Saturday, September 16, 2006
Post Exam Results Mortem
I think I must have been the last person at TAS to check my results.For one thing, as I was telling Ivy the last few weeks, I really didn't want to face it because it has been a really bad sem... And nothing, absolutely nothing academically (or non-academically, for that matter), had seem to go well. I even failed my Opera test along the sem. (Sorry Mr. Lee!!) Almost missed it because I woke up late that Tues morning. It has really been horrendously terrible and I finally understood how Melvin felt during his Sem 3. Which brings me to the topic of Sem 3 results... I have always feared that the Melvin Effect would set in as well for my case. And God probably answered my prayers because I didn't receive ANY sms from the system when everyone else had received something that fatefeul day 13th Sept. (Urrg!!! Of all days, it has to be released on a 13th???) As anita puts it, it may be auspicious for *THEM*, even though not for us.
And the verdict? I have done so well that it was shocking beyond words. The only person I have told my results to so far, is my boyfriend. Even though he kinda expected it (which I don't understand why) but was amazed that I actually managed to surmount all obstacles to come so far. The self-realisation being, the more I am being forced to the edge of the cliff, the more determined I am to create miracles. As Mr. Chia puts it, 'very often, one's perception, and the reality of the situation, is far from being the same... good things can come out of difficult situations...' even though I told him I may never see him again for the rest of my life (to which he refuted by emphasizing that 'the world is fast becoming a global village'). Hahaaha, I can so imagine his blank face when he was typing all that.
But I owe my accomplishments to my lecturers actually. Especially my careperson Mr. Wong. It was that fateful sentence outside the resource centre during the study week that sent deep tingling of ominous foreboding down my spines that chilled me so much that it jolted me awake. I told him how terrible Sem 3 was. And he merely said, ''Issit? This is the last chance to perfect your GPA, Lay Ling.'' Which made me realise how much more was expected from me and how much more I could possibly achieve, within my ability. The fact that everyone was expecting something from me probably meant that perhaps, I could *really* do something about it. However, time was running short and I was desperate for a miracle to happen not to fail any of my modules. Yes I hated expectations because of the obligation to meet them back in JC. But then again, I rationalised that expectations are prevalent everywhere no matter where I go. After the whole results saga, I told Mr. Wong how enlightening that particular sentence of his was and he simply replied how proud he was of my academic and non-academic (what's that?? orientation???? *faintZ*) achievements. I have always thought that Mr. Wong was a stressful character. For some reason, he is so stressed that he can stress you out, perhaps without realising it. But I guess, this time round, it's a constructive kind of stress from him. Sometimes, I just need some pushing and his words salvaged my predicament in the nick of time.
And for now, it's just SIP to get flustered with.
(My dear LO, I may just call you to cry someday, be forewarned!!! hahaha)
Posted by Atlantic Amethyst at 10:52 AM
Monday, September 11, 2006
Teachers' Day Pressie
Ok I just managed to find time and upload a picture of my Teachers' day present this year...
My current student is one of the brightest child for her age I have ever came across and I sometimes really wonder why she needs tuition for. She gives me little gifts for every occasion I can think of actually, to the extent I found it ridiculous. Yes she is a sweet, smart and naughty little devil who asks me the most mind-boggling stuffs in the world like such rhetorical classics "What's nothingness?", "If nothingness is really just nothing, then where will I be?", "Gosh, every year somebody dies in my family, so where do our souls go then??". I don't know what her mum fed her since young (but I know she doesn't really eat much decent food) and for a primary 5 kid, it's even more mind-boggling how on earth such questions just seem to come to her as natural as eating ice-cream and stealing tidbits from the fridge when she is supposed to eat proper decent meals. And when she went to her friend's house to celebrate christmas party, she came back to me with all sorts of questions why everyone was so happy -- that Jesus was born AND when He died -- when 'funerals that went dong dong chiang downstairs and those for her dead relatives were always sad with people crying'. I didn't really think her mum anticipated all these before her daughter came to this world; neither do I when I first started teaching her 2 years ago. It felt like a sort of nostalgia coz I used to bug my own tutor about such things when I was her age (but not till that extent.) I used to find excuses to buy presents for my tutor too; I don't know why but I just felt generous. And being the only child back then before my noisy siblings came to this world, I was lonely and quiet most of the time. She was kinda like my only speaking companion and answered all my questions with direct honesty and sincerity unlike other adults. Looking at my student now is a quiet reminiscence of myself back then when I was young. She shocks me just as much as I shocked my tutor all the time. As her mother (in her 50s now) puts it, it's probably just destiny that her daughter loves me so much she can't accept any other tutor whom she tried to find (at least a dozen) to substitute me whenever my life gets busier. This is really bad, I thought. I once told my student she can't rely on me forever; she has to learn to accept help from other tutors. And all she said was "Huh but I don't know what they're talking about and they don't even understand my questions!" I had to laugh. All of them must be wondering what the hell makes this seemingly innocuous girl tick -- from the little shocks she can deliver to utmost innocence and perfection. Because I wonder too.
Thank you Angeline, for your sweet little present. May God bless you and your family always.
Posted by Atlantic Amethyst at 12:23 AM
Thursday, September 07, 2006
Post Exams-Mortem Part I I
Ok, I'm lagging again but nooo time lahhh, can't blame me for bloggin things that happened 48 hours ago.And here we are !! At our long-awaited IG gathering!!
While Ivy, Janice and co were at the other side of town pouring wines and 'savouring' French desserts with that cute French chef with lingering accent, we were at Heeren eating good food! And watching Johnny gulp down those aphrodisiac mollusks with lodsa lemon *squeeeezeeeee* then *ouch!* Hahaha. He squeezed the lemon till the juice squirted into his eyes. Ivy and Janice, you guys missed ONE HELL of a *classic*. We were worried for Sweet coz Johnny might not tahan through the night after swallowing 3 oysters -- with 1 complimentary of Mr. Lee. (His intention was kind actually-- wanted Johnny to chew and taste, not swallow. I mean, what are you guys thinking???)
A pity Ivy wasn't there, Gosh, my dear IVy, if you were there, I'm pretty sure things would have been more fiery coz we entered the topic of our lecturers' chinese names...My god!! You should have seen me, A-Long and Dilys exhanging glances and laughin like siao when Mr. Lee started asking us whether we knew his chinese name. And finally, the mystery is out !!! Now, we know his REAL chinese name. And it's woaaa, so chim and grand like the Sacred Emperor *giggles*. And we sparked off into another heap of laughter when he asked us which lecturer's chinese name is the funniest. And who else, but Sim Ban Sheong?!!! HAHAHA. And so Mr Lee dared A-Long to shout across the parade square 'SIM BAN SHEONG!!!' and wave wildly when Mr Sim step out of the staff room. HAHAHAHA I'm so looking forward to that moment. (Go Check it out!!!)
The course of conversation steered into Orientation...Jasmine actually suggested wanting to let the new intake dance cheesy dance moves! My god! *slap my forehead* "Ivy will flip!" I told Anita. And Mr Lee emphasized to Lishi that she'll be the next upcoming Director of Dance and woahahah, that sparked it off. With her 'contemperoray ballet' background, we were imagining the new cohort spinnin' and bouncin' with twirls on the parade square. Way to go, Lishi!!! Ivy, I thought you were outstanding enough....HAhahaha....green out of blue ah, as the chinese proverb goes.
And their batch gonna have $300 extra cash (eh, what about us????) so Mr Lee proposed that IG organised a couple of activities to involve the whole of TAS. We jumped from idea to idea...hahah...Johnny's street soccer, A-Long's wheel of fortune (!??!)....marketing TAS as a tourist destination...and that brings me back to that old joke which I told a thousand times. The other time when me and Anita and I-forgot-who (either King or Jerry) were painting Orientation banners outside Block G, some Japanese tourists eyed us from a distance, glanced at the Sentosa maps in their hands, looked at us again and with one finger pointing on the map, asked Anita, "Artists' Village???" We just burst out laughing like anything on earth.
Eventually, we moved on for coffee at Coffee Express just opposite Heeren. The coffee was an unfortunate disappointment for me. We waited for long while Kissy happily enjoyed her cheesecake. Anita claimed that hers was fine though. But Dilys' and I compared our Tiramisu Lattes and wow, the inconsistency was like heaven and earth. I like lattes for their multi-layers but no way was I going to drink layer by layer (ever again) since Mr Lee brought the idea up. We went on to discuss about songs and suddenly we started exhanging national songs over coffee. Hahaha. I thought the Burmese national anthem was cool until Kissy innocently commented that it sounded like a lullaby to put baby to sleep and injected lodsa puttin-baby-to-sleep actions to emphasize her point. We couldn't stop laughing while Johnny looked point blank. And then I discovered that M'sia anthem no chorus...hmmm...I actually thought national anthems will usually have a chorus to emphasize some main points but I was wrong. And Mr Lee commented that the China national anthem sounds like a good wake-up call (qi lai, qi lai !!) since Kissy's version didn't exactly sound that patriotic given her sweetly-shrill vocals.
And I can't wait for our next gathering at KTV!! I hope Jasmine will be there too; miss her melodious vocals. And I'm so curious to hear the rest sing!! Like choir boy A-Long and dainty Dilys. And then there's always accompaniment by Lishi's contemperoray moves. And hopefully, we'll have the majority turn up this time round.
Posted by Atlantic Amethyst at 2:47 PM
Sunday, September 03, 2006
Post Exams-Mortem Part I
Exams are finally over!Shouldn't I be dilligently updating my blog? Uh no, on the contrary I have been sleeping and sleeping. (I think my lecturers will be happy to hear this.) What a wonderful pastime after feeling deprived of sleep for so many nights.
Would like to take this chance and express my thanks to all my compassionate lecturers who have dedicated so much of their time to education and still managed to retain their sanity. In random order, thank you: Ms. Tay, Ms. Ng, Ms. Daga, Ms. Quah, Mr. Wong NT, Mr. Dillon Lee, Mr. Eugene Lee, Mr. Aloysius Lee, Mr. Sim, Mr. Kok, Mr. Gan, Mr. Chia, Mr. Neo, Mr. Ignatius Lee, Mr. Tai, Mr. Lou, all our lovely chefs with fierce hats and finally, Mr. Yong. Don't worry, you guys will all appear in my TAS Survival script soon. Wishing you guys a really Happy Teachers' Day marking our papers with much sweat. Alanis Morissette's "Thank You" sincerely dedicated to all of you fellow beacons out there for being a special part of my learning journey at TAS.
Been in a ZiCha frenzy lately coz haven't been eating much for the past few weeks. Yesterday my boyfriend and I went Changi village for zicha dinner; ANd Today my family and I went to this really interesting ZiCha place at the Kaki Bukit area; which is totally weird, in terms of location and concept. Had it not been my father who took a short cut on his way to work and randomly glimpsed out of the window for strange hideouts, we wouldn't be dining there.
The reason why I decided to write about this ZiCha place is because..it's really weird for a Zicha place. It's weird in terms of location -- not really that visible, has expensive parking lots, not that accessible either nor is it convenient. And its too much of a posh thing for a ZiCha concept in a foodcourt coz the staffs wear nice uniforms that blend in with the nitty-gritties like interior decor and even right down to the menu presentation. The materials used in the foodcourt are interesting in a way, I honestly wouldn't know who the hell they're targeting when they're hiding in a ulu place like Kaki Bukit with loads of factories and foreign worker hostels nearby. The chairs are metallic; the floor's a gleaming sort of phoney marble; the cutleries are porcelain-white; the chopsticks are classy black with a band of metal one inch down from the top and the coffees we ordered, were served in restaurant-styled coffee cups; the decor is vivid with colours and they use plants to freshen up the place too.
And so, we tucked in happily into fish head curry, szechuan toufu, stir-fried gailan and san bei chicken. Overall, I wouldn't say the food's fantastic; the serving portions were smaller than usual. I bet they've spent all their overheads on the abnormally long banners outside and the nice presentation inside. And the location's so inconvenient, I doubt we'll head back there again.