Yesterday.


Yesterday, i went for the last iftar out this Ramadhan.

Alhamdullillah, this Ramadhan i've made sure that i broke my fast with all my groups of friends.

The first iftar with my secondary school besties, then the following week with some of my colleagues, the following week with the Chantiques and finally this week, iftar session with Kak D, Kak An and Hasanah :))

What was suposed to be a foursome ended up being just a threesome.

Kak An had some familial matters to attend to.

So it was just me, kak D and hasanah.

Me and the married pple.

Hehhe...so, undoubtedly, we grilled Hasanah about her new working life and of course marriage!

The woman got married three months ago and her INAI/henna is still quite visible!

Especially the ones on her feet!

Since marriage also, she has learned to wear heels!

And mind you, not 2 inch heels ok!

They were at least 3 inches if not 4.

She claimed that she wore them so pple wouldnt accuse her of being too childlike.

She wanted to look more like a married woman she said.

Hehee...the cleaner aunty at her work place was shocked to find out that she was married.

"But you're a child!" she exclaimed.

But really lah, she's still got that post-wedding glow. :))

Kak D is pursuing certification in HR.

Alhamdullillah, she is doing well in her studies too!

So, despite having familial obligations as well as work obligations, she still manages.

She's definitely an inspiration.

Kak D was also surprised to find out that i was teaching in jc.

Hahaha...she thought i was teaching in secondary school!

And this whole time i thought she knew.

I regaled to them the tales of "horror" that i experienced in class the past week.

From verbally warning them and handing them a conduct card (where conduct will affect their promotional exam results)


AND


confiscating a hp.

I was fortunate enough NOT to get punched in the stomach, unlike Aisyah Spec.

*shudder*

sidetrack: that is one EVIL kid, i kid you not!

Yeah, i had to cos while i had asked them to do their work quietly, preparing fo another individual assessment, some were TAKING PICTURES with their hp in class.

*i noticed them doing this at the corner of my eye and promptly exclaimed: GIVE ME THAT HP!*

This was while i was consulting with another group of students at the front of the class.

This is NOT the first incident where i had to confiscate things before.

I had alaso previously confiscated a digital camera.

You must be thinking, "what are these kids trying to do in class?" right?

After repeated warnings, and refusal to listen to me, i just take them away.

Now, another incident like this will warrant them a trip to the VP's office to go get their confiscated item themselves.

I also almost sent a 17-yr old to a naughty corner.

Tempting....very tempting.

So besides 14 piles of marking completed (16 more to go!)

I need to set a timed test for my tutee and bake cookies for Raya.

How? Manageable or not?

If i can bake one batch of cookies, its a MIRACLE!

Ok, now back to printing the exam paper.


Fin.

Hmmm...what do i write?


I've been pretty tired the past few days.

Lack of sleep really.

I simply can't wait for the weekend.

Catching up on sleep is a luxury these days.

I think i 'over' enjoyed my sleeptime over the last September school holidays and when school re-opened (esp. during Ramadhan) it was pretty tough.

Term 4 is never fun when you go back to school.

Be it for students OR teachers.

While the students have to worry about the exams, the teachers are busy setting exam papers, vetting them, trying to cover the syllabus, marking the papers, etc, etc.

The list is not exhaustive.

This being my first year as a so-called fledgeling teacher, i've been consumed by the hours spent sitting and just doing nothing else but mark.

I'm sure you've all probably read many, many, many, many times about the marking.

Cos really, it just exhausts all your energy.

I wish that there would be MCQ for General Paper.

*wishful thinking*

But yes i do enjoy the teaching part.

Save for the annoying and uncooperative students at times.

But overall its good.

I really-really hope that when i go to N-IE i'll be properly equipped with all the necessary pedagogical skills to carry out a more effective lesson in the future.

As a reflection over the past 2 months or so that i've taught, i realise that in order to teach a class, you need to manage it well.

I realise that i've been a bit too lenient at the beginning and now i'm paying the price for my generosity.

The next time i go for practicum, i WILL lay down a more comprehensive and firm approach to my class.

That way they know what to expect and i'll have less problems worrying about how i'll be able to finish the syllabus on time.

Now that im in the home stretch and with the GP promotional exam is over, i'll have to set my sights on Project Work yet again.


PW; the bane of my existance.

Has been since i was a student and still is as a teacher.

No doubt it has its merits, i feel that it burdens the student too much especially with a heavier courseload compared to my time.

Hope they do away with it soon.

Its really doesnt help a majority of the students.

Only adds up to the courseload.

But what i do appreciate is that its on a coursework basis.

If more of the subjects were coursework basis, i don't think it would be too much of a hassle, as many of us in university went through.


One more week of Ramadhan.

Have you made the most of yours yet?

There's still time.

InsyaAllah, we will achieve what we've set for ourselves this time round.


Happy Fasting!


Fin.

Bingeing


Yes.

I've been bingeing on Coach items this month.

Notice i've said ITEMS and not item.

Initially it was this.

A planned purchase for Hari Raya.

Which matched my shoes so it was a plus (it was PURE coincidence)

Then today, i got myself this!

Ain't it pretty!

I've been eyeing this for ages.

So it cost a bit more than what i would actually pay for but still less than the price in the shop.

So all in all.

I'm a very happy girl who can't wait to Raya already.

Haha.

What a complete turn around.

Fin.

Yeahhoooo!


To my lovely girlfrens, thanks for the iftar session yesterday (even though it was kinda last minute!)

Truly appreciate it!

All manner of topics came in fast and furious.

Not surprising since many of us were quite deprived of such wonderful quality time like we did back when we were undergraduates.

Loved the shopping and i really love Masjid Sultan and the little enclave of shophouses that always hold a myriad of treasures within.

PLUS!

We were spared from the unsightly things that one would normally be subjected to if we were to go to Geylang.

I'd rather go to a place that isn't "as happening" as some might put it rather than negate my fast.

After the post by Kha, im SOOOO glad that i haven't GONE to geylang.

Before i get myself riled up again, i'd better move on.

Actually right, i havent felt the Raya vibe yet.

My WHOLE household hasn't felt the Raya vibe AT ALL.

Cookies and cakes havent even baked yet! Yikes!!!!

I will definitely miss Ramadhan.

Seems like its going away too fast!

Maybe my house hasn't felt the Raya vibe yet cos we havent gone to Geylang.

Arrghhhh, i really don't want to go, but my brother's and my Dad haven't got their Baju Raya yet.

And moi, i havent got my scarves for my Raya outfits.

Only one tudung for one outift.

Can i just go on a weekday afternoon so i'll be spared the annoying crowd?

Ugh okay, i digress.

Yet again.

What happened over the weekend?

My maternal family gathered again to break our fast together.

That was Saturday, and on Sunday i met up with the Chantique babes for iftar.

Whatever marking i brought home was left silently in the bag.

And now im paying the price.


>___<


I was marking and suddenly mr. sandman came attacking me again.

plus, i didn't get any proper sleep last night thanks to my sister, who's being her normal annoying and selfish self.

Grrrrr.

And now i have 3 more classes to mark, before we go for our first exchange tomorrow.

God help me.


Okay back to the endless scripts.


p/s: did i mention my school is having 2 days off (no lessons) the 2 days after Raya? JC1 Study break! Hahaha LOVELYY!!! Can complete my marking before the 1st Raya weekend :)) And no school on the 6th of October!!!! Yeaayyyyyy! Long weekend!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So how Seri? Overseas Students Raya gathering you can definitely make use of me cos im freeeeeeee! hhehehehe.


Fin.

Quick Update.


Just a quick one before i start prepping for iftar.

Today is the mom's birthday.

I have completely no. idea. of. what. to. get. her.

Blame it on the fact that she has everything?

Fair?

I had the same problem last yr, but resolved it by getting her T*angs Vouchers.

But i can't possibly do the same for this year right?

And no, M*etro vouchers would mean that i would ADD to her already larger stash of M*etro vouchers that she already has.

She IS the queen of vouchers after all.

If only we had S*AKS, B*endels, or H*arvey Nichols.

So this yr its just a low key celebration for mommy dearest.

*if i can pay off my laptop loan to her dah bagus...NOT to mention my Education loan from her huahua*

So it will be a fuss free iftar for her and a yummy S*wensens ice-cream black forest cake for dessert

So yes,


Happy Birthday Mama...for EVERYTHING that you've done for ALL of us. No one has that much grit and determination as you do and i could only hope to be as good as you, both in my personal life as well as my working life (cos i've taken after her teaching genes)


We LOVE you many-many!


Fin.

The Bold or the Omni?

So earlier on, it was the B*lackberry Bold.

I'm suddenly giving it a second thought.

Should it be this instead?

Aaaarghhh decisions, decisions!

Fin.

Exhausted.

What is it about the fasting month that completely wipes you out?

I feel completely DRAINED.


And i have a REAAALLLY hard time getting up in the morning.


Aside from that everything else is good.


Though waiting for classes really isn't (3.10pm class only today arrggh!)


Yesterday was quite a long and drawn out day as well.


It was the first exam paper for all the JC1's, GP.


Invigilating is a chore.


And being on your feet for an hour is just WRONG!


*I can't imagine pple working in the sales line*


After collecting back all the scripts, we had to spend nearly two hours trying to account for all the scripts.


Double counting, forgetting to factor in the standardisation papers and even papers being uncounted were some of the problems faced.

Besides that, everything else was fine.


Managed to even come home early yesterday (4pm) and promptly fell into a deep slumber till 6pm.


Then after spending some time marking and surfing the net, went to bed and was awakened at 2.15am for sahur.


My mother who must have awoken, thinking it was 4-ish, proceeded to wake everyone up.


I had to FORCE myself to fill my stomach in case i'd have another bout of gastric pain the next day.


I had to do that with eyes half-lidded.


Going BACK to sleep then became a problem.


And then waking up for school became an even larger problem.


Luckily i didn't sleep through my alarm.


I really need to get a new phone.


The current one i have has been dying intermittently and hanging.


Right now, im having a PDA fetish.



With this baby, who wouldn't?



Have a great day ahead!



Fin.

Trying times...


Today has been the MOST challenging and tiring day ever.

One of my cobaan of this fasting month so far.

Today was the collection and submission of all the project work, written reports.

Having 2 classes, i had a total of 8 grps.

The deadline was set at 5.30pm.

But guess what guys?

I was only able to leave school at 8.35pm

Which means i spent like 13 hours in school today.

Enough to cancel out all the times that i got home early.

I've been coming home late this whole week thanks to project work consultations by the way.

Not to mention, i also had an iftar gathering with my PRIMARY school friends where we all arranged to meet at 7pm @ somerset.

Needless to say, i didn't make it.

I broke my fast with a cup of milo and only had a hot meal at 9pm.

And the best part was, my class held me up and Shahidah had to wait an hour and a half before i got to the mrt station.

See the inconsiderateness of these CHILDREN.

5.30pm and still no one from the other class had handed in their work.

They were still EDITING and PRINTING their work.

Then one of the boys in my class had to rush back to his house at AMK to go and print his work cos the printer could not read his work thanks to the new MS O*ffice 2007.

That was at 6.30pm.

Then i told the boy with a loud huff: Just go, im gg to be late ANYWAY (in the MOST sarcastic tone EVER!) and i rolled my eyes.

I was EXTREMELY pissed.

I was hungry, angry and frustrated.

And the best part, they did not even apologize for their tardiness.

And they're 17 year olds.

Not small children.

That really ticked me off.

I. NEED. TO. COOL. OFF.


Fin.

Irked and Seething.


I am completely, utterly, DUMBFOUNDED today.

I thought it was bad the day before.

But it was WORSE today!!!!

This being the holy month of Ramadhan, i cant imagine pple NOT taking advantage to do good and bring a little more into their life.

And WHAT did i see today on my way back from school after having to deal with 19 adolescents (who were clearly cranky and irritated cos they had Project Work to think about)???


I SAW A MAKCIK (in tudung no less) AND HER HUSBAND EATING AT A COFFEESHOP!!!


Can you believe the audacity of these orang tua?

I mean, here i am, even though i am unable to fast, I don't even go around eating publicly. I practically go without eating the whole day EVEN when im not fasting 'cos there's simply nowhere i can eat in secretly.

Even if i do want to eat, I stash food into my bag making sure not even my brothers know and eating under complete secrecy, at home, in my room, with the curtains closed.

And there are these 2 ADULTS flaunting it.


I was sooo angrrrryyy!!!!!!

In the morning i was reading about all the commendable youths taking part in RYC events and then *BAM!* in the afternoon i see these two goons!

And rest assured, that wasn't the ONLY incident.

There were 2 pakciks who sit at the coffeeshop the whole day (this can be attested cos my sister saw them in the morning and saw them again at the very same place later in the evening) and happily drinking their teh tariks.

I mean COME ON!!!

Even a 5 yr old child who is NOT obligated to fast can go the whole day without food or drink.

So what's their excuse?!

Period?!

Arrrggghhh!!!

I mean if u got so much free time, go and do some amal ibadah lah!

I am soooo annnooooyyyyed and tiiireeed and irrriiitttaateed right now.

I simply LOATHE and have complete DISGUST for adults like these.


Takde perasaan MALU lagi ke dalam diri sendiri? What will OTHER pple from OTHER religions say?

This is why Muslims end up getting attacked at the end of the day.

People like this make the MAJORITY look bad.

Arrghhh.

Friends, especially those who have specialised in the realm of da'wah, how do i go about approaching these pple?

I have about half a mind to go up to the vendors and tell them NOT to sell food to these pple.

Suggestions pls!


May all our efforts and prayers this Ramadhan be answered and may Allah have Mercy on us all. Amiin.


Fin.

Zzzzzzzzzz...


I am trying very hard to keep my eyes open.

Seriously.

No joke.

My eyes are half-lidded as we speak.

Having class at 3.10pm doesnt help at all.

Neither does it help that the staff room is so cool.

I really feel like dozing off.

Not that i didn't ALREADY doze off at the desk WHILE marking my paper.

Too used to the sleeping in after subuh prayers till almost zuhur hahaha.

Damn sleepy man!!!!!

Plus im not observing fast today. So im like doubly sleepy.

Can i just crawl under the table and SLEEP!

Fin.

Cold and Bleary


Have you noticed that the weather's gone all cold?

My toes keep getting wet (from all the rain) and frostbite-like (okay well maybe i exaggerate a little).

I know a certain friend who cherishes this weather *winks*

But its a little tooo cold for my liking.

The past 4 days of fasting have been good.

Managed to read the Quran a bit.

Ramadhan is definitely a gd motivator i must say.

I also broke my fast with my closest friends.

We got our money's worth at S*iam K*itchen's Buffet.

That was definitely lip-smackingly good.

And Azimah's bf made a special appearance.

Hafiz was glad hehe cos he's always been the only guy around.

So welcome aboard Almie =D

3 more dates with friends for iftar and it seems to look like its all gonna be buffet.

Is that a theme this yr?

*Carousel, Sakura, Hjh Maimunah* Yumm.

I solemnly swear that i'm DEFINITELY up to no good haha.

Anyway, today was a total rest day for me.

*Don't know whether yesterday wld count as one also *snigger*

But i've had the ultimate luxury of waking up late after morning prayers.

Getting a little too used to this.

I'm definitely going to suffer next week.

But i pray that i won't have to suffer so much.

Especially since the kids are going to have their exams soon.

I'm dreading marking another whole pile of illegible GP essays...HELP!

Today i managed to squeeze in some tv time.

Some new episodes of G*ossip Girl and ANTM Cycle 11.

Cos i'm a groupie like dat u know.

While the nights have been dedicated to worship.

The days are spent cleaning etc, etc ESPECIALLY since...


THE WASHING MACHINE BROKE DOWN!


So yes, it feels like a throwback to my undergraduate days.

Cos im washing the clothes by hand... >______<

So now...back to B*everly H*ills 9*0210!

Have a gd iftar!


Fin.

Ramadhan Mubarak & Happy Teacher's Day!

Alhamdullillah, I get to witness another Ramadhan.

Though this is the 2nd yr that i'm spending it in Singapore, i still miss fasting in UIA.

Even during the exam period.

So i just want to take this opportunity to wish one and all Ramadhan Mubarak and seek your forgiveness if i have hurt u in any way.

Please accept my sincere apology.

This year is another memorable Ramadhan.

Because it has fallen on Teacher's Day!

My very first teacher's day! :D

Though i did not receive heaps of flowers, I still enjoyed my teacher's day celebration last Friday.

The school brought us for lunch at Roxy Hotel just opposite Parkway Parade and then made our way to the Singapore Flyer!

Yup...FREE OF CHARGE!


*If you were to ask me to go to the Singapore F*lyer with my own money i would have to pass*


An exorbitant amt for a 30min ride.


Even though the landscape was

dotted with cranes and earth being dug up,

and roads being laid.


It was fun nonetheless.


And i got to meet the BF last Friday!


After a month and 20 days or so.



It was just a short meetup to pass my F*ujitsu laptop to him.


Had coffee and just walked around for a while.


He had to rush off for another mosque meeting while i was DEAD tired already.


So i cabbed it all the way home.


*Been cabbing almost everywhere lately! The pockets are feeling the PINCH!*


Hope you enjoyed the pics. Will update more when i have the time!


I am bogged down with MARKING. Wat's new? That's the life of a teacher. haha.



Have a gd first iftar today everyone!



Fin.