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Thursday, August 31, 2006 how did i do that? i gave my training a miss. oopsie. went for problem review was planning for the afternoon S-L session with the students as well session went alright i guess. back to office, cleared up the stuff left to meet reginald for dinner and collect the saf repellant from him issue with a particular pod mate is more or less settled went over to place something on the desk, in the capacity of a friend and for a friend saw that the notes which were from me, and were once placed at all strategic locations have been taken away yep, that sorta settled the outstanding and ongoing issue for the past months i guess it feels real good. off to sleep will pack tmr, like always packing is always done last minute and i still needa get my currency changed, and probably my hair trimmed if i've the time. //posted by ivy @ 23:29//
Wednesday, August 30, 2006 had an enjoyable two days away at batam - yday and today the trip is supposed to be relaxing (well, to much extent, it's) but i really hate clearing mails after taking leave a real, packed day tmr and much more to clear, which i doubt there's any space left for any meetings the schedule is back-to-back, and even taking up my lunch time boohoo. morning will be a 1/2 day CED training workshop most of the sta guys are going, and mr. you and weilin as well i'm going to stick to the sta guys, or weilin i guess their gentleman-liness do stretch to protecting me from mr. you i just can't believe we'll be heading off as a team on fri but no worries, i've got cedric and haliza! skipping the last bit of training to head for dept meeting internal prob review with buddy during lunch meeting students for S-L trip after that in the midst of it, i've got to vet thru IG camp proposal and send it to OSG for approval not to forget, vetting thru etiquette slides for the gals for their external presentation next mon, which i'm not around to oversee their very first external session - should do fine, i hope my boss is so gonna nag at me anytime becos i haven done up the amended module framework for the director of acad and i'm already scheduling problem review the new synopsis is not out yet, structure not out manpower allocation not done either needa arrange for problem briefing soon enough ahh.. where's my co-mc? the new qehs documentation procedure is such a pain sent someone to attend the meeting on my behalf, doesn't quite help because i still have to spend time to read thru the process well, the role of a MC. or rather, the responsibility. yet to read thru the NLB proposal sent out last week as well not exactly looking forward to the returning of recce trip because the claims will kill me, administratively i know what i'll probably do i'll print out everything that i need to read etc, and do it on the plane on fri or during transit okie. short update ends here //posted by ivy @ 23:29//
Monday, August 28, 2006 be back on wed evening work on thurs - full of training and meetings flying off on fri be back on next mon tata~ //posted by ivy @ 23:39//
Saturday, August 26, 2006 me: what abt? b: dunno, feel like there's some stuff we need to talk about - not comfy with the stuff mentioned earlier, sorry me: okie. b: sorry. nite... sorry it's the first time b is requesting to talk things through judging by the words above and the amount of sorries - i know what's to come it was total awkwardness and avoidance on msn today we'll see how things go next week on a side note, it's high time someone initiates to talk things through and i know b will do it, thus the wait for the past months the scary bit is, i can already hear the conversation to come, in my mind and i can feel the kind of ending it'll be whatever happens, the memories will stay as... picture postcards for the mind //posted by ivy @ 19:43// it was a sweet and sour fri thurs afternoon was one with mixed feelings went for tea with a colleague and we were just spilling how we feel towards things and people i got close to tears after the tea forced myself to do work after being back in office that night didn't exactly end well i slept real late at 2 plus took a cab to school on fri morning was too exhausted - have been only sleeping a good 4 hrs almost every night gave mummy a call before she flew off after hanging up, the memories for the past 1 year just came flashing back in fact, i felt rather jaded was late for fri's morning meeting with my co-mc followed by student interviews wasn't paying utmost attention to it because i was still rushing my work and feeling all the while, upset was saying that if only i could head somewhere by the sea and sit there the entire day but it wasn't possible with the amount of workload in sept cedric, a colleague i knew from ubin trip, then tried to cheer me up by offering to bring me out for lunch at an area which faces the sea couldn't take a stroll near the sea becos they locked up the gate but i still had my lunch amidst the strong afternoon breeze since it was too early to head to sports school, we headed for a little shopping and for the first time, i bought a cd at a music shop he then drove me to sport school for my afternoon lesson it was a good 2 hrs away from school, and i'm so thankful for his time and of cos, getting me out of office went to sports school with a heavy heart, thinking that i'm gonna have a hard time with the sec 2s kids it was amazingly different i love the time i've with them - such a contrast to the first batch at the end of lesson, the guys actually asked if i needed any help and they willingly packed up the room without me saying anything back to office to finish up all the grading matters for colleagues to prepare BOE while waiting, it was pure relaxation at my desk with the new cd playing at the background left office at 6pm, with varian driving us up to JB, pelangi for french dinner dropped by factory outlet to grab some nice clothings while the guys (varian and carrie's hubby) were simply following us around patiently, and helping us with the pile of endless stuff went chez papa for dinner - food was yummy, place was fine, company was ok i just needed to be away from things finally left the place at 11pm and varian kindly offered to drive me back despite staying a nice 10 mins' drive from checkpoint reached home safe and sound - before midnight was tired but decided to log on and clear mails a short chat with someone made me feel completely speechless and lost it got me sitting in front of my comp and just looking at those words over and over again felt a hot rush of tears went to bed, still thinking of things which have been happening and yes, this was how my fri ended. on a side line, i'm becoming increasingly convinced that sta guys are well-trained in social etiquette so far, i've seen them: - opening office doors for us if they're nearby - holding the doors if they know we're approaching - volunteering help when we're shopping - carrying our bags for us - opening car doors for us - closing car doors after us - helping us get whatever we need basically, they made us feel as though we're princesses i should seek their help when my IG is holding etiquette talks to students! //posted by ivy @ 14:08//
Wednesday, August 23, 2006 saw it at her blog, and out of curiosity, i decided to see whether it's the same as what i think i'm. well, pretty much. My primary love language is probably Physical Touch with a secondary love language being Quality Time Complete set of results Physical Touch: 20 Quality Time: 8 Receiving Gifts: 6 Words of Affirmation: 4 Acts of Service: 1 Information Unhappiness in relationships, according to Dr. Gary Chapman, is often due to the fact that we speak different love languages. Sometimes we don't understand our partner's requirements, or even our own. We all have a "love tank" that needs to be filled in order for us to express love to others, but there are different means by which our tank can be filled, and there are different ways that we can express love to others. Take the quiz //posted by ivy @ 14:43//
Tuesday, August 22, 2006 the mere three words could possibly illustrate what an eventful day i've got. i slept slightly earlier last night, with the intention of reaching office super early this morning so that i can do my work in the hard-to-find peace and quiet ended up, i woke up at 8.18am, feeling real refreshed not for long, because it then occurred to me that i've a meeting at 9am. gosh. reached school and went for meetings after meetings hardly having sufficient time to sit down and charge my tablet even exception of the long lunch with 3/4 of my portfolio at swensens, the rest of the time i wasn't even at my desk how on earth am i then supposed to get my D+3 done? madness. managing IG is no joke managing colleagues is seriously, not something to fiddle with managing bosses is earth-shattering hello. i'm an academic staff, so i do listen to what people above me says; therefore, make up your mind. argh. was supposed to meet someone for dinner but decided against it after my IG meeting since im hungry and probably need food in a while, smsed mr koh for dinner at a later time at the same time, my lovely kids called, and even volunteered to tabao dinner for me sweet. i'm seriously tired. physically and emotionally. tonnes of stuff, and i'm not someone who can put things aside they'll just be looming around in my mind till i get going with things gasp. //posted by ivy @ 19:43//
Monday, August 21, 2006 the semester has finally ended and i know i need the break because i can feel myself getting tired of preparing for lessons and being in class, attempting to motivate my students in their learning journey. as they take a short break and have fun, i'm trying to incorporate some fun elements into my packed schedule as well other than IG camp, Thailand recce trip and possibly class bbqs, the rest of the time will be spent on G106 and S-L trip preparation no idea if my mini overseas get-away is confirmed - things are just at a standstill tmr's an extremely packed day with numerous meetings back-to-back, and it sure doesn't help when i had to ensure some rubbish from my boss this morning when i was arranging the meetings yes, he's feeling unhappy and such but.. well, it definitely stretches my patience and tender, loving, care to the people around me! =) If you're feeling lost, i'm feeling equally lost i hate things being this way i hate it! what on earth is happening? //posted by ivy @ 22:49//
Sunday, August 20, 2006 and someone in the class posted it up in rp weblog for your viewing pleasure, click here //posted by ivy @ 13:49//
Saturday, August 19, 2006 they were so sweet to have bought me a red crumpler bag as a farewell gift and presented it in such an innovative way if not for the fact that i was standing outside sushi tei at raffles city, i would have burst into tears i'm simply touched beyond words. thank you so much! no doubt i'm feeling real elated but i do have upsetting times this week as well without mummy and mr koh around this week feels real strange getting a wee bit used to it, but i really miss them. it's interesting to see how things can get real coincidental at times back at tanglin, i almost sent my resume to a particular ministry nearby because they were recruiting of cos i didn't in the end. someone i know just sent his resume over last week. few weeks back, someone in my dept sent resume to a particular educational institution because they were recruiting and i checked it out too the very same someone i know just received a notice for interview for a position there this week. now, i'm extremely curious if the someone i know, sent resume to an organization who calls themselves "captains of lives" becos that was one organization which i really was so tempted to try as well. haha! point-less rambling. there i was, facilitating the topic on change management here i am, feeling extremely blue about changes. things have pretty much changed i still love my job, love my colleagues, love my sch, love my students, love my pods but i'm so afraid things are gonna change, for the worse and when that happens, what would i do for now, i'll smile and get through this semester i'll be strong and manage the next semester //posted by ivy @ 16:49//
Wednesday, August 16, 2006 it takes some amount of effort to say "forget it. i'll go have a life outside work and be back later to complete it" when the later doesn't seem to come, i end up telling myself, there's always tmr and now, i'm currently suffering from the procrastination over the past few days. eeks. DG and UT is killing me big time plus, half my mind is looming over to G106 and constantly worried about it. tsk. horrible. today is by right the free-est day of the week, specially dedicated to grading look at the time now and guess my progres? tata~ 0% how wonderful. im just gonna head for a nice lunch with leslie later and stick my butt in my workstation in the afternoon to complete as much grading as possible while enjoying the new Philips MCM275 Micro System, just 30cm away from me a cool, sleek looking set which plays CD and MP3 finally. my favourite companion for a long time to come. after i'm done with all DGs at the end of sem, i'm gonna do a mini cubicle revamp, and laptop clean-up before the new semester. that should make me more prepared, if it's ever possible. incoherent posting. feeling blue. voice-less emotion. no no, i'm not sad. it's simply pure rambling. spent some time talking to two colleagues last night and gosh, i'm amazed at how much they're unhappy at their work and yet, put on a jovial front everyday they claimed that my corner of the pod has kept them alive in return, i thanked them for their liveliness, joy and warmth they brought to us, in our darkest moment while handling the module. media people - excellent at hiding their displeasure, most of the time. yet, media people - excellent at lighting up our lives in the loomy corner while we experienced the darkest moment such irony. //posted by ivy @ 11:20//
Sunday, August 13, 2006 or viewed the various blog entries you know how much i disliked crafting problems the stand still holds. just a moment ago, i was thinking whether crafting problems or marking UTs was more of a terror, and if given a choice, which would i choose i guess i will still choose UT grading, anytime. it was a long chat last night //posted by ivy @ 13:48//
Saturday, August 12, 2006 just a short recap. [tues] headed to fajar for my student's birthday bbq a long night where i ended up sleeping only at 3am [wed] the entire day was spent catching up on my rest and UT grading [thurs] a couple of meetings here and there weren't able to finish up as much UT grading as i had planned my DG wasn't done as well had a mini farewell for kok whye with the yr 2s and 3s we had it at the lawn area something which i've always wanted to do - spread a picnic mat and enjoy the nature it was then dinner with kok whye and mummy he drove us to bukit timah to get the yummy carrot cake and beancurd with glutinous rice-balls, before proceeding to west coast park to eat heh, a change in environment - shiok! had some random chats. [fri] tried something new for my class due to the nature of the problem, had them shifted from classroom to lawn to library for the entire day it was interesting because after that, there were actually facilitators who approached me and told me they're going to try it out S-L meeting was interesting too probably one of the meetings where i headed over, ever so enthusiastically to find out what to do next partner for trip has been firmed up - huihui, a nice sweet girl from SAS and we've either weilin or eddy as mentor for recce refused to do work after class hang out the canteen with mummy and jasmine before heading off to kok whye's place with buddy, mummy and jasmine i love the layout and decor of his place so homely - simple yet a pleasure to the eye, and a warming feeling to the heart then it was off to ang mo kio for the famous crabs feast i ate so much, im amazed durians followed after that. yummy! so nice that i bought one durian back for my parents. back home and it was another round of SL discussion with huihui and weilin on a side note, i thank God for weilin she's really a gift from heaven! at a point in time where i was disillusioned about my work here, where i questioned myself if i'm at the right place, where i asked if i've been a person who impacts life, where i asked what are the other areas i can still do for my students... she came, as the answer to my questions we're both amazed at our friendship because right from the first time we met (3 weeks ago), we felt as if we've known each other for ages, but till now, we have yet to figure out the reason behind that sense of familiarity when i saw her at ubin, i knew she is someone who is more than just a staff leader to me and it was real comfortable talking and sharing with her so far thank God for such a sister-in-christ! i'm refusing to face up with reality on the amount of things on my hands today and tmr DG, UT, G106 sept is going to be a packed month with IG camp, dept retreat, SL recce trip and module preparation little time, much to do on a personal note, i'm refusing to be sad as much as i'm going to miss the presence of kok whye and mummy the close relationship we have is going to stay it's merely a physical proximity. //posted by ivy @ 12:10//
Wednesday, August 09, 2006 i'll blog more about it later it's time to head to bed rather exhausted still i guess the lack of sleep is getting to me it was an interesting morning a nice afternoon and i thought a wonderful evening to end off the day until.. you spoiled it all or rather, outlook revealed pretty much stuff which i can now piece things together what exactly do you want by such actions, words and signals? sometimes, i wish i can say it straight to your face i hate you, for all that you've done, and what you're doing to me. and, i'm determined to be passive to you for the time being. from today till sat, ample opportunities abound for you to make a stand and a decision sat - the turning point. f.r.i.e.n.d.s. //posted by ivy @ 12:07//
Monday, August 07, 2006 i spent the entire of today with my class and her! we had breakfast, lunch and tea-break together, and she's sitting at my cubicle as well 4 more days how fast. after class, i was discussing SL trip with huihui it's either we go as understudy or expedition leader need to talk to OSG about this and sort things out also the guideline is only 2 facilitators per team, so i've not much choice i'm done with 1/5 of UT grading 3.5 solid hours = 1/5 of the cohort it's so much faster as compared to marking paper scripts! i'm not exactly done with my module development yet and the meeting is tmr morning afternoon would be photography crash course late afternoon would be etiquette training with IG gals but i'm not done with the prep as well. haha. i need to sleep. zzz. //posted by ivy @ 22:48//
Sunday, August 06, 2006 it has been a rewarding 2 days over at pulau ubin for the 20+ of us who are heading for expeditions either in sept or dec let's see what has been so fantastic that it left such a deep print in me... [sat] shared a cab with emily to changi jetty since we had to gather at 8am it was then a short exercise of PEEP assessment with our team sitting down for the first time, we went around to have a brief intro, finished up the PEEP assessment and soon, both teams were ready to pounce onto the bumboat i was also the selected first-aider for the team and thus, the extra sling of first-aid kit but my buddy, huihui came to my rescue and helped with some stuff journey was short and in 10 mins, we were stepping onto pulau ubin, not knowing much of what awaits us squeezed ourselves into 2 vans which then transported us to a kampung hut, owned by aunty doreen it was a sigh of relief i guess - the living condition wasn't exactly that bad but we knew there was a lot to adjust to settled down where 6 of us shared a mini squared room with absolutely nothing inside except the cold and dusty concrete ground it was quite a small space though second exercise for the day soon began and eddy was our facilitator for that went to a spot in the open which was near the sea initially, it was breezy and a nice sight soon, the sun became mercilessly scorching had a short discussion on program brief before we went back to prepare lunch our team cooked and finished lunch within 1/2 hour while the other team was still cooking their instant noodles the trick? we heated up 2 cans of hotdogs using the burner and had bread with hotdogs plus salads and bananas with so much time to spare, it was then a time of chit-chat with the others who were still busy preparing then we decided that we'll head to the next kampung for coconuts yummy and juicy coconuts! so much so that one team member had 3 within 2 hours had some mini chit chats among ourselves as we attempted to know more about each other that was when cedric made a statement which nearly gave me a heart-attack but that also helped in breaking the ice between us some of us then went for a mini-hike up to the highest point in ubin cedric was leading and for us, we took it as a leisure stroll with uphills, downhills and yep, limbo-rock through fallen branches the view at the highest point was awesome we could see planes landing at changi airport, could see the OBS campsite and of cos, punggol tall lustre trees surrounded the quarry below and it was ever so tempting to dip in but of cos, it was dangerous and yep, i'm not a swimmer we snapped a few pictures there and cedric took one of me against the entire big background i was so satisfied with the picture that it instantly became my handphone wallpaper headed back for third session of the day swapped facilitator with the next team and we had wilson who brought us back to the coconut kampung for discussion fourth session was also done after 15 mins break so that we could have a longer late afternoon to prepare for dinner finished everything by late 4 plus and stupidly, the bunch of us began boiling water for instant noodles, had chocolate bars, crackers and soda biscuits, all at the same time we made a small discovery - soda biscuits dipped into the gravy of our respective noodles tasted heavenly they soaked up so much of the gravy that they were so tasty! tea-break ended at 5 plus and guess what we did next? we started preparing for dinner! not that we were hungry, but we thought it would be wise to start fire and cook before the sun sets again, our team was so efficient cos we only had to cook banana-leaf chicken over the stove once the fire started and mixed vegetables in mess-tin that we ended up munching them down at 6 plus and finished at 7pm i've absolutely no idea where our appetite came from but when one started eating, the rest somehow followed cedric was the mastermind when we were done, the next team was still cooking pasta and tofu curry our team did the next smartest thing we headed for a much-needed shower it was getting dark and pretty much an experience bathing in the dark with scoops of water drawn from the well earlier on, and not knowing what lurked in the four corners of the bathroom it was probably the fastest shower ever but i came out feeling so refreshed and it sure helped when i was the first to shower the rest of my team then started to queue up for it while the next team started to enjoy their sumptuous dinner it was then time for me to catch a short nap before the night session night session was led by weilin i like her the very first time i saw her it's amazing because both of us thought we each looked strangly familiar to one another, as if our paths have crossed before but we checked and we still couldn't find any link nonetheless, she was the easiest friend i've made - there was no ice at all to break in the first place the session was on life journey we each had to draw/pen down phases of our lives and basically, share it with the team it was quite an atmosphere where the entire place was pitched dark and it was raining outside we were all depending on our torches but that hour plus of in-depth and sincere sharing from each other definitely helped in getting to know about the lives of that person and the possible commonalities that can bond some of us together finally, bedtime at midnight and i had quite a good rest despite the unfamiliar surroundings [sun] a simple breakfast again where we gathered all our remaining food and chomped the final exercise for the day before we ended with a long debrief, packed up and headed to the jetty for seafood lunch lunch was under OHR budget and wilson really spoiled us we had rice, cereal prawns, crabs, vegetables, omelette, meat and fish, and some of us had 2 coconuts each as well! a very fulfilling lunch before we left ubin and headed back home. ------ this is as detailed as i want to etch the experience into memory currently, still waiting for project confirmation there's a recce trip next fri to tues, but i probably won't go cos of academic commitment project partner is undecided yet as well, waiting for haliza to confirm her slot else, i'll probably head over with either huihui or sean chung eddy recommends i go with sean chung cos it's always good to have a male partner for such expeditions i'm still considering be it youth expedition project or service-learning project i'm certain this is an area where i would like to develop myself in. //posted by ivy @ 19:36//
Friday, August 04, 2006 haven't we been through much? 1 month our individual lives what exactly happened? l.o.s.t. //posted by ivy @ 00:37//
Thursday, August 03, 2006 well, it started off really cool jasmine bought pratas for us and we had our breakfast at the usual place - lakeside (no, not the mrt. we have a beautiful lake with a fountain near the canteen - you get the idea?) back to office and my mood changed a particular colleague who really has been irritating me with her constant whines/complaints/bitching/backstabbing etc, started it again today what a drag. it was till a point where she posed a question and i refused to answer her but chose to concentrate my effort on the suddenly-so-interesting RJ in front of me varian did it again he came around to take drinks order and attempted to cheer up the day with a large iced milk tea from cafe it certainly worked. went for YA meeting; not quite productive but i wasn't the least surprised it was then lunch at i-dunno-where-but-it-is-somewhere-nearby nice laksa though. haha. came back and helped mummy with her clearance of IT assets finally settled back in pod at 3 plus and started grading, again. went for a short dinner with my kids in the canteen and got sabo-ed terribly and horribly what a great way to treat your facilitator! hmph. but i'm happy for my sister and sista. way to go! =) back in office for a while bernie was around so the 3 of them were jamming away in the peaceful office at 8pm stayed for a while and had a chance to experience and be astonished by bernie's finger-licking guitar skills the 3 of them have very impressive showmanship and together, share an amazing camaraderie. so much so that when they play together, they fit in tightly yet allowing each other to showcase the unique sound of their instruments i'm looking forward to their album! //posted by ivy @ 23:07//
Wednesday, August 02, 2006 reached office and packed my workstation a little the 'pantry' corner is loading up. haha! then it was breakfast at the canteen downstairs, came back and tried to do a little work but was highly interrupted by a particular someone across the cubicle early lunch, problem briefing after that met my AD to finalise the SL trip you've no idea how thankful i'm for the favor God has shown i went in, 3/4 prepared that i'm going to get rejected for the trip; only to be amazed 5 mins later as he gave the green light! never felt so elated! back to office and tried to do more grading it was peace and quiet for a short while jeff came around to say bye well, happy for him since he's going to take his masters a nice pod mate, though i never did much have opportunity to know him better colleague collected my SL handbook for me hang around the STA area for a mini performance didn't know shaun, who was my fashion designer, plays the guitar they were jamming away and since most were leaving, i decided to pack up as well for the sole reason that there's no way i can get much work done with the two yakkety-yaks around pretty tight weekends i've got tmr to finish up my DG for day 2 and 3 classes and to attempt to begin my UT3 marking fri - facilitation sat/sun - SL training at ubin a little worried for my UT grading now hopefully, i can churn everything out by next thurs night it's the deadline anyway. //posted by ivy @ 21:03//
Tuesday, August 01, 2006 here's what i've observed from being in the pod for the last 2 months plus the very technical people from SEG --> worked in silence, not very comfortable with music looming in the air and always have tonnes of books loaded up in their workstation. often head out for meals together and leaves office rather on-time or sometimes, a little ahead of time. the supposedly savvy people from SIT --> a little more happening and able to joke around as early as 8am in the morning. doesn't seem quite close together as one entire big group but rather, in their small unique clusters the very special breed of people from STA --> happening to the max as they boost around silently with their macbook pro and other equipments worth orgling at. a small group of people with really unique skills, ranging from playing keyboard with wonderful full-ins to the ability of drawing window/room panels with any markers in sight. now, let's take a look at how such people will approach a girl who has decided that faculty centre isn't really a place to hang out too often, and thus, returned back to pod a guy from SEG - upon the horrid news that we were the pod models, i decided to be nice and said hi, since we probably need some kind of 'chemistry' to carry off the fashion show. well, he decided to either act cool or simply being himself because all he did was turn around, a slight smile and back to his work. wow, great way to acknowledge a friendly attempt to be pod mates a guy from SIT - barely knew him but was welcomed warmly as i stepped into pod the first few times. made an attempt to establish a certain level of friendship since we are probably going to be stuck in the same pod for a long time a guy from STA - hit off well as friend a few minutes after stepping into the pod; was simply hanging around when he started asking more about my dept, my IG, my hobbies etc. it was then followed by free drinks and food not long after, and of course, not forgetting the wonderful music in the air. so you see, how can you then put a combination of such staff together in an office? the engineers will hate the music lovers the web savvy people will be on their own the music lovers thinks the rest are weird before i go on, all these do not apply to me i'm not from any particular school ha. the wonder of a centre. i was highly amused by an email from a particular person of a particular dept today we were exchanging some form of communication via email and i guess he decided that msn should do the job much faster, thus the following statement appeared: "May I be so privileged as to occupy one line in your MSN Messenger window?" i was so, so, so amused well, i guess this is simply one characteristic of the dept's staff they always make my brain work double-hard as i decipher and understand their messages interesting though. as mind boggling as it may sound, i rather have such interesting pod mates, rather than those who go "Can I have your MSN?" //posted by ivy @ 21:53// |