e o w Y C n

Puppies for Sale

2009-07-13T00:43:00.018+08:00

This is probably one of the most heart-breaking decisions we've got to make: selling our adorable puppies. :-'(

Our beautiful Peni became a mother on 23 May 2009 when she whelped a litter of 7 healthy German Shepherd puppies - 3 males and 4 females. All 7 were live births.

Unfortunately, Peni was exhausted when the 6th puppy, Tara was delivered and she didn't attend to the newborn quickly enough. As a result, fluids entered her lungs. The hub and I were helplessly inexperienced and weren't able to apply the right procedure/technique to save her. The hub gave her CPR and managed to revive her after 30 minutes. But it was too little, too late. Tara struggled for 2 days before she passed away.

Thankfully, the vet arrived and attended to the last puppy, Savi.

It's been truly an eye-opening 6 weeks for us. Taking care of newborn puppies is a lot of hard work (and money). All blood, sweat and tears. Literally. Especially now that they bite and zoom in for our ankles, shins and toes. Mine have been regularly bitten, scratched and gnawed at by the playful puppies.

Is it hard work caring for 6 lively puppies? You bet.

During their first 2 weeks, the hub was sleeping downstairs in the living room at night to take care of Peni and the pups. We were afraid she might trample on them, so we only brought them out of their "tub" when they needed to be fed. And like human babies, they fed every 3-4 hours directly from their mother. I helped out a few nights when the hub was exhausted and used the chance to catch up on some reading. (That's how I managed to complete reading the Twilight series in a couple of days).

At about 3 weeks, the puppies finally opened their eyes. And this was roughly about the same time they started teething too. Their appetites increased and we had to supplement with Lactol Puppy Milk because Peni was, by then, beginning to tire of feeding them. And their teeth were getting sharp too.

Now that they're 6 weeks they now eating solid food. We feed them with a mixture of dry pellets and meats, and milk, about 3 times a day. Needless to say, these fast-growing puppies are burning large holes in our pockets. The amount of food they consume is frightful. If we didn't own a pet shop and get food/milk at a discounted price, we'd go broke paying through our noses to maintain their daily diet.

The six puppies are a playful lot and when they're not sleeping, they're fighting and barking their heads off. And the only way to quieten them is to give them some food or treats to chew on. The puppies have been vaccinated and registered with Singapore Kennel Club (SKC) so they've all got names now: Jackson, Megan, Mikey, Layla, Whiskey (who's already been sold) and Savi.

Now we've in the process of selling our lovely puppies. Much as we'd love to keep them, we're not allowed to do so as we already own 2 full-grown German Shepherds in our compound. According to the Law, we're permitted up to a maximum of 3 large breed dogs per registered address. Not to mention the fact that it's very expensive and it requires a lot of work maintaining them.

We are, however, very particular about potential and prospective owners and hope that their future masters would love and care for them as much as we do. So if you do know of any family looking for quality, pedigree German Shepherd dogs (their sire is Jack, SKC GSD champion and Peni herself won competitions), do let us know.

Below are links to the photo albums I created on Facebook:

If only I could keep them all!

Sigh.

Here are selected pictures of the puppies, my personal favourites. Enjoy!

Jackson and Megan, first and second born

Newborn puppies with ribbons for identification

Drinking from mummy

Huddled in their little tub

All 6 lined up in a row

Wei loves Peni (note the weighing scale in the background to weigh them daily)

The kids give Peni some love and encouragement

Their eyes are finally open!

The hub bottle feeds the pups

Feeding Jackson some formula milk

Playing with mum

Wei watches Peni and the pups

A typical - "after milk" scene

Hiding under the chair

Meal time - milk with pellets

The little prisoner

I believe this is Jackson

Chewing and biting

Play time with "uncle" Arif!

of my favourite photos!

The kids watch as the hub paints nail polish as a source of identification

Xian gives Arif a huge pat for being such a good "uncle" to the puppies

Here's Layla chewing on my slipper!

Meal time madness!

The hub with on the puppies - I think it's Whiskey

Chewing up our rubber hose

Looking forlorn out of their "temporary holding area"

This is definitely Whiskey chewing up hub's slipper

It's time for Mikey's weekly bath!

My guess - Jackson and Megan (I could be wrong!) after their bath

New Skin

2009-07-11T04:21:00.002+08:00

Here it is.

A new blogskin. Regretfully, I still can't figure out what's wrong with my Hobbit template despite reloading it back up a few thousand times.

Ah well. Perhaps it's just time for a change.

Hooray for Mummy's Milk!

2009-07-10T12:49:00.007+08:00

The world's caught up with the Influenza A (H1N1-2009) bug. It's now a global pandemic. Although the virus appears to be relatively harmless, precautionary measures have been put in place to try and prevent its spread in Singapore.

I've been a tad uneasy about being exposed to the virus because we've got 3 young kids and 2 elderly folks at home. So when the numbers hit over 1,000 and a few cases emerged at the workplace, I got a bit worried.

And then I received an email from Mothercare which made me relax a little:

Click here to read the EDM in detail or visit this website for the write-up:

http://breastfeeding.suite101.com/article.cfm/cdc_advises_breastfeeding_during_h1n1_pandemic

Wouldn't it be amazing if the labs discover that breastmilk *is* the cure for H1N1?

I'm glad I'm still breastfeeding!

The Twilight Series

2009-06-29T14:15:00.015+08:00

Vampires. Werewolves. Dragons. Witches. Wizards. Elves. Goblins.

Stuff that nightmares are made of - for some folks. After all, one man's meat is another man's poison.

Not for me though. I'm a sucker for fantasy novels an all things mythical. Perhaps not many people know this, but I've always been fascinated by Gothic creatures, inspired largely by exposure to Gothic Literature during my NUS days.

So no one should be remotely surprised that I lapped up Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series which is all about, well, vampires, humans and the wolves.

I completed reading all four books in slightly over a week. That's an average of one in 2 days.

Did I really enjoy reading the series? Well, yes and no.

The novels were obviously written for teenagers - crushes, love, lust, identity crisis, dates, insecurities etc. I honestly wasn't too intrigued by the simple plot, but was curious about when and how the teenage heroine Bella Swan was going to undergo the transformation from weak, puny human to almost-invincible, powerful immortal. And all for the sake of everlasting love. It's another Romeo and Juliet vehicle with a twist.

The Twilight series spawned the movie which catapulted Robert Pattinson, who plays Edward Cullen, the extraordinarily handsome yet tortured vampire, to fame. (I guess having played the young wizard Cedric Diggory in the fourth Harry Potter movie The Goblet of Fire helped in his preparation for the role in another fantasy film). Naturally, the world now is abuzz with hordes of screaming young girls who're smitten with him.

However, the character in the book I enjoy most is that of Jacob Black: the second-finishing best friend who carries a torch for the heroine. Despite being continuously spurned and toyed with emotionally, the wolf-boy is angsty and fiercely loyal to his loved ones. Plus, I'm also a supporter of the under-dog. (No pun intended).

Although the movie adaptation of Twilight wasn't oscar-winning material, I found it a pleasant experience. Here's the Twilight movie trailer:

And here's the sequel, New Moon. The movie will be released in November 2009:

Looks promising. Having read the books, it's always interesting to watch how the script writers tackle the print-to-screen transition.

Maybe it's just me looking at the academic perspective of things. Especially since I've been hearing talk that I'll be teaching Film in the coming semester or the following one.

The Hobbit Template's Wonky!

2009-06-29T09:07:00.004+08:00

For some strange and unknown reason, The Hobbit template that I've been using for this blogspot has gone wonky!

Even after reloading the template, the header picture disappeared. I'm no HTML guru and am illiterate in IT-related programming language, so I guess for now my only option is to change this into a classic, simple template.

*Sigh*

I really do love the The Hobbit template - it's in line with my LOTR theme. Will need to spend some time to figure out what went wrong!

Michael Jackson: Gone Too Soon

2009-06-26T16:42:00.007+08:00

By now, many people would have know that the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, died yesterday on 25 June 2009.

He suffered a cardiac arrest and paramedics were unsuccessful in their attempts to revive him.

Such a tragic end to the world's greatest performer and entertainer. The iconic superstar garnered numerous awards and many accoladesfor his music and dance. His signature "moon walk" was unique, and his creativity knew no bounds, especially his music videos.

Despite his waining popularity over the last decade and his infamous child sexual abuse scandals, marriages-of-conveniences and general weird behaviour, MJ still has hordes (millions) of die-hard fans.

Here's a song "Gone Too Soon" which he dedicated to Ryan White, a young boy who was infected with AIDS through blood transfusion. In an ironic twist, these very words would echo the thoughts of every faithful MJ follower.

"Gone Too Soon"

Like A Comet
Blazing 'Cross The Evening Sky
Gone Too Soon

Like A Rainbow
Fading In The Twinkling Of An Eye
Gone Too Soon

Shiny And Sparkly
And Splendidly Bright
Here One Day
Gone One Night

Like The Loss Of Sunlight
On A Cloudy Afternoon
Gone Too Soon

Like A Castle
Built Upon A Sandy Beach
Gone Too Soon

Like A Perfect Flower
That Is Just Beyond Your Reach
Gone Too Soon

Born To Amuse, To Inspire, To Delight
Here One Day
Gone One Night

Like A Sunset
Dying With The Rising Of The Moon
Gone Too Soon

Gone Too Soon

MJ, a million thanks for the music and memories.

Resurrection

2009-06-25T12:49:00.000+08:00

Resurrection: the act of rising from the dead.

And that's obviously what what I'm trying achieve here.

Over breakfast with Pooh this morning, she commented that my blog's "dead". And I couldn't agree more.

Work's been hectic. I've got 2 classes running events (as part of the subject requirements and assessment) and both have met with hiccups with the clients, event planning, programmes and disputes amongst themselves. Although I'm supposed to deal approach the situations with a "hand-off-let-the-kids-learn-the-hard-way" attitude, it's not in me to just completely let go. After all, I can't watch them fumble and tumble through the entire experience without offering some assistance, can I?

I do empathise with the kids as they need to juggle other subjects while working to plan, organise and run their respective events. it's a steep learning curve and to be fair to many of them who've put in loads of effort, they are doing as well as to be expected of students without the necessary working experience and exposure to the business world.

They all remind me of my own struggles when I first stepped into the corporate world over a decade ago, fresh from studies, brimming with ideas and bursting with boundless energy. And I remember how quickly my flames of enthusiasm were doused after getting hit repeatedly by what I perceived then as inept supervisors who weren't receptive towards new initiatives and resistant towards change.

In fact, it took me a few years to resolve my battles of frustration over these old-fashioned and regimented processes. But it was only when I was provided the opportunity to move up to a management level that I realised my folly in the early years.

Nonetheless, those beginning years were crucial in forming and shaping up my career, and I benefited greatly from all the different supervisors and bosses (the good, bad, ugly) who influenced me in many aspects.

I believe such life experiences can't be sought from textbooks and no amount of academic research can prepare anyone to face the challenges of the working world. I reckon that the most important lessons will come from The School of Hard Knocks.

On the home front, we celebrated many birthdays over the last few months, including the birth of Peni's beautiful puppies. But that's for another entry.

Ah.

I had almost forgotten how I loved writing.

Alas, work cruelly beckons.

I'm alive

2009-05-22T12:49:00.004+08:00

I didn't suffer a writer's draught for the past two months. I've just been extremely busy.

Needed to get my priorities straightened out and much as I wanted to blog an entry (I've loads to update), my work and home responsibilities prevented me from doing so.

Just for the record, I still have a backlog of stuff to clear, so this is really just a quick note to signal my blogshpere existence.

Now that it's done, it's back to the grind. :(

Wanted: Professional Pet Groomer / Stylist

2009-05-07T10:11:00.003+08:00

Woofy's Corner is looking for a full-time professional groomer / stylist!

If you're interested in taking up the job or know of anyone who may be keen, and want to find out more, please contact Vincent at 96832469 or drop us a quick email: enquiries_woofy@hotmail.com

Thanks! :)

Zac the Mac

2009-04-23T23:07:00.003+08:00

Meet Zac the Mac.

That's the name of my new toy. :)

Zac's really cool. Not only does he look great in pristine white, he's really user-friendly too.

A pity I can only spend time with him after the kids are asleep.

MacHappy and Lovin' it!

2009-04-17T00:54:00.012+08:00

After a month-long wait, my iMac *finally* arrived!

This is my first official blog entry using my new iMac.

After years of deliberation and persuasion, the hub relented and I bought my first Macintosh d uring the March IT fair. Since I wanted to upgrade my RAM to a 4GB capacity, I was told that I'd to wait for about 2 weeks - which I did, rather impatiently.

Unfortunately, the delivery was hampered by the Harvey Norman Warehouse Sale because all the trucks had back-to-back deliveries to make. So that further delayed the arrival of my new "toy".

Anyway, when they called to confirm that my iMac would be delivered today, I kept my mobile phone close to me the whole day. As soon as I received confirmation that they'd be there in the evening, I rushed home...

Was it worth the wait? Take a look:

Yup. Definitely worth the wait.

Every single second of it. ;)

Hub the March Baby

2009-04-03T16:49:00.016+08:00

We celebrated the hub's birthday in the last few days of March.

My 36-year-old hubby (who doesn't look his age except for his salt-and-pepper hair) received a total of 4 presents, courtesy of his girls and me.

I must admit that I didn't have very much time to prepare for his birthday because I was swarmed with work and didn't have many opportunities to go shopping. I only scrambled to get the gifts just a few days before his birthday and in time for the cake-cutting routine :(

Anyway, the hub received a "Mr Strong" t-shirt from Xian, a red (his favourite colour) polo t-shirt from Wen and a poem from Wei.

I decided to get a practical and useful gift so I bought him a Retail Business Kit For Dummies (2nd Ed) to give him some tips on running Woofy's Corner.

We also tried to make sushi and got some sashimi from Giant supermarket. But I was a real super grade dumbo. I read the instructions wrongly and ended up pouring too much vinegar into the rice so I had to cook a second batch of rice and mixed some from the previous round. :(

Heck, it's less expensive having a Japanese meal at a restaurant! And as usual, the birthday isn't complete without some photos for memories:

Till the next birthday...CHEERS!

FY2009

2009-04-01T17:39:00.004+08:00

Happy April Fool's Day!

We're now into the 2nd quarter of 2009 but it's the start of the new financial year. In other words, we're back to a brand "new" beginning at work and the appraisal cycle and training plan will start from today.

While the students are taking a breather from school, the lecturers are scrambling and preparing for the new academic term that will kick off on 20 April 2009.

Yes. In less than 3 weeks, the madness will resume.

What holiday? What break? What rest?

ARGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

Darling Daddy

2009-03-26T11:37:00.030+08:00

The 3rd time daddy received a poem from his latest family addition. So he's got one from Xian when he turned 30, one from Wen when he became 33 and now at 36, he's got one from Wei!

All's fair :) Except for the fact that I never get any poem as a gift. Perhaps when the girls are older one of them will inherit my wordsmith genes...

Darling Daddy
I’m Sook Mei the luckiest little tot
Being the youngest Leonglet of the lot
I’m privileged in many ways
‘Cos you bathe me during weekdays
Plus when you get home from work late
No thanks to school, my cheh-chehs are already in bed
I benefit and get your undivided attention
Since there’s no other competition
Though you were hoping that I’d be a boy
I know I’m still your pride and joy
Now I’d like to brag and boast
And say that you love me the most
But I know you’re a really fair dude
And you treasure us all equally like you should
I love to jump on your tummy
And make you gallop like a wild horsey
That’s our usual morning and bedtime game
No matter if others think it’s lame
But for the great Daddy that you are
There’s one thing that puzzles me by far:
Several times when I needed my calcium snack
And Mummy was unavailable or not back
I tried to drink from you Daddy
And it’s most annoying that you didn’t have any!
You just gave me that look of bemusement
As I seethed in anger and disappointment
You watched me throw my temper and kick a fuss
“No milk? I won’t discuss!”
But you being milk-less isn’t a big problem
‘Cos that’s not in your JD or your main department
Just continue being crazy and funny
My wonderful super darling Daddy

~ Baby Sook Mei ~

Teo Yuan Ching
25 March 2009

Copyright © 2009 Teo Yuan Ching

Daddy's Double

2009-03-26T11:24:00.015+08:00

Here's simple poem for the Hub's 33rd birthday. Since I wrote one for him as a "gift" when he first became a daddy during his 30th birthday, thought it's befitting that he gets another one when he became a father a second time round.

This is kinda unfair though: how come no-one ever writes anything for me?

Daddy's Double

Mirror mirror on the wall

Don’t I look like daddy at all?

I’m the Princess Um-boo-boo
Here’s something I wanna share with you
No one can deny

No matter how hard they try

I’m a splitting image of Daddy

The resemblance is really uncanny

The shape of my oval face

Same puffy cheeks in place

Right to ‘em single-lid eyes

So it’s hardly any surprise
That everyone I meet

Even strangers walking the down street

Say I look so much like him

And that fills his heart to the brim

I’m sure he’s as proud as a peacock

That his second girl’s a chip off the old block

(And here’s a secret I can’t keep
I snore like Daddy too when I’m asleep!)
Many think I’m a baby boy

Maybe I should act a dash more coy?
We don’t need a DNA test
We’ll win any Parent-Child look-alike contest
Mirrors don’t ever lie, no-sir-ree
I’m sure glad I got Daddy’s genes in me
Others say my looks may change with time

But I’ll bet my very last dime
I’ll always look like Wing Sum

The Daddy of Sook Mun the Grumble Bum

~ Baby Sook Mun ~

Teo Yuan Ching
25 March 2006

Copyright © 2006 Teo Yuan Ching

Dearest Daddy

2009-03-26T11:15:00.008+08:00

In 2003, I wrote this for the hub as a birthday "gift" on behalf on Xian...

Dearest Daddy

Every weekday morn

After I'm up for not too long

It's time for you to go

Off to work to make some dough

And oh boy is it rough

Heck, I'd say it's very tough!

To spend the rest of my day

Knowing I'll only get to play

When you come home late at night

And I have to really fight

To keep my sleepy self awake

Though I know it's for my own sake

If I get to bed by nine

Like most baby friends of mine

Yes, yes I know full well

I give Mah-Mah, Yeh-Yeh lots of hell

When they try to put me to bed

And I flatly refuse to co-operate

In the Sarong Wars I may sometimes lose

But that's a strategy I choose

'Cos after 20 winks or so

I'll be recharged and ready to go

I'll then use my of energy, every ounce

And when you're back on you I'll pounce!

To me Sunday's the all-time best

'Cos that's the day you take a rest

And when we all go out and about

I love to scream and shout

That's just my way of saying "I'm happy!"

To be with you, my dearest daddy.

~ Baby Sook Yin ~

Aisha at peace

2009-03-24T16:20:00.012+08:00

Last Saturday night I was at my 3rd aunt's home for a get-together with the family. I was enjoying the company of the kids, my cousins and aunts when I received a call at about 10.30 in the evening.

It was from Mary, my colleague. And the moment I heard her voice, I knew something terrible had happened. Although she sounded calm, the little quaver in the voice gave her away. But I honestly did not expect to hear the news that she was about to deliver: Aisha's gone.

Madam Aisha Hussain was my first section head (supervisor) when I joined the polytechnic in 2006. She was part of the interview panel who assessed me and was the very first person from my department whom I met on my first day of work.

Right from the start, she was patient and understanding, and helped me settle into the new work environment. We got along very well and she became more than just my supervisor. Aisha was my mentor, friend and confidante, always ready to offer her support, advice and help.

I remember in April 2007, dad was warded in hospital with the threat of prostate cancer looming, and our old German Shepherd Fanny had passed away only days ago. I was a bundle of nerves, fraught with unstable emotions during that period. I had kept the death of Fanny and dad's condition to myself, and Aisha sensed something amiss and asked if I was all right. It only took 2 seconds before the dam broke and my tears flowed too freely. She hugged me and gave me tissues, and said that things would be ok, that my dad would pull through.

And in those few moments when she spoke, I felt a great burden lifted from my shoulders. Her words were a source of great comfort to me.

When I became pregnant with Wei in the later part of 2007, Aisha was the first person in my office I shared the news with. Unfortunately, she soon broke the news that she was leaving the polytechnic (after 10 years of service) to help with her husband's business for a while and after she resigned, we didn't communicate much as we were both busy. Plus I was juggling with an exhausting pregnancy, older kids and work. I invited her for Wei's 1st month celebrations but she was busy too. And we didn't meet after that.

So Mary literally dropped the bomb when she told me that Aisha passed away last Saturday evening. My reaction was of shock: WHAT? HOW? WHY? I had no idea that she was sick, and that she'd trouble with her kidneys. I really wanted to attend her funeral, but there wasn't anyone to take care of the baby and it wasn't a wise to bring Wei along so I missed the chance to offer her my last respects.

Then again, perhaps it was a blessing that I didn't go. I'm very sure I'd be traumatised by the sight of her lifeless body. I want to remember her as a cheerful, bubbly, lively, loving and big-hearted person who gave endlessly and selflessly. She had an infectious and hearty laugh, and she was impossible to miss. But most of all, she'd touched the hearts and lives of all who'd come into contact with her, including myself.

It's been a few days, and life's gone on for us but the unspoken truth is that we're shakened. As of this moment, my Facebook status reads: "Y.C. Teo prefers to celebrate the life and times of the late and great MDM AISHA HUSSAIN instead of mourning her sudden, shocking passing away."

Aisha, thank you for your kind words and support, your guidance, patience and understanding. And I pray that you've found peace. You will be painfully missed.

Aisha Hussain (1962 - 2009)

Taking hours for minutes

2009-03-09T18:48:00.002+08:00

I can breathe a little easier now.

During last Friday's Board of Examiners' meeting, I sat in the front row of the lecture theatre because I needed to power up my notebook to type the official meeting minutes. Also, I didn't think the battery would last more than 2 hours and thankfully I didn't take any chances because the whole session lasted over 4 hours!

The BOE minutes were required for checking and editing first thing Monday morning so I'm glad I brought my notebook down because the minutes were about 3/4 completed by the end of Friday's meeting. I just needed to spend time to reconstruct some sentences and check for factual inaccuracies.

Much as I dread to bring work home, I really had not much of an option since the minutes are expected to be out early on Monday. Plus, the hub offered to pick me up from work so I lugging around an extra file won't hurt.

On a side note: I grudgingly took over the wheel and drove back home - with the hub sitting beside me, of course. The fact that I'm trying this now is proof that I survived the 10 minute journey. A few baby steps at a time and hopefully in a few months I'll be confident enough to handle the car alone, I hope!

Anyway, on Saturday night (read: midnight) when the kids were finally asleep, I gathered my file and flipped through the reports with the intention of completing the minutes. To my utmost horror, the MS word programme crashed on me and I couldn't even open my file! It's been giving me loads of problems and I've even un-installed/re-installed the programme a few times.

Boy, was I hopping mad! That was my only window of opportunity to finish up my minutes since there's no way I can fiddle about with the computer when the kids are awake.

Since I was up and couldn't go to sleep, I created a Facebook Group for Woofy's Corner. Now that the hub owns the pet shop 100%, I thought I'd do my part to help him with some publicity for the business.

On Sunday, I came back to the campus to pick up my office notebook but couldn't squeeze out any time to work on the meeting minutes...

...until 4am this morning. Yes, I was up at 4am. It was peaceful and quiet, with no distractions and I thought I could finally finish up typing the minutes.

But I was sooooooo wrong.

At about 5am, the baby woke up wailing because she couldn't find her automatic milk dispenser. And then at 5.45am, it was Xian's turn to get ready for school. After Xian left with the school transport at 6.20am, I rushed back to try finish up, only to be disturbed when Wei screamed again for milk at about 6.45am.

*Sigh*

To cut a long story short, I managed to tidy up my minutes (on my way to work and in office)and sent them out at 8.45am. So far, there have been 2 rounds of revisions, and there are 3 more supervisors to go before I can upload the minutes into the system.

But at least the tough parts are done and I can relax for a bit before I start preparing for the new term.

Little Petals

2009-03-05T18:20:00.002+08:00

After fiddling about with Windows Movie Maker, I decided to pull out one of the old vids to give it a makeover.

This is one of Xian as a flower girl. She was about 4-and-a-half years old then when I filmed her with my camera. She's turning 7 in May this year.

*Sigh* My firstborn's growing up too fast!

Flight of Fancy

2009-03-04T12:23:00.004+08:00

Last Saturday I took some videos of Wei with my camera and decided to produce a short clip of her crawling up and down the staircase.

Enjoy. :)

March in, results out soon

2009-03-03T12:14:00.005+08:00

Well, whaddya know? We're now in the month of March!

The last few weeks I've been rushing through marking, script moderation, results processing and reports etc. All too soon it would be the official end of yet another semester.

Many students don't realise this, but the academic staff are busiest after the exams. That's when the "fate" of the students are debated upon. As part of the exam results processing committee, I'm also involved in the administrative aspects of this rigorous exercise to ensure that, simply put, the students get what they rightfully deserve.

It sounds cruel and I don't mean it in a terrible way but it's obvious that some of the students are playing the system. They do minimal work (or nothing at all) at the expense of their other classmates and hope to get away with it. In such obvious cases, their bad results are a true reflection of their effort.

Of course, there are instances when these "free-riders" get away with a grade they shouldn't have been awarded. But I always believe that when these people get off their bums and try to make a living, they'll have to deal with other aspects of survival. And their honeyed words and truckload of excuses will only work for a while before their true colours are revealed. To these kids, I wish them all the best because they need more than luck to get by.

Granted, getting distinctions and good results don't always guarantee success. But that's the first step in kick starting a career. Someone with an average report card is usually seen in a better light than one whose results show too many 'D's and 'F's.

Anyway, my nightmare begins tomorrow. That's when the exam systems will close and the processing starts.

Looks like I need to stock up on more chocolates.

twisted and bruised

2009-02-27T22:16:00.008+08:00

I twisted my ankle yesterday just before I left for work in the morning.

Kinda silly actually. Wen was acting up (4th time this week) and fussing so by the time she got ready for breakfast, I was almost late again for my transport. In my rush, I stepped on my slippers while trying to open the shoe cabinet to grab my heels. And that's when it happened.

I hobbled out of the house and caught the bus in the nick of time and didn't think very much about my left ankle because I thought the pain would subside after a while. So I went about my usual activities at work and continued to walk around, ignoring the niggling pain.

It was only after lunch when a few of my colleagues noticed me moving awkwardly. That's when I looked down and realised that my left ankle was slightly bruised and swollen. I called the hub and he suggested I visit his regular "Tui Na" 推拿 expert Henry whose office is at Chinatown.

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeks. I hate this form of Chinese Massage where they knead, push, stretch the muscles. The hub knows my threshold for pain during these "Tui Na" sessions is pathetic although he can't understand it especially since I survived 3 natural childbirths without the use of epidural.

Anyway, I decided to go ahead and left office at 4pm (at the advice of my colleagues and supervisors) before the ankle got worse. The hub accompanied me for the "Tui Na" to lend me some moral support - although I think he was more interested to see my reaction during the session.

All I can say is that I let my dignity fly out of the window 5 minutes into the massage. I grimaced in pain as Henry kneaded, pushed, stretched and massaged my left ankle. Halfway through my tears were flowing freely and I was whimpering like a baby. He's obviously very seasoned and even rightfully commented that I had a previous injury years ago which I hadn't bothered about.

Before I left, Henry smiled and said that it would take about 2 days for my ankle to heal as it really wasn't very serious as I hadn't broken any bones. "No need to come back unless it still hurts after a few days." I made a mental note that I wasn't coming back.

This morning when I woke up, my ankle was red and still slightly bruised, with a light swell but I went back to work:

I could move about albeit a little slowly. By the end of the day, I wasn't limping about as much, and walking up and down the stairs wasn't too difficult. I'm quite confident the ankle will heal soon and more importantly, I won't have to visit Henry again.

Hub, be my Valentine!

2009-02-15T08:09:00.003+08:00

It was Valentine's Day yesterday.

Over the years, the routine of celebrating the much-hyped and commercialised event with dinners and presents has somewhat lost its lustre and I no longer care very much about it.

Perhaps I'm just too jaded and overwhelmed by my multiple roles (mum, wife, daughter, DIL, educator, work slave etc) to be enthusiastic with a day's celebration of love. And it's hard to be in a romantic mood when 4/5 of my waking moments is spent worrying about whether the kids have finished their homework, what the girls want to eat for breakfast, how I can race against time to complete my marking and other administrative work, what I can do to help out since the hub's business is gradually slowing down because of the financial crisis, what I haven't done which I'm supposed to etc.

and the other 1/5 of my time spent in trying to keep track of the growing list of issues to worry about and keeping my sanity afloat.

Simply put, I'm old. And my priorities in life have changed.

Honestly, the thought of buying a gift or having a special meal with the hub didn't even cross my mind this year! And I'm ashamed of that too.

I'd taken leave on Friday for a Refresher Course to familiarise myself with driving again and the hub suggested we meet for lunch at his office after that. We also had to take Wei to the doctor's as she was suffering from a severe case of nappy rash and the diaper cream we've been using didn't seem to work.

On my way to Chinatown (where he works), I got off at Dhoby Ghaut station along the North East line to stop by Plaza Singapura's Dorothy Perkins. I had a $10 voucher to use by Sunday and bought a belt (because my jeans keeps falling off and unlike the fashionable youths, I don't intend to show my coloured knickers to the rest of the world).

But that detour cost me about 40 minutes and the hub was non-too-pleased because I had ruined his plan: he wanted to take me to the China Square Central Sushi Tei outlet for a leisurely lunch before bringing Wei to the doctor's but we were running on a tight schedule because I'd taken too long to reach town. :(

We still managed to have a quick lunch at Sushi Tei though. The hub drove back to Serangoon Gardens (there's an outlet there) because it was closer to our home and we could grab Wei quickly after our meal before the clinic closed at 4pm.

The hub wanted me to try the Hokkaido Chirashi Don - they were having a Hokkaido Promotion at Sushi Tei - and the dish consists of Sake (salmon), Uni (sea urchin), Ikura (salmon roe), Nama Hotate (Japanese scallop) and rice.

What can I say? It was a mmm-mmmmmmmmm-licious Valentine's Day treat.

The hub *really* knows me well.

On our way home, the hub and I reminisced over our courtship days and how we'd try to outdo each other in the gift-giving department and Valentine dinners. Back then, everything seemed like a big deal and oh-so-important!

So much has changed in 10 years. I suppose this is just part and parcel of the circle of life. But I must count my blessings and thank my lucky stars for marrying someone who may not be perfect, but who's perfect where it matters most: loving me for who I am and knowing that I'm not perfect either.

25 tidbits about me

2009-02-12T17:15:00.002+08:00

There's no escape. I've been tagged too many times in Facebook to do this, so here goes!

Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.

1. I was up this morning at 3 a.m. and have been awake since. I figured that since I'd to wake my eldest daughter for school at 5.40 a.m. there really is no point in going back to bed.

2. Being a mum of 3 girls = money saved on kids' clothes. Plenty of hand-me-downs for the baby.

3. I'm a breastfeeding mum. My older girls were on 100% breastmilk and were weaned off at 25 months. Since baby Wei's probably going to be my last kid, I'll let her decide when she wants to stop.

4. Strangely, I'm much slimmer now after 3 kids than I was before I got married. Why? Because I breastfeed.

5. I've been married for 10 years. To the same man. ;)

6. I think I'm the most ungirly girl my hub's ever known and I sometimes wonder why he married me because I'm also the world's worst housekeeper.

7. And if the hub had to survive on my cooking daily, he'd definitely put on weight because he'd most likely have dinner outside FIRST before coming home and then pretend to pick at my unpalatable dishes. :(

8. I own a collection of about 150 Lord of the Rings Action Figures. They're all in mint condition (still in original packaging) and peeking out of my cramped bookshelves. If I had the space, I'd love to build a shrine somewhere in my home so that I can display them in their full glory.

9. I get a kick out of watching visitors' facial expressions when they ask about my LOTR collection and mistakenly assume my hub's the one who's into the toys: Yeah, I know it's more of a guy's thing.

10. Needless to say, my all-time favourite movie is Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Of the 3 movies, I enjoyed The Two Towers most.

11. My favourite LOTR movie character is Legolas, played by Orlando Bloom (when he was a nobody).

12. But the character I can most relate to is Éowyn, the Shield Maiden of Rohan. She utters the girl-power line "I am no man!" just before she slays the Witch-king of Angmar, also known as the Lord of the Nazgûl.

13. I've been interrupted 4 times while writing this: once by Wei who needed her calcium fix, once by Xian who refused to get dressed to go to school, and once by Wen who insisted that I brush her teeth. And then it was time for me to go to work!

14. I give my kids many crazy nicknames. Monsterina, Rascalrella and Terrorliza. Vampiria, Urina, Salivia. Gong-Gong, Bom-Boms, Pom-Pom etc. Collectively, they're known as Pootsies. Don't ask me why or how I came up with these silly names.

15. I used to be a sprint champ and won gold in both 100m and 200m in the National Track & Field Championships in 1996. That was before I became too fat to run competitively.

16. I represented my JC in Tennis but we weren't a strong team and never made it past the first round. I also played Tennis for the hall during my NUS days.

17. I love German Shepherds and have 2 of them at home now.

18. Small, "yelpy" dogs irritate me.

19. If I weren't a teacher/lecturer, I'd love to be a writer. Either way, I won't make much money.

20. I believe I'm one of the few people around who actually love their jobs. And I think I'm good at what I do too.

21. I hate to drive though I've got a license. Unfortunately, I've got to take a Refresher Course because I've to start chauffeuring the girls around. :(

22. My favourite food: it's a toss up between Uni (Sea Urchin) and Salmon Sashimi.

23. I'm an only child. Perhaps that's why I decided to have more kids.

24. I have a collection of 43 miniature Strawberry Shortcake dolls and 36 Smurfs, plus the fruit-themed houses (for the Strawberry Shortcake community) and mushroom houses (for the Smurfs). Had them since I was 8 years old but don't have space to display them now.

25. I'm a chocoholic. :)

The "D" word

2009-02-10T17:47:00.010+08:00

I’ve finally done the deed. It’s something I’ve been putting off for years and each time someone suggested picking it up, I’d brush it aside with a truckload of excuses.

Why, I even offered to have more babies in exchange for not doing this! But now that I’ve more or less decided I’m done in the birthing department, I’ve run out of valid reasons.

Curious to know what I've been avoiding for the past 10 years?

Driving.

Ha.

I got my Class 3 Driving Licence in December 1997 and used to drive my Dad's company van during the weekends when I gave private tuition. Unfortunately I met with an accident (though I didn't suffer any broken bones) and after that traumatising experience, I steered away from driving completely.

In fact, the only driving I'm really capable of these days is driving the hub up the wall by my decision not to drive!

Honestly, I'm happy zipping about on buses, trains and cabs because the public transportation in Singapore is pretty efficient. I have no desire to own a car, much less drive one.

But now that the kids are older and have to be rushed from swimming, piano and enrichment lessons, it's hard to avoid my chauffeur responsibilities. And these days, the hub's got his hands full with work and the pet shop, and sometimes he has to re-arrange meetings and plans just so that he can ferry the kids up and down to their activities.

It dawned onto me during the weekends that it's time for me to face my ridiculous fears about manoeuvring a motor vehicle.

I checked out the various websites for Refresher Courses available and decided to sign up with Comfort DelGro Driving Centre as they had a Kovan Branch just outside my home.

And before I changed my mind, I quickly called the centre for enquires yesterday and they informed me that there were 2 last-minute cancellations which I could take over on Friday and Saturday. So immediately after work, I zoomed straight to the centre to register for the Refresher Course (a minimum of 2 lessons although I'm pretty sure I need more than that to feel safe on the roads).

There. I did it. All for the sake of the kids.

Now the real litmus test is on Friday when I actually get behind the wheel.

So not looking forward to it. :(