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!