Well that's another Christmas over*

I did it. I had a Christmas away from home. I am now an adult. Of course it was helped by being with Megann and her parents making a big huge special effort to make it like Christmas at home. There was ham as well as turkey, my mum emailed the pavlova recipe and they made it even though they had no clue what they were aiming for and my parents sent a tin of Roses over (which cost four times as much to send as to buy...oops). I even got to watch the Queen on You Tube (I am such a geek, this was after a blow by blow account from my dad!)

I got lots of nice presents too. Santa surely is a smart man knowing where I was. Another big excitement though is the skis that I bought in preparation for Colorado next week. Woo hoo.

See how excited I am?! And yes, I do know you need the other ski on for them to be truely effective. You also need to be on snow, not carpet.

Ahh, up close. They are the prettiest skis that ever lived. And I am seriously considering a move to the Alps in order to make full use of them. The boots also cleverly match. When we went to get them, the guy, Jeff, that served us in the shop at first didn't understand the importance of them matching, bringing out an orange lined pair, claiming 'well no one will see that.' I will know Jeff, I will know.

Anyway I still need to put on photos from before but my computer is still being stupid and forgetting wireless, plus we're busy doing other things. Just like you probably.

Oh and Happy Birthday Megann! And congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Bell. Finally!

*My Grandpa said this every Christmas Day. It got earlier and earlier every year. But never before HMQ.

Yay, flipping yay!

1. I made it to Detroit! Many laughs have already occurred. No doubt many more to come, I'm here long enough to unpack and everything!

2. My computer has now remembered it has wireless capabilities. There is still no rhyme or reason to why it should stop or start but for the time being it's working again so hurrah. Photos and stories soon, but it's late here so I'll just put this one on for now.


Waikiki in Hawaii and the last outing for my shorts and tank tops for a while. Hawaii is the new answer to the question, 'if you could live anywhere...'. A-maz-ing.

Seeing as I didn't get the chance to update my blog with the weather I've added it up the side for places I've been the past two weeks so as they get their moment in the sun, as it were. Only now can I say 'it's beginning to look at lot like Christmas'.

Grr, bloody grr

I'm not in Sydney anymore. And in between then and now I've been in Hawaii. Aloha. Well actually goodbyah because now I am in San Francisco, where it is freezing (except that it's not, it's like 10 degrees celsius or something, bodes well for later in the trip eh?!).

I'd tell you all the cool things I've seen and done and maybe even put a photo or two on but my stupid computer has once again forgotten it has wireless just at the time I am staying in a place with free wireless!

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

These things just seem to happen to me

With Lynsey and Caroline gone our room now has new people. One girl, Cat, is from Glasgow and is travelling on her own and we get on really well. We just got two new girls today.

Oh. My. Goodness.

I’ve never met an über fan before, you know the sort you see on documentaries with walls covered in posters and things the star may have touched and all that, kind of like Michael Jackson’s weird fans? You know the sort of thing right? Well our two new girls are…wait for it…drum roll please…Delta Goodrem über fans.

I wish I was joking.

I’ll fill you in on the backpacking world, I am, after all, an expert now. When you get someome new in your room you find out all the usual stuff, names, where everyone’s from, where they’re going, what they’ve done etc etc. When I came in the über fans girls (plus their other über fan friend (thankfully in another room) didn’t even give me a sideways glance. So I interrupted them and introduced myself.

If you’re not aware (which I would imagine the majority of the western world is) Delta had a new album out this week. Well apparently today she’s singing a few songs and signing the album in the backarse of nowhere in the city. It’s at 1.00pm. So what did our new roomies do? Got themselves up at 3.00am to get themselves in line ready for the big event. I wouldn’t have thought there would be a mad queue myself.

Anyway, when I met them I had just come from a nice shower and was already in my jammies. Two minutes of being in the room with them I knew I had to leave again. So on went the shorts. Not before I heard these genius quotes though:

‘Delta will be so surprised I’m here. She just saw me in Melbourne two days ago.’
‘We know everything about Delta, even what her pets are called.’
‘I don’t like the video to that song, we should make our own one.’
‘I miss the metaphors in her songs, Bryan has done that to her!’

Dear, oh dear.

Independent Traveller

Lynsey and Caroline left me yesterday so I’m on my lonesome. But that’s ok, I think I get a different kind of experience now. For example I heard the two Swedish men behind me on the ferry to Manly beach practicing their English. ‘Vere are you going to?’ ‘Da beach’ and one that made me and the girl beside me laugh out loud, ‘Pints...pants...panties?’ but it turns out he was just trying to say ‘My ticket is in my pants’. I'm assuming he was using American English there.

I went back to Manly yesterday afternoon. I think that is now my new answer to the question ‘If you could live anywhere in the world...?’ It’s lovely.

I walked along the beach and then thought I’d get fish and chips and eat them along the front watching all the surfers. This was a good idea til I realised all the seagulls would be there. If you know anything about me you’ll know I hate, hate, HATE birds and winged creatures in general. So I sat there very carefully taking one chip out at a time and cutting a little piece of fish and eating it. It was all going so well. There was only one seagull that realised that I may have something of interest to him and he was easy to get rid of with a wave of my hand.

That was all until I took out the last bite of fish. As my hand moved from my lap to my mouth some cheeky little beast of a seagull swooped across me and grabbed it. I felt his wing on my face! Gross gross gross!

I’m sure you can imagine the scene that followed but if not it involved me screaming and running, chips flying and about a thousand seagulls where I had once been sitting. It took me about an hour to get my heart rate back to normal. So no more al fresco fish and chips for me.

Anyway, here are a few photos for you to enjoy.


We went to one of the cathedrals and there was a navity scene outside. So that would make this woman Jesus' body guard then? Hands up if you thought that would be a cooler job?


Burt Bacharach was in town.


Ok, here's the tourist photo!

Twenty reasons why we’re not backpackers

1. Lynsey has nail polish remover with her.
2. We need GHDs with us.
3. We’re staying with more people that we know on this trip rather than hostels.
4. When we do have to do hostels we don’t do dorms.
5. Tina has suitcases. Massive ones at that.
6. We haven’t used the kitchen in the hostel.
7. We wouldn’t use the kitchen in the hostel.
8. Caroline spent $12 on breakfast.
9. Every meal has been out.
10. We get taxis.
11. We want an iron because we care about how our clothes look.
12. We have 80 tops between us.
13. Tina wants a pedicure.
14. A typical meal is a steak sandwich, cocktails and dessert.
15. We hire cars.
16. We bought the photos they took of us at attractions.
17. We don’t like the one ply toilet paper in the hostel.
18. We don't think hair balls in the shower are acceptable.
19. We buy bottled water.
20. We would never walk around barefoot.

Stop 4: Sydney

We made it to Sydney! We started out yesterday morning on the 1000km trip and arrived in our hostel this evening. Woo hoo!

I've discovered that roadtrips are only good when you have good music. This should be a word of warning to you all: You should always locate the iPod FM transmitter in your luggage before embarking on said 1000km trip. Furthermore, if that roadtrip goes along the Gold Coast where, to quote Lynsey, the only radio station is 'Shite FM' then knowing exactly where that FM transmitter is paramount.

Yes, that's right somehow in all my luggage I could not find it so yesterday was a day of pain while we searched for a half decent radio station. I didn't think it would be so easy to have 8 hours of songs that none of us had ever even heard before, but apparently it was. Like, I mean never heard before, not just unfamilar songs. Honestly they were crap songs. It put us all in a bad mood!

But thankfully after a total reback of the big suitcase I found it! Hurrah! So today was a much better day. But we're pretty tired now so it might just be a shower and then bed so we're fresh to explore the city tomorrow. No doubt I'll keep you updated.

Stop 3: Brisbane*

I’m only a week into this adventure but here I am at stop three already. But before I tell you about it, I’ll finish off Melbourne with some photos.

The MCG
Ok, so I kind of dragged Lynsey and Caroline here but I think they nearly enjoyed it. Although I knew that the cricket museum at the end was pushing it.


Dennis Lillie and I bowling. I think he needs to work a bit on his action, look at me, I’m the pro.


The view across the city was amazing. On the right is where the Australian Open is played.

On Wednesday we hired a car and drove along Great Ocean Road.


That’d be the Great Ocean then.


We made it all the way to the Apostles. This brought about the funniest quote of the trip so far.

Caroline: Is there a place where you can see all seven?
Lynsey: Seven?! What about the other four?!


We drove all the way to Port Campbell which is a little bit of what I imagine Summer Bay to be like and watched the sun set.

On Thursday all my dreams were realised when we went to Ramsay Street. Oh yes!


Erinsborough High.


Oh my goodness! The Robinson house!


Harold wasn’t in.


Seriously, me on Ramsay Street.

So now we’re in Brisbane for a few days. Today we thought we’d try to beat the weekend crowds and go to Australia Zoo, the one that Steve Irwin owned. I wasn’t really that bothered when he died. Although I knew who he was, I had never watched any of his programmes but walking round the zoo today made me sad, over a year later. His picture is up everywhere and you can just see the passion and energy he had for what he did.



Me and the family Irwin.


Give him the meat, give him the meat!


I got to stroke a koala!

So there we go, that's Australia thus far. We head to Sydney soon so no doubt I'll be blogging again soon.

*Or as we like to call it Bris-bain, which sets us off on Boycey impressions of ‘Marlene’.

Stop 2: Melbourne

Just really quickly to say:

-We went to the MCG this morning! Yay!

-I have self appointed myself to be the navigator as Lynsey and Caroline took about 20 minutes to find the internet place they had been too twice already.

More soon, maybe photos too.

Stop 1: Hong Kong

If you've ever been to Asia, you've got to admit it, they know how to do airports in this part of the world. Atlanta and Heathrow should take note. Free wireless is the way forward.

Anyway I spent the weekend in Hong Kong. I think their tagline should be 'Like Singapore, but different.'

Although skylines don't compare. Mind you, despite all this, Singapore is still more densely populated. So yo!

Yesterday we went to Macau which used to be a Portuguese colony so it was all European looking.

See.

<>
I know my eyes are nearly closed but I put this one on here just to show that I did in fact have a tan. Just so as when you see me after I have wintered in America you'll not comment on how white I am.

Every night they do this sound and light show. This video doesn't really do it justice, because it was amazing! I smiled the whole way through it. Actually I had one of those moments where I just couldn't believe where I was and what I was doing.

Anyway, I think it's about time I made my way to the gate. Missing a plane would put a right dampner on stop 2, Melbourne.

Hold the phone

I think this may be some sort of world record:

I am packed and ready to go over 24 hours before I leave.

I mean, sure, it's mostly because the movers are coming, but still. This never happens. Ever.

Stress

After the emotion of last week, it is now time to get down to the hard work of leaving. Today I cleared my classroom. I find it consistently amazing how much stuff one person can accumulate. This fact will be drawn out to me again and again over the next few days I think.

I actually have so much stuff to do I don't know where to start. Let's review, shall we? ('It's too late for 'shall we''.)

1. I have left my job.
2. I am moving house.
3. I am going on a trip.

All three of those are bad enough, but let's add in these facts:

a. I have no future job.
b. I am moving across continents.
c. My trip lasts nearly three months, around the world
in all weathers.

Any one part of 1-3 are enough to give anyone a nervous breakdown, but simultaneously and adding a-c and...well you can imagine.

I will be cutting my internet soon so this may be the last you hear from me for a while, which is a shame as I've done some pretty cool things recently. Gutted I'm sure.

Mixed

Tomorrow is my 30th June. It's the last day of term and I am totally mixed up and all over the place. On one hand I'm excited about the trip and I'm excited about coming home but on the other I can't believe that tomorrow is the last time I will see my students. I'm very very tired. Lynsey and Caroline have arrived and I have oodles to do before I leave. And everyone knows what happens when I'm tired and emotional...I cry.

So tomorrow is my last day. I think there will be tears. In fact they may have already started.

One and I'm not impressed, two and I'm annoyed

But twenty five is just taking the piss, quite frankly.


I know, it's not nice to see (even without the bites) but you had to see them to believe them.

This is why I go on about mosquito bites. But I don't think I've had as many as this since summer camp in 2001. Today I went to the pool (to reenact the soothing waters of the lake at camp) and two girls stared at me like a was a leper. I don't blame them. They are hideous.

I've got my responses down pat now 'They are all individual bites'...'Yeah, mosquito bites'...'No, I promise I didn't scratch them'...'Yes, maybe I do have some sort of allergic reaction...'No Tiger Balm doesn't help mine.'

Annoyingly it gives a whole set of new people to use the line 'sweet Irish blood'. So help me, I nearly went for them.

So yes, this weekend we were in Malaysia on a staff conference. I enjoyed all of it, except the mosquito bites. We were right on the coast of the South China Sea which was beautiful.


Our hotel was right on the beach.

Sadly though, what I am going to remember most is being driven to distraction by the little beasts.

Making an effort

I'm tired. I have already fallen asleep twice since I got home but have things to do so I am still awake.

Anyway I know it's been a while, and I have a shedload of things to tell you and photos to show you but I'm tired (see above) so I will keep this short.

Quite in contrast to last week, I have had a good week. Today it was all capped off with two of my students getting two, count them, two of the three Year 1 prizes for the end of the year. One of them wasn't that much of a surprise (although I am pleased for him obviously). But the other one? The other one nearly made me cry.

I might have told you this story, not on here, in an email or face to face but if not I'll give you the highlights. A bad wee rip of a boy got transferred from another class to my class back in March. I wasn't impressed. Actually I made a pretty strong case as to why he shouldn't be moved to my class. He threatened to upset the carefully crafted balance.

But just like a cheesey Hollywood movie, he has turned himself around, improved his grades and as a result is the proud winner of most improved effort prize. I don't claim to be the difference (aside from anything else, sometimes he can still be far from the perfect student!) He is the difference. He did it, they are his grades.

But sometimes I love my job.

Just to clarify

He didn't sign 'you're going!'. I doubt he knew sign language, although now I can't ask him.

He'd sigh 'you're going!'.

An 'h' not an 'n'. They're not even on the same row. Very similar looking though. Yes, alright not in capitals. Snut up.

Sometimes he'd even sign 'you're going!'

We used to have a lovely smiley security guard in my condo. He used to see me coming up the little hill and give me this big wave and smile and welcome me home.

Some days he even used to cry (with joy I might add) 'You're back!!!'

I never knew his name (he was called Smiley Security Guard Man in my head), and I hadn't seen him in a while so today I asked where he had gone. It turns out he left to go work somewhere else.

Today was such a pisser of a day I could have done with a nice cheery 'You're back!!!'

On the other side of exam stress

Exams are all great until you have to mark the %$&!*@ things.

I reckon I still have about 6 hours ahead of me (still!) and classes and reports and (kill me now) a Geography Field Trip to go on.

I don't want to close my eyes (although Carly says I can)

I'm just watching 'Armageddon' on TV. Of everything I ever achieved throughout my schooling, I consider the feat of watching it on my U6th Biology field trip and not crying one of my finest moments. Yes, it's far fetched and ridiculous. But Bruce pushes Ben back into the elevator thing and tells him 'I always thought of you as a son. I'd be damn proud to have you marry Grace.'

Ok, so perhaps if you imagine yourself to be 18 years old and surrounded by people crying you'd think it was more amazing.

I like the Aerosmith song on it. If you listen to the very end you'll hear a super arrangement of strings on it, which I don't imagine you hear very often on Aeromith songs.

So with that, here's October 07's playlist:

Biffy Clyro - Machines
I really like this. If you ask me the guy singing sounds Northern Irish and I'd bet you all the money in your pockets 'Grey's Anatomy' will use it sometime.

Newton Faulkner - Dream Catch Me
Newton is funny name to have isn't it? But what's funnier is his middle name is Battenberg. Maybe it's a double barrelled thing? [Which reminds me, I was doing the Nazi-Soviet Pact a few weeks ago with my Year 3s and came across officially the worst name ever. Reginald Ranfurly Plunkett-Ernle-Erle-Drax (he was a low level British official sent to negotiate with the USSR. The Russians weren't interested. No wonder). Anyway, we have a winner, sorry Newton.]

Annie Lennox - Why
I just took a notion for this. I love the line is 'these are the contents of my head'.

Climie Fisher - Love Changes (Everything)
Not that dreadful Michael Ball Love Changes Everything song. No, no this is classic 80s pop. I don't remember the song from the time but from my Music class at school. We used to do GCSE past papers as practice but there weren't very many for us to do so we'd repeat them. A lot. In one paper (which we did again and again) they used a snippet of this song and we'd all have a sing song in the middle of the paper. Exam conditions? I think not. We then had to say whether it was classical, baroque, pop or country. Hard stuff eh? Anyway, Chris Moyles played it during the 40 Years of Radio One so in it goes.

Avril Lavigne - How Does It Feel?
I used a video on You Tube for a class recently about a girl called Maria Hertogh who was born to Dutch Catholic parents in 1937. Somehow (views differ) during the war she ended up in the care of a Muslim woman and was raised Muslim. There was a custody battle for her in 1950 and it led to riots here. Really interesting story. Anyway the song got in my head.

Carly Simon - You Can Close Your Eyes
She was on Oprah and sang this song. Beautiful piano. A-maz-ing.

Big news day

I watch Sky News in the morning when I get up. As I may have mentioned before, I'm not a morning person and the encouragement of knowing I just need to stumble to the sofa and lie down again helps me enormously with actually getting out of bed in the first place. At 6.30am in Singapore, it's 11.30pm back at home and they are reviewing the next day's papers. Today there were reports from the Independent about intelligence and race and lots about Sir Menzies Campbell. (Just by the way, I think he got screwed every which way.)

Then when I go into school, I read what's online on the BBC News website. I'll give you the highlights:

Christmas trees in Ballymena - it's going up on November 1st which one would have to say is a more than a little premature. Mind you, I saw my first one in a shop here at the weekend. And people say all meaning has gone out of Christmas! Pah!

Digital switch over - the first town in England has had its analogue signal turned off. Turns out it's only the BBC2 one but still. Back in the 'head we're all still eagerly awaiting the arrival of Channel 5 to the analogue signal.

The great storm - it's twenty years since the hurricane, although this report pardons Michael Fish who was actually referring to another hurricane. He said, she said, I don't care. I think the real issue here is that it has been twenty years! How did that happen?! I remember that? Things that happen twenty years ago are things that I should not remember!

Good school lie - 14% of parents lie to get their children into good schools. The only surprise to me is that it's only 14%. Of course you'd lie. 'Education is potential, bad schools rob children of that potential, ergo I must lie to get my child into a better school.' Nevermind the child's, or for that matter the parent's, responsibility in it all.

Teens take over - another school story. Teenagers ran a school for three weeks for a TV programme. They started out with all sorts of grandiose liberal ideas but then went all traditional and conservative. But they did learn from teaching others.

I had my own news to share with my classes, as I decided that today should be the day I tell my classes that I won't be back next year. I had put it off long enough and if I didn't tell them today then there wouldn't be another chance for a couple of weeks because of exams.

I told my form class first during tutor time. I said 'and the last thing I have is the sad news that I won't be back in school next year, I'm going home'. Then braced myself for the reaction...and nothing. Silence. Absolute silence. I like to think it was the shock. (It should be noted that my other classes were much more vocal in their reaction. My Year 3s went through the whole gamut of emotions. Shock, surprise, disbelief, despair. I tried to focus on the positives - no more Moodle discussions and no more video worksheets.)

But with my form class, after an age of silence this little voice came from the front and said 'but Miss you teach here now.'

Break my heart, why don't you.

Harry who?

It was Hari Raya Puasa on Saturday so even though I work in a Christian school we still got today off because Saturday was a public holiday. Aside from the religion thing, I'm really not opposed to days like these off (there's a Hindu holiday coming up soon too!) But today had the added bonus of my parents being here. So off we trotted to Sentosa for tasty pizza on the beach and a visit to Fort Siloso. Fun times.

But now they've gone (for now - soon to return) and I have work to do and I have the cold and I've only two more episodes of Grey's to watch.

I don't know which is worst.

The return of the parentals

They arrived yesterday!

Once again I say, while their under my roof they'll live by my rules! No doubt there'll be more from the visit in the coming days (assuming my computer still works, it's dying a death which is nearly painful to watch).

In other news, my class did their assembly this morning and nailed it! And dare I say they actually may have enjoyed it. I was like a proud mother! So much so I made them Fifteens to celebrate with! I may be pushy but they get the world's nice traybake out of it so, you know, it was worth it!

Just so as you know

Grey's Anatomy is the best programme in the world.

I've decided so it's official. All the other programmes can just stop trying now.

Read my lips, no new injuries**

I was a tourist yesterday, I took a boat to St. John's Island and Kusu Island.

Very nice they were too.

**It should be noted that I did not swim into rocks, fall off the boat, trip over anything, walk into anything, or in any way injure myself yesterday.

And that incident today with spilling the water was totally not my fault.

And so it continues

Tonight in the supermarket I knocked over about, no kidding, 25 boxes of tissues. Oh die.

I've never been particularly dexterous but this is getting ridiculous.

Doubley smug

I felt very satifisied tonight. Not only did I finish setting all my exams today (deadline tomorrow), I went to the gym (first time since April).

What else is new?

My form class officially hate me for making them do something serious in their assembly devotion next week. I can take it though. It's a three line whip, only kidney operations are excusable. Let's see how many dare incur the wrath of Miss B. by not showing up!

The results of the clumsiest person in the world came in and I won!
-Today I walked into a doorframe. This is a fairly common occurance actually.
-Yesterday I walked into a desk in my room. Actually come to mention it, this is fairly common occurance too judging by the bruises on my thighs.
-On Saturday, I turned on the oven and put some tortillas in, burning my hand on the way.
-On Sunday, I lifted half the nail off my second toe moving a chair. Thankfully it's still attached.
-All this is in addition to the finger I nearly sliced off the morning of the cruise whilst cutting a bagel.

But I think what really clinched it for me was this. On Monday, I somehow, and please don't ask me how, managed to stand on my own toe while sitting down. It was perhaps more painful than all the others put together. So painful in fact that I wanted to swear but couldn't even speak.

Actually I should make that tripley smug because I didn't fall off the tread mill tonight. Given the current form it was a distinct possibility.

Still here

Here I am!! Sorry apparently I had little to say. I know that normally doesn't stop me but I also had no time this week to do anything. So here's the update:

1. I woke up at 7.40am. So unimpressed. I was hungry too so although I tried, I failed to get back to sleep. Grrr. Although the blueberry pancakes at 8.30am were nice.

2. I'm going to the Chinese Latern Festival tonight. It's all part of the Mid-Autumn Festival I think. This seems a tad early to me to be mid-autumn. As part of deal Mooncakes are eaten and given. Everyone goes mad for them. It'll not surprise you to hear I am less keen having the adventureness of a newt (which I think you'll agree are not adventuresome) when it comes to new culinary experiences. But when I tell you it's made with bean paste, lotus seeds and pastry maybe you'll understand. It's really sweet and usually that would encourage me but some of them have a duck egg in the middle. Sweet and salty do not go. Even worse still you can get durian ones. But I'm happy to go look at the lanterns and thus celebrate mid-autumn.

3. A while ago I joined Facebook to fully utilise my internet dossing time. I think it's odd that people I am 'friends' with on Bebo and/or MySpace that I knew an age ago and have hardly spoken to since let alone exchange pleasantries on Bebo and/or MySpace want to be be friends on Facebook. Yet I cannot be mean enough to deny them, I just leave them hanging.

4. Speaking of internet dossing, I'm doing it right now. I should be setting the Year 1 exam paper, planning or marking.

5. Triumphs of triumphs, I swam an entire length of the pool on one breath. I didn't come up for air once. I nearly sucked in the inside of my nostils up at the end, but I must have been faster than Michael Phelps! Although I feel I should point out, this was swimming freestyle, not underwater. I am not some sort of crazy fishwoman.

6. I had day visitors last week. I think you'll be able to read all about it in the premier monthly church magazine of Ireland.

7. I had a fun class yesterday. We had a sing-a-long to Hakuna Matata when two girls came in with steaming moods. I have no idea why but good old Disney lightened the mood. Then I challenged them to come up with the top five countries according to population, and so they challenged me to come up with the ten countries in the world with only 4 letters. I got them (eventually and without cheating), but I open up to comments to see how many you can get!

8. I watched 'An Inconvenient Truth' last night. Well I started to but I fell asleep (not because it was boring, because I was tired) during it. I know, think of the energy waste!

Right point number 4 is going to make me stop here. Internet dossing work to do.

The visit

So you'll remember that I had visitors just a few weeks ago? Well here's the stories and photos:


My guests. The first week they were here I was still working so I would leave at around 6.30am for school and then go and meet them somewhere in Singapore after school. This is at Vivo City after another spectacular feed.


Ruth and I on Orchard Road. You'll note that I am carrying the all important umbrella that you daren't leave the house without. You also might notice the flags in the background and it should be noted that those are the Singaporean Flag, not Turkish flags for anyone who might think they are Turkish flags...not that anyone would ever think that eh Ruth?! No, no.


The second week they were here we all jetted sailed into the sunset. This is the floating city. Seriously, it was huge. 2000 passengers and 1400 crew. Apparently it holds the record for the most crew in the world...ever or something like that.

While we were checking in the girl obviously saw something on someone's passport about Ireland. Unable to contain her joy at knowing some Irish vocab she blurted out what she knew at us.

The word? Craic? Wrong! Guinness? Wa-wa! Riverdance? No siree! What she said to us as she was finishing our check in was 'gobshite!' (Actually she said 'gobshit' but we soon corrected her.) Turns out her sister's boyfriend is Irish and he says it. Ah you've got to love the Irish, teaching the world to swear in perfect harmony!


We went to Phuket in Thailand. This is on our canoe trip at the area where 'The Man With the Golden Gun' was filmed. Absolutely stunning.


Next stop was Langkawi, Malaysia. Unfortunately it looked more like Stranraer. Thankfully by lunchtime it had brighten up enough.

Should you ever find yourself in Langkawi and you read about the cablecar and the amazing views, you should believe them. However I want you to also remember the video you are about to watch. Pay careful attention to the steepness.

The pylon thing you can see is the first one from the top. Scary ass cablecar.

But seriously, what a view!

Back onboard we could resume shuffleboard. Another life goal achieved.

All too soon we were back in Singapore with only one thing left to do, get a Singapore Sling!

And a good time was had by all.

I feel old

Today I talked about how when I was at school we only had one computer in the library with the internet and how you had to book in it advance.

Then when I told them this was only during my last two years at school, I don't know who was more shocked. Them because I lived through pre-internet days. Or me because they couldn't imagine a world without it.

[I still owe you Ruth and Mark visit photos. I'll get right on it. Although not tomorrow because I'm out. But soon.

And one last 'this time last year'; this time last year I missed my flight home to the motherland and spent the night in New York City.]

Tomorrow cannot be Monday already

I have to go back to school tomorrow. I object to this. Especially as I have the cold and Ireland are playing rugby way too late tonight for me to watch.

I realise I have hardly said anything about Ruth and Mark being here or the cruise, but it'll come. So in the meantime I'll talk about the netball.

I went back on Saturday to watch them in the 3rd place play off and they had seemed so chuffed with the first banner I thought it would be disappointing not to have another.


Bigger and on colour paper. No expense spared.

The game was against Sri Lanka. They had beaten NI in the round robin stage 55-50 so there was real pressure. But thankfully (and I put a lot of credit on the banners!) they were able to maintain possession and stop the big tall Sri Lankan Goal Shooter from getting the ball too much. (Seriously, watch the video, she's huge! Sorry about the crap quality, You Tube was the only way I could get it on.)

I was talking to somebody (who shall remain nameless) at the weekend who didn't know what netball was. I described it as like basketball but with 7 people and that you couldn't run with the ball. They replied and said 'so basketball without the athleticism then?' Ha!

The final score was 61-51 to NI. Ya ho! Now, again, without wanting to overstate it, NI hadn't won a match until I showed up, banners in tow. They ended up coming third!

Eighth man, I keep telling you.

Stand up for the Ulster Girls!

Tonight was crucial for NI to make it through to the 3rd place playoffs and so I was pleased that I showed up as their sole supporter (wearing my greenest t-shirt and greenish eye shadow!)


I hoped the banner would provide the team with the lift they needed.



I taped my banner up and looked on as the girls saw it. They took photos and then chanted 'we're not Australia, we're Northern Ireland. I was delighted that they seemed to get a boost from it!


After a bit of a shaky start they were on their way!




In the 3rd quarter, they finally begin to pull away and stayed there.


The glorious scoreboard! Pah Canada!


Sadly I only managed to capture the last seconds of the celebration but you can just about hear 'we're Northern Ireland'!

So I think I can now declare myself the eighth man!

Sniff

Ruth and Mark are packing now. That makes me sad.

But to cheer me up, tomorrow I am going to see the mighty Northern Ireland play...netball. Looks like they need my support.

So any thoughts on a banner for them? So far we have:

'Come on the wee girls'
'We're not Australia, we're Norn Iron'
'I'm the eighth man!'

(Ruth wants credit for the last two! I came up with the slightly patronising first one!)

All aboard?

One week into the visit and the Singapore part is just about over. Tomorrow we board a cruise liner for a trip to Thailand and Malaysia. Bring. It. On.

Highlights of the week so far have been:
1. All the eating out. I don't think I have had a meal in since Ruth and Mark arrived. We just got back from a tasty Italian meal by the River.
2. The Songs of the Sea extravaganza. It's a show on Sentosa (that's pronounced Sen-toe-sa, not Sen-toss-a as someobody in school did this week.) which evidently pulls in the crowds, although goodness knows why. I took a short video of it but I don't think it truly does the pure comedy (for all the wrong reasons) justice. The effects are good though. The lazers are all being projected onto a spray of water which is cool, it's the story that sucks.
3. The zoo. We went today and it was hot! But good! Although there were more strollers than animals. I wouldn't mind, I'm all for kids in strollers but not when over-zealous parents push them into my heels.

Anyway enjoy the Songs of the Sea. I'm sure you'll all be wanting to book your tickets to Singapore to see this!

Top ten reasons why Ruth and Mark are so great

10. They brought me Cheese Balls.
9. They brought me Mini Rolls.
8. They brought me proper Cadbury's cholcolate.
7. They brought me Trevor Sorbie Curl Cream needed to create the dishevelled look to my hair. (No, honestly it actually requires hair products to make my hair look like this.)
6. They have not eaten 8, 9, or 10 themselves. I realise this is particularly hard for Mark.
5. My house has been tidy all week because I have guests. Although they might not appreciate it is, I do.
4. I can warrant eating out all week because they're on holiday.
3. I see Singapore through tourist eyes.
2. They were interested enough to come see my Singapore world and come to school.
1. Good old NI banter. There's nothing like it,

Wardrobe malfunction

My first proper guests arrive tomorrow and I am so excited. Even though I have a thousand things to do for school and my house is tip, I'm so excited. You know Ruth, she comments on here once in a while. I reckon she's now one of my oldest friends (as in known the longest, she's not 80). We were in the same Science class in 2nd Year, we shared a study booth in 6th Year and I made her wedding stationery (v. stylish they were too!). One of the smartest things we ever did was to decide not to buy each other a Christmas present as there is enough expense at that time of year. Yet she is one of my best friends.

So Mark* and Ruth will be in my room whilst I move to the spare room.

However in the attempt to move my stuff to the other bedroom, I broke the wardrobe. Not badly. It wasn't a sofa cushion shrinking moment or anything. It should be a relatively easy fix. (I say this as if I am some sort of expert. Although let's not forget I am my dad's right hand girl when it comes to the old flat pack. We put together that computer-desk-cupboard-thing for my mum in a matter of...hours).

But the one sticking point right now is that I don't have a screwdriver to do it. And it being 1.00am I think I'll have to wait until tomorrow until I can get one. ('Can you believe there are no hardware stores open in the city past 1.00am?!') But unfortunately that means my tidying and swapping bedrooms has been put on hold.

So instead I am writing here and watching 'Later With Jools Holland' on BBC Entertainment. I think it must be fairly recent (as in this year) as Amy Winehouse and Muse were on. Duke Special is playing at the minute. I realise what I am about to say is about as controversial as my 'I don't really like Portrush' statement but I am 8000 safe miles away from getting mobbed so I'll take my chances and say I don't really get Duke Special. Call me 'mainstream' but he's odd. Leaving aside his appearance, he sings with a big old NI accent (and not in a Juliet Turner cute kind of way) and uses cheese graters in his songs. Hello?! Emperor's new clothes?! Am I the only one to realise you're being conned? Of course, I realise that when I come back home and am fully immersed in NI culture again, I'll eat my words and think he's the best thing since...some other fantastic NI artist with cult status.

In other news, I had an impromptu dinner party last weekend when my fridge freezer died. I didn't want to waste the food so invited people round to share in my thawed Bolagnese, Curry and Mushroom Chicken Something. Unfortunately it was too late for the Ben and Jerry's. My new fridge arrived on Wednesday and while I am excited by the turny ice cube trays, I am distressed that pizzas have to be taken out of the box to fit.

*Obviously excited he's coming too.

Bad day sandwich

My day started with a mosquito bite at the bus stop. I should have realised then it wasn't going to be pretty.

It ended with me missing my nice bus home. Yet, this was no surprise.

Yup, the day in between ssssssssuuuuuucccccccccccccckkkkkkkkkkkeeeeeeeeeeddddddddddd.


Except for the announcement that I have my first namesake! Welcome Lucy Wogan Aldersgate Blair. Yeah, not Tina, Aldersgate is my bit. Because I am the biggest stinking Methodist around!

Put your hand up if you're not here

I just spent about fifteen minutes reading other people's blogs. I started off with people I knew and linked through to other people that I had no clue about. Most people are way more deep than I am. Part of me thinks they're smarter than me, part of me thinks they're putting up a front (or at least they have different aims from their blog).

My blog is meant to be nothing other than a way for me to let my friends know what I am up to. Sometimes (although probably less and less often) I might make you laugh about something that happened to me, other times I might, just might, make you think about something. But most times I hope I at least provide you with a tinternet doss that you were looking for.

But seriously, who are you and why do you read this? Are there people I don't know reading this? I just ramble on here about nothing in particular.

So in that vein, here is the top layer of my brain arranged in no particular order:
-I went to the supermarket yesterday. I bought lizard traps for the geckos and it made me laugh about the whole different set of problems I get in my house this year compared to last. Although the geckos are not really a problem, I have guests coming to stay and I don't want them to think they're some sort of pet. Mind you, I'll get rid of the traps before they come. They might get scared if they knew!
- I also got a window cleaner (the instrument not the person) as I noticed my windows weren't the cleanest and I have guests coming. They better notice clean windows.
- I didn't eat dinner tonight. This was mostly because I ate chocolate (so as not to be too specific I shall be cryptic but it's the most geometrically interesting chocolate and the kind you tend to get in the airport). It was given to me by a parent whose child is pretty much getting bullied. I must be a great teacher, I haven't even really begun to try and help and I'm being showered with gifts! Huh! Maybe it's a bribe? Although for what I am not sure.
- I watched 'The Last King of Scotland' the other night. Fantastic film, although not a popcorn film but so many things going on in it. I talked about it today in two separate classes and am seriously thinking about some sort of History movie club in school. This might mean that I actually see 'Schlinder's List'.
- I laughed with my class about 'The Pianist', not that it's a funny film at all, but if you're 15 and still adjusting to a NI accent then what you hear when I say 'pianist' is funny. (It helps to adopt the brain of a fifteen year old.)
- I also showed some Peter Kay to my class the other day. The bit about emergency chairs. They didn't understand him but I laughed to watch it again. Thinking all this might be contributing to why we are a few weeks behind the plan. Oops, but I am educating the whole child!
- I'm waiting for Grey's Anatomy to start, that's why I'm still up.
- August 07's playlist contains:
Kings of Leon - Fans (they were in the Live Lounge an age ago doing this and it sounded unbelievable!)
Better Than Ezra - Desperately Wanting (you'd know it if you heard it)
Heaven 17 - Temptation (sang this all week because I was teaching a lesson on, yes, temptation. I didn't sing to the class because I didn't think it was target.)
- but also really like that Plain White Ts song and seem to rememeber liking Scouting for Girls when Scott was in for Chris a week or two ago but I have never knowingly heard it since so I can't be sure that was it.
- really need to back up my computer as I think it is now only a matter of time before it pops it.

Seven for seven

I have nothing to say but I wanted to blog because then I will have blogged every day for the last seven days and I don't think that has ever happened, not in Singapore anyway.

But I'll try to scape together some news for you anyway:
- I'm getting monster sore heads at the minute. Not sure why but I ran out of Ibuprofen so had an emergency run to the petrol station to get Panadol. Feel better now, thanks for asking.
- This could also be because of the Slurpee I got there (think there will be more trips there now that I know my garage has Slurpees. What joy!)
- I had Mexican for lunch. Not a whole one as the old joke goes, just some Tacos.
- School tomorrow, not looking forward to a full five days. Especially when I have zero classes prepared.
- I do feel a small triumph as these last few days I completed my coursework accreditation which has been hanging over my head since May. Put things off?! Me?! Stop with your crazy talk!
- I joined Facebook. Now I can talk to the same people that I talk to on Bebo and add in the Americans and Singaporeans too. And to think this time I year ago I wasn't using any social network sites. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

Night night

I should be a fruitarian

You might have already seen this but my mum just sent me it.

I watched it very timidly, with my mouse over the other tab so I could switch at the first sight of anything unpleasant. Yes, I know it's the way it works, the circle of life, the law of nature and other clichés.



It did remind me of that line from 'Notting Hill' though:

'We believe that fruits and vegetables have feeling so we think cooking is cruel. We only eat things that have actually fallen off a tree or bush - that are, in fact, dead already.'

Thankfully the ickle buffalo got away (and I like to believe that the other buffalo nursed him back to full health, put ointment on his injuries and he's grown to a ripe old age) so now I can eat meat again. Not that I ever stopped actually.

Show me your happy face

I can show you three! Actually I can show you more but some were broken in transit so look a little bit scary.


I'm not a mother, but I imagine the question 'which is your favourite colour of Party Ring?' is much like trying to decide your favourite child.

Singapore, lah

Seeing as it's National Day I thought I would give you a little insight into Singapore English. When I was looking into Singapore I was comforted to know that English was the official language. And while that might be true, they have a language all of their own, handily called Singlish.

Let me give you some examples:

lah - put on the end of any sentence for emphasis. Eg. 'eat lah' which means 'go on, start eating'.

can - this one comes up in school a lot. Eg. 'Can I go to the toilet? Can? Can?'

cannot - my usual response to the above. Extra emphasis on the not required.

actually - put in where there is no need whatsoever. Eg. 'The Japanese actually took over Singapore in 1942 and actually renamed it.' What is 'actually' adding to that sentence? Nothing!

Is it - added to the end of any statement to make it a question. Eg. 'Assembly at 8.30am, is it?'

Auntie/uncle - cleaners, taxi drivers and generally people of a certain age. Children are encouraged to call older people this. I find it a little disturbing. The only people who should be called auntie or uncle are Holiday Bible Club and Sunday School leaders in the 1980s.

Pass up - again, this comes up in school a lot because it means to hand in. Eg. 'Do we have to pass up this work to you at the end?' Teachers in school will often 'pass' things to each other as oppose to give them, eg. 'can you pass me the key?'

Because why - used in the way you'd expect, eg 'We need to be on the bus by 6.30. Because why? We have to be there by 7.00am'.

Scold - used a lot more here than at home. Students get scolded for their grades, and teachers scold bad students.

dey/den/dis/dere - they/then/this/there

oreddy - already but used in a different way, eg 'dey go dere oreddy', but this could mean 'they're there now' or 'they have been and are back'.

Handphone - abbreviated to Hp, this is your mobile.

not - Used to make a question. Eg. You got rice or not?

To conclude this ra ra Singapore Day you should watch this. One of my First Years showed me it the other day. It's pretty much our course in a fun MTV style video. You can go here for an explanation of all.

Quote, unquote

I promised this a while ago, and I know you are gutted that I haven't come through on it yet, so here it is - my 'new' classroom display!


History acronyms with Year 1s and Germany with IGCSE. It's still up, even though Raffles has now well and truly founded Singapore with Year 1 and we're so far into Russia we're about to cover the NEP (that's the New Economic Policy, although I'm sure you all remembered that).

On the back wall are quotes to inspire and entertain. And in Mrs. Gregory styley I have put up the quotes that made me laugh a couple of weeks ago, although they are not laminated.


Along with the not so subtle 'You always have choice'. I have one boy in particular that needs constant reminding of the fact he has a choice in what he does. Yet he consistently will choose the wrong option so...


there is this handy reminder at the front. So help me, if my form class learn anything this year it will be this. (You might also notice I no longer have rows. When I came back in late June I acquired square desks enabling a horse shoe formation, the way I wanted my classroom from when I started!).

So with the photos up, here are the quotes I have up (perhaps you can read them at your leisure, there's a lot!):

'We need history, not to tell us what happened or to explain the past, but to make the past alive so that it can explain us and make a future possible.'
Alan Bloom, American philosopher

'Whatever is good to know is difficult to learn.'
Greek Proverb

'Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.'
Robert Collier, English writer

'Happiness is not a goal; it is a by-product.'
Eleanor Roosevelt, American humanitarian and political leader

'You don’t need eyes to see, you need vision.'
Maxi Jazz, lead singer of Faithless in ‘Reverence’

'Luck is a matter of preparation meeting opportunity.'
Oprah Winfrey, American media queen

'The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.'
Eleanor Roosevelt, American humanitarian and political leader

'Am I not destroying my enemies when I make friends of them?'
Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States of America

'Ninety percent of what you’re saying isn’t coming out of your mouth.'
Alex Hitchens, in ‘Hitch’

'The death of one man is a tragedy;the death of a million men is a statistic.'
Josef Stalin, leader of the USSR

'Whatever you are, be a good one.'
Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States of America

'Ah ha ha ha ha!'
Mary Poppins, in ‘Mary Poppins’

'Not failure, but low aim, is crime.'
James Russell Lowell, American poet, writer and diplomat

'I have five lessons to teach. What lessons they learn is entirely up to them.'
Nanny McPhee, in ‘Nanny McPhee’

'Why are you trying so hard to fit in when you are born to stand out?'
Ian Wallace, in ‘What a Girl Wants’

'You know the Greeks didn't write obituaries, they only asked one question after a man died, "Did he have passion?"'
Dean Kansky, in ‘Serendipity’

'You are what you choose to be.'
Dean McCoppin, in ‘The Iron Giant’

'To infinity and beyond!'
Buzz Lightyear, in ‘Toy Story’

'A brilliant man will find a way not to fight a war.'
Admiral Yamamoto, in ‘Pearl Harbor’

'Every man who wages war believes God is on his side. I'll warrant God should often wonder who is on his.'
Oliver Cromwell, in ‘Cromwell’

'Only the dead have seen the end of war.'
Plato, Greek philosopher

'War is young men dying and old men talking.'
Odysseus, in ‘Troy’

'Failure is never quite so frightening as regret.'
Cliff Buxton, in ‘The Dish’

'It’s what you do right now that makes a difference.'
Jeff Struecker, in ‘Black Hawk Down’

'It is not our abilities that show what we truly are, it is our choices.'
Albus Dumbledore, in ‘Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets’

'I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."

'I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

'I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

'I have a dream today.'
Martin Luther King, American Civil Rights leader

'What we do in life echoes in eternity.'
Maximus, in ‘Gladiator’

'An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind.'
Mohandas Gandhi, political leader in the Indian independence movement

'From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic an iron curtain has descended across the Continent.'
Winston Churchill, war time Prime Minister of Great Britain

'An ounce of practice is worth more than tons of preaching.'
Mohandas Gandhi, political leader in the Indian independence movement

'Where does the power come from to see the race to its end? From within.'
Eric Liddell in ‘Chariots of Fire’

'Ich bin ein Berliner.'
John F. Kennedy, 35th President of the United States of America

'My good friends this is the second time in our history that there has come back from Germany to Downing Street peace with honour. I believe it is peace in our time.'
Neville Chamberlain, British Prime Minister, after meeting Hitler in 1938

'In Germany they first came for the Communists and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me - and by that time no one was left to speak up.'
Martin Niemoller, German Lutheran Pastor

'Better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.'
Chinese Proverb

'Once the toothpaste is out of the tube, it is awfully hard to get it back in.'
H.R. Haldeman, political aide to President Nixon

'Those who stand for nothing, fall for anything.'
Alexander Hamilton, US Founding Father

'No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main; if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less...any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind...'
John Donne, English poet and preacher

'Why is there a piano on my cake?
King Xerxes, in ‘Esther, the Girl Who Became Queen’

So now we're on holiday! National Day is a really big to-do, with a huge parade (NDP if you please, I'm sure you can work it out!) that they start practising for in February. From the clips I have seen it looks akin to an Olympic Opening Ceremony. So I'll be looking forward to the fireworks at the end as I doubt they'll have a Barry Davies not totally understanding what is going on.

I will be having my own NDP tomorrow, although mine stands for National Day at the Pool! Happy 42nd birthday Singapore!

One on hand...

I have no more classes to teach this week, tomorrow is a 'half day' and we're off Thursday and Friday for National Day(s).

BUT

on the other, I have to be in school at 6.15am tomorrow morning in order to celebrate National Day.

Ra ra Singapore indeed.

V. grumpy

I stayed up late last night reading Harry Potter. I finished it but now am absolutely wrecked and irritable.

But seriously, how good was it?!

Here you go David

I got birthday mail this week. We're not dwelling on the fact that it's slightly late. Well 80% of them were. Plus it's more than I sent him (a stamp (used) and a card). And poor Karen just got kind thoughts. I would say that my birthday is more special than theirs, but it doesn't sound very gratious in light of their generousity so I shan't.


He's bigger than me. And I can't threaten my big brother on him.


Chocolate, kids' sweets, glow in the dark stars, and even pawty wings*! They know me so well! I don't think you'd even realise that the Sherbert Dip is empty. It didn't last 3 minutes after opening the shoe box of fun.

(*which reminds me, did you hear Scott Mills and the phone a book shop game? I thought I was going to fall off my chair at 'Downpour!' by Wayne Dwops)

But if a blog is all that is required for all this tastiness then I'll crack on.