Now Playing: Everytime We Touch (Yanou's Candlelight Mix) - Cascada
I can’t believe that it’s only one week to the end of January… Jan has always been one of my favorite months of the year; the fresh and new feeling of a new year, being able to start anew makes everything seem brighter… And somehow when one is getting used to all the new people and getting back into routine, time flies by especially fast and in no time at all, it’s already the end of the month and almost February.
Looking down the year, I have a feeling the year’s going to fly by: every month has a major activity of sort and minus the weekly and daily activities; time always zooms by when one is busy. Chinese New Year is coming when I still in the Christmassy mood (one good thing about crossing cultures is we get a double load of festive seasons), and I’m looking forward to the reunions and good food. Went to Sakae for their yusheng with Lin the other day, my fave CNY dish. It’s a tradition for us already, yusheng at Sakae every year. My CNY resolution, to eat yusheng as many times as possible and double last year record of 5 times if possible!
Catching up on some shows that I’ve watched recently…
Chestnuts with Lin was great fun! It’s more organized than last year which was messy at times. Thus the entire show was tighter and more thematically done. The beginning spoof of the Phantom opening was especially hilarious. Some parts were more of the tear-your-hair-out-you-can’t-stand-the corniness kind of funny, but it was still a fun outing overall and a great round up of the theatre/film entertainment of the year. I always like the list of local theatre shows near the end, which never fails to allow me to relive all the local shows I watched. Was reminded of “A Language of Their Own”, a show that really touched my heart that of the year.
Also watched Big Bang Love, Juvenile A. A Japanese film that was a strange experience, nothing like what I expected at all… It somehow reminds me A Good Shepherd (a film P pulled me to watch because he thought it would be similar to Bourne Supremacy based on the fact that both stars Matt Damon), which is totally weird because both shows have absolutely nothing in common except for the fact that they were both nothing like what I expected (and both have eye candy). Big Bang Love is both soft and raw, tender and harsh. It’s a surfeit of emotions, slyly drew out. When I left the darkened picturehouse theatre, I felt strangely numb.
On more work-related news, I’m starting to understand my kids better. Even a class that I originally thought would be a trouble-maker because of its rowdiness. One of the boys was sitting in the corner, recently (according to him, wrongfully) chastised by a teacher, and he asked me quite pitifully if he is a “bad boy”, and I quite awfully couldn’t help myself from laughing. The boys always make me laugh and the girls are always sweet… somehow every year, the students change and yet remain the same…
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Monday, January 22, 2007
A Start of 2007...
Just recovered from a bout of illness but I’m still coughing… Feel like my immune system must be damaged in some way… am falling ill (or as my dance instructor says, fighting virus) every two months or so…
Tired… in between lessons now. A very long interval as my last lesson is at 3pm. A timeslot that both the students and I dread. They are too tired to pay attention and it’s the last period so all eyes would be at the clock. Mine too, probably.
My first translation course has just ended and it was quite enjoyable. Loved being the student in a class, the joy and fulfillment of gaining knowledge and learning something that I’m really interested in, plus the stress-free environment of doing something I’m good at and not at all responsible for… Want to go back to school… Some days I think I’ll be happy if I can just study and get paid for it…
Looking at my resolutions that I wrote at the end of Dec… For the first 3 weeks of Jan, things have been mostly smooth-sailing… minus the flu; I’ve kept most of my resolutions… Been going to gym religiously even to the wrath of my Dad when I’m sick…Spent time with my family on Sundays and meals… though I spent it mostly lounging around on the sofa and eating Dad’s home cooked meals… my table at home is still recognizable as a table… although my office table is deteriorating… P and I are making an effort to spend more time on the phone despite our messy schedules and time differences and unreliable phone connections… Also meeting up with friends regularly for meals and shows…
Learning about my class as the time passes… they are a cute bunch although they are Sec. 3s. Perhaps it’s because I taught this level when they were in Sec. 1, they simply don’t feel like Sec. 3s to me… they seem so happy-going… Or maybe it’s because they don’t have to take the Os.
One resolution that I didn’t manage to keep is dance. Haven’t danced since I got back from the States! Signed up for a repeat of Rueda 1 at the end of the month… looking forward to it but I do hope that won’t be the next time I dance…
Watched Singapore Dreaming the other day with my dad… There’s an image of an old lady going through old photos when her husband died that stayed with me through the night… the way she talked about their courtship and the days before their marriage… the way she used to love the sing before her marriage and wondering how is it that she stopped singing once she got married… It made me feel sad…Thinking about how her husband treated her at the start of the film, the way their love died… Did it die because they changed? Or did they change because their love died? Do we blame her husband for the way she is? But is she the same person he fell in love with? Did he change or did she?
We all change… and when we do, how do we stay in love with the people we loved? And how do the people who love us stay in love with us when we are no longer the person they loved in the first place?
Mei had some lovely news to share when we met up early Jan (although the devious girl kept it till minutes before she had to leave to meet her darling)… It’s hard to imagine how we’ve been friends for 20 years now… We are all growing up… in a pace faster than I’m ready for…
Tired… in between lessons now. A very long interval as my last lesson is at 3pm. A timeslot that both the students and I dread. They are too tired to pay attention and it’s the last period so all eyes would be at the clock. Mine too, probably.
My first translation course has just ended and it was quite enjoyable. Loved being the student in a class, the joy and fulfillment of gaining knowledge and learning something that I’m really interested in, plus the stress-free environment of doing something I’m good at and not at all responsible for… Want to go back to school… Some days I think I’ll be happy if I can just study and get paid for it…
Looking at my resolutions that I wrote at the end of Dec… For the first 3 weeks of Jan, things have been mostly smooth-sailing… minus the flu; I’ve kept most of my resolutions… Been going to gym religiously even to the wrath of my Dad when I’m sick…Spent time with my family on Sundays and meals… though I spent it mostly lounging around on the sofa and eating Dad’s home cooked meals… my table at home is still recognizable as a table… although my office table is deteriorating… P and I are making an effort to spend more time on the phone despite our messy schedules and time differences and unreliable phone connections… Also meeting up with friends regularly for meals and shows…
Learning about my class as the time passes… they are a cute bunch although they are Sec. 3s. Perhaps it’s because I taught this level when they were in Sec. 1, they simply don’t feel like Sec. 3s to me… they seem so happy-going… Or maybe it’s because they don’t have to take the Os.
One resolution that I didn’t manage to keep is dance. Haven’t danced since I got back from the States! Signed up for a repeat of Rueda 1 at the end of the month… looking forward to it but I do hope that won’t be the next time I dance…
Watched Singapore Dreaming the other day with my dad… There’s an image of an old lady going through old photos when her husband died that stayed with me through the night… the way she talked about their courtship and the days before their marriage… the way she used to love the sing before her marriage and wondering how is it that she stopped singing once she got married… It made me feel sad…Thinking about how her husband treated her at the start of the film, the way their love died… Did it die because they changed? Or did they change because their love died? Do we blame her husband for the way she is? But is she the same person he fell in love with? Did he change or did she?
We all change… and when we do, how do we stay in love with the people we loved? And how do the people who love us stay in love with us when we are no longer the person they loved in the first place?
Mei had some lovely news to share when we met up early Jan (although the devious girl kept it till minutes before she had to leave to meet her darling)… It’s hard to imagine how we’ve been friends for 20 years now… We are all growing up… in a pace faster than I’m ready for…
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
