ŦUZZY £OGIC

They came all dressed up for the occasion.. some with masks, some without.
The girls were stunning. The boys looked charming and neat.

Mrs Goh received the Outstanding Contribution Award and the General Office staff received the team award. Very well-deserved indeed. As we say our goodbyes, we hope they will come back and visit us from time to time. And that they’ll make the most of what they have learned in school and do their best in whatever they choose to venture in. All the best to the class of 2006!

Yeaps.. this was my first ever winter. Let’s just say being the typical kiasu Singaporean who hate being cold, I bought plenty of heat packs, some thermal wear, a woolen sweater, good socks, a pair of gloves and boots. All these on top of what I normally would bring to Holland during summer, which includes a jacket (which is probably meant for autumn) and some other sweaters. I know how cold the summers can get in Holland, so I shall not take my chances in ‘wintery’ Japan.

11 Dec
We had to catch the 6am flight. We were still tired and sleepy for sure. At the airport, there was very tight security before we boarded the plane. 6 or so hours later, we arrived at Narita Airport. It was 11 deg. Brrr! But I had sufficient layers of clothes to keep me warm and cosy! Thank goodness. We took the airport shuttle to Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay Hotel, nicely tucked away in the Disney area. One thing I noticed is that the people are very friendly and always helpful. Despite the language barrier, they try to deliver their message or explain to us as best as they can. After unpacking a few stuff, we decided to check out a nearby district, Odaiba. And since it is winter time, the sun sets at about 4pm.

And because of that, it was pitch dark when we left the hotel room. Since we were travelling on our own, with no tour groups to follow, we had to find our way around by braving the railway system of Tokyo. Check out how complicated it looks! And they also have their own subway system which is not shown here but equally complex-looking!

Of course, before we took the buses and trains, we checked with the locals and read the signs (most are written in Japanese, but in most stations, there are English signs to help tourists like us!) just to be sure. Despite the lines looking so intertwined and messy, it’s actually quite an efficient (and cheaper!) way of getting around in Japan. After a few rides, we got the hang of it.

As we rode on the trains, we discovered that most Japanese love using their mobile phones. We didn’t see that many people talking on the phone. Instead, they are either busy messaging or playing games. Also, we didn’t hear any annoying ring tones blaring in the trains, which I think Singaporeans need to learn from.

In Odaiba, we checked out Venus Fort (a Venice-themed shopping mall), a game arcade, the Toyota exhibition centre (they had groovy looking sports cars, cute two-seater cars, futuristic cars and I also got to drive a car round a circuit!), sat in a giant ferris wheel (about 115m high, and from that height, we could see the many landmarks of Odaiba such as the Rainbow Bridge and Fuji TV building) and of course, ate some dinner. Since we aren’t really sushi-loving people, it was pretty difficult to find food. So, we ended up eating loads of fillet-o-fish from McDonald’s! Haha! Sad eh?

After all the walking, we decided to get back to the hotel and get some rest. It’s been a LOOOONNG day.

12 Dec
We had to wake up early to go to Disneyland. Showers are expected for the day. I prepared myself by wearing like four layers of clothes and a jacket to top it up! Haha! I need to keep myself warm, ok! But what I couldn’t prepare for was how to keep my face warm!

Anyways, the groovy thing about being in the Disney area is that everything around you has got a Disney theme to it. From the shopping malls to the buses to the trains to the popcorn containers!

When we got to Disneyland, we felt like kids again. I think everyone who goes there will feel young again. And with all the Christmas songs playing and all the decor resembling a winter wonderland, you cannot help but feel happy

We took photos with some of the Disney characters, rode on all the rides, saw some of the parades/shows, drank lots of tea to keep warm and shopped! By the end of the night, we were exhausted from all the walking and queuing for the rides… and my nose and fingers were so cold!

13 Dec
One down.. another one to go. It’s time to check out Disneysea! I wasn’t sure what to expect.. but I wanted more thrilling rides! I felt that Disneyland was more for kids.. simple rides but definitely amazing technical effects! Very close attention was paid in creating all the slightest details, like the batting of the eyelids of the statues, how the ears twitched and many more. Impressive for sure! But, I needed more than that.. and I wasn’t disappointed for sure!

Disneysea is divided into different themes – the Lost River delta, the Arabian coast, Mermaid lagoon, the Mysterious Island, Port Discovery, American Waterfront and the Mediterranean Harbour. The decor is simply amazing! Definitely more exciting rides! Rides that make 360 deg loop.. rides that let you experience free fall.. a spectacular christmas musical and the special effects.. waaay groovy! If I had to pick one park to recommend to others, this will definitely be the best theme park to check out! Oh btw, we ate Mickey waffles!!

14 Dec
We had to check out of Sheraton, and head on to the Shibuya district to spend the next two nights in Cerulean Tower Tokyu Hotel. We were getting quite used to riding the trains and subways to get to our destinations. It’s much cheaper than taxis for sure. When we got to the Shibuya district, we stood right in the centre of the world’s busiest street! Everyone are just rushing.. you definitely don’t want to be in their way. And with so many little streets and shops, you can get quite lost walking around here.

The hotel is outstanding! Friendly service, nice facilities and great view of the city!

We saw West Mall, a Turkish restaurant (yes! At last! Chicken!) and then went to check out Akihabara, an IT district. We saw endless streets filled with buildings that sold all sorts of electronic goods. However, we were expecting to see futuristic gadgets but naah.. nothing of that sort. Some of the stuff cost less in Singapore of course, and we even saw the Nano iPod being sold in 7-eleven! Cool eh?

For those who love shopping, please do take note that almost everything end by 9pm… from the malls to the trains. So, be prepared! We definitely did our fair share of shopping there.. oh gosh.. too many shops.. too little time!

15 Dec
Mount Fuji, here we come! Since we booked the tour pretty late the previous day, we had to go to another hotel in the Shinbashi district to join the Japan Gray Line tour group. To get to the Shinbashi district, we were wondering if we should take a taxi instead. However, the hotel staff advised us to take the trains instead because traffic can get quite nasty in the morning. So, we had to brave the rush hour crowd. Whoa.. if you think the MRT is packed every morning during the peak hour.. it’s worse in Japan. If you want to get on the train, you need to push your way through. No mister nice guy! It’s first come, first serve.

Apparently, there’s also a carriage that carries only women during the rush hour. This is to prevent any groping of any sort. In this carriage, you will see women behaving typically like women.. putting on their makeup, doing their hair, sleeping with their mouths wide open and of course the perfume smells from all the ladies would have been rather overwhelming. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to sit in that carriage. It would have been an interesting sight.

When we got to the Shinbashi Daiichi Hotel, we waited for a short bit before the tour guide arrived. Her name is Rei-ko (pronounced as Lei-ko). She was definitely an entertaining guide who told us lots of stories and information about Japan that we would not have found out on our own.

We were also told that we would only be going up to the second station, instead of the fifth station because of the weather conditions. As we drove up Mt Fuji, I was excited by the fact that we are actually riding up the slopes of a volcano! How groovy is that! It apparently erupts every 300 years.. and the last eruption was 1707.. but it has been declared dormant. The scenery was beautiful. And of course, we had to take lots of photos.

After that, we had lunch at Hakone Lake Hotel and then enjoyed a scenic cruise on a pirate boat on Lake Ashi. Nopes.. we didn’t see Johnny Depp! Drats! We then rode in a gondola (something like the cable car to Sentosa) which brought us to Owakudani valley (the valley of Hell). Oh yes.. the smell of the hydrogen sulphide.. whoaa… imagine loads and loads of rotten eggs.. urrghh! Apparently, they believe that if you boil an egg in the hot spring water and eat it.. your life will extend by 7 years! But the eggs would have black shells because of the high amount of sulphur in the hot spring water. Did I try it? NO WAY!! I can hardly stand the smell! Can you imagine the taste! Urrgh! After all that, we were brought to the train station to ride the Shinkansen (bullet train)! It can go to speeds of up to 300 km/h!

16 Dec
We have to catch our flight back to Singapore at 5pm.. which means we have some time to shop a little in Shibuya. Yay! When we got to the airport, we found out that our flight was delayed! Drats!

17 Dec
Urrgh.. it’s 3am when we arrived back in Singapore.. off to sleep..

edited

I am happy with the CPA results.. 100% passes and 40.6% distinction. Not as many distinction as previous year but still good enough. Let’s hope the next cohort can achieve the same results. It’s gonna take a whole lot of work for sure… but I hope they will try their best and work hard to achieve the desired results.

For Science, I am happy too. Compared to their prelim results where the passing rate was rating disappointing, the percentage pass for the N level is 97.8%, which is a VERY great improvement. I am truly glad that their hard work has paid off.

At the same time, I hate being the bearer of bad news. They must understand that passing at N level is by no means any guarantee that they will do well or even pass at O level. They must remember that we are speaking from experience and when we advice them on how tough life will be in the year ahead, we mean well.. we are not trying to hurt their feelings. If they are not prepared to work hard or think that studying a month before the O levels will work or think that whatever they have done for their N level is going to work at O level, then they will be wasting their time coming back to Sec 5. However, we also know that if they want it THAT badly and will work their butts off to get that grade, it’s definitely more than possible. It’s just a matter of realizing how tough life will be in the year ahead and working extremely hard every single day to get good results.

For those who got a grade 3 or better for all their subjects, good for them. They need to realize though that if they want that exact same grade at O level, they need to at least triple their efforts. They should not be complacent and think that they can easily get the grade. They NEED to work hard.

However, for those who got grades 4 or lower for their subjects, they must realize that it will take a whole lot more than luck to get through the year ahead. They seriously need to catch up on what they did not understand this year and start revising early. They simply need to be more responsible for their own education.

For those who are thinking of whether they should come back to Sec 5, I hope they will choose wisely. Don’t come back to Sec 5 just to prove a point to others. Come back because you know getting the O level cert is important. Come back because you are ready to work hard. Regardless of their choice, they need to live with the consequences and strive to achieve success. And for those who are definitely coming back, I hope they will be prepared for loads of homework, self-study, tests, past-year papers, mock exams, remedials, nagging and even the occasional scoldings.

We are merely your teachers.. our words have “no basis more reliable than our own meandering experience”. Anyway, it’s your life.. your choice. We can only try to help you along the way, point you in the right direction.. apart from that, you gotta do the work yourself.

It’s been a while since the last update for sure. Maybe I’ve been hit by the holiday bug. Too busy and too lazy

Firstly, thanks to Aziemah, Geng Bee and company for the belated birthday celebration. I feel very very blessed.

Next up, we had the 2D1N Prefects’ Retreat in Pulau Ubin. Lots of challenging activities such as the low ropes and even the high element activities like the jetty jump, the leap of faith, and the dangle duo. Even though some of them appear meek and quiet in school, they surprised me as they gutsily took on these challenges. I am proud of them for sure. And amidst these thrilling activities, they also spent time planning and brainstorming on several events for the year ahead. I hope that they will continue to be bonded to each other and do their best in the upcoming year.

Meanwhile.. Ais, Ralf and their two bundles of joy arrived and spent their hols in our humble home. Lots of crying from Jamie for the first few nights, which meant less sleep for the tired parents. I guess he was not feeling well, jet lagged and trying to adjust to his new “home”. David was amazing of course.. he fitted right back in. However, after the visit to the doctor and plenty of cough syrup, Jamie was less irritable and sleeping better at night. From time to time, Ais was tempted to “drug” him with the cough syrup! haha! Well well.. we told her to bring home the medication just in case they needed it for the flight back! Anyways, they came back for the obligatory visit to family and friends of course. And when they were not busy visiting their relatives, we took the time to do mainly shopping and eating! Amazingly, Jamie eats almost everything except potatoes.. and he loves tempeh! haha!

After two weeks, they left. It’s only been two days since they left and I already miss them loads. The house feels so quiet and so empty without them. I hope we get to go there next June to visit them. I can’t wait

And of course, Che is here! To work. After “dumping” him at my parents’ place for the past two weeks, he’s now comfortable settling into his room here. And he brought me loads and loads of autodrops! Yay!

Lastly, we are going off to Japan early tomorrow morning. Flight is at 6am.. urrgh.. which means we have to be at the airport by 4am. So.. I should go and finish my last minute packing! We will be away till 17 Dec, which means that I will be back just in time for the release of the N level results!

Okie dokie.. I will update once again when I return from my trip! Till then, take care dear readers! Ciao!