the mochaholic

Monday, January 29, 2007
Hear the Lion roar!

Congratulations Singapore, on defeating arch rivals, Malaysia, on Penalty shootout 5 - 4, advancing on to the ASEAN Football Championship Finals against Thailand. Woots!

Was at the Kallang Stadium that day with old Army buddies Daryl and Alvin. We weren't fast enough so we couldn't get tickets to the grandstand, which would have been very nice, but i'm thankful we didn't get bad seats. This is my first time watching any football match at live at a stadium, and I must say the atmosphere is totally different from watching from your livingroom. Over 50 000 spectators jam-packed the stadium; the cheers and the customary Kallang wave set the atmosphere to a high. Then it was all silent just before the last Malaysian player kicked the ball during the penalty shootout, but it was all cheers, noise and celebration the moment Lionel Lewis saved the ball. It was madness! Cries of 'Ole ole ole ole' echoed thru the stadium even as spectators were leaving. Singaporeans, Chinese, Malay, Indian and others celebrating the victory of One nation. It felt good. And we couldn't have been more blessed to have such fine weather during the match. It was like God heard my prayer for good weather, even though i'm sure hoards of other people must have prayed as well. And what perfect timing, it started to rain (heavily) only after the match! Talk about perfect timing, really!

Then it was the customary Dou Jiang You Tiao again, as with after all the other shows we've seen at Kallang. Dou Jiang You Tiao has got to be the most ingenious snack around. I mean, it's a simple concept, you dip the hot you tiao into cold dou jiang and then you eat it, simple and delicious. It's Singapore's answer to America's Oreo and Milk.

What happened next is the stupidest thing. I hadn't realised it was past midnight by the time we ended, so I waited approximately 15 mins for my bus 7 for nothing. I shrugged my shoulders and sighed an "ah well" before hailing a cab home. I nearly fell asleep during my journey as the driver kept reminscing and telling me stories of the old days of Singapore soccer, citing names of players I had never heard before and complaining how lousy today's player are. Ah well. I reached home and paid my $13.50 fare. What a memorable night.

4:40 PM | 0 comments

- the lovers, the dreamers and me -

Saturday, January 27, 2007
Flying the Big Red Kangaroo

Technically the kangaroo's not red, but you get what I mean.

It's official, i'm flying off to Perth on 13 Feb (Tue) at 9:15pm on flight QF 76, Changi Terminal 1. For the cheapest of airfares, i've decided that I will catch a Qantas flight rather than my usual SIA flight, and transit through tropical Denpasar (Bali), which will take two hours longer than the usual 5 hours. Hey, not a bad deal for cheap fares okay. And it's just a short transit in Bali. Oh boy! Not my first time flying alone, but certainly my first time transiting alone. What if I board a wrong flight which goes to Timbuktu after that? Won't happen. Bcos you guys will be praying I don't board the wrong flight right? Haha yeah, do pray for me, my travelling and my settling in to Perth.

Well it's not my first time in Perth. As some of you may remember, I did two years of my high school in Perth before moving to Melbourne to do my A's, so Perth really isn't new to me. It's just the thought of returning again, it freaks me out a little. You must be wondering why.

Well, it'll definately be great to see many of my friends again, I miss them so much. It's just that those who are not Singaporean would already be in their final year of uni, whilst I will just be starting. Don't forget apart from the 2 years of NS that we serve, I also spent a year at Ngee Ann poly.

I wouldn't call the year, or rather, the semester spent at Ngee Ann a waste though, bcos I learnt so much and made so many friends while I was there.

I had such fun in those good old days. May those memories last 4ever.

3:15 AM | 0 comments

- the lovers, the dreamers and me -

Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Kids

Well, I don't have the pics to show for it, but i've been teaching for about 2 weeks now, at a Student Daycare Centre. I'm taking a primary two class of about 6 pupils on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. On the first day I turned up at the centre, the kids were very nice, very loud, and just typically kids. Not as bad as I perceived from other kids i've seen (especially in Calvary).

But that was just day 1...

...and the days just keep getting worse and worse...

What do you do when you have Primary two girls going up to you saying, "Teacher you are very handsome", then HUG you?!! In my mind I was like, "Gah! Get off me you .. you..." (and I picture myself shaking a clinging girl off my leg) I mean like, what's a guy to do??!! And the other teachers tell me to be firm with the students, "or they'll climb over your head". And I think they did. That was just too much. So I scolded her. Then she laughs. What the.

So from those days till now, I have been more firm with the students, been speaking with a more authoritative tone, commanding respect like the chief in a pack of Red Indians. Sounds harsh you might say, but there's this other teacher who's a lot worse than me. She's clearly a butch, but the poor kids think she's a guy. Sigh, still so innocent. Hope they stay that way forever hahaha...

And did I mention that kids are different on Fridays?? Well, they are. Their attention span is reduced by 89% and their volume is increased another 100 decibels. Okay of course that's exaggeration, but you get what I mean. Fridays are the toughest as the working hours are longest. And you have to bring them to the playground too. And I find it so hard to believe when on a Friday, they tell you they have no homework. These kids got it all going their way man, they have no idea what school was like in my time. (Gosh, am I that old??) These kids are so pampered, rude, spoiled and demanding! Gone are the days when you describe little girls as "Sugar, Spice and everything Nice". In fact, i'm finding that my favourite students are in fact the boys, especially this kiddo from a reputable Catholic school. He's so cultered, well-mannered, diligent and possesses a marvellous attitude. Every teacher's dream student.

Pop! Burst my dream bubble. Alas, not all students are like that. And i'm glad they're not! We're only young once right? And kids will be kids. Let's not furhter ruin their already jaded childhood.

Looking back though, it's the 'naughty' ones that somewhat seem to resemble me most. Having gone through my fair share of monster teachers and having understood what is growing up, I think I know what kind of teacher I wanna be. One who is Sparky! Go figure what that means.

10:19 PM | 0 comments

- the lovers, the dreamers and me -

Monday, January 22, 2007

First post of the year! Okay, nothing to be proud of, considering it's already mid-Jan and that I didn't blog at all in December. So much to say, I don't even know where to start! Hmmm...this is going to be quite random...

Random #1: Rain's Coming

Well i've never really been a fan of Rain, and prior to this concert, the only thing I know about the guy is that he's got nice abs and dances well. First of all, THANK YOU PORTIA, who had an extra ticket to Rain's concert yesterday (21 Jan) and extended the invite to me! I lurve concerts!

Gasp! A submarine! Rain made a real grand entrance by emerging from it. High budget sia.

Rain's a real crowd-pleaser with sweet-talk and spoken English accent. He threw a total of 3 of his own sweaty towels at the audience, who more than willingly caught it. To sell on eBay perhaps?

I think 'Spectecular' is an understatement when it comes to describing his stage. It was HUGE! All those screens, the lights, the flames, the fireworks; it even rained on him! Literally! (pic 3)

Awesome concert. Never knew he had so many nice songs until this concert. What a nice way to end the weekend.

Random #2: My new phone :)

Well if you haven't seen me using my new K800i by now, you would've at least seen the photos taken from it in Random #1. I luv it! It's truly an awesome phone, and definately superior to my previous Nokia. It's such a cool phone.

Random #3: My Wisdoms

In November last year I went to Alexandra Hospital to get an opinion on the removal of my wisdom teeth. Here's an X-Ray.

Argh!

Yesh, and then a certain Dr. Chew (ironic that his surname is related to his profession) commented that I had a really nice, neat set of teeth, "...and so why would you want to remove your wisdoms if they're not causing any problems"? And I can just imagine my other Army friends drilling into my head saying, "Don't care! Just take out! 2 weeks MC for each side taken out", and you know how tempting that is right? Forget the agony, forget the 6% risk of damaging the nerve of which there is a 60-80% chance of a full recovery; i'm up for it! Or so I thought I was. In my other (more sensible) friend's words, "You crazy ah?" Alas, I decided against it, not so much cos my friend's message finally got to me, but also because on that very weekend, I will be leading worship for T-Junction, Calvary's youth rally of the year. Now, I wouldn't want to sing with stitches in my mouth would I? The stitches might suddenly give way and do a Michael Jackson (his nose fell off during his concert). Not a pretty sight I thought. So I immediately called up the medical centre to cancel my operation (choice slots okay! miss many many days of camp), and the nurse asked me, "What is the reason for the cancellation", to which I hollered, "Cos my teeth are perfectly fine"!!!

-_-"