Finally done with the spring cleaning of my room. :)

Now trying to get rid of some of the lecture notes and books which I got for my breadth modules. Let me know if you know anyone is interested in having the stuff for EC1301 (Principles of Economics), EC2102 (Macroeconomics Analysis I) and/or CL2280 (Basic Translation).

Every time I do spring cleaning, I'll come across my collections of cards, handphone accessories, novels, cds, letter sets, and so on. Feel like putting some of the stuff on auction. Haha. But I doubt there'll be any buyer.

Maybe I should take up embroidery again to get rid of my box of colour threads. And start writing one letter each day to get rid of my letter writing sets. :P

Had a gathering with the uni girls yesterday. It was to celebrate sauwai's birthday. :) Great effort of xiujuan to arrange and coordinate everything. Really good to meet up with everyone and find out how each other is coping.



Going back to school for matriculation tomorrow. Will be meeting my supervisor in the afternoon. Rest of the days probably stay at home and rest. Still haven't recovered from my cough. :(

The dolls are so cute right! :)

Mind wasn't functioning yesterday. I got confused with the bus routes of bus 151 with bus 158. Haha. And I had almost forgotten bout this girl from my senior batch.

The cough and the medicine are driving me nuts. There's slight improvement today. Hehe. Must be the curing power of the two dolls. :)

21 months is up. Can upgrade to another phone. Haha. All those complaints bout how lousy my current phone is. Surprisingly for now, I'm kind of reluctant to change to a new set. I guess I'll stick to it, unless it starts giving problems for smsing and calling, or I come across a phone which looks really attractive.

I'm more keen to upgrade my singnet to 1500kbps or 3500kbps. Too bad the contract is only due next year march.

Recently, I feel the need to do some financial planning for myself (not employ the need of any financial planner though). Like settling my own handphone bill, bringing money home each month, paying for my own clothes and shoes. In short, to be financially independent. Haha. It makes me feel more adult-ish. And it really brightens me up to know that I can do something I enjoy, and at the same time, be financially independent.

Maybe it is this brightening of my mood that's making me recover from the cough. :)

Finally everything seems to be settled. Just replied MOE and NUS. A big thanks to all those who have helped. Your encouragement and support are very much appreciated. :)

It's just one week, but I reflected on a lot of things. I thought of my past, my present, my future. I analysed my relationships with the people around me. Sometimes, my mind was as if on a rollar coaster. It wasn't easy to come out with a decision which would somewhat affect my future. And it was even more tough looking for sureties.

I guess, it's an experience which I'll remember for a very long time.

Sometimes, I think I am not a fortunate person, because for me, nothing comes about easily. On the other hand, when I look at what I have now, I can't say I'm unfortunate. :) Some hardships and struggles may be blessings in disguise, for they taught me how to be strong, and to appreciate some people around me.

Now, I'm stuck with a result in my thesis. But I guess it'll be fine after more hard work. Or so I hope. Still, I'm quite glad to be back to my thesis at last. :)

Here's a picture of my new toy.



Haha. It got to witness my frowns over the past one week. Hugging it made me feel better sometimes. I'm really relieved that everything has been settled for the time being. :)

Had been coughing for a week plus. Sian.

Planning how to help my tuition kid revise through all her topics before her pre-prelims. Mmm. Heard from my jc teachers that it's now much harder to get a distinction for maths in A levels. Oh well. But I'm pretty sure she'll get at least a B if she works hard enough.

The other day, she was telling me she used to like maths during secondary 4. Because she could do the problems then, and she felt happy when doing maths. As for now, she gets stuck every now and then, and doing maths brings her morale low. There're so many things to remember, and she keeps on forgetting the right technique for each type of question.

I must think of something to help her. :)

It has been a week since my previous post. A fulfilling week. Too bad I was sick throughout.

Commencement dinner last saturday. Still waiting for shawn to send me the photo we took on that day. All went well. Much better than what I expected earlier. I hardly spoke to hanmao during my undergraduate days. Somehow, he turned out to be a good company during the commencement interview and commencement dinner. :)

Went Sentosa on Sunday. I couldn't help but compare it with Ocean Park. Ocean Park is so much better in comparison. More fun. And cheaper. Haha. I guess I like Ocean Park so much that I didn't even complain after all the mosquito bites and sunburnt last time. :) Nonetheless, I've enjoyed my time in Sentosa. Watched the muscial fountain for the very first time.


me on the cable car


view from cable car (1)


view from cable car (2)

me in orchid garden


indian dance in front of musical fountain


audience at musical fountain

sentosa mascot?

And on Monday, I went for the sponsorship interview. TJ's ex-principal happened to be one of the four interviewers. The second I sat down and put down my bag, she started her first question. She questioned, I answered, and this process repeated several times. The pace was so fast that I had little time to catch my breathe. She left me tongue-tied for some questions. Seriously, I have not given much thought bout taking up leadership positions beyond that of a principal. The rest of the questions posted by other interviewers weren't as tough. Most of the time, they were just trying to pyscho me to give up the idea of going for phD.

I was probably too sick that day to feel stressed bout the interview. Thinking back, the questions were kind of tough. But at that point of time, I felt the strong urge and need to defend my masters course. And because I thought I have nothing to lose, I spoke out whatever that came to my mind. Till now, I'm still a bit unhappy bout their response when I told them my course officially end in august 2007, but NIE starts before that.

But I guess it all boils down to the difference in stand. Probably no right or wrong. I can't expect everyone to agree with what I'm doing. :)

Went out with wang fei for lunch + shopping + ktv + dinner yesterday. Now, I think China is a great place after retirement. Haha. The things there are damn cheap. And my parents love the beef he bought from his hometown. I think I should visit China one day. Been more than ten years since my last visit.

Visited TJ today. Yilin is already teaching there. Haha. Too bad ms faye tan and mrs tag weren't around. But we got to see mrs kay, who came back to relief mrs tag. :)

My teachers used to tell me that being a good maths teacher, one needs to have both good attitude and aptitude. I think they're maths teachers, because they like maths, and they like to teach. My teachers used to tell me how they used to enjoy their maths lectures in university. Many of them are hardworking individuals. During my jc days, I looked up to my teachers as role models.

But after I went to NUS, I began to wonder if my teachers are endangered species. The attitude and aptitude are no longer common traits among the students. Not even teaching scholars. Students are looking for short cuts and easy wayouts. They hope for minimum input and maximum output.

I'll visit my alma matter once in a while. Partly because, they always portrait a brighter side of education service. And it's a warm feeling to have teachers still remembering your name, 4.5 years after your graduation.

One of the teachers was saying that she saw my face at the science centre. Haha. And she seemed really glad. ok, next time if nus wanna film such videos, I'll be less reluctant to take part. Haha.

Long entry today. Shall be meeting my supervisor tomorrow. Argh. Mmm... have I done enough to show him. Mmm... I'm like kind of lost now. Haha. Hopefully he'll enlighten me tomorrow.

Just realized that it is only a month to the start of the new academic year. Hope to make more progress with the thesis in this one month. The thought of having to cope with it in addition to my modules and my teaching/ grading duties is rather scary. Haha. I've forgotten how I used to cope with a 35-hours-week timetable. I was young and energetic then. Haha.

Will be going for the commencement dinner this saturday. I think it is going to be boring. I don't know anyone there basically. I'm going to satisfy my sense of curiousity. It sounds like quite a grand event and I don't forsee myself getting invited again. Haha. And 6.30pm to 10pm sounds reasonable too. So if you ever receive sms from me that evening, please reply. It means I'm really bored. Haha.

In return, I'll have to forgo the photo shot session with my peers in school on saturday morning. It's either I go to school twice that day, or carry my gown bag and extra set of clothes to the commencement dinner. Both of which don't sound appealing. Shall see how again. If only they can postpone it to another day.

And next week, there's an interview for the masters sponsorship with moe. The thing is I've gotton sponsorship from nus, but moe wants me to go down nevertheless. Consultation with my supervisor on thursday. And on wednesday, may be going back to tj for a visit. I think I have not been back for almost a year. Wonder if there's any drastic change.

Shall make a move to marina square now. Meeting qy and ll for dinner. Haha. Maybe we'll see the handsome waiter again? :)

Commencement is finally over.



The bouquet of flowers isn't mine. Haha. It's for my mum's birthday. :P

Relieved that the ceremony is finally over. :) Uploading the photos now.

Nothing much to say bout the ceremony. I've thanked most of the people whom I wanted to thank during the interview yesterday. Hehe. No great excitement in fact. Partly because, I know there's another year of masters awaiting me. And if I'm to carry on with phD some day, I still have a very long way to go. Honours is like passing stage 1 only.

Too bad I didn't get to take a picture with my idol yesterday. She got her phD! :)

Didn't bring my doraemon doll to the ceremony yesterday. To compensate myself, I took a picture with this big doraemon outside my favourite toy shop in suntec city:

Went to the nanyang girls' high school funfair in the day. A lot of people: parents, ex-students, families and students from other schools. There's even a booth set up for the student whereby hwa chong guys could go over to take photo with nanyang girls. And there's ghost house, game house and so on. In the hall, there was an auction of weird stuff, eg. old classroom furniture. lol. And it costs $200+. :P

Bought a cushion for $10.



A bowl of noodles cost me $5. Sigh. There's much cheaper burgers and hotdogs. I'll grab those instead if not because I'm on diet. Haha. And surprisingly, I managed to get 3 can drinks for my friends at a cost of $2. I saw a few stalls selling can drinks at $2 each. :)

Had a good tour around the school. I really like the school. Nice environment. The students seem well-behaved too. They don't give me the feeling that they're wild or crazy. Haha.





Finally received the letter from dean's office. Another item off my wish list. :)