A Mind of My Own

Teacher’s Day is tomorrow. I haven’t seen my teachers for a long time. I still remember my Geography and Art teacher during my secondary school days. Both are good friends. I heard that the Geography teacher married a few years back. Or was it the Art teacher? Wonder if she has any kids now.

I miss the days when we were just in class and making fun of the Chinese teacher. None of us liked her because she was simply too biased. I wonder if she has retired now. Most of the teachers have either transfered out to other schools or had just quit teaching.

I can’t believe that 10 years have passed since we graduated with ‘O’ levels. I first learnt playing 5 stones in secondary school. I am not an expert but I can still play it abeit less deft with my hands now. It was simple fun just sitting at the back of the classroom bonding with the classmates whom we have gotten along so well.

The 4 years in school seem to fly by so quickly. Some of us have married since, some still looking for Mr Right. It can be a neverending search for Mr Right if we always feel that he has this but not that. Fate plays a part but in the end, it’s our heart and minds that will decide if Mr Right or Ms Right is the one whom we want to spend our lives with.

Saw the students on the roads during lunch time and really envy them. They can go home at 12pm. I still have to work today and tomorrow because I no longer qualify as a student. Maybe it’s when we’ve gone through some rough patches that we learn from there. Like when your mother prevents you from playing near the stove when she’s cooking. You won’t know that burnt skin is painful until you touch it. Never play with knives because the cut can be deep and painful too.

Also known as 中秋节. The theme for the lanterns this year is famous monuments or buildings. NTUC card members have discounts! That’s so great! It if wasn’t my DD sending me the link, I wouldn’t have known.

I didn’t go last year due to my work or was it because no one wanted to go with me? Forgot le but never mind. My DD is going with me this year Hopefully we’ll take photos of all the nice lanterns. I sure hope my night shots are at least good enough to make out what I’m trying to take.

Now, the headache of choosing what flavour of mooncakes.

Today is the last Monday of August. Wonder what went on for this month. Basically, I’ve been to the office at 6am on a Sunday and did some testing. Went home at 8am. The bus driver sure took his time. I was about to flag a taxi when it arrived.

I finally got home at 9am. Had to take some breakfast before I went to bed. Flipped the newspapers before sleeping. Oh boy, it sure was a much needed rest. Slept late on Saturday night because was spending a wonderful evening with my DD.

Today was a day where I had to rectify an error and plan how to conduct more testing for the systems that are being moved to the new servers. I hate testing because we still have to provide support and modifications at the same time. Where got time to do so many things when we have to chase for the documentation sign offs, conduct trainings, attend meetings and don’t know what else. There is absolutely no time for self upgrade.

My last training was cancelled and I don’t want to ask for it again. It’s just tiring. I’m afraid that it’d be cancelled again because I’ve this feeling that something new will come in at the “right” time and I will be in charge of it. It can be flattering but it’s not easy of I’ve to modify or enhance the systems that I know nuts about.

I’ve been so moody for the past few weeks except when I’m not at work. Oh yeah, there’s still the school project for my honours. Darn. At least this is easier to handle.

I didn’t realise how boring my home can be. Nothing to do for guests except the Internet, unfortunately, the PC is down at the moment. Didn’t want to take the time to buy a replacement graphics card yet.

Well, maybe I should get some games such as Cluedo, Charades, or something for guests to play. However, is that what my guests want? Mahjong is not for everyone and neither does my home have a mahjong set. I’ve a deck of poker cards. Maybe I don’t play them that much and thus the things that are around are not being utilised. Silly me.

I need to attend a class called “How to Entertain Your Guests Even When You Don’t Seem to Have Anything“. Quite a mouth, eh?

I’ve XBox but I don’t play it that often and the games are too darn expensive. Nevertheless, there are some games to be played. Provided you are not particular about them. I have Monopoly except that it’s kept somewhere because no one uses it for family bonding. Come to think of it, the Internet has been monopolising our free time. I’m currently blogging, my little brother is using his laptop to play CS or whatever it is. The XBox is being utilised by the brother who accidentally made the PC fall.

Gee. My DD absolutely refuse to come if there’s nothing to do except TV. How sad. I remembered someone saying about building rapport. I must find a way to entertain guests.

I like sushi, especially the rice. Unfortunately, I can’t find any except at one food stall in a hawker centre in Jurong East. They don’t sell it often either. I think they sell it on Sunday mornings only. The difference is the rice. They mix brown rice with white rice or is it the pearl rice that the Japanese use? At least the sushi is not bad.

Now, Sakae Sushi has finally come up with delicious looking vegetarian dishes! Can’t wait to try them out. One plus point is that on the 1st and 15th of the Lunar month, 25% off! So far, only a few outlets have them on their menus since I guess they’re trying out. I hope more people will try them out and the dishes will be available for all the outlets and everyday it’s opened.

I can go with my DD to eat and my friends too! Yay!

I must say that I’m very lucky. Haven’t driven since I got my license. Lousy at parking because I was trained to look at the poles with stickers on the corners provided. I end up lousy at reverse and parallel parking. Can imagine how embarrassing that would be if I end up with my dad’s car featured in Stupid Parking Idiots?

This blog was also featured online in Today and The New Paper around Aug 20 to 23. I found the comments on those featured rather funny. Well, it won’t be if I were to be featured there too.

There’s a nicer sounding blog, Please Park Properly. The idea of the blogs are the same, the drivers, including the motorcyclists, have to park properly, within the law and in their correct parking lots assigned!

Charlene and Gillian of Twins were exposed. There was a spy camera hidden in their dressing room and the shots were shown in a magazine. Gillian was unlucky, she was in front of it and it contained mostly her. Both are very upset at the exposure and are demanding payments from the magazine. Good to sue the magazine.

It’s rude to put spy cameras in any one’s dressing rooms, be it celebraties or not. Their fans have put up an online petition to protest the lack of proper security measures. It had happened in Malaysia from what I read. Investigations are currently going on and I hope that Twins will come out better off. Read on The New Paper online version.

I was checking through my emails and guess what I found? A link to the most incredible knife! It’s designed by Wenger and has 85 different tools for every ocassion. It doesn’t come cheap though, obviously with so many tools for the functions, it costs quite a bomb. I can go on a trip for that same price.

There’s a ceasefire in Lebanon for now. We won’t know if peace will be restored. We won’t know what will happen to their government. What I do know is that good times don’t last long as this video shows. It’s scary that the whole floor can sink just when the people were enjoying themselves.

All we can only do is to treasure the good times we have now. Don’t wait till it’s gone and regret.

What a way to keep your ring safe

Update: Video has been removed.