Paw Prints

Defeated

2008-09-17T14:25:00.000-07:00

After a long fight, I am defeated by the flu bug and granted with a certificate called the MC granting me 2 days away from school. I have been having a bad sore throat since last week. Not because of much screaming but lots of talking and voice projection. The throat remains dry till its time to break-fast so that I can replenish it with water to salvage it. I try to ignore it because I do not want to miss lessons. Then the hubby has a bad flu. The bugs saw the vulnerable me and start to drop by to visit my immune system and I lost.

Bad time to fall sick, my poor sec 3 kids, are preparing for exams and this is the time I need to be there for them to assist in their preparatory studies for Art. I have left instructions for the relief teacher to conduct the necessary lesson for me. I hope all goes well.

My dearest Caesarians and Diophantusians, please keep working for your prep work. I have given you the necessary worksheets and lessons for you to work on your prep work, it is a matter of applying the skills. Hunt for the worksheet that I have given you when I first took over the class – it has all the necessary details of a proper prep studies.

Please remember, I want you to excel. All of you had done target setting and reflections with me. So let’s work towards what we have aimed and promised for ourselves. Even if it means you aimed for a C6 or C5 – let’s make it happen!

Please do email me if you have any queries or problems. Do look for books related to art to look for ideas. It will help you to start thinking.

All the best my dearest kids.

Tumultous Tuesdays

2008-09-17T14:23:00.000-07:00

Today is an ‘interesting’ day.

There are a lot of implications when your timetable is packed back to back of each other, with just an eeny-weeny half an hour break in between.

Amongst them,

Exhaustion…yes ….. that is me today. Mad rush. Overloaded.

Upset too. Kids are misbehaving in class. It’s the end-of-the-day syndrome. All restless and sleepy.

Sick. I am losing my voice – the weapon I can’t afford not to have.

Tuesdays are really interesting and I am energy-less at this point.

But I must write a little something here. A little uncomfortable experience that sets me thinking. Nope, nothing to do with the kids, I’m rather immune about their habits, behaviours, syndromes and whatnots. I’ll deal with them as it comes….Disciplining is bread and butter in classrooms.

It’s about people and work ethics. I shall not divulge about that uncomfortable experience here. We have to be responsible and wise netizens in this ‘www’ age. I will just reflect based on what had happened in relation to myself.

My profession is a demanding one. It needs a lot of passion (or is it patience?) and lots of love and heart to keep you going. I am however sad to see, people losing love and passion wilting away as time ticks by. The rigours of the profession slowly draining away all the essential emotional energy out of you. What does it mean when you start to do less for the kids? What happens if you just debunk the need to do more because the kids are not helping themselves as much as you tried to help them? What happens if you just don’t want to care about them and leave them on their own…. Just like a non-swimmer thrown to the deep seas and have to learn to float or swim on their own there and then…or just to drown?

I hope not to even arrive at that stage. I love students as much as I love Art. No matter what shape and sizes they are in I still love them. Although Some of look like monsters, some bandits, many have horns and a tail and only a few have wings with that halo on their heads…….i still love them, yes I do…

However that is not the issue – it is how you keep this love going? How long will I last? Will what I see today happen to me someday? God knows but I pray not….. I hope my strength, love, passion lives on…. And on….and on…

New Life, New Loves

2008-09-13T03:04:00.000-07:00

I am back. Howdy everyone…or anyone, if there’s even any readers left.

My 2 years stint at NTU has ended and I have long resumed my teaching career.

A new journey has begun, here in new grounds. New people, new kids, new system..all of which is of extreme difference from my previous school. It was difficult in the beginning. Complains are an understatement and comparisons are just inevitable. It took long for me to settle into the culture. But now, I have accepted my fate and I am beginning to feel happy here and most imperative a reason to be here…. To love, care and help the students.

I have two art classes this semester, they are the Caesarians and Diophantusians.. I don’t have their photos yet, am still warming up with them, they are still so camera shy and would just cover their faces everytime I try to snap photos of them. Grrr… frustrating. So let’s just bear with a photo-less entry this time round. I think they don’t know that the ms sha here loves to immortalize moments through photography.

They are a potential bunch but they had not had enough foundation for me to build upon during art lessons. I have to design lessons in such a way that all the necessary foundations are crashed at one go but yet it must be tailored to ignite their inspirations and motivation. Tough.

It’s not easy and it seems the faster students can adapt fast while the weaker ones gets left behind. It was a struggle and still is a struggle hitherto….. but I hope they know, that I do not want them to give up because no matter how hard it has been for me, I am still striving hard for them and am not giving up.

Please know, my dearest artists, there is something special in each of you. There is definitely something you are good at about Art - be it painting, drawing, spray painting, computer graphics, thinking processes etc…. So keep looking out for your own personal style in art and your own identity. Once you discover it, it’ll be a breeze. And I hope you remember I am always here for you.

I hope I can see them grow… all of them…

Don’t disappoint me.

Inundated but nevertheless.....

2008-03-10T01:21:00.000-07:00

....i'm taking time off to pen something down cause it has been 'moons' since i last updated this site.

its that time of the month again...nope not period.

it's that time of the month where i'm battling with time to meet datelines for the neverending assignments for the unforgiving lecturers. this semester is particularly challenging. Seven modules and all of them requires intensive thinking and writing..... but nonetheless conplaining wont get me far... i'' just have to do it. furthermore, it's less than a month before the semester officially ends.... Graduation is on the way!

This semester, i found myself to be a 'library worm'. Ironically not exactly a bookworm. I found myself travelling to the library often. Almost every other week. The nature of assignments are in such a way that i'll have to excavate for books. in one of those trips there, i found some exciting books. Books that are well packaged and enticing visually.

This book is special. Entitled 'ice cream', it documents a contemporary art exhibition. What i like about it is that shiny and reflective sheen it has. It's multi-coloured depending on the angle that you're viewing it.

here's another one:

a book on andy warhol

the two volumes of the book are packaged in a box. The covers and the box has a 'cardboard' feel about it. What is interesting about it is, it exemplifies warhol's concept of the use and appropriation of everyday objects.

here's another one, it is entitled shadow. The image on the cover is monochromatic and the highlight of this book would be the cutout silhoutte of a girl beside the image of a girl. This is really visually interesting.

After the trip to the library, I headed down to the national museum of Singapore to catch the infamous Greek Sculptures. It is just not right for an artist/art student/ art teacher to miss this show because it is a rare opportunity to see these ancient and 'aged' sculptures 'fly' here.

The crowds was encouraging. How often do you actually see a long queue at the visitor's counter? How often do you actually get to see throngs and throngs of people crowding over the sculptures in a museum? Its really enlightening. Unfortunately, I could not really relish the moments there, appreciate the sculptures and read the annotations that comes with it. there are too many crowd to contend with. Nevertheless, taking photographs is something that I never forget to do wherever I am. So here goes.

I must say the sculptures are marvellous. Carved into an idealized perfection, it speaks alot about the Greek cultures in the medieval times. They are beautiful. I will come back again for sure... on a weekday where there are lesser crowds.

My Pillar of Strength

2008-01-15T00:11:00.000-08:00

It is my last semester, the final flight before i will get my dream certificate.

It's been a long and winding road. Coping with all school stress, financial stress, wedding stress.. you name it...it has been a tough 2 years. Once all this is over, the amount of satisfaction and gratification is just unimaginable. I will cry... hubby will just be as emotional... he unfortunately suffered as much as me (or perhaps even more). He had to carry by himself, financial burdens of me, our home and the automobile. Not only that, he had absorbed all the stress that i often fail to quell and as a result, he becomes the 'punching bag' at home. He had to simmer down all my anxiety,my angers, my frustration and my unbending temperaments that i shouldn't have brought back home from school. As a man of the house, he is calm and composed, always in control of the situation even when i became a nasty storm in the teacup. He's wonderful and has been my backbone and my pillar of strength...

Unfortunately, the beloved hubby is leaving tomorrow. He has been deployed for duties overseas. No, not too far, just in Muar, Malaysia for the next 3-6months. This means to say that i will get to see him less as he comes home only on his off days viz. i'll see him say 2-3 days in a week. Might not sound so bad but with the rigorous school schedule i'm going through now will unforgivingly lessen that space of 2-3 days into just a few hours of seeing him. It doesn't help that there will be a high possiblity that he will have to leave for another country again, for long term and somewhere even further, after the Muar assignment is done.I will miss him and I'm sure i will be lost without his presence at home.

Hubby, I hope and pray for your safety. May this experience of you going overseas be fulfilling and enrich your expertise and experiences. I promise i will be strong and take good care of our abode...

will miss you like the deserts miss the rains...

Family Bonding

2007-12-14T16:10:00.000-08:00

Exams have long ended and my holidays have long begun.

These holidays, apart from the mandatory duties of a domestic robot, i found myself spending plenteous amounts of time with the family. Was atleast out thrice a week doing favours for the ibu, ayah, sisters and the nieces. Almost drained me of energy but it was bliss to meet up and spend time with them.

that's daddy-o, mummy-o and the oh-so-notorious nieces. Ayah went for a short holiday to Bangkok with his colleagues. It was a sponsored trip by the company with the exception of shopping expenses of course. With him away for four days, I was given the liberty to 'hijack' his new mitsibushi. But of course there are hidden requests to upkeep it (to clean, to pump and to send it for service).

Shaza was more than happy to have me driving the car. She gets to sit infront and snap silly pictures like the one above. She had set the camera on timer mode and left it on the dashboard. The mitsubishi was a nice drive, cos it's still all new and had not gone all rebellious yet... just give it a few years... Having used to drive manual cars and when suddenly pushed to drive an auto car, i made so many silly reflexes which. Kept wanting to change gears and unnecessarily looking for the clutch which has become habitual.

We spent sometime touring the airport to entertain the kids before and after ayah have checked in. Had a short breakfast at BK, just a light one to keep the stomachs quiet and mostly because the nieces were promised macdonalds, which means we have to make a trip to terminal 2 after ayah have checked in. I shall not describe the nitty-gritty details - let the pictures talk...The following were the recorded moments:

The kids had a terrible fight at MacDonalds, both unforgiving and unbending. They were fighting to sit on Ronald's lap. It was hard to pacify them. But the sweet thing about that day was, every one sent Ayah off... haha,, though it's only a 4-day hols and not 4-years....

After sending the crappy kids home, our day did not end. We have dropped the kids and ibu at kak ina's home..... and the rest of us. to kak ina's school to help her clean and get ready teaching resources for the forthcoming academic year. Noteworthy here school holidays are not afterall really school holidays for the teachers. That's a fallacy! Holidays are the time when teachers could catch up with administrative duties which have been possibly put on hold to attend to other manadatories....you see...there's more to teaching than just teaching...

I drew and painted the above words for her notice board.

How the board looks like...

The notice board at the back of the class has a garden concept. I was instructed to paint a garden setting for it.

Me looking all tired and unkempt for the hard day work. Am preparing number stickers for the 'garden' notice board.

That's the outcome. It has a number trail incorporated in it.. it's a maths room..that's why...

That's another project. Creating fences at the corner of the class. Kak ina has something in store for this area..

whilst i did all the art-related things. Shaza helped out with some menial tasks. Arranging and the labelling of teaching resources, cleaning up, preparing learning packages (cutting, pasting and so forth..)

and that's kak ina, writing the duty list on the whiteboard for us to take note what is to be done for the day.

We came back to kak ina's school more than once. What we have done in total is something that is not possible for kak ina to accomplish alone. She's very grateful to have us. She's definitely is so in love with her maths room now and felt eager and energized to start the new semester.

I ardently believe that a conducive classroom is imperative for both the teachers and the students. It contributes to an effective learning environment for both parties. With proper teaching and learning resources all in place, it puts the teacher at ease to reach out for the necessary resources when needed. And with so many motivating and inspiring visuals, games and rewards system all around the classroom, the students would feel like home and inexorably find learning enjoyable....that's just why i try very much to find time to help her. It gives me some sense of achievement though i am not the one teaching the kids.

2007-11-16T02:07:00.000-08:00

i've moved.

proceed --> here

REJUVENATED!

2007-09-19T01:37:00.000-07:00

here's yet another fulfilling activity the art people did in school. Its called a 'bust'. A sculpture of yourself from head up till (supposedly) bust level (hee...i didn't follow instructions!). Its not completed though. am still working on it. The base have to be broadened so that it could independently stand on its own. Right now, it is supported by a wooden structure underneath it. It was a painstaking process. Came back to school thrice to get it done up till here. Nevertheless, it was a therapeutic and rewarding experience.

The following are my other comrades. Totally having fun with our clayworks.

kenneth very much pleased with his creation. He had made sure he made a noticeable depression on the left cheek to represent his dimple.

jocelyn enjoyed making the textures for the head of her sculpture.

jennifer. Her work is my favourite. It has very expressive textures and it simply looked artistic. She's great - she just needed 3 hours to finish up till here - yet i needed three days.

As kinesthetic learners, this is the only module that keeps us alive. We get to move around, talk and joke with each other while our hands continued to work. It wakes us up though we havent have enough sleep or rest. Reading and writing are not our forte. Often, we get depressed and at times 'nervous' about having to write thousands and thousands of words essays. But we've come this far and although school life may be hard (apart from the fact that we're on no pay leave), we are happy to have each other as our emotional support.

Love them to bits.

a new life as a wife

2007-09-13T01:40:00.000-07:00

the great month is back. with a difference this time. I remember i see the faces of ibu, ayah and adik for sahur and buka - now i have to company of the beloved husband. I remember ibu will nag at me if i dont wake up earlier than five to help her prepare sahur... - now i'm afraid of oversleeping because there's no one else to wake me up except myself..and i will always compete with ayah in the morning - the first person to settle on the dining table wins - it can get very noisy in the morning because me and ayah will bicker playfully about it .... and i used to take turns to do dishes and clean the kitchen with adik.

now its all different. everything has to be done by myself as part of my wifely duties. the planning, the preparation, the cooking and the cleaning all upon me. .... but i am happy to do all this for the hubby and he is sweet enough to help me with cleaning up and preparation of food. He's wonderful.

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it's half way through the semester now and it's getting hectic. i'm beginning to feel the pinch of juggling alot of duties at one go. But i've come this far and is still positive and going strong. Everything is still manageable now but wait till a little one comes along - that will be the when the time when the real test is on..... I've always admired my eldest sister. A full time teacher and with three kids - 6yrs, 4yrs and a one month old. Three "angelic" rascals to handle at one go and on top of that...alot of other 8/9 year olds to handle in school.... she's magnificent and a supermom i must say.

Teaching is not a career, it is a lifestyle you choose to commit with. This means, it is a 24hours job...well almost..... Clocking off doesnt mean work is done for the day...it means you have homework to do at home...marking, planning for lesons the next day, thinking of new teaching strategies for difficult classes, thinking of how to shackle the naughty ones... and whole lot of other responsibilities. Thinking of it scares me.Will i be able to live up to expectations as a teacher who is also a wife and in the future as a mother as well? ..whatever it is. i have to be prepared to go through what my sister is going through now. the time will come and i have to be physically and mentally ready....maybe i should add financially ready too..hee...kids are expensive to maintain..hee.

nevertheless, i know that there is one thing that will give me strength to go on. It is the passion for teaching and nurturing the young and most importantly the unconditional love for the subject ART itself. That will pull me through all the hurdles.... can't wait to come back to teaching once again.....

Tags Replied

Rifdi: thanks

Jlob: hey,miss you too! ...thanks for the compliment...and hmmm...did you just criticize my artwork? heehee...that's good, you spotted the imperfections of my work, shows that you have an eye to appreciate art.:)

Yihan: thanks for the wish dear. take care ok.

Beautiful People

2007-09-06T15:24:00.000-07:00

This is very much a late entry. But i feel that i must post it anyway - cos it is about someone special. Who else can it be but my ex-colleague from Kranji. Mrs AnnabelleTay. A great companion she is and a wonderful working partner... and definitely an awesome teacher too. She's one of the very reason i would love to come back to Kranji apart from students. It's soooo great to see her again...

It's funny how we happened to wear 'similar' outfits though it was not planned. Totally clad in black - short dresses and leggings. Saw the students' works too. Ahh...there are all so great! The kids artistic skills have somewhat transformed and they made great strides in their 'O' level coursework project. Didnt have time to resize and upload them here. Will do so in my multiply once time permits but no promises of it coming soon. :)

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and here's another buddy of mine..della
another beautiful and wonderful person that i was acquainted with since NIE days. Met up with her after along time of not meeting. She's just great - a lovable and 'laughable' person. Great interpersonal skills and just fun to be with. No wonder she's a well-loved teacher....am looking forward to attend her wedding this coming december.

A Revival

2007-09-06T14:55:00.000-07:00

Did a few cool things in school especially for Art modules. Feel so rejuvenated with a little 'getaway' from all the mandatory process of reading and writing. Above is the face masking process that all of us had to go through in order to get the mould of our faces. Fun process - we had a great time in class and suddently all the Nafa-ians and Lasalle-ians spirit in us comes to life.

This was how we all look like after our faces was plastered. The plaster have to be on for around 20mins - so we are all immobilized. As someone with a short attention span - 20mins was like a whole whopping 2 hours for me. Simply can't wait to get it off. Alot of mishaps happened. Some of us lost some of our eyebrows and eyelids because it was stuck to the plaster. but it was not very serious though- i'm just talking about one or two hairs..hee. But still it was painful to get off the plaster off our faces...but it was satisfying and amazing to see our faces molded on the plaster. the mould was then used to make a sculpture of our faces.

this was the outcome! my own handwork! The mould (from the plaster-making process) gives us the shape and proportion of our faces by pressing clay into it. The next step was for us to carve, add or minus clay to give our faces the three dimensional feel.

That's me feeling gratified and satisfied for all the effort put in. Spent a whole 3 hours to get the mask done. Can't wait to teach this to my future art students if there is an opportunity. So kids (whoever you may possibly be) get ready to have your faces plastered!!!!!

Looking into myself........ Art is so For me....

2007-08-03T16:27:00.000-07:00

The LoVe Nest is Complete With the Arrival of this SLeeK BlacK L-Shape Sofa, as how i've alWays enviSioned it to Be. Alhamdulilah...

Replies (Paw-prints)

Sasha: hello dear...of course i remember you! How are you doing??

Farhan: i'm fine thank you. how have you been? So wassup with the new look in your Art? Would love to see how it looks like. Do email me the pic....or perhaps upload the photo in your friendster or blog.

Ithah, Kyms & Passionz: i won't forget you all too. you have all left a deep impression in my heart.... :)

Navin: hi there, of course i remember you....hope you're fine...

To all kranji artists: sec 4N, 4Eand 5N. I am very keen to see the progress of your coursework and i know it has been a very stressful time for all of you. All the late nights in the art room and worries about meeting deadlines. I'll be coming to see Mrs Tay next week. Heard she's been very stress about it too. Its also a good chance for me to see how you guys are doing. Continue to work hard ok because whatever you're doing now is for your future. Its part of the stepping stone for you to get to the JC or Poly that you have been dreaming of. So PERSEVERE artists! You can do it!!!

Watch Me

2007-08-02T14:05:00.000-07:00

I was never a watch person. I can count the number of watches i buy in my life. The most recent is a Guess watch which was bought in the year '97...oh...not recent afterall....That's 10 years ago and i have been wearing that watch since - imagine how 'old skool' it looked. The idea of a watch for me is just to tell time and not as a fashion statement. I don't even take interest in choosing those fanciful ones you can easily get at good prices at those push-cart stalls or at the bugis market.... .... Been adhering to this disinterestedness till that GUESS watch failed on me. It just refused to work though the battery has been changed so many times. For so many months i was watchless... even sat for last semester's exams without a watch - depended on the clock on the wall of the exam hall while busy writing the exam scripts. Very distracting indeed.

Now this hubby of mine is a watch lover. He loved all sorts of watches and has some sort of a mini gallery of his watch collections in one of the hairdressing table display cupboards. HMmm.... being watchless, i scrutinized his collections and spotted one that i thought i could use. It's his G-shock.

Since then i've been wearing it. Looks terribly BIG for my hands but just love the macho look of it. So fascinated by the many buttons and functions. Hee...that's totally coming from an 'ulu' person who do not know about watches at all. And such a patient hubby he is, allowed me to wear it and for so many times he just had to choose other watches to wear though the Gshock best matches his attire... but then again i cant be wearing his Gshock for the next ten years... so he had to do something.

and that something is this:

finally i have a watch

thanks hubby for pampering me....

2007-07-25T22:33:00.001-07:00

I just bloghopped.
…and I feel so motivated to pen something down.

Am so impressed with people who were able to serve ‘palatable stories’ , share quality opinions and relate special moments for their readers. And with this ability they were able draw their readers and passersby.... And most importantly to keep them coming in. With that, their blog is so lively with new updates and definitely the impressive number of hits.

Now come to my blog. Just look at it. It’s collecting dust! and all the time I wrote something – the main highlight would be to reply to long overdued tags and not about something fruitful. So what is wrong here? Am I not able to express myself? Or maybe I’m just a born reader and not writer. Or perhaps I can only write with MOOD...

This thing is bugging me. And the ultimate question is should I even be keeping this blog when there is actually nothing to see... and so I think deeper. Tracing the roots of this blog – I remembered having it to keep in touch with my students in Kranji, the Passionz and Artsomenezz in particular. And dearest Kymah have taken lots of effort to customize a blogskin for me. So keeping this in mind I decided to hold on to the blog. How long more I do not know- perhaps as long as my little artists can remember me.

On the other hand, i love visuals better than words. So I’m trying to turn my multiply into ‘my blog’where pictures says more than words. So when the time comes when ms sha is forgotten – I’ll move away to my multiply.

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The three months holiday is finally coming to an end. It was beautiful. For a moment I was a very good wife. Keeping the house spick and span. Cooking the hubby’s favourite dishes. Washed and ironed the hubby’s clothes. With all the time I have, it was a breeze accomplishing these things. But what if…………… school starts?

That’s where the challenge is. Apart from all the wifely duties I have ‘student duties’too. Lets hope all is well and I will be able to juggle these roles in the best possible manner. I still have a year of studies to go. It is my final flight to achieve my dream, I must not falter.

On a lighter note, I am ever so grateful to have a hubby who is supportive and understanding of my difficulties. He is ready to take up some housework duties when school starts and he is not expecting me to cook everyday so that I can have a bit more attention for my studies.

I’m blessed to have such a loving and understanding hubby. He’s the best gift I ever had.

THE REASON MY LIFE SHINES BRIGHTLY.....

Before I sign off, here’s sharing with you a sneak peek of my crib. That’s the living area with a mural I did.

2007-06-28T00:21:00.000-07:00

yeay finally married.

Glad that all went well and glad to see the attendance of kranji students
to grace this joyous occassion. Also to old friends, acquaintances, bestfriends, childhood friends, colleagues and all the rest. Thank you for your presence.

thanks to the artsomeness for coming as a family (full attendance aye?). and thanks so much for the gift. it'll definitely find a place in my home.

ithah and Kyms: thanks for coming though the other passionz were not around. I still appreciate your presence. your photo is in my friendster profile - go get it from there ok darlings?

5NA artists: thanks for coming too! all the best for 'O's.
a big thank you to the teachers of Kranji who came too.

Yihan, Mandy and Eekie, thanks for coming too. You girls are sweet. Thanks for the gift too.

till the next entry..

take care

2007-06-06T19:56:00.000-07:00

You're not Forgotten,
here's your replies my babies

tweety: how's your Art prep? still having trouble? Don't be too stress about it. Why dont you go out take a break, go shopping ke or go to interesting places. maybe you can get inspirations from these activities. Ideas dont normally come from going library or researching internet alone. Haf fun oraight.... also thanks for dropping by often. take care okay.

Sulastrie: what a small world right. didn't expect us to be related. hee. see you at the wedding.

Ithah: glad that you gals have gone camwhoring. sounds like lots of fun. Hope the new pics are inspiring for your art project.....Like you, i cant wait to see my passionz at the wedding too. See you soon!!!

AfiQ: yup, dont let mrs tay down okay. she have everyone's interest at heart. what about farish, rafa'el and maverick? get them to see mrs tay too can?

EeKie: hi there, of course i remember you! i remember each and everyone of my dynamite! hope everybody's doing great. enjoy the june hols ya...

Nat: haha, yeah i can imagine how cikgu zainal teases you. miss everybody in the staff room! hehe. Heard you're tying the knot soon. don't forget to invite me okay!

Hope i've not missed anyone out - which i believe i did..oops sori.
but thanks all for still dropping by. Miss all of you.

will not be updating till after wedding.
take care all of you.

2007-05-13T06:51:00.000-07:00

as i'm typing this. i'm feeling very sad.
as the wedding is drawing near the more i feel down.
Although this wedding meant that i will be united with the person i love,
it also means that i'll have to be separated from the other people whom i love too....

... once i'm not in the house, she'll be alone.
she have to manage everything on her own. perhaps she can after all manage

but i know she'll be lonely. i've been her emotional support.
all the times when she's sad, lost, unhappy and even at times when she's angry.
i've been there.....

and there were times when she just made me so angry for all the mess that she make
for turning my wardrobe upside down
for not putting things back on the right places.
for not hanging her towel after her shower....

but i still love her

and all the good times we spent together
for sharing the same SINGLE bed everynight
for helping me kill those detested coakroaches though she herself is afraid of it
for helping me choose the right accesories that best matches my attire
for listening to my problems though at times she herself dont understand it
for tolerating all my tantrums and whinings

she has been my pillar of strength...

i hope you will take care of yourself well
cause once i'm married i cant be there for you all the time

be a strong girl and have faith in yourself
you have my support in whatever that you do....

i will treasure these remaining 27 days with you
before i begin a new life....

2007-05-04T08:14:00.000-07:00

exams finally ended. how cool is that.
the 'cooler' thing about finishing exams
is the HOLIDAYS that comes after it. and i'm not talking about one month...
it's THREE months!!!!! unbelievable...
three months of no school, no lecturers, no datelines, no history, no art and the what nots.
totally pure bliss.
no more stress. worries, tensions and whatever else that is associated with exams.

time to take a well deserved and a super long break. i know once i start teaching again i will not be getting this kind of benefit. So SAVOUR the MOMENT...

to kranji students, i know you are having your exams now.
here's wishing you all the VERY BEST.
STUDY HARD and put in your BEST EFFORT.
best of luck....

Replies

Yihan: i am looking forward to come back to Kranji as much as you do too. But it wont be that soon. i still haf a year of studies left before i can come back to teaching. So do your counting.... :)

Yasin: you take care too. dont forget you owe me ONE LARGE ICE TEA. heh. kidding..

Hwaiyi: YOU ARE MISSED too! yes i'm still in Singapore and have been in Singapore since i left kranji. i visited your blog and read about that MERGER presentation you did for Ms Nat. Looks impressive and i like it many much too. you guys are great students. stay that way...

Mardiana: hello there. thanks for dropping by. i'll relink you soon aights.

Tweety: Mrs Sha sounds better than Mdm Sha. but is still do prefer MS SHA. so that it will stay.

I believe i will be seeing you all soon. just wait for some news coming your way.....

2007-04-20T21:55:00.000-07:00

was studying past few days. so that means i'll be sitting infront of the com almost everyhour looking for sources and typing exams notes.

in the process though, i realized that i keep surfing youtube and always ended up searching and listening to celine dion songs while studying. this name may be alien to you. she could have been forgotten or rather she was only remembered for the movie TITANIC. but she is someone whom i cannot erase off my mind cos i grew up listening to her songs. i remembered i started listening and collecting her CDs since i was in sec 2. (time flies - thats 13 years ago! sheesh... ). So everytime i listen to her songs, it'll give that deja vu kind of feel. haha...like being young once again. {o dear i've grown so old.}

not many liked her. alot of my peerd laughed at me because i listen to her songs to the extent that i get so shy and self-concious about telling people that i adore celine and her songs so much. Cos at that point of time it's not considered HIP to listen to her. but I am just so smitten by her. She is the only artist whom i own collections of her CDs - the only ONE infact. i dont buy music CDs so she is an exception. And she is the only one whom i listen to EACH and EVERY SINGLE one of her songs in her CDs. I have this bad habit of listening to only the songs i like and ignore the rest - so this is another exception.

So here in my own abode of thoughts, "my-paw-prints" , i'd like to 'print' my credits on screen to my DIVA, CELINE DION, whom i love so much.... All her songs, her voice, the kind of character and charisma she exudes, her everything..... that's her music video up there. Goodbye (the saddest word) - its just one of my many favourites. enjoy.

2007-04-16T19:47:00.000-07:00

The Long-lost Replies....

Yihan: thanks for dropping by often yihan. as always i miss 1D kids too.

AfiQ: Thanks for understanding. but i try to update where i can tho life's busy. cos this is the only way i can get in touch with my dearly missed kids in kranji.

Ziwei: yes i remember you ziwei. hope you're fine.

Tweety: remember what i said. Persist and dont give up okay.

Huda & akugadis gendut: I miss you girls too!!!! hee...

Navin: hey navin, thanks for dropping by. ya life's ok. everything under control. hope you're fine....

Unknown & AfiQ: my dearest artists. whatever the situation is. you must keep your love for art going. That is the most important drive that could make even the most boring lesson an exciting and happy one. Be strong and don't slack and dont ever start to hate art. because Art lessons is where you can have fun and take a break. i wish you all the best. tho' i'm not there in kranji, my heart is still there....

Rachel: hey girl, miss you too. but too bad, by the time i come back to kranji, you will not be around already... nvm, we'll keep in touch ok.

Cdik: yo cdik, dont be stress, take it easy. i know you have the potential. so go on and give your utmost effort for it. Oh yes, how's the school band? did you take part in the SYF?

Amiro: thanks for the sweet message my dearest superneat artist.... i miss the artsomeness great presence too.... so much.

Farish: how have you been you naughty one. i've updated your new phone no in my phonebook. keep in touch.

Thank you kids for still dropping by my blog and atleast keeping my tagboard active with you’re ‘hi’s and ‘hellos’. Otherwise “my-paw-prints” would have been dead.

Its less than two months to the wedding.
Apart from all other preparations, preoccupation with the new house and drowning in the midst of endless typing about ‘historic’ figures and events. My mind haf always thought of what will happen after I’ve tied the knot with the hubby. I will be leaving so many things behind after I crossed over to a new life. This new life comes with new duties, responsibilities, expectations and the what nots. I hope I am able do the balancing act well – the juggling of schooling and wifing. hopefully I’m able to live up to the expectations.

Preparations for the wedding going good. I’m just waiting for the day and hopefully the plans will run smoothly. The house is almost ‘finish-finishing’. Things lacking here and there but I think it’ll still make a wonderful love nest for the hubby and myself. I feel so grateful to the hubby whom I can rely so much to fix the kind of lightings I want and solve plumbing problems. He has been sacrificing so much sleep and energy to make the house a wonderful home for us. He lost so much weight and looked so shabbily tired with all the unshaven facial hair. ...but he still do look perfect to me.... hee...

there he is....with the long hair and the 'unshavens'....hee.

Since we collected the keys, we shed tears, blood and sweat for the house. At the end of it all, I feel so satisfied that I managed to paint the house in the colours that I wanted and even managed to do a little bit of mural in the living room despite the massive amount of school work to do. Must thank my mom too for charitably giving me her dining table, microwave oven and most importantly ‘baby beiling’ for me to do my baking – I prefer baking to cooking. Must thank sis-in-law for her help here and there too. And big thank you to the eldest sister, who is so heavily pregnant now, for finding time to shop with me for wedding stuffs. *Hugs to all* I’m so glad that I get the support of all these people. Otherwise, it would have been tough physically and financially.

ok i guess that's about all, of course there's more to share but i'll leave that to the next entry, got to study for exams now.

before signing off, here's me and my beloved kiddos, Nabilah and Nabihah...

they've grown so much. So precocious and imp-ish.....i wonder how's the third kiddo going to look like... it's a boy this time round.

2007-02-16T11:30:00.000-08:00

a new found love

yep, its the fujitsu s7110, sleek, dainty and sophisticated.

with this i am ever so inspired to do my essays. much faster and efficient.

with this too, accessing wireless networks will be a breeze - anywhere...

hopefully with this too,

i'll get to update my blog more often cos i need not fight for the desktop with my little
sister at home. ( tho' this is just wishful thinking hee)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

sorry i've been away for so long. was having a 'brutal war' with time.

the great amounts of readings and assignments are accumulating.

and yet the new house needs me to do some painting works and lots of cleaning up.

and zamies are drawing near - in about 5 weeks time. (zilch revisions hitherto)

and on top of that the wedding preparations calls for attention as well. (the preparations nice but the payments not cool)

but nevertheless i'm still pressing on, hopefully everything will be accomplished as how i want it to be.

i'll try my best to update where i can.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

you're not forgotten!
here's your replies my babies

--- : hello there mr/ms anonymous. thanks for dropping by. before i decide that i miss you too, care to identify yourself?

yasin: happy valentine's day to you too yasin. miss my loved ones in kranji many much. so how are you still taking part in kranji idol?

afiq : thanks for your concern afiq. ya the 'house doing' is ok. except that progress is rather slow cos i could not focus and give my utmost attention to it. Am struggling and balancing with other commitments as well.

ithah & kyms : you girls keep changing sites...i'll relink you aytes...

farhan : i'm fine thanks. how's your 'o' levels preparations for art? what's the theme on this time?

josiah : hello josiah - hope you're doing good.

yihan : hello my dynamite. of course i remember you. i also remembered that your father's an artist! keep me updated of any upcoming exhibitions by your dad okie?

'zzah: hey ms curly hair, yes i remember you, yer from my favourite class 1C '05 and 2C '06.

donald: hello donald, yes i remember you. i remember alot of students from 1H too. People like glendonn, peng guan, rifdi, lily astria and many others. i'm not coming back kranji that soon - maybe in about one and a half years time. by then you would be in sec three. you take care

rifdi: dont be upset about your teacher's comment. everybody has their own opinions and preferences. believe in yourself. you do have talent. infact i still remember that you can do graffiti art very well. remember the name design i asked you to do when you were in sec one - the one that i asked you to paste infront of your sketch book. that piece of design is marvellous!
infact i have scanned that piece of work and kept it with me. so dont worry and dont be affected.

2007-01-24T20:07:00.000-08:00

Replies

ithah : yes the kitten's so terribly cute. i relinked you finally.

sadali : yer linked!

Navin : hey navin. thanks for dropping by

Yana : aww, its ok if i put your name as that kan? thats how i remembered you anyways. is it ok dearest?

tweety : the house looks big cos it hasnt had any furnitures yet. Absolute emptiness! It'll look smaller after you filled it up with stuffs.

huda : thanks for dropping by. yer linked!

izzat : ler.. amacam nama kucing bole share dgn name penyanyi pulak? nevertheless, nash 's a interesting name for a cat, heh.

kyms : no kyms dont dump any cats to me. enough heartbreaks already. this emotional attachment i have to cats may not be a healthy thing you know. But i dont mind pictures of cats or soft toys of cats. hehe.

THE HOUSE WE CALLED HOME

Past few days have been very fruitful for the hubby and myself. eversince we collected the keys to the apartment, we ran meaningful errands together. The excitement was so overwhelming that it supersedes our excitement of our forthcoming wedding. And sheesh i almost forgot my assignment's datelines are catching up! Ooopsie! heh

We had finally cleaned the house with the help of our parents. Super dirty but now spick and span! then the trips to hardware shops for tools and paints. Then to Ikea for curtain rails, lights, bulbs...... For the first time, we spend the longest hours in ikea and yet still have not finished shopping!

Retail therapy have never been so meaningful and memorable before. Its better than shopping for clothes (wooah! that's unbecoming of me). i guess its made even more meaningful cos the hubby is someone who is accomodating and practical. There have been no fights for choices. We often come to consensus quite easily to what we would like to have or choose for the house. That's just one of the reasons why he is so special to me.

ok then, got to go back to school work, time is chasing after me...

till the next entry

toodles!

2007-01-22T05:48:00.000-08:00

OUR ABODE

the greatest anniversary present from the hubby........

2007-01-20T06:14:00.000-08:00

that's the lovely kitten that left me

my heart still breaks just thinking about this little life that died in the family's arms. I hope we have done everything right about taking care of you.

i'm still hearing your mews...

somewhere deep in my heart

2007-01-15T06:09:00.000-08:00

wow, thanks for taking the time to edit my blog kyms. appreciate it lots.

its more legible this time round.

heaps of thanks and loads of love for you.

(but guess what blogger refuse to upload my pics. looks like i'll have to use something else like picasa or something. Hope it'll work.)

---------------------------------------------

i guess i cant wait for pictures to publish this entry. thought i'd want to post pictures of the little kitten i was talking about in my previous entry. yes, by inference, this entry is about the little kitten named 'BOY' that came to the household unexpectedly towards the end of last year.

he died.

i was so heartbroken that i could not see him grow. There's still this lump in my throat and this pain in my heart that refuse to go. I guess i am begining to love this cat so much.... it's like taking care of a baby. However he was just too young to be put under human's care. He needs the mother's milk and warmth. He needs the mom to lick him clean everytime he dirties himself...... and all that we can't provide - but at the same time it is inhuman for us to leave him stranded deprived of any care or attention.

sigh

he was not meant to be

sobs

2007-01-13T03:21:00.000-08:00

replies

tweety aznita and a'an: hey thanks for informing me about the NAFA Open Hse trip. Just checked my time-table - i've got lessons from 1230pm - 530pm on Friday afternoons. Looks like i cant 'bump' onto you guys there. Have fun.

Cady McBronzie: hello long-lost childhood friend! so glad you bumped into my blog! Hope you're fine. yes link me please and yeah - you're linked already!

afiQ: yo hello fiq. how's school so far? and how about you? taking part in any more photography competition?

Ms Tha : sorry for the super late reply. I really do miss you people. Miss walking to the CCK MRT with you! I hope to come by and visit you all. take care!

kyms: hope you managed to settle the art textbook issue as soon possible. I'm sure it can be solve somehow.

2007-01-13T03:10:00.000-08:00

frustrating! Blogger's not doing their job. it makes updating your blog a daunting task. You see people. i've always wanted to update and as much possible upload pics from the all time favourite gadget - the u-mini olympus. and everytime after typing a beautiful entry, accompanied with pics, blogger will just hang.

nevertheless this was one of the entry i managed to salvage by the 'Ctrl C' and 'Ctrl V' process to microsoft word:

-------------------------------------------

Holidays finally ended. my semester's starting tmr. time to tune the brain for some massive work. Also with lesser whines and complains - that's part of the new year resolution. Was bloghopping past few days and it seems that most bloggers did the 'stocktaking' of significant events in 2006 and of course with it : comes the new year resolutions. I thought i should do the same but felt it's too late, it's 8 days away since the newborn 2007. the new year spirit starting to wither away. perhaps i should learn to be more disciplined when it comes to blogging. ok that will be one of the resolutions of the year. hee... anyhows, in this entry, i shall publish a significant event that happened before the closure of 2006. a new family member came to the household. a little furry thing. here it is:

*there's suppose to be pictures here*

yes it's a kitten. about one day old only. you see, everytime the family planned not to have any cats in the house anymore, somehow, we always ended up having one. it's the same case for late Marble (previous cat) too. He came out of the blue and out of pity he became the household feline for seven years before his demise in 17th june 2006.
This kitten came on the 30th of June 2006. my uncle brought him to the house. What happened was, a cat gave birth in one of his shoe drawers which was left empty for some time. He didnt even realised the mother cat had conquered the empty shoe drawer with her litter of kittens. he discovered them by chance but chosed to leave the cats alone. On the other hand, Paranoid and protective, the mother cat shifted, left the shoe drawer with her babies. but unfortunately, this kitten was left behind. The mother did not return to collect this pitiful kitten.

the sad thing is, this little kitten was just too little, small, minute and just helpless. Eyes still closed, could barely walk and hardly mews yet. we can't just leave him alone - he would die! and since my uncle was not sure how to take care of it, he brought it to my family. And we took care of him with much difficulty.
we faced difficulty feeding him. At this age, the kitten only knew how to feed through his mother and that we could not provide. So we had to feed him using a small syringe. He was not adjusted initially but he is now used to feeding with the syringe. A pitiful sight. He's grown abit but still small of course. His eyes opened three days ago but i doubt he can see as yet because there's a layer of film covering his eyes.
here's more of him ---> my sister named him BOY

*there's suppose to be more pictures here*

--------------------------------------------------------

that was not the end of the story. lots more to share, tell and show. so how my 'inspirational' darling designer 'kyms'?

2007-01-10T20:36:00.000-08:00

test test

blog's throwing tantrums

test test

can't even upload pics!

hmmm....

2006-12-29T04:42:00.000-08:00

ESCAPADE

went escape with my kids, the de jure sister and de facto sisters and brothers (aka cuzzies). i guess this was the only adventure i had through these holz. The other days were simply occupied with the influenza bug and wedding galores. However it was really a nasty time to go. The weather's unbending and unsympathetic to our plans for fun and in the end, though the admission fee of 6 dollars was paid, we ended up not taking ZILCH rides - best of all, no refund. The kids were a pitiful sight and made even more pitiful when the rain neither chose to subside nor cease. So i decided to bring them out of escape to grab a bite. On our way back to escape (with a wishful thinking that the rain would stop) i bought 2 bottles of "bubbles". and that became our entertainment for the day. Apart from blowing bubbles we played some carnival games and won some soft toys.

nevertheless, i had fun with the kids though the age gap was almost a decade apart. Integrating into the youth culture was not only eye-opening but you get to refresh the straitjacketed ideas and beliefs as an adult to a youngster - if you cant beat them you gotta join them. heh...

here's courtesy of the all-time favourite gagdet, my u-mini olympus

the cuzzies : Munira, Syahmi, Faris, shaza (original sister), fadhli, nurul and edeura (lola)....

da big boys : syahmi and faris

da big girls... anyone interested?

merry merry kids......

bubbles to compensate the un-ride-able rides

our own entertainment blow more bubbles at the centre pavillion...

the adults inclusive...

the de jure sister's silly antics...

in love with the orca

i'll be back for you.....

2006-12-21T06:32:00.000-08:00

been a long time isnt it?

once again i owe lots of replies to taggers. will do that later...

these hols have been physically tiring. there's lots of logistics to settle and on top of all that, the battle with the notorious flu bug that keeps coming back to attack the immune system. Fell sick many times that hinders progress of the BIG errands that i have to accomplish before the next semester starts.

firstly, the wedding, the downpayments, the looking for this and that, the miscellaneous and the so forth. made many trips to JB to look for cards, berkats and other wedding accessories. That took a whole lot of my time. Then attending weddings over the weekends.

Then its the room. I'm preparing to move out of the house. Am busy packing my stuffs which is a challenging task. I never expect to own so MANY MANY MANY things! gosh.....The paintings (man where do i put them?), the art materials (it has too much sentimental value to simply give it away or throw etc...), the stationeries (thanks to my days in Kranji, i accumulated a big box of all sorts of stationeries), the clothes (might have to forgo some yet still continue to buy buy buy), those ART theory and HISTORY notes ( dont think i should dump them).... and the dilemma goes on...

there was only one thing that dont make me think twice about keeping. Its all those farewell gifts from my students and fellow colleagues from kranji. Packing took a longer time because i took a moment to stop by and look at each gift and read through the cards again. the same feeling surge in again. I am still so attached to that school and still had a strong sense of belonging to it though its been 6 months that i left the school. In the space of 1 year and 3 months, i have put my soul in making a difference to ART in that school.. i had to immediately be physically and emotionally ruggard to the demanding expectations of the profession. With all the sweat, sometimes tears, energy and love that i gave to the students and school, i left with a sense of satisfaction. i remembered i stayed back on saturdays just to clean up the room which is full of 'Karang guni' stuffs and this wouldnt have been possible without YAsin and GAng - i am still so thankful to them. I remembered i dislocated my wrist which till today is still weak because i attempted to shift the heavy art room tables on my own. I still remembered and still love my artsomenezz and passionz - they made teaching Art a meaningful process.... i treasured all those mural painting moments with my sec 3 kids (nov 2005 and june 2006). I came back to school to get it done although i had not enough rest because i really wanted to see the art room wall painted before i leave the school for my studies. and yes those challenging moments of staying back till late at night so that the "O" and "N" kids could stay back and do their board/canvas painting.

sigh...sometimes i wonder why am i still living in the past. years will past by, students will change and i will be forgotten. Years down the road, i wonder what will happen to the mural the passionz have worked hard to make it a success, i wonder what is to become of the ART ROOM years to come....... but one thing is for sure. these are the memories that i will keep close to my heart and that i will keep reminiscing it......

Also not forgetting fun loving colleagues, especially annabel, darh-ling Gerry, Vanitha, Pauline, Maybelline and many more. theyhave been a great company..... the staff room would have been so cold without great colleagues....

okay enough of outpouring of emotions, i can go on and on....
before i forget, here's my replies to taggers...

ms nat: i'm not married yet! soon.... insyaAllah...amin

yasin: miss you too, sorry for not updating often... i'll do your survey soon.

farhan: congrats for passing your Ns! great! lemme guess... either a 1 or 2 for ART?

amiro: thanks for your concern, I MISS YOU gazills too!

kyms: miss you muchie much too!

yihan, eekie and the commitee: great teamwork! the picnic wouldnt happen without you people.

jlobelo: man.... i miss disturbing you.... so how? do you still like PINK????

ok i guess that's all for today. pardon me for any grammatical or spelling errors or faulty sentence construction..... not feeling well today..

2006-12-04T04:28:00.000-08:00

Exams has finally ended. Still in a daze though. Still thinking about those historic people that made a name in history. And with that name, history students like me have to memorize about historic things that happened in their lives....

doesn't matter it's over.

what's important now is: brain cells can now recuperate from the it's rigorous usage during the zamies.

before i continue to print my thoughts, i guess i owe
my dearly missed 1D a great apology.

my dearest cupcakes, i'm sorry i cannot be there for the wonderful picnic at Pahlawan that the committee has eagerly planned for.
was bedridden a few days because of the notorious fever that refused to go down.

i hope you people understand. That was also why i was not able to update my blog immediately after the exams. nevertheless hope you guys had fun. its nice to hear the class going out together as a family. :) stay united dynamitez! and Eekie, the class owes you a big thank you for all the efforts made. three cheers for you!

2006-11-22T07:10:00.000-08:00

Examination in Progress

24th Nov : Film as History
27th Nov : Biography as History
28th Nov : History of Modern Southeast Asia

will not be back for updates till after 28th.
so just hang on there and hang around...

love,
ms whiskers

2006-11-13T08:49:00.000-08:00

first and foremost,
heaps of thanks to kranjians who's still remembering me and took the time to come to my place for raya.
sweet of you people..

these photos will remind me of you people. to a'an: it's alright if you cant come, i'm sure there'll be other opportunities. hope you're better now. to my amiro: yeah, nabilah's unpredictable, (indeed, just like you to a certain degree). i totally love nabilah albeit she can be terribly nasty..

Amidst busy schedule, i made time to visit the place i once called home...

a de ja vu..... it's great to see everyone doing fine

2006-11-02T03:31:00.000-08:00

aloha peeps

my paw-prints have been dormant for some time now and yeah i owe lots of pple replies.
so here goes:

to all who wished me selamat hari raya, yasin, afiQ, Kyms, ithah, yana, xuan, mardiana...etc etc: its the same for me too. Selamat hari raya, maaf zahir batin, to ere is human, i do make mistakes too. if in point of time i offended you kids with my moods, temperaments, actions or words, please forgive me. It's part of my job ... heh, so that all of you will do my work! it's part and parcel of teaching i must say...

to mardiana : thanks for the password... hee... it's not a password afterall cause you just 'publicized' it at my tagboard! hehe

to afiQ: good to hear that you passed your exams. hmmm, ya i do remember the time when you did not turn up for my remedial. it's over and i'm bearing no grudges about it. Just learn from it ok... and o'ya, congrats for being selected for the 'Noise photography' thingy. it's a good exposure and now it's proven when i say that you do have an eye for photography. Not everybody can do it well... you're an exception.... strive forward and keep on trying for competitions

to candice : hey hi! finally found me huh? keep in touch ok...

to a'an : yeah nabilah does look a lil bit like me when i was young...

to yihan and eekie: 30th nov sounds like a good date, cos i'll be done with exams by then. i should be able to join you all. am looking forward to see my 'explosives' (dynamitez) again....

to amirul 2C: of course i remember you. fancy eating chewing gum when you're the class chairperson! wassup with that - you're s'ppose to be the class role model! don't do it again!
i'm not coming back Kranji that soon. most probably in april 2008.

to hwai yi 1A: hey, of course i remember you and guess what i still remember how your assignments look like too! hehe. i remembered i gave you extremely high marks (or was it full marks?) for your 'shapes and shading assignment'. remember the one where you have to simplify your hands into simple shapes? anyways, you've got talent really, keep the love for art going! i'll link you soon...

to yana 2C : haha, no lah not the smallest art rep, but the cutest art rep i ever had...heh. selamat hari raya to you too dearest. take care...

to eja: thanks for the compliment. you're a good student too. a potential artist, but it's a pity i dont see you in my art class... heh, anyways, all the best in whatever you do...

wow, that's a whole lot of replies... i hope i have not missed out on anyone. if i did, tag me again.
i'll find time to reply somehow....

ok adios....

2006-10-20T16:59:00.000-07:00

i'll begin with my replies first...

to zheng xuan and mardiana, i've linked you guys. but mardiana, i need a password to take a sneak peek into your "atherapeuticchainofevents"...

to ithah, i miss you too lah girl. i miss all my art-ians. you are totally my super-cool students in kranji! if you're coming to visit, make sure you inform me early early cos i still have lessons going on this november. some of my lessons ends as late as 830pm. thanks for informing the date of the exhibition. so the opening will be on the 4th nov i suppose? what time will that be?

to a'an the spiderman: selamat hari raya and maaf zahir batin to you too. kirim salam your spidergirl....*grin*

to sadali: ... i dont like HITLER. i dont fancy his moustache... hoho

to cdik: hey how have you been? it's been very long since i last heard from you. how's kang rei and ze sen doing? i totally lost touch with them, send my best regards to them. link me if you do have a blog okays. o'ya.... how's maverick? how is he coping with his art?

to eekie: if its troublesome to wait till my holidays to organize the outing, i suggest you guys go ahead first. i'll try to make time where i can alright...

to KYMS: hey did i miss your birthday? so sorry about it. have not been going online for sometime. forgive me for not realising it. Anyways, better late than never. Happy belated birthday to you. Semoga panjang umur dan dimurahkan rezeki. Amin.

to all Muslims, especially to dearest kranji students, Selamat Menyambut Hari Raya Aidilfitri. Maaf Zahir batin.

been away from the blogging world for some time now. been busy catching up with school work. i apologize for the late reply kids.

this period of time prove to be very testing for myself, family and my other half. hari raya falls at the wrong time of the year, and i have absolutely no control about it...

in the midst of assignments and impending examinations, there's still so much to do ; all the spring cleaning, , change curtains, polish furniture, wipe the fans, grocery shopping, peel onions, blender this and that, fry this, boil that.... and the list goes on. Hari raya don't feel complete without accomplishing all these things. However, i really feel grateful to my sister's maid, YUNI and my sister, SHAZANA who had done alot to get this things done. Without them around, i guess the house would have been topsy turvy, especially with my nieces who's always around every weekdays.

talking about nieces, here's sharing with you, their portraits captured with my all time favourite gadget, the u-mini OLYMPUS. Though notorious at times (or is it all the time???), they never fail to bring smiles and laughter to the family.

The eldest, Nabilah is my fave, has given me the name 'MIMIK IRA' ( her baby talk for UMI IRA) as her term of endearment for me and she's still calling me that till today....

here's presenting the queens of my heart,

Siti Nabilah (with her HIJRAH KINDERGARDEN UNIFORM)

Siti Nabihah with her beautiful locks..

to the mom of these daughters : don't forget collection for mimik ira ye... "last aje"... heheh..

2006-10-12T04:50:00.000-07:00

i am in LOVE

with HISTORY

my first semester in NTU is coming to an end. And although i didn't get to do much ART this time round, i find myself immersed in reading lots and lots of HISTORY. Ironic: i used to loathe it but now i'm seeing signs of 'love' for it.

HISTORY, its just like reading a STORYBOOK about the past. .... .. .Without the past there wouldnt be the PRESENT. Without studying mistakes of the past, you will not have been more careful today. Without knowing what happened in the past, you will not know why we have this and that today.

i'm begining to see more reasons why we need to learn about HISTORY
and yeah soon to come i'll have to convince my students why they have to learn about the past.

I spent my day today at my grandma's place. Had to do a project regarding the Japanese Occupation. Grandma went through the Occupation, she was approximately seven then and it is amazing how she remembered the past vividly. I had to interview her and get as much stories possible, and with all this information at hand, i'll have to write a biography of her experiences.

All that we know of the Occupation was hardship. All the fear, hunger, sufferings and killings summarized those times. Her experinces was exceptional though. As a kid, she was ignorant of what was happening. She worked for the Japanese under her mother's name. As brutal as they were, the Japanese were still humans. Perhaps it was sympathy that saved Grandma of a hard life. Grandma was too young to work at the rubber plantation and was taken to work for a Liutenant named Anasi and Sohara instead, whom she addressed as Masters. It was an easy job. Apart from cooking or serving coffee to the masters, she had to take care of the comfort women 'kept' in a room nearby the kitchen.

Anasi and Sohara are very protective of my Grandma. Perhaps, because she reminds them of their daughters. There was an occasion where Sohara killed a Chinese for chasing after Grandma for plucking a flower in their garden. Grandma seek protection from her masters. Without haste, Sohara took his sword and plunge it through the Chinese man stomach. There were many other occasions where either Sohara or Anasi protected Grandma.

Nevertheless Grandma was not taking advantage of the situation. She was just to young to understand the situation in greater depth. It was fulfilling having to sit down and listening intently to all these treasures of the past.

if not recorded, no one would have known the hardships our forefathers went through.....

and i am so grateful, even at this age, grandma is still so healthy and strong.
She's a wonderful granny. Love her alot.......

2006-10-12T04:36:00.000-07:00

wow, was just away for a few days, and my tagboard's busy busy busy!.

i guess that's the punishment for not regularly checking on your blog.

here's your replies my babies,

firstly to dearest EeKie and WeiHong: i dont think you guys should use my tagboard to bicker. but nevertheless, since the problem is brought to light, i suggest you guys better solve your differences. It's a good thing the year is coming to an end. Just learn to work harmoniously these last few weeks of school. Seriously, you've got to learn to give and take. You're guys are the backbone of 1D. The class will not function without the both of you. Think about it ya.

to MARDIANA 1A : thanks for tagging. hope you are doing fine too. Miss teaching 1A. the hyper-active class!

to zhengXUAN : ya, of course i remember you. It's disappointing to know that you only decide to join the ARTSOMENESS family after i left. We could have been one big family. Anyway, hope you've made the right decision this time round.

to A'AN : man! that's so good! my exams only in late november. so well, enjoy yourself then. *jealous*

2006-10-08T06:31:00.000-07:00

Help My-Paw-Prints

how do i adjust the font size of my entries? it's eye-straining.

why is it that i cannot double space my sentences. Everytime i hit the publish key, everything will appear in one big-&-fat paragraph?

someone enlighten me please.....

2006-10-08T03:45:00.000-07:00

Exhausted.

yes that's the very word to describe me now. Just finished a 2000 word essay. Can't believe the microsoft 'word count tool' says that i hit 1,987 words. what an achievement! didn't expect that i could write that much...... but the question is quality.

i'm lethargic. all the immense brain work plus all the preparations for hari raya is taxing all the energy i have left in my body system. nevertheless thanks to the B complex pills that helps to metabolize fats and carbo to convert them to energy to keep me working. heheh, otherwise, i don't know what is to become of me. (i'm not sure if this helps to loose weight too...hmmmm lets c...( standing on the weighing machine now)... wellwell i'm still weighing a hefty 48kg, that's 2kgs down, but then again it could be because of the fasting month.

Heard that 2 of my dearest dynamites just quit from prefect-ship:

Guan Quan and Audrey

Here is what i feel about it: Although you choose to give up this good opportunity, it does not mean that you're a little less than what you are. This could be a blessing in disguise and for all you know this could be the best decision for you. You can now give your full concentration to your studies and CCAs. These are the other areas you can strive to excel in. So all the best dynamitez!

i wonder how the rest of the Dynamitez are.

People like Jun Yong, prasanth, Huda, Kheng Hian, and is wondering how the dearest Chairman Wei Hong is coping with his duties. So EeKie, do give me updates about the rest when you're free. Perhaps you can post your updates at your 'pink-addicted' and i'll go check it out.

As for my artist, aMiro,

i'm sorry cant do much to help in this shortest space of time. if the format for the prep has been changed, then by all means try to follow as what is expected. Each teacher has their own styles of teaching and expectations of students. So just do your best no matter how limited time is now kays.But i can safely say that the format i taught you all is the same format mrs tay will be enforcing on you next year. That is also the format the current 'N' and 'O' level kids are doing for their Art.

Artsomeness and Passions,

remember to inform me the days of your exhibition early. Do inform me when is the opening day and the time, so that i can make arrangements.

take care everyone.

2006-10-05T03:45:00.000-07:00

Your replies are here!!!

to sasa : hey! you naughty girl. this is your kak ira not your miss sha..bluek!!!

to Jlobelo: yeah that's your cuckoo pic, i'm still keeping it as a momento to remind me of how cranky and unpredictable you all are!

to kyms: love you too, hope you're doing fine. send my rgds to all.

to EeKie: subhaan is good in Art. i still remember how neat his works are. He ought to love art with or without me around! send my regards to him. anyway is he a prefect now?

to ana: oh dear, don't be upset. you still have the rest of the artsomeness to guide you. they are your family, don't give up please. Have faith! I still remember you can do your pencil shading very well!

to ammar: thank you ammar. you take care. Ignore the person who used your name to tag on my tagboard, not worth to get angry about it ok.

to sis ina: we all miss marble. there's lots more pics to show. let u see another time. I have some new pics of your notorious kids too!

to sadali: yes that's you. the best-dressed student! very creative indeed.

*will update "my-paw-prints" weekends, am catching up with assignments now.

take care all of you.

2006-09-29T08:10:00.000-07:00

beautiful memories

dearest dynamites

silly moments

best dressed student

the cranky, sometimes irritating but yet still adorable ones

fireworks farewell

the sweetest girls

the people who never fail to lend a helping hand

most importantly, the greatest working partner i ever had

a great teacher, mentor and friend.

2006-09-24T15:32:00.000-07:00

a furry sibling

sitting on my markings (yr 2005)

when he's healthy and naughty

then when he's diagnosed with kidney failure

at the hospital with the drip

his last day alive, refusing to eat

weak and lifeless

our last goodbye

we'd rather you go than suffer in pain....

the memories will be immortalized in our hearts.

a little memory...

Ramadan's back....

the normal routine restarts and will be put into effect for this whole month. Waking up at 4plus, help mom with this and that, sahur's next, and finally cleaning up the kitchen.

when i think about it, it is only this month that my family actually sat down and ate together.

On any other days we eat at separate times.And once upon a time when Marble was still alive, he would be waking up early to have his 'breakfast' too.

and i guess that was what was missing in Ramadan this time round.

Marble is the family's dearest one-eyed pet cat, who spent seven years of his life with us. He left us just two months back because of kidney problems.

His absence was greatly felt. And now for sahur, we no longer see a black and white feline loitering by the dining table. No more mews can be heard and no more paws can be felt on the lap.In the eyes of others he was just a cat, but to the family, he is mom's furry son and automatically my furry sibling. he has been a good cat. just like us, Marble has his own temperaments and characters too. it's too long to list everything about him. But i guess what was most important is. Marble is an obedient cat who loves his family (us!) and listens to mom. he will not do what mom don't like. Seven years with a cat at home, our leather sofa is still immaculate. No nasty scratches.

Seven years, i had other pets too. Hamsters, birds, goldfish but he respects and never harms them.

I feel that he appreciates that we took him in when he was a helpless kitten, a victim of human abuse. That explains why he has only an eye.

No other cats could replace Marble in our hearts....

and though we dont say it. i know all of us felt his absence in our lives.

the pain is only kept within our hearts.

and i guess the only way to console us was to look at his pic.

and that is why

mom has his pic on the fridge.

my sis has it on her hairdressing table

and i have his pic on my study table....

sometimes when you love someone,

you have to learn to let him go.

to all, selamat menjalani ibadah berpuasa.

2006-09-22T09:04:00.000-07:00

huda, sha, della & kenneth

Had a great day today, met up with my other comrades from NIE. Had dinner at Sakura, dropped by Funan to look for gadgets then we took a stroll to boat quay coffee bean to chill. We talked alot on what we have missed out on each other. We talked alot about our students too. Haiz, teachers will always be teachers: the hot topic will always be about students! And Della who visited Kranji for the National IT sharing complimented that Kranji Kids are good and she loves the art room - the legacies that i left behind. I'm proud of Kranjians and I am truly glad and lucky that once a point of time in my life i was given a chance to teach and grow as a teacher in kranji.

it's so good to be able to see them again and it's just sad that the night passes by so fast. lurve you all! muacks

the week have been good and relaxing. i allowed myself to slack a lil bit, cos i knew the one week break is coming (starting next week). And this break means that i'll have to slog to finish the essays, so might as well loosen up abit for this week. Had a new hair cut too. Said goodbye to my long hair cause it's getting too unmanageable already. It's dry with split ends and all: it's just like walking around with branches and twigs! hehe.

Received a piece of good news too. HDB have approved the deferment of the collection of keys to my flat till Jan 2007 and allowed us to submit our marraige cert in june 2007. So which means in 3 months time, i'm going to be a Bukit Panjang citizen. It's so exciting just to think about it. It such a great feeling to have a space you can call your own. i'm so totally going to hang my paintings all around the house. heh, my poor hubby will have to learn to appreciate my art pieces! And yup! i'll need people to help me paint the house! Any artists willing to render their services? (*grin*)

till the next entry... take care everyone.... luvluv

2006-09-20T07:45:00.000-07:00

dedicated to my dearest kids,

loved ones, passionz and artsomenezz, dynamitez and the rest

all the best for the forthcoming end of year exams.

strive for the best and dont give up.

to the art kids, do not neglect your prep work again.

learn from your lessons, do not do the prep last minute again

cause it will not work that way.

to my sec fours: Farhan, Amirah, Zubaidah, Nazihah, Marlini, Aznita, Izzat,

Mustaqim, Tracy, Dorothy, Shirley and the rest.

'N' levels is just round the corner.

so fight your way up to sec five. you can do it.

to my dynamites (1D), push yourselves work more than u usually do,

you're all my capable kids, results can only come with hard work

so dont just sit back and relax, start something now.

to my loved ones, i believe in you.

never neglect your studies no matter what problems

you're facing. Be strong and have faith.

i still love you all...

ms sha

*and not forgetting to my dearest little girl, Shazana, all the best for your 'N' levels too.*

2006-09-15T08:42:00.000-07:00

yess! it's the weekends,

time to breathe.

the weekdays haf been usual, it's all about school, so i shall not brood about it. haf to be immuned ya.

My beloved future sis-in-law just failed her driving test again last Thurs. it's her third time and she's so upset that she's not even talking to me. i guess, she don't wish to hear any words of consolation, cos it's just gonna make her feel worse. hehe, well i just hope she'll get over it soon cos it's not the end of everything, there's still a chance. And i hope she'd take me as an inspiration cos i'm only a qualified driver after 5 attempts.

this brings back the memories of my time when i took my driving testS. i committed so many silly and unexpected mistakes. Let's recall, i striked the kerb once while doing the S-course, i failed to stop at the STOP line because there were no cars and i was complacent and WORSE of all, i turned to the wrong lane. i'm driving against the traffic. Gosh, that's just how amazingly silly you can get when you sit for driving tests. Each have their own experience and antics while some are lucky to get by with just one try.

Ultimately i believe, it's rezeki Allah. perhaps there's a blessing that she failed. It doesn't matter how long you'll take to get your licence sis. what's most important is, you're ready, you can prove that you can be a safe driver and has good judgement. Till then, keep on trying and don't give up sis!

___________________________________________________________________

before signing off, i'd like to congratulate my little girl for doing well in her F&N 'N' Level coursework.

keep working hard...

love,
your irritating sis (haha)

2006-09-12T07:13:00.000-07:00

thank you students for tagging, you made this blog so alive

otherwise this place would have been totally deserted without you around.

and never before was i so keen about checking on my blog and updating it.

thanks my dearest designer, you're my inspiration.

been hectic past few days.
i cant believe that i manage to meet my deadlines.
thought i'll never make it, heh.

but it's like working till you break your bones, you'll have to continue working even
if it means that you'll only get a few hours sleep and even if it means that you can't spend time with your loved ones or doing the things that you like.

and i must thank people closest to my heart for all their love and support. Especially to the fiance, who has been finding time to send me to the uni everyday. Although it was tiring for him. and also For giving me all the emotional support and all the motivation i need to fight till the end. he's been wonderful and most patient with me especially when im so terribly stressed with school. No amount of thank yous suffice whatever you've done for me.

you're the best thing that has ever happened in my life.

thank you for being there for me.

2006-09-09T04:21:00.000-07:00

Critical Perspectives of Education Essay, 1000 words, by Monday 11th Sept
History of SEAsia Tutorial Outline , 1 page, by Tuesday 12th Sept
Presentation on Indonesian Art, 15mins talk, by Weds 13th Sept
Presentation on Economic Devm of SEAsia, 30mins, by Friday 15th Sept
Presentation on Teaching, 75mins of talk and activities, by Monday 18th sept
Essay on Duane Hanson's Artwork, 2500 words, by Weds 19th Sept

*[panic]*[panic]*[panic]*

2006-09-07T08:03:00.000-07:00

Bismillahirohmanirrohim....

ooohh lala ! welcome to the rebirth of my paw prints.
after a period of long absence, it's finally back!!
with a new layout...
with some touches of PIIIINNNNkk!!
with a tagboard!
with pictchas!
superb!

many many thanks to KYMAH!!!!
this is a very meaningful gift.

well, now it's up, all done up and linked, i feel so inspired to update. and as promised to my designer(KYM), here it is, a lil update from me.

been one month now since i last left Kranji. I'm now sitting at the other side of the teacher's table. No longer screaming and shouting at kids. I'm just like my students now. researching, studying, homeworks, projects, assignments, thinking, worrying,... ..

but somehow although i'm already adapting to school life, the memories of kranji still lingers.
sometimes i woke up thinking "what am i suppose to teach my kids today" while instead i should be worrying about my incomplete assignments......

and when i open my wardrobe to choose what to wear to school for the day, my eyes will always stumble upon this two particular polo shirts (one it's red and the other black), neatly ironed and hanged. thoughts of kranji instantly came back.

heheh... so emotional..

well, i just don't know what these kids have done to me. i m so attached to them that i refused to let go. why do i still care for them when i have already left them,there must be something special about them.... i'm still checking on their blogs to see how were they doing in school/life . not "eavesdropping", i just want to know that they are fine.
sometimes ifeel that i have not done enough to build on their artistic potentials. there's still so much more amazing things about art that i have not told them. there's still skills i have failed to impart to them. i'm still angry that i can't further improve on their skills and so many other frustrations that i have to just bury in my heart.

hear me out now my passionz and artsomenezz
mummy sha loves you all, sincerely from the bottom of my heart.
till today, i miss ALL the good and bad things about you.

please take care of yourselves well.
and take care of each other well too...

always remember we are one family, must keep each family member together.

i'll always be watching over you all
in some ways or another.

with love,
ms sha
mummy sha
mister shamir
(or whatever it is lah...)