Present Exchange at SAL

Thanks to all the teachers for your pressies!

Mie: a cross-stitch napkin with my initial!
Lyne: a yummy fruit cake with lotsa walnuts...mmm ...mmm....
Sandra: a cute little mini xmas wreath ;)
Jenny: a montage of my photos with SJ, little princess of Joy!

Chef ST

I cooked up a feast for 15 today! A small Christmas get together with close friends and a majority have voted for a tapas rather steamboat. And so I made some tortilla española (wished I had some jamon to go with it), albondigas, mini pizzas, and even sushi!!!

Haha...it's really embarassing... the final result was acceptable but there have been a lot of rejects during the preparation process. Of course, those rejects cannot be presented to the guests, and where did they go? No, not in the dustbin... never waste food! They all went into either my stomach or TW's... he he he... now I see why some chef tend to look a little round :P.

Just a fraction of what I prepared for this small feast

Thanks to all who came and cleaned the plates for me. No leftovers! Hooray! It's possible that I didn't have enough food or they are just being courteous. Either way I am happy that there are no wastage........ except for that extra jug of Sangria in the fridge. I made 2 but only one was cleared. Most have opted for non-alcoholic beverages. Now... how on earth is the 2 of us going to gulp down the balance? :S

And oh, my cookies!!! I finally found people who knows how to appreciate my soft cookies! Muahahaha...

Next year we will have more houses to use as a gathering place now that most of us are married! :D Anyway, TW did ask if I would cook up another meal like this again.... and I replied..."Why not? Just not so soon, need time to recover!!!" Hehehe...

Is My Daemon a Match?

Cookies & Christmas Tree

Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way......

I am SOOOOOOOO in the mood for Christmas... ha ha ha... TW thought it would be nice to brighten up the house a little with a Christmas tree, and so we went shopping for one :D Both of us was equally eager to put those decorations on the tree ... but I know we won't be so enthusiastic when it comes to putting it away later! Anyway it was deeply satisfying to see the end result :)

Ain't it beauuuuuuutiful?

Of course I can't miss out baking, can I? SS and I tried to be patissière and attempted to bake some cookies that taste better than Famous Amos. Frankly it didn't taste too bad at all.... with every bite one could taste lots of chocolate chips and nuts. There was one teenie weenie bit of problem though. I must have accidentally used a brownie or a soft cookie recipe... ha ha ha... Other than that it was perfect :D

Better than Famous Amos Double Choc Cookie...erm, I mean brownie

And it's so much fun making little presents for the upcoming gift exchange! Just can't wait!

Promod is in town!

My favourite store Promod is finally here in Malaysia! Hooraaayyy!!!!!!

Superheroes!

Spidey, Mr. Incredible and me!

It's the last day of school and we partied all morning with fairies, superheroes, princesses and pixies! Parents can be really really creative when it comes to dressing up their children ;)

We also did face painting .... and of course the artist was yours truly...ME! These children can be very demanding on what they want painted on their face and hands. Some even wanted me to draw on their leg...GOSH! I did spiders, rainbows (those are the easy ones), Superman, princesses, cars, the list goes on. Good thing they are not fussy, and as long as whatever you draw looks like what they want approximately, they are happy :D

The school will be closed for 4 weeks - teachers go 'Hooray!' and the parents' nightmare begins ... LOL!

Wheeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!

Helping Eric and Elio with the water hose

Today our school made a trip to the Balai Bomba Pandan Indah. It was SO much fun! It was also my first time to the fire station, so it was really interesting. We got to ride in the fire engine as well! Of course it was just a short ride around the station but nonetheless, it was an unforgettable experience.

Towards the end of the visit, the children got a chance to handle the water hose, and all the children were completely drenched! No, not from holding the hose, but from running under the water sprays :D I wished I could join them, unfortunately we teachers did not have clothes to change into if we DID get wet... :P

After all the calories burnt at the fire station, we pigged-out at Hajime, a Japanese restaurant, not too far from the school. It was Jenny's treat! Thank you Jenny, it was yummy! ;)

Just a fraction of what we had for lunch today!

All in a days work! ;)

The New Si Lai

Just the other day a friend commented that I was being lazy for not updating my blog for so long. I know I've got no excuses now that my internet is up, but seriously being somebody's wife and a "Queen" of the house is not an easy task.

Imagine cooking, ironing, and cleaning for 2! LOL! Yes, if you haven't already know, I am quite capable of handling all the above mentioned tasks and to be frank I'm not too keen on people messing around with my kitchen! :P Of course the garbage and mopping the floor is not my department *phew*

Then just few days back we got a new member into the family. We named her Pixie :) She's a handful! Seriously I have no idea what breed she is, she was a stray puppy when Joseph found her in the streets along with her brother Brownie and sister Blackie (not very creative with the names, are we?) For the past few days she's been living in our bathroom, as we are yet to give her heartworm prevention. We didn't want to leave her outside the house since this area is infested with fierce mosquitos! Anyway Pepper, a male mini Schnauzer puppy will join us very soon too..... but that will be TW's department. I'm only in charge of taking care of Pixie. That should keep us both very busy *sweat*

Oops, time to iron the clothes! Erm..no.... bed time is more like it....*yawn*

Not so S.M.A.R.T. after all

2 hours 45 minutes - That is how long I took to get to work today, instead of the usual 50 mins to 1 hour (from USJ). Left home at about 7:15am, and didn't reach the school until about 10am. Pathetic. I could have reached Penang with that kind of time frame!!!

Why??? Thanks to the closure of S.M.A.R.T. tunnel! Last night it rained and rained until some part of KL is flooded and my poor hubby is stuck at the office (closeby to the tunnel). Then they closed the tunnel because the flood management system was in operation. What kind of bullshit is that? If it was in operation there shouldn't be flood in the first place. At least not not anywhere near the tunnel's location!

This morning traffic was just chaotic with cars that are supposed to be in the underground tunnel running ON the ground. Unfortunately, I didn't realise the tunnel was closed until the announcement on radio, when it was too late to switch my direction. *sigh* It wouldn't have been so bad if I didn't have to answer a nature's call. I had the CD player blast Jive Bunny and danced to it (mind you it's not easy to jive with your bum stuck on the car seat, feet on the brake and a nature's call to answer). Cars around me must think I am a cuckoo!

It's still going to be closed tomorrow and UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. Bummer.

Happy Birthday Aunty Shirl!

Thanks to Lyne who created this little surprise for me. Kam Siah!

Temporarily Offline

First I was busy with my wedding, but now that it is over, I am deprived of internet access back at our new nest in USJ. All thanks to the 'efficient' service of Streamyx. Promise I'll be back in action as soon as the internet connection is activated.

Hasta muy pronto!

Selamat Hari Merdeka ke-50

Selamat Hari Jadi Malaysia, saya bangga menjadi warganegaramu.

Tanggal 31

Bulan lapan lima puluh tujuh

Merdeka! Merdeka!

Tetaplah merdeka

Ia pasti menjadi sejarah

Tanggal 31

Bulan lapan lima puluh tujuh

Hari yang mulia

Hari bahagia

Sambut dengan jiwa yang merdeka

Mari kita seluruh warga negara

Ramai-ramai menyambut hari merdeka

Merdeka!

Tiga satu bulan lapan lima puluh tujuh

Hari mulia negaraku merdeka

-Allahyarham Sudirman Haji Arshad

One Lucky Horsey

I feel very lucky because I am surrounded by so many people that care about me...i.e. my family, my friends :) Of course I didn't realise it ONLY now. But I felt really touched yesterday, when I had a small little accident at work and my elbow was dislocated (am typing now with only one hand on the keyboard, and the other on a sling)

Lyne was with me throughout, keeping me company until the parameds arrived, then followed me to the hospital. She even had to endure a cold butt after sitting on an icepack accidentally; both her hands were occupied to hold my arm up in position that is least painful for me. Also lots of story to keep my mind off the pain. Though I am no believer, she also prayed for me. Thanks, Lyne.

Everyone else were equally concerned too, I wished I could thank all of them here. Aunty Dion helped transfer me to Pantai Cheras Medical Center, to Dr. Ang whom she trusted. At PCMC I was admitted to the ward and sedated to perform a reduction of the elbow. Mom helped me to drive the car home from work. Dad was so worried he questioned Sandra on why my family was not informed immediately. Of course I explained to dad that it was my idea, but he was still upset. :P

My hubby stayed in the hospital with me throughout the night. I actually woke up at 2am in the morning complaining that I was hungry. After feeding me with a chocolate bun, he said I fell asleep almost immediately, just like a baby :P

Looks like I wont be able to drive, at least not for a while. I was discharged this morning but still not alowed to straighten my elbow. Mom wanted to help me shower but I insisted to do it myself. Anyway, later I had to ask for her help again to fasten my bra.... he he he :P

Follow up appointment with the doc is scheduled for next Mon 27th Aug. Hopefully by then he'll allow me to remove the sling!

I'm Going to Montreal!!!

How I wish! Of course I was just kidding. I'm not going anywhere, at least not for the moment, with so many things at hand. Just that I am really flattered with the affection and attachment shown to me by the two Canadian brothers, Nicolas and David.

When they first arrived at our school end of June, they spoke no English. The language barrier made them a little timid. In order to make them feel at home, I spoke to them in French (though it was an English medium school). However, as days passed, I told them that I would stop using French with them so that they could learn English. Of course, as usual, David tried to bargain with me to get an extension.

They are due to return to Montreal end of next week. When their dad asked, "What would you like to bring home to Montreal from Malaysia?" Apart from foodstuff, DVDs and others, they said, "Aunty Shirl!". I couldn't believe my ears when I heard that. They wanted me to be their nanny in Montreal....LOL! David even offered to share his room with me :D Then they described their home to me, that they have 2 TVs, and I could watch it with them, and that we could also have BBQ, and there's snow during winter....etc. I told them that I didn't have any jackets or coats to keep me warm during winter, and Nicolas was quick to answer, "We can buy them for you!" So very sweet of him!

I'm going to miss them a lot. Unfortunately, that's the downside of working with expatriates, they come and they stay, but as soon as you start to get emotionally attached to them, it's time for them to leave. :(

On the bright side, I know I'll have a place to stay if I'm to visit Montreal in future...maybe 1 yr, 5 yrs or 10 yrs down the road! (that is if David still has his room reserved for me and not for his girlfriends :P)

Workshop with Glen Tierney

I know I've been rather quiet lately, apologies to all my reader's who has been keeping a close tab on my blog. Nope, I haven't got MIA (missing in action), just a little full on my daily schedule. With my wedding reception dinner moving closer, I realise there are so many things that I have not done, despite having the luxury of 1 year's preparation.

Anyway, that aside, I just got home from Glen Tierney's dance workshop (Waltz & Tango) at YS's studio. His class was really fun to be in and though it contained only very simple and basic information, I find myself learning a lot just within that 2 hours. TW joined the workshop at gunpoint (well, almost), but he found it to be beneficial as well. Glen emphasized a lot on the posture as well as the right footwork (which TW was weak in). Throughout the 2 hr session, he switched from one partner to another and corrected our weak points. It was really nice to know when he commented that I was very comfortable to dance with.....ha ha ha... probably because he is just at the right height for me and me for him. :)

A pity the workshop only lasted 2 hours. But if he ever comes to Malaysia in future, I'm definitely going to attend his workshops again!

Migration of Photo Album

FYI, I am in the process of migrating my photos in my Yahoo! album to Shutterfly. Please update your bookmarks if any. New link is http://sitheng.shutterfly.com/. And oh, it is password protected now. Please e-mail me first to get access. :)

**Albums moved to http://guiri.site.shutterfly.com/ (Update: 16 May 2008)

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Living in Fear

This morning at 6am, mom woke me up with 2 bad news. Chester, our little Pomeranian dog that had been part of our family for almost 10 years now, is dead. And Jiao jiao (JJ), a Bullmastiff (Arthur & Angel's offspring) was dying. Immediately I rushed downstairs to see JJ, only to find him in spasms, and vomiting. It was such a heartbreaking sight. :~( Someone had intentionally fed them with pieces of meat laced with what I suspected to be rat poison.

Pieces of meat laced with poison

The vet was already on the way, and adviced us to force saltwater into JJ's mouth to induce vomiting. But it was too late. Chester's body had already hardened, which told us that JJ too has probably been poisoned at least several hours back. No matter what we did, it did not help. His tongue was already black. JJ was a larger dog, so it probably took the poison longer to kill him. But he simply could not wait until the vet arrived.

Just behind our house is a project to develop a highway. Due to this, we get lots of foreign labours straying around this area. Several times we have noticed them walking to the higher ground to survey what's within our compound. Each time we noticed that, we tried looking out of the window to let them know that we are aware of their presence. And each time they quickly hurried away or pretended to do something else. JJ was placed in our backyard as a guard dog, together with Chester. And that was how they became a victim of this cruel act. :(

Mike made a police report and explained our findings to the police;

1. a ladder that was found on a higher ground not too far from our backdoor (not there before).
2. meat pieces close to where Chester was found dead (Chester had lost most of its teeth and couldn't really chew, so he was probably poisoned just by licking them)

We also brought this to the attention of the developer so that they could do something about their development site. Currently there is an exposed area in their fencing which could allow anyone to easily crossover from the site to our backyard. A surveillance camera is now inevitable.

As for me, I just can't stop looking out of my window every few minutes just to check if anyone is lingering around unnecessarily. Dad got us another guard dog to mind the backyard but every time he barks I just get so nervous. It's ridiculous. I'm living in fear in my very own home.

Poor Thumbkin, Poor Pinky

Both my li'l pinky and my thumbkin hurt :( Just started my first piano lesson today. Mom thought it would be easy for me since I could type so well....NOT!!! My first song to practice with was just a tinnie winnie part of Ode to Joy and I am already getting cramps.....geez.....how will my fingers be able to last another 9 lessons?? :P

Happy Birthday Darling!

Today we celebrated TW's birthday at Secret Recipe. We didn't want to get a whole cake (nobody's gonna finish it later), so we got him a set of Kid's burger instead (it came in 4 li'l burgers, just nice for the candles). Just a simple one to mark his 31st birthday! Sorry I had to advertise your age here Uncle Wong! tee heee heee.... :P

Feminine? Who....me?

Just as I thought I'll have more time to spare now that my German course have ended, mom signed both of us up for piano lessons :O She saw the ad in the paper several days back about Piano for Adults course, and knew that I would definitely be interested (I wonder... whatever gave her that idea? :P ). So there we were yesterday at the centre for a free demo, and we thought it was a good idea to try it out. As a matter of fact, why not?? I can't play any musical instrument yet, en plus, I can't sit still neither, and eventually will find something else to fill up my time, so might as well. My first lesson starts this Thursday.

TW was very excited when he heard about it. I asked him why. Almost wanted to give him a smack on the head when he told me, "You are one step closer to being more feminine... he he he..." :O

Je Veux Maman!!!

Today I finally get to put my French knowledge to use.... though in a really funny way I would say. Two Canadian brothers, of age 4 and 6, joined us this morning, not understanding a single word of English except for 'Thank you'. Both spoke only French. The last time we had Chiara, an Italian girl who was in the same situation, and everyday she just cried asking for her mummy. That time I wished that I spoke Italian. And now, I get my chance with the 2 boys.

The elder one was in Lyne's class, doing quite well, though a little shy. As for the younger one, he was initially fine, and tried to follow whatever he could during class and music time. But as the rest of the children got noisier, he started to get a little uncomfortable then broke into tears. The whole morning I tried to stay close to him whenever not occupied by another child, and accompanied him during lunch time. He didn't want to eat at first, but after a little coaxing, he went for second helping! It was certainly a relieve that he was very cooperative and understood that his mummy would come later to pick him up, though he was still sobbing from time to time. Then Jenny let him speak to his mother on the phone and that soothed him a little. I guess at the age of 4, children can already understand and can accept explanation from adults.

Despite all that, both agreed to come back again tomorrow! They negotiated with their mother: one said that he'll stay for one hour, while the other said two. Guess what the mummy said? "That makes 3 hours then!" ;)

Auf Wiedersehen!

Today is my last German class at Goethe-Institut. This Thursday is the A1 Zertifikat Prüfung (Exam), but I have decided to give it a miss. I know I could have easily passed, but I didn't think it was necessary to get a certificate at this level.

We have done enough mock tests in class and I am well aware of my own level. At this present moment, I have quite a good collection of different language certificates. But I have come to realise that having these certificates or diplomas does not proof what I can still do 6 months down the road if I don't continue using it. It's just another nice-to-have item. Even Jobstreet limits the number of languages that you can put in your resume to 5 ONLY :P So German, being my weakest language now will not even be included.

Anyway, my best wishes to all my classmates that will be taking the exam. Good Luck and see you all this Sunday for the party at Andrew's!!!

In Random Order: Rizal, Min Yow, Darren, Wayn Sern, Andrew, Auli, Chin Gian, Jason, Me, Kok Hoong (hidden), Arnida, Emir, Baljit, Frau Lee, Sheila, Lee Wen

I have a new TOY!

Went to Low Yatt Plaza today with TW to get some computer stuff. Then I got myself a new pen tablet, something I've been wanting for years! I still haven't figure out what I am going to do with it next, but this is what I did just moments ago :D

Tourist Guide - Part 2

A sequel to Tourist Guide "Celup".

Aleix [pronounced as Ah-lesh], Tinisha's friend from Barcelona, was here in Malaysia on a business trip. The company was based in Pasir Gudang (PG) so he spent most of his time in Johor during his 2 weeks stay. Last Saturday he managed to squeeze in an extremely brief stay in KL. This is where I come in useful; in support of the Visit Malaysia Year 2007. This time I even had a chauffeur, my beloved TW....thanks Dear! :D

He stayed at Crown Princess in Jln Ampang, having reserved it just one day before at a good price. Funny thing is that the website stated that it is a 4-star hotel, but when he arrived, the plaque mentioned that it was 5-star rated. Long story kept short, if it had been a 5-star, it was definitely overrated.

His first stop was the KL tower, then we had a quick drive to Dataran Merdeka to see the Bangunan Sultan Abdul Samad. Coincidentally that morning was the celebration of the Agung's birthday, so there was a big backdrop for us to take some photos :) From there we took a turn to Chinatown, and it was a little drizzly. Before we even completed walking the whole stretch of Jalan Petaling, it started to pour.....so we took shelter in at Kwong Woh Tong (chinese herbal tea kiosk). There, I introduced him to Guilinggao (chinese herbal jelly) which is detoxing and cooling for the body, good for the skin, and for constipation too! Anyway I am not a fan, so he had to finish the whole bowl all by himself :P

In the rain we walked to Central Market, and spent some time doing ONLY window shopping there until Aleix spotted a very nice Batik shirt. He was at first reluctant to buy anything at all, but I guess it's difficult to resist...he he he... While waiting for the rain to stop, we had some White coffee at Oldtown coffeehouse. To him it was just good cafe con leche. :P We sent him back to hotel after that to refresh himself, while we went back to get a change too.

At night we took him for a dinner at Farmland Steamboat for a try of the Steamboat porridge He had already tried all the saucy and spicy Malay and Indian food while he was in PG, so I thought it would be a good idea to let him try something new. After that we went to Tasik Titiwangsa to see Eye on Malaysia.

Aleix with his new Batik shirt :D

It was way past 11:30pm, so the wheel was supposedly closed to public, but they decided to take in one last call before they close for the day. Off we went into the capsule, only to be awfully disappointed at what we can see from inside. It was PATHETIC!!! All we could manage was just a miserable outline of the capsule next to us because the windows and glasses were so misty. I felt really cheated paying RM15 each just to sit in there and feeling all miserable. Seriously we were really tempted to press that RED emergency button just to get out!

Bored to the MAX!

As soon as we got to the ground, I highlighted to the staff about the problem but they just shrugged it off. Malaysia BOLEH lah... Anyway, we went Salsa dancing and forgot all about it (at least momentarily for me)

Next morning it was seafood noodle for breakfast at Jalan Segambut before we went to KLCC for a walk in the park and more shopping :P Then we sent him to Puduraya to catch his bus back to Johor.

Hope you enjoyed yourself Aleix and perhaps the next time you are here, Tinisha can join us too. Besos!

The Sound of Silence

I just realised today that I can be driven insane if I am deprived of talking. Last night my throat was acting up, and this morning the virus shut down my voice box completely. All I could manage was just a misery hissing sound like the radio out of coverage area. All my efforts to communicate were in vain.

I have never been quite a vocal person (or so I've thought), and I didn't quite mind if I am locked away in a vault without seeing another living soul for days, as long as I have a comfortable bed, a good supply of food, and either one or more of these:
a) books
b) my beloved laptop with internet access
c) MP3 player
On the other hand, I can't stand the silence if somebody else is just right in front of me and I can't talk to them! *FRUST*

Anyway, just wanted to release my pent-up frustration before I am driven up the wall...he he he... Good night bloggiee...

Teacher Appreciation Day

Thanks to Yen Yen and Fatimah for the beautiful cards (and thanks to Auntie Lyne too for helping them make it!) *MUUUUAAAAK*

And Happy Teacher's Day to all my ex-teachers out there! A big hug to ALL of you! Un abrazo fuerte!

Honda Safety Driving Course 2007

Mom and I had a great mother-daughter activity yesterday :D Honda sent me an invitation weeks back for a safety driving course. I was quite skeptical about taking part, what if they ask me to do some stunts which I can't do??? Then again, the course was FREE, and I was allowed to bring a partner along. So I asked mom to see if she would be interested to join, and she said yes!

That's my mom getting ready for action!

So there we were at the APAC near the old Subang airport, all geared up in Honda T-shirts & caps (we had a nice goodie bag too!). I must salute Honda MY for doing such a great job at making this event a huge success. The group was relatively small, only about 25 of us, and everyone was treated like a king. After every practical session, we were given cool wet towelettes and drinks to refresh ourselves at the canopy. Breakfast, lunch and breaks served were also abundant and quality of food was good (caterer: Mum's Place @ Damansara Perdana).
Program of the day:

7:30am - Arrival of participants and breakfast (nasi lemak...yummy!)
8:30am - Opening ceremony and theory session by Jonathan Tang (from Bkt Batok Driving school in S'pore)
9:45am - Group photo session
10:00am - Pre-drive essentials with our group's trainer, Masagoes (car check, blind spots & blind areas)
10:30am - Warm up at the circuit and maneuvering practice with the 'S' curves (also highlights on correct sitting posture, etc)
12:00noon - Lunch time (satay, lamb chops, prawn salad, etc.....burp!)
1:00pm - Emergency braking with ABS (we did it on both wet & dry surface - this was just the warm up to get us used to hard braking)
2:00pm - Collision and danger avoidance with ABS (this was a little tricky, we had to speed up, brake at on a slipper rubber mat with water and soap, then avoid colliding with the cone in front of us, 2nd part was to break and avoid colliding with the cone at the sudden change of signal light)
3:30pm - Break with kuih nyonya, fried wantan, etc (starting to feel like this is a weight gain program!)
4:00pm - Cornering (My mom's fav part of all! We get to drive at diff speeds, 20km/h, 30km/h and up to 60km/h on a sharp corner without braking! Mom said she felt like she was 18 once again...he he he)
5:15pm - Summary and a quick test (we both scored 14/15! Not bad huh?)
5:45pm - Presentation of certificates
6:00pm - End of event & Test drive for your choice of car (we wanted to try out the Integra, but the queue was just too loooooooooong!)

We were definitely tired but enjoyed ourselves tremendously at the end of the day. Wonder if I'll get to try this out again in the future?

*Updated 9th May 2007 : An article about this driving course at Paultan.org - along with our photo!!! :D

Two Left Feet - Part 2

Judy, my ballroom dance instructor, suggested that I participate in the Malaysia Team DanceSport Championships 2007 in the Beginner's category on the 28th of April. Hah, what a joke! She said that I am qualified, just need a little touch-ups here and there. On top of that, I don't have to search for a dance partner; TW is readily available now that he is taking dance lessons with me. Yeah, right.

He had to be at gun-point to take up dancing, and now what? Competition? He'd rather have me shoot him. Ke ke ke..... of course I have to be fair too.... my knees shudder even at the mention of the word, so how can I compete? I got myself 2 tickets instead - to support and cheer for Hazel who will be competiting in both the Latin and Ballroom Category D. All the best, darling! :)

April's Fools

The fools went over the mountain,
The fools went over the mountain,
The fools went over the mountain,
To see what they could see.

And all that they could see was

Grey clouds covering the sky
Then rain pouring down their heads
Getting all soaked from head to toe
Was all that they could see.

(Sing to the tune: The Bear Went Over the Mountain)

Normally, we would skip the our weekly hill trekking if we sense a rainstorm ahead. Funnily today we didn't, and just short of 3 minutes to reaching the top, it started to rain. Mom, dad and their friends were not too far from the starting point, so they retreated almost immediately. But poor Sebastian and myself were about 20 minutes away. The rain got heavier as we were going downhill, and both of us were completely wet from head to toe.

It was really fun actually, I can't recall the last time I actually walked under the rain without an umbrella... :) Reminds me of my trekking trip at Mulu National Park in 2003 with Hong Teng. Sebastian and I had to be very careful as water came pouring down the slopes and his shoes didn't have a very good grip.

It continued to rain cats and dogs, even after we reached the starting point. All I could say is we looked like "chicken in the soup" (lok tong gai), completely drenched. Thank goodness none of us caught a cold!

I'm a Shark???

Today, while explaining some dinosaurs to my class, Ella pointed at several and said they represented her daddy, mummy, his brother Enrico, and herself. Being a little curious, I asked her which one did she think was me. She picked the most gruesome of all - the T-Rex. Me? The T-Rex??

Just moments later, I picked up an ABC book and asked the children what each picture represented. Not surprisingly, Ella chose the hen to represent her mummy, and the little chick as herself. But what did she chose to represent me??? It was a SHARK!!! :O

Ellaaaa....Ellaaa.....you can be SOOOOOOOOO adorable sometimes ;)

3...2...1...Blast Off!

It's our school field trip to the Planetarium today! Last 2 weeks the children had their chance to make their very own space T-shirt to be worn during this trip. The teachers, too, thought that it would be a good idea to have one each, so we got ourselves a plain black-T each and decorated it too! Thanks to Lyne for helping us to make such a beaauuuuuuuuutiful Space-T! Gam siah!

Not just any Space-T

If you look carefully, Sandra's Space-T shows a space shuttle taking off from the Earth, then passing through my shirt (half of the Earth is on my Space-T), before landing on the moon on Lyne's Space-T. Ain't that cool??? :D

Lost in Time

Just tonight a friend commented that I can't stop talking about my "sabbatical" trip to Spain, France and Europe. Which is so very true. Name any topics, I'll manage to relate it to my experiences of the past 1 1/2 years. Amazingly this milestone that I have charted for myself in 2005 and 2006 has made such an impact: that it overshadows my 28 years of history. No doubt, it's also the most recent achievement in my life to "brag" about (also the very one that left me with a BIG hole in my pocket to mend).

Are the rest of my life really not worthy of sharing? Definitely not. Just that it probably won't be as interesting to anyone else but me ;) Stored away in a little chest of treasure, to be discovered only by the one who holds the key.....

CNY APIIT Gathering

The Magnificient 7 who turned up on 3/3/07....EHEM...

Vivien has never given up trying to organize a get together for our APIIT gang every CNY. This year is no different. Unfortunately, the number of attendees seems to dwindle every year. I find it sad that some of us are not even making a teenie weenie bit of effort to make it, nor even bothered to reply that they are not coming; c'mon, it's only ONCE a year thingie! (Ok, those who are not in town or with valid reasons can be excused).

Anyway, we did have a great time, with great seafood and Yee Sang of course (probably my 10th time this year) in Unique Seafood Restaurant at Sect 13, PJ. Hopefully next year Vivien will have better luck gathering more people to come - "Don't give up Viv, we still need someone to do the job! Thanks a million!!!"

Pinkguins in Phillip Island

Our trip to Phillip Island - Couldn't resist putting up this photo first (though it's already way overdue). Will update story soon!

Colourful Yee Sang

Even before the CNY approaches, I have tossed the Yee Sang for more than 3 times already. This is a unique custom practiced extremely popular in Malaysia (well, and in our beloved neighbouring countries too) as a way to "toss up" good health, prosperity and good luck. However, for our case, its not so much for those reasons listed, but simply because we just adore the dish.

The dish is basically a salad containing vegetables like julienne carrots and white radish (and few others of I-dunno-what, pomelo, crackers, peanuts, and most importantly, the raw fish. Nowadays you can get variations like Salmon, Abalone, Jellyfish, and even Sashimi Prawns! Plum sauce is used for the dressing; and the sweet and sour taste makes it really appetising. :D Last year I had about 7-8 times of Yee Sang. I can probably break the record this year...ke ke ke..

ABCs of a Pre-school Teacher

Being a pre-school teacher is definitely not as easy as 'ABC'. It requires patience... and LOTS of them too. Not to forget 24/7 listening ears (if I only had a bunch of them). All the children expect attention to themselves ONLY, which was easy to see why; most of them are the ONLY child in the family. All want to talk at the same time. All want you to listen ONLY to them. And you know what? They have NEVERENDING stories to tell too. Simply amazing.

I am still trying to get used to these little buzzing bumble bees, while one or two are loudly crying (or screaming?) in the background. It's the beginning of a new term, where newcomers are still crying for their mummies. Our favourite phrase, "Yes, mama/papa will come later" to try calm them down: sometimes it works and sometimes not. But that is not the hardest part: to differentiate "I am playing with you now" tone against "I am serious and you'd better listen" when talking to them IS. Jenny is really good at that.

Some of the children also get too attached to their own teacher that they refused to move up to another class. For example, Joel (half-German) who refused to move out of Toddlers class to mine (Junior 1) because he is used to having Mimie as his teacher. Then Elio, the Italian boy who refused to move up to Junior 2 because of me. Wherever he goes, he wants me to join him. Even to the toilet, he would not let anyone else bring him if I was around. Joel now willingly goes to Junior 1, though he can't sit still and walks in and out of the class, while Elio only agreed to enter Junior 2 last Thursday. Keeping my fingers crossed he will adapt to Junior 2 soon.

Anyway, I have a lot to learn, but I will go easy on myself. Though it's not a long hour job, I can get really beat up at the end of the day :P Undoubtedly, there is a very good remedy for all the exhaustion:

Steal a BIG hug from them, which sometimes comes with a bonus kiss .

Mein Name ist Si Theng

My German language class at Goethe-Institut will start next Monday, 15th January 2007. A new year for a new language :D. Had originally planned to continue either español, français or 日本語, but I was not able to match their time table for this term to my hectic schedule (got myself filled up with too many activities ... he he he).

Will have to keep writing more emails in French and Spanish to hopefully guard what I have learnt. My acquired Japanese skills have completely gone down the drain though :P Sandra and Lyne have asked me to give them Spanish lessons, which I more than willingly agreed. Although that DELE Intermedio Diploma doesn't really qualify me to teach, I should do fine with complete beginners (I hope!)

When the Clock Strikes 12