Ramblings at the Start of 2012.

So it is the new year of 2012.

I have only two resolutions for this year and they are…

1. Be a better, more tolerant, more patient, and quick thinking person, and a more scathing teacher.

2. Be fitter and leaner a.k.a must do more exercises.

Last year’s resolutions were mostly unachievable. I only managed to watch most of those films that I wanted. Speaking of films, if I am not wrong, ‘The Hobbit’ will be out this year, with Steven Spielburg and Peter Jackson producing. Exciting!

I will be back to work tomorrow, meeting my new class, hence, putting back on my grouchy and black unsmiling face. I hope it will be impactful on these new kids.

It is just the start of the year but I am already feeling quite pessimestic about it. Not good. Oh well… Live each day and make the best of it. Sadly, in this job, I must be always planning ahead.

A little bit of happy news. My piano student got a 92% (distinction) for her Grade 5 Theory. Yayyy!!! For her Grade 5 Practical, which she will be examined sometime in either March or April this year, we both agreed that it will be a miracle if she can pass her Sight-reading. She is a little like me, as in the sight-reading bit, but thankfully, she is a hard-working girl with no discipline issues, so teaching her has been really fun. This year is her extra important year; the O’levels, so she has a lot to balance, especially since she is also in the Pure Science class. I will not be surprised if she wants to put her Piano on hiatus after the practical exam, so as to concentrate on her O’s. All the best, kid.

Chinese New Year this year is on the third week of January, which is just three weeks from today. So fast…

Alright. I shall stop rambling. Another day then.

All Good Things Must Come To An End

Guess where I am now!

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Can you guess? I do not think so as I did not leave any clues. Hahaha!

I am now sitting in the waiting area of Incheon International Airport, waiting to board the airplane that will mark the end of my stay in the land of kimchi, which I tell you, I ate it at nearly every meal! Not that I’m complaining or anything like that, but just saying that kimchi is a very important side dish in Korea and it is a good source of good bacteria which aids digestion, like drinking Yakult but with fibre and some chili powder.

Today being the last day here in Seoul, God gave us Singaporeans who had never seen falling snow, a chance to see it. It was snowing this morning! It was a very pretty sight; the snow was so small and it was drifting down so gracefully. Happy!

Back to Singapore soon and then tomorrow morning, I will be seeing my new class at the Sec. 1 registration. I wonder how they are like.

Ah! They are calling for boarding now. They next time I blog will be Christmas time. There will be alot of work for me to do when I get home and the thought of it makes me go Aargh!!!!!!!!!!!! 😱 Painful. Both housework and office work to accomplish by Christmas, and there is also the presents to wrap.

Oh well… All good things must come to an end. I must work hard and plan for the next vacation. Lol!!! 😁

Where shall I go next? Japan 🇯🇵? Eastern 🇩🇪Europe? England🇬🇧? Hong kong??

Packing for the Korean Trip

Woe be me….

Not.

Joy to me… YES!

I am so NOT cursing myself a day before I am to have a wonderful winter vacation in the land of Korea. Happy happy! However, only at this moment I am doing some research on the places to visit during my extra 2 days in Seoul and I realise, there are so many things to do and places to see that those 2 days are simply not enough! Argh!!! I should had extended the stay to 3 days instead. Right… Well, I hope to make the most of the 2 days, which makes me think, do I really want to go to the DMZ, not that I had already booked the day trip for it.

I want to see the palaces, all 4 of them. I am sure those palaces will be pretty. Also, I want to see the replicate Hanok Village, where there are the old replicated traditional Korean houses which designs span 500 years of history. Lots of photo-taking opportunites there. =)

I want to shop too. I am sure there will be lots of shop-side-distraction going on. LOL! Especially in Insa-dong (for souvenirs!), Itaewon, Myeongdong areas, and of course, Nandaemun and Dongdaemun markets.

What else do I want to do? Will those 2 days be actually enough? So many things!!!

Oh, of course! How can i forget? Sungkyungkwan University.

Happy sigh! I better get some sleep, but I am quite excited to sleep. Haha! Oh well. I shall make the research faster and then head off to bed. When I wake up in the morning, I must go through my packing list, considering it is winter there in Korea.

Staff Workplan Seminar

Many days, and perhaps months, since I last blogged.

It is now already the end of the school year and I am sitting through the second day of the Staff Workplan Seminar. It is basically a huge 2-day staff meeting that covers many topics regarding education and what to expect for next academic year. Lots of planning involved for the main committee which hardly has any involvement for me. All I have to do is to carry out the programmes. Oh well.

A colleague shared with my group, during break, a really cool app called Geocache which is a huge global sort-of treasure hunt. Just download the app and start searching for the cache right in Singapore. I shall try the hunting another day.

The P is now talking about the theme for 2012.

I am a bit bored.

Getting Caught?

I wonder what will happen next week. I am hoping that it will not be too bad since this is my first time. Well, it was between stopping suddenly and spraining some body parts or that; to go on. I seriously hope and pray that it will not be that bad.

What am I talking about? It is about getting caught by a speed camera for the first time in my driving life. The moment the light flashed as I was about to get to the other side, I just said one word, “Sh*t”.

Now, I wait.

New Drama That I Am Watching

I just realized something about myself, but I think that it is very natural of any human being to have this.

I tend to rant here whenever I get heated up due to the drama that I am currently watching, be it getting excited and happy, angry, or confused. I am sure there are others who do the same.

So, what drama am I watching now? It is “The Tempest”, a Japanese drama starring my only favourite Japanese actress Nakama Yukie. I like her acting as she is, in my opinion, very versatile and able to bring out the character of her role. I first saw her in “Gokusen” and subsequently, I watched the other dramas she acted in, like “Untouchable” and “Trick”.

Well, what makes me rant right now is that her character, Son Neion or Mazuru, has the love of three other men. Like, wth!!! The first one is the man she herself loves but she cannot due to her job which is her priority. The second is her friend and colleague who does not know that she is a woman. Yes. There is cross-dressing in this drama (where Son Neion is an eunach in the King’s court and Mazuru is the woman that is hidden in her). And third, it is the King who she is, in episode 8, the concubine of. And I suspect that in episode 9, it will be revealed that she is pregant with the King’s child. Ahhhh!!! The agony if Asakura-dono finds out!!! I wonder how she is going to keep up with her charade of maintaining her role as Son Neion, a man and officer in the King’s court, and as the concubine to the same king. Well, for your information, there are 2 men who know her true identity and they are the King (it was revealed to him in episode 8 by herself), and her first love, Asakura-dono, who found out long ago back in episode 3 (?) when he saved her after she jumped off a cliff.

So. I shall be good and wait patiently for the next episode which is number 9. Yup.

So exciting!!!

Just Scared Myself

Just gave myself a scare when I was looking for my new hairclips which I bought in Bangkok recently. I thought I miss it out during packing and left it behind in the hotel room. Buy it could not be since I remember packing in everything. So, I went to check through my luggages and no, it is not there. Then I thought that I should check the drawer where I kept the stuff I bought and lo and behold, it is there!!! Yay!!!

Thai Getaway :)

There and back again. So said Bilbo Baggins.

Yes, time really flies. I had already went off to Bangkok and now I am already back at home. Sigh… And very soon, it will be back to work on monday. Double sigh…

Right. How was my Thai trip?? It was filled with experiences, both the good and bad. Let me start with the bad. We were ripped off a couple of times by the taxi drivers and the tut-tut drivers. Transportation is bad. What is good is the food. Food is resonably priced there. I got a full square meal (appetiser, main and drink) for just 100baht or SGD4. I even had sharkfin soup for only 160baht. Yayyy!!!

Bought lots of stuff, but not much clothing. Their fashion is really recent, with lots from Korean design. Went to Platinum Fashion Mall where the entire place is dedicated to all things fashion. It is also a wholesale centre; got to buy 2 pieces and more in order to enjoy the wholesale price, which is about 30-50baht lesser than the usual price.

Did not do much except for shopping, eating, and shopping, and food massage. That is about it. Yea.

Back to my desk tomorrow due to Band duty.

Another Term Has Gone

It has been a long time since I last blog and now that I do, it is already the end of Term 3 and I will be off to Bangkok for fun with my colleagues. How time flies… So, I will be there for the next 3 nights and will only be back on wednesday evening. Lots of delicious Thai food will be coming to me soon. Yippee!!! The flight is in about 1 hour’s time and then 3 hours later, it is sawadeeka!

Cath Kidston-Uniqlo Tees???

Oh my gosh you got to be joking.

There is Cath Kidston tee-shirts at Uniqlo????????

I want to see. I want to try. I want to buy.