My 'Working Partners'

Some pictures of the smarties in school:

Unknown, Julian, Lucas, Yang Ying

Primary 2 Guitarists

One of the boy was an extra because he was left out when I wanted to take pictures with my class children so I rope him in. Lolx. He was under my charge for that particular day as an usher in school. I forgotten his name though haha...

Anyway, Lucas and Yang Ying are the smarties. They play the guitar very well. Do they look like some waiters here with the bows? ahha

I used to dislike Lucas. He was very ride and unhygienic when I first went to class in March. I threaten to bring him to the principal and he begged me not to do it. Then in May, I guessed he sorta got used to me and enjoyed my class or he had grown a little mature over the months, he became one of the goody boys in class. Scored well for my Maths tests! =D Lucas's dad is a soccer coach and during the meet the parent session, his parents were one of those grateful people who couldn't stop thanking the teachers for teaching his son skills and knowledge. Not all parents are so thankful really.

Yang Ying is a child that every parent would love. Mature for his age. When everyone is misbehaving, he can sit there as saint as he can be. Haha. I do not know if it's because he's the son of one of the high profile teachers in school thus the behavior. However, I did not know until recently because it seemed that his father does not really interact much with him in school. Besides, Yang Ying is a slightly above average kid and not super high flyers. Sometimes it's very irony. His dad is a Maths Whiz, teaching another class of students to excel but yet, allow Yang Ying to fend on his own. Thank God, this child is very disciplined. He even told me he has a tuition techer at home when both his parents are teachers. In time, I began to realised that his father is allowing him to be independent and does not want to restrict him too much to enjoy his school and childhood. I used to tell Ben, I'm a teacher teaching others but what if our children are neglected and fail just because I'm too busy to teach other students... It's hard to manage isnt' it? Anyway, he's the kid with a handphone in school. Oh by the way, bringing HP is allowed now. I remembered the days when teachers confiscate our pagers. How time change... ...

Julian can be very irritating. I always tell him not to ask me rubbish and irritating questions. He's too smart to be in Primary 2 thus distrupting my lesson alot since he knew it all. The mum told me he's already learning algebra ok! 8 years old! He should be in some gifted class, not in thsi school. He gets full marks in all subjects and was first in school last year too. Why is it that some kids grasp the concept so easily whereas it's so difficult to teach some of his classmates the concept of 9+2?

Some irritating questions are like:

Me: Please do your homework over the weekend class.

Julian: Can I do it on Friday?

Me: Yes

Julian: Can I do it on Saturday?

Me: YESH!

Julian: How about Sunday?

Me: Can you stop talking rubbish to me!

When teaching in class:

Me: Let me go through some corrections, it seemed to be quite difficult for some of you.

(Julian obviously got all right)

Julian: Ya, so difficult. I want to fail already.

(Me ignored)

Julian: Miss Ho, it's very hard. I dunno how to do too.

Me: Julian, shut up! Can you be more humble?

Anyway, almost daily, I will ask him to shut up, to stop telling me nonsense and rubbish and dun ask me stupid questions. I think he enjoyed me telling him that. -_-""""

His mum is a Chinese, dad a Filipino. Both are some art directors in some creative agencies. His Pretty young. His mum can be as irritating too because she is very Kiasu. Every now and then, she will ask me how he's doing. I thought she was trying to ask me about his results because obviously, she should know her child is smart. But I began to realised that she meant his character building and I have to tell her Julian is a little noisy and disruptive at times because things are too easy for him. She told me he is as irritating at home too. Lolx.

Oh, I have this kiddo by the name of Marcus in primary 1. He's very handsome and cute. Also very sensible for his age. Everytime he would help me to teach his classmates things that they do not know because he has done his work faster than the others. Yesterday when he knew that he was not in my usher team, he cried and kept looking at me because he wanted to follow me. I went to give him a hug. Hehe. Will get his picture one day to show! =D

Even Smart Adults Make Mistakes

Realised that we are not as smart as we think at times. Even some simple things would make us doubt ourselves at times. For example, I actually forgot how to spell 'owe'. Lolx. Yes, it is that bad! Anyway, had this silly debate with a few of my friends and it's really funny. We ended up laughing at our silliness.

Do you think adults are that good in Maths? Especially if money is involved? Think again! :p

Previously, I met up with my ex colleagues to have a chit chat. We enjoyed ourselves and decided to take a cab home after that since we are living nearby. So me, tricia and Joseph boarded the taxi. Tricia would be alighting first, followed by me and Joseph. Anyway, Joseph told us that he did not have cash so we would need to fork out first. We were perfectly fine with it. Tricia alighted and gave Joseph $12 for her own fare but it would not be enough to last till Joseph's place. I had only a $50 note so I gave Joseph my $50 and asked him to give me the $12 that Tricia paid for earlier. The cab fare was $21. The question is how much should Joseph pay me back? Easy? lolx.. Apparently, only 2 person whom I tested (I asked 8 ok, almost 80% were graduates) got it right. Lolx.

Did you get $43, $57, $36 or $35? Dun look at the conversation first. Try working out and tell me your first answer immediately!

The What's App conversation goes like this:

Jo: Yesterday cab fare was $21. I will return u $43
Me: Wrong, your maths fail sia. Return me $36 nia. I also need to pay what.
Jo: But Tricia needs to pay also what and you took Tricia's money. Hiya, I should be correct la. Coz the $50 is from you mah.
Me: Ya la. So I must return the remaining to Tricia la.
Me (trying to rethink but he interupts with alot msg): Ehhh.... wait! You confused me now.
Jo: I only took $50 from you man. She gave me $12 and I return you already mah. Hahaha.
Me: Ook. so i should return her $5 lo. Then I should pay for myself ma.
Jo: Exactly.
Me: Then you should pay $7 too but you do not have money ma.
Jo: Oh ya hor, then I should return you $57 la since $50 is from you.
Me quickly went to ask friends.
Jo: Correct la. You teacher leh. You fail your maths huh?
Me: I still think is $36 leh. I find myself so stupid debating this with you leh. You see ah, you only got back $29 from the driver ma. So you returning me the $29 plus $7 your own fees what! Idiot! Dun come and stir again!
Jo: Ok, you sound correct also. hahahhahahhaha
Me: I suppose to pay for myself and Tricia and I got to return Tricia the extra $5 that she paid.
Jo: Yeah u r correct. hhaaa. You ku ku la. Gao liao hor!
Me: -_-"""""

This is a PSLE worthy question! Lolx. Did you get it right the first time?

Do you think we are good in English too? Think again! I dunno what our children is gonna become if we are not sure every now and then. ahha..

Was marking some composition and got stuck so I went to consult some people.

The sentence was 'We are going to Tom's and Mary's houses' or 'We are going to Tom and Mary's houses'? Do we need one or two ' ?

Ros: Mmm, if Tom and Mary are living in two different houses, then it has two. If it's the same house, then it should be only one.
Me: Ooo, ok. It sounds quite logical to me.

Anyway, we were wrong haha... It's only 1. It will always be nearer to the noun!

The next one was 'She was friendly and has lots of friends' or 'she was friendly and had lots of friends' ? Is is 'had' or 'has'? If I put had, means now she has no friends?

Ros: Should be has. If not now no friends?
Me: But I tot in the same sentence, it should be the same tenses.

Ben: Mmm, is the person dead? If yes, then use 'she was friendly and had lots of friends'. If not, use 'she is friendly and has lots of friends'
Me: -_-""" what dead? no one is dead la!
Ben: I am just trying to tell you that use the same tenses.
Me: ok ok. No one died k. No one ... lolx..

Anyway, we should always use the same tense in a story. So even if I put "She was friendly and had alot of friends", it is correct. It definitely does not mean she is dead!

Had a good laugh at our silliness! haha..

Wishlist 101

Seriously, I do not have a long list actually and it looks simple but I realised it's hard to attain.

1) Healthy body - stupid tummy been going on and off. Although it is so much better than before but at times, it still hit me. What I'm bitter about is no more chilli for me. Living in Singapore, what does no chilli means? =( sad. Also, the slightest heaty food gives me sore throat so often that one of my friends even suggested that I go remove the tonsil so that I will never get sore throat again. What an idea but nah, I prefer things to be natural. Now that I have to shout and talk louder in school also means the frequency is higher and I swollow vitamins daily now.

2) Slim slim slim - ok. this is my own doing. lolx... eating too much yet refuse to exercise. If the fairy would just grant me another 5kg lighter pleaseeeeee? Ok. How about signing up slimming packages? Money again!!

3) Holiday - Why is people around me been traveling like almost once every two months when they are on tight budget and yet I can't even go to nearby island like Phuket? Even the stupid cruise ship is expensive! I think I must learn to love myself more. But again, if I spend it on trips, what about rainy days ah? How did you guys do it? Arrgghhh... I want to get out of Singapore twice a year ! I wanna sponsor my parents for a holiday too but they rejected the idea.

4) Housing - Stupid HDB makes getting a house difficult these days. Ok, this one, nothing I can do about it really. Not within my control. Just applied for the Rivervale Arc. Wish us luck AGAIN!

5) Wallet - mum went to wash my blue label wallet and then it got stained! This was teh first present I gave myself after working so hard. Kinda sad but looks like I got to get another one...

6) Watch - ok. I have many watches at home but none of them is working! even my wall clock is not working at all! Crap lolx. But this will be settled soon. I will be getting one soon =)

7) Dog - Ok, I really hope to have a second dog. At least Furby will not be lonely when I'm at work. But I always contradict myself. I always tell myself Furby woudl be the first and last dog because I cannot imagine how I need to train the new dog again. Imagine the poo and pee cleaning. But everytime I walk into a pet shop, I just feel like bringing one home immediately. Actually, I dun mind adopting those stray dogs at SPCA and give them a chance to live again but HDB do not allow them. Dunno what sort of rules or reasons la. Small or big dogs, they still bark, walk and run what. Duh~

8) Earrings - I just got diamond earrings from my good buddies on my birthday. That was one of my wish list but I am also looking for pearl earrings. Hee. Looks classy and elegant! :p Anyone knows where to buy? Another hole in my pocket!

9) Attending baking class - Not easy to find good ones. I wanna pick up this skill so that I can have a mini shop in future. I really do not mind paying abit more to get real good chefs to teach. Afterall, this is a worthwhile investment. Not that I have time to do so now too.

Oooo, unknowingly I've got 9 already lolx. Ok. I have more to add but shall stop here first. Need to settle these before moving on to the part 2. Haha!