KiNG's Blog

My New Gal - 13 July 2009

2009-09-28T07:16:00.000-07:00

Long time no blog. Busy me. Here's my new addition to the Ng family. :)

Wow, this is CHEAP!

2009-07-10T00:10:00.000-07:00

Found this cheap hair salon that charges only $4.80 for a hair-cut of any hair length. I just got my hair cut at the salon an hour ago. It's in Serangoon Central. If you would like to know where, just send me message and I will tell you. :D

A student is a student - not a customer

2009-06-29T07:24:00.000-07:00

This comment was taken from ST Forum, dated 29 June 2009.

I WAS mildly perturbed when I read last Monday's report, 'Every student is a customer at this school'. It was essentially an elaboration of one of the five core values of Republic Polytechnic - 'Customer-oriented'.

The report started with a sensational statement: 'Republic Polytechnic is not your usual school - it treats its students like customers.'

As I read on with raised eyebrows, my concerns escalated. One statement read: 'Staff are appraised based on how customer-oriented they have been.' Another: 'If students were won over by the benefits the school provided, they would become 'ambassadors' to convince friends and family to choose it too.'

At the risk of sounding prudish, the modern model of education may have gone off track if students are treated as 'customers'. There is one business mantra that comes to mind immediately: 'The customer is always right.' This popular saying is essentially true if we consider the ultimate motivation behind all customer-provider relationships - not 'customer satisfaction' per se, but a deal which benefits both parties.

However, this philosophy, if transplanted to the educational arena, might prove not only unavailing, but also unhealthy. Educators might be considered 'employees' in the organisational structure of any educational institute, but when it comes to teacher-student relations, they are not merely 'service providers' who 'trade' knowledge, nor should they 'please' students with reciprocation at the back of their minds (a better evaluation perhaps?).

While it is true that student feedback is vital when it comes to course design and self-reflection and improvement, to treat students as 'customers' is as good as saying that teacher-student relations are largely transactional. I worry that this fashionable term might slowly erode the foundation of mutual respect, love and spirit of continuity that education is based on.

Out of curiosity, I visited the Republic Polytechnic website. Under the core value of 'Customer-oriented', a one-liner follows: 'Customers are the focus of everything we do.' Then it dawned on me, this core value was meant to say: 'Students are given the utmost priority here in Republic Polytechnic, like customers.'

However, the intuitive discomfort I felt when I first read the report probably shows that the ambiguity of a 'customer' label exists and wrong messages may have been sent to parents, students and educators.

Zheng Yi

Latest comments

Bad luck!

2009-06-29T06:21:00.000-07:00

I think this year has been not so good for me, except for my daughter who will be arriving in August. Last 2 weeks, I went for my In-Camp Training in Sembawang. It was a nice place with fruit trees growing next to it. I always smelt of durians whenever I stepped out of my vehicle, early in the morning.

The first Thursday of my training, I went for my physical fitness test early in the morning. It was supposed to start at 7.30am. I waited with 2 other reservists near the canteen. We waited till after 8am before I decided to text my NS IC who told me that the fitness was cancelled! The two NSmen had taken time off from work to take the fitness test but it was cancelled. One of them grumbled to me while he was making his way out of the camp.

Well, I finally took my test on the second Thursday at 6pm. But the test started only after 6.30pm. The bad thing is I failed my 2.4km run by just 1 second! I think the extra weight I have had affected my performance. Haiz...

Year of Ox

2009-05-14T19:08:00.000-07:00

Somehow, something tells me that the year of ox is not a very good year, even to an "ox" like me! Things have not been going smoothly. My lucky star doesn't seem to be on my side. Recently, I got "bashed" by a heavy power adaptor on my big toe. I was cleaning up the table when I accidentally swept the adaptor down on my toes! It was very painful at first, but the pain soon subsided.

Last month, I was "charged" by SAF for not attempting my Individual Physical Proficiency Test (IPPT). In fact, I had already took it during my last in-camp training last year. I even obtained a SILVER for the test! Anyway, after making a few calls to the NS Service and my unit, the charge on me was cancelled afer the unit rectified the problem. My IPPT results were not entered into the system, so the the system automatically generated the charge slip.

There were other bad experiences and things happened. Haiz...

Next month, June, I will going back to my unit in Sembawang and Lim Chu Kang. This is another round of annual in-camp training (ICT). I did not receive the callup until I called them to find out. I remember the ICT is in June, but when I checked ns.gov.sg website, I could not find the callup notification. Finally, I was notified of ICT last night. What a year! :(

Outside a restaurant in Jurong Point

2009-03-17T18:53:00.000-07:00

This is Yu Hong standing outside a restaurant in Jurong Point. We were going to have a buffet dinner there. Notice the price for kids. :D

Wow! It's hot!

2009-02-18T08:11:00.000-08:00

Well, the weather these days is so hot! This picture was taken on Monday morning. It was reported that the haze had caused the sun to 'change' colour!

Valentine's Day @ IMM

2009-02-15T18:05:00.000-08:00

This was what we had on Valentine's Day at IMM. It was called the "Couple Fondue".

Broken Down!

2009-02-15T07:41:00.000-08:00

Well, the beginning of this year is not very 'good'. Why? You see, I bought this little digital pocket dictionary for less than a month and it broke down. It just died off suddenly and I could not 'revive' it. I tried resetting it and taking out the batteries and put them back. Everything did not work, so I sent it down to the service centre for repair. The lady asked if I had tried replacing the batteries. Well, I told her that I bought it for less than a month and used it not more than ten times! She went in and came back a while later. It was working fine with new batteries! She suggested that I should leave the dictionary with her for further investigation. In the end, it was found that there was a manufacturer's fault and my dictionary was replaced with a new one.

The second thing that broke down unfortunately was my refrigerator! I found out last Sunday when my wife opened the door to the freezer. Everything inside had defrost! While searching for a replacement at an electrical appliance store, I learned that it was the condenser which had broken down. The saleslady told us that the condenser is the one that helps to keep the things in the freezer compartment frozen. The compressor should be working fine as the air in the other compartment was still cool.

I will be looking for a smaller and cheaper refrigerator which can save me on my electricity bill.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2009-02-13T07:54:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone!

I received a Valentine surprise this evening from a Secondary 2 student.
He is Daryl Ng. Very surprised to receive it from him as I only taught him last year. Thanks Daryl! :D

Guess what's inside the paper bag? :)

It's a little muffin!!! :D

Welcome the Year of the Ox!

2009-02-10T17:42:00.000-08:00

It has been a long time since I last blogged. Anyway, the Lunar New Year is officially over as of Tuesday, which is the 16th day of first lunar month. A summary of the whole new year.

It was reunion dinner before and on the eve of Lunar New Year. I had so much food that my stomach was still bloated on New Year day. LOL!

Then, my whole family went visiting to parents, relatives and friends for the two CNY holiday. There were lots to eat and drink during the CNY season.

Last week was the birthday celebration week for my boy, Yu Hong. He turned 5 on last Friday. We bought him a birthday cake from Coffee Bean. We went to collect the cake just after noon. When the assistant manager opened the box for us to check the cake, we had a shock! The fruits on the cake were all over in the box while the chocolate with the wordings had broken too! The manager wanted to replace it with another one, but we had to reject her offer as the replacement was a pre-sliced one. It did not look nice to have a "sliced" cake for his birthday. Anyway, the matter was resolved after the manager got the production side to "make" another one. I collected it from the cafe after my work and in time for the birthday celebration at home. :D

He had a second celebration on the next day. He wanted to celebrate it in Hard Rock Cafe. He was very happy and excited after I made a reservation at the cafe. He started making invitation cards to family and relatives for his birthday "party". Actually, it was only a small private party.

His cousin celebrated his 8th birthday there last year. His cousin was made to stand on the chair with a cup of sundae in his hands in Hard Rock Cafe while everyone in the cafe sang birthday song to him. I wasn't there last year though. I heard the cousin was so "overwhelmed" that he had to rush to toilet after that. He had poo** in his pants!

This year, Yu Hong was also asked to stand on a chair with a cup of sundae and a candle. We were also afraid that he might be overwhelmed too. Well, he was "brave" enough to stand on the chair while the people in the cafe joined in to sing him the birthday song. Maybe he was more mentally prepared than his cousin.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-29T08:53:00.000-08:00

Happy lunar new year! I hope everyone is having a time collecting red packets from your relatives and elders. Well, I started eating a lot even before the CNY. The "reunion" dinners were so sumptuous that I had my stomach filled with delicious food! I had my reunion dinner with my in-laws in a Japanese restaurant which serves buffet. The restaurant was newly-opened in the Jurong Point Extension. There was a widespread of raw and cooked food. There was also a good selection of desserts, from ice-creams to fruit, with free flow of hot and cold drinks.

I think it is worth the money if you do eat a lot. :D

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T18:25:00.000-08:00

It has been a long time since I last posted. The year 2008 has really passed so fast. I was still packing the room last week. It was so hard to do housekeeping. I had a hard time deciding what to keep and what to throw. I am so used to keep and keep as I always think (and still do) that someday this "thing" could be of use. I still remember the 3 Rs - Reduce, Recycle and Reuse! After two rounds of housekeeping, I still have a lot of things on the table and floor.

Can somebody provide me with some housekeeping advice?

Thanks in advance. :)

Back from Penang!

2008-11-19T20:56:00.000-08:00

Hihi! Came back almost a week from Penang...
The journey there was very long - 10 hours on a coach.

This is the Ice Kachang, Penang-style.
It has lots of "stuffs" beneath the ice and a scoop of ice cream on top.

This is known as the Coconut Shake.
It contains real coconut juice and flesh, but the "milk" taste is stronger than the "coconut". It also has a scoop of ice cream in it. It tastes great and I actually gulped down two glasses of it. Yummy!

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This is Yu Hong at the Dim Sum restaurant along one of the small lanes in Georgetown.
He was sleeping when we reached there. When he woke up, he did not want to eat. Haiz...

Notice to ALL

2008-11-11T04:18:00.000-08:00

The KiNG would like to inform that he will be away to Penang from 11 November to 14 November, both dates inclusive.

Movie : Sing to the Dawn

2008-11-03T22:04:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I went to Vivo City with my boy to watch "Sing to the Dawn". Don't know why he was so fascinated by the story. We even bought the graphic novel of the story last week at a bookshop. I have not read the story before, but I find the story very interesting.

This story was actually a literature text many years ago. It was even tested in the 'O' Level Literature examination. Mine was 'Or Else, the Lightning God' by Catherine Lim. I like her book very much. I still remember some of her stories in the book. There are a number of stories in that storybook. It was tested during the 'O' Level examination.

Anyway, you may want to visit this website for more information on that story.

http://www.singtothedawn.com/

A Visit to the Dentist

2008-10-23T21:02:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning, after taking my son to his nursery class, I went to make an appointment with the dentist. There were not many people in the clinic at that time, so I decided to have my appointment on that day. The wait was not too long as there were two dentists in that clinic. Apparently, the clinic was opened by a family of dentists.

I had not been to the clinic for ages. It was my first time visiting that clinic. The dentist was very professional as she explained every step she made and the condition of my teeth. She also told me the latest dental trend of filling up the cavities. Instead of drilling a big "hole" at the tooth, only the "damaged" part is drilled and filled. She found a tiny crack line on one of my wisdom teeth. I had scaling and two fillings done. That cost me $151! $55 for the scaling and $48 for each filling. She advised me to visit the dentist every 6 months to make sure the teeth and gum are in the tip-top condition. She said my teeth were in good condition.

She took about 45 minutes in all. :)

Clock has STOPPED!

2008-10-21T21:52:00.000-07:00

This morning, at around 12.15, the new clock, which my sister-in-law has bought, stopped moving. How would I know the time? Let you guess. Anyway, she just bought it three days ago. It wasn't one of those made-in-China stuffs (no bias against it). Anyway, it was made in Japan and cost about 14 times more than the one I bought ($1.90).

Forgot to mention about the fault with the clock. It wasn't the faulty mechanism, but it was the ants! The ants went into the clock mechanism and jammed the gears of the clock. That caused the clock to stop. The shop lady was kind enough to remove the ants from the clock free-of-charge. I just got back the clock.

The lady advised me to spray some insecticide before hanging up the clock. That will prevent the ants from getting into the clock.

I'm PINK again!

2008-10-15T10:11:00.000-07:00

I think I have recovered from that awful stomach flu. Why does stomach have flu? Weird! I think I still have to abstain from tea and coffee for a while. I have avoided oily food as much as I can. So far, there is no necessity to take that "vomit" medicine the doctor prescribed.

Thanks for those people who have sent me their regards.

I have fallen ill!

2008-10-13T21:04:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning, I was still feeling well and eating well. I even braved through one heavy downpour. I wonder if that was the cause of my illness. I started to feel weak after my tuition session with a boy. He was still recovering from his illness. He had fever the week before and was still having flu. I felt so weak and could hardly move my body. I felt so cold. That was when I realised that I had fallen sick.

I slept early last night. Could not eat much as my stomach was bloated even before eating. This morning, I went to see a doctor after taking my son to his nursery class. The doctor told me that I had stomach flu! Oh my, that is one of the worst illnesses. I have to abstain from oily food, coffee and tea. This illness will usually get worse before you will get better. Now, I don't feel like doing anything at all.

I better rest. Signing off.

End of ICT

2008-10-03T00:35:00.000-07:00

Finally, today is the last day of my ICT.
Took my IPPT this morning.
I think I got a Silver this time. :D

5th Day of ICT

2008-09-26T08:32:00.000-07:00

Today is my fifth day of ICT. Something unpleasant happened today. I shall not mention it. Anyway, I managed to complete my first round of my study for my professional knowledge examination. I need to answer over a hundred questions in that examination. I drank coffee to keep myself awake while fighting the Z-monster(if you know what it is). I lost a few battles though. :P

Yesterday, I got back my result for my blood test. I am a little high in cholesterol and in the bad cholesterol. There are basically two types of cholesterol - one good and the other bad. The doctor advised me to cut down on my consumption of fried and oily food. Also, I would need to exercise regularly.

Second Day of ICT

2008-09-23T08:13:00.000-07:00

Today is my second day of my ICT (In-Camp-Training).

Yesterday, I was at the cookhouse having my lunch when my junior waved at me. She literally waved her hand in front of me! I was surprised to see her looking so much different from the last time I met her. Someone told me that it was because she had given birth to two kids.

Today, I only studied a bit for my Professional Knowledge Examination. Luckily, they put the exam date on next Thursday. I still have some time to study. My IPPT (Individual Physical Proficiency Test) date is next Friday. I have not been running although I have always walked up the stairs to my tuition centre. I hope that helps. :D

There was a blood donation drive in my camp today but I did not go for it. I was still having my phobia since the last needle went through my skin! Tomorrow, I will be reporting to another camp in Lim Chu Kang.

An Adventure to the Medical Centre!

2008-09-18T08:23:00.000-07:00

I wanted to blog about my "adventure" to medical centre yesterday, but I was too busy to do it. Let me show you two pictures of my poor arms with plasters. I have not taken any pictures after taking off the plasters. Maybe next time when I blog.

Yesterday morning, I went down to my army camp for my medical appointment. It was my FFI for IPPT. I cannot remember what 'FFI' stands for, but I do remember 'IPPT' stands for Individual Physical Proficiency Test, similar to NAPFA test in schools.

My appointment was supposed to be 8am but I did tell the sergeant who booked the appointment on my behalf that I could only reach there around 9am. He said it was alright. Anyway, I reached the guard room slightly after 8.30am. I exchanged my identity card for a security pass to enter the camp. Also, I requested for a locker to keep my mobile phone which had a camera function. Camera phones are not allowed into all army camps and installations. I got the lucky 13 locker. The locker number was '13'. So lucky! I remembered my security pass number was 260.

So much for the numbers. I drove into the camp and parked near the medical centre. I entered the centre and registered myself at the registration counter. The place was smelt of a scent which you could find in any hospital.

Anyway, after I registered my name with the counter, I was told to wait at the waiting area outside the treatment room and the consultation room. I was given the registration form, but I realised there was no queue number written on it. There was no one else there, so I expected to have my turn very soon. A minute later, a high-ranking officer (LTC) came and sat at the waiting area too. He was quickly shown into the treatment room. Very efficient of them. After he left, I was still waiting for my turn and watching the news on the television. Then, I saw a number flashing outside the treatment room. The number was '505'. It looked so familiar. I looked around me. There was no one around except me. I was wondering if the number was for me. The same number flashed. Was it for me? Just as I was still wondering, a medic in uniform walked towards me and asked for my name. It was my turn! I was told that the last three digits of identity card number would be flashed as the queue number.

After I entered the treatment room, I sat down and the medic proceeded to draw blood from my right master arm. He followed some procedure to locate the blood veins in my right arm. Finally, he got ready the syringe, which was quite big, to draw blood. I was a little scared of the needle as it was quite long. He poked the needle through my arm and tried to draw the blood, but no blood went into the syringe. He tried to move the needle around (Mind you, the needle was still under the skin of my arm). After a few attempts of trying to "poke" the vein, he gave up and a medic sergeant took over from him. He tried, with no avail, on my left arm and later my right arm to draw the blood. The medic sergeant asked me whether I was afraid of needles. I was thinking who weren't be afraid after three needles went through the skin! I put up a brave front and replied that I was a little 'scared'. After that last attempt, my two arms were already punctured with three 'holes'. Blood was oozing from the 'wounds' on my arms. The two medics then decided to call the doctor for assistance. The doctor was attending to a patient in the consultation room next door. We waited for about ten minutes before the doctor came.

Dr Chia, I remembered, was 'more professional', obviously. Initially, the medic wanted to use 'vacutainer' to draw the blood. The 'vacutainer' seemed to be a better and sure way of drawing blood. It makes use of 'vacuum' in the container to draw the blood. The doctor chose the syringe instead. He was quick to find the blood veins and drew the required amount of blood in no time.

Foreign Workers

2008-09-09T08:36:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I had three new "students" from Myanmar and Indian. Actually, the two Myanmar students I had came last week. I understood from them that they actually paid their agent(who brought them to Singapore) a sum of $4000. I think that includes their air tickets to Singapore. The other Indian man, in his twenties, came only two days ago.I found out from him that he paid $6500 to his agent for the trip to Singapore. That was a lot more than that of Myanmar's. Two years ago, another Indian man said he paid $4000 to his agent for the trip to Singapore. I guess the price has gone up.

Through the conversations, I learned more about them and their countries. Anyway, Kyaw Moe and Aung, who were from Myanmar, were working as shoemaker and dentist respectively. Kyaw Moe was 33 year-old while Aung was only 24 year-old. Kyaw Moe had just married for only 4 days before he left his country for Singapore. Aung, on the other hand, was married with a year-old daughter. They were not earning much in their country. Aung was previously working as a dentist in a government hospital and earning about S$100 a month. Leaving their country and families, they came to seek better job with better pay. I heard from them that they will get about $34 a day if they work for at least 4 hours in a day. If not, they will be paid $4 an hour. They will not be paid if they do not work.

The new Indian man, Rajeshkannan, intended to work for two years before going back to his country to get married. Two others, Bala and Muthu, who has worked between 2 to 7 years, are getting married next year. Bala and another Indian worker, Raja, have just gotten their Permanent Resident(PR) status. That means they do not need to apply for work permit to work in Singapore.

I guess life in Singapore is not as easy as they think. Though they are earning more money than what they would get in their own countries, they are 'separated' from their families and children. Some are seeking a better place to settle down after they get their PR. I understand from them that one has to work for at least 2 years to apply.

Tuition

2008-08-22T07:37:00.000-07:00

It's the third week giving tuition to some foreign workers. Some from India while the rest are from Malaysia. The youngest was 23 years old. (I remember). The oldest was more than fifty years old. He didn't tell me his exact age. I have never expected to have a student as old as fifty-plus.

It was a different kind of experience teaching adults. They were definitely different from the kids I taught. Different from Secondary students too! At first, it was only a class of five students. I was the oldest then. In the second week, more students came in to join the class. The class was very quiet. They didn't talk much. The Indians were better at the English Language as they had learnt it when they were in India. They were pretty 'well-educated' as most studied up to university level. They were all from Southern India and came to Singapore to work as Aircon Servicemen. Sometimes, they had to do other odd jobs like cleaning and other labour work.

Happy National Day!

2008-08-10T18:54:00.000-07:00

Hihi! I went to watch the fireworks and aerial display near the Marina Bay during the NDP Preview the week before. The aerial display was taken in a carpark in Shaw Tower. I didn't know that you could see the display so well at the top storey of the carpark. But I don't think you could see the fireworks as there are other buildings blocking the view.

National Parade 2008 Preview

2008-08-03T19:12:00.001-07:00

Hello everyone...!

2008-07-20T21:21:00.000-07:00

These photographs are for Don, The Spammer! He is one of the pupils I taught in a school that is so HIPS lor. Maybe you would guess which school he is from.

Anyway, he didn't believe that I was invited to the Istana. So, I have to take pictures of the invitation card and the uniform that I wore that day. I was a little busy, so I only waited till today to post it on my blog.

Presidential Garden Reception

2008-07-14T06:58:00.000-07:00

The visit to the Istana yesterday was quite an eye-opening. My reporting station was at the Environment Building along Scotts Road and I was to report there between 4pm and 5pm. I reached the place at around 4.40pm.

Once I reached there, I had to queue up at the registration counter to verify my identification and obtain a security pass to enter the Istana. After I got my pass, I needed to join another queue for the security check. We were like entering the airport security checkpoint as we needed to declare all metal objects and any form of liquid that we carried. That was quite a long queue but the police officers were quite efficient and I was cleared within fifteen minutes. I then boarded a mini-bus and I was on my way to the Istana. The journey was pretty smooth and short. I entered the Istana through another gate - not the one I expected. I thought I would enter the Istana through the main gate next to Plaza Singapura. That's along Orchard Road if you do not know.

There was a number of trees in the Istana compound. There was also a good view of the city skyscrapers within the compound. It was unfortunate that no photography was allowed in the Istana, so I did not manage to take any picture. The Garden in the Istana was round in shape and was quite big. There were a few huge tents set up within the Garden to house the buffet tables. There was a big spread of buffet in the tents and some high tables around the Garden. Most of the guests at the Garden were grouped according to their respective forces. I was surprised to meet one of my old classmates from my primary and secondary schools. He was Martin, an officer in the Navy before he left the service. We had a good chat and ate good food at the Garden Reception.

The President arrived shortly after the arrival of a few ministers and senior officers. The minister who came to our tent first was Mr Ng Eng Hen, Minister of Education. He was friendly and he mingled with the guests at the tent. He shook hands and chatted with them. A few minutes later, he was ushered to the other tents by his accompanying officers. Another minister then came to the tent. The last person to come was the President himself. When he arrived, many guests swarmed towards him to shake hands with him. I was holding on to my BIG plate of food so I did not manage to shake hands with him. The plate was really heavy as it was made of porcelain. The food was definitely wonderful and I ate to my fill.

About an hour later, it was time for the President to take his leave. The National Anthem was played before he left. Shortly after he left, it was our turn to leave the Istana. An announcement was made for the guests to board the bus at the drop-off points. This time, we took the large buses from SBS and SMRT. The bus I took left the Istana through the main gate along Orchard Road. We were dropped off at the bus-stop opposite Newton MRT Station, which was near the Environment Building.

Presidential Garden Reception 2008

2008-07-02T17:37:00.000-07:00

Hi, remember I told you that I was invited to the Presidential Garden Reception 2008? Well, there is actually a website dedicated for that occasion. You can go to the website at this address : http://www.mindef.gov.sg/pgr

I have not blogged for a long time. Same excuse - busy and lazy. :P

Busy HolidaY.

2008-06-12T19:57:00.000-07:00

Sorry, I couldn't find time to blog. Honestly, I was made to blog now by a BEE! It's a Honey Bee which goes around buzzing people to blog. I am one of the victims! I always thought the job of the Honey Bee was to go to flowers to flowers to collect nectar to make honey.

Anyway, I was as busy as a bee, going to schools in the morning and tuition in the afternoon till evening. During the last four days, I conducted enrichment classes in the tuition centre I am working in. Finally, I have one morning "free" to blog and do other stuffs. Next week, I will be back to school again for the whole week! Guess I will another busy week ahead.

You can see all the children lining up for Mrs Teh's delicious spaghetti.

It was the last day of the enrichment programme yesterday. Mrs Teh, another teacher in the centre, cooked some nice food,like spaghetti and pasta, for the kids. She is such a wonderful teacher and fabulous chef. I enjoy her very interesting life stories when we chats during our free time. :D

2008-05-22T08:49:00.001-07:00

By Keith Lin

BECOME an engineer in the manufacturing sector and you can expect, on average, a starting pay of $4,000 a month.

While a less princely sum may await you if you are less qualified, the sweet news is you can pick and choose from a long list of vacancies in a wide variety of jobs, according to a new online career guide.

Produced by the Government, it has been praised by headhunters like Ms Annie Yap as a one-of-a-kind comprehensive guide.

The 35-page guide, called Labour Market Highlights, identifies specific jobs and how much they pay, as well as the specific skills or qualifications that each requires.

Targeted at adult job-seekers, the guide also uses colour codes to indicate the chances of getting hired for a particular job.

It is updated whenever new information is available from surveys like the annual wage survey that is conducted by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM).

Job-seekers would not be the only group that will find it useful, said Ms Yap, chief executive officer of human resources consultancy GMP.

'Employers, too, can also refer to it when deciding how much to pay their staff to retain them,'' she added.

The guide, available at www.mom.gov.sg, is produced by MOM and the Workforce Development Agency as part of the Government's effort to ease the labour crunch by opening the eyes of job-seekers to a wider range of job opportunities.

It was launched by Acting Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong yesterday, and is one of two guides the Government has produced this year to help job-seekers chart their careers.

The other, introduced in February, is Career Compass for students. Also available online, it is to help them better understand the job market so that they can pursue the appropriate courses.

The latest publication lists more than 120 executive and rank-and-file jobs in 11 sectors such as construction, retail and logistics.

Each job shows the number of vacancies, with colour codes depicting the extent of the demand.

For instance, hot jobs, like technicians in the construction industry, have a blazing-red circle next to it.

Next in line are jobs in high demand, shown with a yellow sign, and those in average demand, in green.

The guide also gives a broad overview for each sector, describing the industry outlook and estimated number of jobs it will create in the years ahead.

The making of Mother's Day Card

2008-05-12T21:06:00.000-07:00

I am invited to the Istana!

2008-04-25T08:07:00.001-07:00

I received great news today! I was invited to the Istana for a reception by the President himself. Wow! Isn't that great? It's my first time going to the Istana. I hope it was not a prank call by somebody. He told me that he would send me the invitation. I think I needed to fill up some forms before I could go. Well, it's for security purpose. Not everyone can go to Istana, you know. :P

HFMD

2008-04-18T17:35:00.000-07:00

Thursday, 17th April

I took my son to his nursery at the usual time. We met the grandmother of one of his classmates on our way. We thought we were very late that morning, but the grandmother said that she came back because the mother was there with her grand-daughter. As we approached the centre, we met another grandmother who told us that there were only four kids present in the class. When we reached the centre, the teacher, Miss Joanne, told me that my son was the third pupil who came. I was surprised. She told me that the centre had a few cases of pupils getting Hand-Foot-Mouth Disease, so the centre was very particular with the health condition of the pupils. She checked my son and found a tiny ulcer in his mouth. I couldn't be sure whether he had bit himself, so she told me to take him to see a doctor.

The queue at the clinic was pretty long that day. We waited for almost half an hour or so. The doctor said it was unlikely to be HFMD, but he advised that he should stay home. It seemed that the disease has no definite symptoms. By the time the symptoms appear, the patient would have become the "carrier" of the dreadful disease which has no cure at the moment.

Friday, 18th April

Woke up in the morning. First thing, to check my son for any ulcers. Well, the ulcer in his mouth seemed to have disappeared. Since he could not go to school, so we took him to the MacDonald's in West Coast. He enjoys going there as the MacDonald's is big and there are many playgrounds in the park. He wanted to cycle there, but I could not stay long as I needed to work in the afternoon. My wife didn't need to go to work that day, so we went there as a family.

Saturday, 19th April

Things to do -> need to take my boy for a review at the clinic. The centre requires us to have a memo from the doctor to certify him as "fit to go back to school". I cannot take him there as I have to work in the morning. So I asked my wife to do it. I think he should be able to return to school on Monday. :)

Wish me a Happy Birthday!

2008-03-31T04:40:00.000-07:00

Happy birthday to me!

Thanks for all your greetings; my ex-pupils, ex-colleagues, "daughters", friends and family!

Today, I am supposed to "take the day off" since it was my birthday. But I have a commitment to teach in a secondary school and it was the last session today too. I did not manage to complete the whole booklet of activities due to the time constraint. It was a 2-hour session, but a lot of explanation took up quite a bit of time. I had to make sure they were clear about the tasks and the problems presented to them. I was happy that they were very cooperative even though I sensed that they were tired and brain-drained after a few tasks. Then, I gave them some sweets and asked them if they knew why I gave them. They replied they were behaving well. That's true. I told them it was my birthday and some of them did not seem to believe it. Anyway, I did not bother about it. They were very nice and wished me a happy birthday!

Long time no blog!

2008-03-27T20:24:00.000-07:00

Well, it has been a long time since I last blog. I was busy OBVIOUSLY! Haha! Anyway, I went to a secondary school in the North-Eastern part of Singapore to conduct a programme. I was happy when I saw the class list as I saw a few of the familiar names in it. There was a change in the class list just before the day, but I still got to see a few of them. Some of them were in the other classes which I did not teach.

I was so glad that one of the boys actually came by my class to greet me. He was Bing Ren. I taught him when he was in P2. He was one of the fastest runners that I knew that time. He was also one "loud speaker". I had Wei Qin and Felicia in my class. Wei Qin was one of my best pupils at that time. It was a pleasure teaching her as she did her work and corrections diligently. There wasn't even a need to ask her to do corrections as she would do it AUTOMATICALLY. Her handwriting was and is still very neat and tidy! Felicia was my CCA member. She was responsible and would follow instructions diligently, even though she might "grumble" occasionally. :D

Another great ex-pupil is Yan Yi who always remembers my birthday. She would always send her greetings on special occasions throughout the year. She still hand-makes birthday and greeting cards every year. I remember I only told her (and my class) when she was P3 that I like things that are hand-made from pupils. The main idea was to discourage pupils from spending money buying "gifts" that I had to keep in the storeroom! The hand-made gifts, no matter how "small", show the efforts and sincerity. I remember one of my pupils, Little Lok, who passed me a Teacher's Day card and told me it was his mum who asked him to give me!!! Thanks, Little Lok. I will not tell anyone your full name to protect you. Haha! But I know my sister, Ms Ng, will know who I am talking about!

I hope she will have a smooth "sailing" year this year.

I killed one last night!

2008-03-18T20:30:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of the American cockroach which was killed by me last night. It was spotted at the "border" between the living room and the kitchen. Instantly, I was tasked to terminate its life. I grabbed some old newspaper, rolled it into a "stick", approached the poor little soul and hit it straight on its head! I gave it a second hit just in case. Death was instant. There was no struggle.

Bombs from Above!

2008-02-27T20:58:00.000-08:00

This morning, something caught my eyes while walking towards the carpark. Look at the state of the packet drink. The impact from falling from don't-know-what height had ruptured the packaging. Also, take note of how the remaining drink in the packet had spread across the ground. Interestingly, the packet remained upright after falling down. I wonder which floor the packet has fallen from.

Story of Pigeon

2008-02-21T17:36:00.000-08:00

Well, Pigeon has left. Actually, it was yesterday afternoon. He managed to get out of the pail which he was put into. Then I saw him walking into the room I was in. I quickly shooed him out of the room as I was afraid he might leave something unpleasant in the room. He scampered out of the room and into the kitchen where my mum-in-law was. After that, he walked out of the flat and down the stairs. He was not seen again. My mother-in-law said he was saying farewell to all of us before leaving.

Farewell, Pigeon!

Chingay Parade 2008 @ Padang

2008-02-20T20:42:00.000-08:00

The first Chingay Parade started in 1973. It was initially meant to replace the Chinese New Year firecrackers which was banned in 1972. Now, the parade has evolved and become an internationally acclaimed multi-cultural festive event for all of us in Singapore. It includes performers from other Asian countries as well.

If you are keen to see the Parade, you can watch them on this Saturday, 23 February, at Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC.

Check out the details here: http://www.btptc.org.sg/chingay/chingay-main.htm

A Special Visitor

2008-02-20T19:52:00.000-08:00

This morning, we had a special visitor which popped into our apartment. His name was Pigeon. Pigeon walked all over the flat as we followed him. He even went to the toilet but he "poo-ed" at the ledge just outside the toilet. I guess he was not toilet-trained yet. He looked as hungry and tired, so my mum-in-law placed him in a pail and fed him water and bread. He didn't seem to like bread though, unlike other pigeons. Strangely, he enjoyed the "foot" spa as he dipped his little feet into the water, which was meant for him to drink. I wonder if he would drink it later... :P

This is Pigeon, posing for this picture.

I think Pigeon was hurt as he could not fly high. Last night, I met him at the lift lobby. He was chased by a few kids. The kids were running after him till they reached the end of the corridor. I did not know what happened after that.

Teacher's Workshop

2008-02-12T17:35:00.001-08:00

Hihi! Long time "no blog". Sometimes, I am a little lazy to blog. I would think of what I wanted to say in the blog while I was driving. Usually, I have more "thoughts" when I am driving than other times. I guess there isn't anything to do when I drive, so my mind will start to "process" other things in my head.

11 February

I went to Marsiling Primary School to attend a teacher's workshop on the first day of school after the lunar new year. It has been quite some time since I last attended any teacher's workshop. Anyway, the workshop lecturer was my former lecturer cum tutor, Dr Yeap. I still enjoyed his lesson very much. It was not my first time attending his workshop though. Every time I attend his workshop, I will bring back something - something that I learned. He will always give something new to me in every workshop.

He showed us a new perspective of looking at the way questions were phrased in the textbook and the workbook. He also told us some of the limited information given in the teacher's guide, which most teachers diligently follow. That day's focus was on Thinking Skills. I think the textbook publishers should include more explanation on the thinking skills part, so that teachers can further extend the concepts.

I think I will be attend more of his workshops this year! :)

Happy Lunar New Year!

2008-02-08T00:03:00.000-08:00

Hello, long time no blog! Busy and have no time to do it. Anyway, 6th February is my son's birthday. He loves strawberry, so we bought him 2 strawberry short cakes from Four Leaves. He likes its strawberry short cake as it has strawberries on the cake and in the cake! Well, one of the cakes was bought by his eldest aunt. The other one was ordered by me. We had one at my mum-in-law's place while we ate the other one at my mum's place. He was very happy that day.

We went down to Chinatown after the reunion dinner at my mum's place. We went back to our place first as our stomachs were not feeling well that evening. I guess it could be something that we ate in the afternoon. Anyway, Chinatown was crowded as usual. We stood opposite Yue Hwa building just across the road from Chinatown Point. We had a hard time finding a parking lot, so in the end, we ended up in Chinatown Point. Yu Hong was still sleeping when we reached Chinatown. He was very tired that evening so he slept in the car. Luckily, he woke up minutes before 12 midnight. It is a yearly event to go down to Chinatown to watch the fire crackers and fireworks. Yu Hong was very afraid of the loud "cracking" sound from the fire crackers. He covered his ears throughout the whole event. It was very very loud and deafening. This year, Yu Hong commented that there was no lion dance. He remembered the lion dance performance last year.

After the fire crackers and fireworks, we went into the small lanes to "shop". There were many stalls selling all sorts of food, drinks and new year stuffs. They were all slashing prices after midnight as they wanted to "get rid" of their stuffs as soon as possible before the people left. There was this teenager who kept saying "Oh my god!" while pushing through the crowd. It was still very crowded when we left Chinatown at around 1.30am. It was tiring, sweaty and fun.

On our way to the carpark, I noticed a family of four, an old grandmother, a man, a woman and a little girl, rummaging through the dustbins along the road, picking up empty drink cans. Further down the road, after an Indian temple, was two other women rummaging for the same thing. Life must be very hard for them. It reminds me that we should be contented with what we have and be prepared for the "rainy" days... Somehow, the two women we met seemed to be from China. They did not look like the locals. Hmmm...

Promotion!

2008-01-09T21:05:00.000-08:00

Good news! I have just received a letter from my Unit in RSAF informing me that I have been promoted to the rank of Staff Sergeant with effect from 1st January 2008. The bad news is I have to BUY my new rank insignias and PAY some aunty to sew them on my uniforms! I remember I did all that about three to four years ago! The rank insignias are still VERY new!

Well, I have no choice. It's an order. In Army, there's no "BUT", just DO IT! :D

Some of the Taiwan Tour Pictures - Dec 2007

2008-01-07T19:46:00.000-08:00

Hong Kong Tour December 2006

2008-01-07T19:23:00.000-08:00

X'mas Photos

2008-01-07T19:17:00.001-08:00

New Year Countdown in Sydney!

2008-01-03T06:49:00.000-08:00

This video clip was sent to me by my friend, Alison, in Sydney.
I think this was taken at the Sydney Harbour during the recent new year countdown. The fireworks there lasted 20 minutes while ours was about 8 minutes.

Orientation Day

2008-01-02T19:33:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was my son's first day in school. I have the privilege to take him to school on his first day. Well, it was his orientation day. His form teacher is Mrs Wong. It was a short orientation of less than an hour. The teacher briefed us, the parents, on the day-to-day activities the children will have on a normal day and the most important rules and regulations. The children will enter the centre through the front door, but they will go back home through the side door. So parents will have to pick their children from the side door.

Happy New Year to ALL!

2008-01-01T02:14:00.000-08:00

What a new year! A holiday day for me to pack the room. So many stuffs in here! I have this problem of junking up all the things which I could not decide whether to throw or not. Just like my office cubicle last time. I had so many things that I had to chunk them under my table!!! I had to "create" more space to store them over the years. Can you imagine how many items I had to move when I had to leave the school?

I find that everytime I have to pack the room or place, I will only reorganize them. Most of the items are still here, but at different places. There are so many things which I have "collected" over time. They have become my collector's items. Should I throw or should I keep? That's a BIG question mark for me! :D

Happy New Year!!!

2007-12-26T08:45:00.000-08:00

Hi, everyone! I just came back from Taiwan yesterday afternoon. It was great fun touring the country. The Taiwanese guide, who was close to 60 years old, was fantastic! He had more than thirty years of guide experience. He took us to various parts of the country. Let me sort out the things first before giving you a more detailed account (if I have time). Hehe!

A Changing World!

2007-12-07T07:55:00.000-08:00

Nowadays, a lot of reports on contaminated food and food stuffs containing cancer-causing ingredients. Recently, the shocking news of Prima Deli, a famous local bakery, producing cakes that were tainted with a virus known as salmonella. I guess we have been taking food safety too lightly, not just in Singapore, but in other countries as well.

There are also other reports on toys that are made from poisonous materials, food made from tainted raw materials, etc. China has long had the worst reputation of producing tainted toys and food stuffs. Surprisingly, some tainted food, such as the recent tainted potato chips, was from America. I wonder if that was some kind of conspiracy as the test was conducted in China.

Happy Gathering!

2007-11-27T03:02:00.000-08:00

Today, I had a good chat with my old friends and sister. I have not seen them or talked to them for a long time. It's good to gather once awhile to catch up with them. :D

17th November 2007 - In Memory of xxx

2007-11-23T17:20:00.000-08:00

17th November was a sad day for my family. We could have welcomed a new member to our family next year, but it did not turn out well. Nature had its way, the doctor had said, and nothing could stop or prevent it. I guess this is FATE. :(

My Son's Graduation!

2007-11-16T00:57:00.000-08:00

Auntie Lim, Teacher Rahimah & Yu Hong

Yu Hong with his Graduation Certificate :D

Family photo :P

Finally, Yu Hong's first graduation ceremony at Apply Tree Playgroup.

Shock!

2007-11-15T05:59:00.000-08:00

Today, I got a rude shock from a pupil in the class that I was teaching. I was conducting an enrichment class in a "popular" school in the West. I guess it was the last day of school, so a number of pupils were rather restless and wanting to play or talk with their friends, although their teacher was also in class. Nevertheless, I had to finish the workshop, so I tried to coax them to continue with their work. At one time, the teacher tried to help me by asking the pupils to "show respect to the trainer (that's me)". Then, one boy stood up and talked back at the teacher. He said rudely,"Why should I show respect when you never show respect to me!"

I was shocked at his words! I saw the teacher was also at a loss of words.

A Day at the Bank!

2007-11-14T04:40:00.000-08:00

Today, I was going to Kovan to set up a computer program. On the way, I passed by a bank and I decided to withdraw some money from the ATM. After I got the money, I realized that I could do a cash card refund as the card was expiring. My cash card was also an ATM card. I went to join the main queue in the bank. I waited for about 15 minutes before I was served. When I showed the counter staff or the cashier my card and told her about my intention, she immediately told me to go to counter 6.

As directed, I went over to counter 6 which looked like an Inquiry Counter. The counter staff was serving a lady who had absentmindedly left her $500 at the ATM machine after withdrawing it. She told the staff that it was not her first time and she anxiously would like to know whether the machine had "taken" the money back. The staff politely advised the lady that she had no idea as she had never encountered such a problem before. They talked for quite awhile and the queue started to become longer. Finally, the staff showed the lady the report she had written for her and got her to sign for it. The lady still lingered at the counter, turning her bag upside down to make sure she did not "absentmindedly" put the money in her bag. The man behind the lady immediately asked the staff about his query. Then, it was finally my turn after a long wait. She told me to fill up the form, which I already did. But I told her the form was meant for the normal cash card and not my "special card"! She realized it and gave it a queue number. She pointed to another part of the bank with a few cubicles. Oh my! I had to wait for my TURN again! I sat down on a chair and in front of me was a man talking to another staff about his problem. They were pointing to a piece of paper and the man was trying to tell the staff that there was no need to open another investment account as he was just renewing his contract or some sort. It was another long wait ...

I got tired of waiting, so I decided to tell the staff at the inquiry counter that I was not going to wait any longer. She kindly told me that I was the next one, but I had waited for more than 20 minutes and it was still not my turn! She then advised me to join the main queue. I told I came from the main queue and now she asked me to join the main queue AGAIN! She took me back to the first counter staff and told her to serve me after the current customer. What! I thought she could not process my refund. Finally, I realized that she did not know the procedure for the refund. She asked a senior staff and she also did not know how. Then, I saw the senior staff in jacket left the bank with another staff, probably for her break. The counter staff took my identity card and disappeared from the counter! After awhile, she came back with a more senior staff - probably the manager.

Finally, there was someone who knew how to process my refund. She issued me with a new ATM card while keeping my old card. I never like going to the bank because of the long queue. I enjoy my banking online.

What Sickness?

2007-11-12T23:52:00.000-08:00

I did a quick diagnose of my sickness. Started with sore throat, then came running nose and cough. Seems to me, it is a kind of common illness that I had before. I would feel cold on my forehead, though I might be sweating. I have yellow mucus and phlegm, which indicates that my body is feeling "heaty".

Based on that, I should avoid cold drink and chili, so as not to aggravate my sore throat and cough. I should avoid taking "heaty" food and take in more "cooling" stuffs. That reminds me that I should buy some Chrysanthemum tea. :D

Feeling sick...!

2007-11-12T22:50:00.000-08:00

I am not feeling too well recently. I started to have a bit of sore throat last Friday. I think I must have been using too much of my voice recently as I have been going around the island to conduct workshops for pupils on the use of calculators. I tried to drink more water but sometimes I only drank a bit before and after the workshop.

Well, last Friday, my family and my wife's sisters went to Downtown East. I went there quite late as I had classes till 9pm. We stayed there for three days and two nights as my wife's brother-in-law had booked the chalet through his company.

The following day, we went to Wild Wild Wet. The weather was good as it was cloudy without much sunlight. It was a mistake not to apply sun-block as we came back with over-tanned skin!!! So remember, even though the sky might look cloudy, apply your sun-block. There were a number of slides you could play there, but we could only play those which my 3 year-old boy could play. We went into this "lazy pool" which we sat onto this big round float and the current would bring you round and round. Later, we went to the "wave pool" where strong waves were "made" and you could move with the waves. Next, we went to the jacuzzi pool where we relaxed ourselves under the sun. There was a party going on next to the jacuzzi pool. I think it was a child's birthday party.

I find the entrance fee to the Wild Wild Wet a bit expensive. $12.80 for each adult.
I find it strange for people to pay entrance fee each time they enter the chalet area, although each chalet was given 4 entrance tickets. So, before you leave the chalet compound, you must get the security guard to stamp your arm. Then, the guard will check your arm for the stamp under the ultra violet light when you return to your chalet.

Student charged with abusing teacher in class

2007-11-07T22:54:00.001-08:00

A 17-YEAR-OLD student was charged on Wednesday with using abusive language on a teacher in class earlier this year.

Jeremy Tan Wei Liang is accused of abusing Ms Tang Anqiong, 36, at Clementi Woods Secondary School at West Coast Road on April 26.

His lawyer, Mr Edmond Pereira, told the court that he would be making representations. A pre-trial conference will be held at Community Court on Dec 5.

If convicted, he faces a fine of up to $5,000 under the Miscellaneous Offences Act.

Workshops and more workshops!

2007-11-05T08:25:00.000-08:00

Recently, I have been busy going around conducting workshops for students. The workshop is meant for P4 pupils who will be using calculators next year as part of the change in the Mathematic syllabus.

The other day, I went to this all-boy school and started greeting them "boys and girls"! They stared at me and told me there were no girls in their school. Haha! I told them I was used to greeting "boys and girls" for a few years already.

The common question they usually asked is "How to switch off the calculator?". Well, the calculator used is the Casio, model FX-82AU, which is currently used by the secondary students. Well, there is another brand, Sharp. I understand this model will be used by Zhangde Primary School. Also, the pupils in Xinmin Secondary are also using this model.

This morning, I met my old friend, old classmate and old "relative", who shares the same surname as me, in a primary school I went. She is Michelle. Well, she is getting married next March, so I must start saving for her ang pao! Haha! :P

Another of my "relative" is also getting married soon, this end of year. I hope she is all ready to become the Bride of the Year!!! :D

Jailed for importing dog without licence

2007-11-03T04:08:00.000-07:00

HOW much is that doggie in the window?

The Singaporean man who claimed he bought this cute puppy from a pet shop in Malacca has found that it cost him a three-week jail sentence.

Tan Chai Teck, 29, pleaded guilty yesterday to importing the two-month-old white and brown shih tzu into Singapore, without a licence, on Aug 20.

Tan, a mechanic, had arrived at Woodlands Checkpoint in a taxi with a Malaysian friend, Ching Mee Ling, 32, a masseuse, at about 12.10am that day.

A police officer found the puppy in a paper bag which Ching was carrying. Neither of them could produce any import document for the puppy.

Yesterday, a warrant was issued for the arrest of Ching who failed to show up to answer the summons.

Agri-Food and Veterinary Services prosecuting officer Yap Teck Chuan, in pointing out that smuggling of pets like small dogs was hard to detect, sought a deterrent sentence for Tan.

He said any dog or cat imported from any country, except Australia, New Zealand, Britain and Ireland, had to be vaccinated against rabies and subsequently quarantined.

This is 'to safeguard Singapore against the introduction of diseases, especially rabies', he said. Someone bitten by a rabies-infected dog might die of the viral disease.

Malaysia, Mr Yap said, is not free from rabies.

Tan could have been fined up to $10,000 or jailed for up to 12 months or both under the Animals and Birds Act. Dogs here need a licence issued by the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority.

Meanwhile, Tan will not have to serve his sentence immediately as he has been given until Nov 30 to settle his personal matters first.

In 2001, a Malaysian taxi driver was jailed three months for smuggling four puppies into Singapore in his vehicle.

Taken from ST Forum, Oct 30, 2007

2007-10-30T03:59:00.000-07:00

Learning in the classroom: Pity the strugglers and stragglers
DR GOH Kar Cheng's advisory to parents, 'Teach kids to face difficulties' (The Sunday Times, Oct 28), is laudable.

The young ought to be immunised against the potential pitfalls of mental and emotional cave-ins.

Dr Goh's is the plaintive voice of reason and rationality almost inaudible in the rising cacophony of a generation of liberal, literate, articulate, demanding and vocal parents.

Not a few principals and teachers stand in awe of such parents.

Defiant kids who challenge the teacher's authority in the classroom are not uncommon.

Parents take umbrage if a teacher so much as suggest their kids are 'lazy', 'naughty', 'playful', 'inattentive', 'defiant', etc.

Woe betide any teacher who tries to impose firm discipline on errant children whose parents over-protect them.

Holding back kids to do extra work (during recess and after school) because they have been slack, careless, lazy, indifferent, etc, is deemed punitive, counter-productive and restrictive.

For close to 40 years, I taught kids who were academically weak: the tail-end classes.

Those whom I taught from the 60s to the 80s were a hardy lot. They hardly cried nor whined if injured. If punished for any misdemeanour, they bore the correction with equanimity.

Above all, their parents were fully supportive of the teachers whenever their kids were punished for any wrongs.

Dr Goh talks about examination questions, which differentiate bright sparks from the average ones.

I had never come across kids who were traumatised by impossibly tough examination questions before the 90s.

Since then, I have personally come across some really tough ones, which not only whack the daylights out of the weak and average but also demoralise the very bright ones.

Some adults are talking rhetorically about discriminating the hares from the tortoises with nary a concern for the ones not endowed with advantages like good family background, solid parental backing and support, etc.

Presently, even kids in P3 solve challenging mathematics problems, which involve four working steps.

My friend, a retired teacher, struggles to teach his grandchild mathematics problems of this genre. Additionally, some of the questions unfairly test the child's English language comprehension ability.

My compassion and empathy are with the strugglers and stragglers.

Ho Kong Loon

Trail at Budget Terminal

2007-10-23T01:42:00.000-07:00

I realised that Singapore Changi Terminal 3 is different from the Budget Terminal. So I am writing this to correct my mistake. Sorry...! :P

This morning, I helped to conduct an educational trail at Changi Budget Terminal. Basically, it was a maths trail. I was happy to meet a number of familiar faces there. They were my ex-pupils. Most were happy to see me, but one kept avoiding me and even hid behind his classmate when he boarded the bus. Well, I would say he had gained some weight. :p

Cooking as a Career

2007-10-21T21:00:00.000-07:00

Well, thinking of cooking as a career? Sounds "delicious". I saw this piece of news about cooking in the newspaper today. I remember one of my schoolmates who went into the "cooking" industry after he took up a course with SHATEC. He is a nice and gentle person, but I have lost contact with him for a long time. I met him on a bus while I was going to work in Lim Chu Kang. He was on his way to school. We met a few times on the bus after that as we stayed in the same area. I guess he could be still working as a chef in one of the hotels in Singapore. Maybe he could have started his own business. Who knows? :D

Do you know SHATEC? It is an institute which conducts hotel-related courses, such as culinary and hotel management courses.

Kusu Island Trip 13 October 2007

2007-10-15T05:25:00.000-07:00

West Coast Park!

2007-10-15T04:56:00.000-07:00

These are the photographs taken in West Coast Park last week. Trying hard to upload the pictures. By the way, I went to Kusu Island last Saturday. It is a wonderful place to relax and have a picnic. Of course, people go there mainly to pray.

Reach for the M!

2007-10-08T20:04:00.000-07:00

I titled this photograph as "Reach for the M!" Well, the "M" here does not refer to the brand name "M". The M here stands for "MAXIMUM". I hope everyone will reach for their MAXIMUM potential.

More photos!

2007-10-08T19:11:00.000-07:00

Photos of a trip to Vivo City

2007-10-08T19:01:00.000-07:00

Hi all! These are the pictures of Durian plants.

2007-09-29T04:21:00.000-07:00

My D24 Fruit!

2007-09-27T08:02:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I mentioned to someone that I actually grew two pots of D24 fruit outside my flat but she laughed it off as being "ridiculous". She thought that I stayed in Malaysia in the D24 Fruit plantation! Well, I am not trying to "boast" about my D24 fruit. Not to worry, I will prove my words with photographs. I will take pictures of the plants and post them in my blog. So, stay tuned and watch this site for the photographs, which should be "published" by end of this week. Haha! :D

A Strange Dream

2007-09-12T22:57:00.000-07:00

Last night, I had a strange dream. I dreamt that I went to a place which looked like a theatre or something of that sort. I met my old primary school classmates there. One of them is my best friend. Anyway, I still recalled talking to him and he told me he was attending a wedding ceremony. Somehow, I felt I was not invited to the ceremony, so I started walking out of the theatre. Then I walked down the streets towards a church. I did not know why I walked towards that particular church. It looked familiar though. Maybe I had gone to too many churches already.

As I approached the church, I realized that the people there were all dressed up smartly and they were preparing for a ceremony - a wedding ceremony. Out of curiosity, I went towards the table which had a few photo albums on top of it. Near the table was a poster-size portrait of the wedding couple. When I took a closer look at the portrait, I recognized the lady in the portrait. She was my ex-pupil who I had taught four years ago and she had graduated last year. I shall not reveal her name. Haha! Funny, isn't it?

Later, I went back to the theatre to meet up with my friends. We boarded a bus which took us to the SAME church that I had gone earlier!!! What a coincidence! Another strange thing I realized was that that church was very near to the theatre where we boarded the bus. I could see the building where the theatre was from the church. If you travelled on foot, it would probably take you ten minutes or so to reach the church as you could cut across the roads and buildings. But if you travelled on bus, you will take you about the same time as working because the bus had to go a big round to reach the church.

I did not get to watch the wedding ceremony because my wife woke me up after I got off the bus. Haiz... I guess I can only attend the wedding ceremony again tonight. Haha...! :D

Uninvited Visitors

2007-09-11T09:29:00.000-07:00

These are SOME of the uninvited visitors which pop in this evening. They might have lost their way home or they could have lost their home!! Whatever it is, they are in the midst of dying while I am writing this blog entry. Farewell little visitors!!

What a morning!

2007-08-29T08:21:00.000-07:00

I guess this morning was the WORST morning I have. This morning, as usual, I took my boy to his play group. After settling him in his class, I drove back to my in-law's place. That was around 9.10am in the morning. As usual, I would stop near the parking lot and signal to park my car. Just as I was about to reverse into the parking lot, this taxi from behind horned and flashed at me. I took nothing about it. The taxi made way and I reversed my car into the lot.

I got out of my car and walked towards the lift lobby. I saw this not-so-old lady getting out of the taxi and walked towards the lift lobby as well. She was looking fuming mad as though a lightning bolt had struck her! She saw me and instantly shouted at me in her perfect English, "Don't you know how to park your car?!" Then, she started pointing to her chin and said that she had knocked her chin against the seat in front while she was in the taxi. I looked at her and said that I was sorry to hear that. She continued to say that she would have flung out of the taxi if not for the seat belt she was wearing. She went on and questioned me if anything should happen to her, how I would answer to her parents. I told her that was a carpark and cars and taxis are not supposed to be moving a high speed. She rebuked and blamed me for reversing "out of nowhere". I told her I did not reverse "out of nowhere" and I did signal before I reversed my vehicle. She admonished me for trying to argue my way. I was stating the facts and was told off!!! She continued to point at her chiny chin chin and repeated her "pain and suffering". She insisted that I appeared "out of nowhere" and reversed, almost knocking the taxi and caused the taxi to brake suddenly that made her chin to hit the seat in front. She went on to tell me that she had been living in that block since she was young, and that she had not seen me before. She kept asking," Where do you stay?" and "Which level do you stay?" I did not reply her as I did not know what she would do. So, I told her I did not live there (which is true). She started to "interrogate" me,"You don't stay here? Then why are you here?!!" (Notice the double-exclamation marks? It is to show the volume of her voice - super loud!) I kept quiet for a while as I did not want to answer her questions.

Suddenly, she yelled, "WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT?" I was caught by surprise as I did not really know how to answer her. So, I just looked away from her direction. I did not argue with her, so I asked her what she wanted me to do. She repeated her "sorrows" AGAIN, pointing to her chin AGAIN and said I did not even want to apologise to her!!! No choice. Such a fierce woman standing in front, so I apologised for "causing" her "pain". But she said I did not even apologise in the first place. Anyway, I wanted to get away from her. So, I pretended to go away to the next block, she followed and shouted,"Are you going away just like that?" I turned back and asked her what she wanted me to do in order to stop that "argument". I suggested that she could make a complaint or something. She took my "heed" and asked for my number. Number? I said that if she wanted me car licence plate number, she could go and see it in the carpark. So, when she went to check out my car plate number, I got into the lift and went off. I got a bit scared as I did not know what she would do to my car. She looked so "educated" as she spoke a strong accent of "good" English. I wonder why she came back early in the morning. I think she might have a bad night the night before and she was probably asleep when the taxi stopped suddenly.

I was HIT!

2007-08-21T03:14:00.002-07:00

Ya, right! As you can see in the photographs, the rear of my vehicle was knocked by a lady driver yesterday afternoon about 2 plus. I was just driving out of Sim Lim Square, waiting for the traffic along Bencoolen Street to clear, when the vehicle behind hit my car. So today I was busy going to the Borneo Body Care Service Centre to get it assessed. The initial figure came up to be in the range of $2200 to $2500 at least. Initially she agreed to claiming from the insurance, but after she went to make a report at the insurance company, she was persuaded by one of the agents to settle the case privately. If not, she would have lost her no-claim bonues for her car insurance. She called me after I reached the carpark at the void deck. I agreed to have it assessed at an authorised (so-called) workshop, and the bill came up to be slightly more than $800 which she willingly paid for it. She was going overseas tomorrow. I learnt that she was working in a company selling vitamin ingredients for all sorts of things, like beverages, milk powder and even animal feeds. Wow!

Happy Birthday, Singapore!

2007-08-15T07:59:00.000-07:00

Thanks Clarice for sending me her scanned copy of the National Day Parade's ticket. I managed to make two copies of the ticket and sneaked into the parade. :p

What a day!

2007-08-02T09:15:00.001-07:00

Just yesterday afternoon, I found my front wind shield or screen cracked! The crack line was about 15 cm long the day before, but today it was like almost twice the length (see if you can spot the crack line in the picture above). So, no choice, I had to send the car for repair at the Body Care Centre in Leng Kee. Luckily, I called up the service centre to check about the repair. Otherwise, I might have sent the car to the wrong service centre for repair. The usual service centre I go for my routine servicing does only the mechanical repair work while the body care service centre does the windshield and other accident-related repairs. I had to make a wind shield claim from my insurance. This was my first time I encountered a cracked wind shield since I started driving more than 13 years ago!

I have quite a few problems with this 2006 model of Vios. There were problems related to the power windows, the alarm system, the rubber gasket of the window, etc. Maybe I was a bit "unlucky". Both rear tyres had punctured once. :(

Saint Pat's

2007-08-02T08:57:00.001-07:00

These were five of the boys in my enrichment class in St Pat's School. It is a boys' school. They were the fun-loving boys who never failed to amuse themselves in the two days I had with them. They would call me "sir" and not "cher".

Harry Potter!

2007-07-26T01:01:00.001-07:00

Went watching Harry Potter on Monday.

To market!

2007-07-20T00:06:00.000-07:00

Going to NTUC supermaket yesterday, 19 July.

Little boy was tired "dragging" the trolley there.
On the way, he swopped hands as the other hand was too tired.

Making a monkey face ...

End of ICT

2007-07-13T08:14:00.000-07:00

Finally, today is the last day of my ICT for this work year. My comrades and I went out to have lunch at a coffeeshop-like restaurant, opposite Sembawang Shopping Centre. It boasted of its curry fishhead, so we ordered one bowl. We also ordered half a fried chicken and a plate of tapioca leaves. The curry fishhead was so-so, nothing special lor.

By the way, the answer to the riddle:

"If they drop it, the eggs will break!" Haha!

Riddle, Anyone???

2007-07-12T09:44:00.000-07:00

Today, I was having fun giving riddle to my comrades in Chong Pang Camp. It was fun as they tried to solve the riddles. One even came up with a ridiculous explanation for "How the Chicken got its name?".

Anyway, here is a riddle for you, reading my blog.

Why do Chickens lay eggs?

Two of Us!

2007-07-11T08:36:00.000-07:00

Today only 2 of us left. There are 5 of us in this ICT. Yesterday, one injured his back and one went for dental appoint and got 2 days medical leave. This morning, another one reported sick. So tomorrow, it will be two of us there again!

I saw the IPPT results that the conducting unit faxed over. My timing for the 2.4km was 12 minutes 51 seconds and the Shuttle Run was 10.27 seconds. I think I am running slower than the previous year. :]

I have PASSED!

2007-07-10T00:35:00.000-07:00

I have passed my IPPT! Hurray! I must thank Kelly and Clarice for their well-wishes. Well, it was a struggle in the last few minutes of the 2.4km run, but I managed to pass it. My time was 12 minutes 31 seconds. I needed to get below 13 minutes to pass.

At around 7.40am, I reached Lim Chu Kang Camp 2, which was at the junction of Jalan Bahar Road and Lim Chu Kang Road. The camp is quite near (about 5 minutes' drive) to the P4 camp site at Sarimbun Scouts Camp. I reported to the cookhouse and found my comrades there waiting. At about 8am, the conducting officer first briefed us about the sequence of the IPPT test, followed by the medic who briefed us on the safety and "evacuation" procedure for any casualities during the IPPT. We started with the Sit-ups and most of us did 31 sit-ups as that was the minimum requirement to get 3 points. Then, we proceeded to the chin-up or pull-up station and I managed to pull up 4 times while my comrades did 6. I guess I was a little overweight to do more. After that, we moved on to the Standing Broad Jump Station in the parade square. I did 213cm on the first attempt, but I managed to reach 230cm the second time and earn myself 5 points for that station. Next, we got to the Shuttle Run Station and I ran a time of slightly more than 10 seconds (I forgot my timing). One comrade sprained his back while attempting the shuttle run and he was taken to the Tengah Medical Centre to see the Medical Officer. He was later given two days of medical leave to rest his back. It was quite serious as he had great difficulties even to stand and walk on his own. I hope he will recover soon. Anyway, this round could be his last ICT and he needs not go back to camp again. We rested for about 10 minutes before we proceeded to the final station.

The final test was the 2.4km which everyone found it the toughest. Most of us had passed the four stations, except for the one who injured his back, and all we needed was to pass the final station. My comrades started off the run pretty fast and I had a hard time keeping up with them. It was only during the second round that I managed to catch up with them. In the last and final round, they started to slow down, so I overtook them one by one. When I saw that I had only about 3 minutes more to pass the test, I started to speed up by increasing my pace. Somehow, I felt both my calves weighing down my legs and I could not run as fast as I would like to. Glancing at my watch, I saw the seconds moving fast. Thinking that I would have to retake the IPPT all over again somehow "boosted" my endurance and I quickened my steps and moved towards the finishing point. I clocked a time of less than 13 minutes. Phew! I felt all my energy drained out and I could move no further so I sat down on the kerb by the road. I could not walk properly for the next half an hour. My comrades did not make it by the 13 minutes. Fortunately or unfortunately, I was the only one who had passed the IPPT. They would need to retake the WHOLE IPPT again, as the rule states that we have to retake all the stations if we fail the 2.4km run.

I was given half-a-day off for passing the IPPT, and here I am now, writing this post. :)

Fifth Day of ICT

2007-07-06T08:02:00.000-07:00

Five days of ICT have passed. I can say time really passes by so fast that you may not aware. Today, I did not do much as I had already taken the PKE. Well, no news means good news. So if the OLTC did not "say" anything, it probably means I have passed the PKE. Yeah...!!!

Another test is waiting for me... That is the IPPT (Individual Physical Proficiency Test). It is similar to NAPFA test that is taken in schools and institutions, except that the Sit-and-Reach section is taken off. You may want to ask why? Well, who can do pass the Sit-and-Reach test with a tummy? Haha! Oh, the test will be conducted in Lim Chu Kang Camp II - a faraway place in the western part of Singapore. It is situated just opposite Lim Chu Kang Chinese Cemetery and it is next to Tengah Airbase.

Sorry, I could not show you any photographs of my ICT as we are not allowed to bring in any camera phone into the camp.

Last evening, one of my good pupils handed me four Maths questions and asked me to help her solve them. Well, I actually asked two of my comrades to solve them. The first question was a little tough as it dealed with speed with only the time taken given, and they could not solve it even after one and a half hour. So, I guided one of them and he managed to come up with the solution using algebraic equations. Not too bad though! The other one gave up half way and dozed off! Haha!

After work, in the late afternoon, I took the questions back to her place. (I shall not mention her name - to "protect" her. Hehe!) The first question was quite tough, so I showed her an example with a similar question and solution. After that, she was able to do it on her own without any help. Bravo! Then, I got her to do the remaining three questions. I pointed out to her about the quantity that was unchanged throughout the two questions, and she was able to solve them right away using her own method. But I still taught her the Unitary method which was much easier to solve that particular type of question. Of course, it is also possible to use the Model Method to solve that type of questions, but it will be a little tedious as you need to "cut" the "units" into smaller "parts". She told me that there was no need to "cut" as writing the "number of parts" in the "units" will be sufficient. Maybe that is more efficient, in a way. :)

Later, her daddy came back from his work. We had a good chat talking about his army times. We also compared the times he did his basic training and my times as a recruit. Interestingly, he wore the very old type of uniform which was plain light green in colour - just like the uniform which the NCC (National Cadet Corps) used to have. He had completed his thirteen cycles of ICT at the age of 33 in 1995. That was also the time when a "black" baby was born into the family! Haha! It was quite an memorable time for him.

Got to rest now... Bye!

Fourth Day of ICT

2007-07-05T08:57:00.000-07:00

Today is my fourth day of ICT. This is the day which I have to take my PKE. I started to go through all the few hundreds of questions, question by question, in the booklets. I used my knowledge of examination skills to help me revise the questions in the shortest possible time. My comrades were smart enough to link the solutions to the questions based on some key words. We did not go to the canteen this morning. Seeing the lack of time, one of my comrades bought breakfast for all of us, so we had our breakfast in the office. After our breakfast, we began to study all the questions again. By noon, we had revised the bulk of the questions and we rushed to finish up the remaining hundred of questions.

We set the time to go for our lunch at 1pm in the Specialists' Mess. The Mess is actually a place for the servicemen to relax and have their breaks or meals there. In the evening, the servicemen who have knocked off from work can go to the Mess to buy beer at a special price. There are also food and other tidbits sold in the Mess during the Happy Hours. One of my comrades ordered the last of the Chicken Chops, while the rest of us ordered Chicken Cutlets and Steak on Hot Plate. By the time we finished our meals, it was almost 2pm. Our Master Sergeant Cheung came in and took us to OLTC for our examination. Along the way, I met some of my old colleagues from other units. We went to the CAI (Computer Aided Instruction) room to take our PKE. Someone made a mistake and we almost needed to take another 40 questions on top of the 140 questions. We took about an hour or so to complete the 140-Question paper. After that, we went back to the Mess to have our tea and some fries, sponsored by MSG Cheung.

Sorry, I have to end here because my little is waiting for me to go to sleep. He is moving my mouse here and there, and fidgeting with the keyboard. I cannot do much now. Good night and bye! :D

3rd Day of ICT

2007-07-04T08:08:00.002-07:00

Today is my third of ICT in Chong Pang Camp. I only managed to complete "browsing" through all the questions that I am required to answer. There are hundreds, almost to a thousand, of questions and some are new questions that have been added this year. I hope I can pass my examination tomorrow afternoon. I have one more morning to revise and "remember" how to do all those questions.

The food today was quite good. We had salmon burger with a slice of cheese, baked beans, scrambled eggs, potato wedges and ice cream in the cook house. I chose the chocolate fudge ice cream while my comrades had vanilla-lime ice cream. I think I should have taken the vanilla-lime ice-cream as vanilla is my favourite. But I wanted to taste something new which I had not tried before.

Initially, I tried to make sense of all the questions and their possible solutions, but I gave up trying to make sense of them yesterday. I don't have the time to slowly "digest" all the questions! I guess life is also like that. You really do not have all the time to try and make sense of all the things happening around you. Perhaps you can selectively take a few of them, break them down into "smaller parts" and analyse them. I can tell you that you may not find one that can make sense. Perhaps LIFE is sometimes quite SENSEless.

This evening, my little "Kim" called to chat with me. She is a nice girl, but she likes to use some "crude" words on me. I know she meant to joke. She told me she had done well for Chinese, and I am glad she did. She got me to test her on her timestable over the phone, which I did. I can sense she still have some motivation in her studies. One day, I hope she will achieve something in her own area of interest. :)

2nd Day of ICT

2007-07-03T07:35:00.000-07:00

Today is my second day of ICT. Well, my comrades and I have started preparing my our Professional Knowledge Examination (PKE) on Thursday. We have about three days to prepare for the examination. Do you know how many questions we have to answer? The paper is about one and a half hour, and we have to answer 140 questions! Two years ago, it was still only 100 questons! But since last year, the people in Operational Logistic Training Centre (OLTC) increased the number of questions to 140!!! Yesterday, we were told that the number of questions could increase to 180! Wow, I guess the GST increase not only affected the prices of things around us, but also the number of questions!

I started "learning" the hundreds of questions in the manual. Hopefully, I can "remember" all the answers there on Thursday. I realised that they had also changed a number of the "standard" questions in the manual. Nevertheless, I think half of them are still the same standard questions. I felt that some of the questions were quite irrelevant to me as I do not operate forklift or perform servicing on aircrafts although I am serving in the Airforce.

This is my little boy who was doing his penmanship. I have got him to write something this evening after I got home from camp. He needs someone to be with him before he will do any work. Sometimes he will do the work given on his own. :)

First Day of ICT

2007-07-02T08:31:00.000-07:00

Today is my first day of ICT. What is ICT? It stands for In-Camp-Training. Originally, we were known as "reservists", but now we are known as "Operational Readiness National Servicemen". Well, they both mean the same thing. We are afterall serving our duties as servicemen. I guess the term "In-Camp-Training" is used to reflect the need for us to continue training "in camp" every year we are back to our unit.

It's a good way of gathering a few old army comrades so that we can "keep in touch" with one another. Some enjoy the break from their normal work routine, while others find it disruptive as they have to put off some important things from their busy schedule.

Today I met two of my best former colleagues and friends in the teaching service. They have been very supportive friends and they took time off their busy schedule to spend an evening with me. The food we had was delicious and filling as three of us filled our stomach with five different dishes. Anyway, we had a good chat and that led me to think about my future. I remember today, one of my In-Camp comrades showed me a book by the title "Finishing Well". I just flipped through to find out what the book was about. It mainly described the "Almighty One" whom most of us are familiar with. It talked about how HE knowing the end of HIM coming and how HE planned HIS way towards the "finishing line". I guess the main point is that we must think about what we actually want in life - the goal in our life. Maybe it is about what we are seeking for in life. Maybe it is about how we look at LIFE at different points of our life. Are we heading to the desired ending or are we changing directions everytime we hit a road junction? "Begin a task or job with an end in mind".

Flowers Bloom

2007-06-26T04:56:00.000-07:00

These were the flowers that bloomed outside my flat. Too bad they did not survive to develop into fruits. The problem was that the owner was too busy to take care of them. He had no time to water and nurture them to fruitation! Sadly, this was not the first time the plant had bloomed. Anyone knows what plant it was? :D

Buddha Tooth Relic Temple

2007-06-26T04:28:00.000-07:00

I visited the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple last month on the 31st May. It was such a majestic sight! The temple was situated in the heart of Chinatown. If you are keen to know more about Buddhism and its origin, there is a exhibition hall in the third level which showcases the story of one of the most important Buddhas.

At the top of the temple (you may have to climb two flights of stairs to reach it), there is this Wheel of Dharma which you can turn round and round, and hopefully your life will change for the better. Remember to turn it in the clockwise direction and turn it slowly for three rounds.

There is also a beautiful garden at the top of the temple, next to the Wheel of Dharma. My family and I walked round the temple and I discovered something interesting there. Do you know what it was? Look at the picture below and guess what it is and what is the use of it. It is quite an important item and it serves an important function as well.

As we decided to leave the temple, something else caught my eyes outside or rather next to the temple. There is this street known as the Street of the Dead! Read the words on the picture to find out why the street is named as such. :)

A Thought on Trees

2007-06-04T09:55:00.000-07:00

Thinking of the strange things that happpened in the recent months. A number of people were killed or injured when the trees or parts of a tree fell on them. Life is so fragile and you won't know when such thing may happen to us. Touch wood! But hope the wood doesn't fall on us! Haha! The most recent one was the young Vietnamese man who died after being hit a one-metre branch. He was so "high" up the nature reserve and he was hit by a branch from one of the trees. I could imagine the fear you may have the next time you walk into such nature reserve. So who do we blame when such woody tragedies happened? Blame the trees? Why must they fall on humans? Blame the NPark people? Why didn't the "tree" doctors check every tree in the country? Blame the goverment? How come the government did not inform us of such danger???

Well, it is always the case when bad things happened. We, as humans, would rather point our fingers at the most logical way. We forgot that there are such things as mother nature and the Creator of mankind, if you believe. As we learn about life cycle, there are certain things we ought to be aware - we are also part of the LIFE cycle, and we cannot do much to prevent or even stop "natural" disasters to occur. Of course, we should take every precaution we know to "preserve" our life for as long as we can. This includes taking good care of our bodies and taking care when we do things.

I read with sadness that one more victim, a young six year-old girl, had drowned in a swimming pool - a place we all are so familiar with. How it happened and why it happened? Just the other day, two adults were found drowned in a reservoir. Also, teenagers drowned in the monsoon drain! So how can we prevent such bad things from happening? Stay away from the waters and places where there are big trees?

I don't think so.

My First Class in PPS

2007-05-20T23:23:00.001-07:00

This was my first class of pupils when I first started teaching in PPS. It brought back sweet memories I had with this class and the school. Two of them were transferred to another school after P3. I understand one of the two went to Rosyth Primary School. They have all grown up and now should be studying in various secondary schools this year. After this class left PPS, I also left PPS sadly. :'(

The first P3 class I taught was also very memorable, but the school stopped taking class photo that year so I did not have a class photo with them.

The second P3 class was also unforgetable and some of them still keep in touch with me. I got praises from Mr Ong who took over them in P4, but I had complaints from other teachers who taught them other subjects in P4. Funny? This was the class which remembered and 'celebrated' my birthday after we came back from excursion.

The first P4 class I taught was the fun and adorable lot as I got to teach them for the second year, from P3. Last year, some of them got to go to Sentosa to 'celebrate' their Progress from P3 to P4. Eventually, they also got their Good Progress Award the following year.

Well, my life in school has come to a full circle. Bye, PPS!

Take Care of Yourself!

2007-05-18T06:50:00.000-07:00

Recently, there have been reports of some sickness and diseases going around this island. There is an increase of young children contracting Hand, Food and Mouth (HFM) Diseases and also an increase in people getting dengue fever after being bitten by the Aedes mosquitoes. If you have read the newspaper and seen the leaflets being dropped in your mailbox, you would have realised that the National Environment Agency (NEA) is getting tough on people "breeding" mosquitoes in and around their home. NEA is also trying hard to "educate" the people on the potential danger the Aedes mosquitoes can cause.

So, do make sure that you are not the one "breeding" the mosquitoes by checking the area in and around your house. I heard that Aedes mosquitoes are more active in the morning, while the mosquitoes that carry Malaria virus are more active in the evening.

Plumping in my House!

2007-05-06T03:31:00.000-07:00

Today, I managed to replace the leaking pump in the cistern of my toilet. It was supposed to be quite easy except for the removal of the old pump which was stuck and I did not have the proper tool to unscrew it! In the end, I have to use the destructive method to get the old pump out by cutting and breaking it into pieces. If any of you need plumbing service, you know who to call. :P

Are you scared?

2007-05-02T07:54:00.000-07:00

Oh, no! What happened? Do you know? :)

24th April 2007

2007-05-01T01:38:00.000-07:00

24th April 2007. That was the day when one of the cars tyres went almost flat! Well, it was punctured by a tiny screw, one hundred times smaller than the tyre itself! I did not realise it at first until I saw the flatten tyre after I picked up my little boy from his playgroup. On realising the situation, I quickly went to the nearby petrol kiosk to pump up the tyre. It could still be pumped up! Luckily, it was in the morning so it was not difficult to look for a tyre shop to repair the punctured tyre. The last time, when I had a flat tyre in the late Saturday afternoon, I had a hard time finding a tyre shop that was still open at that time.

I searched through the Yellow Pages online as I did not have a hard copy on hand. Technology has helped me a lot, especially during such times when you needed some professional help. I managed to find a shop nearby which could do the repair. I called up the shop to make sure the shop was open. Then I rushed down to make the repair before the tyre went totally flat. The repair was pretty fast as it took the repairman or mechanic less than five minutes to jack up the car and remove the tyre. After the tyre was taken out, he rolled the tyre to his work station to remove the screw on it. He took out a thin strip of rubber from his work station, peeled off the backing and poked the rubber in to fill up the hole made by the screw. Then he pumped up the tyre. The next step was to roll the tyre into a big tub of soapy water. Know what is it for? It was to test for any more holes in the tyre.

Everything took me about fifteen minutes and eight dollars. :)