Friday, March 26, 2010
3rd day sitting the art room and like yesterday, it’s gonna be another 3-hour non-stop boredom sitting at the back of the class. Well, at least there’s the consolation that today is the last day of the work week and I have something to look forward to tonight – soccer at fico.
And there’s cage with NPD peeps next week!
So for now I’ll probably keep myself occupied as much as possible updating my com so that it can read Microsoft office 07 files
(a few students just ran past the outside and they managed to look in from the window and saw me wondering around people’s blogs HAHA. There goes my attempt to appear hardworking)
(ok and now there’re 2 students sitting right beside me so it’s going to be a lot harder to navigate around so I guess I’ll just have to stick to ms word for a while)
I was just watching a few kids chatting about how they know of this ‘underground relationship’ between which guy and which girl, and how they acted violently when some of their classmate tried to spill their secrets (in a friendly manner of course). It sort of (okay I’m going to sound old here but heck) brought me back to my secondary school days where everyone was still so innocent, naïve, and almost without a care in the world. It’s a pity that back then we were too young to realize that the ‘worries’ and ‘frustrations’ and whatever we’re faced with then can actually be laughed off easily. At least now when I look back, I see myself back then, that I was just like them, worried about the little things and going crazy over various small issues. Now, those are probably what we consider cheap thrills. I guess inflation comes with the passing of time as well.
(as I am typing the previous paragraph, a student just painted a picture of a turtle with his brush and pasted it on the back of his classmate sitting next to him.)
aaron | 1:32 PM
(this entry was supposed to be posted yesterday)
At the art room once again, sitting in for 3K’s Chinese calligraphy lesson (my junior junior junior junior junior class), lol. A few of the students were giving me that confused look which says “aren’t you a PE teacher?”
I guess I’m kind of used to it by now.
Anyway their lesson today is on scenery painting, which I find more captivating as compared to flowers and birds for the previous lesson. I’ve tried to draw a comparison to my scenery sketch I did a while back on paper (with a pencil of course) and I can really tell that calligraphy painting is on an entirely different level. Though the drawings are generally similar, the techniques involved in calligraphy are in an entirely different league.
I guess it’s probably because we’re all trained to use a pencil since we were young, not a brush.
It’s the fourth day of the week, and relief teaching in RV on Thursdays is always something to look forward to, simply because there’ll always be a game of soccer waiting for me in the afternoon. Honestly I have a slight fear of standing on the weighing scale now due to obvious reasons (if not obvious enough, it’s the sheer lack of exercise). Discipline isn’t exactly a friendly person because he always seems to avoid me. So if I don’t find him back soon I seriously would have to bid farewell to my $400 for IPPT gold.
And the clock is ticking….
So it is for Newcastle United. The recent off field controversy has been both a distraction to the team and a irritation for the fans, especially since they’re in the last lap of their race now. A soccer player, or rather, any sportsman will never qualify to be a role model if he or she doesn’t learn how to curb his or her behavior off the field. The recent string of incidents in the football world has been giving the sport a bad name for itself, and the governing body seriously needs to consider having a firmer grip to ensure that those who practice the game stick to its beauty, not tarnish it.
It is not always about the number of goals you score that determines your contribution for the team.
aaron | 11:32 AM
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
At the art room now connected to rvhs WLAN on my laptop. Don’t ask me why I’m not teaching because apparently, I too am surprised (pleasantly) when I was told that there was no need for me to do any teaching. the other aesthetics teacher (they don’t call it art here for some reason, I guess it was to make it sound profound) had swapped with me all her sec3 classes with my sec1s. the sec3s are doing Chinese calligraphy for their art lesson and an external vendor comes in to conduct the lessons. so my chore is basically just to make sure that the students are well behaved and all accounted for during lessons. In order words, I’m a relief babysitter. The other art teacher was like, ‘you can bring your laptop there, there’s wireless connection available. Otherwise you’ll be very bored.'
Also, I’m typing this blog entry on Microsoft Word and I’ll copy it over to blogger later. The reason is pretty obvious I guess, I won’t want my student to see that I’m actually slacking off while they had to bear with the Einstein lookalike calligraphy teacher. It’s the same logic as trying to ‘chao keng’ in the office actually. Seems like skills I’ve learned in NPD are pretty applicable after all.
But don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that Chinese calligraphy is boring or uninteresting in any way. In fact, I find his lessons pretty intriguing, and I’m very much impressed by the way the teacher is able to produce such a masterpiece in the few minutes he spent demonstrating to the class. I managed to take a few pointers away to apply for drawing while I was listening in to his lessons yesterday. But the reason I’m not paying attention now is because I’ve been listening to the same lessons a number of times already and will be sitting in for a few more lessons for the rest of the week.
But I’m glad to have taken up this 2 week art relief really. There isn’t any vacancy now at the PE or science departments so sitting around at home ain’t exactly the ideal thing to do especially since I’ve already rested for a week during the march school break. Rest is essential, but resting for too long will only cause my system to gradually shut down.
The same should be said about my physical training. Just checked my IPPT information and found out that the last day I can book my IPPT is on June 30th, the deadline in which I have to pass my IPPT is 20th March 2011. Though I’m not really worried about the passing deadline at the moment, I’m pretty worried about the booking deadline since it ain’t exactly so far away. The static stations should be pretty much of a breeze for me. The only hurdle standing in between me and that $400 is the 2.4km run. I’m very certain that I’m not able to hit the 9:45 timing now so consistent training is really quite essential.
The eventful month of March is pretty much coming to an end soon. There have been many highs, but also a couple of down times (as much as I would like to forget them, I couldn’t). I hope the few mishaps that occurred would only serve to make me a stronger person, make me realize (or should I say, re-realize) that at the end of the day, you have only yourself to rely on.
As the rain pelt down on the art room window panes, I can only hope that the lesson can end soon so I can return to the staffroom and Facebook as much as I like
aaron | 10:47 AM
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
just found out that the much dreaded QET will be on 15th July. somehow i've been living in constant fear of failure, and the thought of having to take an extra module during a already (or what has been described to me as) hectic academic year seems to put me off. and that is why i'm back to writing again (after so many agains). sometimes all you need is a little motivation, or in this case, threat, to pick up something. the hardest part though, is to keep it going. this has been prominent if i look back at how many times i've attempted to revive this one heck of a dead space but to little or no avail.
anyway a little on to my life these days. it's almost 2 months after ORD (only?) and i've been relief teaching in rv to kill time and earn some extra cash. it finally feels like i'm earning money now compared to my measely coporal pay (without combat allowance) back in the saf. somehow life has seem to be normal, without the thought of ORD-ing constantly threatening to make my head explode. on the flipside, life without a goal has always been meaningless to me. though i might say life in NPD has always been goaless as well, but it's at least i had the 'ultimate finishing line' to look forward to. now, i just can't wait for university life to begin.
which makes me glad to know that bit by bit, the registration process for AY2010/2011 has begun already, for RNSmen at least. just booked my medical appointment at the UHC along with thomas, tuck and justin. and not long ago we had a matriculation briefing for the electrical engineering people, and it was then that i was hit with a sudden realisation that singaporeans are a minority in my course. seriously. literally. really.
well i'll get used to it somehow. life is really about getting used to your environment and enjoying it anyway.
aaron | 11:23 AM