Sunday, June 29, 2008
Chapter 348 - B.A.
Weee! I'm officially a Bachelor (of Arts). ;p
Still haven't got time to write fully though. Graduation was... interesting. It involved holding a finger of some praelector and lots of latin, and wearing gown + (pretend-to-be) rabbit fur hood. Also involved lots of photo-taking.
For now, it's to London!
Still haven't got time to write fully though. Graduation was... interesting. It involved holding a finger of some praelector and lots of latin, and wearing gown + (pretend-to-be) rabbit fur hood. Also involved lots of photo-taking.
For now, it's to London!
Labels: Cambridge
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Chapter 347 - Inability to Write
You might have noticed my recent inability to write - mostly due to:
-having to wake up at 7am, i.e. having to sleep by 12midnight. even then, it means i'm REALLY tired by the time it's 9pm
But I've just finished my placement today! Hurray! Again, having to bid farewell to so many people. In fact, I was apparently missed in one class today already. ("Where's Sir?" -yes, they address teachers as Sirs & Miss here...)
And here's a conversation I had with one of my Yr9 students today:
Jack: "Sir, where's Mr Wood? Are you taking over Mr Wood?"
(Mr Wood is my teacher mentor and he was away this morning)
Kenny: "No I'm not - in fact, it's my last day today."
Jack: *disappointed look* "It's your last day? Where are you going?"
Kenny: "Well, i'm just finishing my degree, and I've still got to finish my teacher training before I can start teaching. I think by the time I finish my training, you'll all be gone..."
Jack thinks for a moment, goes back to his seat, and comes back to me.
Jack: "Sir, how long is your teacher training?"
Kenny: "Just one year."
Jack: "Oh, so maybe you can still come back and teach us! We'll be in Yr11 then."
Kenny: "hmm. Maybe, maybe..."
How can I break the news that that won't be possible right? But very sweet nonetheless, bearing in mind that this is a fairly challenging class to teach...
Of course, on the other hand, one of the Yr10 students said I had my pimp shirt on today, which I thought was quite amusing - it's a very nice shirt of course... ;p But this was the same guy who said I looked like a gangster in my suit too, so... well... I think I'd prefer gangster to pimp of course... haha
My parents are arriving in 2 days' time! In a flurry to settle ALL the last minute admin work - it's crazy! So much stuff to sort out.... :(
-having to wake up at 7am, i.e. having to sleep by 12midnight. even then, it means i'm REALLY tired by the time it's 9pm
But I've just finished my placement today! Hurray! Again, having to bid farewell to so many people. In fact, I was apparently missed in one class today already. ("Where's Sir?" -yes, they address teachers as Sirs & Miss here...)
And here's a conversation I had with one of my Yr9 students today:
Jack: "Sir, where's Mr Wood? Are you taking over Mr Wood?"
(Mr Wood is my teacher mentor and he was away this morning)
Kenny: "No I'm not - in fact, it's my last day today."
Jack: *disappointed look* "It's your last day? Where are you going?"
Kenny: "Well, i'm just finishing my degree, and I've still got to finish my teacher training before I can start teaching. I think by the time I finish my training, you'll all be gone..."
Jack thinks for a moment, goes back to his seat, and comes back to me.
Jack: "Sir, how long is your teacher training?"
Kenny: "Just one year."
Jack: "Oh, so maybe you can still come back and teach us! We'll be in Yr11 then."
Kenny: "hmm. Maybe, maybe..."
How can I break the news that that won't be possible right? But very sweet nonetheless, bearing in mind that this is a fairly challenging class to teach...
Of course, on the other hand, one of the Yr10 students said I had my pimp shirt on today, which I thought was quite amusing - it's a very nice shirt of course... ;p But this was the same guy who said I looked like a gangster in my suit too, so... well... I think I'd prefer gangster to pimp of course... haha
My parents are arriving in 2 days' time! In a flurry to settle ALL the last minute admin work - it's crazy! So much stuff to sort out.... :(
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Kenny is....
happily inebriated... peace... whirled peas...
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
no time
no free time yet i'm afraid... :(
Sunday, June 08, 2008
Chapter 346 - Happy (& Tiring) times
Happy Times
(i'm meant to have pictures accompanying these accounts, except I haven't got them/I can't seem to get them loaded)
1. I went sculling on Friday in a double! And I didn't fall in! It can be quite intimidating, especially if you're a beginner sculler as I am. Thank goodness I had Sheila in the boat helping me along!
2. I received the most lovely present on Friday too! It's a water colour painting/print of all the boathouses along the River Cam and it's nicely framed up. I almost paid £125 or so, once upon a time, when the Cambridge Blue (a pub) was closing down and they were auctioning off a similar painting/drawing! It was a present from the lovely X-Press (Saturday) ladies as a thank-you and farewell gift! Thank you soooooo much!
3. I played Ultimate (Frisbee) yesterday and scored two - of which one was a spectacular dive. And may I add that it was such an awesome match, against St John's... We won 13-6 or something like that. Well, the rush of endorphins left me high for a while. :)
4. Was coxing the X-Press 4 at the Peterborough Regatta - we won it by a "country mile"! And it was such a pity I couldn't stay and cox the finals, cos I had to come back to Cambridge for my boat club AGM (yay! i've got a successor and I can hand over!). They came in 2nd in the end - and even did a push for Kenny. Considering we were the underdogs going into this event, we've done an amazing job!
But such tiring times as well. I've not slept in past 7.15am for an entire week. Even have to be up at 6.30am for the next 2 days. :( I'm almost ready for bed now at 10.20pm.
On the bright side, I'll be going on a school trip to the Imperial War Museum in London on Tuesday! swweeeeeeeet! And I've been on the bright side for a little too long today, and have gotten a little sun burnt.
(i'm meant to have pictures accompanying these accounts, except I haven't got them/I can't seem to get them loaded)
1. I went sculling on Friday in a double! And I didn't fall in! It can be quite intimidating, especially if you're a beginner sculler as I am. Thank goodness I had Sheila in the boat helping me along!
2. I received the most lovely present on Friday too! It's a water colour painting/print of all the boathouses along the River Cam and it's nicely framed up. I almost paid £125 or so, once upon a time, when the Cambridge Blue (a pub) was closing down and they were auctioning off a similar painting/drawing! It was a present from the lovely X-Press (Saturday) ladies as a thank-you and farewell gift! Thank you soooooo much!
3. I played Ultimate (Frisbee) yesterday and scored two - of which one was a spectacular dive. And may I add that it was such an awesome match, against St John's... We won 13-6 or something like that. Well, the rush of endorphins left me high for a while. :)
4. Was coxing the X-Press 4 at the Peterborough Regatta - we won it by a "country mile"! And it was such a pity I couldn't stay and cox the finals, cos I had to come back to Cambridge for my boat club AGM (yay! i've got a successor and I can hand over!). They came in 2nd in the end - and even did a push for Kenny. Considering we were the underdogs going into this event, we've done an amazing job!
But such tiring times as well. I've not slept in past 7.15am for an entire week. Even have to be up at 6.30am for the next 2 days. :( I'm almost ready for bed now at 10.20pm.
On the bright side, I'll be going on a school trip to the Imperial War Museum in London on Tuesday! swweeeeeeeet! And I've been on the bright side for a little too long today, and have gotten a little sun burnt.
Monday, June 02, 2008
Chapter 345 - A Busy Week
This week is looking to be absolutely packed for me - packed with my school placement and coxing - both of which occupies my every waking moment. Take today for example - I woke up at 7.30am, cycled to school, and got there at 8.20am, left at 4.45pm, came back to college, got changed, and went coxing. Got back around 8.30pm. Well, it's gonna be like this pretty much this entire week. I was trying to find time to do some of my own things, and realised I've only got 2 hours today (which I used to attend a meeting in school), and 2 hours on Wednesday afternoon. Boohoo.
[as an interesting aside: my mentor and i walked into a class today to look for a teacher, and guess what the lesson was? sex education! and how did I know it? well, initially i thought i saw a really phallic looking salt grinder. And then I realised, it WAS a phallus (oh, how refined i am.... call it dick if you prefer. ;p)! And the reason they were having a dick in hand, other than being really naughty, is because they were learning how to roll a condom over it! gee. that's something we don't do in Singapore huh... though in Singapore, hmm... esp if it was a same-sex school!]
[oh, and also, i encounter a lot of new terms (non-subject related ones mostly), so I just nod and act like I know... lol. Like I attended this ENTIRE PSHE class, not knowing what the hell PSHE stood for. you can't blame me - they were learning how to write their CVs! (plus, it's NEVER my fault... ;p). And now I know. PSHE = Personal, Social & Higher Education. It's a bit like our CME I guess.... or the closest I can't describe it to.]
Oh, and this school placement is something I opted to do on my own - not MOE-directed in any way. I thought it'd be quite useful to get some ground experience from a school here, since the system here is quite different. Thus far, it's been really enjoyable. And somewhat more intensive than my school attachment last July at Dunman. (omg - i was actually funny once upon a time!)
And something to kickstart your Tuesday:
ERP comes to Pedra Branca!
And I missed Warship last week - so sad. And I also missed the first half of it today cos I was watching House. Still 30 minutes of it was awesomeness...
Kenny swoons over the HMS Illustrious... Sweeeeeeeet.....
The other members of the fleet.
[as an interesting aside: my mentor and i walked into a class today to look for a teacher, and guess what the lesson was? sex education! and how did I know it? well, initially i thought i saw a really phallic looking salt grinder. And then I realised, it WAS a phallus (oh, how refined i am.... call it dick if you prefer. ;p)! And the reason they were having a dick in hand, other than being really naughty, is because they were learning how to roll a condom over it! gee. that's something we don't do in Singapore huh... though in Singapore, hmm... esp if it was a same-sex school!]
[oh, and also, i encounter a lot of new terms (non-subject related ones mostly), so I just nod and act like I know... lol. Like I attended this ENTIRE PSHE class, not knowing what the hell PSHE stood for. you can't blame me - they were learning how to write their CVs! (plus, it's NEVER my fault... ;p). And now I know. PSHE = Personal, Social & Higher Education. It's a bit like our CME I guess.... or the closest I can't describe it to.]
Oh, and this school placement is something I opted to do on my own - not MOE-directed in any way. I thought it'd be quite useful to get some ground experience from a school here, since the system here is quite different. Thus far, it's been really enjoyable. And somewhat more intensive than my school attachment last July at Dunman. (omg - i was actually funny once upon a time!)
And something to kickstart your Tuesday:
ERP comes to Pedra Branca!And I missed Warship last week - so sad. And I also missed the first half of it today cos I was watching House. Still 30 minutes of it was awesomeness...
Kenny swoons over the HMS Illustrious... Sweeeeeeeet.....
The other members of the fleet.
Sunday, June 01, 2008
Chapter 344 - The Forgotten Journals
I was gonna post-process some of the photos from my Norway trip during the Easter break, and then I realised I haven't posted most of them here! How silly of me! ;p If you need a recap of my last post on Norway, I'd suggest you check THE ARCHIVES (as i did...)
OSLO
This is supposed to be an outdoor skating rink - but it's not cold enough in April, and you'd be skating on pretty thin ice if you tried to. There're lots of these bronze statues around this park area though, kinda reminds me of the bronze scultures along Singapore River, if you know what i'm referring to.
The Oslo Cathedral - which is under construction/restoration/renovation. But fear not, there's a "container" chapel in place of the cathedral, in case people needed a place of worship during this period.
I was also approached by a evangelical lady from the Seventh-Day Adventist Church during my stay in Oslo... And amazingly, she didn't have an English language brochure with her (although she had Mandarin, German AND Russian), so we just ended chatting about what I was doing in Oslo, and how she was from Bergen.
The Fram Museum. The Fram is a polar ship, which navigated the poles. It was quite an amazing feat, and I think it probably is to this day, to be able to get that close of the North Pole. And I'd imagine it was pretty depressing when they got stuck in the arctic winter, being landlocked by ice. (well, just FYI, the arctic winter isn't just cold. It's dark. for 6 whole months)
The Fram again...
And a low-angle shot...
I will write on Tromso in the next post....
OSLO
This is supposed to be an outdoor skating rink - but it's not cold enough in April, and you'd be skating on pretty thin ice if you tried to. There're lots of these bronze statues around this park area though, kinda reminds me of the bronze scultures along Singapore River, if you know what i'm referring to.The Oslo Cathedral - which is under construction/restoration/renovation. But fear not, there's a "container" chapel in place of the cathedral, in case people needed a place of worship during this period. I was also approached by a evangelical lady from the Seventh-Day Adventist Church during my stay in Oslo... And amazingly, she didn't have an English language brochure with her (although she had Mandarin, German AND Russian), so we just ended chatting about what I was doing in Oslo, and how she was from Bergen.
The Fram Museum. The Fram is a polar ship, which navigated the poles. It was quite an amazing feat, and I think it probably is to this day, to be able to get that close of the North Pole. And I'd imagine it was pretty depressing when they got stuck in the arctic winter, being landlocked by ice. (well, just FYI, the arctic winter isn't just cold. It's dark. for 6 whole months)The Fram again...And a low-angle shot...I will write on Tromso in the next post....
Chapter 343 - It's OVER!
Hurray! It's over. My exams ended yesterday with the shittiest paper of it all. Everyone came out of the exam wondering WTF was that! And my exams ending on a Saturday is somewhat reminiscent of the Saturday lectures that we have... (they just had to do it...)
Anyway, instead of getting myself sillily drunk, I had a nice dinner with some friends, and ended up watching the finals of Britain's Got Talent - or rather, we missed the acts and caught the results show instead. And well, the winner was not much of a surprise really - George Sampson. He's a 14 year old break dance/dancer. As they say it - "Singing in the Rain" never seemed cooler than this: (this is the semi-final video btw. and if you think of it now that he's won, it's even a sweeter victory eh?)
I really love the rain coming down bit man....... The lighting, the music, the entire mood. INCREDIBLE! (trust me, you HAVE TO watch it...)
There were other worthy performances I guess, (videos below are from the finals)
Those were my favourites - if you click on any of the links above, there lots more links to the other performances.
And as promised, here's a shot of the Hugh Laurie boat.. it's apparently just called Laurie though....
Anyway, instead of getting myself sillily drunk, I had a nice dinner with some friends, and ended up watching the finals of Britain's Got Talent - or rather, we missed the acts and caught the results show instead. And well, the winner was not much of a surprise really - George Sampson. He's a 14 year old break dance/dancer. As they say it - "Singing in the Rain" never seemed cooler than this: (this is the semi-final video btw. and if you think of it now that he's won, it's even a sweeter victory eh?)
I really love the rain coming down bit man....... The lighting, the music, the entire mood. INCREDIBLE! (trust me, you HAVE TO watch it...)
There were other worthy performances I guess, (videos below are from the finals)
- Ecala (click for the video), which is basically a Bond copycat - quite entertaining though.
- Signature - a Michael Jackson impersonator (awesome) and his Indian counterpart. You might also want to catch their first round act. Signature came in 2nd btw...
- Kate & Gin - For your information, this is otherwise known as the dancing dog performance. You'd think, what's so great about a dancing dog - and then you watch it, and I think you'll be impressed too
Those were my favourites - if you click on any of the links above, there lots more links to the other performances.
And as promised, here's a shot of the Hugh Laurie boat.. it's apparently just called Laurie though....
