ONLY BY GRACE

March 11, 2011. At 1.46pm (local time) nature took Japan by surprise with the double whammy of a 9.0 magnitude earthquake and a tsunami that swept the north-eastern coast of Japan in ways that were just unthinkable. The result : towns/cities virtually wiped out or underwater, thousands of lives either missing (forever) or dead and a possible nuclear crisis. Unprecedented disasters with damages that have not seen their equal since World War II. In just 2 minutes, the nation of Japan was brought to its knees and people are brought back to pre-war days where they have to ration food, water and even electricity. A 1st-world nation turned upside down overnight. I watched the footages capturing the destruction of the waves and my heart sank. Despite being earthquake prone, the Japanese probably never expected to be dealt such a huge blow. I cannot say I can emphatize with them and all I can do for them is to offer my prayers to the One who will make all things work according to His wil...

At long last....I got my hands on the book. Finally, supply meets demand. Don't ask me why I want to get it but I just want to. It is just one of those things where you will never get to have once you miss it. I have his first memoir and still unread. But I will eventually. For this new book, I intend to read it as my breakfast read. What a serious way to kick start a day. We'll see. Talking about hard truths, 1 hard truth is that I am not looking forward to the next 2 weeks. 2 consecutive camps do not sound like fun to me. I used to love camps but now it is just a different feeling altogether. I guess part and parcel of working life is to complain and then bite the bullet and move on. No point dwelling on how 'sacrificial' or hardworking we have to be even during a break. Sometimes a job is a job. Monday is going to come in a few hours and till then let me remain in my Sunday bliss.

CNY 2011 was a very quiet affair. Not much visitations to do. I reckon it will get lesser with each passing year. But it is always a good time to take stock of family relations and having tons of visitations need not necessary be an indicator of a close-knitted family. I still enjoyed my CNY and the break that comes with it of course! :) What was most memorable was this poster put up by my grandma in her house. I was just lying on the couch, deeply engrossed in my television program when she suddenly pointed to the poster and telling me who was who. There's my grandpa, herself, my aunt, brother, sister and me! I was really amused as she stood there and listed the people like a little kid! Apparently, it was a cut-out poster in the Newpaper edition during CNY and when she saw it, she immediately took it out and had it pasted on the wall, to the bewilderment of my aunt and grandpop. I asked her where were my parents in the poster but no reply from her. It just goes to show who are...

Hello! Meet the new gym bunny! Because of the hefty investment I made into boosting my already exceptional fitness, I find myself visiting the PURE Fitness Gym Centre more and more these days. I love the fitness classes that include bodycombat, body attack, trx blast, rpm etc. I tell you the intensity of these classes is no less than that of my usual regime of swimming + running! Let's see if the efforts are all worthwhile at next week's biathlon! And my visits to PURE have also boosted my Itunes song list! Hur Hur Hur....VALUE FOR MONEY! I have also found the perfect reason to buy myself a pair of shoes for gym purposes. I do need one by the way. My previous pair was worn out and the sole was rather frictionless and I found myself skidding inside the gym's studio! I scoured various sporting outlets for good buys, trying to take advantage of the pre-cny sales but nothing caught my eye until I decided to lower my expectations and give Hougang Mall's Sports-Link a cha...

OH wow....my earlier post got 'removed'!!! Apparently there were some "conflicting issues"! HUH....maybe the contents were too much for it to handle :) I was saying my new year entry is 2 weeks late and it is now 13th of January 2011! The 2nd week of school is almost over and I am looking at my first observation in 2 weeks time. An important one as I am due for confirmation. Dratz. The one thing I really hate about teaching is this observation thingy!!! When I had to arrange a time with my HOD earlier on, I felt this immense sian-ness. I know it is to ensure quality of teachers and to have some form of appraisal but I just hate it! Period. Sometimes I feel teachers go through this routine of having to 'put up a show'. As much as it sounds cynical, but i am beginning to think it is true. I find myself fast-forwarding to year 2013, when I'm no longer bonded and I imagine all the many other possibilities after teaching. While I am thankful I have a pretty hea...

It comes and it goes. When it is time to let it go, there is this unbearable feeling. There is so much to look forward to before it arrives but I can't say so when it has to go. What the heck am I talking about??? HOLIDAY!!!!! Suddenly, I thought of the Bata slogan - Back to School . I remember when I was schooling, I always made a trip to Bata when the holidays are about to end. It is like a pilgrimage. It is then that I stock up for myself new shoes, schoolbag and stationaries. I always looked forward to school so I can show off my new things. But now, I obviously don't think the same way anymore. It is this time of the year that I have to wrestle with the great inertia of returning to school (as a teacher now) and I cannot help but looked back to when it was pre-holiday season and try to experience the euphoria of it all. But as all teachers will be familiar by now, the week of Christmas (which is suppose to be a festive season and a time to be merry!) is often the wee...

My grandpop & I went on a secret escapade to the widely acclaimed Marina Bay Sands Casino 2 days ago. It is very much a secret because it is only known by my aunt and my grandpa is dead bent on not breathing a single word to the rest, especially my mom! Oh wellz, I just play along. He told my grandma that we were both going for a concert! A white lie for her Christmas gift :) Being a noob, my grandpop took on the roles of a chaperone and guide. After lunch, we toured the place and my learning journey begun. First up, we headed for the jackpot machines and we tried our hands @ those which require only 2cents bid. Yes...I never knew there were different kinds depending on the bid. In his words, it is truly brainless. Just keep tapping the "spin" button and pray hard that we will strike big money. But being a realist, I knew that would be a tall order! In 15 mins, the machine swallowed $40 and we did not win a single cent. Not surprising. Finally, we headed for my grandpop...