Camp

Went camping at East Coast of Friday. It's Sunday now and I'm still recuperating from my back ache. Anyway, Adam and Wawa loves it and I lurve it when its time to go back!

I seem to have problems posting pics into my albums so I guess I'll just post them in my blog.

Adam's Kids Fiesta

Was looking at the pictures I took during Adam's graduation concert. Was really happy for him. He really is a nice boy. He has lots of friends and he enjoys being in their company. I can also see that they enjoy being with him too.
It was a grand affair. More than 100 tables. It started from 11.30 am to 5.00 pm. It started with a bang and ended with lots of tears, among teachers, parents and pupils alike. I can't blame any of them, it was such an emotional moment. If any of them are reading this, I would like to thank Ustzh Ain, Tch Ain, Tch Azlin and all of the staff in Iman Tampines for they have not just touch Adam's life but ours too.
Its is this moments that we longed to hang on to. These moments that we cherished and wished they would never go away. But reality always prevails. These moments will passed. Adam may have met his friends for the last time that day. It saddens me as I too have lost touch to too many good friends. I remember the heart wrenching moments when I have to let go. I can't express my feeling to anybody then. It was really, a very heartache period.
Anyway, tomorrow is Adam's second day of his holidays. Need to plan activities for him. I wonder what will be new and exciting for him? He has taken an interest in the television and that is one companion that I'm not too proud of. I think I'll have him conduct experiments at home.

Last Concert.

In less than 24 hours, it'll be Adam last concert as a K2 student. After which, we can all look forward in him starting a new chapter in his life, one as a primary school student. How time flies. It was as if it was only yesterday that Adam was in his cot next to our bed. Thinking about how fast he has grown brought tears to my eyes. I wonder if he'll ever sleeps in our bed again, or whether he'll let us hug him again. He is now 6 going on 7. He is a head shorter than one of his kindergarten teacher. That too brought out the tears as I'd remembered the days when he went to school still wearing his diapers.
Tonight, as I lay next to my wife, I noticed her white hairs. I'd begun to notice that we have changed. Adam has changed too. I hope he'd change for the better and I wish the best for him is yet to come. He is only 6, yet he is so mature for his age. I am so lucky and blessed by Allah for this son of mine to come into my life.
Today was Adam's orientation day at Greendale Primary. As usual, I'd expected and received a boring talk by the principal after submitting the necessary documents. Adam is placed in primary 1-1, and he seems to be not the tallest in class. He was led by one of the teachers to his classroom while Su and me has to sit though the talk given by the P on school rules and such.
An hour after which, we then proceeded to pick up Adam from his class. His class is on the second floor right next to a flight of stairs. His was the class nearest to the canteen. and the toilet. He was quite animated when he described what happened in class.
He told us that he visited the toilet, the canteen. When the teacher asked his name, he said his full name which was quite long. He said that even after the teacher made him repeat his name, she still could not find it on the namelist. He was then asked to point out his name on the list, which he did, and noted his register number as well. His register number is 16 out of a class of 30.
We then looked for the school uniform queue which we found to be very long. As we had pre-order his books to be collected this Friday, we decided to buy the uniforms then as well. We had his food for recess to be catered, but that arrangement is for the first two weeks. After which he can choose to buy his own food for recess.
I'd found out that he needs to be school by 7.40am in the morning and he will be dismissed by 1.30pm except on Thurday when it'll be a PLAY day. On Thursday, he will be dismissed at 3.30pm.
All in all, I'm excited that I'm here to begin this new chapter with him. But sadness has yet to lift its finger on me as I recollect the days when he was in the cot sleeping next to me, in my room and that I'll not have those days again.

FC...

≈
This pic showed that on 24th October 2008, I'd travel 341.1km slightly above three quarters. At this time, no additives has been added to the car.The second picture shows that I'd reached 299.8 with the needle quite far off from the three quarter mark. This is the first time I added a fuel additive bought from an Esso outlet in JB.

The third picture showed that I'd travel 391km just as the needle past three quarter mark.
The fourth picture is after I'd added a fuel additive bought from an Esso outlet in Upp Changi Road North.

The last picture showed what I'd got at nearly the half way mark. I put this up for my own records but you may derive your own conclusion if the fuel additives do work or not. And by the way, I'm driving a trajet 2.0l cvvt. The last picture was taken in Esso JB where I refuel with about 46l. That works out to be 10.91km/l. Not much, I know but much better than some Jet who could get 300-400km in one full tank.

Better.

Leg felt better today and was all fired up to go somewhere after being in bed the whole of yesterday. So off we went to Changi, hoping to catch some shots while we were there. Not a good time to take good pictures anyways, the sky was gloomy and the pain was coming on again. So, together with my Adam's 5d and the 20mm 2.8, I tried.
Reached there around 10.30 am and we had the usual, nasi lemak, for breakfast. While we were enjoying our breakfast, the lunch crowd started to build up. The very well know nasi lemak stall at the corner started to snaking queues. I'd prefer the other nasi lemak stall though. So me and my wife had nasi lemak, adam had 4 epok-epok. Together with ice-milo, ice milo dinosaur and a cup of hot teh, we were all set.
We then went for a walk towards the bum boat jetty. I observed several key changes such as the jetty and some parts of the beaches. Adam refused to take the boat to Pulau Ubin so we ended up walking up to the topside of the jetty. Wished we had went in the boardwalk trails. Should have been fun.

Off we went to my in-laws place and from there, we caught High School Musical 3. Honestly, I'd give it a ten for its entertainment value. May be kiddish, but its entertaining. And the plot, well, the plot is real. The move made me flashed back to the period when I was sitting for my A levels. I sure missed my friends. The things that we did together, such as cycling around the island, disturbing the girls and of course, the presentations during GP lessons. They were killers, but I grew fond of them. High School Musical 3. Cool website too.

film

http://photo.net/columns/joshroot/filmtown/

The url above is a new column on using film. As for me, I too missed using it. Maybe for the wrong reasons. Its not that film gives a better picture, its not that film is cheaper, far from it, but film provide less convenience than digital... What??!! I'm complaining that digital is too good... Yeah, its just too good. You could buy almost any P n S and start shooting. Most probably often enough, there will be shots that are acceptable for you and to you. And if there aren't manhy photo editing software are available for you to do some "modification". Digital just takes some of the fun away from taking pictures...
Consider the steps missing when you chose digital.
1. You have to consider which brand, type, iso rating for film...
2. Where to process ur films...
3. The magical or dissappointing moment when you opened that paper mailer with your pictures in it.
4. The fact that if you could not hack it is the results of your skills and not because you do not know how to use your computer.
5. And the fact beatiful sound of film rewinding and advancing in your camera.Sigh...
6. And what about exposure...You really need to know about exposure. With so many auto levels on Photoshop and the likes, who cares? But I for one, you need to care... Because no amt of PS skills could bring a darkened pic back to life...

Exposure, its so important that digital seemed to have staple the sheets of that chapter altogether. I mean, my son could take beautiful pictures as he is able to preview the shots and then make adjustments, but does he know the concepts of f-stops and shutter speeds, the constraints of them...He is 6 years old. He is no genius.

Will continue.

Leg pain

Its 9.05 pm now. About 4-5 hours since my last post. My right leg is still in pain but is numbed somewhat. I still could not walk normally, and I'm having a pretty bad limp. Don't know if I could make it to the toilet. I really should have stayed away from those rempeyek...

Leg pain

Am feeling sharp pain in my right leg now. It came very fast. I think I felt the first sensation of pain about ten minutes before I could not even rest my foot on the floor. No swelling though. Had to limp to the study room to post this entry. Took two 50mg of declofenac and two tabs of colchichine. From experience, it'll take some 2-3 hours before the pain medication takes effect. I can feel some vibration in my leg now. Pain seems to be moving all around in it. Had to ask dad to fetch adam. This is my first attack in more than six months. The longest it has ever been. There was a time when I had attacks every other day. But those atttacks are manageable. I limped to school then.

Oh well, I'm sweating now and I can feel my hearbeat beating very fast. Must be due to the pain.
Will update soon.

General Will

General Will as define by Rousseau is the will of the state and is the product of reason. As such, if an individual who is logical were to come down to reason, he would allow himself to follow the general will as that would be the best decision as decided by the majority. Thus if an individual were NOT to follow the general will, he is thus considered not free. The state has the right to make him be free in forcing him to follow the general will.
For example, during a vote to find the general will of the state as to whether to have a nuclear power station, the vote favours the presence of the nuclear station. This thus becomes the general will. As the general will is a result of logical thinking and reasoning, this is thus taken as the best options a state should take.
If an individual is against the presence of the nuclear station, then his thought run against the "most correct thought". As such, that individual would be wanting something that is against the general will. Acting against the general will is considered as doing something which is wrong, which the individual should not want. Thus that individual is enslaved to his particular will, and as he is enslaved, thus he is not free. The state then has the right to promote freedom by ensuring that that individual is not enslaved and should follow the general will of the people and should allow the presence of the nuclear power station. The state should be allowed to used force as necessary to force the individual to be free. This idea of forcing individuals to be free has lead to totalitarian rules in several cases.
Rousseau.
If a vote has been taken, can we consider Rousseau idea of the general will to be equal to democracy?
Democracy, two similar but with fundamental differences.
Simple democracy, where ever opinions from every individual counts in making decisions. Quite similar to have a family discussions on where to go for family vacations. It is here that democracy differs with Rousseau. Rousseau believes that there should be one options and that options is one that has been voted on by people using logical reasoning. Rousseau does not believe in considering the opinions of many others and that will include their particular wills. For example, the general will of the family are to go and visit Penang, but the son is of an opinion to stay a day at KL. The family hears his opinion and takes that into account. As such they'll be a day or two late to reach Penang. If every member of the family opinions were to be taken into account, the family may not even reach Penang especially when there are many members in the group.
Another drawback of simple democracy would be the fact that EVERY member has to be consulted on EVERY matter that pertains to the state of which that individual in a part of. Would that be a very efficient arrangements. If every Singaporeans opinions were to be noted for every matter, for example, the position of ERP gantries, the type of HDB houses to build, it may be too troublesome. As a result if asking and noting down opinions becomes too complicated, governments may just NOT asked for opinions.
Next we come to representative democracy. In this environment, people elect representatives to enact and enforce laws on behalf of themselves. Would this be considered an environment where the state should be run that the people govern themselves, How does the people govenr themselves when decisions are made for them and not BY them. Decisions are made by the representatives they elected. And thus Rousseau contents that the right to govern themselves are only apparent on the day the vote for their representatives. Here, the people do not vote for laws to be enacted or passed or to be made redundant but to vote for people to be elected into government who then makes decision for them.

Skin

My mom radiotherapy sessions has ended. Besides the fact that she now coughs, unable to eat chicken rice yet, she is in high spirits. Doctors said she is recovering very well. And she still wants to go to JB, I guess things are looking up for her. She has lost some 12 kg since the treatment started but she sure likes the fact that she is smaller than me. That's my mom...

So bad

Been a bad 24 hrs for me. Firstly, I scored only a 51 for my TMAs, that got me really upset. But the one that really got me was the fact that my Melayu is so bad, I can't even complete a K2 assignement for Adam. Sigh...

So for today, I've sent Su to school at 7,00am. After which I bathed and read the newspaper till 9am. Had breakfast with Adam. And now I'm coaching him in his Malay revision. But not after I went to Jalan Kayu to buy eggs. $5 for 30 eggs. Not bad, quite big.
Not being a good tutor though, Adam just said he is hungry. Sigh...
I think we are having nasi lemak today.

Swelling

Body has started swelling again and I don't mean I'm getting fat. The meats and the proteins during the Hari Raya feasting must have crystallised themselves again. Sigh. Now it hurts at my left hips, the sole of my left feet. Went to JB today. Brought mum along. She said that her radio sessions are almost done. I hope the cancer gone. She is such a fighter. I mean, she can't eat, she can't pissed and yet she walks faster than me to take a look at the buffet line. We went to Jalan Padi Emas today to service dad's car. It's near, in fact, next to angsana shopping center in JB. While waiting for the car to be serviced, we had lunch at Osman's restaurant. Wished I had taken some pics. I had mee goreng (very nice), and my mom had beef murtabak (which she took only a bite of) and a bowl of chicken soup. She then pack some rice and dishes for dad. Cost us RM21 for a meal for four. It took about 45 minutes for the car to be serviced. I had the engine oil, the oil filter, the spark plugs and one of the tyres air valve replaced. Cost RM35. Of course, I brought my own oil filter, engine oil, and spark plugs. I usually buy my oil here. But this time, dad chose Mobil 1 5w-30. I'd personally would choose a 0w-20 oil but then. He got it for $13.50 per quart so that means about $54. I'd go for amsoil. Then we went to angsana and it was here that I regret not bringing my cam. The salesgirl at the kuih bahulu outlet has this pair of huge, er slippers (yeah slippers). And she wore the er slippers covers so tight... Oh well. As for me, I bought for Su a tub of bahulu, 10 tabs of declofenac (painkillers), 50 tabs of colchicine (gout medicine) and refresh eyedrops for Su. Smooth driving to the immigration, as usual. Only we were stuck at Singapore customs. As usual. Reached home 2.20 pm. Just enough time for dad to take over the car to send mom for another radiotherapy sessions. As for me, I went up to my parents place and played Total annihilation...again.

SOTA music faculty christmas concert.

Just came back from a concert in SOTA (school of the arts). Its the music faculty christmas concert. One of the piece that they played was the same one in one of Mr Bean's episode. Anyway, the head of the faculty is Dr Joyce Koh. Google her name to find out more.

Love the event. The concert was special for me because of the seating arrangements. Fellow pupils and members of the audience was encouraged to bring their own cushion and sat on the floor. This allow the audience to be real close to the musicians. The musicians, students of the school and some from Singapore Youth Orch, played instruments not native to them. For example, the double bass players are specialising in Chinese musical instruments and the pianist were made to be percussionists. I thought it was cool.

The Principal instead of being seated together with the VIPs sat on a plastic chair together with the audience. Come to think about this, there was no special seating arrangements. Either you sat on the floor, or the plastic chairs or you stood. No class distinction there! The VP because of the lack of space, stood for that hour of performance.

It may not be much, but it symbolised how credit is given where credit is due, at least to me. The credit should be given to the musicians, and those involved in the making of the concert.

The second half saw me within half a meter away from the performace. The music, the noise from those instruments as the notes gel together in harmony seeped into me with an explosive sensation. It was living in a higher plane. I'm so glad I'm given this opportunity to experience this.

Walk-walk

Had a hari raya walk-walk yesterday. It practically blew my mind. Laughed so hard, had problems going to that night. Started at 12nn and I reached home around 10pm. 8 houses. It was really fun. We were really ourselves that day and even the kids chum along nicely. Hope we would do it again.
The day before, had my neighbours in for Hari Raya lunch. That was great too. But not all came, only 4 families. In the evening, had a sort of mini reunion with my nie buds. Have not seen all of them for over 12 years. Met on facebook and I volunteered my place for the meet up. We had roti jala, rendang pinang, tahu telur and a friend brought beef stiks, another bought pizzas and another brought snacks for the kids. Started at 7pm and they left my place around 10-11pm.
Hari Raya sure was a late bloomer for me this year. Was kind of depressed in the beginning and ending as this year, HR was during the exam period. But what an ending. And the food, oh man, the food. I had subsuka, tulang, samosas, gado-gado, lontong goreng, fried kway teow, and not to forget the kuihs and the nuts...oh....the gajus...kacang jawa...oh...
Now I'm just wating for my ankle to swell again.
Met new additions, like dahlila, and the other kids... and oh well, it was such a swell ending, And to top it off, its my exam today, and I am going to die!!!!

Woman murdered.

From the sunday times today.
Malaysian woman murdered in Little India. Seriously in Singapore? People would not believe it but yeah, it happened and many other ghastly JB-like crimes are being committed here. We, the so arrogant lot, who thinks that our northern neighbours are more barbarian than us would best reset our minds. With in the influx of foreign workers, whatever the colour of their languages, its best to have a more open mind that crap happenes, where it may be.
Could not find the link online. Will scan the article later.

19%

I've only got 19% of batt juice left in my laptop, so I do not know how long I got. Woke up at 8 in the morning today. Adam and Su already changed into their swimming attire. I then remembered that it was moi big mouth to suggest swimming on Saturday morning. In the end managed to coax them to go Pasir Ris park and cycle. So there we were having breakfast when my neighbour S and her son L came down and asked whether Adam would like to play some basketball. I suggested Pasir Ris park instead.
So off we went, to Pasir Ris park car park C. 3 adults, 2 kids and 2 bicycles.
There is a stable there and Adam and L fed the ponies. After that we made our way to the playground. Of course, its now we, its them, I had to double back and get the car and then drive the car to car park E. Adam cried foul saying that it's not fair I can use the car while he had to pedal: "Not FAIR!" Reached back home around 11 am and got Adam for whizz club class at 12.00nn.
Risa did a good job in managing the kitchen today as we had some important guest coming in at 2.30pm. They actually came at 4.00pm though but the food was ready. She is now cutting up chicken to prepare for tomorrow. Several groups of important guests coming.
It's 9% now.
See you guys again.
Picture is crappy as it was taken by my mobile phone.

10 minutes

Just spent some quality time with wifey. She was surfing the net and we saw the zoo site. Not bad leh. They have interesting programs coming for this Dec hols. The link is here. . Adam bathed and then our quality time ended.
Anyway, for that ten minutes, I managed to whip up several slices of toasted garlic bread using home made garlic spread.
It was fun while it lasted, well not exactly fun, she said I smell. It's nice to hear she saying that. I mean we must be really closed for her to smell me... Anyway she smell nice.

Breakfast.

Wow! A good start today. Actually, the "good" started yesterday!
Started with going to sleep at the balcony with wife and Adam. Woke up at 12 mn and went back into my room. Wife did not wake up so I had the whole bed to myself.
Chest did not hurt that much so I did have a better night's sleep.
Woken up by my wife at 7.00am...oh so gently...
Re-woken up by Adam, at 7.10am with a toy car in my mouth...oh so ....
Send wifey to school.
Brought Adam to Jalan Kayu to buy eggs...30 eggs for $5. (big though they are)
Came back home, feeling very good.
Bathed and then chased naked Adam into the bathroom...
Watched T.V for ten minutes.
Cooked breakfast!
2 eggs scrambled with onions and sliced cherry tomatoes.
3 slices of toasted multi grain bread smeared oh so lightly with grape jam...
Coffee sweetened oh, so delicately with unrefined brown sugar.
Took me only 10 minutes, less than that actually if I could have walked faster.
Adam had half boiled eggs...he set the table.
What a wonderful day!

Kampung Raya.

The plan was, 5 of the cars would go the Gelang Patah R and R and wait for the other two cars. The brainchild of my father, who is phobic of traffic jams.
So 5 cars were at the R and R area at 8.00 while the other 2, mine and my aunt met them at 9.00. There was no jam...
The plan was to hit straight to Malacca and visit my grand aunt. After that we would drive back southwards to Kahang, where we would visit another of my grand aunt. That was the plan.
What happened was, 7 cars went to Malacca. After saying our good byes, 6 cars drove Southwards back to Pagoh R and R while another headed towards K.L.

Oh by the way, if you drove towards K.L, and you do stop over at Machap, the Cafe sells good toast.

There were 7 cars, all except one were driven by experience drivers. That 1 car was driven by my cousin who happened to have just passed his licensed for about a month and has just gotten his car.

Anyway, what usually happened is, all cars would stop immediately after the toll gates and regroup. But somehow that did not happen that day.
After visiting Malacca, and passing through the toll gates, only 3 or four cars stopped. The fifth car, drove without stopping and we gamely followed, without realising that my cousin has not cleared the gates. I would think that he went towards K.L instead of JB. We only realised that he was not with us about ten minutes into the drive.
We then started to panicked and like all cheap thriller movies, it started to rain. The police too came. It was very drama. And then, we realised that my aunt's car windshield wiper came loose. As such, she can't operate the wiper. So we try and we try to solve this new problem while the current problem is giving us more problems.
My father, then give instructions to head towards Pagoh where we will wait for my cousing to arrive.

This all happened at Ayer Keroh exit. If you head towards K.L, the next exit where you could make a u-turn would be at Alor Gajah.

Once we reached Pagoh, news came that my cousin has passed Alor Gajah and now is about 30 minutes to K.L. When asked why he did not turn out from the highway, the answer was, they did not see any exit. From here, we could sense that panicked has started to set in in that car. We waited for about an hour at Pagoh, and we received word that he made the U-Turn at Seremban.

Oh boy. More drama coming up.

Hari Raya

Its Hari Raya Eid today. So to all who knows me, I wish you guys the best of Eid, and in the spirit of Eid, I forgive you all...and ask the same of you.

Selamat Hari Raya, Maaf Dzahir Batin.

Two more days.

Today, while driving, I asked my son, Adam as to what will be the first thing he'll do when its Hari Raya. "Playground."

Manukka Honey

Su has been sick with a sore throat the past few days. So I have been making her honeyed drinks like honey tea, honey lemon etc etc. I have been using the honey that comes in small glass bottles that was given to her as teacher's day gift. They smelled awful, sourish, but with a fairly sweet taste.
So today, while I was reading the newspapers, saw an ad showing the cost of two of those glass bottled honey. I did not know that they could be so expensive. I mean $49 for two? And these are on offer! I mean, I think those $5 bigger bottles of honey sold in Prime Supermarket should be fine right?
And they come with instructions too, like don't use hot water, don't use metal spoons...Wah!!!

Chicken Rendang

Been trying out this recipe for chicken rendang. My family seems to love it.
If you guys are interested, I can have it done for you.
$12 for a whole chicken cut into 12 pieces.
Good for a family of 4-6 people.
$8 for half a chicken with 6 pieces.
Delivery can be arranged.
Its good if you can give me a two hour lead time.
Accepts cash, personal cheques, but prefer funds transfer through internet banking.
Oh, local orders only ya.
Either leave a reply here, or email me at norsalman@hotmail.com or call me at 96988429.

Chicken Rendang

Been trying out this recipe for chicken rendang. My family seems to love it.
If you guys are interested, I can have it done for you.
$12 for a whole chicken cut into 12 pieces.
Good for a family of 4-6 people.
$8 for half a chicken with 6 pieces.
Delivery can be arranged.
Its good if you can give me a two hour lead time.
Accepts cash, personal cheques, but prefer funds transfer through internet banking.
Oh, local orders only ya.

KPE

Oh man, I love the KPE. Today when I woke up, I was prepared to pay through my nose the ERP charges. I planned to use the KPE for the first time. And I did. It took me just 5-10 minuutes to reach Su's school and the whole trip, to and fro took me less than 30 minutes. No ERP! I went in at tound 7.10 and reached home about 7.45am. It was fantastic. No traffic and I could doodle along at 70km/h. Its a god send! I was so ecstatic seeing that it took me more than an hour to make the same trip to and fro.

m5

I failed my M5 paper. Boo Hoo. Feeling very low now. Feeling very dumb. Supposed to be the easiest paper. Dumb dumb...sigh.

Take Stock

It has been about two months since I resigned. What has happened in my life lately. Well the thing that triggers this reflection was the song I heard from the radio on the way back from JB. I think the chorus starts with here without you baby..da di da..
Oh well.
Anyway, if I were to follow the schedule, I would be a licensed financial planner by the end of next week. That would mean that I would be able to do one of those things that I believe in. Hey, insurance may not be a everyone's cup of tea, nevertheless, it'll helps when you are thirsty right?
But then, my mom's chemo and radio schedule interferes with my class timings. So, I had to forego attending the class. One has to pass 2 papers, M9 and M5 and attend two ITC class to be licensed as a financial planner. I passed my m9 and in a few hours it'll be m5 paper. But I'll have to sit for the ITC class in November though.
Received a letter from LTA, regarding my taxi vocation classes and bus driver vocational class. Did not know that you have to take classes for both. For bus drivers, it is 3 nights followed by a test. To be a taxi, one needs to take classed for 30 days plus an excursion. Hooray, an excursion. Requirements set by the STA, Singapore Taxi Academy. See, even taxi also got academy. So all the taxi drivers that you see out there are actually graduates.
Managed to coach adam better for the past few weeks. Actually, only to a certain extent. For example, his knowledge in piano playing AND history is far better than mine, and his Iqra is at least 5 times better. My role when it comes to these study sessions, is to make he is on task and nod my head as and when needed. But his Math and English is much better now and his Science is fantastic. He got a telescope for his birthday, but yet to be able to make use of it yet because of the cloudy night sky nowadays.
A friend of mine, Su's colleague and friend too pass away on Sunday. He died in his sleep, while sleeping next to his fiance. Scary huhh? I mean, I don't know about you, but when I wake up at 3.00 am, I would like to squeeze my partner before falling asleep again. So, in this case, what actually will you be hugging? Anyway, she only realise he has passed away the NEXT MORNING.
My friend, was Scottish and they finally shipped his body out to Scotland on Wednesday. It was a shock to me. NOT the shipping out part, the dying part. I think he was in his thirties. I'm in my thirties!
Its ten past 2 in the morning, and it sure is a warm night. I'm practically saunaing in the dining room.
Finances are a bit tight, but I think it's livable. Could not spend as much as before though. I mean, I could not buy a new h/p, a new set of wheels for my car. I used to be able to though. But then, it comes in a package.
So here's to me, all the best.
And to you, take care.

Rembau.

Its the first of Ramadan. And I'm so happy I made it through. I mean, I really do not have an excellent record for Ramadan. Adam made it through the day as well! Hooray. We were kept busy though. We went shopping for shoes in the morning and that took us up to 3 in the afternoon. Reached back home at 4, and went to Afghanistan for things to eat to bring to my mum's place. A bit sombre though. My sis is not in KK, thats Kota Kinabalu and my youngest sis was working. She is a web designer.
Anyway, we were at Rembau the day on Saturday. We visited the graves of Su's grandfather and grandmother. Apparently, Su's grandfather design the houses there and thus, if you've seen one, you've seen them all. We were really looking forward to staying over. Especially Adam. You see, the house was right next to the train tracks and seeing those big KTM trains whizzing past with all their audiotory glory is really something to to boy who has always thought that trains go tweet, tweet. But 5 blind baby mice put a stop to the "staying over" idea. Almost everyone went eeeek when we found the 5 blind baby mice. All except me and my sis in law who took pictures. Me? I just sat there stunned and not able to move. They reminded me of the show, Bizarre Food in channel 16. I was thinking whether I should smother them in olive oil and sauteed them. Too bad; no olive oil.

Met some relatives I did not know about. The cutest one was called Ah Moy while the elder one was called Akak. Their real names are Aquilah and Aqidah. Don't remember which is which though.


As were driving out, we saw a few cows, and boy, they sure could run. One thing I know, accidents with cows are not covered by my insurance. So there we were, taking photos of them. They were very polite though. Not a single one, shitted while we were there. When while driving we saw what's left of two of them.


I'm sure they died and made someone happy. I'd never did get to experience fresh meat.
It's getting late. I've posted some pictures in the rembau album. Let me know what you think.

Yan's convo.

My sis in law just had her convo yesterday at Temasek Poly. I posted her pictures for her to view. Congratulations, I say.

Pass.

Just got to know that I pass my waiver exam results! This means that I passed a module! Yeah!

Kampung.

Today is Sunday, Its way past 10.00pm and the Olympics in China has just ended. I do believe that this was the most exciting Olympics I have ever experience. The fact that China is almost at the same timezone as me does help. I kicked myself silly for not being able to witness Usain Bolt from Jamaica running in the 100m final.
Going to Su's kampung this Saturday and Sunday. Am feeling excited about the trip. Will be going after Adam's Whiz club which is at 2. Should reach the place, at Pedas/Linggi latest by 5. Hope I won't get lost.
I hope everyone feeling fine. As for me, my leg has not been hurting anymore. I've a $30 adidas voucher which I'm going to spend buying a new pair of running shoes. The one I bought at Langkawi lasted me about 8 months.
So again, have a good week ahead.

Monday

Its an hour into a new Monday. Wifey is having off in lieu for National Day today, so we are staying over at my parents place. Adam is all excited, he refuses to fall asleep until his cousin does, but then, girls being girls, she managed to stay awake longer than him! Oh well, he has kept a regular sleeping pattern since birth: wakes up at 6, sleeps before 9. 

Just received an SMS from an ex colleague who has also left the teaching service. And today will be his first work day. So, Isham, I wish you all the best in this new chapter of your life.

Meeting an Insurance guy who is keen to recruit me. He sells OUB manulife policies. I'm still inclined to go with NTUC as I think theirs are more truthful. But then said, I think if one needs to grow their money, insurance is not the way, security of their money yes, but not to grow. To a certain extent, insurance does help to grow your money but usually at a cost of you have to lock up the funds until the breakeven year, and that could be as far as 10-15 years. Now to me, money is money, it has to remain liquid. If you are buying for security, yes go for insurances. But then, moderation is the key.

Blue

Had a wonderful day today. The sky was so sunny and I had my camera with me. So I put 1 and 1 together and I took some pictures. They are in my album Blue. Although you might say I'm freeer now, but I just went along my usual route and routine to capture the scenes, nothing so dramatic as to drive all the way somewhere out there. Oh, I happened to be in Changi as I wanted to er, have lunch as my mom was still in dialysis and nobody was home.

For your info, her cancer is only at the nose and it has not spread to the bones. She will start radiotherapy next week. Pray for me and with me please.

The cookies are done!

The cookies, the cupcakes and the cleaning up is done, for the day!

Adam birthday celebration.

Adam's birthday celebration it tomorrow. So I guess you can say I'll be kept busy the as of when I woke up today. That should explain as to why I simply refused to get out of bed!

Oh, my mom has been diagnosed with cancer.

8.45

It was 8.45 am. I just came back from doing a bit of marketing in Giant and my boy still has not woken up. So I did the next best thing. I took out my camera! Not bad...

Karipap

If not for anything else, the karipap sold near my son's school makes the trip there worthwhile.
This is the bestest Karipap I have ever eaten. Mainly it is because it is made and sold at the source. Its light and crispy. Its filling is generous enough and it's still warm when I brought it home half an hour later.
Got this at this kopitiam in Tampines St 11. I think it is at Blk 137. The name of the coffee shop is Sarah Rose.
A bit pricey though, at $1.50 each. Go for the Sambal Sardine.

Have a good day.

Oh my god! Today is such a tiring day for me.
In the morning, brought Adam to Pasir Ris fish farm. Bought two fishes only to have them attacked by the very territorial pair of "the citizens". In the end, have to set up another tank for the newcomers.
After that, send Adam to school followed by a trip to STU coop. There I managed to settle my accounts and convert my ordinary membership to associate membership. Transfer some of the $ into a term deposit (FD).
Went to Tampines to have lunch only to be reminded that today is dialysis day so, nenek not cooking. Ate whatever leftover there was and had a 30 minute nap. Woke up to find nenek had already cooked ikan masak kichap. But it was too late as I had to pick up Adam.
Picked up Adam and bought some karipap. Nice. Had them for dinner while Adam had rice, fish cooked in oyster sauce and fried long beans.
Immediately after that, sent him for piano class. Went to Cash converter and found nothing that I would part my cash with.
Picked him up half an hour later and we rented ben 10 season 1 and 2, and two other dvds. Now I'm infront of the computer and i just heard Wawa came in. Her mom is going for Yoga. I really do not think I'm going to have any rest tonight. So basically, that how my first day of retirement is.

So here is wishing you to have a better day.

A gift.

Friend's from CVPS gave me this as a farewell gift.

The sun has set...

Yup, today is my last day. It ended with many poignant moments. Filled with friends, now ex-collegues, biddding farewell and wishing me the best. Some of them even pooled money to get me a gift. Very touching. Some of my pupils said goodbyes and I got teary eyed. So the sun has set on this chapter of my life.
A new chapter has started though. I solat with my son. It has been such a long time since I solat. Now I can. And I wish to have no more excuse to be solating with my son anymore.
I ended my official working day watching the flag lowering ceremony by the sideline. I guess that is where I will be now, by the sideline.
Come to think about it, its not the profession that I missed, its the though of not meeting my friends again that is causing me anguish. I have has this feelings before. I remember the first time was when it was the last day of my 1st year in Pre-U. I still remember them. Sukaimi, Aswadi, Yudi. I wonder if they are on facebook.
Yup, the sun has set. But it'll rise again, and what a coincidence, it'll rise on a Friday, the mightiest of all days.
Insyaalah.

Adam's birthday.

It is now 7 minutes into Adam's birthday. Su just called and they have yet to reach their destination, Boston. They have just reached JFK and will have to board another flight to Boston (an hour's flight). They would only be boarding in two hours time. Sure stress...

Anyway, I created an album for Adam's toys. It'll be filled up real soon I bet.

Macaroni and Cheese

The plan was to have lunch and my mum's place. But she sms me at 7 in the morning that she is going JB. There goes Mee Soto. So I went to Tampines Market for some marketing (duh?) Bought some $45 worth of fish and prawns.
Lunch, we had fried maggi, which my maid finds it delicious; she is the maggi expert in the family.
Then I decided to try making macaroni and cheese.
I heated up about 5 tspoon of olive oil.
Put in a 1 cm slab of butter.
Add in a dash of pepper.
Stir in the cooked macaroni.
Add in shredded parmesan, edam and cheddar.
Placed it in the oven for about 20 minutes.
Result is a white, sticky substance which produces a strong cheesy smell.
When I first took a bite out of it, it sort of turn me off. But now, after it has cooled and I'm eating it while on the computer, I finished the whole plate in less than 5 minutes.

Oh, I bought the cheeses at Cold Storage.
What is the plan for the rest of the day?
For my maid, its cleaning up the kitchen after the mess.
For me, go to metro, buy a present for Adam's cousin, and maybe buy him a surprise for his birthday, for it is tomorrow. He has been eyeing that Ben 10 watch for so long.
Then it's to the cousin's birthday party by four. Then i think we'll hit woodlands for dinner.

Its a Sturday

Its a Sturday. Not very Sturdy for me I'm afraid. Have not set put to get work but did managed to clear my cupboard. Now its just the table. God help me. Wife is on the way to the states now. Actually her fliight is at 11.50pm, So I guess she is still at the airport. Adam is asleep in his room and I'm thinking of which market to go to tomorrow. Maybe Geylang. Will post pic soon.

I can't sleep.

I was awaken at half past midnight. I watched tv until 2 and it is now 2.34am. It's already Friday and I'm only a few days away from my R-Day. The day I will resign from the service. As I lay on my bed, I can't help but to see my friends' faces floating in front of me. The thought of not seeing them again, made me cry. I believe I made the right decision. I know I'm resigning for the best. I wish I could make it less painful. It has been an amazing journey. But what an ending! My wife is going to the states and that will leave me facing the R-Day alone. My son will register for P1 and I will be doing the registering alone. My son's sports day is next Sunday and I guess I will be there supporting him, alone. Too many alones in a month is not good. I know, god willing, my wife will be back. I know I'm healthy enough to keep myself busy. I know my objectives of resigning from the service is sound, but it is still not less painful.
I've organised a makan session this Saturday after Pre-Lim oral. I wonder if after that day, I'll be even more alone. Too many alones.
I've took out the money we save for our son's education from the trust account. I've bought unit trust using 1k and another 1.2k as a rsp plan, monthly. I hope to out in the rest in a POSB protect as you save plan. That should give me a 2.25% interest. Of course, this does not mean that I will not set aside the $100 monthly for him. I know I'm making the right decisions.
See, I've done something. Tomorrow, I'm going to start looking for work.

It was raining.

It rained today, so I took a few photos. Oh by the way, I suck at exams.

adobe

you guys should try www.adobe.com and join the adobe photo express. Awesome. Check out my pics in my facebook page...
Er I think it is www.facebook.com/qathirah.
For some reason or another, it can't sync with multiply.
I'm going to start posting photos at http://mrnor.photoshop.com.I'll mirror them in multiply as a matter of course. I'm so excited.
Check it out often.

I'm happy.

Its 3.49 am and I've just finished watching House season 1 disc 2 side A. Not going to do a review of the show but to note down as to what I've noticed. So you know, I watched the DVD in my room, on my bed with my wife sleeping next to me and Adam next to her. Only when I look at Adam, I've realised time has passed, so quickly. He is now coming to six and on the 29th July this year, I''' be registering him for P1. So many gaps in my memories. Although I can still remember when I first held him in my arms, I could not remember the first day he went to Nursery. So many memories, are not missing. Nowadays, when I send him to school, I will let him alight from the parking lot and he'll make his own way to the school. He is such a big boy now. I remembered when I had to handhold him to climb up the steps to the entrance to the school.
And my wife, she has remained just the same after all this 8 years. I love her so much.

Sick... again

My colleague, Poon, just gave me a call. He asked, ever so politely, whether I will be joining the science comm. meeting. I told him I was on medical leave.
I really need to get this phlegm thing out of my system. Its bothering me like crazy. Having problem sleeping at night. Had so much problem sleeping yesterday, I drove into JB at 1 in the morning. The usual jam was there but since this time I was not in a rush, I did manage to observe some very habits of those filling up their petrol tanks. One guy was shaking his Matrix so violently, that I could swear the car moved a few cm sideways. And he was taking such a loooong time. The funny thing was, there were 4 cars behind him. That would not be strange if the pump next to him was not empty of cars. Sure, it'll be troublesome to fill up if the you car petrol hole is on the other side, but its manageable. I should know, I went for it. Seems strange but nobody was behind me. So I really could take my time. Filled up 48 litres. At 2.70 rm per liter, that works out to be RM$129.60. That equaled to SG$55.14. If I'd pumped that same volume of petrol in SG, it'll cost me around SG$105.60 The tolls cost me around $3.00 so I could assume that I'd save around $50? Wow! Multiply that with the number of time I could possible go in, 8, and that'll save me $400! Wow!

20 minutes

This is a stressful time for me. In only 20 more minutes, it'll be the start of a new term. Oh gosh! I've not done the Rams for the sea shore life program. I'm so going to get it. I guess I have to be in school tomorrow, very very early.
Sigh. Made me wish I'd quit long long ago. There should be a law against these kind of stress. Sigh.
Too much sighing won't help. And my mac book pro is not helping either. Things are getting slow. I mean, while I was doing things, things hang. Damn it.
Anyway, I've been reading. Specifically, I've completed reading of the last chapter of the Harry Potter books and I'm also done with Dan Brown's Angels and Demons. Got that for $15.50 at Punggol Plaza. So while I wait for the time to past and my table is in a mess, I might as well write what I thought about it.
It's simply fabulous! Seriously, for light reading and entertainment, its fabulous. Its supposedly a thriller and going by the other book, the DaVinci code, it has a religous angle to it. How fabulous? Hmm, the only movie I can think of that runs parallel to it would be Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Those of you who had seen it, would remember that actions starts from the word go. The whole books spans 24 hours of a character life. I had finished reading the bok in two days, practically ignoring some of my bodily needs, much to the chagrin of my wife. But I'm much cleaner now.
But this is not the book that should be taken to a book club, literature sects or anything of that sorts. This is a book, you read, because you can. Not the type of books you read because you have too, not the kind of books you read to impress anybody, it is a book to read when you have the time to read but if you do not have the time to read, jolly well find time to read this book.

To provide an inkling of what the book's plot is, try searching for catholic church, vatican, illuminati, and CERN.

O.k it's almost time. See you soon.

Sick

Sick today. Been sick the past few weeks. Thick green phlegm running out from my nose. Body aches all over. Feeling very tired. Sigh. Went to the doctor today. Got a whole cocktail of drugs. Suppose to be in school today. I think I'm feeling better as I've started sweating. I hope THAT is a good sign.

Pahang

Just realise, got not much picture for our trip to Pahang. Mostly pictures of people, friends and very few places pictures. Not sure if the people like their faces shown. So I'll just post two.

Port Dickson

Just posted some pic of Port Dickson. If you ever go there, please stop over at Teluk Kemang for you meals. Delicious and verrrrry affordable.

Top up cards

For those of you who use top up cards for your mobile instead of post paid, there is this shop in compasspoint which seems to sell the cards at a discount. If you come in from the interchange, you should be able to see the shop. It has the words, top up cards specialist or something like that. I got a $28 starhub top up card for $26. Go figure.

Malacca

Came back from Malacca yesterday. Will post some pics soon and more updates. Too tired.

My nephew.

I took some pics of my nephew practising the piano. Very impress I am. Too bad there were no accompaniment scores for my son to accompany him. Anyway, my nephew and my sis in law is staying over. I was told they would be staying over until Tuesday.
Anyway, my mom is admitted to NUH today. She has to have her right arm operated again as the mechanism to enlarge her vein has stopped working. She told me that its LA and she would have her eyes covered. She told me, that even though she does not feel alot of pain, she can still what is happening. I wished I could take a picture of the whole thing.
School holidays has started. But I'm going to be having remedial tomorrow - Wednesday. After which I would be following the P4 pupils for the Malacca trip.I'd be bringing my camera nevertheless, its just choosing which lens to bring. I think I'll go with a wide angle. Shoot in RAW and perhaps get one or two good shots.

MR

Hooray, this is my first blog post using the mac pro. Love the feel of the keyboard although I do find the silver abit garish.
Anyway, today is MR day. Today is the day I received my reservist letter saying that I've done my duty and I can look forward to an ICTless life ahead. Hooray. I guess I could say that I've wore the No 4 for the last time today.
It has been hot the past few days and nights. It's almost midnight and the water running out from kitchen sink is very warm. I don't know about you, but this is very worrying. The funny thing is members of my household does not seem to care. I'm sure they do, somewhere, sometimes, but hey, switching off the lights when you leave the room is NOT that difficult isn't it?

My mac

It's almost 12 midnight and I've yet to complete transferring my pictures to my new mac pro. It is very tiring. I mean, it takea approximately half an hour to burn one dvd disc full of pics and another half an hour to import those pictures. Sheesh. If I'd have known, I would not bother importing them.
My dad have not paid his road tax and now he is afraid of driving his car. So I've to send him to LTA in Sin Ming and then send him back. That would take approximately 45 minutes to an hour. My wife, Su is having a camp tomorrow and thus I've to send her to school and that will be like at 6.00 AM! So basically, its Punggol-Goodman Rd-Sengkang-Tampines-Sin Ming-Tampines-Sengkang-Punggol-Woodlands-Punggol. Why to Woodlands, because my darling son, Adam, wants to sleep over at his grandmother's place. He is so happy that his school has closed down due to the many HFMD cases. I'm just glad that he is o.k

Annaniq's comments

Responding to Annaniq comments...

Yeah. The only thing stopping me is typing the letter. I'm not fooling anybody or myself but it is going to be an adjustment. I just hope that it won't be that bad of an adjustment. The way I see it, it's what I've always wanted, being my own boss, being in the financial industry and having a very supportive wife, inlaws and my mom, dad and sisters. I know I can do it, its just a matter of mind over matter, or in my case, physical hard work and the bed.
Things been sucky in school lately. I've been to three other schools and I know that this school is not to my liking, and I could ask for transfer, again, but I won't. I think I have to stop this viscous cycle. I'm 36, and if everything goes well, I'll be 41 when I graduate. That's like 9 more years before I hit 50. I think life is more than just marking and listening to your ROs and doing things which just does not make sense.
That's why I'll try insurance and properties, I hope to help people too.
Not encouraging anybody to quit teaching, but I just think that one really needs to take a look at oneself, and try to meet the needs, and if you ask any psycho..., there are many needs. I just say, meet those immediate needs first, It does not take a million dollars or a million more minutes to make one's wealthy, just a dollar more than your cost and a minute more of the actual time needed.

I mean, if your livelihood cost, $100, and you earn $101, then you ARE wealthy, no debts, nor worries. and in 100 more days, you can take a day off. Of course, we must be realistic that our livelihood does not ONLY cost $100 but more than that, but then what if it does? WIll you die?

MacBook Pro

Got myself a macbook pro 2.2 withe 120gb and 4meg ram. Cost me some 2.4k. I'm still trying it out and have yet to configure the comp to my preferences. Actually this is my first brand new mac. Have been using a preowned g4 dual chip desktop and I love it. I hope the mac book pro can do things better. Now I've to look for a firewire - firewire cable so that I could migrate the data to my laptop. Wish me luck.

Bought a new set of tyres

Bought a new set of tyres. Its the yokohama c drive. Was using the bridgestone gr-08 and wanted a change of brands, so to speak. Anyway find the tyres quiet maybe as quiet as the gr-08. But my car seems a bit more bouncier. maybe its due to stiffer side walls. Used my gr-08 for 40k and I thought its dues for a change, but when they took out the tyres, I believe the gr-08 could last another 10 k easily. If that is true, that the gr-08 would be a good value for money tyres. Previous to the gr-08, I had on the michelin pilot preceda which was stock for my tyres. Those tyres last around 30k km. And compared to the gr-08, its noisier. Lets see how long does this ac01 tyres last.

Here is a link to a review of the tyre.
http://www.onemotoring.com.sg/publish/onemotoring/en/motoring_buzz/motoring_accessories/yokohama.html

Uni Letter

Just a got a letter offering me a place in Unisim. The intake will be in July. I was told to pay a $500 deposit which will offset the course fees later. Already paid using a cheque. Am really afraid. So many ifs. It's May, and I guess I'll be unemployed soon. I hope I can make this happen. Su told me that it should be exciting. Yeah, excitingly scary. I really hope it'll work.

A parent called me yesterday. She said her child does not want to go to school She then told me that she "whack" her daughter. She then told me the thinks she did to her daughter. I guess she was looking for a shoulder. I did not know how to react. I told her, that it was o.k to feel angry but I stop short of saying that she has every right to discipline the child. Sigh. What can I do. Tried calling a colleague who is in the PD department, but he did not pick up the phone. What can I do?

Oh by the way, I'm taking English with Sociology.

Censorship

Read somewhere, that if you flag a blog often enough, the blog will be censured? Censured in this would mean that the blog would be unsearchable. Stupid, if people do care of what I think. Serious, why go through all that trouble. Just don't read it lah. True, some blogs may be confrontational in nature, but we are talking about the internet, the last bastion of free speech for many people. Get on with it, live your life, let others live theirs.

Berita Harian 4th May 2008

Blog Entry
I’m now at woodlands, my in laws place. Its now 5.15 pm and I’m so bored. Anyway, I’ve read this article in Berita Harian that I thought it will be nice to share. Its in Malay so I will try to translate it to English without losing the essence.
The article is headlined, Happy, only for a Moment. The Subtitle reads “a young mother passed away after having some complication while giving birth.
It’s by Norman Sawi normans@sph.com.sg.
The husband, Mr Imran Ahmad lost his wife five days after she gave birth. She was 24 years old and she gave birth birth at National University Hospital. The baby, Dayang Dynaz was born safely without any complication. However, an hour after giving birth she complain of pain in her back and legs.
According to the husband, she also bleeds continuously while the doctor was sewing the area between her faraj and perenium, which was a common procedure after giving birth.
After about seven night, doctors told the husband that she was ready to be sewn back again. However, the wife’s condition worsen and she was transferred to the ICU. He was then told that the wife’s internal organs have lost their functions.
The doctors at NUH have yet given their explanation.
According to the husband, a surgeon in ICU told him that his wife has experience a case of Amniotic Fluid Embolism (AFE).
AFE is thought to be one of the complication after giving birth.
It is believe that this only happens once every 80000.
The wife name is Siti Zubaidah and she was 24 years old.

Fishing

Adam went fishing today. Very cool. He caught quite a number of duris, or catfish. From the look of it, he seems to love fishing. So there he was, fishing with his grandfather and granduncle, while the mum and dad have to run errands so that the people fishing do not ran our of ice and snacks.

Anyway, we went to punggol to fish, and there were so many people there. Despite the fact that the entrance to the site was quite obscure.

Here are some pictures...

KM 5d

Just purchase a preowned 5d from a guy who stays in kan ching rd. I'd say the conditon of the camera is fanastic. It comes with the angle finder, although I've yet to try that one out.

In school.

Am in school now. Just finished mass common marking for english. Irene came into the room and told me to be co-incharge of the science common marking next Tuesday. O.k lah. But I have to admit, I am abit excited. Have not been put in charge before.

Anyway, my class English results are very bad. 19 failures for main paper. Sigh. The kids are going to get a beating (figuratively of course). Tomorrow is May Day. It's going to be a holiday. I'm so excited. The holiday will start tonight for me.

Maybe I'll wash the car together with Adam. It is fun washing the car with him. Its more of who can get the other wet than we can wash the car. Have not really made plans for tomorrow but there are so many possible plans. My dad plan to go Kahang in Jb to visit our relatives there but I was thinking of going to Tg Pelepas for a seafood dinner. I wonder how it would turn up. One thing for sure, I don't think I want to spend the day sleeping. I'll take pictures for tomorrow. Sigh, it has been a long time taking pictures.

Minolta 5D

Looking for Minolta 5d. Anybody selling?

My shoulder hurts

Went to Jb on Sunday with my mom. Went in by second link. Was very smooth. Realise that I have to paf $20 for the toll fees, so we went to Giant at Skudai and I bought 400 ringgit worth of stuff. Then I managed to pump in more than 50 litres of shell v-power. I think the savings should cover it.

My friend has been pestering me to get the Ricoh GR2. I'd love to have it. But as at this moment, I don't think I've the money. I need to earn the money. The question now is how.
Maybe I should register for private tuition. Maybe that should work.

Just watched Beowulf on dvd. I think the animation is great. But I like the idea of young girls wanting to sooo readily get in the sack with the king! I mean, if young girls would want to get in the sack with me, I'd be sooooo flattered. Don't think I'd do it though, but harmless flirting is nice.

Heh heh.

Pictures from my A540

Some pictures from A540. Not bad for a $170 camera.
The first image is the top of the flagpole in my school.












The second image is the chair at the parents waiting area.


















The third image is a detail study of the chair.



















This image is taken outside the school. It is of a tree bark. Liked the pattern.

Camera

Just bought me a digital camera. Its an old model. Its canon a 540. Shot some pics but since I do not have a card reader, could not really see the image on screen. Will shoot more tomorrow.
Spec...Manual exposure, manual focus, 4x zoom and uses 2 AA battery. I thought the last one was a big plus. Bought it from a student, I think from RJC. Oh well.

Actually, I was poisoned by this close friend of mine. He told me about the fixed lens compact camera ricoh grd 2. I like the idea, but I don't think I'll want, er, sorry, need it now. Not when the price is more than 1k. But I WANT it. Its a fix lens for heaven's sake. Any photographer worth his salt, should know why having a fix lens is a BIG plus.

Its Friday today, and I'm meeting parents tomorrow. The whole of tomorrow. Sigh. Exams is next week and I sure am worried about the pupils. I hope they will pull through.

Price of petrol went up by 3 cents a litre now. So the price for Esso 92 octane is $2.083 per liter. How do I know? I just pumped $50 dollars. It'll be gone by Sunday night. Oh well, still beats taking the cab.

And speaking of taking the cab, I took one the other day. From Tampines to Sengkang. Cost me $11.00. That is around $1 per km. Wah! Super expensive.

Anyway, just like to share with you people, who accidentally stumble upon my website, my wife has just got promoted. As for me, still same-same. Still waiting for the news that I'll be accepted to UNISIM.

See yah!

How I miss thee.

It has been such a long time, I took my camera out. I feel so depressed. I used to shoot for money and I thought I'd make my future out of it. But then practicality took over and I went into teaching, That was like 12 years ago. Now, i plan to quit teaching and concentrate to get a degree. Don't know why, but I think its is the right time for me to hit the books again. My wife, Su, holds a Masters and my son, Adam is going into Primary 1 next year.
But yeah, I still think having a degree is not the end all of anything, but I felt the urge to go for it. The same urge I felt when I sign up to teach. I just hope it would not take me some 12 years before I get a degree. Sigh.
Asked around and I've friends who dropped out of getting the degree. I've friends who, after they got the degree, got a pay cut. I've friends who took seven years to get the degree and then have a pay cut and yet I've friends who takes about 2 and a half years to get the degree, only to leave the teaching profession.
I love my son, my wife and my family. No way would I do something to harm them. I just hope that by quiting this seemingly very stable job, I would not take away anything from Adam.
So what's my plan, as it is, my cc bills are paid in full, my overdraft have been paid in full, finally and Su has just got promoted. I save around 150 bucks per month on interest alone. I saved some 40 dollars everytime I pump fuel at JB and I could go there twice a week, so that saves me some 320 per month. I plan to sign up for relief teaching, maybe that will add to my income and then I plan to give tuition. Adam goes to school from 1.45-4.45pm. Thus that will be my tuition time. I hope to have at least one per day. How much that will earn me I don't know. And since Adam is going into P1 next year, I could be saving as much as 100 per month. If everything goes well, I could let Risa go. If that happens, I'll be saving some 500 per month.
So many things I want to try. i want to be a taxi driver. I want to see how it is like. I'm sure I can do it. I want to learn more about the insurance industry, not to mention real estate. Not to earn money, but to learn. Maybe with Allah's blessing, I could provide a better life for Adam and Su.
But my long term plan would be to get the degree and work overseas. Imaging teaching in Langkawi. Only an hour plane ride from Singapore. That will be so cool. Maybe in Australia, in a farm, in a house. Maybe.
There, I did it, I'd cast my thoughts in stone, or at least in cyberspace. Now for me to chart my journey.
I've already applied for UNISIM. Its just a matter of time for me to hear from them. Su is very supportive although she is concern. I could tell, this was what her old man use to do. And she does not like what happened after. I love that woman. I'm so lucky. God help me if I ever hurt her.

Marantz amp

Just bough myself a used marantz amp pm 6100. Connected it to my 63se and output it through my Kef Q30 speakers. Played Peter Cincotti well, but lacklustre in nirvana mtv unplug.
Hoped to get a rotel biwire amp to connect it to my made in china m3i speakers...
Went to a shop, jenson audio at bedok north st 3. Nice guy. And met a couple of guys who, seems to me, audio freaks. I mean they are not freaky, just they seem so passionate about the music that it freaks me out! I guess, when I'm in their company, I'm the freak one out.
While I was there, they played some music on a mcintosh 225 or a 255 tube amp, connected it to a marantz space age looking cd player and out the music through these two 3-way speakers that literally blew my mind!
Sigh. Perhaps that is why my nirvana is no longer nirvana for me...

p5 em3 paper

Its 2.44 am and I've just finished setting science paper. Going to sleep and going to have less than 3 hours of sleep. After that, going to complete the answer key. Sigh...

Thinsg I missed when I drove...

I've a car, well, some people may say that its a van (thanks dad), but I love my trajet. This is the 3rd year I'm driving it and I fine with it. Really, I'm fine.n Anyway, my wife got her license recently and she has been driving to work, while I have started to walk or take the bus to school. Not a bad arrangement, but I do miss driving. I love driving the Jet.

Anyway, after taking the LRT from Punggol Plaza back to Oasis today, an elderly man came into the lift holding a portable CD player and a small 3 piece cubelike speaker attachement. The music was blaring away.Oh man, Chinese Opera music never had that much airspace! And so this elderly man got into the lift with us, and we can't help but to sway along with the music. I mean, it was cool.

So, that drama was done with right? We came out of the lift and there was this old man, who was standing like 3 meters away from us and he was farting away! What gives man? He must have enjoyed it cuz, he just stood still and enjoy the wind (it was a windy day).

For those of you who had been driving, taking the taxis and all, try taking the bus. Very drama one.

march hols

This is the busiest March hols I've ever had.

Monday, submit books for checking.
Tuesday, send pupils to andersen primary
Wednesday and Thursday, a course at Punggol Primary
Friday, going to the zoo to recce for the upcoming learning journey.

Sigh
Read in today's newpaper on how many netizens baulk at the idea of donating money to a leukemia patient who is not a Singaporean. I mean, I do not see the problem...You do not want to donate, then don't donate lah. Why must big a mountain out of a molehill...Sigh.

Also in the newpaper, the jam at woodlands checkpoint has reached cck. heh heh. What will they think of next. I'm sure that Ten Mile Junction will close down sooner than later.

degree

Am going to take up a degree this year even if it'll kills me. Most probably I'd quit teaching.

degree

Am going to take up a degree this year even if it'll kills me. Most probably I'd quit teaching.