Friday, July 30, 2004

Spring Chicken? Prime Beef? Hahahah!

Dad's birthday is around the corner. Headed out to town. It's quite a hassle going around with coins clinking in my pockets to pay my bus fares. I'm still waiting for them to call me up. Refusing to buy a new card to avoid the non-refundable deposit.

Dropped by a bookstore. Browsed and read some books. I used to buy books so often when I was much younger till the cupboard ran out of space. My youngest sister was fortunate when we passed down all those books & cupboard to her. In replace, Dad bought a taller but smaller cupboard. By that time our thick textbooks and almost bursting lecture files occupied the space. Eventually stopped buying books altogether. Resorted to borrowing library books. Even that proved to be troublesome. Nowadays, I spend hours in the library reading. Back forth, back and forth... searching and keeping tab on the same book till I finish it. Pretty dumb but actually that was how I managed to read all the Enid Blyton books in my primary schooldays. Using the same method on a particular bookshop. Hahah! =)

I had Chicken Rice for dinner before I left. Surprisingly I was hungry again. Went to McDonalds and bought Spicy McDouble Meal. Took a stroll from Marina Square to City Hall, boarded bus 960 and went home. Walked past Minah's block. Hmm... must pass her the vcd 'Hum Tum' one of these days.

P.S: 2 beef burgers, 2 chicken burgers, 2 fish burgers. That's it! =) *struck BURGERS off craving list*

Thursday, July 29, 2004

Makcik's new house!

Went to Makcik's new house! Big, bright, cool place. It's in the same cluster as Mak Ngah's house and I realised it only on my way home.

This afternoon, Makcik suggested to come over tonight instead of tomorrow. Luckily I checked the street directory or I would have lost my way based on Makcik's directions. My dear... your house is 2 stops after V Point. =)

Best of all, Hansem boi was around! He used to call me Aunty Achar. Has since changed to Aunty Sha. Now I'm A-sha. Pronouncing my name is a mouthful for him now. He's barely 2 years old. Cheeky boy!

Got to watch 'The Apprentice' while eating Super Supreme pizza. Played with Hansem boi and his new BIG bike and BIG ball. I had told Makcik earlier on that I wanted to sign my intials on the wall before I leave. In the end, I completely forgot.

All because of Hansem boi...

Wednesday, July 28, 2004

Headache after class without fail. Ooww!

Entire day was punctuated with drizzles & windy rain. I went out in the afternoon without an umbrella. I reached the mosque just minutes before it started raining. By the time I left, the rain had stopped. Yet before I could reached Bukit Gombak MRT station, it started drizzling.

My EZlink card decided to throw tantrums. The bus driver was kind enough to wait while I dig for coins... but there was no way I could have exited Chinatown MRT station without tapping my card yesterday.

Grabbed a quick lunch @ BK while waiting for counter to reopen from lunch break. Big Fish Meal this time. Yes! I'm on a mission to fulfill my cravings. Dateline: this week itself.

Settled my EZlink card problem. My card was taken away for good. So now I'm cardless! Aarrgh! Took MRT & LRT home. Changed bag, grabbed an umbrella and I got an sms. Mum & I taught a troop of monsters last Thursday. Supposed to teach them again tomorrow. The agency had the cheek to tell us that tomorrow's lesson is postponed to next Thursday! Last minute! We have nothing better to do is it?!! Mum called them up and said that we won't be available next week. Simply can't be bothered to entertain them anymore. Left and boarded bus 67 to class.

Class was busy as usual. I have given up all hope of ever leaving the classroom @ 10.15pm on the dot. Tonight, EW dismissed the class @ 10.40pm. With a throbbing headache, I boarded bus 67 and went to slumberland. Reached home minutes before the stroke of midnight. Modern Cinderella...

P.S: 2 fish burgers, 2 beef burgers, 1 chicken burger.

Tuesday, July 27, 2004

Man-man!

I was supposed to have lunch with Minah, Lily & Intan. But I woke up late. Mum had bought lunch too... so plan went down drain. Had wanted to collect vcd 'Hum Tum' from Lily. Suggested watching the vcd over @ Minah's house but she was tired from lack of sleep. In the end, I went out and meet Makcik in Chinatown.

Makcik & Pakcik got their keys to their house last Sunday. One overdriven, very excited couple indeed. =) She wanted to use all her shopping vouchers to buy her new household items. While I indulged in my craving of McDonald's Spicy Double Meal, she ate fries dipped in Hot Fudge Sundae. In the midst of our conversation, Pakcik called. Another plan down the drain. He fetched us and went straight... to her place.

Hansem boi was being put to sleep. Makcik showed him the spiderman bag that she had bought. Practically threw his bottle of milk and shouted "Man-man!" Hahha there goes sleep! He got up, went to his playcorner and started playing with his other Man-man.



Stayed on to watch the finals of 'Anugerah'. Haven't been a follower actually. Watched to see how one of my juniors fared. The contestants can sing well though there was none that struck me as outstanding or with impressive vocals. I definitely don't understand the comedy bitz. Filling up air-time?

Hansem boi distracted me with his "Tick-tock", "Cat", "Barney" and "Man-man". So cheeky. Definitely more entertaining. =)

Collected vcd from Minah just now. Gonna watch it later.

P.S: Lastest check... I've eaten 1 fish burger, 2 beef burgers & 1 chicken burger. Hmm, must make them equal. Hahaha! =P

Monday, July 26, 2004

Last minute... my craving fulfilled. =)

Received a call @ 4pm. Requested to relief tuition class @ 7.30pm in Woodlands. The clerk was so desperately in need. She had been making calls for a relief since morning! Poor lady.

Arrived 1/2 hour before class and went through the worksheets. I'm supposed to tutor Sec 3N for Mathematics. Entered the classroom @ 7.30pm sharp and it was empty. Huh? 1st student appeared 20 mins later. 2nd student appeared @ 8pm.

Told them that their tutor was on MC, introduced myself and kicked off class. It was supposed to be a revision on 'Congruency & Similarity' but they looked at me as if I was speaking Greek. I ended up teaching the entire topic.

Class ended @ 9.40pm. The nearby provision shops were closed. I've not had dinner since I was there. Went to Causeway Point and bought Whopper Meal @ Burger King. Finally! For $3.90 too!

Missed 'Friends' on TV.

Saturday, July 24, 2004

Craving for Burger!

Woke up @ 8.00am this morning. My beautiful rainy Saturday morning spoilt... I received a call from the lady in-charge of that Malay Enrichment programme yesterday. She wanted to meet us. Mum & I got ready. Weathered through the heavy rain just to see them @ Bukit Gombak McDonalds. We arrived @ 10am. Briefing was over within 1/2 hour. Waste my time!

We left McDonalds and had breakfast at the kopitiam next door. Then went into the wet market to shop for foodstuffs. Reached home around noon. Mum rested for a while, changed and left for meeting in mosque. I was left home alone. Luxurious!

My sisters finally came back towards evening. We had dinner together in the living room. Now they are busy watching 'Daylight'. And I'm craving for burger. Come to think of it... it's been a long while since I ate in BK, KFC, LJS or McDonalds. Hmm...

Friday, July 23, 2004

Ladoo, Poori & Badham milk... YUMMY!

Dearie pushed forward our plan to go Little India from next Monday to today. Took bus 960 and arrived @ 7.15pm. It's been a long while since we went to Little India together. Called Dearie but no answer. Hmm... what is happening here? While waiting for Dearie to call back, I bought ladoos. Man, miss eating these sweets so much!

Stuffed them in my bag, reached for my hp and called Dearie again. Called 3 more times before we finally met in front of Komala Villas. Had our usual order - Poori, Masala Dosai & 2 cups of Badham milk. After that, we walked our way into Mustafa Centre and did some shopping.

We didn't spend too much time tonight. Dearie had to go Parkway Parade. We left Little India around 9.15pm and walked our way to Bugis MRT station. We parted and I walked to the bus stop for bus 960. I know for certain that I can get a seat in the bus... at this bus stop.

I was full. Dinner had been great. I would have fallen asleep in the bus had my phone not rang. I chatted from the time I was at the bus stop till I reached home. Amazing! Time flies when one has good company. =) Hung up and saw a missed call from Renuga. Alamak!

She's been busy of late with preps for her engagement. Should I call or should I not? Decided to give her a call. Had another 'talking marathon'. By the time we called it a night, Makcik had fallen asleep waiting for me to come online. I'm so sorry. Could barely open my eyes now. Need to sleep early too. Gotta wake up early tomorrow...

Thursday, July 22, 2004

Troop of monsters? So?! (Part 1)

Woke up @ 9.30am. Helping out in a Malay enrichment programme. The co-ordinator had told us to be there an hour earlier before class. Mum & I arrived in the primary school @ 12.30pm on the dot. We entered the canteen and had our lunch of Fried Rice. Reminded me of my primary schooldays when all food and drinks are ssoo cheap! A packet of papaya + a packet of guava + 1 mineral water + 1 packet drink = $1.90! Where can you find that in kopitiams?!

We tucked in happily. Then waited, waited and waited for the lady to arrive. She finally arrived at the start of class itself - 1.30pm. Mum & I shook our heads. Sigh... So much for our preparations.

I followed one group of students to the class, distributed their folder of worksheets and started introducing myself. Hmm, so far so good.

Midway while teaching, my Mum came over. She had trouble logging into the PC. Worse still, no teacher was around! Left my class to write their drafts and tried to help. Attempt was futile as I didn't know the password too. In the end, my mum sent one of the students to look for the teacher-in-charge.

20 minutes flew by and I collected their drafts. Selected a few and read it out to the class.

Next thing I knew, there were 2 teachers observing my class. Mum's class was being observed too. My class intake have blown up to 23 students and one boy in particular, was testing my patience. He referred to every picture shown as 'Osama' and every action as someone farting. Lots of construction work going on too and the din made wasn't making things better. Then came groupwork.

The class settled down quickly to 5 groups. Brainstorming on a group name alone got everyone excited. The last thing I needed was for that joker boy to pass stupid remarks. He was distracting the others. In the midst of discussion, I kept hearing him saying nonsensical rubbish. I walked around the class to check their work... silently walked behind the joker.

As if on cue, he uttered another stupid remark. SLAM! I smacked his table as hard as I could. He got a rude shock and whole class went dead silent. Glared at him and the naughty ones. Surprisingly construction work stopped too. Wow! Hahaha =)

I managed to cover the coursework. Exceeded lesson time a bit but hey, I did it! As the students trickled out of class, some of the girls came to salam me.

On our way home, Mum & I were sharing our 'teaching' episodes. I was luckier. Apparently one teacher stayed throughout in her class to observe. When those 2 teachers left my class, they went over to her class and stayed too.

Whatever it is, we have decided not to come so early next Thursday! =P

Wednesday, July 21, 2004

I got my THICK textbook. Goodness!

Had been delaying to collect Dad's driving licence from the post office (to this day, my mum & I still wonder when the postman came as we were both at home on that fateful day).

Left home earlier than usual, took LRT to Phoenix and walked to the post office to collect the registered envelope. Walked to the nearest bus stop and boarded bus 67 to Aljunied. Under normal circumstances, I would have travelled via bus 960 & MRT. Well amazingly, journey took an hour and I reached school in time.

Collected my textbook. Revision kit is still not available. Sigh! Lesson was good. EW gave us lots of questions for us to do during class. My calculator was MIA. Resorted to the calculator function of my mobile instead. Entire class got so engrossed in solving those problems. We had our break @ 9.15pm. There goes my dinner!

Class ended @ a new record - 10.45pm. There wasn't enough time to buy BK @ Bugis. Alighted bus 960 in Bukit Panjang @ 11.40pm. Finally gonna have dinner @ the stroke of midnight. Aiyoh... Needless to say, I won't be heading to bed so soon.

Friday, July 16, 2004

Outram to Marsiling...

Woke up early this morning. Had a briefing to attend in Outram Centre. Left the house with mom @ 9am. Got caught in the rain and were late by 1/2 hour. The lady in-charge gave us our syllabus and PowerPoint slides. Help us God! The arrangement is so uncoordinated.
 
We left the office @ noon. Walked to SGH. Mum initially wanted to have lunch there. Then, she left after realising that she would be late for her religious class. Accompanied her to the bus interchange before heading back to SGH. Managed to meet up with Helen, Keith, Minghui, Noel, Azura, Ros, Surani & Maria. All were asking where I'm currently working. Hahaha! Wouldn't be there if I was working. =)
 
I had so much time to kill. Went up to the staff lounge, sat down and watched 'Clueless' on HBO. I still have another 2 hours before meeting Makcik in Chinatown. Called Makcik and we changed our meeting place to Library @ Orchard. 
 
Stopped by Delifrance in Takashimaya for my meal of the day. Needless to say, I dozed off in the library waiting for Makcik to arrive. 3 ladies were staring at me when I stirred from slumber. Oops!
 
Makcik finally arrived. We walked to Shaw House, sat in McDonalds and talked. Boy! So many things to tell indeed! Continued our conversation in the MRT on our way to her house. Finally got to see Hansem Boi. He showed off to me his BIG bus, BIG bikes, balls, Man-man (Spiderman) and even imitated "What's your name?" Hahah! Eeee cute! 

Saturday, July 10, 2004

Raffles City BK? Raffles Place BK?

Had a meeting in town this afternoon. I wasted $16 on taxi fare thanx to Faizal for giving me the wrong message. Finally when I arrived, I realised that all 3 of us are not feeling well.

We discussed a bit. Planned more for our next meeting. It is as if all things are on standstill. So next week, we will be window-shopping for souvenirs, stationeries, etc. Lots of walking to be done!

Friday, July 09, 2004

Fishermen's Village...

Actually, I had no intention to go out today. No plans at all. Honest!

I was happily surfing the Internet when Jiamei emailed me. After a flurry exchange of emails, phone calls and door bells, we finally left my house in her lorry.

Headed down to Aljunied - my school. Last Wednesday, the guy said stock will arrive on Thursday. Today, he said to come back in 2 weeks' time. Next time, I will shove my book vouchers down his throat if he doesn't give my books. Luckily Jiamei didn't mind as she was bored at work or I wouldn't have suggested going there in the first place.

Traffic was coming from my right but road was clear. I looked to my left as someone kickstart his bike and just as I stepped off the kerb, one cyclist hit me from my left 'blind spot'. This guy was cycling with his head turned behind! Didn't he realised that he was against the traffic flow? What and why on earth was he looking behind for?! I fell to my left, broke my fall with my left arm and my left leg kicked the bicycle. Cyclist went off balance. One guy came forward to help me and glared at the cyclist. Haha! Paiseh!

By right, I'm ok. By left, I have blue-black marks on the elbow, thumb, palm, ankle and slightly scraped knee. Crossed the road to Jiamei's parked lorry. She didn't even know I fell till I requested for tissue & plasters. No bones broken, everything intact, we moved on.

Jiamei suggested dinner @ Newton. Brought her to the stall that Minah recommended. Ordered Sugar Cane juice, Fried Rice, Kangkong Belachan & Chilli Lala. Yummy!

Spent an hour in Cineleisure after that while Jiamei worked out in California Fitness. She wanted to cancel her account but "person-in-charge is not around".

Jiamei's next suggestion was to go to Fishermen's Village. She actually feared that I would say no because it is in Pasir Ris. But I was game! We stopped by Carrefour @ Suntec to buy crackers and drinks. Then onward we went.

Now I have learnt that Fishermen's Village is actually the Pasir Ris Park near to the Class Reunion chalet... near to Minah's ex-office. I thought it was near Changi Jetty. =) Thanx Jiamei! Good night!

Thursday, July 08, 2004

Main Hoon Na in Little India!

Intan called this afternoon, asking me to relief a tuition class. But I was more eager to join her & Minah to Little India... so I gave her another contact for relief tutor. Hahah!

Went to Bangkit to meet Intan. She managed to rope in Lily along. Cool! In the end, 4 of us headed down to Little India. Intan brought us to 'Saravanan Bhavan' for dinner. The Poori was nice, companion was great but I think I shall stick to Komala Vilas. =) All of us ordered teh tarik. Intan said goat's milk was used. =( It tasted so weird!

We headed to the vcd shop after that. Minah didn't get her 'Kal Ho Naa Ho' as it was out of stock. She bought 'Main Hoon Na' instead. I managed to persuade Lily to buy 'Hum Tum'. I bought whatever was needed in Mustafa Centre.

We left Mustafa Centre past 10pm. Walked our way down, hailed a taxi for Intan and waved goodbye. The 3 of us continued walking down all the way to the bus stop. No taxis available! In the end, Minah & I took bus 960 home.

Wednesday, July 07, 2004

School starts! (100th post)

Woke up feeling groggy and with an aching back. Must be the result of those late nights.

Finally, back to school. Continuing my studies after a very long long long 'sabbatical'. Makcik even teased me about it. She had actually wanted to ask me out for dinner.

School is all the way in Aljunied. Showed my vouchers to collect my books, but was told to come again another day. As usual, stock was not in yet. Headed to class with lecture notes and my pencil case. Calculator MIA.

Surprisingly, there are more men than women in the class this time. Even the lecturer noticed. I had thought the lecturer was one of them. Haha! EW is quite young, most probably in his early 30s with rather boyish looks and soft-spoken. Apparently he was a student of my previous lecturer too.

Lecturer made small talks before beginning class. Then, he introduced pure heavy theories. Necessary fundamentals for those students with no accounting backgrounds. Sort of quick revision for me but as he went on for 1 1/2 hours, I started leaning against the wall. Smsed Dearie and Minah so that I won't sleep. He gave 15 mins break... I dashed out, bought iced Milo & toasts and brought entire plastic bag into classroom. Mid-way while I was eating, I saw the 'No Eating & Drinking' sign. Alamak! When was that implemented?

Class resumed with questions for practice. My mind went blank when he mentioned FRS. What's that?! I know zilch! Class finally ended @ 10.30pm.

That's it! Tomorrow, must start reading.

Monday, July 05, 2004

My love???

I came across this test from my sister's blog. I put in my full real name and I got a different set of answers... almost identical to my sister's answers. Anyway, I'm putting this one instead.

Your love is... by ChibiMarronchan
Your name is...
Your kiss is...delicious
Your hugs are...gentle
Your eyes...light up a day
Your touch is...irresistable
Your smell is...exotic
Your smile is...entrancing
Your love is...everlasting
Created with the ORIGINAL MemeGen!


It's 1.30am and I'm still wide awake. Juz back from Cafe Samar with my frens. Coincidentally, it's Minah's burpdey today. Happy 24th! =)

Sunday, July 04, 2004

Arabian Nite & Cheese Prata

Dinner outing with the gang. Met at Sultan Mosque... then Pakcik drove us to Cafe Samar. Minah had made reservations for us. Not that it was necessary. The shophouse terrace was not too packed. The waiter led us all the way up to the 2nd storey. Wow! Nice setting - Arabic song in the background, carpeted flooring, dim lights, low tables and overpowering incense. I refused to budge from my comfy seat near the verandah. Can't stand the aroma. *giddy*

Drinks came first. My glass of Almond Milk was covered with cinnamon powder. Like it but love Komala Villas' Almond Milk best! Makcik, Minah & I busied ourselves taking pictures while waiting for our food to be served. As usual, we chit-chatted and cracked jokes.

I was seriously hungry. My refreshment was almost finishing. Food was nice but serving was small. I think the rest of them felt that way too. Pakcik requested for Shisha. He took his time... Wak & Man joined in.

Finally we left the place on a flying carpet. Heehee! Jammed ourselves into Pakcik's car and headed down to Cheese Prata stall for supper. =)


Friday, July 02, 2004

Quizzes...

Orange
What Color is Your Brain?

brought to you by Quizilla

At work or in school: I need to be "hands on": I like to play games, to compete, and to perform. I enjoy flexibility, changes of pace, and variety. I have difficulty with routine and structure. My favorite subjects are music, art, theatre, and crafts. I often excel in sports. I like solving problems in active ways and negotiating for what I want. I can be direct and like immediate results.

With friends: Planning ahead bores me because I never know what I want to do until the moment arrives. I like to excite my friends with new and different things, places to go, and romantic moments.

With family: I need a lot of space and freedom. I want everyone to have fun. It is hard for me to follow rules, and I feel we should all just enjoy one another.

Grammar God!
You are a GRAMMAR GOD!


If your mission in life is not already to
preserve the English tongue, it should be.
Congratulations and thank you!


How grammatically sound are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Art Attack!

Sayang sent me an email with this link on 'Sand Animation'. Check it out!

My inclination for arts is towards music, dance & plays. I can slightly draw but doodle more often, enjoys literature but my inspiration for poetry comes only once in a blue moon. There was once when I attempted to write a poem for 'Spontaneous Writing' period in secondary school. It was going quite well... until my English teacher walked past, stopped and commented. My mind went blank after that! Heeheehee =)

Have the same problem with music. I can pick up tunes and find my notes by hearing... but my Piano teacher gets a headache each time she goes through my musical compositions. Most of the time, she doesn't know what I'm doing and neither do I. Never mind if I don't get to be the next Richard Clayderman or Yanni. As long as I know how to play pieces well.

Thursday, July 01, 2004

Post Birthday Treat for blur Makcik.

Had wanted to meet Makcik yesterday. She is still having coughing fits and after reading her blog - she slept for 10 hours straight yesterday! - I am thankful that she finally rested well.

First thing on my agenda today... Meeting for Enrichment Programme @ 3pm in Lot 1. Mum's idea to get me involved. Basically I will have to 'tutor' a group of Pri 3 students in Creative Writing (Malay) in a couple weeks' time. *scratches head* Hmm... gotta pay a visit to the library one of these days. Once meeting was done, Mum & I headed up to Popular Bookshop to buy stationeries.

Second stop... Meet Makcik in Causeway Point. She was on her way from office so I took time to walk around. I saw eerr... Sugiman? (ex-AMPYC member) on the escalator. Seems that of late, I've been seeing and bumping into old & long-lost frens. This week alone, I saw Jamilia (a Sec School classmate) & Izzar (a Pri School classmate) in Orchard. Nice surprise but it takes quite a while for both parties to register our names.

Makcik arrived and went to Popular Bookshop to buy a Barney vcd for hansem boi... I went up to meet her and met another fren in queue. We were looking at each other. She definitely looks familiar but (really really sorry) I dunno her name! Cliche as it sounds, I actually said, "You look familiar. Do I know you?"

Her reply was, "Yes, I think I know you." All I could do was to smile after that. Seriously I cannot remember how and where I got to know her. At the same time, I thought I saw someone familiar at the back. Checked my phone. Missed calls from Dearie & Mum. Excused myself from the queue and called Dearie. No answer. Called Mum. She bought a particular folder in Popular Bookshop Lot 1 and now wants 60 of the same design! 60?! Gifts for Teachers' Day.

Went around the stationeries' corner, searching high and low... almost gave up. Final attempt, ah found it! Same size, same colours, different design. One hand rummaging, the other hand holding my handphone, head cocked to one side listening and just at that moment too, a young lady in red top & black striped pants walked past. She turned. Rita! Almost slammed the phone in my excitement.

Walked back to the queue. Waited for Makcik. Left the bookshop and went in Kiddy Palace, Metro & Teleshop before settling down for dinner @ Pizza Hut. Spent 1 1/2 hour there. Stopped by Watsons. Only then headed back to Makcik's house. Sigh... hansem boi was already asleep.

Managed to watch 'The Apprentice' on tv, savouring my Cornetto ice-cream. Like the ads the men's team did. Too bad they didn't meet the vice-president of the jet company. Good night!