Saturday, May 25, 2013

Z stands for comfort Zone

A stands for Alfred, Angela and Alvin  


Z stands for comfort Zone

whenever i request to remain as a P1 teacher or reject certain projects / positions, i was told that i'm in my comfort zone and should step out of it and try to reach my potential... i am always told that if i dun step out of my comfort zone, i will never know how far i can reach in my career.... 

 I always wonder... what's wrong with staying in my comfort zone??? does staying in my comfort zone means i am not making any progress??? and what makes you think that i want to go far in my career??? wahahahaha.... oopx.... 

 actually i find that staying in my comfort zone allows me to be the better person i want to be.... because there is less uncertainty around, i screw up lesser, my temper is better, my mind's clearer, and less time is needed just trying to stay afloat of things and situations...., i hate chaos and uncertainty... i love peace and familiarity.... cos it means that there's more time for me to be creative, to enjoy life and to improve on things and relationships around me.... 




looking back at my life, i do step out of my comfort zone every now & then.... i would love to travel to unknown countries after i have 'conquer' those nearby ones and had save enough money.... 

 i also love new experiences and maybe that's why i ran for student council during college when i was never in any prefectorial board before that.... i joined chinese orchestral cca during college when i dun have any music background and am tone deaf ... i took up diving and roller blading though exercise and sports were never a part of my interest.... took up art coordinator position at a time when i couldnt draw for nuts and enrolled in the advanced diploma in art education when i am still doubting my ability and talent in art... =S


 actually i dun really mind trying things out but i can be very resistant towards things that i already know i dun like or dun feel the need to experience through, example handling the tons of admin and strategic planning as a middle management in school.... 

 so to conclude, i do step out of my comfort zone, i am more likely to be in the learning zone in certain specific areas... just that i take teeny weeny steps , one at a time.... me is a calculated low risk taker.... =P 

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Finally come to the end of the A to Z blog challenge.... clap clap clap clap clap.... heeee.... 

This A to Z challenge is a blog challenge which requires bloggers to blog at least 26 times in the month of April... i took 3 months... =) .... but i'm still damn proud of myself because i thought i would never even get close to letter z even by the end of this year...

but the fun of doing the blog in chronological order kept me going quicker than expected and on topics which i would never have done if not for this blog challenge.... 

so i had decided to do a spin-off starting from the next blog challenge after my taiwan trip posts... =) 
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Friday, May 24, 2013

Y stands for Yummilicious food @ Rice & Fries

Y stands for Yummilicious food 
@ Rice & Fries


My favourite chef on 8 days every week... heee


brought 蔡家 members to Rice & Fries after our aquarium outing during the march holiday and every one was super satisfied with the food.... =) 

soft shell crab appetiser 



carbonara for me.... thick & creamy.... my love love....



 look at the thick succulent salmon.... very yumz, according to alfred.... =P  



lamb shank which 蔡小弟 was very impressed with... the meat was so tender that he could just push it off the bone.... "Heavenly!" he said.... and everyone was snatching the whipped potato off his plate.... not too dry and with super delicious gravy... =D



luv their waffles too.... this is with espresso new zealand ice cream .... somehow their waffles just taste different from all those that i had tried before.... it's thinner, slightly crispier yet not burnt and i suspect there's a tinch of lemon too.... 
it's really a good place to chill and try all the different desserts, caramelized banana, red wine peach and poach peared, between 5 - 7pm and 830 - 11pm before it's full house between 7 - 830pm.... 
oh...and they serve beer too.... plentiful of choices.... 
din take many photos of the cosy interior that day cos was too tired from the outing at the aquarium..... also din take any photo on subsequent visits cos getting too comfy with this restaurant liao... it has become my regular hangout place.... =P
for more photos of their yummilicious food and cute deco , do check out their facebook page ... =) 


bonus: no gst + no service charge + free flow of ice water!!!!
wahahahaha..... but do try out their sprite float (with lime sorbet ice-cream).... my must have!!!!!

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Tuesday, May 21, 2013

X stands for Xenophobia

A stands for Alfred, Angela and Alvin  


X stands for Xenophobia

Xenophobia is an irrational or unreasoned fear of that which is perceived to be foreign or strange. It comes from the Greek words ξένος (xenos), meaning "stranger," "foreigner," and φόβος (phobos), meaning "fear". 


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since the last general election in 2011, this big word "Xenophobia" has been popping up in fb so often till i could recognise it and guess what it means just by reading the post/articles that were linked to it...

 basically, there's a (growing) group of singaporeans who will blame the foreigners in singapore for almost anything and everything... be it not being able to find a job of their choice or at a salary of their expectation, traffic jam, packed buses, cannot get a cab, high coe, expensive flats, crowded orchard road and even not being able to find a bf/gf etc etc
i guess i am just so lucky to be in a work environment where i dun have many foreign colleagues hence cant feel the negative pressure from these foreigners yet.... i travel to and from work during off peak hours so i get to avoid the foreign crowds... i dun really go to town so i dun get to mingle with the foreign crowds as well... 
in fact, i thanked the foreign construction workers who work so hard under the scorching sun and late into the nights and even on public holidays.... without them, construction companies would have to pay a much higher salary to encourage locals to take up the job which in return might result in a even higher cost of housing... 

if that is to happen, the age group of local that will be attracted into the industry will be the 40+ or even the 50+ ... why do i say that??? cos i think the younger one are mostly made up of pampered princesses and princes or more educated ones who won't see the need to work as a manual labourer to earn a decent income bah.... 
by the way, do your know that crane operators can earn up to $6k a month in singapore??? 
anyway, i, myself, is one princess who wun wanna work under the hot sun or in the rain the whole day even if you pay me $10k a month lo.... i was already complaining about the extreme hot weather last week when i was working in the shade, aka classroom, and could enjoy the cool air in the staffroom at intervals.... 


 also thanks to the foreign maids, without them, i would have to help out with the housework at home when i was much younger too... =S.... me no like housework!!!!...no ironing, no vacuuming, no mopping, no washing of toilets.... =S
将心比心, if i am a foreign employee in another country, i wun wanna be condemn too lo.... 
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Monday, May 20, 2013

W stands for Wulai (tw) & 乌云


W stands for Wulai, taipei

after 3 days in taichung area, i plan to spend the remaining 3 days of my june taiwan trip in taipei.... Was cracking my brain on where to visit since i had already visited most of the attractions in taipei last june with the Angs when i recalled reading about WULAI... =)   

 Wulai is another hotspring area, besides beitou, and is about an hr and a half away from ximending area... just take the train to xin dian station and hop onto bus 849 at NT$40 each.... 

 Wulai area seems to be a rustic area (i like) with tram & cable car rides, nice scenery and great street food (mummy and alfred like!!!) ... =) 




updates on 20 June 2013:
wulai hotspring
wulai waterfall 
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W stands for 乌云 (wu yun)

to compensate for the short short post.... added in another 'W' video... -  it's a song by Tanya Chua, titled "Don't come and trouble me" - singlish translation.... wahahahaha


luv it for the catchy tune and chorus:
wu  yun  wu  yun  kuai  zou  kai
乌　云　乌　云　快　走　开

 ni 　ke 　zhi  dao  wo   bu  chang  dai   ba   san
你　可　知　道　我　不　 常　 带　把　伞

dai   ba   san
带　把　伞    －　Oh Woo
it has this lazy lazy style which i likey much much.... =) 
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Sunday, May 19, 2013

V stands for my Vocation as an art teacher

A stands for Alfred, Angela and Alvin  
E stands for Emperor
F stands for Fairy Tales
G stands for my Genarasi
H stands for Hubby
I stands for I
J stands for Jobs
K stands for Kitchen deco
L stands for Life is good
M stands for My Man and his 1st car
N stands for NTU

 V stands for my Vocation as an art teacher
A vocation is an occupation to which a person is specially drawn or for which he or she is suited, trained, or qualified.

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 My vocation is a primary school art teacher (almost there!!) =) 
I had always thought that i would be an accountant.... that's what mummy had 'brain washed' me into believing cos i was just so catty and careful with money... i had managed my allowance so well that i was given a monthly allowance since primary school. The monthly lump sum of $60 included the monthly bus stamp at $17 and all the "ling ling long long" stuff which teachers would ask us to buy every now and then. 
i guess i'm just a logically math person because math was never a problem for me... not even the challenging math problem sums.... somehow i could understand the story and work out the steps in a logical manner to derive at the answers.... that's why i can yaya-papaya 的说: I no need study also get A* for psle math.... wahahahaha
but upon hearing that accountants have to work super long hours even on weekends, i applied for business in NTU, got in and eventually did a major in applied economics only to find out that i hate starring at numbers and doing analysis.... =S 
while on the other hand, i had a love-hate relationship with art & craft since young..... i love all art lessons that required me to make craft; ang bao lanterns, raffia bag, fruit printing, repeat patterns, hanging mobile but hate all art lessons that required me to draw; draw a picture of national day celebration, cny, self-portrait, the person you admire most....=S
this relationship became a hate-and-only-hate relationship in secondary school where art lessons were all about drawing... this week draw a banana, next week draw a spring onion and the following week draw a branch with leaves.... 
enough was enough.... i decided art and I were a no go and that was that!!!!
but somehow craft was still a part of my life..... i took up cross-stitch, knitting, card making, gift wrapping, scrapbooking, making ornaments from straws etc.... 
and thanks to lorraine who introduced me to relief teaching after my As... it sort of sowed the seed for my love at seeing how children learn under my hands.... wahahaha.... i continued with giving tuition lesson throughout uni life and enjoyed the interaction with most of my tutees tremendously.... luv how i could simplify and structure the content to suit their learning styles and abilities.... 


i believe that teaching is a calling... it's not a job for just anyone.... 



but sad to say most trained teachers leave the industry within the first 3-5 years .....most left not because they can't teach nor because they dun have the passion in teaching.... most left because of the add-ons.... =S 
i would have left and be a full-time tutor too if not for art.... it's in the teaching of this non-psle exam subject that i can be the teacher i want to be.... one that does not drill & drill & drill and stress kids so young to remembers facts and figures and formula which will never be part of their work when they grow up, unless they wanna be a teacher..... 
i often wonder.... what's the use of drilling facts into the kids brain??? why can't teachers be trained to guide pupils to conduct their own research in the area that they are interested in??? why cant the psle be about problem solving and research instead of Q & A??? 




and we expect the kiddos to excel in all the subjects at the same time!!!!....

of cos there are other personal benefits to being an art teacher... the most obvious would be lesser marking which equates to more work life balance

 and it is this reason why i had fought so hard for this vocation.... from creating a customised art curriculum from scratch to launching the annual art bazaar, art exhibition and aesthetic day, to begging and got rejected to attend the 1st & 2nd run of the art teacher practitioner program to finally getting the green light to attend its 3rd run ..... 
being in this vocation is definitely not because i am lucky.... i had worked for it and had been paving the path for it to happen.... it was a plan that had started 5 years ago.... it is 一步一脚印换来的哦.... 
and in another 3 months time, i will be going through the final final lap, the advanced diploma in art education, a 4 month full time course in nie and upon graduation.... i can finally declare that i am a trained and qualified art teacher liao..... and 60% of my teaching work load will be for the teaching of art.... wahahahaha..... 
i am so looking forward to it yet not looking forward to the homework which i need to do... =S 
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Tuesday, May 7, 2013

T stands for Taichung itinerary - 2013

A stands for Alfred, Angela and Alvin  
E stands for Emperor
F stands for Fairy Tales
G stands for my Genarasi
H stands for Hubby
I stands for I
J stands for Jobs
K stands for Kitchen deco
L stands for Life is good
M stands for My Man and his 1st car
N stands for NTU
T stands for Taichung itinerary

yeah yeah yeah..... finally it's letter T... i can finally blog about what i had planned for my trip to taichung this june... =D


Day 1:
- reached taoyuan airport at 540am (yes, you read it right... flight at 1255am)..... =S
- breakfast at the airport, buy easy card and apply for youth card for alfred 
- turn left at the airport exit and walk to the far end to board bus to taichung city. no need to book bus in advance. just buy ticx at the counter. 
- luggage need not be brought up the bus as there are luggage compartment. 
- 2.5 hours bus ride @ NT$240 (S$10.50) 


Why the 2.5 hr bus and not the 1h high speed rail (HSR) leh???
Cos we have PLENTY of time to spare from arrival at 6am till check-in at 3pm and taking the HSR will require a change of a 20 minute shuttle bus to the HSR station.... 


- arrive at taichung around 10am+++
- deposit luggage at 53 hotel and wish that they allow us to do early check-in
- NT$2731 (S$118.74) per night for a room for 4 ppl
- free wifi and breakfast included.... =) 
(actual day post)


- doraemon exhibition... free shuttle bus (93) from taichung hsr station from 23/4/2013 - 21/7/2013... 9am - 5pm... NT$220 (S$9.50) ...can buy ticket from 7-11, ok mart, family mart or at the entrance... （actual day post) 


 - head for yi zhong jie and feng jia night market for street shopping and FOOD.... =D 
(actual day post) 


Day 2:
- booked a cab for day 2 & 3 at NT$9000 (S$391).... really lazy to lugging the luggage on public transport and also dun wanna waste too much time on the road... travelling from one place to another outside of taipei can be such a chore..... =P

(1) Rainbow village 
- all the super colourful paintings on the wall, doors and road are painted single-handedly by an 80+ year old grandpa to save the village from being demolished.
(2) sun moon lake 
- a super beautiful lake surrounded by small tribes/villages 
- can take boat ride / cable car
- visit nearby temples & shop

(actual day post)



(3) Paper Dome
- a church made entirely from cardboard tubes...as if not amazing enough, it was first built within 5 weeks as a religious centre after an earthquake destroyed more than 60% of the building in Kobe, Japan in 1995. It was then donated to Miaoli, Taiwan in 2005, an area heavily damaged by the 921 earthquake. 
- admission fee of NT$100 (S$4.40). Can use the ticket to exchange or top up for food/drink/souvenirs for the same value. 

(actual day post)

(4) 18 degree C chocolate factory
- not a factory but a very famous shop selling super nice chocolate and ice cream
(actual day post)
Final stop for the day - Starry minsu at Cing Jing  
- NT$3300 (S$143.50) per night for a room for 4, include breakfast and steamboat dinner with free wifi too
- it's the highest minsu in Cing Jing with a fantastic view, provided it's not foggy la
(actual day post)



 Day 3:

(5) Green green grassland
- a big patch of green with plenty of free roaming 羊 meh meh
- can get to watch  羊 meh meh and horse stunt show too at certain timing.... =) 
(actual day post) 

(6) Carton King 
- another attraction that is almost entirely made from cardboard, from the big deco in the surrounding garden to the tables & benches in the restaurant

(7) Jiufen 
- visiting this place just to buy the 奶油太阳饼 which is just different from the 太阳饼 from other parts of taiwan.... 
(actual day post)


 (8) Shifen －　放天灯@十分
- had fun setting off the 天灯 last year with the Angs, so wanna let alfred and mummy enjoy the experience too.... =) 

 
Final stop of the day will be in Taipei... have yet to book the accommodation and no concrete plan for Day 4 - 6 at Taipei too.... =P .... with alfred and mummy around, guess it will be just street shopping and street eating the whole 3 days.... wahahahaha...

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Blog archive on Taipei (June 2012):

(1) Gold Ecological Park 
(2) Shifen Waterfall
(3) Sky Lantern @ Shifen
(4) Keelung Night Market + Jiufen Tea House
(5) Yeliu 
(6) Yang Ming Shan +Hotspring 
(7) Mao Kong Gondola + Zoo + Kiki
(8) Taipei 101 
(9) C.K.S Memorial Hall
(10) Clubbing in Lava
(11) Lover's Bridge @ Danshui
(12) steamboat @ Ximending + EZ5
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S stands for what else is fun in Singapore

A stands for Alfred, Angela and Alvin  
E stands for Emperor
F stands for Fairy Tales
G stands for my Genarasi
H stands for Hubby
I stands for I
J stands for Jobs
K stands for Kitchen deco
L stands for Life is good
M stands for My Man and his 1st car
N stands for NTU


 S stands for what else is fun in Singapore


many people always complain that Singapore is such a boring place, nothing to do, nothing to see... that's y we are always only eating and eating, shopping and shopping, watching movies and movies .... 

 but actually if research on singapore is done like how i research on other countries while planning my route of travel, i bet i can still find interesting and cheap (better still, FREE) stuff to do in Singapore besides the everybody already know tourist attractions and eating places and shopping areas.... 

(1) Art @ Ritz Carlton 

- FREE ... =) 
- contains 4200 modern artwork display all around the hotel
- ask for an info booklet with a map from the concierge and can have the option to go on an ipod tour with a valid ic/passport and a $50 deposit. 



(2) Last Kampong in Buangkok, Singapore

- FREE ... =) 
- it's a REAL housing estate that belongs to a handful of families so do be very polite and respectful when visiting the area. A definite NO NO to taking photos of the villagers while they are going about their daily activities
- see here for a panoramic view of the kampong  


(3) water theme park style swimming complex 

- i know of two, there might be more, one at Lakeside and the other one at sengkang 
- usual swimming complex admission fee of approx $2 but with slides, lazy pool and water playground.... it's like a mini water theme park....for the price, confirm worth it... =) 
(4) Fort Canning Trail 

 - FREE ... =) 
- can download and print the DIY guide here and explore the history of this part of singapore... personally, i like the Singapore's Colonial History Walking Trail most....
(5) Visit places of worship to learn about the different religion
- FREE... =) 
- oldest hindu temple @ chinatown
- largest muslim mosque @ kampong glam 
- chinese temple @ Bugis
- christian church @ City Hall
- do read the info in the link as there are certain rules & regulation to follow oh

(6) Cheng Ho Cruise 
- can booked the 2.5 hour cruise here
- comes with breakfast ($29)/high tea ($34)/dinner ($57)
- i think it also includes a half an hour drop off at Kusu island 


(7) Turf Club for horse racing 

 - $5 using ezlink card & $6 for cash payment 
- to enjoy the adrenalin rush not from gambling but from watching the gamblers' expression when they win/lose..... wahahahhaha...
- got dress code de oh - no slippers, shorts/berm & singlet 
 (8) Central Fire Station 
- FREE ... =) 
- and it's open every Saturday, 9am - 11am, for the public as part of national education
- check it out in this post for the things you can do during the visit; from sitting on the rhino (the small red fire truck), activating the water hose to talking to yantao firemen.... wahahahaha
not bad siah..... manage to find 8 activities... should be enough to keep me entertained for the next few school holiday as part of my 蔡家 termly family outings .... =) 
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Had so much fun 'researching' for this post and decided to extend it to a Singapore's A to Z Blog Challenge from May 2013... =) 


X stands for ?????

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