New Pics

Just uploaded new pics from today's pre-Teachers Day event! Take a look by clicking on the link on the right.

We had the launch of the Golden Man Awards for Teachers Day today. I am super-impressed at Weijie and Wenhao for being so sporting in being the Golden Men for the morning flag-raising, recess & lunch. Great job guys!

Sad day

I am sad.

I went supermarketing today. Thought I would give myself a treat so I bought a nice big bottle of ribena to bring to school so that I can have yummy blackcurrant goodness for my tea break.

Well, I got home and decided that the yummy blackcurrant goodness could not wait. So I opened the bottle and made myself a nice cold cup of refreshing ribena. I placed the bottle in front of the microwave oven.

I'm sure you can guess what happened next.

Later at night, I decided to cook some rice for dinner. I took my microwave rice cooker, put in some rice, washed it, drained it, put in some water then sealed the rice cooker. Then I put the rice cooker into the microwave oven. Forgetting that my bottle of ribena was in front of it.

Sigh.

It was a pretty sight. Thick gooey purple liquid all over the floor. The splatter pattern reminded me of many CSI episodes. Glass shards everywhere.

Well, had to spend the next 30 to 45 mins clearing up the mess. That was exciting. very.

Sigh.

I am sad. No more ribena.

Wow, can't believe I've not updated for a week. This week has been pretty crazy. The thing that's taking up a huge chunk of time is the Teachers Day celebrations. Heh, stupid me thought that I might be able to sit this one out and kinda just slack, but things have a funny way of turning out exactly OPPOSITE of the way you hope it would be.

Been in school until 10plus for the last two nights. So every night when I reach home, all i wanna do is just vegetate. Tonight, left school only around 11.15pm. Saturday's not gonna be much better. I'm guessing somewhere around 10.30pm. It's fun lah... but it's really tiring.

A few exciting things happened this week. Unfortunately, they're kinda unbloggable things. Sorry!

Oh ya, I bought Wei Lian's single last week. I think it is very very good lor. Heard Kelly's single coz a fellow teacher prefers her... (so poor taste lor!). I really think Kelly is not very strong. Next Thursday is gonna be interesting. Will the audience go for sound? Or will they prefer a pretty face? Quite exciting lor!

Wow... end of term is coming pretty fast. If you think about it, it's like 6 or 7 more weeks to the really nice long vacation. Woohoo!!!

Maybe something more exciting will happen tomorrow. I shall endeavour to post some pics soon. Been a while since I put a cool pic. Sigh...

Wow....He actually won!

I can't believe it. It was almost impossible for him to do it, but he actually did! Weilian actually beat Junyang to get into the grand finals! It's really quite unbelievable. I'm sure Junyang must be devastated but congrats to Weilian for being able to make it all the way!

As for the females, I was kinda rooting for Xinhui cause I think she sings better. But the honest truth is that her fashion sense sucks. So Kelly gets into the finals. Not my first choice, but I'm quite ok with that lar.

So now we have Weilian vs Kelly. It's gonna be a very interesting grand finals. Weilian is really not your typical superstar. But he has a voice which is just plain magical (when he uses it properly lar!). Kelly is more your typical star... good looking, nice image, decent voice. Can't wait for September 1st! Talk about an exciting Teachers day!

A little bit of excitement

A little bit of excitement today. Received an sms around 10am from a friend telling me that this blog was mentioned in Today. My immediate thots... DIE LAR! I'd just given a talk on blogs on Tuesday and suddenly on Wednesday, my blog was quoted in the newspaper. Found the article and was quite amused that the writer had said that I was a Rafflesian 'student'.. A friend of mine said that I ought to write in and demand a correction. Heh.. like I would want it published lor! Imagine the correction: We apologise to Zeke for the error. It should have been a Rafflesian 'TEACHER' and not student... I think it's worse lor! Well, there goes my 10 seconds of fame.

Today was really quite busy. It's like one thing after the other. On top of preparing for 3 different elections, had to prepare lessons, attend meetings and do rehearsal for Boarding's 10th anniversary dinner. On top of that, still HAD to watch 绝对Superstar (definitely non-negotiable!). Phew. Now it's already 12.25am and I've just gotten started on doing some stuff. I think I'm getting too old for this. Looks like things will go at breakneck speed until the end of the year. Talk about a marathon.

Tonight's 绝对Superstar was a bit of a letdown. Both Weilian and Junyang were sick and couldn't sing/perform at their peak. It's really one of those things lor.. fight all the way to the finals then fall sick! I think the judges were a little unfair towards Weilian. I personally thought his last song was better than Junyang's. Nevermind... keep fingers crossed. Maybe, just maybe, Weilian might actually enter the grand finals!

very tired.

only abt 10 weeks to go before the end of the year. But already quite burnt out.

Last two nights didn't help coz had to stay up late to do stuff. Maybe a good nite's rest will make things better.

Stupid aching back doesn't help. Maybe ought to go see some physiotherapist.

"In the arms of an Angel fly away from here
From this dark, cold hotel room, and the endlessness that you fear
You are pulled from the wreckage of your silent reverie
You're in the arms of an Angel; may you find some comfort here"

Angel by Sarah McLachlan

I think I'm an American Idol junkie. Three of my favourite songs (in order) are:

1. I Believe (by Fantasia Barrino, American Idol 2004)
2. Angels brought me here (by Guy Sebastian, Australian Idol 2003)
3. Inside Your Heaven (by Carrie Underwood, American Idol 2005)

I love blasting 'I Believe' through my Altec Lansing MX5021 speakers. Sometimes, I just need that kind of assurance and motivation. Like the words say,

"I believe in the impossible
If I reach deep within my heart
Overcome any obstacle
Won't let this dream fall apart
See I strive to be the very best
Shine my light for all to see
Cause anything is possible
When you believe yeah"

The other song which I've been listening to extensively again is 'Angel' by Sarah McLachlan.

Think I'm obviously going through some down time...

Ho Hum...

The last couple of days have been fairly non-eventful. There was English Feste on Thursday and Friday so there pretty much weren't any lessons for the whole of last week. Maybe it's the normal case of the idle mind being the devil's workshop. When things are in a wind-down mode, the mind usually starts using its resources to think of stuff you would otherwise not think about.

Not that there aren't things to do. Coming up are the Head Prefect selections, Teachers Day celebrations, Boarding School 10th Anniversary celebrations, RIPB elections, etc, etc. So there is plenty to do.

Anywaez, what have I been thinking about? Hmm.. I guess the main thing is where I am heading in the next couple of years. I've almost completed 5 years in RI. To me, that's quite a lot of years. I'm obviously not getting any younger, so are there things which I want to try and do which I have still not done? Live life without regrets. I believe in that. I think it's important to be true to ourselves and pursue the dreams we have. Do I stay in RI? Do I seek other challenges? Hmmm... plenty of questions, no answers.

Other meaningless random thoughts in my mind:

Presidential Elections. Just heard over the news, no elections coz no one else is getting a certificate of eligibility. Heh.. I just find it so funny. We're probably the only country with the longest serving non-elected elected president. heh. I was reading a blog where the writer was ranting about how silly it is that in our supposedly educated and clean/corrupt-free Singapore, we cannot even find two people to stand for elections for our presidency. That's quite true isn;t it? It's like saying, in our country of over 3 million people, we only have ONE person who is willing and eligible to be president.

Protest outside CPF building. The other big news all over the blogging community. Apparently, 4 people were having some kind of silent protest outside the CPF building. They were asking for more transparency over how the govenrment uses our CPF and other sources of funds. Well, the police sent 40 'riot-police' to disperse and stop the 4 people from protesting. I'm not sure, but I don't think there was any report about this in the newspapers. Maybe it's just not newsworthy enough. I'm not gonnabe political about this. The only comment I want to make is, 40 people to stop 4 people? Sigh... talk about overkill.

Just what is newsworthy? One of the recent hot news is about that fella who swam across the English channel in about 12 hours. Plenty of newspaper and TV coverage. From what I gather, many people have done this but he's the first Singaporean to do it. They even showed him on TV as he climbed out of the water and waved his school flag in triumph. Ok lar, I guess it is quite an achievement. Flashback to 2 weeks ago. We had Dr Tan, going 24 hours around a track to break a Guiness World Record, with over 1800 students supporting him through the 24 hours, with 2 ministers dropping by to support & encourage him and there wasn't even a mention over TV. In the newspapers, there were brief mentions which were hardly near the coverage the english channel fella had. Hmm... so what is newsworthy?

Stargate SG-1. I'm kinda hooked on this old sci-fi series. When the Stargate movie first came out, it wasn't very well-received. It was kinda slow and not very exciting. But I personally enjoyed it and thought the premise was very interesting. Well, the movie actually spawned a TV series which also wasn't very popular. But in the end, it actually lasted 9 seasons! That's pretty good for a show that wasn't very popular. Anywaez, I bought the DVDs of Seasons 1 & 2 last year when I was in the US (cheap, 2nd hand!) and I finally got around to watching them recently. Must say they're quite good! Not on par with Star Trek, Buffy or Battlestar Galactica, but still highly watchable and reasonably interesting.

绝对SUPERSTAR!

Yay!!! The four best singers got into the finals! Wei Lian and Junyang for the guys and Xinhui and Kelly for the gals! Dunno how many of you follow the show, but I think the 4 of them are really good! Lucky the other two didn't get in.

Saw all the girls crying for derrick on tv... heh.. my friend said they were crying coz they dunno how to pay for all the SMS voting bills... :-P

Pretty Sucky National Day....

yeah.. I've been quite quiet over the national day break. Actually, I was kinda looking forward to it, but things just didn't seem to go my way.

On Monday, we had the celebrations in school. That didn't end too good, so it was kinda like a bad omen to the start of the 3-day break. In the morning, I also received some bad news. Originally, I was supposed to get a ticket to go for the NDP. I was kinda looking forward to it coz I'd never been to a NDP at the Padang. The last one I went was at the National Stadium quite a few years ago. So anywaez, I spent Sunday afternoon looking for a red shirt for the NDP and spent $20 to get one in the end. On Monday, just after the school's celebrations, I received news that I won;t be getting the ticket. THat was quite disappointing. So, 2nd bad omen in less than 2 hours. Sigh.

On Monday afternoon, I accompanied some of the prefects and the M'sian visitors to the Istana. Quite ok lar. I wasn't overly excited coz it wasn't my first time meeting the president. I had participated in some chit chat session with the president some time last year. And dunno leh.. I've kinda reached the 'he's-just-one-of-us' kinda state. So it wasn't terribly exciting.

So how did I spend the National day break? Sigh. I was so looking forward to catching up on the movies which I'd missed while I was on MC. But the fates decided otherwise. My body decided to have mini-gout attack party. The pain started first at my right knee, then it got better, then it spread to my right foot, then it got better, then it spread to my left foot, then it got better... by then.. it was already Wednesday afternoon. So how did I spend my National Day break? On my chair, ice-ing my mini-gout attacks... and hoping it won't get worse. Sigh.. exciting eh?

Two things that I can talk about. Firstly, the National Day Parade. I thought this year's celebrations were quite boring. Actually, every year seems to be a repeat of itself again and again. I think the organizers need to find some way to make it fresh. I hated the idea of 'mini-celebrations' throughout Singapore. Thought it was kinda silly. The fireworks were nice. There were some interesting ones this year. Saw this circular one with a star in the middle. Very cool. I think next year maybe should just pay a couple of hundred bucks to get a room at the Swissotel and see everything from the comfort of a hotel room!

Secondly, I hobbled to GV Great World to catch Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Not a bad show. Tim Burton and Johnny Depp are an excellent pair. The oompa loompas were not too irritating and their dance numbers were decently fun. I had hoped to catch Seven Swords on the same day but decided not to aggravate my mini-gout attack, so went home to rest.

So there it is... my exciting National Day break. Hooray. Sigh.

A sad day in History... I wonder how many Singaporeans know it.

Got up this morning, watched some cartoons, surfed some internet, then popped by to Orchard to go for the Kinokuniya sale before walking down Orchard to see the students busking & raising funds for MINDS. Got home, took out the stuff I bought at Kino, switched on the TV and kicked back to relax on this Saturday afternoon. Surfed around the TV channels before stopping at CNA as I noticed something about Atomic bombs being reported (must be the physics teacher in me). It was then that I realised that today was the 60th anniversary of the release of the first atomic bomb over Hiroshima.

As I watched the report about the memorial ceremonies going on in Hiroshima, I wondered how many people in Singapore actually realized that today was the day when more than 140,000 people in Hiroshima perished at 8.15am. I, for one, had forgotten. I mean, to be frank, I don't really think about it every year. But as global citizens, I think such a date would be quite signifiant wouldn't it? I mean, in a flash, the temperature in Hiroshima city went up as high as 4000 degrees celsius. I don't think we can comprehend how hot that really is. We are already complaining like mad when temperatures in Singapore hit 30 degrees.

Quite a few years ago(I'm thinking around 8 to 10 years?), when I made my first visit to Japan, I made it a point to start my journey at Hiroshima because I wanted to see how the city had survived the A-bomb. It was quite an experience, being at the A-bomb memorial park. There was an air of solemnity and calmness in the park. I visited the A-bomb museum where I saw the horrors of the A-bomb detonation and how there were people who are still suffering from it today. It was a visit I never regretted. I strongly encourage those of you who are even remotely interested in Japan to make a trip to Hiroshima. You will not regret it.

As I watched the news report over CNA, I think that maybe we ought to make it a point to remember dates like this. I think the dropping of the A-bomb over Hiroshima and Nagasaki are definitive moments in history. Hundreds of thousands of people were killed in a flash. World War II ended. A whole nation was changed. The whole world was affected. It does make my cartoons, shopping, strolling seem just a little insignificant today eh?

For those who would like to take a look at the Peace Park and Memorial Museum, here's the link.

Here's the new Zen Vision from Creative. It's looking pretty good, able to be play a wide range of files from WMV to DivX, and of course, able to function as MP3 player and picture viewer. The estimated price currently is US$400. It's not announced in Singapore yet, but I suspect they'll launch it at the September PC show. I must say it's looking mighty tempting!

Things have been better today. For one thing, I think my temp basically stayed between 38 to 39 degrees.. But when I first woke up this morning, I was on the verge of a shiver attack. I dunno if any of you have felt it before, but it's this horrible feeling that with every breath, you just feel like shivering uncontrollably. Well, like I said, things got better, I started sweating it out which for me is always a good sign.

It's been a frustrating day. For the whole day, I had a fever which ranged from 38 degrees to 40.2 degrees. At times, it felt as if my brain was being fried! I really hope this eases up tomorrow. I dun think a persistently high temperature is good for my system. As I type this, my temp is 38.6 degrees, which is pretty low compared to the 40 over degrees which I've had to endure today.

Awake & sober

Woke up this morning after an uneasy night of rest. I guess it's hard to sleep knowing that I'm due for a surgical procedure. Got up at 6.30am and made my way to Tan Tock Seng Hostpital. My appointment was at 7.30am.

It's interesting... the things that went through my mind as I made my way to TTSH. Of course, the thought that something could go wrong is probably the strongest. How did I overcome that? Appeal to higher powers lor. It sounds wrong, but it's basic human nature I guess. While I know I'm not exactly a on-the-ball-on-fire type of Christian, I do still know that despite my shortcomings and inadequacies, God still watches out for me. I mean, what if I really were to die? Sometimes I think about that, but then I start thinking about how I may be a little too tied to enjoying life. It's just one of those tough questions. Actually the answer is pretty simple. I just choose not to see it.

Anyway, arrived at TTSH and reported to the Day Surgery ward. I must say that all the nurses are very nice. It's nice to go into the pre-op room and not feel pissed with the staff. There were plenty of good mornings... smiles... 'how are you's...

Well, the first thing I had to do was put on this hospital gown. I hate this part coz the gowns are always too small. Dun understand why they can't just spare a little bit more cloth and make a bigger gown for people like me. So I'm stuffed into this gown, like a bachang and it was obviously way too short. Had to use a blanket to cover my bottom half, otherwise, free viewing for all! So anyway, after testing my blood pressure, temperature and asking a ton of questions.. I was left to wait for the op.

They wheeled me to the prep room (the room just next to the op room) and there I waited for 20 to 30 mins. Apparently, the anaesthetist was late. sigh. Had to sit there, waiting for dunno wat.. and at the same time, trying to keep calm. Like I said, the waiting times are also the times when you tend to start thinking of all kinds of stuff.

When the anaesthetist finaly arrived, things moved pretty quickly. They wheeled me into the room, transferred me to the op bed, and stuck a needle in back of my hand (I beleive they call it a life-line). The anaesthetist simply said 'first we'll inject some medicine to prevent vomitting'.. then 'now take deep breaths' as the nurse put the oxygen mask over my nose and mouth. Then, he basically said, 'Now, you'll be going to sleep.' I dunno, I dun think I even heard the end of that sentence. I was out.

The next thing I knew, I was in the recovery room, after about an hour or so in the op room. As usual, my throat hurt. As far as I know, after I go to sleep, they put a tube down your throat to help you breathe (eewww!). Of course, more so than my throat, the next thing that kinda scared me was that I would have to start passing out the stone fragments which they had crushed. Apparently, there was a uric stone blocking my kidney flow. Hence, they had used a laser to break it andnow, I simply have to drink plenty of water and pass it all out. Yes. It is quite painful. I shall not elaborate just how painful it is. Take my word for it.

Well, after resting for another 2 hrs or so, I went home with my sis. The one thing I can feel immediately is that my back no longer hurts when I stand. When the kidney was blocked, it was swollen so I really couldn't walk standing straight without experencing pain. Now the pain is dramatically reduced. Great! I've now got to simply rest, and drink plenty of water to flush out my system. Running a low-grade fever now, it's kinda expected coz the body had just undergone some trauma. Looks like much resting and sleeping over the next couple of days...

Thorn in the flesh...

Gonna go for another day surgery tomorrow. Two Fridays ago, I felt that something wasn't very right with my right side. There was a dull pain which was kinda like the one I had a year ago on my left side when my left kidney got blocked. I was also running a fever which went up and down between 38 and 39.7 degrees. So, I spent the following Sunday and Monday undergoing various x-rays and tests and the verdict? There was some blockage in my right kidney, and it was a swollen. So, I managed to get an appointment with Tan Tock Seng to see a specialist for last Friday. The specialist was new to me coz my old one had left to go into private practice. Anyway, he decided that it would be best for me to undergo a day surgery to remove the stone. I'm not gonna go into details coz I think it's too much of a reality-tv for posting. Well, simply put, I'm gonna be put under GA (general anaesthetic) where I basically go to sleep while they do whatever it is they're gonna do.

So, it's a week's mc for me as I recover from the op. Sorry to my three Sec 2 classes. Have to leave you guys at the last week of the module. I'm sure you'll have fun with the relief (as I know most classes always enjoy having a relief)...

Check back if you want to find out more after my op tomorrow... that is unless I'm too zonked out to post.

Parady of National Day Song

Heh.. Singaporeans also very free. Here's some guy who took the effort to do a different music video to the new National Day song. Frankly , I find Taufik a little irritating to look at in the video. Rui-en.. ok lar, but she't not really a big star yet, so I'm kinda surprised she got such an honour to record a national day song. Well, download this file, it's quite funny. The author used scenes from some chinese movies as a background.

Click here to get the file.
(I'm trying out this online hosting place.. sorry, no other place for me to host the files.)