Tuesday, 18 Mar 08
Posted in Worky McWork at 11:31 am by jadeite
My mother asked why I didn’t want to teach in Cath.olic Hi.gh, which would be more convenient in terms of travel.
“No bloody way,” I responded with fervor. “I’m not teaching in a school so near my house that I can bump into four of my students just walking down the corridor of my apartment block. And I’m not teaching in an all-boys school.”
“Why not?”
I shuddered. I presumed this action to be sufficient for her comprehension.
Today, my class gleefully proved my point. Last term, I set them summary homework to do. Ridiculously short homework for one whole week - just one three-row chart and one 70-word summary. Piffling. They were supposed to hand it in on Tuesday, their first English class of the week, but since this term’s timetable was changed, I saw them yesterday and assured them that they could hand in their work today. I reminded them. Yesterday. Many times.
And today, out of a class of 40, 29 people handed in their summaries. One of the errants was a girl. The other 10 were boys.
Add to that the number of times I confiscate Rubik’s cubes from them, remind the same select few to RETURN TO YOUR SEAT, WHAT ARE YOU DOING OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM!??!???!??, WHERE IS YOUR HOMEWORK I TOLD YOU I WANTED IT TODAY, BY TODAY DID YOU THINK I MEANT YESTERDAY?, I SAID GO BACK TO YOUR SEAT, THERE WILL BE NO SNIDE REMARKS IN MY CLASSROOM, AND YES, I DO MEAN YOU, SET YOUR BUM DOWN ON YOUR SEAT AND IF YOU MOVE ONE MORE TIME IT WILL BE DETENTION FOR YOU MISTER I MEAN IT.
I absolutely refuse to teach in a boys’ school.
Well, R:I probably wouldn’t have as much problem, I suppose, though I’m not sure if it’s worth trading in for.
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Monday, 17 Mar 08
Posted in @#$@#RANTS at 6:43 pm by jadeite
After about 18 years of keeping my kids savings account with OCBC, in one afternoon they’ve completely destroyed any chance of keeping me as a client.
I’m going to close down that account and open a second account with POSB instead.
OCBC sucks monkey ass.
First the whole afternoon was spent verbally tussling with the girl at the counter who didn’t know what the hell she was doing, which didn’t help me because I didn’t know what the hell she was talking about and I didn’t know what I had been mysteriously signed up for. All I ever wanted was to put in money and take out money, and to be able to settle bills online. And pay the damn credit card bill that I had signed up for because it gave me 3% discount off my insurance payments.
And because of some colossal mess up, I now have two OCBC credit cards, one issued by freaking mistake, and EasiCredit.
And I asked to cancel every bloody thing but my savings account and the Titanium. I come home to Internet banking only to accidentally pay my stupid credit card bill with EasiCredit because my savings account is mysteriously not showing up on my Internet banking, when I expressly told her that I wanted that. And now I have a freaking extra bill from EasiCredit, and OCBC Internet banking that keeps hanging.
All this while my solid little POSB Internet banking is humming happily along, and which I have never ever had a single problem with, either at the bank or online. My UOB card is happily payable at all AXS stations, no fuss no problem, no strings attached.
While OCBC just racks up more cards and more interest and more money from me every month. And then when I call their helpline, I get some Indian dude with a really strong accent. And while it’s completely not his fault that I can’t understand him, the fact remains that I…could…not…understand…him. And it really sucks to have to go “…sorry?” everytime he asks me a question. I seriously had no idea what he was saying and when I eventually hung up, I still wasn’t sure if my problem was addressed.
And OCBC Internet banking is now…DOWN.
Screw you, OCBC. I’m going to take all my money out tomorrow. I don’t care, Vincent can explain to Great Eastern Life. I’ll pay my insurance through my UOB Lady’s card. I’ll gladly hold on to that card.
Bloody OCBC.
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Posted in @#$@#RANTS at 12:07 am by jadeite
Well, there you have it.
Teachers are just as grumpy about going back to school after holidays as the students are.
And we’re the ones who have to put a cheerful face on.
Grumps.
:(
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Saturday, 15 Mar 08
Posted in Musings at 1:55 am by jadeite
Congratulations to one of my favorite boys on the birth of his first child :) Bet the boy’s gonna look just as little-boy charming as his daddy!
Benitez will have Xabi Alonso back in his squad against Reading, the midfielder having missed the midweek win against Inter Milan to be at his girlfriend’s bedside when she gave birth to their first son.
Benitez dismissed suggestions of a problem over Alonso’s absence in Milan, saying: “I have told Xabi I have prepared a new contract for his baby son, because Xabi’s father was a good player too, so maybe Xabi’s son will be a good player too so it is important to sign players early!”
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Friday, 14 Mar 08
Posted in Musings at 12:31 pm by jadeite
I won two tickets to the Class95 Colbie Caillat showcase!!!
WOOOOO!!!
I love her voice :) and I love her songs :) yayyyyyyy! So happy! I actually won! :D The showcase is next Tuesday evening at St. James Powerhouse. So despite all my proclamations that I’ll never ever step into St. James, now I have no choice…
Anything for Colbie!
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Tuesday, 11 Mar 08
Posted in @#$@#RANTS at 3:51 pm by jadeite
The field beneath my window used to be a lush, verdant, vaguely muddy, sparse sort of grassy field where (topless) men often converged to play soccer with two creaky goals.
Sometimes children would attempt to fly their kites.
I once fell and skinned my knee running across this field.
I often looked out my window and watched people on this field. Occasionally the Bishan police department would come and play soccer. Sometimes it was a father indulging his two little boys with a plastic football. Some Sundays I would close my windows to shut out the sound of old ladies line-dancing. Sometimes it was a Hokkien auction at 10pm. Sometimes, the Great Singapore Workout.
But by and large it was a quiet, peaceful field, even if was neither very lush nor very verdant. It was a nice little buffer zone between my block and the one on the other side of the field. It allowed me full view of Bishan Park.
Now every morning I am awakened promptly at 8am by the sounds of piledrivers and tractors and bulldozers and diggers. Ordinarily this doesn’t worry me, but I am on my one-week March holidays. I crave the ability to sleep till noon. I AM NOT ABLE TO SLEEP TILL NOON.
And the construction raises loads of dust - though at the moment, in the wet season, the rain manages to tamp down most of it. But every morning I am rudely awakened (and even on Saturdays) by loud, raucous clanking sounds that won’t stop. For the love of God, THEY WILL NOT STOP. Not even when it rains.
I have had to harness my urge to stash eggs in a bowl of brine for a week and then hurl them from my 10-story window. I pray that I’ll be out of this house by the time condo-dwellers will be able to look out of their kitchen window into my bedroom. I bloody hate that. I liked my field.
Ugh.
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Monday, 10 Mar 08
Posted in @#$@#RANTS at 9:57 pm by jadeite
Am helping puppy out with proofreading and copy-writing at the moment. It causes a physical pain in my heart to read some of the stuff I have to correct and edit.
If I had a dollar for every time I snorted in disgust or flinched during my reading, I would already have enough money to buy a bungalow in Nassim Park.
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Posted in Musings at 8:20 pm by jadeite
84 words
Speedtest
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Posted in Recipes at 8:08 pm by jadeite
For the next party. I promise!
Serves 4 to 6.
4 tablespoons (60g) butter, salted or unsalted
1 cup (200g) packed dark brown or cassonade sugar
3/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2½ (625ml) cups whole milk
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons whiskey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1. Melt the butter in a medium-sized saucepan. Add the dark brown sugar and salt, then stir until the sugar is well-moistened. Remove from heat.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch with about 1/4 cup (60ml) of the milk until smooth (there should be no visible pills of cornstarch), then whisk in the eggs.
3. Gradually pour the remaining milk into the melted brown sugar, whisking constantly, then whisk in the cornstarch mixture as well.
4. Return the pan to the heat and bring the mixture to a boil, whisking frequently. Once it begins to bubble, reduce the heat to a low simmer and continue to cook for one minute, whisking non-stop, until the pudding thickens to the consistency of hot fudge sauce.
5. Remove from heat and stir in the whiskey and vanilla. If slightly-curdled looking, blend as indicated above.
6. Pour into 4-6 serving glasses or custard cups and chill thoroughly, at least four hours, before serving.
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Posted in Links, Picture-Perfect at 1:26 am by jadeite
To illustrate my poem:
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JADEITE