moments

visiting Hoppy and baby aashna. she has pretty long eye lashes and falls asleep in the most adorable way in her daddy's arms. here is Michelle carrying the baby. looking forward to her wedding in 2 weeks!

celebrating the birthday of the boy and Aunty Kim, our bible study group's resident chef. she whips up the most delicious food every dg - honey mustard chicken... homemade otah... popiah... thai curry... penang goodies....the list goes on. we are very pampered indeed. we had dinner at BTC guild house. the boy discovered the place while teaching there. the food is absoooolutely amaaaaaazing. former les amis chef. set dinner (5 courses for about 40dollars is a steal) presentation is lovely. the food - yummilicous.

Mr Chng's birthday! and the long awaited class photo.

I will miss you all.

a tale of apples and gender...

the afternoons and evenings of revision have come and gone ...

the blood. the sweat. the tears. yes. it was a battlefield.

nagged. shouted. reminded. nagged.

'did i not go through this before?'

frustrated. overwhelmed. weary.

marked. pushed. nagged. again and again.

'cher, you must give us motivational cards ah...'

and so, channelling my inner martha stewart...

with Panetta and Zvonareva slugging it out on the court.

i cut. i wrapped. i tied. 40 apples & cards. 2.5 hours.

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

finally. as of one hour and ten minutes ago,

the fours have completed their papers.

if there's one thing i learned in this entire process...

when receiving a prettily wrapped apple,

the boy tears away the wrapper, crushes it and munch on the apple.

the girl puts the apple in her bag, careful not to ruin the wrapping and bring it home.

a lesson in the rain

we set off at 9am on the second day. ready to conquer the mountain. Gunang Pati. They call it. 534 metres tall. a four and a half hour trek up, including a trecherous rock wall. the kids were divided into two groups- major A and major B with about 150 students in each group. my class made up the last group of major B. the kids made the trip of up a thoroughly enjoyable one with jokes, songs and stories. being the last group of the entire column meant we could take our own time, soaking in the surroundings and admiring every spider web and unique flower we came across and analysing creepy crawlies along the way. three hours later, we reached the rock wall - the summit just above. the climb up will take each major an hour and a half. With major A ascending the wall, major B started on their outdoor cooking of maggi mee, sausages and baked beans. my eyes popped at the weird concoctions my kids came up with. after a satisfying meal, major A had successfully reached the summit. it was time for Major B to ascend. At that moment, the first droplets of what was to become of a heavy downpour fell. our hearts sank. No it couldn't be. Confirmation came. We had to return. Dark clouds were descending, we had no choice but to turn back. I was disappointed... for the kids but i think even more so for me. With the summit in sight, the phrase "so near and yet so far" had never felt so tangible. i was really sad. But the kids really surprised me. when the instructor asked them how the felt, one went," we're ok but i think miss lim's really sad we couldn't make it to the top." For the journey down, the kids were so thoughtful and positive, making sure i was ok and helping one another to manoeuver down the steep, slippery mud which by that time were filled with leeches. I was so proud of them and so grateful to Mr Chng for catching me when i almost slipped and finding me a hardy stick to stabilise myself. They truly lifted my spirits and when we reached our base camp 5 hours later at 7 pm, i was so proud to declare that we had completed a 8 hour trek and covered a distance of 30 km. They've taught me it's really the journey that matters and i'm glad we had a good one. Most importantly, i'm thankful that we all made it back safe and sound.

off the beaten track

adieu. the ones close to my heart. the first form class. every beginning teacher's blessing and dream. thanks for making my first six months a meaningful and encouraging one. the saddest goodbye to Mr Chua. there's less laughter in the staffroom when you're not around.

the ones who make me laugh all the time even when i try to be angry.

thank you for the memories.

and for reminding me that i am indeed... retro.

i'm glad you peeps are still around for another year.