There and Back Again

Some students might have noted that my voice has been sounding different recently. From this symptom, a story can be told...

It all started right after the 20th Anniversary. Yeap, it is that long! Many of us started getting colds & flu. I wasn't spared either. At the doctor's, the doctor & I collectively decided antibiotics wasn't necessary as there wasn't green phlegm, which was a clear indication of how bad the condition was. Sadly, I only found out that I needed the antibiotics after I got home. Leaving to my immune system to fight it out, I guess I recovered much but not fully.

The little rest I had in the June holiday gave me and my sickness a rest. So it was until I plunge deep into the depths of hectic work that the flu virus decided to surface again, this time in the form of a nasal sound whenever I talk. Intitially, I took no notice, until the nasal sound choose to appear at anytime of the day and withdraw as and when it pleases. With much work and many deadlines, I decided to let it pass till after National Day. With the passing of this big event, I sought the doctor and took the proper medication.

I was sure I was on the road to recovery, when 2 late nights spoiled all my previous efforts and the nasal sound persisted. Just 2 weeks ago, I returned to the doctor to follow up on it. Even though I don't suffer from any blocked nose, the nasal sound has yet to die out on me. I guess I'm paying the price for neglecting my health when I should have gotten myself cured at the 1st possible chance.

My advice to you readers, don't ever drag visiting the doctor, or you might just join my club of the slow road to recovery.

Happy Teachers' Day

First of all, Happy Teachers' Day to all teachers out there! The day started with a dampening rain, though I'm sure most of the students don't mind not having a 5km walk. Then, when the concert starts proper, we were all treated to a fiesta of heavy music sans correct pitch and clear lyrics. This is no thanks to our aging audio system and the genre of the songs.

I believe my quartermaster caught the attention of a number of students and teachers alike, as many did not perceive him to be a singer in any way. Well, it turned out to be a blessing that his group decided to just play acoustic guitars and sing. Granted, there weren't songs that touched all hearts, but at least we could hear clearly how good his singing was. The other highlights of the concert were the dance by the prefects. Through simple moves, I felt that it was a genuine effort by the prefects that I'm sure most teachers would prefer to loud music. The fashion show was the other item that made students and teachers take a second look. It was entertaining for both groups to see teenagers dressed up in vintage (retro) clothes and do the catwalk. So here's a learning point to note for people planning future Teachers' Day Celebrations: We prefer simple and light-hearted performances!

This year, some of the more memorable gifts I got from students were pleasant surprises. The 1st came in the form of a bottle of honey water with aloe vera & Strepsils honey drops. Other than the fact that I appreciate the kind thoughts of my Sec 2HCL students, it was a good thing that both were acceptable to my taste. The other one came in the form of 2 baked cupcakes from the former head prefect. It was a simple thought, but a touching one nonetheless. The last one came from my adorable but cheeky 2E3. It seemed that many in the class (both CL & HCL) had been hatching a plot for quite some time. Persisting in making my happiness their top priority, they went about asking teachers for ideas of good hangout spots for couples. Then they attempted to brainwash teachers whom they perceived to be ideal partners for me... duh... I guess in my 3 years in service, 2E3 2006 has claimed A1 for their efforts in trying to get me attached! Though teachers may not agree with some of the things they do, the big card and their efforts do show their concern for me. I can only thank them for their goodwill and hope they show improvement in other areas. Also, students of my form class 2 years ago chose to make pancakes with red bean paste for me this year. It warms my heart to know that these students were really worth all the efforts of the teachers and I do hope they excel in their N levels this year.

Though I received a couple of not so pleasant calls in the afternoon, I would say that the day ended not too bad for me. Attending the Teachers' Day Rally at Expo with me are over 6000 teachers, HODs, principals, MOE staff, Minister of Education and the Prime Minister himself. He shared with us the government's efforts so far and the vision he hopes we will work on for the next lap in education.

This has been a more simple but packed Teachers' Day for me and I hope that many more teachers share the simple joy that there are students out there worth our attention and efforts, and that at the end of the day, both teachers and students are working towards a better future for all.

Sleepless Nights

Have you ever tried sleeping but end up tossing and turning all night long? Well, I certainly have. In fact, it's nightmarish to me coz I'm a light-sleeper. Which means that I can easily wake up fully alert to people touching me lightly, sound of rain or no reason at all. People say this is a sign of stress. I guess it may have to do with my genes as my parents sometimes get it too.
I have ever tried couting sheep and shutting my eyes, but there will always be times when either 1 feel so alert and awake or that my mind is constantly alive that I can't sleep. Saddest are the times when I wake up to switch off the air-con/fan coz it's too cold, or to take a drink when I get too thirsty. Then when I wake up, it feels as though I slept only half a night.
Maybe regular exercise will help, maybe aromatherapy or a sleeping potion will do the trick. Just maybe.

Identity

Ever wondered how many roles you play in life? I'm just doing a count myself:

1) Son/Nephew/Cousin/Uncle to my relations
2) Teacher/Colleague/Friend/Supervisor/Supervisee/Disciplinarian/Pseudo instructor in my school
3) Disciple/Senior to my Taiji friends
4) Friend/Listening Ear/Analyst/Bestman/Wedding MC to friends
5) Inexperienced Chef to all who dares to eat the food I cook
6) Avid Gamer in tabletop/PC/boardgame
7) Knowledge Exchange for all things Chinese
8) Collector of many stuff
9) Blogger on Blogspot
10) Radio Specialist/Buddy/NS-Man to SAF guys
11) Citizen/Tax-payer/Civil Servant/Voter to Govt
12) 1 Man out of over 6 million humans on Earth
13) Intelligent sentient organism in Solar System

So much stuff in my head that it may actually feel good to let go at times. I guess I'm just ranting away with no specific order in my post.

"Balloon" Opera

Last year, when we were planning for this year's activities, our department was only planning for the sec 2 HCL students to learn Beijing Opera and put up a simple performance as a mark of them graduating from the enrichment. Somehow along the way, stalls were added to make it a bigger event. Then news of the whole event as a fund-raising activity. Then Friday weekly was invited to do a write-up on it. Then Channel U, Channel 8 and Lianhe Zaobao were contacted and at least one media will do some live coverage.
Now, there's a Guiyang Dance Troupe, Malay Dance & Silat, with 4 opera shows by 2 levels/3 classes of HCL students. It's quite stressful for all teachers and student performers involved. I can only keep my fingers crossed and watch everyone do their best for tomorrow. Hopefully this inflating "balloon" doesn't burst and damage anyone in the process...

Teachers' Day Dinner

Well, the time of the year is approaching again. For those curious minds out there, teachers do get to have a dinner some time before the actual day, sponsored by our School Advisory Committee. In 2003, the theme of our dinner was "Retro", so quite a number of female teachers dressed in very retro clothings belonging to the 60s and 70s. I remembered fondly that Mdm Gao Song, our elegant lady of Chinese Department, came in a dress of white and red and looked gorgeous.

In 2004, the theme for our dinner was "Movies", and the ballroom was decorated with movie posters of the famous blockbusters. I loaned my favourite Legolas with Gimli and Gandalf standing in front of the Gap of Rohan posters, only to be unused and bent. That's the last time I'm loaning out my posters!

In 2005, our theme was "Songs", mainly focussing on songs from the 60s and 70s, which meant teachers who are above 40 and listened to songs of that era have a distinct advantage.

This year, our theme is "Nature", so I wonder if we will all turn up in shades of green and brown, or have leaf and flower motives all over our clothes. One can only guess and imagine...

Looks and Happiness

Today, my class of 2E3 asked the impossible: " Teacher, can we give you a ear-stick for Teachers' Day?" Even though I had considered piercing my ear before, it was beyond my imagination that my students would ever suggest, or even encourage me to pierce my ear! I didn't know they had such high expectations of me wanting to look "in"! Well, they also claim that should I ever pierce my ear, they would do it and qoute that since Mr Siah can, they will follow! Guess I'm just a legitimate reason for them to pierce their ears eh? -_-" And guess what, 1 even tried to suggest that I pierce my right ear and send wrong messages! Kids! Sigh...

Another issue that kept arising these days seem to be related to my happiness. 2E3 and my Chinese Orchestra Exco seem bent or at least keen on seeing me get married. Well, they aren't the only ones who raised the issue. 4E1 of 2004 also wanted me to find a gf by Sept 2004 and get married by Jan 2005 so that they can get red packets from me! Sacrificing my happiness for their pockets! 4E3 2005 thought differntly. They were actually trying to match me with a few single female teachers in the school! The teachers they thought were a good match doesn't even have matching personalities lor! Duh...... 2E3 2006 is slightly cuter, matching me with the few teachers they know and pondering if I will invite them to my wedding. 2E1/2E2 2006 is scandalous, thinking and believing rumours about me and other female teachers just because I was in the same car as them at some point in time. Well, I think my students are more concerned about my happiness than their lessons! So much so for my teaching...

Personality Tests

Here's a personality test I've attempted years ago. I was practically over the moon about it because it said:

Your Lord of the Rings character is... Legolas.

There's a yearning in your soul, isn't there? Like the littliest Hobo, like Legolas the elf. There's something that compels you to keep searching. You're looking for spiritual fulfillment and like most long-term wanderers through life you have a "travel light" sensibility. More interested in mystical than material things, you live closer to Heaven than most dead people. Which doesn't always go down famously with the living. If you could just disguise your disgust at their more earthly habits.

Not that you're all floaty and whimsical. Not at all. In fact, your rejection of worldly things makes you fearless and strong. You recognise that the important things in life are carried inside you and not on your back. In face of danger, hardship and despair, you are a rock.

But being the restless type that you are, you find that you sometimes fall prey to a certain sorrow. When the quarters of the moon and the tides of the sea pull you away, you find you leave behind people who matter. And there is some regret.

Well, I do like elves as mentioned in an earlier blog entry, but my favourite character type is actually a wizard, so that makes me an elven mage. Haha, anyway, I used to think that at least this test is more accurate than most "fun tests", but as I look at it at different stages of my life with different perspective, I am aware that there are still some differences. However, the test is quite close to an overall assessment of me, with just a few more cheem phrases and just some off-tangent descriptors. Maybe it's my horoscope that's responsible for all these, not that I believe 100% in horoscopes...

Song = Comprehension Passage

Students who were walking past my form class today would have heard me playing this song:

《手放开》　李圣杰　
曲：方文良　词：十万

我把自己关起来　只留下一个阳台　
每当天黑推开窗　我对着夜幕发呆
看着往事　一幕一幕
再次演出你我的爱

我把电视机打开　听着别人的对白
也许那些故事　可以给我一个交待
你要的爱　我学不来
眼睁睁看情变坏　人怔怔看情感慨

不能给你未来我还你现在
安静结束也是另一种对待
当眼泪流下来　伤已超载
分开也是另一种明白

我给你最后的疼爱　是　手放开
不要一张双人床中间隔着一片海
感情的污点就留给时间慢慢漂白
把爱收进胸口前左边口袋

最后的疼爱　是　手放开
不想用言语拉扯所以选择不责怪
感情就像候车月台　有人走　有人来
我的心是一个站牌　写着等待
我把收音机打开　听着别人的失败
哽咽的声音仿佛诉说着相同悲哀
你的依赖　还在胸怀
我无法轻易推开　我无法随便走开
感情中专心的人容易被伤害

I felt it was a good choice as

1) It was a Chinese pop song, so more easily acceptable and arouse interest.
2) Understanding the song lyrics require some understanding of the words. Demonstrates the relevance of language to life.
3) It is bite-size compared to the usual length of normal comprehension passages. Students should have less problems managing the questions.

Well, the observable feedback I got wasn't so encouraging. In fact, some students lost their copy, some didn't even attempt any of the 3 questions!!! Quite disheartening, since I didn't know what was worse: Them not bothering to complete any work even though they are re-taking their MT paper or me being a complete failure to instill some interest in them to learn.

I don't claim to be the best teacher, but I must say I do try to vary my methods every now and then. Maybe I'm not good at bringing out the best in students, but trying to move my form class seem to be a very trying challenge. Results aren't my top priority, but attitude really seem to be lacking in most students nowadays. I entered the profession to contribute to reverse the trend of falling Chinese standards, only to face a bigger tsunami of students not very interested in learning.

I don't know about the rest, but I am really hoping for a miracle to change all these...

National Day Break

With all the buzz dying down after National Day holidays, it's time to look back and do some self reflection.
During the past weeks, many teachers and students were busy preparing for the National Day Celebrations. Although it didn't turn out exactly wonderful, I am glad we've cleared one major event of Term 3. Though I'm not looking forward to the AAR session, I guess it will be a learning experience for all to share among those involved.
I was so glad the event was over that a few of us organised a gathering with pigging out marathorn and KTV right after the celebrations. Here's the itinery:

1) Lunch @ Rice Table
2) KTV @ KBox
3) Fried Fermented Beancurd
4) Soy Bean Milk, Fried Dough Fritters and Fried Spring Onion Pancake
5) Durianssssss

On National Day itself, I had the fortune to let my friends try out the boardgame Mare Nostrum and revisit Betrayal at the House on the Hill. Although Mare Nostrum was a tad too draggy as everyone was nice to everyone else, I was glad the players felt it was a good game. I think I'm constantly influencing my friend to buy more games and vice versa. We then went back to Betrayal, and since we were more familiar with the game, the pace was much faster and with luck, we managed to clear 3 scenarios within a span of 3 hrs!

Scenario 1: A friend was buried alive by the traitor. The 5 heroes managed to reach the person in time and (with a couple of good rolls) saved him.

Scenario 2: The traitor had made 5 vodoo dolls for the 5 players. One hero was burnt to death in the kitchen as he thought it was the furnace room (I guess it was the kitchen ok, but too bad!) My vodoo doll was buried in the conservatory, but I tried the garden 1st and after suffering the detrimental effects of the vodoo curse, I couldn't reach my vodoo doll in time to save myself. The other 3 heroes managed to save theirs and heroes secured the 2nd victory of the day.

Scenario 3: The traitor was a beast master who released 2 wolves, 1 weasal, 1 hawk, 1 bear and 1 crocodile on us while holding onto a spear that drove him mad. What's maddening is we can only make special attacks on the traitor to try and remove the spear without killing him! Well, I had the worst luck in this scenario as I had the bear coming after me when my stats were almost at their worst. Anyway, one of our heroes killed the hawk, the weasal and 1 wolf. I actually managed to kill the bear before being killed by the combined attacks of the traitor and his remaining wolf. The rest were also slaughtered by a combination of bad rolls.

The other fun game we tried was an ancient game named Escape from Atlantis. Our people had to try and evacute from a sinking island and flee from sharks, octopus and sea monsters. Though 6 of my men died before they could leave the island due to sucking whirlpools, I ended up as 1 of the 2 winners as the rest of us were scheming to finish all yellow players before any survivors could reach any safe haven. All in all, the session was loads of fun. This goes to show that even boardgames do have their attraction and fun factor, so I think our younger generation is missing out a lot by just sticking to console and PC gaming.

The Simbul

In case you readers are wondering why my id in blogspot is Simbul, do know that the Simbul is a fictional character from the fantasy novel series of Forgotten Realms. In that particular series, a magical world was created, with a range of gods and powerful magic-wielders existing. Amongst the most famous are the Seven Sisters:

Sylune - Wizard/Sorceror/Fighter
Alustriel - Wizard/Sorceror/Archmage
Dove Falconhand - Ranger/Sorceror/Rogue/Harper
Storm Silverhand - Rogue/Fighter/Sorceror/Bard/Harper
Laeral Silverhand - Wizard/Sorceror/Ranger
The Simbul (Alassra Silverhand) - Sorceror/Archmage/Wizard
Qilue Veladorn - Cleric/Disciple

Alssra Silverhand, one of the Seven Sisters who are Chosen of Mystra, is known to Faerunians today only as the Simbul. She is the Queen of Aglarond (called by some "the Witch-Queen", and many believe this latter term is part of her official title) and has legendary powers of sorcery and a temper to match.
She mastered metamagic long, long ago, and has singlehandedly defeated attacking Thayan armies with titanic combinations of spells. King Azoun IV of Cormyr called the Simbul "a good friend, but a deadly enemy". She is currently the lover of the famous wizard Elminister of Shadowdale. Thanks to his love, she has mitigated the worst of her dark berserker rages, which makes her even more formidable in battle - she's still fearless, but no longer heedless of the damage she causes. She still seems more driven to master magic than anyone else in Faerun... and seems quite likely to continue to do so.
The Simbul flits tirelessly around Toril and even other planes, never adhering to any routine, shapechanging at will (often wearing the form of a black raven). As herself, she's heedless of personal appearance, and is usually barefoot or adventurer-booted, and clad only in a tattered black robe. Her hair is always a wild,tangled mess. Even in her realm of Aglarond, people fear her, avoid her, and think her insane. Red Wizards have been known to faint at the mere thought of facing her in battle. In this, if nothing else, their judgement is wise.
- qouted from Dungeons & Dragons Campaign Setting {Forgotten Realms}

Meeting Week

I decided to name this week the "Meeting Week". Why? Because since Monday, I've been having or conducting meetings and briefings so much so that I feel my vitality and precious time is slowly ebbing away.

Monday: Meeting with China Cultural Trip students to discuss fund raising activities [15:30-16:30]
Meeting with Chinese Orchestra Handing-Taking Over Sub-Committee [17:30-18:00]

Tuesday: Deans Meeting with Principal [14:30-15:40]
Briefing Session for Prefects Exco for National Day [15:45-16:30]

Wednesday: Strategic Planning Sub Group Meeting (Co-Curriculum Excellence) [09:15-10:20]
Meeting with Supervisees about their Work Review [10:30-11:00, 12:40-13:05]
Deans Meeting with Vice-Principal for Forward Planning 2007 [14:30-17:00]

Thursday: Chinese Department FGD (Focus Group Discussion) [13:05-14:15]
Chinese make-up lesson [14:10-15:00]
Professional Sharing (Sharing Session during Staff Meeting Time) [14:30-18:00]
Chinese Orchestra Handing-Taking Over Ceremony [15:30-16:30]

Friday: Meeting with Vice-Principal for Work Review [09:00-10:00
SMC (School Management Committee) Meeting [14:30-17:00]

Sunday: Meeting with my friends to discuss about our pet project [14:00-18:00]

Sometimes, it makes me feel that getting a secretary will be a good idea, given the multitude of things I have to remember and take care of. At least proper filling can be done... Sigh...

If you are playing an RPG, what would you be?

Firstly, I will always prefer an RPG (role playing game) with a fantasy theme. Why? Because it's the one theme I grew up with and feels that it provides me with the most room for imagination. Dragons and wizards have always fascinated me ever since I was young.
Listed below are my preferences:

1) Class: Mage/Sorceror/Priest

Notice they are all spell-casters. Well, wielding a sword and rushing forward to hack your enemies never seemed like a smart idea to me. Neither does creeping in the shadows with a knife in your hand. Nothing beats flying in the air and shooting lightning bolts one minute and polymorphing into a dragon or moving mountains the next. Priests also make good choices as they're powerful spell-casters in their own right and I always get to heal myself and my party members. As my Dryad Hunt in Guild War has shown, I am an invaluable party player as not many are willing to play such support roles in team games.

2) Race: Elf

Though in Dungeon & Dragons terms, elves are not the hardiest race, but I've never favoured something just because everyone thinks it's powerful. Elves (not those in fairy tales, I'm talking about tall Elves of Lord of the Rings) are graceful and intelligent creatures. They cherish beautiful things in life and pursue them for centuries at their own pace, which sounds very ideal. Elves are talented in arts, crafting exquisite items, magic and speak in melodious tones. Everything about them is so mystical. To me, the French seem most like Elves while Germans resemble grumpy Dwarves and Britons as aristocratic humans)

What would you be?

My Favourite Cartoons & Cartoon Characters

Yes, every kid loves cartoons when they were young. I'm no exception, except I still like them very much. Yes, laught all you want, but it's no big deal that a grown adult still likes watching cartoons. A pity they don't make good cartoons nowadays like they used to. For those curious minds out there, here's a list for you to try and identify:

1) Transformers (Generation 1 please! No Beast Wars or some other generations!)
2) He-Man, Master of the Universe (I once had 13 toy figurines)
3) Visionaries (only 13 episode)
4) Mask (Yeah, I had those vehicles... once, b4 my mum decided to GIVE THEM AWAY!)
5) Silver Hawk (Yeap, I had them too, & given away too)
6) X-Men

I could still fondly remember the days when people of my generation used to roll a vancard sheet & use a rubber band to tie it to our arms and role-play Megatron, leader of the Deceptions. Or the time that we try to speak in front of the fan to sound like Soundwave... haha, the things you play when you were once a kid will be nice memories to recall.

My favourite cartoon characters include:

1) Soundwave (who could resist the cool dude who speak in such a special voice and ejects casettes that can transform in many other things? Heck, he's a 1 man army!)

2) Cyclonus (well, for one who doesn't really fancy planes, Cyclonus is a plane I love to have)

3) Seacons/Piranacons (My most favourite group of decepticons, pity they don't appear in the cartoon series, but I still like these evil sea creatures nontheless)

4) Omega Red (he's a russian. yeah, I think it's cool to speak russian. Why? coz everyone else is speaking japanese, korean... having tentacles that absorb life force, wearing a carbonadium armour and having regenerative powers doesn't seem too bad too. Oh, don't bother asking your Chem teacher about carbonadium, there's no such element.)

5) Storm Ororo (yes, the weather witch is simply incredible. Who can resist flying and creating whirlwinds and shoot lightning from your fingertips?)

6) Magneto (well, he's amoral, he's all for war, but you don't see many mutants flying around lifting buildings and creating an electromagentic shield, do you? He's the main reason I don't hate magnetism as much as I hate Physics... If Storm were to use lightning to power up his magnetic powers, I can't imagine what would happen. If only I can still play the PC version of X-Men: Children of the Atom & X-Men Academy...)

Time Flies

When you are caught up in some activity, it's easy to lose track of time. In a blink of an eye, we've reached the 7th week of term 3. Pretty scary given the amount of things waiting to be done from now till September break:

1) National Day Celebrations
2) Preparation of paperwork for China Cultural Trip with Chinese Department
3) Preparation of paperwork for Kuching Concert with Chinese Orchestra
4) Review of 2006 and Forward Planning of Activities for Faculty of 2007
5) Preparations for revision right up to SA 2
6) Setting of SA 2
7) Preparing write-up and pictures for School Magazine
8) Forward Planning of Chinese Orchestra's Activities for 2007
9) Reunion of Melbourne Trippers and Preparations for HOM 2007
10) Preparation of report for School Excellence Model

Sometimes when you stand still to think the things you have to do, the sheer load makes you wonder why you're still keeping your sanity.