St James outing

For the first time, we 3 siblings went chionging together on 29 Dec at St James. A friend teased us saying where are our parents? Well, my sis did invite my parents but they declined. Hahaha!

That photo was taken when we were still quite sober & everyone wasn't feeling that "high" yet. We were at Boiler Room which had a live band playing Angmoh songs & cracking lots of sexual jokes. Sometimes the jokes were so cold, only the band singer was laughing coz he's probably the only one who can appreciates his own jokes.

I never got into a high mood despite a few drinks. Guess it depends a lot on my mood. My sis was dancing away with her jie-meis. My brother joined in too after a few more glasses of alcohol. I was contented to sit there & people-watch. That's quite an enjoyable process to me. Bro & his friends were in a very generous mood & bought a bottle of Chivas and we cleared it in a night. All the "jiu gui" here!

Hungry, we decided to leave at around 2am for supper. Bro & his friend insisted on driving despite having drank a lot. They kept thinking they are sober enough to drive. Now we know why there're so many drunk-driving accidents.....all thanks to these drunkards who think they are sober.

Anyway, we managed to persuade them to take a cab to Newton Circus for supper. The hawkers there were irritating. Touting us the moment we reached. We had satay, cha kway teow, chicken wings, cockles, sting-ray. Not very yummy but better than nothing. Home by 4am. Half-dead!

This outing was quite fun. We should have more of it before I go to Japan! haha (^-^)

Santa Ah Ke

Ah Ke's Santa for a day! So kawaii!!

Santa Ah Ke also wants a present. Hmm.....which one is mine?

Christmas Party

We had a little x'mas party at home. Most were my sister's friends. We ate & played games like Uno Stacko, mahjong & blackjack. At midnight we had a gift exchange game where I read a story of left/right & we had to pass the gift to some on the left/right. This year I had the most gifts, most of which are meant to be used in Japan. Happy!!

check out the no. of gifts!

my Sec sch classmates

Merry Christmas

Here's a funny j-rock version of Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer by my fav band, GLAY, and 2 other comedians. Skip the 1st min (of interview) to listen to it.
GLAY is so cool! Lurrvvveee them!!

Have a great Christmas!

New camera!

After almost a year of consideration, I finally upgraded my digital camera. My old Canon Powershot A70 is still in reasonably good working condition, but its weight at 315g(?) & size always made me think twice about bringing it out.

I decided to pamper myself with a new Canon Ixus 860IS camera. It's still a little heavy at 155g(?) but the sleek design & size makes me want to bring it along whenever I go out. However it cost me a bomb at $610. Other brands offer similar features at a lower price, but I prefer Canon cameras because my old Canon camera served me well for 4 years. My sister has a Canon Ixus camera too. It's an older model but her photos always turn out very well -- sharp images with vivid colors.

I'm $610 poorer but happy with my new camera. Next on my list is a new laptop....... *in my dreams*

School holidays!!

It's finally school holidays! We've all been counting down to this holiday. Term 2 is too long at 3.5 months. We're tired, so are the kids. Everyone's in a happy festive mood so I spent the last 2 weeks of school making x'mas crafts with my students. It's a good thing I enjoy arts & crafts.

Influenced by my students, I made x'mas cards for my friends. I used to do that but with e-cards being fast & convenient, I stopped doing so for a long time. Though e-cards are interesting with flash etc, nothing beats receiving a hand-made card, no matter how ugly it is!

Wk 1 of my school holidays passed with me accomplishing none of the things I'm supposed to do. I had planned to use this holiday to prepare as much as I can for the wedding but laziness set in. I was hooked on to dramas online, always woke up late and went shopping often! Quite a busy x'mas season with more presents to buy than usual.

With only 2 weeks of holidays left, next week I must try harder to check off more items off my "To do" list. This school holiday is too SHORT!! I need more time!!!

My 2nd solo trip to Japan (Part 3)

Continuing on with my August trip.....

6 Aug (Monday) - Aomori / Oirase
Today was a killer. Totally exhausting!
Took an early train at 7.16am to Hachinohe, offloaded my stuff at the hotel & set off for Oirase by bus. The journey took me 1.5hrs but there was lovely scenery along the way.

I dropped off at a viewing point to take some photos and decided to take a short walk along the nature trail to the next nearest bus-stop. Wrong move. The trail took me 2 hrs!! Thought I was going to be lost & die in that trail liao.














I met a japanese couple in their 50s who probably felt i was very pitiful to be doing the hike alone & walked with me. They are serious hikers, checking their map for viewing spots along the way. I just wanted to finish it asap! We finally reached the end point at Lake Towada. You've no idea how happy I was. The couple were very kind and shared their lunch with me. After that I took a bus to Aomori to attend the famous Nebuta Festival held in summer. It's one of the 3 major summer festivals in the Tohoku region.

Aomori was crowded. There were tourists & people in festival costumes. A traditional festive feel at the place. When the actual procession of floats & dances started, people were cheering. It's like Singapore's Chingay parade I think. I really enjoyed it. I liked the colorful floats and the lively atmosphere.

With many people feeling "high" due to alcohol & the festive mood, fights broke out too. I happened to be near one. Saw the security trying to control a group of rowdy guys. When I walked off, a group of police holding baton sticks were rushing towards that spot. Not sure what happened later...

Having followed the procession in the opposite direction & snapping photos along the way, I lost my bearings and took a while to find the train station. Reached the Hachinohe at 10pm. Dead tired, yet I could still watch TV till 12am. Slept for solid 8hrs w/o dreams or waking up in the middle of the night.

Nebuta Festival videos

Here are some videos I took at the festival.

The start of the festival - I like the drums!



The procession



See how some participants dance. Very "high" already...



Wonder what they're cheering...

My 2nd solo trip to Japan (Part 2)

New Year's coming and I've yet to blog about my August trip. Here's part 2. More to come...

4 Aug (Saturday) - Sendai

Sendai has an interesting mix of city, historical, religious and nature sights. I was lucky to have a friend who sacrificed his Saturday and brought me around to various spots which I wouldn't have been able to cover on my own in a day. He's my internet penpal of 2 yrs whom I've never met. My instincts told me he's a decent fellow. Thank goodness I was right. He could speak good English so my brain didn't have to work too hard. Heehee...

We first went to Aobajo Castle for a view of the city. After that we went to Shiogama where he brought me to a fish port where I saw fresh whale meat for the first time. Lunch was sushi around the area. It's the best sushi I've ever tried. As the restaurants near the fishing port, the fish is so fresh, it melts in your mouth! A bit pai-seh to take photos though. If you see it, you'll drool!!

Next he brought me to Shiogama Shrine. I learnt the proper way of praying at a shrine (but forgotten liao) and he gave me a talisman. It's quite interesting. The talisman is a white envelop with a clear packet of whitish powder inside. Having heard some real-life eerie encounters in Japan's hotels, I hugged this talisman + the one from Kwan Yin temple to sleep every night during this trip!

We went to the famous Matsushima & boarded a ferry to view the islets. It was fun to see people feeding the seagulls with prawn crackers. I was too timid to do so, afraid that the seagulls would attack me. After that we ate fishcake which we BBQ ourselves. Not a wise choice considering the hot humid weather, but it's a specialty in that area so had try it!


Our last stop was at Akiu Otaki Falls, one of the 3 great waterfalls in Japan. Breathtaking view!

My penpal Takashi & I at the waterfall

After checking in at hotel, we went for dinner together. Ate the famous cold ramen with sesame sauce. Yummy! I love ramen, cold or hot. Reminds me of those days I packed cold ramen to school in Okazaki for lunch.

As I had to leave early the next morning & there's no coin laundry in the hotel, I walked to the nearest coin laundry on my own. It was late & the roads were quiet and the laundry place was located in such a quiet corner, I almost missed it. My first night alone in a hotel was bad. I was very scared even though I slept with my lights on. Didn't sleep well and woke up a few times at night. Finally I gave up, woke up at 6am & set off early.


5 Aug (Sunday) - Morioka
Back to lonely days but I enjoy it. Today's a full day out to Ryusendo Caves from Morioka. Duno why I'm so fascinated by the caves, just based on guidebooks. I took a 2hr bus trip there & another 2hrs back just to see the caves. Madness. I don't regret the trip there. I like the mysterious feel of the cave. It's cold & wet & a little creepy at times. Having to climb up steep narrow steps for better views were a killer though.

There was this crazy mum with a baby on her baby backpack. She wore pointed heels there! Almost every step she made on the stairs, she went "scary....." & some other sounds to show she's scared & worried. Her hubby was following behind agreeing with all her scared expressions. Idiots! Should've known better to go to such places in heels! And shouldn't the stupid father carry the baby instead? Higher chance of vainpots falling down the stairs as compared to men in proper shoes leh.

Back at Morioka, I tried the famous "Rei-men". It apparently originated from Korean. Cold, crunchy noodles in sour & spicy soup. What surprised me was a slice of watermelon in that bowl of noodles. I was like "huh? Are they serving dessert together with mains in a bowl?" It tasted alright. I like the noodles' texture but not the soup. A little too spicy for my liking.

Maybe I was tired. Slept well that night.....

Supermodel!

My hubby came to Singapore over the weekend, specially for our pre-wedding photoshoot. Arrived on Sat evening, went to the bridal shop to try on his suits then went home for a party. It was a fun night of games, drinks and chat with my sister's & brother's friends & my friends till 3am.

Sunday morning was spent sorting out souvenirs for his relatives. I had bought the stuff before he came to save on shopping time. After that we went to Suntec to eat the porridge buffet. Quite a good deal at $12.80 nett. Good variety though the food isn't that fantastic. Hubby enjoyed it though. I guess for someone used to plain simple meals, that was considered very yummy.

Next we went shopping for our wedding band. I had already chosen some designs I liked, so just had to bring him to choose, try ring size & make payment. It's a simple band that didn't cost much but we're very happy with it. We went shopping & met up with a friend before going home in the evening. We spent the rest of the evening preparing for our wedding shoot.

The photoshoot was on Monday. It's almost a full day event. We reported at 10am & the make-up artist took almost an hour to do up our make-up & hairstyle. We started with the indoor studio shoots. It was fun, especially coz hubby is quite a comedian who isn't afraid of doing silly poses just for fun. As he isn't conversant in English, I had to translate and the photographer & his assistant sometimes used body language to explain. This created some laughter too. After 3 outfits, we had lunch before setting off for outdoor shoots.

Outdoor shoot was very fun! We wore our yukatas (summer kimono) & took photos at some chinese shop houses. I wore a lovely gown with big can-can in it for photos taken outside a church & museum. It was raining heavily when we were indoors & drizzling when outdoors. By the time we went for church/museum photos, the rain had stopped. The photoshoot ended by 5.30pm. Quite half-dead by then.

The whole process of posing for photos was interesting. I had to look at my fingers or gown or flowers while hubby would usually be looking at me. However hubby kept looking at the camera. The photographer & his assistant kept reminding him "Look at your wife!". The funniest part was when he had to kiss me. Instead of looking at me, he peeped at the camera while kissing! He either likes the camera, the photographer or thinks he's supermodel ah...

With the photoshoot done, I felt very relieved and hungry. I had been dieting just to look good in photos! We went to Jumbo for yummy seafood with my dad & brother. We had black pepper crab, BBQ fish, geo-clam, baby squid, mee goreng, desserts and beer. O-i-shi-i!!! I went home for more snacks and beer with hubby. At night we wrapped the xmas gifts for his family, chatted a little then went to sleep.

Hubby's really like a supermodel on an assignment. This morning he left on a 8.20am flight. He's only in S'pore for 2 full days -- 1 for photo, 1 for shopping. Though it's short, he enjoyed himself. It's a different experience from his 1st trip here. Hope he can come back to Singapore with me more often.....

Miss his nonsense already.....

New fan of ゆず (Yuzu)?

I was bored & finding songs on Youtube when I stumbled on Yuzu's songs. I remember my Hokkaido friends had specially driven 7 hours by car to attend their concert in Sapporo, so I thought their songs might be nice. This is one of my favorites. Enjoy!

My hubby's coming!

Counting down to 17th November now. Although it's a very short trip, I'm glad he can make it. We have to rush down to the bridal shop to get his suit on the day he arrives, followed by a dinner gathering at my house for him to meet the wedding helpers. On Sunday we've to buy the wedding bands. We'll do the photoshoot on Monday & he'll fly back to Japan on Tuesday morning. Sounds like a supermodel on a photoshoot assignment? heehee...

The things students do....

Not sure if it's because the term is coming to an end, so the mood in school and during lessons is more relaxed these days. I'm beginning to feel a little sad about leaving. It's really fun to teach even though it's frustrating at times.

The other day my P2 kid had to write sentences like "These are hats." This blur boy wrote it as "Thesearehats." I told him to re-write with spacing between the words. He came back with "T h e s e a r e h a t s." I had to control my laughter when I saw it. He finally got it correct the 3rd round. He must be thinking why I'm torturing him!

My P5 students had to pair up and write a ghost story for Halloween. While they were doing their work, I saw 1 of the girls shaking the table. Puzzled, I went over for a look. Apparently they were trying to write words with a scary & shaky font, so 1 shaked the table while the other wrote. Haha...smart kids!

I was in a "near-fight" with my P5 boy the other day. He was rocking his chair with his legs and his elbows were leaning on the table. Like in a flying position. That's distracting for me & his classmates and dangerous for him too. I warned him twice to stop it but he was back at it soon after warning. Finally I just went straight to him without warning & tried to grab the chair away from him. What followed was a "wrestling fight" between us --> he hooking his legs tightly onto the chair while I tried to pry his legs away from the chair. The whole class stopped work & looked on, duno in fear or shock. I finally pulled the chair away from him and told him he doesn't need a chair if he doesn't know how to sit. A while later I returned him his chair and he sat down properly and quietly for the rest of the lesson. And he no longer sits in that flying manner now.

Today I had a P4 girl telling me "Miss Chan, I love you" in a joking manner. So I replied her, "I love you too, MUACKS". And we just burst out laughing. They are surprised that I gave them a loud disgusting kiss sound. I was just as surprised that I could be so crazy. Haha.....

Sometimes I wonder...... am I a "teacher from hell" or a "crazy teacher"?

No more Open Days! (^o^)/

All teachers in my school dread "Open Day". That's the time we put up a "show" for parents who come to observe lessons. What was supposed to be just 2 classes of Open Day ended up with 5 classes due to some idiots' mistake. Instead of sending a circular out to inform about the mistake, they decided to torture us through another round of stress. Hate it!

Everything went on quite smoothly but of course we can't please every parent. Some just simply had to put some negative comments. Some were plain rude, chatting among themselves while the lesson was going on. Forget about punctuality here too. Half-way through lesson many of my students would look away from me & towards the door coz some stupid parent came late.

I had to fight for attention with crying babies too. I just don't understand why they are so inconsiderate, letting their crying child affect the whole class. Can't they just bring the baby out a little while? Their child won't die if their mother isn't observing the full lesson, right?

Anyway that's probably the last Open Day for me over here. Hope there isn't any in Japan....

Happy Birthday, Ah Ke!

Ah Ke celebrated his 19th birthday today. Bought him a little chocolate muffin. He had a candle to blow & we cut the muffin together. His present was new skin on his legs. He looked really happy.

Can't believe he's already 19 years old! He's like my baby. A cute baby who never grows up!

I think I'm gona miss Ah Ke a lot when I go to Japan. I don't want to bring him along coz Ah Ke represents me in Singapore. And I'm scared he'll be lost in baggage or lost in mail. Or that the customs would think I'm smuggling drug in him. Hehehe.....

Eventful September

Wah, it's been almost a month since my last update?!

After I came back to Singapore, everyday has been a blur for me. I had to do last minute practice for the Japanese choir performance held on 2 Sept at the Raffles Hotel Jubilee Hall. Glad it turned out well though I'm one of the guilty few who sang the wrong lyrics! heehee...


School started the week after I returned. The month-long vacation felt sooooo SHORT! Same old stuff with school -- adorable & irritating kids, lots of gossiping among teachers, complaints & more complaints here & there. And Open's Day coming again!! Arghhh!!!!

My backache became a source of worry for everyone after I came back coz I can hardly straighten my back when I stand up from a sitting position. Pain Pain :( Took an MRI scan & doctor said it's the same old problem -- slipped disc which i suffered from since young. Well at least I know it's not life-threatening for now. Just need to have lots of bed rest. No heavy things. No sports.

I went for my first round of facials in preparation for my big day next year. Seems like my face has accumulated years of dead skin cells & impurities stucked so deeply that I can only keep doing scrub masks to remove it layer by layer gradually. My sister said that my face looks brighter now. Though I don't believe 1 trip to the beautician did the trick, it certainly helped clear 1 layer of dirt off & spur me into taking good care of my skin coz I have all the bad skin problems -- pigmentation, dehydration, sensitive, clogged pores, breakout, fine lines.... Splurged $1.7k on $2000 worth of facial sessions. A big burn to my pocket, but with instalment, $200/mth to look pretty is worth it though it means less shopping for me. Looking forward to the next facial session!

The highlight of September has to be my first gown fitting! I felt so pretty wearing the wedding gown. Made me feel so angelic & princessy! (think my sister would puke reading this! hahahah) Tried on a number of evening gowns for the photoshoot too. Finally settled for one very sexy gown which surprised hubby when I showed him the photos.

I've settled our honeymoon stuff too. I went to the NATAS fair & managed to get 10% off the land tour package. We're going to New Zealand in March next year, right after our wedding. Yippie!! We're so happy & excited. With limited time & $$ we can only go 6 days/5 nights to the Southern part of New Zealand where most of the beautiful scenery are. I can't wait to visit Milford Sound!


Besides scenery, the tour squeezed in time to mingle with the woolly sheeps at a farm too! Wonder if Babe the pig's there too...hmm......Baa-baa black sheep, have you any wool? Yes Babe, yes Babe, 3 bags full...


Wonder how October will pass with no public holidays, no gown fittings, no tours..... Can't wait for November to come coz that's when hubby's coming over for the wedding photoshoot.

Miss him so much already.....

Sports Day

We had sports day last Saturday so we're given a day off-in-lieu today.

Sports day is not exactly sports filled for this school. What we have is individual 100m race for every level & some team effort games. The highlights would be the mass display performance by the kids. Think National Day parade dance/performance.... get the picture? Except that we have kids doing it instead. The most impressive would be the human pyramid by the P5 & 6 students. Rows of students stacked up to form a pyramid 3-4 human heights high. If the local schools try it, I bet the school will be flooded with calls from worried & angry parents.

All of us teachers had duties on that day, like cheerleading & photo-taking. Somehow everyone wasn't in the mood to do much. We just kept looking at our watch, waiting for time to go. I admire the Japanese teachers for their enthusiasm & stamina in organizing & running the event & training the kids. I would've been dead from exhaustion long before the actual day!

Back in Singapore

Came back last night after a whole day on plane & at airports. Thai Airways is cheap but killing 4 hrs of transit at the airport is tiring.

So excited to tell my sis about my trip & the stuff I got for her that we ended sleeping past 12midnight.

Happy to hug my darling Ah Ke after a month. Now miss my hubby's hugs....

Next week back to work. Sianz......

Cooking with love

Today I finally can understand a little of how my mother feels when we suddenly call home to say we're not having dinner. I spent the whole afternoon preparing a dish, hoping that hubby would enjoy the meal after a day's work & dragonboat race practice. However after he came home he said he had to attend a meeting cum drinking session after practice till 9.30pm or later. At that moment I simply lost interest in cooking whatever I wanted to cook, coz he would be too tired from meeting & training or too full from drinking to enjoy & appreciate my hard work.

He asked me to go with him but I refused. I don't like big social gatherings. I dislike making small talk with groups of strangers. 1-2 persons group is the best size for me to warm up to. But he said I must attend at least 1-2 times a year. This is such a torture. I wondered out aloud that maybe I should just go back to Singapore. He was unhappy and said he had told me before that participation in such gathering is required if I lived on this island.

Damn the villagers! Don't they have anything else better to do than organize gatherings which people attend out of obligation?

He left the house without saying anything. Neither did I. He's not happy. Neither am I.
Not in a cheerful mood now. . . . . .

Raw chicken for you?

I'm amazed at the amount & type of raw food the Japanese eat. My first experience of eating raw chicken was at Teru's hometown 2 years ago. Quite shocked initially but actually liked the taste of it. This time round there was no hesitation to eat it at Amami, except that it came with raw liver too. It was difficult to swallow coz it had a strong raw smell. I think I'll still stick to raw fish after all......

Day at the beach!

Today was my first experience swimming in the sea. I was really scared coz the last time I was at sea was 7 or 8 years ago close to the shore. This time round it's a little further away. Teru snorkelled while I just waited for his signal. Without snorkelling equipment I could only pop in/out of the water occasionally to see the fishes swimming past whenever he signals that fishes are around.

There was no changing place & we had to queue for 1 miserable waterhose to rinse off the sand on our body. He easily changed into his clothes in the open but I had to hide at the back passenger seats (with small curtains) to change while he drove on. Quite inconvenient. I wonder why can't they provide proper facilities since it's a beach popular among families.

My 2nd solo trip to Japan (Part 1)

Having enjoyed myself so much on a solo trip to Hokkaido in 2004, I told myself I must do it again. As I only have the summer holidays to go, I chose the Tohoku region which is the north-east part of Japan, thinking that it'll be cooler than the rest of Japan. However due to time & financial constraint, I could only afford 4 days there, covering Sendai, Morioka, Aomori and Hachinohe. I squeezed in bits of Tokyo, Yokohama & Fukuoka as well. Here are my thoughts on the places I went to, the things I saw, the food I ate.... Photos are available on my "Photo Gallery -- Japan Travels 2007" (left column of blog)

2 Aug (Thurs)
Had an unpleasant flight to Bangkok from Singapore. There was a disgusting guy who rested his smelly feet at the chair in front & often strayed into my space. There was a lack of blankets onboard the plane and I had to freeze for 2 hrs. The flight attendants were all unpleasant with a sulky look.

The flight from Bangkok to Tokyo Narita was better probably it's a further international flight. One amusing incident I encountered was that of a lady in her 50s (I think) trying to use the toilet. She probably didn't understand English and didn't know how to open the door so I helped her. (Push open) From inside the cubicle she started pushing the door to get out, whereas the correct way's to pull open. Poor lady was trapped in it for a while before I realised she's stuck inside & helped her open the door.

3 Aug (Fri)
Arrived in Tokyo Narita airport in the early morning. Spent some time settling baggage delivery, phone rental and train reservations at the airport before going to the hostel. With a brief map by the hostel & wrong exit from the train station, I was lost for a while before finding it. Walked around the area & stumbled onto the famous Sensoji Temple. What excited me most about the place wasn't the temple but a shop along the path. They sold Ah Ke look-alike dolls!! Quite tempted to buy 1 or 2 back but think Ah Ke might feel threatened. And I can't imagine having to take care of another Ah Ke.


After that I went to the Singapore Embassy at Roppongi to apply for a document to be submitted when I register my marriage in Japan. Armed with only the address, I first had to figure out how to get to Roppongi coz I had no subway map. When I reached there I was totally lost. With a map & directions by the train station attendant, I went in seach of the embassy. Walked for the longest time & just when I thought I'm lost, I found the place. Settled everything & went to Shibuya and Ueno before heading back to hostel. Skipped lunch and had soba in hot soup for dinner. I was exhausted and slept early but kept waking up in the middle of the night.

Tokyo's too crowded with people. I don't exactly like it. And I didn't have the time to explore the outskirts of it. Probably next visit...

Japan's version of 花樣少年少女

Started watching Japan's version of 花樣少年少女 recently, titled as Hanazakari no kimitachi e. In my opinion the story isn't as good as the Taiwan version. Taiwan's version had better plot & character development. Japan's version is just very messy with weak plot. However they have very good looking cast, much better than Taiwan's cast. Both have nice theme songs though. Here's the theme song by Orange Range, titled Ikenai Taiyou. Enjoy!

Officially Mrs Niino

No more Miss Chan! It's Mrs Niino now (^-^)

We've registered our marriage in Japan at the city hall near his place on 10 Aug. It was an easy but troublesome process. First I had to go to the Singapore embassy in Tokyo to apply for an affidavit of marital status. Then he had to translate it into Japanese and submit it together with a marriage application form. The form required 2 witnesses info so his parents simply had to fill in the form without going with us. We waited for around an hour after submission coz they had to verify my information with the headoffice. With that done, we're officially married and they gave me a marriage certificate the same day.

His parents organized a dinner with his relatives at a resort hotel to celebrate the occasion. Food was great but felt uneasy in such a serious dinner setting. His father made a speech followed by him. Rest of dinner was just some casual chat which i could understand only 50% of it.

His relatives also gave us angbao. Quite surprised to receive angbao at this point. Anyway that will go into wedding fund. His mother gave me a lovely pearl necklace & earring set which I'd probably wear for my photoshoot.

The next day we went shopping for his shirts & shoes and my yukata meant for wedding. Hubby really dotes on me. I tried a white yukata with pinkish prints which is slightly costly. He said I look good in it & told me to get it & immediately paid for it without hesitation. When it came to his own yukata (for wedding too), he hesitated and didn't buy even though it was around the same price as mine.

That's what I consider a good husband! He helps to prepare breakfast, do laundry, wash the dishes. Buys me things I like. He noticed that I was interested in magazines and brought me to the bookstore. Only problem is he's untidy! When I stepped into his apartment, I thought I'm in a garbage place. Cleaning out his refridgerator was a nightmare. Fungus covered vegetables, expired food, and most digusting of all, a bowl of larve meant for duno what insect or animal!

We've a long way ahead of us as husband & wife. Hope we can survive the ups & downs of marriage life & live happily ever after!

Dreams of Teru

I think my craze over GLAY is out of control. I dreamt of GLAY's lead vocalist, Teru, a few nights ago. Can't remember the details, except that we took pictures together & became friends. Hahahah!

My bf is also called Teru, so he was quite happy & excited when I told him "I dreamt of Teru". Then I added, "Teru from GLAY". Hahaha.....poor him....so disappointed. He had a good laugh over it later, saying I must have been very happy in the dream. Yes, I was very happy. Hope to dream of Teru again..... 1st half of dream my Teru, 2nd half Glay's Teru... Teru... Teru.... Teru.....

It's summer vacation!!

So happy! Term 1 of school is finally over! (^o^) We've all survived the new 27-hr schedule, teaching up to 5 lessons in a row. Longer hours at school but with better pay, I don't need to do another part-time job, which gives me more time to prepare for lessons & relax at home after work.

Teaching P4 wasn't a problem since most were from my P3 last year. P5 was a challenge & will continue to be so. I hope next term will go well.

Now just enjoy my nice 1-month summer vacation. Going to Japan for holiday. I can finally go on a 1-week solo trip to Japan. This time's to Tohoku, which includes Sendai & Aomori. Very excited but a little disappointed that some places have to be omitted due to time & financial constraints. After my short little trip, I'll meet up with my bf in his hometown (Kagoshima) before heading to his little island (Amami-oshima) for 2 weeks.

I'm not sure if I'll have the chance to travel around Japan on my own again. After this trip, my next trip to Japan will be in April/May next year after my wedding. By then, I can't possibly dump my hubby alone at home while i go travelling for weeks on my own. And he has no time to go with me also.... So I must enjoy myself to the fullest for this coming trip! Tohoku, here I come!!

GLAY concert!!!!!

I listened to GLAY's songs since university days. Not a big fan until I attended their concert held at Osaka's Universal Studios of Japan's carpark in 2004. I'm proud to say I'm one of the 100,000 people at this open-air standing concert. And since then I'm a fan of GLAY.

I like all 4 members coz they each have their own attractiveness. Sad to say, ever since the 2004 concert I've not been able to attend their concerts. I was looking forward to attending one this year. But *sob sob* they don't have it during summer when I'm in Japan!

Instead it'll be in Dec'07 - Mar'08. Too close to wedding date. And no more spare cash for overseas trips after my August trip to Japan.

Dear GLAY.... please don't disband for another 10 years! I want to catch your concert again! *muacks*

Local school teachers

I wonder what kind of teachers are teaching in the local schools these days, esp. after witnessing how a teacher treated her student today at an exchange programme held at my school.

The kids were seated on the floor (cross-legged), 2-by-2. As they were supposed to sit closely to their partners, we had to bend down & tap on their shoulders to tell them to sit closer, move in closer. But guess what this particular local teacher did? She lightly kicked/tapped her students' thighs with her feet!! And she was in high heels!

There was another teacher with a super grumpy face, complaining away at how the programme is being run & pulling her students' shoulders to get attention. I heard she's retired but came back to teach. It's nice to have experienced teachers around, but looking at their attitude & behavior, if I'm the student I'll "switch off" during lessons.

With teachers like that, no wonder S'pore kids' behavior is getting from bad to worse!

The mad driver

I hardly drive but am often been chauffeured around. Being the passenger/driver, I've come across bad drivers as described in the Straits Times article "Do you agree?.

Just yesterday I came across this super hot-tempered driver in the CTE tunnel. Apparently his car was knocked by another car behind. He was out shouting & scolding at the top of his voice at the driver inside the car (who knocked him). The man was in a working shirt/pants & looked so professional yet his behavior was like a mad dog, barking away. I wouldn't have dared to come of my car if I were the driver who knocked his car! Even after i drove past the accident scene, I could still hear his voice scolding away. Scary.....

Is there a need to behave that way? No doubt the driver who knocked you is at fault. But it's not as if he enjoyed knocking at other cars. He has to compensate you & pay for his own car's damages!

I'm not a witness to the accident. Don't know exactly what happened. But well, unless at 7.10am in the morning, these 2 cars are having a race or they're enemies before this, such behavior is crazy!

Giant Dorayaki!!!

My dear sister, knowing how much i like Doraemon, bought this big & cute dorayaki cushion for me from Tokyo recently. For those who duno, Doraemon loves to eat dorayaki. Yummmmmmmmy!!

Drawing

Recently after I showed my Pri. 4 students the photos I took with my bf, one of them drew a picture of us together, manga-style. Kawaii desu ne....

Cute songs

Here are 2 fun songs with the actions. It's from a Japanese kid's educational show. Seems like the Alogrithm March is very popular. Saw a few videos of it done by people all over the world. Anyone interested to learn & dance with me? hehehe (^-^;) Enjoy!

Alogrithm March



Alogrithm Dance

Zoo for a day again

It's Open Day again! Once again, I was an exhibit in the zoo last week. The zoo here means my classroom. Visitors were my students' parents. Things went on well. Very little comments from parents & all were quite positive. I was stressed & nervous but not as bad as last year's Open Day when i first joined. The students were cooperative & behaved well, probably because I've "bribed" them with stickers & "good student awards" the day before. Heeheehee.....

Or maybe the change in my classroom fengshui helped? hmm....

2 unlucky teachers received nasty comments. One parent said the teacher's English was wrong/unclear & wanted to transfer her kid to another class. (and the school really did so!) Another parent said her kid was taught by an Indian teacher last year and this year it's another Indian teacher, and she doesn't like it because she doesn't understand their accent. So racist!!! Not sure if her kid was transferred to another class, but we sure are disgusted with the racist parent.

Hope next term's Open Day will be better.....

The Flavor of Life

Theme song from the Jap drama "Hana Yori Dango 2" --by Utada Hikaru.

Busy + bad luck

Soon after i posted the entry "Too free", I was swamped with work at school. Had to plan & prepare for new chapters to teach for 5 levels. And also plan for "Open Day" which all teachers dread..... I think about it every other day but still don't know what to teach on that day... stressed!

Recently I was a little upset with the bad luck I've experienced at school, affecting my "working mood". I sprained my waist twice & kena complaints twice.....all within a month of school!

I'm convinced it's bad fengshui coz I didn't have such nonsense last year. In my new classroom, my desk faces the door, which in turn faces the staircase landing, I'm being "chong" at.....like some strong force hitting at me directly, and I don't have a strong backing to block it coz my back's facing the windows. I've since changed direction of my desk. Now just need to get a little mirror to hang facing the door to reflect the "force" away. Must make sure I've good fengshui in time for Open Day! hehehe

Supposed to color my flashcards now but lazy. Been bringing home work everyday coz I just feel so tired in school, can't wait to go home. However I'd usually end up doing half or what I'm supposed to do at home. This coming PH & weekend must really piah...... sianz....

Which "M" do you love?

Do you love Me or my Money?

I know I love my Teru for his personality coz he really don't have much money for me to love anyway. I know he doesn't love me for my money coz he doesn't need much money on that little island. Hahaha!!

It's sad when a person is too blinded by wealth & luxury to cherish what they have now. I don't hanker after wealth, but I'm very afraid of poverty. That's why I'm always nagging at Teru to save more $$$ so that we won't starve if anything happens.

I wonder why some people can stake their lifelong happiness on wealth. Can money bring you happiness forever?

Too free?

Bored..... these days I've nothing much to do at home after work. I try not to bring work home, so that leaves me with nothing to do. I'm almost done with my travel plans. I'm slowing down my search for wedding songs coz my collection & knowledge of J-songs has reached a limit.

I end up watching j-drama & anime online most of the time. Although the screen's very small (12 x 6cm?), I continue watching coz it's free & has the most recent dramas or those showing currently. My friends were talking about a show called "Heroes" which I've never heard of before. I'm still in the ER / Desperate Housewives era....... hehehe

There's this new Jap drama which started airing in Japan last month. Titled "Jodan ja nai", starring my fav actress at the moment "Ueno Juri". It's a family drama about a 40-yr-old guy who married the 20-yr-old daughter of his ex-girlfriend. Touching yet funny at times. But I've to wait for 2-3 wks before some kind soul uploads it. Sianz...

Back at school

Only 2 weeks back at school and I'm losing my patience with the kids..... I've almost all my same students from the last academic year for P2, P3, P4 so the rapport's there and lessons move more smoothly compared to the rest.

P5 as expected is a nightmare. They just go on and on talking in Japanese. I introduced the yellow/red penalty card soccer system to discourage them from speaking Japanese but it didn't help. And I've this super problematic kid who's all out to disrupt lessons and bullies the rest. He even farted in class twice! It's no wonder that nobody wants to sit with him. One day I'm really gona lose my patience and give him a good scolding before putting in a complaint to his form teacher....he'd better watch out!

We've yet to start "full-force" on the textbooks and many lessons were canceled for past 2 weeks, but we already feel very tired......duno how to survive thru this term!

鼓動

GLAY's latest single 鼓動 (beat). It's the theme song for the Japanese movie "大帝の剣" (Emperor's sword). From the video, the movie seems interesting but weird. I like the style & chorus of this song. How I wish I can watch their concert again in Japan.....

My 28th Birthday

Celebrated my birthday with my 2 good friends & family at home yesterday. We had a mini feast of the food we used to eat in Europe --cheese, bread & ham. But this time round there's nice yummy salad and creamy mushroom soup too.



Birthday must have cake, right? My dear sister bought me yummy cheesecake (yes, i've a weakness for cheesecake *drool*) with cute wordings. I love pigs, so she calls me "oink oink".

My sister, knowing that I want to buy sneakers, gave me World of Sports vouchers to buy shoes + many other stuff. And my jie-meis gave me a very cute pig watch & pouch. Sisters are the best!!

Rest of the evening was spent "kay-poh" people's profile in Friendster, watching Ayumi Hamasaki's MTV & Glay's Expo 2004 concert. We also flipped through the many bridal magazines I have at home to find our dream gown. I love to spend time like this at home with friends. Feels more cozy & relaxed....

What about my bf? I called him in the evening and put him on speaker-phone so that my friends can hear him too. With my friends listening on & taking a video of me smiling at the phone, he sang the birthday song to me. He admitted he's yet to buy my birthday gift. We decided that he'll pass it to me in August in Japan coz no point post to me in S'pore and I end up bringing it back to Japan next year!

28 years old liao.... but i still feel young...all thanks to Ahke? hehehe...

Food Lovers

The other day, my bf & I were talking about our wedding dinner. We liked the idea of buffet dinner coz guests can eat what they like & as much as they like. Sets a more relaxing mood too. Then this thought came in "What about us? Got time to eat buffet too?" The menu looks good leh. Bf said probably all our photos will show me being alone coz he's busy eating elsewhere, or his mouth will be full & hands holding a plate with a mountain of food. Then we thought of getting my sister to dabao food for us....
Think we're crazy....

Bridal Shop shopping

Preparing for marriage is quite a headache, considering the amount & type of shopping one has to do. First was the banquet venue. I went to 6 - 7 hotels to view & discuss before settling on Oriental Singapore. Even after signing the contract, I still went there another 2 - 3 times to view the wedding set-up.

Think I'll go for a casual, cheerful flower theme instead of a classy theme. My bf & I don't really fit into a classy atmosphere. Come to think of it, we met at an Expo on nature/saving earth, so we should go for earthy themes, right? Hmm...maybe i should borrow the Expo mascot from my friends for wedding decop....better still, put miniture Merlions there since i was working at the S'pore pavilion then! hahaha!

Since Feb, I've visited 7 bridal shops & tried on more than 10 wedding gowns. And spent hours reading comments in forums. Finally settled on a shop i like & will be going for 2nd negotiation this Sat. It's actually quite fun to go to BS. I experienced the pushy sales persons and the blur, bochap ones. Some gowns are so ugly i wonder why it's been made in the first place.

I had fun trying the gowns. I couldn't zip up many gowns on my own and had some near miss tripping & falling on the gown. Some gowns i tried were so puffy & heavy i wonder how to walk gracefully down the aisle. My bf's not very tall so I can't wear very high heels. One sales guy from the BS told me to ignore my bf & wear nice high heels coz I'm the star of the day! hahaha...must get bf to eat more long beans and play more basketball to see if can extend height at this age! If not, too bad for him! hahahahaha

School holidays?

Can't believe my 5 weeks of holidays is ending in less than 2 weeks' time!! I spent my holidays working at my dad's company so there really isn't any break for me. Looking forward to my 1-wk break next week!

I'm not too busy at work, so started planning for my summer holidays. Hehehe...1 holiday not over start planning for the next liao. I'm going to Japan in August!! "What's new?" as one might ask, considering how often i go all the way there to visit my bf. But this time round's different. I'm going on a solo holiday trip there! So excited!! I plan to cover Kanto & Tohoku region which includes Tokyo, Hakone, Yokohama, Sendai, Iwate, Aomori. As it's during summer, I'll get to see some summer festivals there. I spent 2 weeks planning the route, getting train/bus timetables, seaching for accomodation. Feels as if I'm flying off tomorrow! But won't forget about my bf lah...will visit him after i've had my 2 wks of fun. We'll probably register our marriage in August too. Counting down to August.....

End of 1 academic year

2006/07 academic year ended for the English Dept yesterday. 1 year of teaching English has passed for me, and I'll be continuing for another year. I find it hard to believe that a year passed by so quickly for me. Feel a bit sad that some of my students are returning to Japan for good. And many of my students will be in different classes in April. Wonder who'll be in my class again.....
Come April, I'll be teaching 5 levels. I've heard horror tales of Pri 4 & 5 students who drive their teachers crazy. I had blur & lazy Pri Ones, smart & enthusiastic Pri Twos, bored & problematic Pri Threes this year. Wonder what kind of students I'll get in April.....

Ocean (by B'z)

This is the theme song from Japanese drama 海猿 (Umizaru Revolution). There was a movie before this. And late last year another movie was released. It's about Japan Coast Guards. A very exciting & touching drama. Highly recommended! But do standby a hanky for the last few episodes...sob sob...

新年快楽

Happy Pig Year!! May you have a prosperous year!! So happy it's the Year of the Pig coz it means many cute pig decorations. I love pigs!! Kawaii!!!

This year's CNY is the same as previous years --> boring! But this year it's a working holiday for me. Save for 1st day of CNY, I spent the rest of the long weekend working. Prepared lessons & wrote students' reports. Haiz...what to do? Only have 1 wk to work on it before term ends.

Besides work, I spent hours in front of my notebook during the holidays. I was addicted to an anime & Taiwanese drama. Yes, Taiwanese drama! Even I'm surprised. I've always been a Jap anime & drama addict, but Taiwanese drama? No way!! Or so I thought.... hahaha.... After watching just 1 episode of Meteor Garden, I've been quite anti-Taiwanese Idol dramas, thinking that it's just pretty faces who can't act. And now here I am, hooked on to this drama called "Hanazakari no kimitachi e" (花様少年少女) which is adapted from a Japanese Manga. It's showing on Channel U now. The drama is ending its run in Taiwan next month.

So what caused my addiction to it? The silly but romantic plot (^-^) It's about a girl diguising as a boy to enter a boys' school in order to see her idol. The hilarious situations combined with some touching moments is quite a refreshing change for me. Reminds me of "My Boss My Hero". Crazy storyline, funny scenes yet has some serious moments.

This being an idol drama means they have the usual pretty boys & cute girls. The female lead & 1 of the 2 male leads did a good job -->very exaggerated, funny & manga-like. Entertaining! Unfortunately the other male lead is really just a pretty boy with limited acting abilities. Well, he good-looking mah....can't act/sing but will still have many fans wan lah....

Also watched an anime titled "Monster". I started watching it 2 years back when I was in Okazaki. A very dark anime, not meant for kids. The lead character had to search for a murderer, and people were brutally killed in almost every episode. I gave up at episode 30+ coz it was still going on then (in 2004) & I was tired of chasing the series. It finally ended at epi 74 & I watched the last few during CNY. Open-ended ending but done very well. Overall a very good anime even though i only watched the 1st half of the series & skipped to the last few episodes! hehehe

I wanted to watch "Protege" during the CNY holidays coz wanted to see my 2 cool idols - Daniel Wu & Louis Koo on the big screen but decided to avoid the CNY crowds. I can always watch on a wkday or wait for the DVD. Now I've run out of animes, dramas & movies to watch.....bored again...

I'm getting married!

I've not been blogging lately coz for the past few weeks my mind was focused on only 1 matter --> My Big Day!!

Yes, I'm tying the knot!! (^0^)(^-^) We survived the MIA issues, the "lost in direction" worries, the threatened break-ups, the parental objections...... It was a tough 1.5yr but we've finally made it to another chapter of our lives, together.

There was no proposal, no ring, no roses, nothing romantic. On 1st Jan 07, we started talking about our future & the marriage plans just flowed in. I was excited but worried about how my parents would react. Fortunately they had no objections. His parents were ok too.

The moment I came back, I was bz with school & researching on wedding stuff --> dates, venues, photography etc... I spent most of my time online at SingaporeBrides forum, finding out as much as can. Now I can confirm the dates! 16 March 08 in S'pore, 24 May 08 in Japan. 1 year to go but prep have to start now. Busy busy busy.....but i will still keep this blog alive... (^-^)

Countdown to 16 Feb

I've finally resigned from Kumon!! Counting down to my last day of work on 16 Feb. Feel so happy about it. Been thinking of resigning since last year June! I held on for the sake of $$$ until now. From April onwards, teaching hours at school will be extended. This means no time for Kumon on weekdays & more money from school. I can work on Saturdays but I decided to give myself a nice weekend to nuah at home instead of facing worksheets.

Telling my boss I want to resign was quite tough. I didn't know how to put it across nicely without giving her a shock. Before my actual resignation, I let out news that I'm resigning soon. She was also informed that my school time-table might change in April, leading to a change in my work schedule there. So she took it pretty well. In fact I guess she was waiting for me to tell her officially. But I wonder what she was thinking of when she said "oh, so fast?" when I said I'll work till the start of CNY holidays. Did she think I'll piah till the end of the month, torturing myself with the extra loads of worksheet marking after the CNY holidays? She must have been dreaming! With no contract signed in the beginning, she should be grateful that I'm giving her 3 wks notice!

Now happily counting down......no more Kumon in 2 wks' time!

Photos - Amami Oshima

The photos are up! U can view them at Photo Gallery --> Japan Travels. (Amami-oshima)

It's 5.30pm!

Song from anime "Totoro"


Every evening at 5.30pm, the PA system in my bf's neighbourhood will play a short music, followed by an announcement with the above song as background. The recorded announcement goes something like this: "It's 5.30pm now. Children who're playing outside, it's time to go home. Those working, you've worked hard for the day."

The PA system will also play a short music at 12 noon, but w/o announcements.

Quite an interesting system they have here. Sometimes I'll nuah until i hear the music, then i'll prepare lunch/dinner coz by the time it's ready, my bf's home.

On New Year's day at 10am, they played some traditional folk songs for a while. There was also an announcement inviting villagers to go to the community hall for party, free-of-charge.

These announcements and parties are apparently done only in countryside/villages in Japan. I don't remember hearing such announcement in Okazaki/Seto. Hmm....imagine S'pore having such a system.... every evening play announcement asking school children to go home.....

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

In Japan, 1st Jan is like Chinese New Yr to the chinese people. Big thing here! Shops close early on 31st Dec and don't open till 2/3 Jan. Some even close till 8 Jan. During this period, most japanese will go back to their hometown to visit their relatives. Visiting is done during the first 3 days of the New Year. So how did I celebrate the New Year here?

We had steamboat dinner at home with my bf's colleague & wife on 30 Dec. We used soya bean milk (unsweetened, of course!) + sesame with soya bean soup base. As we've had an overdose of meat during our Xmas dinner, this time round we ate mostly vegetables. O-i-shi-i!! *we were so busy eating that we forgot to take pic of the steamboat "in action"*

We had planned to have a nice romantic New Year Eve.....go fishing, then wait for the sunrise.....BUT the stupid weather spoilt everything. Rain Rain Rain! We ended up supermarket shopping (again! but we like it...hehehe) then watched vcd at home. Watched till 12am, wished each other Happy New Yr with hugs, then continued with our vcd. So that's our New Yr celebration in the end.

1st Jan was spent nuahing at home in the morning followed by sightseeing in the afternoon. Rainy but we managed to take some photos.

2nd Jan was like a normal day coz he went on a bird-watching trip which i have no interest in. So it's nuah at home for me again. At night we finally ate "soba noodles" for dinner. It's supposed to be eaten on 31st Dec midnight but....

Yesterday we went to his uncle's place in the afternoon. The design of the house is very traditional, very japanese-style! Very old but lovely home. His aunt was very hospitable. From the moment we arrived, she served us light snacks, then followed by traditional New Year food (pork & chicken soup), then more dishes....and finally rice to go with it! We wanted to leave before dinner time but she had prepared our share for steamboat dinner so we continued eating all the way till almost 9pm.

That's our 3 days of New Year. He's back at work tdy while i'm nuahing at home......