Teachers' Day Celebration

Schools all over Singapore celebrated Teachers' Day 2012 today. The actual day falls on the 1 st Friday of September which happens to be during the one week September break for this year. Thus, the earlier celebration in schools this year. The girls came home from school telling me that their teachers were very happy to receive their presents and the girls are really happy that their teachers liked their presents. :)  

Last-minute Preparation

For the past 3 years, I faced the same thing. Sigh. The girls decided long ago what they were going to give their teachers which was great. But the making/ preparing the cards were always last minute! The conversation always goes like this:

3 days before

Me: (To the girls) Have you prepared the teachers' day cards?

Girls: There's still time. 

Me: Are you sure?

1 day before

Me: (To the girls) Where are the teachers' day cards? It's tomorrow.
Girls: What?! Oh yar. Ah, no more time. PLEASE help.
Me: I already told you girls. NOT my problem.

But I always ended up helping them. Next year, you girls are REALLY on your own.

Touched

It was CA week (continuous assessments for P3-5 and prelims for P6) in school last week so I did not see my counsellees. When I was in school today, those counsellees who weren't on my schedule today still turned up at my room to inform me of their results. I was really touched that they wanted to share with me their happiness (those who improved) and their sadness (those who didn't do as well). I encouraged all to continue to work hard for their coming Semestral Assessment 2/ PSLE.

My dear counsellees, have a good break next week: get refreshed and recharged for Term 4. Don't forget to revise your work too. :)

Watching Soon

ParaNorman

My girls and I saw the trailer for ParaNorman when we went to watch Brave. It was really funny and we are definitely going to watch it. :) The coming 1 week break would be the best opportunity for that. :)

Resident Evil: Retribution

I saw the trailer for RE: Retribution and I am definitely going to watch it! I enjoyed watching the first four installments. I will love this latest installment without a doubt lol. :P

Green Light

My staff development leave has been approved! I can go ahead to register for the conference held in Sydney at the end of the year, book my accommodation and my air ticket. I have also made arrangement to meet up with my best friend, Min in Sydney. :) Although I was just in Sydney last June with my girls, I am looking forward to going back to Sydney and Australia in general. :)

Rellies in the House

Two of my paternal aunts ( besides 3 brothers, my father has 5 sisters!) came from Malaysia to visit and to stay with us for a while. It has been a while since I last saw my aunts and it was nice catching up with them. Now my place is a little crowded and noisy but in a good way. :)

Lunch @ Dean & Deluca Singapore, OC

I was invited to attend Speech Day at one school as well as the lunch reception. However, when I saw the huge crowd of VIPs, guests, parents and teachers moving towards the reception area, I decided that I would not fight with the crowd. I set off instead with a friend I met at the school (a really pleasant surprise!) to get our own lunch at Dean and Deluca, the latest hip and trendy eatery in town. :)

It was crowded when we got there close to 1pm. We were very lucky to get a table within 5 minutes of arrival. We ordered a Sauteed Brioche French Toast with Salted Caramelised Bananas & Fresh Berries and an American Country Breakfast to share. The sweet came before the savoury but we weren't going to complain lol.   

Sauteed Brioche French Toast with Salted Caramelised Bananas & Fresh Berries

American Country Breakfast

The salted caramelised bananas were to die for! The bananas were soft but not mushy and the sweetness of the bananas blended very well with the salted caramel sauce!! I could just eat them alone. Of course, they went great with the vanilla ice cream and the crusty toasted brioche french toast. :) If my friend didn't stop me, I would be licking up the caramel sauce from the plate! It was that good! By having this dish, I have blown my blood sugar level sky high, never mind that I shared it with my friend lol.

The savoury dish was just as good. The pork sausage was juicy with a good texture, flavoursome and not too greasy. The scrambled eggs were of the right creamy consistency, the  grilled tomato was juicy, the bacon was crispy and greasy (the best way to have bacon lol), the mashed potato had texture and flavour. I just loved everything on that plate too.

I had the iced organic ginger peach tea to wash down my lunch. I thought the taste of ginger was overpowering and I couldn't taste the peach in the tea. :( Guess I will try something else next time. Oh YES, I will definitely be back again. 

See you soon, Dean & Deluca. :)

Proud!

Marieann told me that she received the highest mark in class for her Chinese composition. Of course, with a mother like me who has gotten nothing less than an A2 for Chinese throughout her school life, my daughter wouldn't fare too badly lol. :P 

But jokes aside, I know Chinese has not been Marieann's strongest subject and that she has been trying really hard. I am really proud of the effort and time she has put into learning Chinese. She is finally seeing the fruits of her efforts. Well-done, Marieann. Always remember: You can do it as long as you put your mind to it. 

H2O: Just Add Water

Marieann and Juliane are currently watching H2O: Just Add Water, an 2006-2010 Australian television programme for children, pre-teens and teenagers on tv (can't remember which channel it is showing on). The story revolves round three teenage girls who accidentally gained mermaids' powers and their new lives. I happened to catch it one evening and I didn't mind watching it! Lol. The theme song "No Ordinary Girl" is quite catchy as well. :) There were only three seasons of H2O: Just Add Water but the production of a spin-off has started in 2012. It is now showing Season 2. I recognised the landmarks in the show because it was filmed in Gold Coast, Queensland as well as two familiar faces from the show - Claire Holt (Rebekah in The Vampire Diaries) and Craig Horner (Richard Cypher in Legend of the Seeker). Goodness, they look so young then lol. 

H2O Season 1 trailer featuring the theme song "No Ordinary Girl"(uploaded by h2ofansorg)

H2O Season 2 trailer (uploaded by h2ofansorg)

H2O Season 3 trailer (uploaded by h2ofansorg)

No Work, Just Read (and Sleep)

There is no counselling today as it is CA week in school. It is really nice to do nothing work-related for once. I could catch up on  my reading and my sleep! :)

Brave OST

I love the songs and music in the movie, Brave. Beautiful music and beautiful songs. Here are most of them. 

 Touch the Sky (uploaded by QuentrixMovies)

 Into the Open Air (uploaded by sford605)


Learn Me Right (uploaded by sford605)


 Fate and Destiny (uploaded by disneysoundtrack89)

The Games (uploaded by disneysoundtrack89)


Merida Rides Away (uploaded by sford605)


Song of Mor'du (uploaded by sford605)


Through the Castle (uploaded by sford605)


Mum Goes Wild (uploaded by sford605) 

 In Her Heart (uploaded by sford605)


Noble Maiden Fair (A Mhaighdean Bhan Uasal)(uploaded by GregBoydProductions)

Get the Key (uploaded by disneysoundtrack89)

We've Both Changed (uploaded by disneysoundtrack89)

Merida's Home (uploaded by disneysoundtrack89)

Brave Mother-Daughter Bonding

Having promised the girls that we will watch Brave, we went today, a public holiday due to Hari Raya falling on a Sunday. We went to the 12.40pm Brave movie at Lido. We had a great time bonding over the movie with a tub of popcorn and teh tarik lol. 

Brave is a movie about a young lady, Merida wanting the freedom to make her own choices. Brave is also about mother-daughter relationship and has some touching moments (I teared!). And of course, it has funny moments too. For me, I felt that Brave illustrates perfectly the importance of listening and communication as well as the importance of looking at things from another perspective. :) I love the fact that the movie is focussed on Merida as an individual who wanted the freedom to make choices and how she copes with the choices she has made. I also love the Scottish accent lol. For Marieann, she seemed to have understood the deeper meaning the movie was conveying. For Juliane, she loved the funny moments, especially those of the triplets. We all enjoyed the movie very much. :) 

To Marieann and Juliane, I will always be here for you. 

Brave "Families Legend" trailer (uploaded by DisneyPixar)

 Brave trailer (uploaded by DisneyPixar)


 Brave trailer (uploaded by DisneyPixar)


Brave "The Suitors" clip (uploaded by DisneyPixar)

Happy Hari Raya 2012

To all my Muslim friends and colleagues:

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri!

How Many Did You See?!

My mother told me this morning about a conversation she had with my father last night. 

There were some kids who were still playing and laughing loudly late at 11+pm. My mother looked out their bedroom window and told my father that the kids were playing at the playground. My father looked too and turned to tell my mother that there were 8 kids. My mother said she only saw 4 kids. She quickly checked and confirmed there were only 4 kids, not 8 kids as my father said! At that point, my father decided to keep quiet and go to sleep quickly.

Yesterday was the first day of the lunar 7th month, or the Hungry Ghost month. 
Was it a matter of poor eyesight or a sighting something not of this dimension?? You pick lol. :P

Post-Convo Photos

I took more photos post-convocation lol. This time round with my fellow colleagues/ friends and my supervisor who was in town this week for consultation! :) Oh and with Juliane too as she had followed me to work yesterday. :) 

Learning from Home

It's PSLE Orals on 16 and 17 August. As a result, the girls' school have arranged for e-learning at home for the P1 to P5 on these two days. Both Marieann and Juliane have been assigned e-tasks. Juliane decided to follow me to work while Marieann decided to stay home. Both managed to do some e-tasks for their first day of e-learning. :)

Call Me Maybe parody

This video is extremely FUNNY. I just laughed my throat sore again watching it. It is a parody of Carly Rae Jepsen's Call Me Maybe. The people's reactions are really funny when they saw what they saw on their screen. Just a warning, the video can be a little crass so if you are sensitive, don't watch it. For the rest, hope this video will make your day as it did mine. :) 

Call Me Maybe - Carly Rae Jepsen (Chatroulette Version) (uploaded by SteveKardynal)

The Unexpected

I forgot my own rule "Always expect the unexpected". I thought my work was done but at the last minute, there was some additional work to be done within a REALLY SHORT time. If I had remembered my rule, I would not have panicked as much. Must always keep it in mind from now on. 

PS. A HUGE thanks to a good friend who helped me out so that the work could be completed on time. 

London 2012 Olympics III

The London 2012 Olympics has officially closed. I wanted to watch the Closing Ceremony at 3.30am in the morning but just couldn't wake up in time lol. :P Here are just some of the highlights (my personal favourites) of the closing ceremony (from Youtube lol).  :)

Closing Ceremony - Monty Python Eric Idle (uploaded by olympic)

Closing Ceremony - Take That (uploaded by olympic)

Closing Ceremony - Spice Girls (uploaded by olympic)

 Closing Ceremony - Queen featuring Jessie J (uploaded by olympic)
 

Closing Ceremony - Expression of Unity (uploaded by olympic)

Cool Escape

I thought it is such a cool escape by a cool cat lol. Almost can hear the cat meowing, "No sweat, it is all in a day's work". Loved the dog's bewildered look when the cat jumped onto the surfboard and "surfed" away lol. 

 (uploaded by CatTrainerToo)

Sore

Woke up with a bad sore throat. With our project consultant coming in next week from the US, I really don't want to fall ill. Went to see a doctor in the morning. Verdict: throat infection. :(

Extra LONG Weekend

I am really envious of my girls. They are having an extra long weekend. Started on Wednesday with half day school, National Day public holiday on Thursday, today is a school holiday, and plus the weekend  - they have close to 5 days of break! Wish that I was a student or a teacher again... almost lol.

Happy National Day 2012

Happy 47th National Day, Singapore! 

Specialness

I have just been notified that my abstract has been accepted for a conference in Australia at the end of the year. :) It has been a while since I attended a conference with the last one being in December 2010, in Australia too lol. This conference is going to be special for me because for the first time, I will be attending it as a PhD holder. I can't think of a better place to attend my first conference as a PhD holder because Australia has always been and will always be a special place for me! :)

Good Time by Owl City & Carly Rae Jepsen

A new catchy song on the radio, Good Time by Owl City with Carly Rae Jepsen. :) 

 (uploaded by OwlCityVEVO)

Multiple Regression (Argh!)

I have been working hard on a multiple regression report. It is the first time that I am writing such a report (stats is not really my favourite subject in the world but I am stuck with it). I have written close to 50 pages. Probably another 5-10 pages to go before I can pass the first draft over to my PI. 

Oh Goddess, give me the strength...

London 2012 Olympics II

I just realised that it has been a week since the Olympic games started and I have yet to watch any of the sporting events! I remembered watching events like rhythmic gymnastics, swimming, running and diving during my younger days. Either I am losing interest or I am becoming lazy (to check the schedules) or both lol. I shall try to catch an event or two to watch! :)

Powerless by Linkin Park

I didn't realise that the music trailer for 'Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter' featured Linkin Park's new song "Powerless" and clips from the film. 'Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter'! What a bonus for me. I enjoyed the movie and I like Linkin Park's music. :)

 (uploaded by linkinparktv)

Movie Remakes

There are plenty of remakes of movies recently.

The Nolan's Batman film trilogy is a separate entity from the first 3 Batman movies. I preferred the Nolan's Batman films because there is a lot more depth to the character developments and there are also darker issues being dealt with. 

The Amazing Spider-Man is another remake. Again I preferred and love this new Spider-Man movie because there is more focus on and development of the main character rather than on the villain and there are darker issues that the new Peter had to deal with.  

Total Recall, starring Colin Farrell, Kate Beckinsale, Jessica Biel, is another remake. I thought this one is way, WAY better than the original Total Recall, featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rachel Ticotin, Sharon Stone. The plot and ideas in the new Total Recall seemed a lot more plausible and the fight scenes are fantastic! :)

The new Judge Dredd movie, known only as Dredd is coming soon... 

Wonder what other remakes are coming our way?

The Day After

Back in the office today, I had friends and colleagues calling me Dr Wong. Haha. It sounds so strange. I will need to get used to being called Dr Wong lol.

Convocation 2012

My convocation ceremony was today! However, I woke up feeling quite indifferent and went about my usual routine. I had counselling in the morning and returned home around 2pm. I tried to rest but I guess I started to feel excited by then lol. By 4pm, my parents and I took a cab down to NTU Auditorium where my convocation ceremony was being held. Unfortunately I was only given two tickets so my girls couldn't attend.

Oh my goodness, I have never seen so many people! I was really overwhelmed by the sheer number of people and the sheer weight of my PhD gown, bonnet and hood lol. I felt really proud that I was graduating in my PhD gown. :) I also felt like a character in Harry Potter haha. :P Had quite a few stares from people lol. Oh they might have been staring because the gown was too big on me and not because I am wearing a PhD gown. :P I met my friends and mentors and we took a few photos before we had to adjourn and be seated at the auditorium by 5.30pm.

The ceremony started at 6pm, with the Director NIE giving the opening speech, followed by the Guest-of-Honour, Professor Lin Goodwin giving her speech. Her speech was really inspiring and I was touched. Then it was our moment, the graduands going up on stage to receive our degrees. It started with the Doctor of Philosophy graduands, about 20 of us. I felt extremely proud when my name was called. It finally sank in that I am now and forever, Dr Wong Hwei Ming. :) After the PhD graduands, it was the turn of 590 Masters graduands. The whole ceremony lasted for an hour and a half. It was physically grueling for us, or rather for me because the gown was really heavy and I was clapping after every name was called. At the end of the ceremony, my shoulders were cramping up and really sore. :(

After the ceremony, I managed to take more photos with my family and friends. :) There was also a reception and the food was pretty nice lol. My parents were dropped off at home before I joined a few friends for a celebratory dinner. :) 

My proud parents and I

My favourite PI who walked all the way from NIE campus to the auditorium to give me support! Really Grateful! :)

Asst Prof Sim. Thank you for your support.

Inside the auditorium before the ceremony started

Assoc Prof Low. Thank you for your support!

Assoc Prof Wong, my PGDE lecturer since 1996! Thank you for your support and guidance over the many, many years. :)

My PhD buddy, Dennis. Hurry, your turn next year!

I have finally graduated! Thank you to everyone who were at the ceremony and also to those who were watching the live streaming of the ceremony!! Thank you for your support and for sharing in my happiness!