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

Makan-makan Malaysia

My family forego the plan of going to Taiwan because of I couldn't make it. We headed for Penang instead. It must have been a blessing in disguise cause Taiwan was hit by an earthquake on the same day that we returned from our northbound trip.

So, what did we do in this trip? Well, to start with, the 10 of us set off on Christmas eve morning with a nice dim sum to fill our tummies. On our way, we stopped at Teluk Intan to have our favourite Ah Chai rojak*.

Yummy Ah Chai Rojak

Oh, and did I mention that all the Leong sisters were dressed in a uniform? Well, not exactly a uniform but we had the exact same polo T-shirt. We definitely caught everyone's attention no matter where we went ... he he he...

After that, we visited a goat farm in Chenderiang, a small town next to Tapah. The kids were soooo cute.... when they saw us, they immediately greeted us, "meeehhh... meeeehhhh.....". Yi San tried to carry one of them and the poor fella went "MEEEEHHH!", which I assumed to be "Put me down!".

"MEEEEEHHHH!!!"

From Chenderiang, we headed straight to Penang, and checked-in to the hotel first. Then, for dinner we went to Tanjong Tokong. There we indulged in 4kg of salt-baked prawns, 1kg of grilled crabs, 30 sticks of satay, or chien**, grilled stingray, stir-fried vege, fried meehoon, spicy la-la, gung bao*** mantis prawns and I have probably missed a thing or two from the list. A feast that could feed at least 20. Unfortunately, I had my fingers all dirty from peeling prawns and crabs, I didn't manage to take a photo.

Of course that was not all, immediately after we went to Gurney drive for 2nd helping of Penang food. That was how we discovered that "White" Christmas exists here! There were lots of stalls selling party SNOW spray: 4 for RM10. All the youngsters were having fun spraying at their friends and passerbys, including cars. Though we tried to stay away from them, we were not fully spared as the wind helped spread the "SNOW". I had to refrain from taking photos to avoid getting my camera all "SNOWY". We returned to hotel after having our muar chi and crunchy mango rojak.

Again the very next day it was all about FOOD. We had our routine breakfast at Soong river, one of the restaurants located by the seaside near Gurney drive. Our usual orders: steamed rice noodles with fish (I don't know what type), braised noodles with prawns, fried chicken wings, etc. After breakfast we went to Prangin Mall, and while doing our window shopping, stumbled across a Reflexology center and 7 of us decided to get some massage. Sebastian (first-timer) was heard screaming throughout the foot massage session. Me on the other hand fell asleep during the session. We also had a ear-candling session.

All ready for foot reflexology

If you have been following me closely from the beginning, you should be able to guess by now that our next activity was of course to EAT. It was cendol time :D

Enjoying ice cold cendol on a hot sunny day

Tired yet? Wait! I still have not talked about the assam laksa at our favourite no. 11 stall at Gurney drive (yes, again). And not to forget... *drum rolls* : FRIED CHICKEN SKIN! Yes, you heard me right the first time, an extremely sinful delicacy but Oh, so yummy!

SS taking a bite of the fried chicken skin

That was just a pre-movie snacking. We watched Confessions of Pain at GSC in Gurney Plaza (original plan was to watch Curse of the Golden Flower but it was a full house), and proceeded for our dinner at NS Nasi Kandar. The portion was really big and they gave lots of kuah**** :D

Ok, ok....that's basically the end of our Makan-makan trip. Erm, ALMOST......aside from the breakfast at Soong River again the next morning before our depart and another stopover at Ipoh for char koay teow, sotong kangkung and chee cheong fun. BURP!

THE LEONG FAMILY

*rojak = fruit salad a la malaysian [pronounced as "row jug"]
**or chien = fried oysters with eggs
***gung bao = fried with dried red chilis and dark soya sauce
****kuah = gravy

Intolerable Cruelty

A friend forwarded me this article from the Star newspaper today.

***
Dog loses jaw after cruel beating - The Star (21/12/06)

JOY, a little black dog whose jaw was surgically removed after he was almost beaten to death, still looks at humans with love.

Despite the cruelty rendered to him, he still looks at people to bepetted and loved.

On Dec 2, Sabrina Yeap, managing partner of the Furry Friends Farm(FFF), rescued Joy at the Ki-Park Sri Utara construction site belonging to developer, Kepong Industrial Park Sdn Bhd (KIP Group).

Joy's jaw had to be surgically removed after it was beaten half to death by Indonesian construction workers.Joy's lower jaw was dangling and his tongue was hanging out.

Two eyewitnesses said they had seen him being beaten by Indonesian foreign workers who kept calling the dog haram as they continuously beat it.

Joy's lower jaw was so badly injured that it had to be surgically removed, but its tongue was saved despite having lacerations and blood clots.

Dr Habeeb Rahman Ibramsa, a lecturer in Quran and Sunnah studies at the International Islamic University in Gombak, volunteered to give atalk to the foreign workers who were involved in the beating of Joy.

But, to date, the owners of KIP Group has refused to co-operate.

"I wish to end this ignorance. The Quran does not support violence against animals; I am willing to give lectures, presentations and screen videos that support what I am saying.

"I hope the public, Government officials, foreign workers and others who need to hear this truth will attend," said Dr Habeeb.

Yeap said FFF was not looking for the government to punish the people who did this to Joy.
"We are calling on the government to support our public education projects by persuading the developer, KIP Group, to allow us to educate their workers.

"Joy may not be able to fetch a ball or toy anymore but he still know how to show his delight in human companionship," Yeap said.

A little gathering will be held at the Canteen Restaurant in Plaza Damas to support Joy.
Those interested in attending can also bring a little gift for him.

For details, call Yeap at 016-631 9018.
***

My heart sank as I read the article. How can somebody be so cruel to a defenseless animal like that? It broke my heart just to look at Joy's photo. I hope that by spreading the news, there will be more to support efforts of people like Ms. Yeap.

Two Left Feet

After more than 6 months of absence, I resumed my dancing lessons with YS Dancesport. "Thanks" to YS who regarded highly of my abilities, he suggested that I join the Advance group.

In the 1st hour (latin technique) I was struggling to keep my balance on the 2 1/2 inch heels; I had been on flats most of the time for the past 6 months since I had to do a lot of walking. Lucky for me, I regained by stability at the end of the class, though the ball of my feet had began to hurt a little.

The 2nd hour was tough. Everyone else was already well versed with the Group 1 and Group 2 sequence for the Cha cha cha, and was learning the new Group 3 sequence, while I was completely in the dark and tried to mimic whatever I could. However, after dozens of double spin turns and open hip twists, my knees and ankles couldn't take it anymore. I was thrown off balance everytime I had to make a second spin turn. My partner had to remind me to keep my feet close each time I make a spin - if only it was that easy!

Nonetheless, I enjoyed the 2 hours lessons a lot (although I end up walking like a duck immediately after). It feels so good to be back there again! Will have my ballroom dance lessons this Sat, really looking forward to it.

Holiday....Yipppeee!!!

Yep! It's holiday again for me..... I know I just started this new job not too long ago, but it's school holiday now. The children were relieved from school since end of last week, while the teachers were required to be at school for training, clean up, and a make-over (not the teachers, the school of course!). Finally, it's all DONE (well, almost). Now we all have 2 weeks to rest. Then we'll have to be back just several days before the school starts to get ourselves ready for the noisy but adorable bunch to be back...he he he.

Butterflies, Tigers & Leopards

Aaaaawwwwww, soooooooooooo CUTEEEEEEE!!! All I wanted to do was just to pinch their cute little cheeks, but of course, that was not allowed coz they had paint all over their face! Today's the end of Term 4 party for year 2006. For the past 2 weeks we have been training the children to dance to the song "I just can't wait to be king" from Lion King. And with the Jungle theme, the girls were turned into pretty butterflies while the boys into tigers and leopards! The teachers arrived early to decorate the restaurant, and the children started arriving about 10am to get dressed and have their face painted (I did the tigers!!!)......so very cool ;) I guess the face paint were really uncomfortable, as after 15 mins or so, some of them already tried to wipe them off... he he he..

The party was a huge success, although we had some of them running back to their mummies and daddies during the dance, and as usual, some cry babies too. But everyone had such great fun! The daddies were given hand-painted ties to wear, and mummies were given photo frames. All hand-made by the children (ehem...with help from the teachers of course).

I got home realising that I had also some face paint on the back of my shirt. Looks like the kids also tried to rub them off on me! :P Probably as a revenge!

*updated 30 Nov 2006

Look Who's New???

"It's Auntie Shirl! Let's give a clap to Auntie Shirl!" There goes Auntie Oli, the teacher for class Junior 1 (also my mentor for the moment) when introducing me to a bunch of cuties below 5 years old.

My life as an assistant teacher at a Montessori pre-school begins today. It's my second time at the school, and I am glad that some of the kids still remember my face though not my name. I couldn't have enjoyed it more. They were not at all shy around me, for e.g. Oscar, he was making me follow him from room to room, pulling my hands to make me continue when I was tired and wanted to stop. He was babbling all the time then made me help him stuff the rubber crocodile with raw macaroni (which I found later that it was not allowed, I mean, to stuff the crocodile). Then during Circle Time, several of them ran to sit next to me i.e. Elio, Isabella, Clara-Ann, etc.

These kids are sooooooo independent! And so very adorable. After playing, they never make a fuss when you tell them to clean up. Of course, these are all the perks of being a pre-school teacher. No screaming from angry bosses or customers, only screaming from kids enjoying themselves. No messy documentation and filing, only lots of messy painting and sticky glue on your fingers. No office politics and backstabbing, only playful "stabbing" from the boys with a plastic knives* (and I had to pretend dead for a while).

No doubt there are tough situations, for e.g.:

1. Cleaning up after their poo & pee ('accidents' do happen, but it can't be worst than the 'poo' left over by some when working in the corporate world)
2. Home sick children (e.g. Chiara, an Italian girl, wouldn't stop crying; probably due to language barrier - she refused to mix with the rest except for Elio, of whom she could understand, and only thought of going home the very moment she arrived at school. Damn, why didn't I take up Italian???)
3. Understanding baby languages; Cassandra was asking for her water bottle during meal time, but I thought she wanted more pasta.... :P

Pheewww, what a day.......more excitements tomorrow! :D

*stabbing (whether with real OR plastic knives) should not be encouraged