortably. She can be your best buddy and talk to you about anything. She can join all your activities with the same energy that you have.

yeah, that i can agree with, i can keep my emotions quite well. and that part about standing alone, yeah, i think i can stand alone firmly and comfortably, if i needed the quiet time alone.

She is a quick wit person and learn new things very fast. She can see your projects and she can give you good advice. If she thinks you are not sure that you want her for yourself, she will act like your best friend only, a cool woman. She can easily make a guy fall in love with her. Her multiple changes and many moods is a "Charm" for many men. She can be laughing for 2 minutes and later suddenly quiet. She wants to find only 1 true love and she wants to meet her dream guy. She expects a lot and nearly too much. She is constantly waiting for her knight shinning armor even she is with a steady boy friend. She can fall in love or fond of someone else while she is with you. If you break up with her, she will forget you quite fast, because change is in her nature. The Gemini woman breaks more heart than woman in other Zodiac. Because she is a dreamer and always waiting for her knight shinning armor ,so her love life can be complex ! or a mess.

wah, was my love life in a mess? did i break many hearts? i dunno. am i still waiting for my knight in shining armour? i dunno. (hehe, only i know the answer in my heart, but i think i'm not very prepared to share it here)

She hates to write a long letter, so if you write her a letter and expect a prompt reply, forget it.
Because she has a multiple personality and multiple ideas, so she hates to put them down in written proof. Because she knows what she belief today can be different tomorrow.

that part about the long letter is not true, i do enjoy receiving emails and letters. but i strongly believe the last sentence, what i believe today can be different tomorrow.

She could communication with more than 1 languages , a real gifted linguistic.

no, not true, i'm horrible at languages. prob only EL and CL.

If she wants to tell you any bad comments, she won't say it straight away, but she will talk to you about many other things and accidentally come to that subject without offending you. Normally she will not lie.

yeah, that's true, when asked for my opinion, i usually beat around the bush, hoping not to offend the person.

She will work hard and once a while take a long rest. She can get bored and tired with her own surrounding more than at work. She never feel content with her present work, money, or reputations, she will drive to have more. Don't ask her what is her ultimate contentment for she will not have an answer.

yeah, that is very true also. never content.

Once you get to know her, she will be a supportive person and always be beside you. She has a beautiful dream and she loves to have someone walk side by side with her, together and equally.

yeah, that is very true again. will be supportive and beside the one i love.

ok, so the conclusion is, no matter where u found this zodiac sign thing, looks like it's about 85% true of me.

this is so funny, dunno whether to be angry with marcus or juz laugh at him.

he was cycling at the corridor, the next thing, i heard a scream. apprarently, he cycled down the stairs. omg, how silly can he be? he must be playing too much xbox, thinking that his bicycle can fly like the lightening mcqueen. funny... he had a slight bump on his forehead and head. will monitor. think he was in a shock straight after the fall, but i guess he is ok.

yesterday, officially hand over the keys to the buyers of my house. as i walked to the lift and looked back at my house for the last time, i actually felt a tinge of sadness. believe it or not, i wanted to cry. no matter what, this is the house we queued for since 1996/7. it's been like 5 years we waited for this new house.

i remembered when i first sold my potong pasir flat and moving to punggol, i didn't have this feeling. maybe i was happy that i would be getting my punggol flat, so i was eager to move out. this time round, however, i juz felt sad. probably because this is where marcus and mabel grew up in, this is where it keeps me going in my work. probably this is my source of motivation.

well, i will always remember this place. it will be a part of me even though i've left the place.

moving house

moving house is actually quite fun. It's stressful, having to balance your work, family and then to pack the house. it taught me to maintain my cool.

also, threw away lots of things. if u are not moving house, imagine all the rubbish that you have been keeping. threw torchlights, lamps, some decorations, quite a lot of other stuff away.

darn tired...

songs unite

i like to wind down the windows of the car in the morning as i drive. as usual, this morning, i did the same thing and was listening to jay chou's songs, volume loud.

at the traffic junction, red light, had to stop. so there was this black car, also windows wind down, music loud. then i realise, we are listening to the same cd, juz that i'm at song 1, the other car is at song 3. it's like i turn, then we smiled and then we each continued our way.

i juz feel that songs unite people.

Haze

think everyone will agree that the haze is pretty bad on fri and sat. no carrying of lantern on fri evening as didn't want to add to the haze with all the candles burning. also some children are putting those fireworks, very pollutive and dangerous also.

glad today the haze is much better.

today celebrated mabel's birthday. had fun cooking with my sis. all had a good time, and the appel soup was gone, not a drop left. i cooked quite a big pot of the soup. of course, mabel received some presents and she was happy. in fact, she is still playing with her new toys now. if i were to insist that she goes to sleep, she will definitely cry out for sure. oh yes, she looks lovely in her white dress today, like a princess.

I very stupid 2

No, this is not the sequel to I Not Stupid Too. it's about the china woman and 3 men saga.

1st stupid
the 2 men involve in this scandal is indeed very silly. i shall not elaborate more, because i think i understand the betrayal of love and trust they must be feeling now. and to add on to this, i believe many Singaporean woman must be saying this: "See, another xiao long pao. cheat our Singaporean men of their money." well, i'm sorry to say that, but i've overheard many Singaporean ladies have this perception of xiao long pao. and this scandal serves to reinforce that perception. Some even generalise that they wreak people's families and after the men's money. This is from the mouth of not only educated ladies, but also not so educated ones.

2nd stupid:
reading the scandal is actually very interesting. But it also make me realise that I was very stupid. Here i am working my ass off to provide for my family, and this lady here, no need to work, juz service 2 men and she is 'earning' much more than i do.(for those who didn't follow the scandal, apparently, she got $7,000 monthly allowance) and on top of this, sometimes she ask them for a big amount of money like $30,000. Kao, what is this world becoming. i take my hat off her.

*fumes*

found something i enjoy doing recently:

driving alone at night, windows wind down, listening to music played on the car stereo, mind relaxing.

it was very refreshing, most important, i felt at peace.

it's been a long time since i took pic with my PDA or digital cam. was looking through the photos juz.... some photos juz brought back some memories then i remembered feelingnism and this is the photo that got me tonight:

It's going to be busy busy busy until end of october. guess that's the way with working life.

getting back into the pace of work... but time really passes very fast when you work. no time to think too much, no time to think of other things. Just work, rest and children. good and bad, i suppose. good because this helps me not to anyhow think and bad because seems like rather routine like that. so fast, it's the end of sept and we are left with the last quarter of the year. really, as you grow old, time is really going faster and faster.

it's funny how life comes a full circle. how we always end up in the same place, no matter how far we go. we are always moving in circles.

circle of life? think i heard before somewhere, or was it a song?

my head is in a mess, my heart is crying.
i can see the future, whatever the prediction is right.
all i can do now is to pray hard and wish for happiness.
they say this, right?
if u love someone, u should let him/her be happy

argh.......... that's all i can say for today. and to think that i have to end the day with a horrible class. what a nice way to start my weekend.

never mind, i'll 'yoga' to rid off the anger inside me. but now i juz want to shout out loud and cool off.... S T U P I D I D I O T S !

Yes, welcome back to school. slowly getting into the pace of things in school. my voice broke down after the first lesson on the first day. i'm also easily tired out, by the end of the day, juz felt so drained.

first to put on record:
Thanks Shirley for the happy teacher's day greeting.
Thanks Charlie for the chocolate. and i love Hershey's chocolate.
Thanks Belmont for the red pen.

These are my ex students. So sweet of them, at least i know that they still remember me. i was caught most surprised by Belmont's red pen, it was like i have not taught him for the past 3 years, and yet.... it is really very sweet when you have your ex students remembering you.

and to the three young ladies of 3E5, yeah, you pass Humanities! so happy for all of you. i'll only get to teach you all in Week 3 which leaves me little time to 'repair'. but i'm looking forward to seeing the three of you in class.

Yes, welcome back to school. slowly getting into the pace of things in school. my voice broke down after the first lesson on the first day. i'm also easily tired out, by the end of the day, juz felt so drained.

first to put on record:
Thanks Shirley for the happy teacher's day greeting.
Thanks Charlie for the chocolate. and i love Hershey's chocolate.
Thanks Belmont for the red pen.

These are my ex students. So sweet of them, at least i know that they still remember me. i was caught most surprised by Belmont's red pen, it was like i have not taught him for the past 3 years, and yet.... it is really very sweet when you have your ex students remembering you.

and to the three young ladies of 3E5, yeah, you pass Humanities! so happy for all of you. i'll only get to teach you all in Week 3 which leaves me little time to 'repair'. but i'm looking forward to seeing the three of you in class.