Precious Thoughts...

Just decided to pass by my blog

2011-12-10T15:09:00.002+08:00

and realized that it's been more than a year since I've blogged!!! OMG!
Janelle will be 15 months old by tomorrow, and I'll be almost 5 months pregnant with my new baby :)

What happened over the past 3 months I did not post

2010-12-07T11:06:00.002+08:00

Shortly after moving in, Janelle was born on 11 Sept 2010! Then I started a grueling confinement for 1 month... sigh. Totally torturous for me as I was in pain and also very emotional. Thank God it is over!
Janelle is almost 3 months old already, and laughing, crying really loudly. Haha. She's such a darling! Life has been very different with her now in my life. And rewarding as well as frustrating at times haha.

New house!!!

2010-09-06T08:29:00.001+08:00

Stayed over in my new house for the past 2 nights :)

Finally, we have a house that we call our own! I love my new house! Haha... it's small, but sufficient :) I love my new house!

It's been a really long time since

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I've blogged. I feel that it's better to interact with people rather than with a computer and hope that people come around to read it.

I'm 37 weeks into my pregnancy now, and baby Janelle is really to meet the world when God wants her to. I'm praying for a smooth delivery and a calm heart/mind when contractions begin. Hopefully I do not need to induce for Janelle to come out. She's 3.1 kg already, and is getting too huge for my small frame.

Trying to get prepared to be a good steward of baby Janelle when she arrives, but being paranoid all the time about not having enough stuff is really not good for me. So, I'm gonna stop worrying and leave everything to God.

Dearie is excited too about our new family member to be. Grandparents and grandaunts are really ecstatic too, since it's been long since there was a baby in the house. Yup, baby Janelle's gonna change a lot of things when she makes her grand entrance into the family :)

Oh well... anticipation! :)

I'm 21 weeks

2010-05-17T17:49:00.002+08:00

into my pregnancy already. Time really flies so fast! Many people have commented that my tummy still looks so small for 5 months. Really thank God that baby's growth is fine, after we went for the gynae visit. In fact, my baby girl is big for her age! So the small tummy size is me, not my baby :)

Also found out that my blood glucose level is too high and needs to be controlled. So every Sunday, I have to test my blood glucose level 2 hours after breakfast, lunch and dinner... Thank God that I have conquered the fear of pricking my own fingers with the needle to get a drop of blood out. So far, the self check on Sunday showed me that I have adapted well to the current situation and my blood glucose level is well controlled :)

Baby loves to kick

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after I eat or drink. Guess it wakes her up. It feels like a soft blunt poke from inside the tummy. Cute.

I have gotten used to the backaches already... but can definitely do without it.

The PTD and Investiture that happened on Friday took a toll on my body... climbed up and down the stairs too much, and squatted too much. The whole of Sat and Sun, not only my back ached, my shins and calves ached too... oh man.. torturous.

Dearie bought me a new chair

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and carried it up to office for me :)

Anyway, I think I felt baby's kick yesterday night. I'm not very sure yet, but I'll see whether I can feel it again tonight. Haha...

The backache

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has gotten worse... I cannot walk or stand for long. There's this sharp pain near my lower spine.

Doctor said that there is no remedy except to endure the pain throughout the pregnancy. It seems that a fall when I was in Pri Sch has resulted in this intense pain during pregnancy. My Chinese sinseh had also experienced a similar pain as me during her pregnancy and told me that this pain will disappear after confinement. But I feel so helpless when I know that there is more than 5 months left to endure...

What I did during the March Holidays (or are they holidays at all?)

2010-03-19T18:01:00.002+08:00

TfU and more TfU. Until I have no time for marking and setting of exam papers.

But thank God that I had a chance to R & R with Jane and Yingli on Tuesday when we went to Liang Court for Ktv.

The free time I had at home was spent nursing the backache...

Thank God

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for many things in my life. My bro is attending alpha! Yay!

And... for a smooth day with little backache yesterday! Except when I reached home, it started acting up. But oh well... at least I was trouble free for the day at work.

Backache galore

2010-03-10T21:03:00.002+08:00

Its getting worse by the day... I can't walk or stand for long. And work is not getting any easier for me because of the backache...

Climbing up the stairs is simply torturous, and I have to do that all the time, even when I go home...

My evenings are now spent lying down on the bed nursing a whole day's of pain... My work remains untouched. Sigh. Thank God for Dearie who has been easing my pain with regular massage and helping me with work... Pray that all these pain will go away as I move into the 2nd trimester next week.

Symptoms

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3-5 week: Mild dull cramps in stomach and hot flushes. Appetite improves.
5-7 week: Backaches begin. Loss of appetite.
7-9 week: Backaches continue with fitful sleep at night. I do not eat rice anymore. This is weird. Coz there are no cravings, just that I do not want to eat rice. It is now replaced by spaghetti.
9-10 week: Backaches ease a little with massage by Dearie. Fitful sleep continues and Dearie told me that I started speaking gibberish in my sleep. Eating is a chore to me.
11 week (now): I am starting to get emotional and have weird thoughts/dreams.

Last night, Dearie brought me out for a walk at T1 and TM to scout for a new handphone for him. I started to have this tight pain above the left side of my waist. It's still there now and I have no idea how I got this pain. Did I pull some muscle while sleeping? I thought that I could sleep it off last night, but apparently, it did not disappear this morning. So I'm on MC today. When I got up to bathe, just standing for a mere ten minutes in the toilet was painful. Hmmm... weird. Will see doctor later when Dearie comes back from work to bring me. I don't think I can walk to the doctor or take a bus.

Fatigue and backache

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are my symptoms. Thank God for no morning sickness though. I'm into my 10th week already... will be into my 2nd trimester soon! Exciting... but that's when I'll start gaining lotsa weight and the tummmy gets even bigger by the week. Cannot imagine...

3rd visit to gynae

2010-02-22T18:10:00.002+08:00

Today, we found out that baby is 27 mm already! And we saw it kicking and wriggling away while the gynae was trying to measure its size via the ultrasound. So cute!

The backache

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is killing me... can't stand for long, can't sit for long... My gynae said that I'm still too early to have backaches, and it will only get worse. She thinks it's because of my posture. I guess it's true... but how? Sigh...

I'm trying to be happy most of the time now, so that my moods don't affect my baby. But... sigh... how to be happy when teaching? When students don't cooperate? When I still have to get angry, scold, chase for homework. Sometimes I really don't know what I'm doing anymore. It's their life right? Why should I even care? Let them lead their own lives they want, if they don't care about their results, why should I? I'm tired of being angry and affected by their attitudes towards their studies. Guess I have to loosen up and think for the best for my baby.

Why did God have to call me into this line... I guess I'm still finding out.

Hmmmm...

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If it's a girl... How about Adel? It means "God is eternal"...

If it's a boy... How about Aaron? Moses' brother Aaron was the first high priest of Israel...

Long awaited update

2010-02-06T16:57:00.002+08:00

Life has changed dramatically for me since the last post. I've gotten married, moved to my in laws' place, assimilated into my work environment, gotten the keys to my new house, and now... oh well... check out this place for more updates when I feel like blogging. Haha...

With the recent swine flu saga,

2009-05-09T12:30:00.002+08:00

school has been very strict with temperature taking, hygiene etc. So much so that the examinations timetables went topsy turvy, and many people had extra work to do. Oh well... back to marking the exam papers... and I forgot to mention, that I'm drowning in papers at the moment, and drowning in work.

It's been more than a month

2009-04-26T16:11:00.002+08:00

since I've blogged... Was too busy with my school's speech day, SYF, marking, setting tests, exams...

Well, since I'm blogging again, does not mean I have nothing to do. I am still marking, and trying to catch up for lost time while I was busy with my work. I managed to buy Shuyi's present 2 days ago and gave it to her today... finally. Phew.

I thought that I can have a quiet weekend with less stress, but... sigh... it was so only until Friday 24th April 5pm. I had a good weekend from Friday 24th April 12:45pm to 5pm. That is it. Work comes piling in again just by 1 phone call, and I get stressed again.

When will this ever stop... I doubt so, unless I quit. Oh well... quitting is not always the best escape route, especially when I am serving out a 3 year bond... sobs. I'll just serve this 3 years, then see what God has in plan for me...

Great people = Great holiday

2009-03-21T10:02:00.002+08:00

It's hilarious. Went on a 2 day 1 night trip to Malacca with Christine, Florence, Elene, Mrs Chan and Millicent. Had a blast :)

In 2 days:
I gained 1 kg.
I gained trustworthy friends.
I gained a godmother (Florence).
I bought some stuff.
Realized that Elene wants to be known as Elene and not Aunty Elene, or Mrs Wan. Haha.
Realized that a hungry Christine is an angry Christine. Hahahahaha.
Realized that Florence is really a tourist and a great salesperson at heart.
Realized that Mrs Chan is a good treasurer (and a good keeper of apples :P).
Realized a lot of stuff... gossip... hehe.

Ok... back to reality, I have tests to set and books to mark. Ciao!

So many things to do...

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so little time.

Went to JB yesterday to purchase shoes for my wedding photoshoot. Didn't cost me a lot of money, but cost me A LOT of time. Was so tired by the time Dearie and me reached home.

Need to go JB again to settle the printing for my wedding invitation cards... will make it into an outing with the gals too. :)

So far, I am becoming more efficient in my marking. Yeah, I'm pleased. Better maintain it this way. :)

The weekend is gone!

2009-03-01T20:43:00.003+08:00

Just like that.

There's just so much marking to do, and I still have not recovered from my sickness. I don't have enough time to rest and recover... spending a lot of time marking marking marking. I need to prioritize badly.

Stoning used to be my favorite activity. It still is. But I realized that in this line, stoning has just become a luxury. There's no time for stoning!!! Time passes too fast for comfort, and for stoning.

Need time to plan for the wedding, need time to plan for my lessons, need time to mark, and to do other admin stuff that comes along the way, time for driving lessons (hope I pass on 24th March so that I can free up some more time), omg!!!

I need help. Seriously. From God. From people. ARGH!

It is all in God's Plan

2009-02-22T14:31:00.002+08:00

when the wedding date was changed, when the hotel confirmed that the date 080809 is available, when my wedding photoshoot invoice number is 0808, when they advised us to finish the photoshoot in March since last year. It's all planned out for us since the first day. It had always meant to be. All in God's Plan.

The number 8 represents a new beginning. God wants us to have a new beginning in our marriage, in Him. It all falls in place nicely now, and we have to start our planning now. The invitation cards for church needs to be out in 2 months. The caterer for the lunch buffet for church needs to be confirmed. The church decoration needs to be finalised. The programme sequence for the actual day needs to be confirmed (this is the one that gives the most headache). The committee for my wedding needs to meet up. Need to confirm the photographers. Need to confirm my MCs and have rehearsals. Means need to arrange a rehearsal date with the hotel and with church. I need to take care of my face (haha). I need to exercise. Phew. This list can go on...

Have been very busy with work for this whole month, so explaining the lack of updates in this bloggie. Everytime I feel like blogging, I remember the amount of work that is waiting for me to complete, and blogging time goes out the window. Oh well, I finally have some breathing space this weekend, and it's ending like... right now? I need to mark some scripts and set a test and plan for my lessons in the coming week. Oh well, this is the life that God has planned out for me, and He will make it straight.

Anyway, to Jane, Shuyi, Jelena, Charlene and Sheng Xiang: All the best for your practicum! Jiayou! And God bless!

Peace out.

The past 2 CNY mornings

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felt like Saturday mornings. Slow and peaceful :)

Well... today is the last day of the CNY holidays and it's time to tune myself back to the pace of tomorrow. I have to start marking again later in the afternoon. Looking at the piles of marking that I brought home over the long weekend, I have a feeling that I can't finish them. But oh well, I need to prioritize. Yup.

Yesterday was a

2009-01-25T10:59:00.003+08:00

relaxing and slow moving day. I always look forward to Saturdays... there's no need to wake up to an alarm... I can simply wake up when I feel awake enough :) Then there is the late breakfast with mum (and sometimes bro, if he is awake). Yup, I love Saturdays.

Yesterday, Dearie and me went to Sengkang to take a look at the building progress of our new flat. All 16 stories of our block has been built, and it seems that the wall tiles of the toilets have also been put up. Most of the walls have also been painted white already. Everything looks good to us, and if all goes well, hopefully we can get the keys by next year :) So, this means we need to start planning for renovation costs right after our wedding this year. Phew... lots to do, but it will be an exciting year this year.

Yay, there's reunion dinner with mum, bro, grandpa and grandma this evening. Will be good! Hopefully can go have cartel cake or billy bombers milk shake this evening with Dearie, Janeee, Shoeee, Danny etc before they go and watch Ink Hearts at 11:30pm. Dearie and me feel that it's too expensive, so we'll give it a miss. Lol.

Suddenly feel the urge to go attend the El Shaddai Conference, to refresh myself in Him, and also to learn new skills to better my service to God in MM. Yeah!

Okie... that's all for now... school's great, everything's great. Thank God for my life!

Life has been

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good so far. I have great colleagues, students, and I really thank God for them all.

Have been sick for the past few days, but by God's grace, I haven't taken any MC for those days. Went to see the doc on Thurs and have recovered mostly already.

Oh well, that's all for now, back to marking my scripts. :P

I'm glad I came into teaching :)

2009-01-13T20:50:00.001+08:00

Goodnight... too tired le... but satisfied.

So far so good

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I'm enjoying my new workplace :)

And... there's another birthday dinner this friday! Haha... Ok back to doing work... tata.

Status change overnight...

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and now I have a precious stone on the 4th finger of my left hand... haha.

Yup, the proposal happened after dinner at Keppel Bay. Thanks to my friends, who creatively keep me under wraps of the whole situation. Was I surprised? 90% surprised. Haha... coz Dearie cannot keep his secret well (hahahaha), there were simply too many fishy things that happened on some of the other days, and he simply wasn't himself. So Dearie, I'm glad you do not have to do it again, it's for the good of your mental and emotional health. Haha.

Today's the first day

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of school... everything is so far so good. I hope it stays this way for the rest of the year :)

The only irritating part is that I have not gotten all my passwords for access to the school's systems. Gotta depend on others for that, so much so that I feel I'm a pest to them. Sigh.

Thank God for everything.

My cold sore

2008-12-29T17:49:00.002+08:00

is getting better. Work officially starts tomorrow and there are butterflies in my tummy. It will be a long day tomorrow, and it all starts at 8am. It will only end at 6pm, then I gotta make my way to church for MM. The next day will start at 9:30am. Phew. I'm thankful for the timings though coz once school officially begins, and the students stream in, work will start at 7am. Need to adjust to that timing again. Sigh.

Persevere Renie!

Totally lost

2008-12-28T11:57:00.003+08:00

about anything that might be going on in my new workplace. It's getting more nerve wrecking as the days draw closer and closer. The cold sore that descended upon me is not making things any easier too... Really pray for His divine intervention... for peace and calmness.

Thank God for Menghan and Weiwen who prayed for me after service today. Thanks guys, it means a lot to me.

May God give me wisdom to handle whatever comes my way, courage to face the working world again, and compassion for the people who interact with me everyday.

Got back my results today...

2008-12-12T21:52:00.002+08:00

Thank God... and its miraculous that I did so much better this sem than last sem. Hahaha...

Just ended church camp yesterday. Lots happened... including a saga that landed Dearie with 4 stitches on the right little finger. Long story... but he's fine now... just that he needs to be good and take his medicine regularly. It's an enjoyable camp overall though. :)

Woots!

2008-12-07T08:23:00.002+08:00

Passed my advanced theory on that same day but didn't blog about it yet. Haha... Have been quite bored for the past few days but just couldn't be bothered to blog too.

So... my drving test will be on 24 March... sigh... lots more money to go out of my pocket...

Will be going to try on my gown on 22 Dec... guess that's the most interesting thing to look forward to... other than Jane and Shuyi returning from USA on the 16th.

Well, off to church now!

2008-12-01T08:09:00.002+08:00

Was busy the whole of last week coz of induction programs. Finally... the holiday has officially started!!!

But I have an Advanced Theory Test tomorrow... haha. I'll study for it later. Lol.

Sigh... Jane and Shuyi have left for US already... and will only be back on the 16th... Sob. May they have a blessed trip.

Driving was a whole lot of fun today...

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Drove around Downtown East... so ironic and nostalgic... Haha...

And I progressed to gear 4 finally. Changing gear is more smooth now and I'm getting the hang of stopping at red lights, although it's so irritating.

Finally I can start bumming around at home. No assignments, no stress, just bumming. Haha. Wheeee....

A load

2008-11-09T20:44:00.002+08:00

off my shoulders...

The moment I completed the last word of my assignment... This burden just flew off my shoulders. Phew! A whole new journey awaits as I anticipate the first day I report to my new (but familiar) working place. :)

Woohoo!

2008-11-08T16:06:00.001+08:00

Posting is out... Haha... Message me if you wanna know where I'm posted to. Not gonna reveal here... too public le :)

Thank God for the posting... Relieved.

Hehe... hehe... hehe...

Yay! The presentation

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was a huge success with our lecturer impressed by us. :)

Well... I'm now left with a creative assignment to hand up by Monday... and I haven't started on it yet. The ideas are in my head but I just can't get lazy me to start on it. I guess I work well under pressure. Immense pressure. Haha. Well... back to psycho-ing myself to finish it up.

Another wave of

2008-10-29T18:56:00.002+08:00

work to do... 1 presentation next Wed, and the powerpoint slides need to be submitted on Sun. Sigh... my group didn't even realize that we were so close to the presentation until today... sleepless nights coming up for the next few days. Individual assignment is due on 10 Nov... so after the presentation, no rest until I finish my final assignment. Then it's time for me to say goodbye to assignments... Hahaha....

Today's driving lesson was

2008-10-28T16:25:00.002+08:00

fun but scary. I progressed to gear 3 :) Car stalled 2 times Haha, coz I was wearing my sports shoes which have very thick soles. So I didin't even realize that I was stepping on the accelerator!!! OMG. Yup, I have decided to wear my cute colourful shoes for all my driving lessons onwards :)

Mum's coming home from China

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at 2:15 am tonight. Dearie's gonna go with me to bring her back home :) So is brother :) He sleeps late all the time anyway. Haha.

But the problem is... I gotta wake early the next morning coz got driving at 7:30 am... FUN! But... not enough sleep... sob. More $$ going outta my pocket.

Leaving for Reishaun's 1st month party soon. Woots! It has been a great weekend. Never felt so relaxed and fully recharged for this new week. Weekends should be like this. Haha.

Going to learn driving soon at

2008-10-24T08:39:00.001+08:00

9 am!!! So exciting! Finally I have decided to part with my money and invest in getting a driving licence.

So stressed today

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coz I couldn't finish my work on time... Thank God for Jane who is gonna help me hand up my work tomorrow so I do not have to make my way to Boon Lay just to hand in my work... Thanks Jane! :)

Then Kevin didn't come for MM today!!! I play A.Guit alone!!! Sob... Thank God the session went alright. I need to check out interesting licks so I can be more interesting... lol.

Had a great time

2008-10-21T09:13:00.002+08:00

catching up with JC friends last night at Bugis. Twas a pity though that no photos were taken coz we were too caught up talking and laughing about the good ole daes... Sigh. Well... there was new blood added to the JC gang, and that's good! Right now, for my wedding dinner JC friends table, stands at a grand total of 8 people... we need to introduce more of our JC friends into this gang to make it 10... hahahaha.

Have finished most of my assignments already! It's really a honeymoon period now and I need to appreciate my free time now, before it's too LATE!!!

So exciting... made an appointment with my wedding package coordinator to select the gowns in January... Might bring it forward to December coz of practical reasons...

Okie, back to doing my assignment, it's due on Thursday, but I have no lessons on Thursday so there's no way I'm going to go to Boon Lay on Thursday just to hand in the darn assignment. Ha. So means... gotta chiong today!!!

The 5 love languages and Yo's birthday

2008-10-15T00:49:00.002+08:00

Did a quiz i found on shuyi's blog... check out the result on the right panel. To take the quiz, click here.

Happy belated birthday Yiyou! You have reached a quarter of a century old... lol. God bless u and ur family. I'm glad we met for dinner with the gals, it was a good catch up and fun session. Hope u enjoyed urself. I am still sore about the KTV session haha... let's go ourselves and leave them out. Lol. I not so mean la... haha.

Thank God

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that I have finished by horrendous 2000 word essay. Hope my Caucasian lecturer will understand my points. Lol.

Anyway, congratulations to Wenjie and Jinghua who will be officially Mr and Mrs Teo Boon Keat after their solemnization on 11 Oct 2008! So exciting! Looking forward to it... Yay! Of course... my pocket is gonna have a hole in it after their banquet, but oh well... :)

Time to continue working on my Math assignment. Suddenly feel the urge to finish my work. Wow... I have changed overnight. Yah RYGHT...

So confused

2008-10-09T12:46:00.002+08:00

by all the ideas that I want to include in my essay. I am torn apart by "i-want-to-do-very-well" and "i-think-i-just-dun-care" attitudes. Right now I'm feeling sleepy... I will nap for a while. Snorez...

I feel so hypocritical

2008-10-07T23:05:00.002+08:00

while writing my 2000 word essay. It really is terrible having to cough out ideas and words that I do not really mean. Duh. It's even worse that I do not have anything brilliant to write anymore after I managed the 500th word. Sigh.

Back to 'smoking' my way through the next 1500 words. Smoking is bad for health.

Focus focus!!!

2008-10-06T07:36:00.001+08:00

I need to focus on my assignments due next week... Kept getting distracted by my Dreamweaver assignment which is due much later... Sigh...

Happy Childrens' Day

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to all my previous students. Haha... Hope you guys had a great holiday although you are in the midst of your exams.

Leave your blog address in the comments or my shoutbox if you don't mind me putting a link to it k. I wanna remember u guys.

Presentation was successful! Thank God!

2008-09-29T23:29:00.002+08:00

Really thank God for today's presentation. We had no rehearsal prior to the presentation and everything went through smoothly. I was preventing myself from falling sick before this presentation as I was feeling an onset of a sore throat already. Thank God that I did not get a full blown sore throat. In the midst of the presentation, I felt feverish and had a splitting headache. It seemed as though my body knows that the presentation is over, and that it can fall sick already. It took me the rest of the day to recover from the headache and feverish feeling.

On another note, went to the Singapore Flyer with Jane, Shuyi and Danny today. The flyer wasn't great at all... but the company was excellent. By God's grace, Shuyi's dad miraculously turned up at the Pan Pacific hotel while we were walking to the MRT, and gave us a lift home. Wow.

So for now... I will rest.

So many things to do...

2008-09-25T15:00:00.002+08:00

but I dunno where to start. Sigh... I need to prioritize badly.

I need to complete my part for a group presentation on Monday. I need to complete my Dreamweaver coursework. I need to write a 2000 word essay. I need to do a lot a lot...

Looking at the current list I have above, I believe I need to concentrate on my group presentation first... ok I shall do that... and not get distracted by other stuff... haiz.

So far there has been nothing eventful

2008-09-17T10:14:00.002+08:00

in my life... and that explains the lack of updates from 8 sept when I was crazy over Sungha Jung. But I still am crazy over his guitar skills.

Except that I went for dinner at Ikea wif Janeee, Yimin and Dearie yesterday. Poor Yimin was 2 hours late coz her colleague decided to take MC and her boss told her to stay for OT. Poor gal.

Off to school now... meeting wif Joanne later in the day for math project.

More Sungha Jung! Talented Korean kid!

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Simply amazing, inspirational... good to listen in the morning...

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When I heard this... indescribable... feel closer to God too. Dunno why... but it is so. Simply breath-taking music. Enjoy.

It's too fast...

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the holidays pass too fast for comfort. Have been sleeping a lot for the past 3 days... I need to get back my rhythm before I get too tired for school on Monday...

Trying to come up with ideas on what to do in my presentation on Tues. It's hard to sum up my 10 week experience in 5 min... woah, huge challenge. Overall, I had a pleasant experience compared to my compatriots. Hehe... Really... thank God...

Ok back to planning for my 5 min presentation. Bored...

Had a great catch-up session

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with Ruth, Yasi, Grace and Dearie yesterday. Twas a pity the Ruth had to leave early though... And yes... she wasn't that sotong after all :p

Unfortunately... although I brought my camera... silly me forgot to fish it out for photos!@#!@ How irritating... so... means we need to meet again!!! Hahaha...

YAY!!!

2008-09-02T20:09:00.002+08:00

The camp is OVER!!! OVER!!! So OVER!!! Haha... Going out soon to Aikit's house for a gathering... BBQ! Yay!

Finally.... HOLIDAY!!! Meeting Yasi, Ruth and Grace tmr for catching up... Yay!!!

Anyway... Ruth... if u r reading this... pls dun be sotong... it's 4 pm at Bugis MRT control station... dun hide in some toilet later we all cannot find u... hahahahahaha.

Had quite a lot of fun with

2008-09-01T21:05:00.002+08:00

the kids in the "camp" today... how can we even have the cheek to call it a camp when there are only 10 sign ups... LOL. But... we still did. Muahahahaha! My segment is on tomorrow, pray that it goes smoothly. Pray that it will be interesting... at least we tried to make it as interesting as possible by making ourselves look silly first. As usual, Renie Beanie decides to be as silly as possible so that others will follow along and make the day more fun. Hahahahah!!!!!!!

Thank God for today... went to Meritus Mandarin to confirm the dates and all... Yup... it should be on 16 Nov 2009. Phew! More planning and $$-draining on the way.

It's Teachers' Day today...

2008-09-01T09:05:00.003+08:00

and I have to go to Commonwealth to complete the GESL project!@!? Crap... Same for tomorrow... Sigh... Hope it goes through smoothly and we can complete it in one piece. Yay... then on Wed... it will be holiday holiday holiday!!! Gotta remember to watch my online lecture too... opens today... better be a good student. Haha...

Dum dee dum...

2008-08-30T11:29:00.002+08:00

Added some photos in Friendster... go see... Some photos with the 3n1 guys I didn't add... will just keep k... Haha...

Happy Teachers' Day!

2008-08-29T19:54:00.001+08:00

So touching today! My students gave me a big surprise by baking a cheesecake. The best part was that... we were told that... there was not supposed to be any food in the celebration. Watever la! Damn nice can... Lazy to upload photo.. haha... I took a photo of the blueberry cheesecake. Then there was the big card! Encouraged by their words :) Will strive to be a better teacher... I promise!

I know a lot of you are reading this okay!!! Lol. So, 3N1... thanks for all the memories... and the delicious cake... and the pretty card... and of course... not forgetting all those who came up to me with cards n gifts... yes I really appreciate it. :)

It's time to reflect...

2008-08-28T20:33:00.002+08:00

after everything has ended.

How can I make my lessons interesting? More precisely, how can I make A.Maths lessons more interesting? It's hard (or almost impossible) to find real life applications for A.Maths, coz they are simply beyond the level of the students (sometimes even myself... geez). I need to search harder for interesting A.Maths applications and usage... coz I really feel the students' boredom during the lessons. How do I expect them to be interested when I am bored myself?

Anyway, I'm not very on-the-ball in looking for real life applications for E.Maths either... Lol... Too much effort required... And time does not permit either. Why... why must lessons be so hectic? I want my students to enjoy, to appreciate the beauty... but I need to appreciate it myself first. I have to transform... transform into Ms Real-Life Application. Lol. Zzz...

On a lighter note, took photos with my students today! Haha... it was fun! Not gonna post them here though... hehe. Actually felt quite sad during the last lesson... but didn't wanna show it. Yeah... me being trying-to-be-cool gal. Duhz. Wanted to tell them a lot of things. Wanted to tell them that I'll miss them... but Renie just couldn't do it... coz knowing myself, silly emotional myself... I had to hold the words back. Didn't manage to get much out except that they should rely on themselves to succeed and not depend on how good their teachers are. Coz... that was how I was... Bad habit. Renie!!! Depend on God and yourself! Yeah, so the taking photos part was simply to while time away and take my mind off the sad part. Gosh... I'm so lame. Haha.

Glad that I can blog more today... coz feeling nostalgic already, and in a mood to blog. More relaxed... now that the stressful period is over... for now. God... guide me in the journey to come...

It's the holiday mood!

2008-08-25T18:44:00.002+08:00

Woohoo! It's ending! It's ending! Practicum is ending! But... I'll miss the school, the colleagues, and of course... the students. Well... there are new things to expect and anticipate at new places. So, I shall look to the near future and not be saddened by events that will pass soon. God will bring me through.

Twas a

2008-08-22T15:58:00.002+08:00

horrid, torrid, borrid, whatever-you-name-it day. Just not my day. Thank God it's over.

Everything had to go wrong at the same time... yes... Murphy's Law holds true. Lol.

The kids made it better, and so did God. End of story.

@**#@!@#*X@##Z#@

End of story.

Practicum is ending soon!

2008-08-18T16:37:00.002+08:00

Yay!

Feeling troubled...

2008-08-14T20:52:00.002+08:00

Dunno what to do... need to make decisions and I feel inadequate. May God show the way...

2 more observations to go!!!

2008-08-13T16:26:00.003+08:00

Yay. Should all be on next week, coz I need to finish up some topics with the class this week.

Just ended another observation today

2008-08-05T18:36:00.003+08:00

3 more to go. All to squeeze in 2 weeks. The last week I need to keep it free...

Wanted to do 2 this week so I can relax for the last few weeks, but due to some problems... I can't. Yup, so I shall make use of the long weekend to prepare for the 2 observations next week. Hehe.

Going to visit some hotels this Thurs... going to watch movie with Dearie tonight! Yay... I need a break badly.

2008-08-02T14:59:00.002+08:00

Thank God that the observation went well. :)

Now in the midst of finding a wedding banquet location and deciding how many tables we want. Quite fun, but tiring. Got to make appointments with the various hotels to see their prices and venues too. So far so good. Went to our first hotel on Thurs night, but was disappointed by the service of the banquet manager, so we are most probably not taking that up. Yup, looking forward to visit more hotels, now that we have broken the ice by meeting 1 hotel already.

Observation tomorrow...

2008-07-30T19:37:00.002+08:00

Haiz... Feeling tired of all the observations. They are staged anyway... we can't design such interesting lessons all the time... it will take up too much time and energy... well, I guess I need to sacrifice somehow... sigh.

Hoping all these will come to an end soon...

On a lighter note, Dearie and me are looking for a suitable venue to hold our wedding banquet... which will most probably be in late November or early December next year. Emailed several hotels and have received replies already. And... wow... I really need a lot of money... I'm sure, with hard work and God's providence, it will come :)

Off to continue writing my lesson plan... yes... torturous.

Anxious... Stressed...

2008-07-28T22:20:00.003+08:00

I'm so stressed... by many things... by decisions I need to make... by waiting for others to make decisions... by the daily duties I need to fulfil...

I'm glad God has sustained me all this while.
I'm glad He put Dearie and many friends to counsel and advise me.
I'm sure He will make my path straight.
Since I was led to this part of my life by Him, He will guide me through :)

I need to have faith, perseverance, courage to face the upcoming events and decisions that need to be made. God... show me the way...

Halfway through my practicum...

2008-07-25T20:38:00.002+08:00

Thank God... 5 more weeks to go :) Then it's back to NIE until November.

Just bought my bridal package today at a wedding fair at Vivo City. We have finally started planning and splashing on our marriage after 7 years of saving. Yes... the big day should be in December 2009.

Feeling so tired now after a whole day of work and haggling at the wedding fair. Out.

Feeling drained today...

2008-07-22T18:50:00.002+08:00

Coz got a lot of things to do... and I stupidly forgot to bring my thumbdrive home!!! How am I going to work like this??? ARGH!!! God... help...

Was so stressed the past few days

2008-07-17T21:39:00.003+08:00

that I skipped many meals... Need to gain back the weight I have lost... haiz.

Thank God that everything went smoothly and my observations went well. :)

It was His Calling that led me to where I am today. So He will bring me through the trials. :)

Just spent 3 hours

2008-07-13T18:23:00.001+08:00

doing up a lesson for tomorrow... so tired now... having a headache and feeling giddy. Need to get away from the computer for a while and continue after dinner... Yup... lots of notes to prepare for the week...

Ups and Downs

2008-07-11T17:50:00.001+08:00

Lots of ups and downs this week. Thank God that He brought me through the whole week and ended it with a bang. Twas a good day today :)

I learnt that my mood will affect my students, so I need to try to bring in an enthusiastic mood all the time. It's hard, but I'll try.

I need to concentrate

2008-07-07T12:23:00.002+08:00

and stop procrastinating... Wasting too much time... Maybe coz I am so busy on the schooldays so I don't feel like doing anything on holidays. Hmmm... but that's an excuse...

God... give my discipline to start on my work...

Thank God for my results...

2008-07-04T19:28:00.003+08:00

Just got my NIE results today... did quite well :) Thank God for my results...

Getting ill already though... think coz a few of the trainee teachers are also ill... staying in the same room with them the whole day does not help... so really need to pray for health. Can't afford to fall sick into my 3rd week of Practicum... There are 7 more weeks to go... Throat pain and flu coming...

Yay! Monday is holiday coz of Youth Day!!! Haha. But need to prepare a detailed lesson plan for my NIE supervisor by Tuesday, as he will be coming to observe me on 15th July and he wants the lesson plan 1 week prior to the observation. That's really a challenge coz I don't really know what I will be teaching on that day yet. See how... need to complete it by this weekend.

Had a wonderful day today...

2008-07-01T20:12:00.001+08:00

Love the kids, love the job so far :) But still need to meet expectations for the Practicum... will try... but kids come first :)

Getting the hang of things....Thank God!

2008-06-27T17:04:00.002+08:00

Yay... have completed some worksheets and notes which can last me about 2 weeks I guess. :) My supervisor's nice, so I'm really happy :)

I almost wanted to pull out of MM for the next 10 weeks coz I was so stressed for the first few days of school. Thank God that He let me see how things are running smoothly now, and guided me through some planning. Thank God I did not make the decision to pull out of serving MM. :)

Getting drained so early...

2008-06-25T17:53:00.002+08:00

Guess I'm just not used to getting up so early yet... feeling very tired all day and drained. Need God's strength and refreshment. There is a lot of adapting to do...

There are a lot of things to learn in teaching. Many experienced teachers have told me that we must be firm when meeting a class for the first time. That will be a challenge for me and something that I will have to work on... in the meantime... I am preparing to address my classes for the first time on Monday. Lesson plans, worksheets and notes to be prepared... Getting stressed by all these things... but I guess that it will come naturally soon... I hope...

While in the midst of all the preparatory work, both mentally and emotionally, God will pull me through... :)

Came back on the 19th... and now facing the reality...

2008-06-23T19:01:00.002+08:00

Have met my CTs today and they are nice people. But I'm not worried about the adults... more about the kids. Have been interacting more with adults for the past 2 years and I am worried about facing children. Well... I'll just haf to submit to God and persevere through. Sigh... havin a headache coz I'm not used to getting up so early yet...

I have posted photos of my Taiwan and HK trip in facebook. So do take a trip there if you are free. :)

Title-less post with a title... duh

2008-06-08T15:46:00.002+08:00

Yippee... will be leaving for Taiwan tomorrow until 16 June, and HongKong from 17 to 19 June. Holiday before practicum starts on 23rd June when I'll be very very busy doing lesson plans just for the sake of grading. Sigh... I need to prepare myself for a very busy 10 weeks starting from 23rd June. May God lead and strengthen me during this trying period.

On another note, please pray for Yo's dad. Pray for strength and determination for him and for Yo too. May God bless their family and guide them during this difficult time. Yo, JIAYOU!

Last day in NIE

2008-05-23T23:14:00.004+08:00

Haha... sounds scary right? Like I've quit or something. No la!!! I'm still excited about the teaching career and not giving up. Today is my last day in NIE, as I will be going to my Practicum school from 23rd June until end August. Yup... then I'll return to NIE from Sept to Nov for the last semester. Then that's it for NIE. Haha.

My blog is one year old

2008-05-06T00:00:00.000+08:00

6th May 2007 was the first time I blogged. Now that look back at some of my previous posts... and reminiscing about the things that happened over the year... wow... a lot has happened.

God is good. He brought me through a lot of tough times... Sigh... Thank you God.

Am starting to

2008-05-05T09:19:00.001+08:00

catch the holiday mood and starting to procrastinate again... The hardworking mood is creeping away... cannot like that... I have a presentation on Thursday and 2 lessons plans to hand up next week. Furthermore, I have a humongous Math Microteaching Individual presentation next week on Monday!!! That's stressful...

Tis a busy week for me... God help.

Thank God...

2008-05-01T17:04:00.003+08:00

that 2 assignments were completed today.

that I went out with Mum for breakfast, lunch and shopping today.

that I bought 3 pairs of bermudas at a sale.

that I'm still in a hardworking mood.

that Dearie will be going with me for a holiday in June.

that MM went well last night.

that Shuyi finally got her present which Dearie and I got for her.

that Jane ate a free Ben and Jerry's ice cream cone which contains 90% fat.

that Liverpool lost... sob... SOB... so I'll be rooting for Man U in the Champions League Finals (although I usually don't want them to win), coz I hope Chelsea will lose. Hahahahahaha...

for everything that I have, that I am, that He gave.

Thank God.

In a hardworking mood...

2008-04-28T18:35:00.002+08:00

Dunno why... but I thank God for this attitude that I am currently in. I feel like doing my assignments all the time. The mood for enjoyment and procrastination is simply not there at all... I wonder how long this can last. I pray that it will last until my assignments end. Haha.

Janeee... all the best for your observations ok.... May God watch over and guide you as you are being observed. No worries... you will get through it in one piece! :)

Something to look forward to

2008-04-27T16:46:00.002+08:00

Yay... will be going to Taiwan from 9 to 16 June and then to Hong Kong from 17 to 19 June. Celebrate Dearie's graduation! This trip will be more of a sightseeing trip than shopping. Anyway, I don't like shopping, so this trip is gonna be lotsa fun!!! YAY!

Crazy week just ended...

2008-04-25T22:07:00.003+08:00

Finished a silly presentation and handed up a humongous lesson plan today. Was quite disappointed with how the presentation turned out coz of lack of preparation. Spent a lot of time on my lesson plan for mathematics instead (which was definitely more important). Glad most of the hectic stuff is over... but I still have assignments to hand in every week until mid May, when I will be officially relieved from all assignments. Have 2 lessons plans to complete (both due in mid May), one more presentation on 5th May, and one additional math worksheet creation to hand up on 5th May too. Ok... I see that the coming week is quite hectic too... but will not be as bad as this week.

Somehow... I am starting to feel disillusioned about my service in MM... I wonder whether I am getting stagnant and comfortable. Anyway, recently MM decided to 'revamp' itself by making a record of latecomers on Wednesday's practices. It's a good move, but I wonder what will happen to those who are often late. Will they be told to leave MM? Suspension? I guess it's just the embarrassment and guilt that will prevent latecomers for the time being.

Well... yes, I will not deny that I am often late for Wednesday's practices. Somehow, I prefer to be late, than to be early and end up having to wait. Furthermore, the last few times... I was mugging until quite late, and by the time I got to the sanctuary, it's near to 8pm and I have not had any dinner. That's why I'm late, coz I go down to hawker centre to eat. I do not want to sound defensive here... but God is good, I don't think I will need to mug and work til so late on Wednesdays anymore for the time being. So, I believe I can be on time for practices!!! I mean... on time for pre-MM. Yay!

Thinking again... is pre-MM necessary? Hmmm... Ok the fellowship is good... but sometimes, it just ends up becoming a lamenting time... Yup, it's good to share with brothers and sisters... well... does that make pre-MM become a mini cell? Ok fine... I'm thinking too much. God says we need to submit to authority. Yes, I will submit to authority.

God please humble my heart and soul to serve you wholeheartedly. Let me not dwell and complain about minute matters. Show me a path...

Busy chiong-ing

2008-04-12T09:51:00.001+08:00

another 1000 word essay due on Monday... have only written about 10% so far... hope to finish it by today... By lunch time! Hopefully... if not... dunno lor... tomorrow chiong again... haha.

My 2000 word essay is finally complete and ready to go!!!

2008-04-06T20:53:00.003+08:00

Yay! Praise the Lord! Finally... the torturous 2000 word essay will be outta my hands by 3:30pm on 7 April. YES! YES! Really... it's like a huge rock off my shoulders... Now I can concentrate on 6 new assignments due in April... doesn't sound any better right? At least these assignments are more relevant to what I will be teaching in the near future... And I will be more willing to do these assignments than the sickening Educational Psychology 1 assignments. Haha... Thank God...

My thumbdrive played an April Fool's joke on me on 1st Apr...

2008-04-03T10:44:00.000+08:00

After I typed about 400 words of my Psychology essay assignment, I decided to save the work in my thumbdrive (duh). Then there was a pop up that said saving was not possible because the file type is different. WHAT DIFFERENT!?!?!?! How can my Word document become another file type suddenly? But it's true... my word document got converted into a temp file!!! I thought that the word document was still there... so I deleted the temp file without checking. Well... u guessed it... my hard work was all GONE! OH NO!!! But oh well... I did panic a lot, then I thanked God. Coz if this had happened to me when my essay of 2000 words is done, then I'll really be crying.

While I was on the train... as I had my laptop with me... I tried to reproduce my 400 words... by the time I reached my destination, I reproduced almost half of it... Thank God. But I wasn’t as satisfied with it as the first time... sigh.

When I reached home, I inserted my thumbdrive into the desktop computer to re-confirm that the essay is really gone... then... then I saw the TEMP FILE!!! THANK GOD!!! I could not find it while I was on the train!!! Why did it suddenly appear when I got home!?!?!?! Yay!!! All my hard work is not lost...

Thank God the original essay is found...

Twas’ a bad April Fool’s joke...

Essay on Self-Esteem

2008-03-28T22:03:00.002+08:00

Haiz... struggling to write an essay of 2000 words on self-esteem and whether schools should play a significant part in enhancing self-esteem of students. ARGH!!! Have been reading a lot of books and journals to be able to get an idea and also to reference them. The way they write is simply too profound for my puny pond of vocabulary. Zzz... The worst thing is that... it is due on 7th April!!! I'm done for... Sobbbbbbb....

No... must press on... MUST PRESS ON... Jiayou, jiayou, jiayou!

2008-03-15T22:19:00.003+08:00

Let's see... what have I been doing all this time... Educational Psychology project, Educational Psychology project, Educational Psychology project and more Educational Psychology project!!! ARGH!!! Our presentation is on Monday, and I feel unprepared. Sigh... Anyway, we just gotta plough through and hope that God carries us through this...

Yay!!! Once Monday ends, I have one less project!!! But... there are 2 more presentations the following week!!! So... I still have to trudge on and focus on the 2 projects... ARGHHHH!!!!

David Archuleta - A breath of fresh air... really...

2008-03-05T23:52:00.001+08:00

It's been long again

2008-03-01T10:18:00.002+08:00

Too busy to blog... busy doing work, doing assignments. These apparently are more important to me than blogging right now... Full load week has begun and the first week has ended. It was fun, but real packed and tiring. I'll just need to persevere on... Tired... But loads to do.

Full load next week

2008-02-20T22:11:00.002+08:00

Next week will be the start of the full load... I will have to travel to the other end of Singapore daily... haiz... Thank God, Mondays start at 1230, Tuesdays at 1130, Wednesdays at 1030, Thursdays at 1230 and Fridays... at 0830. So I will only have to worry about the Friday lessons where I have to leave home by 0615 to avoid the crowds and make sure I get to campus on time to eat breakfast and move off for class... oh boy...