It's been pretty long since i've dropped by. plop.

since the last update i've been meeting up with friends, trying to divert my thoughts to work and of course, celebrating Ritty's b'day!!!

Which was awesome by the way. We went to highlander for dinner (highly recommended, good food, good ambience and it helped that i had good company as well) and to cafe iguana to satisfy those alcoholic cravings.

And just when i was doing my monthly budget for my expenses, i realised yesterday that i forgot to add something to the list of expenditure for the month: Childrens' Day presents.
I went down to vivo's toys r us, and boy was it an eye-opener. It didnt help that im not an ardent Kids' central/cartoon network watcher and alone shopping for the toys, oh boy was i regretting. Armed with the list of "teacher i want..." i was ready to conquer the world (the store). I've never, never liked toy stores and last night was just a reaffirmation to that statement.
An hour & a half into shopping i had Shoba calling me up screaming "you're still there?"
It was truly an experience.
But i have to admit i DID have that wee bit of fun. I did. really, really did.

To my darling kids and all other kids out there:
"Happy Childrens' Day!"

This is coming in ONE day late:

Happy 20th bday Ritty! (I'm sorry this pic is OVER-USED but situation is such.hehe.)

You've become an old, old woman. But i still love you.

Can you imagine no Love, Pride, Deep-fried chicken,

your best friend always sticking up for you,

even when they know you're wrong.

Can you imagine no first dance, freeze-dried romance, 5 hour conversations..

Everybody, get your a**es on facebook. friendster is c***, though it did its fair share of entertainment for the past 1,2..3 years. Facebook is interactive, addictive and awesome.
And sushi. No place serves sushi better than Ichiban Boshi at Great World City. It's not failed me once in the 1 000 000 times i've been there in the past year. Die die, must try.


Can't.

We all go through moments in our lives when we have to face new circumstances. New people, new place, new days. And with that comes the birth of doubts, fears, insecurities and sometimes even anger. It strikes even the best of us.

We fear the unknown. The inability to predict whats to come.

Personally, i've dread every single one of these moments/occassions. Especially when i've had to face it alone.

When i stepped into the current place that im teaching in, i was overwhelmed because there were soo soo many teachers/therapists/psychologists/social workers/admin staff of all ages and i knew that i couldn't be the introvert that i have always been, plainly because we have to work together with almost every single person in the school for the betterment of our kids. The first few words uttered to us when we had our very first meeting with the principal and executive director were,

"Find your support. Find that group of teachers whom you can turn to whenever you need them."

And sure enough, they were right.

Come to think of it, its not just in my school or line of work that requires that. Wherever you go, whatever you do, you should find that support. And good ones too.

In the past, the support would be the friends you could run to when assignments, nagging teachers, exams, sbj, bgr and god knows how many million more things, got the better of us. And they would be there. Im really glad to say that they are STILL there. (Thank you).

Now in the working world, the support would be the teachers who come running to your class during breaks just to blow off some steam. The ones whom already have their hands full but shout "holler if you need me!" into your class while chasing after their own kids, the ones who sit beside you in the staff lounge for that 5 minutes more, just because.

Besides the joy of working with the kids and the hunger to understand them, it is also the support from the colleagues whom i would now regard as friends, that keep me going.

And this has taught me that new circumstances are nothing to fear. It's just a matter of time and acceptance on your part and you'll realise that things will miraculously fall into place.

my support #1, Shoba.

In the background, teacher with the white head scarf is my real,true inspiration. We always have chats at the end of the school day and she just gives me the drive and inspiration to continue doing what i'm doing. She's one amazing teacher.

Support #2, Muneera.

In the background with the blue headscarf is my co-teacher. God knows what a headless chicken i would be without her. She's taught me what true dedication is.

Hoooo Boy. Do i have lots to talk about. The past week has by far been the craziest week i've had. A true test of my mental, emotional and physical strength. I was pretty much thrown into handling my entire class on my own for 3 days in a row. Not sth that happens in my school. DEFINITELY not sth that happens to a teacher with A month of experience. But for some reason my HoP (a.k.a HOD) felt i was more than ready. What she didn't know was that i was hit by the worst sore throat that i've ever had in my entire life. Sore throats are seriously uncommon for me, n they usually last A day. BUT this one lasted for an entire week. So when i received news on tuesday that i would be handling my class alone, i freaked. It was not easy fighting the drowsiness from the medi while trying to answer all of my kids' doubts about why the sky is blue or why wednesday comes after tuesday. To me, it wasn't a matter of wanting to do it or not ('cos i really could have just taken my 2 days MC n stayed home to rest), It was a matter on how well i wanted to do it. I wouldnt take back a single moment i shared with the kids during those 3 days 'cos i learnt SO much about each and everyone of them. SO so so much.

I can't be more sure that this is really what i want to do.

And on friday we had our teachers' day celebration where the kids came in with all their gifts for us. Most of which were unexpected. here are some of the presents:

And a card that left a super, super huge smile on my face for one too many reasons.(apologies if the words aren't clear)

(it reads, To: Teacher. Rev, Happy teachers' day. I love you teacher day)
i didn't make a typo, its really "I love you teacher day". How adorable is that?
And to really thank the kids for everything, Co-teacher and i decided to treat the kids to Happy Meals! which we ordered for our class party. I will post pics when they're ready. School was from 10-1230 on friday, cos we teachers had our annual D&D!
It was a time for us to dress up (prom night part 2 minus all the fashion faux pas), as we gathered at Swissotel's ballroom. Beautiful evening. The events after our d&d was also utterly memorable. The ULTIMATE Teachers' day.

To my family and friends who sent me smses wishing me a Happy Teachers' day... THANK U from the bottom of my heart. =)