*the love and grace of God in my life..*

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

i needa sleep.
i woke up at 5.45am yesterday, slept at 11.45pm.
woke up at 5.45am today and i've got class both yesterday and today!

and no no, i didn't fall asleep in class
in fact, the classes are rather energy draining while i attempt to teach them economics - demand, supply curve, increase in demand more than increase in suppy etc etc.
they looked half dead but i think they understood after my repetitive nagging

IG recruitment is over
so many people, it's scary
though i know the number will get smaller in the days to come.. still, it's amazing what photoshoot can do.

posting an entry while waiting for my colleague to be done
looking for a module chair and upon discussion with AD (acad), we realised there's no one in my portfolio who fits the bill
"ah see. i'm an asset to my portfolio" - i proudly declared that statement to my AD (acad).
in return, he said "then, i'm an asset to the department!"

well.
we just aren't very humble people uh!
but hey, it's true!
we're valued employees who are terribly underpaid but still around because we enjoy the joy of teaching. =)

//posted by ivy @ 18:25//

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

bangkok trip has come and is gone
a simple 4 days of slacking in hotel room, having nice food and shopping
i enjoyed this trip quite a bit, mainly becos my shopping companions are girls and it's totally at ease!

school has commenced.
i took day 1 class (yesterday) and day 2 class (today)
day 1 class was tough; had a lot of ice-breaking to do, and admin to brief
they were equally confused over problem statement, worksheet and even presentation
but i guess, they should be fine after a week
they didn't seem that quiet after all

day 2 class was fantastic
i have real conscientious students who helped to raise the class standard quite a bit
their maturity in handling studies and learning in class certainly helped me to be able to facilitate with more ease
very wonderful students

i've promised myself that my students will get the best out of each lesson they spent with me this semester. =)

the season of leaving is coming again
the nostalgic feeling of close colleagues resigning feels so familiar again
it was back in august 2006
there was probably the second time i cried in front of my 2 colleagues
the first being, after a problem review with my ex-ex-ex-ex boss when i was barely 2 months old in rp
the third time occurred today in the school canteen!
i didn't burst out in tears.. just a few minutes of tearing
but i really felt it - the painful moment of telling the person "you have my blessing to move on"

a tough month ahead
a challenging semester ahead
oh, did i mention i'm no longer the module chair?
i'm the co-module chair, or rather module advisor as my boss calls it.

//posted by ivy @ 22:59//

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

not yet packed.
need to be at airport at 10.15am tmr.

im sleepy!

bangkok, here i come! =)

//posted by ivy @ 23:19//

Thursday, April 05, 2007

13 more mins to staff sharing
a quick post before i go off
a long day ahead, very very long. =(

after so many weeks of procrastinating, i finally mustered the courage to draft an email to my boss and sharing my personal feelings regarding many things in the portfolio, as well as tell him how most of us felt - the unhappiness etc.
he did reply - it was a okie conversation.

i don't know how to finish the work on hand before semester begins
pretty a lot, considering tmr is public holiday and tues i'm on course.
nonetheless, i must enjoy my bangkok getaway.

//posted by ivy @ 11:47//

Tuesday, April 03, 2007

second entry for the day.
but i can't help blogging these thoughts down.

i'm feeling very hopeful about the new batch of IG leadership that the staff advisors have chosen
exception of one girl who might have a little attitude problem, i'm very encouraged by the effort and dedication of my president and vice-president
guess it helps when they already have established a rather strong friendship and working relationship from past events
and they're both from the same course - more common topic to break the ice.
as much i know that new leaders who just stepped up usually have the surge of energy, but i'm looking at many ways to build them up and develop their leadership skills

we were calculating in office today and there are only 7 more working days to go before semester starts
out of 7 days, i'm not around for 4 days
which means i've got 3 days to complete the following:
- portfolio report
- NLB proposal for year-end event
- briefing to new facis (LEO, UT, class mgmt etc)
- dummies guide to 1st day of school
- prepare my first day of lesson with 2 classes

out of the 3 days i've
- tmr morning is prob clearance, afternoon is EEP
- thurs morning is prob clearance, followed by staff sharing, followed by briefing to new facis
- next mon morning is IG meeting, followed by portfolio lunch, then prob clearance and dinner at JB

technically speaking (if no one else books my timing), i'm free
- tmr 9 - 10.30am; 4.30 - 6pm
- thurs 9 - 10.30am
- next mon 4 - 4.30pm

woah!
so much free time uh!!
argh.

//posted by ivy @ 23:13//

a series of events.

my external course was so boring that i skipped 3/4 of it
pretty unbelievable but well.
went to play bball at the usual spot and we saw a guy who looked real familiar
one of the ya-ya player at the court
he challenged the 4 of us to a game
i didnt wanna play initially but he specifically requested for the "female" to play
dohz.
halfway into the game while we were checking ball, he popped a question which made all of us laughed silently
ya-ya player: (turns to me) eh, you sec 4 ah?

went home last night and it was only 9.15pm
was a little hesitant to go online since i didn't exactly want to do much work
switched on the tv in hope of finding some nice show to watch and there actually was!
a nice doctor show, but it was already the last episode
i caught the short 45 mins where the doctor went to a village to help out and it only reminded me of two words
service-learning.
whines.
i want to go for another service-learning trip.

the picture of the tribe i took hours before i left, is now right in front of me
of all the places available in the cubicle, i chose to stick it right in front of me
what a memory.
sweet and faraway.

right next to it is a wooden plaque i bought from one christian orphanage in chiangmai
it reads "Lord, help me remember that nothing is going to happen today that You and i can't handle"

it's tues, and because i ain't feeling that good after all
there's only one place i'll head to later on
gelare.
chocolate overload.
yummy.

//posted by ivy @ 17:33//

Monday, April 02, 2007

ahhh!
the more i think about it, the more i feel that i've chosen the wrong dates to head to bangkok!

11-14th apr
it's the freshmen orientation programme and i'll miss out being part of the PBL session where i could take a class for a day and orientate them to the school learning culture
my colleague has also asked if i could be the host for the FOP
argh!
now i have to miss all these, all because i'm flying to bangkok
not that i won't enjoy the trip, but... i know i'll enjoy doing my work back in singapore too!
boooo!!

im a bit upset.

ah yea, i'm supposed to be on external training today at nus high school
it's highly boring, to the extent it made me sleepy by 10am, when the course started at 9.30am
the group of us gave up at 1pm, and headed back after lunch
but surprisingly, i'm no longer sleepy the moment i hit dover mrt.
haha.

but, i'm still feeling upset.
booboo. i must ensure i'm involved in next year's FOP if i'm still here
what a priviledge..to be asked to host the FOP
he must have wanted me to help because i look no different as compared to the rest of the freshies

//posted by ivy @ 15:20//

Sunday, April 01, 2007

happened to talk to a few students recently and was listening to them regarding a few issues which sounded so familiar
someone said something about parents only allowing their child to get attached after university and it seemed totally absurd in today's society
i remembered hearing the same comments from my parents when i was younger and of cos, that rule didn't hold for me
only thing being that my parents have no idea about my various relationships when i was younger

now that i'm certainly past the "legal" age, i do understand where they are coming from
there are many transistions in life that we have to make and adjust
studying to NS to studying or working for the guys
studying to working or studying for the girls
individually, it takes some time to adjust accordingly and things will certainly be made worse when there's someone alongside as well

not forgetting, we mature emotionally at a different rate
coupled with this fact, it takes a lot more out of a couple who starts dating at a younger age
i'm amazed at how i managed to go through the various years of transistions and changes

someone also mentioned something about girls being rather possessive
as much as i'm a girl, it can be really true
we are made to yearn for attention
guys are different in this sense
we are just made differently
when arguments happen, and things turn ugly,
girls want to talk things through
guys want to take some time out by themselves
and if they don't understand each other, it will only serve to worsen the situation

looking back at my previous relationships and of course, the current one
there have been lots of learning points and somehow, i'm glad i went through them so that i can in turn, be a blessing to others in times of their difficulties

on the other hand, it has been a tiring week
IG retreat went on well though, and i'm pretty encouraged by the outcome
GB on sat, followed by driving lesson then the entire afternoon/evening at ECP

have been procrastinating over certain things at work
not very healthy and i don't wish to start the semester with loose ends everywhere
must be disciplined enough to finish them before i depart for bangkok - that's a personal promise
and of course, a personal aim for myself this semester is to be an outstanding facilitator
will share more towards the start of the new semester. =)

//posted by ivy @ 21:59//