Unexpected people.


This being the last Saturday before Xue and Jos had to start a new school year again, we decided to go out and relax before the avalanche of schoolwork hits.


After shopping in the area for some time, we went to Cineleisure’s Kbox rather than walk about aimlessly, since we didn’t have an idea where we really wanted to go. It has been a long time since our last visit to Kbox and Xue and I were itching to go and sing again. There were quite a lot of new songs featured and we sang to out hearts’ content. Except for Xue, who ate and ate and ate the snacks provided so much so that the bowls have to be refilled seven times!


We went back to HMV after singing K as Xue wanted to go and see her stuff, so Jos and I loitered outside the store. While we were waiting at that roundabout railing outside HMV, on the same floor as Adidas, my attention was captured by this girl whose stomach was kind of sticking out. She was standing across the railing from me and was dressed in a dark blue cap-sleeved type of top with red words on the front and short brown skirt. I was appalled at the sight of the tight material stretched across her stomach and was wondering whether she was pregnant when I saw her face.


I know this person! She’s Ying and Lil’s friend! Uh oh! Hoping that she didn’t see me too, I surreptiously tried to hide myself behind Jos who didn’t have a clue as to what I was doing then. Feeling safe that she had not seen me, my eyes riveted back to the store behind her and managed to catch sight of the person that she was with – her “underground” boyfriend, XYZ. Okay, at this point in time, I told Jos who I was looking at and she told me that she couldn’t see clearly. So we headed towards Adidas where we saw them enter and surprisingly, not one of those two recognised me even when I walked past them, face-to-face.


Jos said that the girl looked very “auntie” and that the guy didn’t even look good. I told her the alleged “orientation” of the guy and her face was one big “YECH!” This is the same girl who told me at Lil’s party after her ROM, that XYZ is her boyfriend. At that time, I was surprised that she would divulge such a personal detail to me, whom she has met for less than six hours. I do not like her much and I suspect, neither does Ying, but I can tolerate this girl in small doses and because she’s not my friend.


In a way, I feel sorry for her because being an “underground” girlfriend, she is unable to acknowledge her relationship with the guy publicly. Even when questioned, all the guy was willing to offer was that they are just friends and he maintained that it is she who likes him and not vice versa. We think that it has to do with the “orientation” of the guy, which is skewed to some people, but not to others.


Have you ever seen a couple on a date that does not hold each other’s hands? This is what’s going on between this couple. Even when they walked, the guy would walk a few paces in front of the girl and she would look very lost and bored. I was eyeing them as they went down the escalator. He went down first and didn’t even bother to turn back to look for her despite them being separated by a group of people. Some people sure are difficult to figure out.

~ ~ ~ Skye's telling at 11:56 PM ~ ~ ~
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Happy Birthday Wan!


My Dearest Wan,


Today is your birthday and I wish that all your dreams could be fulfilled on this very magical day. It’s been more nearly a decade since I last saw you and I wonder how it would be like to hang out with you again here.


I remember when we were in primary school and the games of “football” that we played during Chinese Spelling and Dictation class in P3 Hibiscus and how furious Lee Lao Shi was when she found out about it that she changed our places. Well, that put an end to any of our fun during Chinese lessons after that.


Do you remember Mrs JC? She was one big meanie, scolding us every time and glaring at us with those goldfish eyes of hers whenever we were deemed to have disobeyed her or something. I recall the weird dresses that she used to wear and how you often poke fun of her and calling her husband an alien and an ah pek! Hahaha!


When we went our separate ways after primary school, you would always come back to visit us, despite one of friends’ disapproval at you appearing at IJ. She’s now a teacher at some Chinese-sounding school. I know that when we were in Secondary 3 and 4, when I had the chalet, you came along to play mahjong with us. And if I remember correctly, you beat some of the guys from Catholic High at it too!


I cried when you left Singapore that faraway afternoon, while waiting for my lecture to start, and Pat had to console me. I think that K was there to lend me his shoulder to cry on too, though I didn’t accept anyway, lest it causes a misunderstanding with his girlfriend.


When will I see you again? I haven’t seen Debra too in more than 5 years. Like everyone else, we are just too busy with work. Sigh…

~ ~ ~ Skye's telling at 11:13 PM ~ ~ ~
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Tickets.


I met Yee after work today to go and collect our tickets for our trip this December. She’s going with a colleague of hers as my friends and I have already booked ours at an earlier date. But we’ll be staying at the same hotel and will probably meet up for dinner or something for one night before I fly back to Singapore


We had initially wanted to travel out of the country together, but I had to return earlier and she couldn’t leave any earlier with me, so I could only go with Ying, Lil and Lun, while she had to go with her colleague.

~ ~ ~ Skye's telling at 9:20 PM ~ ~ ~
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Quick bites.


Ever since I offered Mr Good Morning some packets of snacks, he would come to me whenever he was hungry, that is, provided that I was in the office. Today was no different. I was trying to pack my stuff nicely for use in the next few days when he popped his head first, then the whole body round my table and he went, “Eh, Skye, I’m very hungry leh.”


Now, before I go on with what happened, you must first know how I was standing. See, I always have my keys hanging on a “My Melody” strap round my neck. I used to hang my concession card on it when I was in school, but these days, I find that it’s more useful to hang my keys on. So I was standing at my table, trying to lock the compartment above it when Mr Good Morning appeared on my left. My key was in the lock and I had to turn my face to the left to look at him.


I must have looked very blur because I went, “Huh?” twice, trying to make out why he was telling me about his state of hunger when it dawned on me that he was asking me for food! So I went, “Okay, wait ah, while I lock this up first.” That guy was laughing at my expression because he found it funny!


When I reached home that night, someone was in a rotten temper. Glutton gave me a strong bite on my right index finger as I was playing with her. Xue said it was because I had carried Meerkat before her and Glutton didn’t like Meerkat’s smell. Her teeth were in my finger and she was hanging in mid-air when I moved my hand in pain. It took a few shakes sideways and up and down before I managed to shake her off. Blood was oozing out of my finger after that. I think that from today onwards, I will always handle Glutton before Meerkat. She sure is very temperamental.

~ ~ ~ Skye's telling at 11:59 PM ~ ~ ~
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Clothes.


I went shopping with Jos and Xue today. We went to Raoul at Paragon to buy the shirts that I’ve been eyeing for a long time. I LOVE the tops that they sell! The designs are really very different from those at the usual run of the mill stores. We spent slightly more than half an hour there for me to try the shirts, with the two of them being my fashion consultants.


The salesman was I think, a tad over friendly. He was chatting away nineteen to the dozen about what job he used to hold, why he was here doing sales and the different types of designs and material of the shirts. I was so happy with the perfect fit of my shirts that I bought four of them.

~ ~ ~ Skye's telling at 11:05 PM ~ ~ ~
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Busy, busy, busy.


Lately, there’s been lots of work for me to do and I’m finding it hard to juggle work and my personal stuff. There are so many deadlines to meet and reports to rush that I feel like I’m just a robot churning out stiff endlessly.


In a way, I’m not the only one who is stuck doing all these mundane stuff. An and many of my ex-classmates are also doing the same. We are all chained to a job that has lost all its glamour and glitter and are destined to suffer through the remaining days that we each have on earth.


If only I could be rescued from this torture. But who will hear my plea? Who will come in my darkest hour? No one. I only have myself to depend upon.

~ ~ ~ Skye's telling at 8:40 PM ~ ~ ~
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The centre of attention.


I realised that the people at my office seem to notice what I wear to work. Everyday when some of them see me, they tell me that I look very nice and pretty. Er… am I missing something here or what? I find it very disconcerting when told that I look good daily, because I find that it lacks sincerity. Come on, you don’t tell someone that he or she looks nice everyday do you?


Someone even recited a two-liner, which I suspected was copied off somewhere, to me. It went like this:


Then the person topped it off with “You are very beautiful” and I had to plaster a grin on my face and say “Thank You” while I was cringing inside.


I know that I should be thankful that I am the object of attention of some others. But sometimes when I am feeling under the weather, the last thing I would want to hear is how beautiful I look. Okay, I am grateful for it. Period.

~ ~ ~ Skye's telling at 10:10 PM ~ ~ ~
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Happy Birthday to ME!


OOOOOOOOOOOOOHH! It’s my birthday today! Heehee! After waiting for what seemed liked eternity since July, my glorious birthday is finally here. With its arrival heralds the start of Christmas countdown and it means that the year will soon be over.


My family and I went to Little India for breakfast this morning and we had our meal at Komala’s. I simply LOVE the paper thosai and vaday there. Then we went shopping for groceries nearby before heading for my granny’s house. I was actually hoping to meet my friend at the market near my granny’s house but fate decreed that it was not to be. Sigh…


I had a surprise this afternoon when someone knocked on my gate to ask for me. He handed me a package and told me that it was my plaque which I didn’t collect. Oops! Anyway, the timing was perfect as I received it on my birthday and all of us spent a good whole ten minutes pouring over it and exclaiming how nice it looked.


In the evening, we had dinner at Crystal Jade before going to buy my ice-cream cake home to blow the candles and eat the cake.


It wasn’t a celebration on a grand scale, but I prefer it this way.

~ ~ ~ Skye's telling at 11:26 PM ~ ~ ~
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Children’s Day!


Okay, just let me wish everyone who reads my blog a very Happy Children’s Day! Even though we are all adults, there still is a child in each and every one of us anyway. If not, how would you explain that adults are invariably the ones who buy all the collectibles like figurines, bears and what not?


I remember that I would look forward to Children’s Day every year when I was in the primary school. We always celebrated it the day before and there’d always be a mass and then a concert after. The teachers’ performances were the highlight of the day. I know that my friends and I would burst into laughter whenever we see some of our teachers dancing or even singing. Nahhhh, it wasn't because they were bad, it’s just that it’s so unfathomable for our young minds then, that our teachers could actually perform instead of just teaching us.


The job scope of a teacher has certainly changed over the years. Now, a teacher not only has to teach, she is expected to promote (read: sell, like a product) herself and get people to notice her. She has to give hours upon hours of remedial lessons to her students, be their nanny, maid, surrogate mother, remembrancer, politician, slave etc. It’s little wonder many people leave the service once their bond is up.


Friends of mine who are current teachers deplore the kind of treatment that they get these days. They said that their workload is increasing rapidly and that they don’t get enough respect from parents and students alike. Moreover, the quality of their students is also not very good. Hmm… I wonder whether this has to do with the neighbourhood. I mean, depending on the socio-economic status of the parents, some neighbourhoods in Singapore have residents who are generally more affluent than other neighbourhoods, which means expensive tuition for their children. Come to think of it, I don’t think that my teachers had this problem of us being “low-quality” students.


Most of us were the sorts who were fast learners and could pick up concepts and other stuff often after the first few explanations. EVERY ONE of us could read quite well when we started our first year at the Convent. In fact, the only thing, which our teachers despaired over, was that we spoke English even during Mother Tongue lessons. HA! This is the exact opposite of what is happening in many classrooms these days, according to my friends. They said that students are extremely prone to speaking Mother Tongue during English-medium lessons and even after reprimanding them, they still persist in doing so.


Moreover, they said that there seems to be lots of changes (often at short notices) thrown at them in terms of syllabus and other kinds of weird programmes that they must implement in their classes. Often, they said, these programmes and what-nots are not really effective for students’ learning and they are taken out only to be replaced with another one that also does not live up to the teachers’ expectations.


Why can’t a teacher just teach? Isn’t that what her primary job is supposed to be? If a teacher is encumbered with so much administrative things to do, how then is she going to teach well? My friends told me that they have to prepare their lessons way in advance and the marking never stops even when they reach home. I have friends who stay until 9pm to mark their things in school and these are from the morning session. So technically, they spend 14 hours in school and then another couple of hours at home doing school stuff! Which means that they don’t even get enough sleep at all. And this leads to teacher burnout fast. Is a teacher expected to be a Jack (or Jill) of all trades and master (or mistress) of NONE?


My best friend (let’s call her L) just graduated from her Bachelor of Arts (Education) at NTU-NIE this July and has to serve a 5-year bond with the Ministry. She is disillusioned with teaching now, having taught for a while before she underwent training to be a teacher. She said that teaching is most definitely not the same as it was during the year when she first embraced the occupation. L is counting the days until the holidays are here when she will be free of her students. She finds it difficult to develop a liking for her current class and used to dread going for the first month of school after the June holidays. According to her, she feels slightly better now, though she is trying to immerse herself in work so that time would fly by fast, just like me.


Take a look at what she put on her Friendster site:


“It has been about 3 months since my graduation and I’m back teaching again.


Somehow or other, I’m feeling pretty empty, not sure why.


This time round, I do not find teaching as fun as it was back in 2000 to 2003. I think that it has something to do with the cohort. I remember that I used to look forward to school to teach my students back then, always planning my lessons well in advance and thinking of all the gifts I could buy to reward them for their hard work. It was pure joy just to see them everyday. I was their teacher, mentor, someone who helped shape their lives.


Now, I am just a teacher. An empty shell of the former me. I may look the same outwardly, but inwardly, it’s no longer the same. I know, because I can feel it. The passion I had for teaching back then has since disappeared.


To all of my students who came back to visit on the eve of Teacher’s Day, thank you very much! You have certainly made my day just by calling me “Miss ____”. Presents are immaterial. What mattered was that I could see you once more.


You taught me how to love, to share my time and to teach. You were the inspiration that kept me going during the years when I was being trained as a teacher. Every lesson plan that I designed, I did it with you in mind. Because of you, I was one of the few teacher trainees who performed extremely well.


My memory of you will always remain frozen at the time when I first had you. Even when I see you, all so tall and grown up now, my mind never fails to conjure up an image of you when you were in my class.


If I cannot remember your name immediately, please don’t be angry with me. I am one who finds it easier to remember faces, come what may. But I am always able to recall your name after a while.


What people say is correct: First Loves are unforgettable.


But I was fortunate enough to be blessed with over 100 first loves. To have loved once is more than enough for me. Now, the door is closed. No longer shall I love again.”


L told me that she penned this poem during one of her lessons in her final semester at NIE. It basically sums up what she feels about teaching and highlights her reluctance at being forced to teach upon graduation. Interestingly enough, she has compared the people in school, especially her students, to wolves who prey upon innocent, unsuspecting persons, showing no mercy to their victims at all.

~ ~ ~ Skye's telling at 10:23 AM ~ ~ ~
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