Indulgence

Had my toenails done today. Got a pedicure, just for fun. I decided to finally join in the mani-pedi craze. It feels so good to be pampered. Now my toenails are all shiny and square. Cuticles all cut away, feet smooth and silky. Can't help but keep looking at my toenails now. They are just so shiny and cute. :)

Think this mani-pedi thing should be a permanant feature in my life. I think i deserve it. Occupational hazards of marking and walking around too much definitely deserves a monthly pampering. Definitely going to use my spa membership too. A shiatsu massage perhaps?

Note for myself: This holiday I am to focus on my well being.

Things to do:
1. Keep fit - Yoga and skating
2. Go for a holiday
3. Learn a new sport
4. Pick up a new hobby ( if there is time, money and interest)

Ok, I think I am all set for the holidays. My plans will go full steam ahead from Monday, 7 November 2005.

To all celebrating Deepavali and Hari Raya Aidilfitri - Happy Deepavali and Selamat Hari Raya!
Happy DeepaRaya everyone.

Summary of events

One of the most delicious food on earth is also a poison. Just ate buah salak (for the life of me, i dont know what this fruit is called in English) all preserved in vinegar. The tangy taste of the fruit combined with the sweet, soury taste of vineagr is oh so delish. But it is oh so not good for me. I am still suffering the consequences. Coughing and wheezing, phlegm coming up. The taste of the delicacy is worth the discomfort. :)

I bought the fruit at the Geylang bazaar. This will be the last year the bazaar will be held at the market. They are going to pull it down soon. Felt nostalgic going through the market, visiting my fave shops. Going to miss all the shops there (esp the one with the cute Indian shopkeeper who looks like a Bollywood actor. Hahaha). The market may be dingy and it doesn't look so clean but it is so colourful and authentic. It exists on its own socio-political-economical cosmos of its own. It is one of the unique vastiges of Singapore that is left and the government has to take it away. Fire hazard, they say...is it though...? Never mind, I should go down to the bazaar again and take pictures of it. The colours of the bazaar in the Geylang market.

eh, just realised that I went through the bazaar everyday since Saturday. Everytime for different reasons. Sat and Sun I went to the bazaar to buy things for the orphans at Pertapis Children's Home. We made quite a bargain. Bought bags, watches and some other stuff at really, really low prices. Of course most of the time Feisal has the sad look on his face that most people cannot resist and so they are compelled to give us cheap prices. hahah. Anyway, it was all for the children. Actually, most people are willing to help us out . Mention orphans and they do not mind selling us their goods at rock bottom prices.

The children at Pertapis are really very sweet kids but very difficult to manage. For a fleeting moment I felt I was like in 4G or 4B. The only difference is that I can scold my students but i cant scold these kids. But, there was no need for scoldings, these are a bunch of very sensitive kids from broken homes. So love and care are much better. We did make their day. They had fun playing all our games and of course they loved our goody bags and the hari raya money! But Ustaz Nazmi did gently remind us that one day of fun and games is all well and good but some of the kids will not be spending Hari Raya with their family and are staying in the home.... sad. He did ask us that if we could, we should try to come down again on the eve or on Hari Raya itself and spend some time with the kids. I was awed at his dedication to the welfare of the kids. He is such a soft spoken and gentle person and he spend all his time in the home. He himself won't be celebrating the Hari Raya with his family as he has to take care of the kids in the home. Such dedication is very admirable.

Quite an emo weekend, really. Started on friday with the sec 4s graduation ceremony. Not sad, but proud. How they have grown since I took them last year and they are all ready to leave. Spread their wings, fly away and find their way into the world and make their mark. Such characters, each and every one of them. I will miss all of them. The thinsg they do that just crack me up... I do hope that in some tiny way I have made a difference in their lives. And if one day any of them become famous, I could bask in their glory and tell people: S/he was my student once. heh, such thoughts....I suspect this is the feeling that all teachers talk about when they say teaching is rewarding. (the pay and the hours do suck, and well our HR is lousy. I really should not be complaining ... )

who says kindness pays?

So what do you know... the world is indeed a strange one. Ever tried to be kind and get scolded for doing so? I am still reeling from the scolding. I mean, I was just trying to be kind. So, perhaps it was wrong because of specific reasons unknown to me. So, it is still not my fault. Sometimes, it is a lose-lose situation. You help, you are in the wrong and who knows if I did not help, I would still be in the wrong. Totally understand the reasons for not helping...after I was told about it. I still think I should not be scolded for it. The reasons could have been told to me nicely and after all how was I to know your reasons in the first place.

I try very hard but if it is never good enough, then what the --- am I suppose to do. Maybe, I should practice showing my emotions. Hurt, anger, disappointment, displeasure, then maybe they will think twice about scolding me unnecessarily. But, It is just not in my nature to do so. Talk about welfare and consideration for others. Where is my welfare? where is your consideration for me? So hurt and angry that I just want to swear.

Maybe I should just see a shrink to talk about my bottled up feelings and thoughts...

Around the world (S'pore) we go

Let's face it, we gals rock the world when we get together. Planning things are so much fun. Amazing how we achieve so much amidst all the giggles, side tracks and interruptions. But, we did. Heh, we are just seasoned volunteers. Most people will panic when nothing is finalised the week before the event, but not us. Cool as cucumbers, actually, more like noisy and giggly bunch of .... err... I think nothing is comparable to us.

So to make things funner, we went to Giant at Turf City to buy our prizes. We could have gone to shop and save at Sing Post building or Sheng Siong at the corner, but where is the fun in that? Then we went to Cheese Prata shop at Clementi, at the foot of NUS to eat prata and roti john for the fun of it.

Now, whoever heard of ordering roti john chicken cheese BUT cheese on one side only. Why? Cos Chilliz don't eat cheese. Well, we did. Heh, first time i suppose they get weird orders. Think the family beside us was scandalised by the noise we made. And the very innocent line on the menu that go us all laughing for 5 minutes. We were so naughty ... heh heh. Cheeky gals.... :)

the Ups of life

Life is really like an undulating river. There are times when things get so depressing and the next moment, a series of events happen that just make you love the world.

Went shopping last Friday. I really cannot afford to spend but I went shopping on behalf of my mother. I was supposed to buy my nephews clothes and stuff for my mum. So I went shopping using my mum's money. Bought plenty of stuff for them. It feels good to go shopping, and it feels even better when I am not using my own money. in all fairness, none (except one- and I used my one money) was for me. Boy, kids clothes are really expensive. I have bought my nephews clothes many times now but it never fails to amaze me how much they cost. But what do I care? Shopping is great fun. Maybe, when I want to quit teaching I should be a personal shopper. It gives me an all time high that not even chocolates can provide. I was so engrossed in shopping i lost track of time and missed the break fast time. Reached home at 7 plus and my mum and I excitedly pored over the things I bought for her and my nephews. Gushing over the beautiful things I bought gave me another high. (Why do people turn to drugs or sniff glue when shopping gives one such a high)

Saw this sapphire ring at Lee Hwa. Very tempted to buy. Giving my self some more time to think about buying that ring. It is incredibly gorgeous.

Saturday slept until 2. Felt very lethargic after that. Can't even play with my nephews. Sunday I went trigger happy and keep taking photos of my cats. See some of his photos:
http://www.shahnan.com/gallery2/main.php

School was quite fun today. Very extraordinary. Some students said it was cool. staff room got flooded. Water cooler pipe in the lounge burst on Sunday evening. Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink....who wants to anyway? Lucky only some of my students compo books got wet and I had to throw away a few of 3A's history project. We had to do some impromptu spring cleaning and throw away damaged stuff. Lucky I dont have much stuff under the desk. All my mess are on the desk.

Practically did not do much apart from the cleaning up so I went home early. When I crossed the road towards the petrol station, I heard someone saying hello to me. I turned and I saw this Mat with yellow hair waving and saying hello. Much confused and amused, I walked on. Undeterred, he called out again, so I replied with a smile and a wave. A tall wall seperates this romeo and myself, but he somehow managed to stand on top of something so that he can call out to me. He asked for my phone number and asked to be friends. Very amused by now, I thought i have passed the age where boys and girls do casual flirting like this. I shook my head to his questions, but i really do feel like laughing. He doesn't sound so disappointed though, it was more of a fun conquest for him.

So, it was a happy 4 days. I just have to remind myself that things dont remain happy always. Life is tough, especially working life. At least I have the holidays to look forward to.