Happy 2009!

Here's to a better year for 2009. May all our endeavours be fruitful, may our relationships be sweet and let's all forgive and forget the sourness of 2008!
Students of Forms 2, 3 and 4, watch out! I'll be teaching some of you.

Congrats

A simple congratulations to all who have done well in their PMR. Even if you did not get straight As, if you have achieve better than you dared hope for, you have done well. I am proud of you, girls. And I am especially proud that most of the cheer girls did extremely well. Love you all.

PMR results

To all of you who will be collecting your PMR results tomorrow, all the best. I know you have all done well. So you needn't worry about your results. Just turn up in your school uniform and be prepared to jump for joy.

There goes my holiday

Just like a friend commented in her blog, a holiday is not a holiday without a maid, especially when you have a few rambunctious kids. Oh well, I have spent the last 3 weeks chasing after my 3 kids, cleaning up after them, teaching them to do a few things by themselves (probably faster to do it for them), getting all stressed up over how things are going to be when school reopens, doing rush jobs at shopping for groceries and going to the market (would be good to have roller skates!) and trying to focus on applying for my scholarship for the masters programme. I am NOT managing well. Barely surviving. I need a real break soon.
The only holiday I really had was the Bangkok trip and the week after. After that it was rushing to get the maid's things in order before she went home and going for the conditioning camp. I feel bad that I was not much of a help during the camp. But Ms Liew had help in the form of the new teachers. And I was also on the phone quite a fair bit to organize the gigs for the cheer girls. Once again, I wish I could have been there. That's the bane of not having reliable help to handle my kids. I guess my my complaint about not having a maid is more to having someone who is able to take care of my kids and see to their needs when I am not around. Or that she can free me to do my own work, or school work. Right now, all I have time and energy for is TV (and the Net) if I'm not entertaining them.I worry about them a lot especially Joel, as they can't take care of themselves yet. And they are so active that you get all stressed out just screaming after them to "don't do that, don't touch this, don't fight, don't ... all sorts of things" and to actually DO something like "wash your cup, put that back, eat your food .... the list is endless". If I were not a working mum, I would worry less because I'm around. But I'll be going back to work, so I am extra worried.
My one and only option now is to let my 2 younger kids stay on in the kindy after hours for full day-care. And then I pick them up only when I finish work or when I am done with things I need to do. It might just be the best option really. At least when Jonathan gets home from school (around 2pm), mum only needs to take care of him - his lunch. He can bathe on his own and go to have a nap after that. I get off work and pick the other 2 at either 3pm or even 6pm (if I have activities after school). That is AFTER school. I just hope that hubby and mum can manage the 2 younger ones for when they have to go to kindy ... in the morning. Jeremy is ok. Joel will take some work. Sigh. Jon ... I will handle him early in the morning as I get ready for work anyway.
So, I guess I should NOT be worried anymore. Okay. That's it.

Home management

Home management is going to be a problem soon. School is reopening soon, starting with PMR result day on 30 December, followed by staff meeting on 2 Jan. Now the trouble is I still don't have a maid. So what's the problem? I have to go to work. Who is going to manage my kids? They need to go to school. Hubby has to go to work. And my mum CANNOT manage 3 rambunctious boys. So what am I going to do? There are no available temporary maids for me to ease things along. And to top it off, Joel does not seem to want to follow anyone else but ME. I really am at my wit's end. Any suggestions? A long sigh here ........

Blessed Christmas

To all of you who DO celebrate Christmas .. whether you're Christian or not, I would like to wish all of you a blessed and joyous Christmas. May this Christmas be meaningful. May you and your family experience the love that is the message of Christmas. Don't binge too much on food, ok?

Gigs

My cheer girls have been busy lately. In spite of not making it to Monsoon Cup, they were busy with several things. The first one is Cheer Jam. I understand that 3 of them attended it. A good thing. I wish I had known about it earlier, esp the one for the coaches and all. Maybe I could have attended so that I can learn more. And I would have deferred my maid's return another month.

Last week they also went to Berjaya Times Square for a gig with Packet One. Apparently the first day didn't go too well. But they picked up after that and spent another 2 days doing good work. I wish I cold have been there. Another group went to NTV7 and had an advert for them. So it was a good week and financially rewarding week.

Now my next plan is to find out what happened to the skirts that the girls lent to some Assunta girls for a McD thing. Apparently not all the skirts came back. So I will have to either get the borrowers to find them or pay some money to replace them. Next time, no more that kind of borrowing. We should ask the borrowers and renters to pay a deposit and if the uniform does not come back in complete sets, then they forfeit the deposit. And they STILL have to pay some rental fee. I'm sure my girls will agree ... RIGHT?

50th Post

This is my 50th post in this new blog. Things have been moving along for me. I realised that much as I had dreaded the work and task of taking care of my 3 boys and doing house work, I have managed well. Yeah yeah, I had help. My mum is a much appreciated help. And the boys have occasionally been good. Jon is learning to help with a few things .... washing his own cups and helping his brothers when bathing. Jeremy has learned that mummy is upset when he scolds his brothers using some unbecoming words, and apologises. Joel is learning that mummy means business and so gets a bit more disciplined.
Going shopping for groceries and going marketing is still a little tricky but so far, I have managed. My only wish is that I can go out by myself once in a while. Habit!!!!! Well, I thank God that He has helped me to manage. Christmas is coming and I hope to be able to get a few more things done before Christmas arrives.

Day 5

Day 5 of being the maid. So far so good. Not too bad, just that I have almost no time for myself, except when the kids are asleep or napping. Which is why I am online at such hours, unless hubby is around to babysit. Sigh.
Looks like the school's cheerleaders will be getting more gigs. They'll be doing some work for an IT exhibition thing in KL next week. Good for them and I hope things will pick up soon. The money that comes in will be handy for the expenses for Cheer next year. I just wish that some people will inform me earlier that they have gigs. Looks like another gig is in January. In fact 2 gigs in January, on the same day.
I have to go. :(

Maidless

Okay, what's the big deal about being maidless? Well, I'm having maid withdrawal symphtom. Can't go anywhere without all 3 kids. Have to do MY own things and things my maid used to do for me. My house is less clean, and all the clothes ar chucked into the machine. No one is doing the ironing for now. Am planning to either send the clothes to the laundry for ironing or get someone to come and do cleaning. It has been only 2 days and I'm tired. Mainly because Joel is unwell and has lost his appetite, I guess. I'm thankful that mum is taking care of all things kitchen-wise, and hubby's aunty is here trying to help. But she's leaving soon. I'm glad tomorrow isa holiday (Happy birthday to the Sultan of Selangor), and hubby will be around to take over the kids while I do some chores. Putt says to not turn into Cruella. I think I am turning to Cruella. Sigh!

Next visit to Shemariah Home

We have scheduled our next visit to Shemariah Home (refer a very much earlier post) for this coming Sunday. We'll be spending some time with the children. I think I will have all my kids with me this time. So, those of you who want to give Christmas prezzies to them children, let me know. I'll need to collect by Saturday. And for those of you who had promised used items, please call me.

Tribute to Dr Yogeswary

Yesterday I attended a funeral. It was a very sad day, not just for the family, but for those who know the family. This post is dedicated to Dr N Yogeswary, one of the Bukit Antarabangsa landslide victims.

My husband and I were just getting ready to leave for Malacca on Saturday when I heard about the landslide tragedy. He had an sms that told him his friend was one of the those confirmed dead. All the way to Malacca we were very quiet because Yoges was a friend of ours, more of his friend than mine, really, but we were there when she got married and had her first child. Hubby last met her about a month ago.

So we had an unsettling night in Malacca and rushed back to attend Yoges's funeral. We were there just as the funeral rites began. Many people were there, mostly relatives. Then more and more friends appeared. Wreathes were everywhere. I was reading the newspaper about how Yoges protected her children and pretty much died in the process. I cried. And I couldn't stop. As a mother of 3, I cannot imagine anything so devastating happening to my children the way her 3 children experienced the tragedy. I cannot imagine my children living without their mother should anything happen to me. And so, I cried, for Yoges, who loved and protected her children; for the three children (Avinesh, Thivesh and Priyankka) who will be motherless, for Thanarajah who has become a widower, for the relatives who have lost a person so dear, for Yoges's sister who looked so lost. I thought I was ok, after some time, but when I saw the wreathe with words from the 3 kids to their mum, I cried again. I realised how lost they will be. And I also acknowledge how real that tragedy was. We went in to pay our last respects and viewed the body of Yoges. She looked nothing like she did in life. She was bruised and swollen. Even with all the make up and touch up, she looked severely injured. And I cried.

I mingled around outside the house, and I heard some people talking. Everyone agreed that Yoges was "such a nice person", and "such a pretty woman". I also heard someone saying in a very upset manner that the government should bear the cost of the children's education.

At 2:30, they were ready to send her off to the crematorium. I watched and was saddened to see Thanarajah climbing into the car, his face ashened, his right hand fractured and legs still in pain due to sprains. He had a dazed look on his face, as if he was just going through the motion without fully understanding what it all meant. His sister (I assumed) hugged him and cried unashamedly. Thivesh, sitting on a wheelchair looking lost, was wheeled to a car and lifted into it. He would be the one to be fully involved in the cremation ceremony. Avinesh, a picture of call and anxiety at the same time shouted a few instructions that he wanted the daddy in the car that carried the coffin, and that his brother had to be helped to another car. I was amazed at this 11 year old, who somehow, took charge. I did not see Priyankka. As the hearse left, I looked back at the house and saw the grief in the faces of the relatives.

After that we left. My eyes were swollen from all those crying. I never realised I could grief for someone I did not know too well this much. My heart still aches as I type these words. I know my husband will want to visit the family when everything is more settled. I hope we will be able to speak some words of comfort to them. So to Yoges, you will be missed, not only by those who love you and loved by you, but also by those whose lives you have touched and those who have often admired you and will continue to remember your cheerful and pleasant personality. Farewell, Yoges.

For further reading about Yoges, go to :

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/12/8/nation/2748212&sec=nation

http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Sunday/Frontpage/2421982/Article/index_html

http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Monday/Frontpage/2422681/Article/index_html

Culture

I am not talking about how cultured we all should be. Nor am I talking about milk culture ... Vitagen or Yakult kind of thing. I am talking about school culture. Specifically the school spirit. The last two years I have been mourning the death of the school culture / school spirit among students. There is little pride in the school among most of my students. Yes, they cheer and and shout when the school team does well in a competition. That's as far as the school spirit goes. They do not think that they are part of the school spirit, contributors of the school pride and feel that sense of belonging to the sisterhood of SMKPSA. Why do I suddenly go into this? The last few weeks have been a series of disappointments to me. I see how a lot of students do not bother and care about integrity. A lot of them have the kind of apathy that we all do not hope to see in the future generation. Every time a question is asked of them if they would like to be part of something organised by the school, the kind of answers I get are "What for?, Why?, Lazy-lah, My parents don't let"! What's wrong with that? Absolutely nothing and everything. Nothing because some things ARE beyond your control. But the answers also show how interested and enthusiatic you are (NOT) in the programmes. Let me give examples :

The Monsoon Cup performances - This is one very disappointing topic. We were approached to perform for the Opening and Closing of the event. Also to cheer the teams that were competing. It would have pretty much paid for all the Cheer 2009 expenses. A total of up to RM8500 would have changed hands and not to mention the exposure the girls would have. Plus a PAID holiday in Terengganu for a week. Even if we were to go for only the Opening or only the Closing, we would have been paid about half of that. A very big sigh here. The money could have been used for various things, not just cheer uniform and coaching. Could have used the money for Cheer Jam!

Conditioning Camp - It is sad that only 11 students turned up. The school paid for everything, from instructors to food to VCDs. There were so many who just brushed off the camp. None of my cheer girls went, none of my QMs went to help. None of the girls who had potential in athletics went. The only ones who were there were a few netball girls and a few softball girls.

Cheer Jam - I just found out today about this event called Cheer Jam. No one bothered to tell me about it. How many are going? I don't know.

The post-PMR trips - Many signed up ealry, How many went? Everything is on a hangat-hangat tahi ayam spirit. I was disappointed with the way things were going.

These are just some examples. There are more. I wonder why there is so little pride in the school among the students, and among the parents. It would be nice to have a few more parents who actually become involved in part of the school programmes. We could do with a few more Mr Madis.

Disappointment

Tomorrow the school will be having a 4 day conditoning camp. The purpose is to condition the school athletes physically so that they are better prepared for sports season come January. In addition, there will be team building activities to get them all in the right frame of mind for competition. It's a good thing, isn't it?
However, sad to say, response from the students is lukewarm. Some are not even interested. This is sad, esp since the school is paying for everything, and Ms Liew is organising everything, right down to food. I'll be there tomorrow morning. We'll see what the response is really like. Some of my QMs will be there to help. I hope my cheer girls will be there although I have not heard anything from Mag.

Where is my holiday?

This has got to be my busiest holiday ever. I have not really had much time with my family in a proper holiday. The first week was spent in Thailand and recupering from the trip. And my kids were involved in a church programme for kids right after I came back from Thailand. All the while I was also busy trying to get enough cheerleaders for the Monsoon Cup in Terengganu. Monday 2nd week, I was in Putrajaya for a workshop. Then we got the news that we are not going to Terengganu. The plan just didn't work out. Some of my cheerleaders will wonder why. Basically people cannot wait for us if we keep stalling. This is a costly lesson to be learned. We could have earned enough money for Cheer 2009 expenses just from the Monsoon Cup gig. Too bad.

Then I have to go to school for SPM duty and next week again to check out my Pintar Cerdas results to send to Kementerian. Such a hassle. Next week will be busy with the conditioning camp. I've had to call up people to help as well as to attend. The timing is just off. I wish it could be rescheduled to maybe first weekend of school next year. Everyone is on holiday or busy with something.

Well, today was good though. I attended a wedding. One of my colleagues got married to a friend's son. The bride looked radiant. I wish the newly-wed a wonderful lifetime together. I met some of my former colleagues at the wedding. It was good to see some of them. They looked happy and relaxed, esp since they are already retired.

Next weekend I will be attending another colleague's wedding dinner. I am looking forward to it. Only hubby and I will be going and it'll be a nice date together. Speaking of date, we'll be having a lunch date courtesy of Traxx.fm at The Ship! Jealous???? And I will be watching Quantum of Solace also courtesy of Traxx.fm!!! After Hari Raya Haji, I will be without my maid .... until my new maid arrives. So I will be busy playing maid soon. There goes my holiday.

Window of time

I cannot help but to thank God for the fact that we were in Thailand during the window of time that had peace. The few days we were there, there wasn't a hint that there would be protesters causing a closedown of the airport. There wasn't a hint that there would be political trouble. And so I am thankful that we are all back safely, that we were not stranded in Thailand or at the airport. Now I pray that the political situation will get better and there will no longer be a stand off and that the army will not be forced to take extreme measures. May the leaders of the country strive to calm the people of the country and do what is best for their people.

J card day

So yesterday was J card day at Sunway Pyramid. This is the first time I had been so crazy about shopping. Not that it was really shopping in the real sense of the word but ....
The day started with me getting to Pyramid at 8:15am in spite of the fact that Jusco only opened at 9am. I went ot California Fitness and went on the net until 8:50 and then off I went to wait for Jusco to open. YES I WAITED OUTSIDE JUSCO!!! When the place was open, I went shopping and bought mainly Christmas gifts for my kids and some other kids. Bought a few things for myself, couldn't justify shopping for myself after all the shopping in Bangkok and Pattaya. Bought something for my mum. And then it was time to go to school for SPM duty. It was the last day of SPM for the science students. After the paper finished, I went to Pyramid again. YES! AGAIN!
I went to the groceries this time. After what was a horrendous time carrying all the stuff in a basket, I found a TROLLEY! Bought all those heavy stuff that I had wanted to get but could not carry. All in all, J card day was a mega spending day for me, though it was buying things I would buy anyway, necessities and Christmas presents. Yes, I know Christmas is 1 month away, but then I would have bought the things and not get those shopping vouchers. Am I ever going for J card day again next time? You betcha!

No more photos for now

It takes quite a long time for the photos to load here, so I am not going to post anymore photos for now. If you are my facebook friend, you can go there and view the photos.

Thailand trip - version 2.2

This is obviously ME. On the background are students studying in the library. They were doing something like our NILAM programme. The yellow shirts are actually their PE uniform for the lower secondary.

This is one of the computer labs.
That's some of us with Danny Lynch, an American teacher from California. He teaches English. Don't get any ideas. He's expecting a grandchild soon.

The girls wear this kind of shoes.

The lower secondary students wear brown shoes.

They have a swimming pool!!!! But then swimming is compulsory for Grade 7.

That's our Form 1 equivalent.

This is Min. He was one of our tour guides for our tour round the school. Nice boy.

The green uniform is for their uniform unit. Scouts or Guides, I think.

The teacher teaching English.

The students went for a competition in Japan this year. This is a poster of them.

Boys and girls making costumes

Blue shirt - PE uniform for upper secondary. These students were having a language class in a media room.

See the basket? They were playing netball /captainball using the basket to shoot.

This is actually a science lab. No experiment in progress though.

The boys were actually doing craft, making wooden paddles for a boat. These would be used in their performances eventually.

These students are learning to play the Thai traditional musical instruments. Yes, along the corridors.

Thailand trip version 2.1

Lest you guys thought all we did in Thailand was learning about culture and animals, here is the first installment of the pictures of the first school we visited, Rayong Wittayakom School in Rayong, situated about an hour's ride from Pattaya.

Our first view of the school.

The notice board featured pictures about the King's late sister who was about to be cremated.
Pictures on one of the notice boards

WELCOME!

In the meeting room with the Rayongwit teachers and director

We were served by BOYS and girls.

The entrance to one of their classrooms

The library

A feature in the library - a stone with writings on it

This is the staffroom for the Maths or Science teachers. They have different staffrooms for different departments / subjects. IMAGINE SRI AMAN ENGLISH TEACHERS HAVING A ROOM TO OURSELVES!!!!!

Pictures of the students doing cultural performances

The headgears and other cultural performance costumes are well-kept.

The ping-pong tables are always there for the students to play when they are free.

This is a kiosk for photocopying. The students pay, of course.

This is another staffroom.

The construction of a new block. Looks big and very functional.

The staffroom for language teachers. The 2 caucasian males are actually foreign teachers who teach English. One is from England and the other from Canada.

This is a resource room for English.

MORE TO COME ....

Thailand trip - version 1.3

We went for a musical show in Pattaya. Here are some pics that were taken. Others were either not clear, too dark or ......!!! We have to give these people credit for such fantastic costumes and backdrops. They were elaborate and you can see a lot of work and effort put into them.

Korean dance

Vietnamese dance
Dancing to "Please, Mr Postman"
The king and his concubines perhaps.
Thai dance

Thailand trip - version 1.2

On our way from Bangkok to Pattaya that first day, we made a stop at Sriracha Tiger Zoo. This is the entrance which has several white statues of tigers. We didn't spend that much time here but managed to catch quite a few sights.

This is the schedule for a show, which we managed to catch.

Below is a pic of a tigress nursing piglets dressed as tiger cubs. Yes, I kid you not.

Below is a rather blurry pic of a pig living with 2 dogs and a tiger.
This is a close-up pic of a scorpion.
This girl is covered with said scorpions. You have to admire this PIG. It can count.

More pigs! Don't think we have seen more pigs before, those that are alive.

Two orangutans which had finished their work of posing for cameras.

This girl had her head in the croc's mouth!

Didn't go in there. Just took a pic outside. The carving is nice.

Camels in enclosures.
Cute caps sold as souvenir.

Crocs big and small

MORE TO COME ...