Fell sick

Could not post yesterday as I was feeling ill. Had very bad diarrhoea and went to the loo 6 times. Still feel quite dehydrated now but at least it is under control. Went to see the doc and he gave me 2 days medical leave which I have defied and am back in school. Have to avoid dairy products plus oily food. Perhaps I should avoid patronising that particular stall which apparently caused this severe stomach upset.

Long Tuesday

I dread Tuesdays. There is no lesson only until 1530hrs. Many have asked me why do I bother to come to campus bright and early. Basically, it is to ensure that I can be constructive during the good part of the day and also to save on the parking fee. Moreover, this is a pretty short semester so at least it is not that bad. The way some people plan timetable for others is really questionable. What's worse is that many also suffer the same fate. How I miss my varsity days in Aussie when we plan our own timetables. One may argue that there are many different programmes running concurrently here but there are much more in uni so that is an invalid reason. And to use the phrase "you are paid to be here" is just a lame excuse used by people with poor planning skills and atrocious work attitude. Enough said.

Approaching CNY

It is the time of the year when our bank account will suffer quite a substantial damage when we have to change for new notes. It does not help that some people have many children which when put in a very blunt way, means a big 'loss' to us. But the very fact of being able to bless others negates this fact. I just wonder what is it like to spend the Lunar New Year overseas just to experience the mood of CNY in other countries. The last time when I did so was during my varsity days when I was doing summer school. Still recalled that my final exam was on the 1st day! Furthermore, I have long lost that kind of excitement every eligible 'hongbao earner' has since then. The main reason is that there are many people whom I do not wish to see at all. Besides, it is rather annoying to hear the same old thing being preached to you repeatedly. So I will usually turn a blind eye and a deaf ear to all their rumblings.

Had a very sinful dinner last night

After going for a 15km run, Angela said she had a craving for the ramly burger from the pasar malam at the interchange. Whats more, yours truly also wanted to have some char kway teow as well. So we had a very sinful dinner consisting of mee goreng and a ramly burger bought from the pasar malam, plus a char kway teow and a hokkien mee. I wonder how much calories I had put back after burning them off. Not like it bothers me as I lose it much faster than I gain. (that is if I do gain for a start!) Ok I know the last sentence will certainly put many people off especially those who are very weight conscious but please understand people like me who are known in hokkien as "kam chek".

big boss

Esther is better already

Latest update from the daycare is that Esther is coping fine with no signs of any tummy upset. And at least she took some milk despite the weird taste. Basically, lactose-free milk is for those with diarrhoea but the taste is awful. It is no wonder why she rejected it when we tried feeding it to her. The last resort of having to feed her through the syringe had to be done. However, she is better already so we hope that over the weekend, she will be alright.

DCE class this morning was fantastic. It was basically a chance for us to display our voice acting skills with respect to certain texts. This will be part of the course requirements and I can see that it will be an interesting one. The only glitch is having to choose a text from among a group of 5. Here's looking forward to it.

pose

Cleaned my teeth today

We went to the dentist to have our teeth cleaned and I think I should start flossing my teeth. I only brush them but i reckon it is not enough. It certainly feels different after the 20min torturing session of scrubbing and scraping. Honestly, I dread visiting the dentist.

Esther was at her aunt's place today as she had a bad tummy yesterday and was having the runs. Throughout the day, she enjoyed herself but when she was awake, so many people kept her company. Her Aunt entertained her while the domestic helper brought her to the playground downstairs. Grandpa came too and entertained her as well. When uncle came home, he too brought her for a walk. How blessed eh? I wonder if I was like that when I was at that age.

Thought of what I want to write for my RT script

I have already thought of what I want to write for my RT script for DCE 202. It is going to be sports related since one of the themes in the P5 english text does touch on sports. Initially I had wanted to do something related to F1 (yes, again!) but fellow coursemates said it might not appeal to the fairer gender. So I had to think of something else. Just then, I flipped through the papers and when I was reading about the Australian Open Tennis tournament, the inspiration came. So now I need to find 2 texts and then write about it. And the announcement that Singapore is one of the final 2 candidate cities to compete with Moscow to hold the inaugural Youth Olympics in 2010. Let the creativity flow..........

yawn......

more teeth erupting

For the past week, we noticed that Esther feels slightly warmer than usual. There were times when she was running a slight temperature but it was below the crucial 37.5 deg C. Once it shoots up above that, the day care centre will call us. This weekend, she hit the 38 deg at some point and upon closer inspection of her gums, we can see that there are two more teeth eru[ting. This probably explains why she keeps on putting objects into her mouth. Occasionally, we give her a teether which has just been taken out of the freezer so that it will be soothing. At post time, her fever has subsided. Hopefully it will stay this way so that she can go to school and we need to upset our schedules.

so many things to complete for both maths modules

24 hrs a day is a fixed constant. The number of tasks to be completed daily are variables. So what happens if there is a sudden influx of things to be done as and when situation arises? Now comes the aspect of prioritizing one's tasks. Get the more important ones completed first then followed by the next one. If some redundant stuff needs to be put aside for the time being, so be it. However, there are those non-negotiables that must be done on a daily basis so make sure you factor them in as well.

blowing bubbles

We are trying to train Esther to drink from the cup. Not a bad attempt though she would rather blow bubbles.

Esther is 10mths old today!

our new all-in-one printer

Since the old printer did not seem to be working well, we decided to purchase a brand new one. Thankfully, Angela's brother-in-law is a staff at HP so we managed to get a fairly decent one at jus 135bucks. It can print, photocopy and scan. We decided not to get the one with the fax function as we do not see a need for that. So what will I do with the old printer and scanner, most probably I will bring it to school during my practicum and hopefully I can stay on to avoid having to lug it back and forth. Incidentally, the old printer was also given to us and that is one sturdy unit. The only problem is that the cartridge seems to be giving a lot of problems and the burnt marks on the cartridge probably explain why it stuffed up. So I guess no matter how durable anything can be, age will definitely catch up with it.

Been in the lib

Since morning when the library opened, I have been sitting at the 3rd floor 'suite' doing my stuff. Managed to complete maths 202 which is due to be turned in on thu. Had wanted to start on english 202 but no one has a clue what is going on since our tutor has been on MC due to dengue. Lastest development is that she will be back in time for our tutorial class this friday. And if that is not enough, our reader's script is due to be handed in on monday. So much for lecturers on medical leave. I recalled when I was in school, whenever when our teacher was on medical leave or absent from school, we were all overjoyed because that meant another free period for us to slack or just simply idle. Enough of ramblings...back to my maths 201.

A long day

Had a really long day. Reached campus at 0800 hrs as usual and went for a 18km run. The weather was great except that it was getting quite warm. Took a hearty 'brunch' before i headed for class. Maths 202 lesson was fantastic. There are so many maths games that we can incorporate into our lessons and it makes the whole learning process so much more interesting. The photos you see above were one of the many games we played. So now I know what extra things I can do to make my maths lessons more interesting.

Prices of daily necessities sky-rocketing

When Esther went for her jab yesterday, our GP mentioned to us that milk powder prices were on the rise due to the price of its raw materials shooting up by as much as 50%. As if that was not enough, the evening news reported about price increases of Lunar New Year items vis-a-vis last year. Somehow or rather, we hear of the economy doing well, unemployment at an all-time low of less than 2% makes me wonder if the economy IS really doing well or it is just a cover-up. Analysts predicted a slowdown in the US economy and oil prices set to rise further. But do we see the proportionate increase in our wages in order for us to cope?

photos

Early post

I decided to post earlier as we have IDT this evening and by the time we get home, it would be rather late. Moreover, that would be around the time of Esther's last feed. Speaking of which, she seems to have a slight running nose. Hopefully it is nothing major as she is having her second pneumochocal (not sure how to spell it) jab tomorro morning.

I went for a longer run this morning from home to and around campus and the distance covered was about 19-20km. Thank God for the great weather and indeed it sure feels so refreshing after a good sweating session. Of course there is a bigger objective to work towards. Probably I will take a break tomorrow and either do a short one on Sunday abd then a long one again on Monday? Just need to take note of not over-training. My Adidas shoe is already 3 months old and I reckon I might be able to use it for another 3-5 months before I start looking at a new pair? Probably my next one I would like to try another 'control shoe' with a different design and yet within my budget. All said and done, the availability of my size is key.

Objects on the road

I was on my way to pick Angela from work when I noticed the taxi in front me slowed down to a halt before making a sudden lane change. Wondering what it was I saw that there was an empty plastic fruit basket in the middle of the lane. I wanted to avoid it but there were other traffic so I decided to see if it could pass under the car. However, it got stuck and that was when I decided to pull over to the side and try to get it out. When it was safe to do so, I engaged reverse gear but the sound of plastic dragging the hard bitumen road could still be heard. Thankfully it was not raining heavily but it was no drizzle either. I got out and tried to pull it out but it was harder than I thought. Went back into the car to empty my pocket in case my wallet and mobile phone might drop out. I tugged at the object and it came off. Did a check of the undercarriage and fortunately there was no damage at all. It was the cross bar that tugged the basket. By then I was quite wet. Dried myself and continued on my journey.

This made me recall an incident years ago when I was driving up to Exmouth which is 1,300km north of Perth. I had slowed to 120kmh when I noticed there was something up ahead. Slowing down further, I saw that it was a family of 4 sheep crossing the road. Blasting the horn hoping they would get out of the way, I slowed down further but it was a little too late. I grazed one of the sheep and it flew to the other one and it became a domino effect. I saw them being thrown off the road and I think they might have sustained some injuries especially the one that got the direct impact. Stopped the car at a safe spot and got out to check the damage. It was slight but there was a dent on the left fender and the bumper was smashed in. The car was still drivable but I knew I had to pay the rental company the damage access which I wisely reduced to just $150. Grateful that the animal did not go airborne and land on the car or else......

Got my new camera today

I got my new camera today after deciding to 'trade-in' the damaged one which was beyond economical repair. It is a newer model than the old one but the USB port, battery pack and memory card are all the same as the old one. So that means I have more than enough space and battery power. Now comes the next step to claim from my LDS thingy. Need to figure out how to do that.

DCM 201 lesson was quite interesting as it involves a test construction plus a microteaching. Sounds formidable but it is something that I need to know and do starting this July. However, some other modules have projects and assignments that are purely nonsensical and utterly useless. No names mentioned.

Spent 6 hrs in the lib 3rd level

Many were stuck with the 5 hr in between classes but yours truly only has the afternoon class so one may wonder why I went to campus so early. If I stayed at home, I would have slackened the whole day. So I did some of my own stuff and also talked through some course work with friends plus some fun in between. Chats, gossips, jokes, lunch were just some of the various things that took place. Next time must remember to bring my computer. Got to get back to work!!!

Back for the final semester

Today marks the start of the final semester before I go out for my practical attachment. It is very uplifting to meet up with fellow coursemates once again for the last time. Went for a morning run around the campus before going for breakfast. Just as I was about to join WD and Anthony I saw someone. He was from ACJC many moons ago and immediately we knew each other by face. Turned out that he was also a fellow teacher who was in NIE for his Dip in PE. Exchanged our phone numbers and pledged to stay in touch. He has a 3 month old daughter and we also talked about parenting. Throughout the day I met up with so many familiar faces and it sort of alleviated the horrible feeling of having a bad timetable. But then again, it is just 6 weeks.

IDT briefing

It seemed as if we were all going back to school. Had out IDT briefing this afternoon and that was when we met up with respective members and also collected our materials plus our personalised bar code identity tag. Like army heh? We were then told what is expected and I tell you, it really looks quite formidable. However, I sensed that this is a good opportunity to go back to the basics and revisit what I had learnt years ago when I was a new convert. The '1 year bible' is something really cool. Heard from batches 1 & 2 that it is much easier to use this than the conventional one in chronological order as it can get quite hard to digest when it comes to certain chapters. So it's time to get down to work!

Camera is beyond economical repair

My camera is beyond econimical repair. Internal corrosion caused by the water seepage proved fatal. It can be repaired but it costs more than 300bucks which makes it rather senseless to get it repaired. Moreover there is only a 6 months warranty to it so they advised me to get a brand new one instead. Now comes the catchy part. I was offered 400bucks for a brand new model which Olympus offered me. It is slightly newer than the damaged one but I have yet to see how it looks like. In fact, I think I might want to speak to them if they can give me a better solution than just getting me to purchase a new camera knowing fully well that they will always get a better deal. So much for being a consumer...

Atrocious timetable

In all my 4 semesters in NIE, the timetable layout for this semester has got to be the worst ever. The way that I am being allocated for certain module time slots is simply unbelievable. Imagine going to campus for only 2 hours and at 1530hrs at that! Having long breaks in between is something I can accept but ...... Oh well, this is the last semester and it only lasts for 7 weeks. Minus the e-learning week which is when it is CNY, I am left with only 6 weeks so just bite the bullet then. Found out that many of my other fellow coursemates are in just a horrible situation as myself. What are those people in Blk 1 doing?

enjoyable run

I went for a run this afternoon when it was windy and best of all, there was no sun. However, it started to drizzle when I was around the Hillview area. Sensing that I do not want to get drenched during this crucial time of the semester, I stopped immediately and headed for the nearest bus stop. Took 176 back home and had a nice lunch after resting for a while. So running in the afternoon is great provided there is no sun. If it is windy, that would be the icing on the cake.

Timetable is still not out and the course outline for both the maths modules are still not out. What's keeping them?

Busy day

Although I only start school next monday, Angela starts today as with the rest of those school-going students. We decided to give ourselves more allowance so we got up a little earlier to settle the usual stuff. This is in line with what will happen when my final semester begins and thereafter when I go for practicum. And of course trying to fit in my running as well.

Managed to do some other things like heading to Orchard to get my belt adjusted as it was too long. Also had a walk through Paragon just to see what is available so that I can utlise the voucher before it expires. Tried to do all that within half an hour as parking in Taka is quite costly. Perhaps when I next head down there I might take the train as it is much more cost effective.

So how is the first day at school? Especially those who have just entered Sec 1? As I have mentioned before, the next 4 years in sec sch will be the most rewarding time in one's education journey. I certainly enjoyed my 4 years back at ACS (I). What about those who have just entered JC? I think the orientation must be happening. Like I told a fellow CG member's daughter who will be in ACJC starting today, orientation is the best time in JC1 while the prom night will be the pinnacle in JC2. How I wish I could experience my sec sch and JC life all over again.

Happy New Year

This year will be filled with many transitions and new challenges. For a start, we will be embarking on the IDT program in church and the commitment level is pretty high. However, it is something that those who are in now will say that it is very fulfilling. It is not a bed of roses but good for the soul nonetheless.

I will also be finishing up my final semester before going to school for my practicum which will last for a full 10 weeks. It will be the final assessment module before I get my permanent posting. The past 2 years in NIE sailed by so swiftly that it only seemed that I had just begun my training stint.

As for running, I have about 5 mths to completing my first full marathon. Been training of late and will slowly increase the distance. Thankfully the weather has been very windy and cloudy the past week or so and that meant I could put in some mileage into my shoes! Hopefully they can last for more than 6 mths?

So being the first day of a new year is a time of giving thanks for the year that has just passed and also mapping out what needs to be done and achieved in the new year. Somewhat like a work plan. Here's to a blessed and enriching 2008.