Maybe teaching IS hazardous afterall... bleah

Yeah. I guess. Teaching IS a hazardous job. Just last Saturday, I went back to school to play badminton with my colleague, Ning. I pulled my right thigh muscle.

OK. I know what must be going through your minds right now. "Wah lau. You want to play one mah. This one has nothing to do with teaching at all..."

Granted. That had nothing to do with teaching. Well, if I tried hard enough, maybe it is. YOu see, this is how it all links up. If I was not teaching in the school, I would not be able to play badminton for free. (If I had to pay to play badminton, I probably would not be as enthusiastic about it...). If I didn't get to play badminton for free, I probably would not have hurt myself. *wink*

Then, there was this tent set up at the back of the hall, for the kids to have a look at some of the things that people bring for a camp, and also some of the things that people do when having camps. I brought my kids there to have a look, and was going through some of the items with them (e.g.: mess tin, tent, torch, blah blah blah). There was a sleeping bag INSIDE the tent, which I wanted to get out to show the kids. Not wanting to step inside the tent, I actually tried stretching inside the tent while on my knees. That was when my LEFT thigh got pulled. I think I literally felt the muscle tear. Shit. I just knelt there, unable to speak a word, and tears just kept rolling down my eyes. My kids were very, very quiet, and none of them spoke a single word. After about 5 minutes when the pain eased off a little, I asked my kids to help me up because the pain was simply excruciating. Trust me. I have NEVER felt so much pain in my entire life. I was limping the whole day, and now I think I feel a fever coming up...

Pat is a cripple. Before the right could recover, the left is gone. How nice.

So, you see? Isn't teaching a hazardous job?=P

A sudden moment of clarity...

You know what? At the end of everyday of teaching, I will ask myself if all these are worth it...

However, yesterday afternoon, when I was in class, a very small movement by the class touched some part of my mind...telling me that it's all worth it.

Today I was going for the course at MOE, and since there's no class tomorrow due to the PSLE Listening comprehension examinations, I had to make sure that they were "sufficiently occupied" for these few days. I sat the class down (after a long session of screaming while they were doing group work), and passed out the list of work that they had to do when I was not around today. Suddenly, Keefe (the naughty boy) raised his hand, and asked me "why you not coming?"

I pretended to roll my eyes, and asked them "shouldn't you be happy?"

"no", came the immediate reply.

Touched, touched, touched.

In teaching, it's not the big things that keep you motivated. It's not the pay (well, not entirely...maybe about 90%)...Neither is it about the long holidays... (although it IS a perk...)...It is not about the short hours of work (AS IF!!! PHOOEE!)

It's about these small actions and words of the kids, that let you know what a "human" job teaching is, and it is actually all these small actions that touch you like mad...and make your eyes sting with tears. =)

Important health tips! Must read!

I attended this classroom management course today at NTU@One North. Ironically, the things that left the deepest impression were....NOT the course materials. They were the fillers that the speaker showed us in between breaks... This set of "health tips" are a good one.... read on, and take a break!! Haha...

Then there are the orthopedic health tips (which might at least help the funny bone):

Q: I’ve heard that cardiovascular exercise can prolong life. Is this true?

A: Your heart is only good for so many beats, and that’s it. Everything wears out eventually. Speeding up your heart will not make you live longer; that’s like saying you can extend the life of your car by driving it faster. Want to live longer? Take a nap.

Q: Should I cut down on meat and eat more fruits and vegetables?

A: You must grasp logistical efficiencies. What does a cow eat? Hay and corn. And what are these? Vegetables. So a steak is nothing more than an efficient mechanism of delivering vegetables to your system. Need grain? Eat chicken. Beef is also a good source of field grass (green leafy vegetable). And a pork chop can give you 100% of your recommended daily allowance of vegetable slop.

Q: Is beer or wine bad for me?

A: Look, it goes to the earlier point about fruits and vegetables. As we all know, scientists divide everything in the world into three categories: animal, mineral, and vegetable. We all know that beer and wine are not animal, and they are not on the periodic table of elements, so that only leaves one thing, right? My advice: Have a burger and a beer and enjoy your liquid vegetables.

Q: How can I calculate my body/fat ratio?

A: Well, if you have a body, and you have body fat, your ratio is one to one. If you have two bodies, your ratio is two to one, etc.

Q: At the gym, a guy asked me to “spot” for him while he did the bench press. What did he mean?

A: “Spotting” for someone means you stand over him while he blows air up your shorts. It’s an accepted practice at health clubs; but if you find it becomes the only reason why you’re going in, you probably ought to re-evaluate your exercise program.

Q: What are some of the advantages of participating in a regular exercise program?

A: Can’t think of a single one, sorry. My philosophy is: No Pain -- Good.

Q: I stopped smoking, will I live longer?

A: No. Smoking is a sign of individual expression and peace of mind. If you stop, you’ll probably stress yourself to death in record time.

Q: Aren’t fried foods bad for you?

A: You’re not listening. Foods are fried these days in vegetable oil. In fact, they’re permeated in it. How could getting more vegetables be bad for you?

Q: What’s the secret to healthy eating?

A: Thicker gravy.

Q: Will sit-ups help prevent me from getting a little soft around the middle?

A: Definitely not! When you exercise a muscle, it gets bigger. You should only be doing sit-ups if you want a bigger stomach.

I hope this has cleared up any misconceptions you may have had.

08-09-06 Daddy's birthday...

"Wah, our house long time don't have so many people already hor?" Was what mummy said as she was preparing for dinner that day... hee.

Last Friday was my daddy's birthday...Everyone was here. Da's brothers, mama, and my cousin Beng's family. The original plan was for us to go outside for dinner. On Wednesday, Mama said that we should just have a family steamboat dinner at my house. It was supposed to be a small affair, but then in the end everyone turned up.. hee hee. Daddy was so happy that night, he kept smiling from ear to ear.

The dinner started at around 7:40, when everyone arrived at my house...

Here's all the food that has been prepared for the big event...see the big slices of abalone? THREE cans of them...all gone...

Lots of great food, as you can see... =P

Da da and I...

Everyone was engrossed in a TV programme. I think it was 16 blocks (DVD)... =)

That's my cousin-in-law...the elder daughter is Vanessa, studying in the school where I am teaching.. hee.

Hmm...those of you who enjoy steamboat will know that this is the type of soup which will make you addicted to it. This soup (or should I say broth), looks every bit yucky, but is the quintessential "never judge a book by it's cover".. haha

Well, after the dinner, it was a really great mess. We cleared most of the food, but as you can see, da's youngest brother Vincent, still had not enough of it.. hee

That's Kelvin's (whom I have not seen for quite a while..) girlfriend with my nieces.

The three brothers. Do they look alike? I didn't think so. I thought the second and youngest one have more in common as da. I still think my da is cute.. hee hee.

The birthday cake which da bought for daddy. It was the yam cake from Han's. It is really really yummy. Da and I tried it once when we had lunch at Han's, and we were really really addicted to it. The yam in the middle is not cream, but with yam bits and all. *slurp*.

Here's a video of us singing the birthday song. It's really funny. Notice how daddy was so shy when he was in the limelight? He fumbled with the remote control, walked around...blah blah blah. hee hee. I didn't know my dad was capable of being shy.

Daddy and his birthday cake. See how charming his smile is?? =)

Daddy and the two gers.

Loving daddy and mummy.

Happy family...

Daddy and Mama. See how happy mama is?

Shuxian and I.

While waiting for the cake to be distributed. You see me there waiting for a big slice of cake... I refused to take the smaller share...

Well, what can I say..When you look good, you look good. There's no denying...

Happy shot. This looks real good. =P

My very first LeSportSac!!! =P

I don't know how many of you actually realised that LeSportSac, a long standing brand in the market, has recently had a lot of very interesting range of bags. They were very adorable! I know I, for one, am not one who actually took notice of it, because seriously speaking, the brand was not very appealing to begin with.

Alright, truth be told, it was only after seeing that my colleague carried it, that I realised it was quite pretty and cute. And so, I decided to have a loook at it. My God! I saw it, it was so pretty! Then I saw the price, and I nearly FLIPPED, Capital letters! =(

A small little hand held carrier costs...guess how much? $280!!! Sigh. The moment da arrived, I dragged him to take a look at it. (I swear, it was just for his opinion, to see how it looked!!)

Then I said, let's go, I want to take a look at other bags, and see what other choices I have. This one was far beyond my budget for a bag...adorable as it may be.

Then, as we were walking, da suddenly said that he had a stomachache, and wanted to vist the toilet. Being the smart me, knowing that this would mean that he will take the chance to slip away and buy me the bag because I would be grouchy the whole day, pining after the bag that would never be mine.. haha.

So, as I was saying, being the smart me, I followed hm to the toilet, and waited faithfully outside the toilet. After about 10 minutes, he came, with the plastic bag, that read "LeSportSac". I was stumped. The first reaction was "How the hell did you manage to get past me, not be seen by me, and go out to get the bag? There was no otehr exit to this place!"

And all he did was grin, and said "Happy birthday".

AWWWWWW.....I know. That SHOULD have been my reaction as well, but did I? No! Pat being Pat, had to go and flare up, and started blaming him, asking him why he went to spend so much money on the small bag (oh, but trust me, it was really pretty...I just feel the pinch, having to spend so much on that bag...)

After a long time of blaming him, I started seeing the sad look, and I realised what an ass I was being. I said sorry, and really thanked him from the bottom of my heart. It was a really cute bag. Thank you da da!!!

I LOVE YOU!!!

That's da, doing the calculations on how much he has to scrimp and save the next month... sorry!

The cute bag... it's really nice..

It even has it's own bear bear to compliment it!! =)