Long haul daysss...

From this week onwards its gonna be long haul working hours. Work from 8am-7pm, 3 times a week. Well take it as earning extra pocket money, always comfort myself.

The management had announced, this year no bounus- as usual. Given bounus or not, does'nt really bother me as i'm just a part-timer. But for the full time tchers, i can tell that they are not happy at all. The FT tchers have slogged wif the cc for many years, at least sld award them wif sumthing "you ku lao, mei gong lao". I can understand ur disappiontment ladies. (Hugs)
We are proposing an incentive report to the management, perhaps there might be an awaiting surprise??!! heee..

Next year, Val and i will be taking the Kindergarten class again.

Next year- 2009 will be a time for me to make my decision. It will be a turning point for me in my career.

Excursion

Friday - Excursion to Frog Farm & Farmmart

Thanks to our lucky stars, there were minimium hippcups for this excursion. Everything went well. This time, my colleagues & i agreed it was the most 'Stress-Less' excursion as we need not SING on the bus. The 'saboh gang' Vin & Kz were in the other sch bus driven by jo hahahaha....Boss not arnd, nva kanna saboh, the feeling was Gooood... :p

The weather was kind to us despite Ch Newsasia reported of thunder storm in the afternoon. Parents bought quite a bit from Frog farm and Farmmart. Gald they enjoyed the outing.

Back at centre, bathe chn & tuck them to nap. I've forgotten to bring my house hairdryer, Opps! so i used centre's. The boys had a great idea of towel dry kid's hair then come to me for blow dry. Kz was fast enuf to place more chairs. The whole senerio seem like a factory production in operation :)

After work, spend time wif dh. We had frog porridge for dinner in Balestier area. Mmmmm..

Somethimes when I kanna touched....

Confirm going to Frog Farm then lunch @ Farmmart. I'll be overlooking my K kids.

Have keeping it for awhile till today. Kanna touched by Aiden-a pg boy. He glided/squeeze his hands down my chest area! Yesterday walk past him then i kanna smacked at the butt! This was'nt the first time. I was the only target :( towards other tchers he dare not. Dunno why....
Initially I was angry by his action, but later, i sympathised him. Thinking of many aspects abt this child- parental guidience, family teachings....etc His parents simply 'boh chap'......

Hope this child is able to stop such ruly actions before he gets older. haiz.....

An unfortunate event

We are surpose to go to Hay Dairiy Farm for our sch excursion this Friday, unfortunately, those goats are being quaretine till next week. The farm tour is cancelled without prior notice! Thank goodness Cat called the farm......urggg!! Bad service!!

Having 3 days to go, we must think of something....FAST! After many searches from the web, we zero down to - Jurong frog farm and Farmmart. Went to nevigate the frog farm after work. The place which i've been there 2 years ago, seems the same....very 'lork kok'- dilapdated. Went Farmmart, with a little luck, we found this place called Zero Pest Control Educational tour. This is kind of new to me. In general, its a place for kids to have an awareness of pest in Sinagpore and how to prevent it. They have a 'live' rat and a 'live' mini phython. Creepy~~~

The organisers are Cat & Val - to go Frog Farm? OR Farmmart Pest tour? Make ur decisions ladies.... lunch confirm booking @ Farmmart resturant.

Due to the last minute changes, we are going on an extremely tight budget. Hope to see some miracles today....

A new found place

Our starter- Mushroom in honey mustard dressing. Yum!!

The house red wine

Luv the bar counter

Daily specials

Timbre@ The Substation

We checked out this cool pub at Armenien street y'day. (near Fort Canning Park) It's call Timbre@ The Substation. My friends and i love the open air embience. They have 'live' band which starts at 9.45pm daily. Drinks and food was superb! The crowd are young, mostly ppl in their late 20s-early 30s. The happy hours prices are attractive. Their house red wine is S$38.00 per bottle. Its was a 2006 Californian red, very smooth and a hint of sweetness aftertaste. A great hang out place wif friends. Oh yes, it can be consider as a family pub whereby there's no age limit, even baby is allow. There was ONE baby there. Baby in a pub?? New age parents?? yah rite! Anyway, its a good place for chilling out and will definitely come again ^-^

Gifts

Today i woke up feeling refreshed and energised. Brought ds for swimming lesson and i swam too. I did 10 laspes (horizontally) at my best liao. I must admit that i've not been into sports for quite awhile. Some friends told me i've gained weight. Even a little girl in my centre said so...boo hoo... Better do sumthing!!

I was apprehensive abt the party which i gave my reasons in my earlier post. However, after knowing from cat and the brithday gal that she had a great time, i rest my case. Words like

'Surprised', 'Happy', 'Fun', 'Unforgettable' was what she claimed. She liked our gift very much. (black crystal necklace) which I've not seen it :( Cat told me i sld have come to the party. She felt young again....Cat, u very old meh?? Lol..... there will be opportunities for us to meet again.

Today looking out at ppl on the road..."Ren Hai Mang Mang". I started to think of ppl in my life, be it young or old. Suddenly felt the love, joy and indomitable spirit of me in every step of the way.

Friends who have been with me for years, friends who i just knew not long ago but felt connected, and other friends who come and go. You ppl play an important part of my life and i thank you for that.

How this blog was created also thanks to a young man. No doubt he's in his teens, he is unusually mature for his age. He has showed me his commitment to his childhood best friends and keeps it alive everyday. This kind of bonding between friends are remarkably rare in our society. Keep those fire burning, my friend. U are a living example for many to share. Smiles....

Somehow or rather, I find ppl who are non-Singaporeans more loyal and they will be there for u when u need them. They are more sincere and harbours no ill intentions towards friendship. My thanks to a dear friend who used to be my colleague. In the working world, eventhough there were many temptations, backstabbing, boot-licking and of course, 'female enviro' gossips, but ultimately, we stayed true to each other.

"Dear friend, I prayed for you that the plans u have in mind will come true one day and that u and your family members will prosper from it."

As we grow older and wiser, we are able to see more clearly what's really important in life. We appreciate more deeply in human experience, be it Love or Hate. Happy or Sad. We live more fully in the moment.

Friends are such beautiful gifts in my life and i have come to appreciate their openess, compassion and wisdom. Even our ' the other half ' , we started as friends too, right :p

This blog will be richly documentated on the part and parcel of my life. May it touch and inspire anyone who has taken their precious time to view my blog. Luv u always & faithfully!

Who's from China?

--Joke of the day-- Fri 5 Dec

This afternoon, I sat in wif our Head tcher A for an interview. The interviewee thought A was from Mainland China. From the side of my eyes, i cld see A's face turning BLACK...kanna mistaken as a CHINA aunty from an outsider, tonight sure cannot sleep. Ha!

I was hesitating whether to correct the interviewee or not. And I did, "hao ren zhuo dao di" :p

After the interview, A quickly ran to the Full-length mirror, examine herself from top to toe. Bet this joke is gonna to last for 1 week or more. Let's see.....hehehhe!!

Pic- Hk

Dinner in a local stall (Temple street) Luv the seafood-wee wee prawns & scallops! Mmmm...

Ngong Ping 360 snap shot inside the cable car.

Hong kong Island. Taken at Ocean Park.

Mickey Mouse train to Disneyland, Hk.

Busy Street in Kowloon, HK. At a bus stop to go Sha Tin Town.

Dinner at Yoshinoya HK, their winter hotpot promotion.
You gotta cook ur own beef. Yummy....

It's a hard knock life

Went back to work today. (8am-2pm) After a long hoilday, the feeling of returning to work was always good. When i stepped into centre, Jo updated me on stuffs and also shared wif me the no. of kids withdrawing from the centre next year. To my dismay, the no. of kids to go was astonishing! I guess those parents are gearing up to brave next year's bad economy or maybe they have found a better learning ground for their kids. Of course, all parents want the best for their kids, but have they ever thought of the child's position? The environment adaptation? Learning abilities? I'm not trying to condemn ppl here...but hey spare a thought for the kids. Or perhaps a greener pasture will do them good???

Vin looked shock to see me... lol ... but i already knew he was coming as i met up wif cat y'day. She shared wif me abt work stuff, jj b'day stuff and some personal stuff. :p
Vin and I chatted quite a bit. It was a nice feeling. Our friend also boasted abt his 'Psychic' abilities which seems so profoundly TRUE... Lol...lol...his description of the scenerio sounds pretty hilarous :D "Vin The Guru" ^-^

Something sad happened today~ a colleague was ask to leave with immediate effect. Its the first case that i've witness after 3 yrs working in the centre. She came bearly 2 mths. In the
pre-school industry, if one staff lay hands on a child, its a dead end. Furthermore another child has seen the teacher's wrong doings. Such a pity. Wish u all the best.

Still pondering whether to go jj's d'day as i am not so keen on BBQ foodies. Furthermore, I have this gut feeling that it's gonna be quite restricted on certain ways.

<Shouting out loud> "Hey ppl get a grip! Its a BIG gal's birthday bash, no doubt she missed her childhood b'day but will simulating a kiddy b'day party really impress her? Somemore have her dress up and make pretend to drive her to a posh resturant for fine dining....OMG!! Perhaps we just wanna satisfy our own merry making, will JJ be ok?? She's a nice gal and i luv her as a friend.

Birthdays to me holds a very significant part of my life. Its to celebrate our birth life, an additional no. to ur age, to become older and wiser and of course, to have loads of drinks, food, hang loose, music and fun- in allcare 'xing mah'??

Sori ppl if i've offended anyone, i apologise. This is my blog and i pour my feelings out here- be it good or bad, no offence okie! luv ya.....

I enjoyed myself on this HK trip. Everything we planned went well and the transition was smooth. I marvelled on the improvement of their public transportation. Directions were clear and precise- in 3 languages, Cantonese, English and Pu Tong Hua. The station staffs were friendly and helpful. They gave us suggestions and also taught us some short cuts routes to save a few bucks. Lol...

Its been a decade since i smelt Hk and it still looks familar to me.
Where to dine, shop and sight- see, no problem. Hmm perhaps next time, i'll jio some friends for a short get away. The night life in HK is also very happening....heeee :P

Thank God, we did'nt carry on our flight to BKK. We planned to spend a few days there. Hb's Thai staff alerted him that the airport is in code "RED". Thank you my friend.

I was too sadden by the news abt the S'porean gal lawyer that got killed in Mumbai. May her humble soul rest in peace.

What will be the future hold for the world and man-kind, its unpredictable, unforseen.
To me, let everyday be a happy day. As i read this article from a health magazine "Sleepless In Singapore"

40 percent of ur worries may nva happen
30 percent of ur worries are past events and nothing can be done abt them
10 percent of ur worries are abt petty things
12 percent of ur worries are abt ur health or diet, weight, etc. and will only aggravate the situation. So, stop worrying TODAY!

I believe "Staying true to oneself is good but believeing and delivering what u preach is better."
Cool quote hor...created by ur sincerely. :P

I've so much wishes for Christmas this yr. However my pirority is my dad's health. Wish him good health and we can spend many more happy years togather. Huggies.....

Going back to work tomorrow. Get pay yipee...

The great escape

--Day 5-- (Lantau Island)

Woke up early as we planned to visit the Giant Buddha, out of Disneyland area. This is a new attraction- The Ngong Ping 360. It was a cable car ride that offers 360 degree panamona views of North Lantau and the South China Sea. The ride to Ngong Ping Village took abt 25 mins, distance of 5.7 km. Although it was man-made, the structure was magnificient! We were captivated by the views of Tung Chung Bay, HK International airport, Ngong Ping plateau, Tian Tan Buddha and Ngong Ping Village.

As it was in the morning(9am), the mountain air was clean and fresh. However, upon arrival at Ngong Ping villiage, it was extremely windy and cold (temp 18 degress i think) though the sun was shinning brightly. We quicken our pace to reach the Giant Buddha as fast as our semi-frozen legs could carry us. Brrrrr .... Finally reached our destination haffing and puffing. One group of ang-moh, Abc sch kids came towards us. Their teacher wanted them to converse wif us in Mandarin and we obliged. Fyi- I was one doing all the answering while my 3 'Golden mouths' stood behind me to listen....urggg!

As if braving the windy walk was not enuf, going up to the Giant Buddha was another challenge. There were a total of 259 steps to reach the top. Two hundred and fifty nine steps of Sincerity, Faith, Determination and of course my stamina. We got to the top within 15 mins, no sweat :)
Again it was super windy, hmm i wonder how many knots/hr? The wind was so strong that i felt 'lifted' frm the ground!

Back to Nogong Ping Village, took a break at Starbucks for a cuppa then proceeded for the cable ride back to the terminal. Now my great escape start- the cable car ride going back was scary~
As I kept mentioning abt the W-I-N-D, it really caught us this time. Up the cable ride the wind was howling like crazy, the cabin was just 4 of us. No one talked. We were concentracting. I could feel the cabin swaying left and right. Imagine up in a high attitude, cable car swaying to and fro. Inside me i was praying hard to quickly get back to land. I feel like crying....for HELP!! But how to? We are on our own. Well if things really happen, we perish togather as a family. That's cool too right?!! " Ok, stop letting ur imagination go wild, Mavis. Nothing will happen."
Indeed, we got back in one piece, safe and sound ^-^
This is gonna be my First and the Last cable ride ever. Cross my heart. FOC, no Thanks. I rather take a bus next time....

Hong Kong Disneyland

~~Day 4~~ Hong Kong Disneyland, Lantau Island.

-Disneyland Hollywood Hotel-

We checked into Hong Kong Disneyland Hollywood Hotel. The front desk gave us an upgraded room - sea view. She told us that we could catch the fireworks display at Disneyland from the comfort of our room. We stayed at the highest floor. Cool!!
The room was very comfy, there was a mini bar wif complimentary coffee & tea. They used superior brands like Dilmah for tea and Nescafe gold fr coffee. All the scachets were inprinted wif Disneyland logo. There was a 30 inch LCD Tv wif non-stop disney programmes
(in 3 different languages). I also noticed on the Tv control pad list, Ch 32 was specially for kids at bedtime wif soothing music and bedtime stories....how abt that huh?!! I am impressed. Too bad my kids missed the bedtime Ch. So many things to do where got time to sleep, lol!
The toilet was cute wif all Mickey and Minnie mouse theme toiletries, even the shower curtain. They even have Mickey mouse bedroom slippers in kids and adult sizes for us to bring home. Overall the room is child-friendly wif a touch of class. $$ worth spending.

When walking in the hotel, some disney characters appeared. We took pic wif Goofy. The Mickey themed Cafe served a wide range of international food. We were spoilt of choice. The cutlery set was cute. I like the side-plate as it was Mickey's underpants. lol lol....

--Disneyland--

The shuttle bus to Disneyland comes every 10 minutes. It was abt 15 mins drive to the park.
The magic begins the moment we set foot inside the gates wif all the spectacular attractions of the 4 different themed lands:- The storybook- FanastyLand,
the daring Tarzan exploits- Adventureland,
the futurescapes- Tommorrowland and,
small town America- Main street USA.

The HK disneyland was a small scale theme park, as compared to the one in LA which i had visited. The original one is in Florida- US, where u need 2 full days to complete the whole park.
For HK disney, 1 day is ample. We spend half a day there cuz tml we've got another full day. The things were expensive. A popcorn cost S$8.00 and drinks- mineral water S$5.00- standard price. hiaz....

I'll always tell myself, going on holidays, "Dun worry, be happy. Money can be earn but u can't buy memories and time" ^-^

C'tnue frm previous page....

On the second night, hb suggested we sld try out their local 'zhu chao'. We decided to plonk ourselves to one which was crowded. Guess this stall must be good. Ordered "Lai Liu Har"- wee wee prawns (deep fried, little meat but very sweet) Fresh scallops that came wif their shells. (fresh scallops pour over wif loads of crispy garlic and tong feng- shiok!) I ate all the scallops dish as hb was put off by the amt of garlic they put in it. Yum! Yum! Haaaaaa, talk to me :P
Kiddies had sweet and sour ribs, roasted duck and a plate of white veg. The meal was very satisfying after a bottle of their local beer i shared wif hb. "Burp!" excuse me ^-^

We met my hb's childhood good friend, Charles and his wife. They too were holidaying at HK and staying in the same hotel as us! Such pure coincidence lol...Too bad, they were checking out the next morning oresle we could have a drink togather. Well guys, let's catch up at SIN :)

Day 3- Charles told us across our hotel, there was a resturant ( Ming Xin seafood resturant) that serves excellent local dim sum. We trust his taste as he is an avid foodie like me :P
The local start their dim sum as early as 10.30 am till 2.oopm. By the way, there's no time difference between HK and SIN. We ordered their traditional HK delicacy like har kao, siew mai, char siew bao, fried carrot cake, rice roll wif char siew, and my fav tasty egg tart. The fish porridge was extremely smooth and tasty, it came in a hot pot. Overall the service was so-so. "Hey what can u expect in a local non-english speaking envioronment!!" but the food came fast and every dish was hot. I simply cannot resist the dan tart-flaky pastry while the inside is smooth filling with sweet taste of egg. Simply heaven~~~~
The price was resonable. We spent arnd HK$ 270.00 / S$57.00.
If in SIN, to dine at Xin Fu resturant can easily cost us S$100.
After a hearty meal, we check out of Nathan hotel and headed to HK Disneyland.

~~Mavis says~~

We had a pleasent stay at the comfy 4 star Nathan Hotel. The toilet amenities were always well replenished when we came back to our room. As this hotel has undergone a multi-millon facelift, the rooms are very clean and bath towels are new. Sori, me here are very particular on such areas....."Must be my Taurus instincts lah" :P
I'll definetly book this hotel again and reccomand my friends. 2 thumbs up!!

Hong Kong Island and Kowloon, not much changes though. Just notice ppl in the city areas are able to converse in English better now. The sales ppl are more friendly and helpful. Well, somehow gotto thank the China market as this sparks the HK ppl to be competitive so as to boost their economy and to take the humble pie.
>>>>>>>> toot-tooo-toot -toooo HK Disneyland here I come >>>>>>>>

Hong Kong- Live it. Love it!

After a winter break in Hong Kong, I can finally sit back, relax and blog..

--Day 1-- (Hong Kong Island, Kowloon area)
Feelings: excited. Misses: my mum & dad, ppl @ allcare- like real lol...

Pat drove us to the airport at 8am. We took SQ as we always did. This time (SIN-HKG) i did'nt see any familiar faces. :(

Flt time to HK was 3 1/2 hrs so we have plently of time to honk arnd the cabin. I managed to catch movie "Mamma Mia" which i've missed in Sin.

It was a smooth landing- i'm very scaptical abt Take-offs and Landings even when i was flying back then. These are actually the crucial minutes of Life and Death~~~~haha but its TRUE!!
(At this point, u'll knw the ability of the Captain's mobility skills Ha!)

Reached HK, it was my 1st time in the new airport. Looks quite similar as BKK's airport. Of course, it was so much brighter and bigger as compared to the old one. We took the express train all the way to Kowloon station. At the station, we took another free shuttle bus to our hotel. Super convenient plus save HK$$ as compared to taking a cab!! Airport to Hotel estimated journey time travelled by cab is arnd 1 hr plus.

We stayed at Nathan Hotel. The location was fantastic as the eateries are just a stone throw away. Seeing there were kids, the hotel manager upgraded us to a double deluxe room, awesome! We quickly unpacked our stuffs and headed down to the bustling streets.

Miu kai- temple street and Nam Yan Kai- men's street, all just behind our hotel,
to look-see, look-see. The stall ppl are much patient and they allow ppl to touch their stuff eventhough you have no intention to buy. We bought some socks, little souveniors here and there. The tempreature in HK is arnd 18-24 degrees so it was'nt so cold. In the day time we went out in our Tees and jeans whereas the Hong Kongers wore their winter jackets and sweaters. Even till night, the weather was just fine :)

As i was walking down the busy street, i was able to recall familiar sights. After all these yrs, Tsim Sha Tsui area where i stayed as SQ crew did'nt change a bit. The familiar HMV, Esprit and my fav HK porridge stall are still there!!! The Chirstmas lightings were up at Lane Crawford- a famous walking street, many HK dramas were flimed there. No movie star this time lol....

--Day 2 and Day 3--
Feelings: aggitated-> frustrated-> glad.

Second day went to Ocean Park. It was one of Southeast asia's largest aquariums and theme park. My dd wanted to see the cuddly panda bears but unfortunately the place was under construction. Hb and son are thrill seekers, so they went for the Mine train ride and the heart-throbbing the Abyess Turbo Drop. Of course, my heart almost drop too...yikes

As Ocean Park was one of the tourist attraction, we were kind of 'suai'- 'unlucky' in mandarin. We kanna the China crowd. Went to watch the Dolphin Encounter show, despite coming early to get good seats, those mainlanders just jump queue, literately shouting at their counterparts to come and seat with each other!! Those groups are'nt 1 or 2 groups but 4 tour groups. Imagine 1 tour gp = 30 ppl, 4 gps??!!

We were sitting right smack in the middle of one tour group!!! "Tx to my hb lah"....We did'nt enjoy the show... :(

Gald that those mainlanders exit themselves before the show ends so we were able to catch the finale, but still it was a letdown. They need to brush up their English as it was muffled. We ended the day with a cable car ride with spectacular view from the lowlands area.

My view: On Ocean Park, Once is enuf!! Thumbs down .