rawr rawr rawr!

Little darlings, little devils, little...period.




I have 5 classes in Cosmotots. They vary in their skills and fluency, but in general they're all amazingly adorable. Some tend to test my patience, others test my will power in holding back from squishing their chubby little faces...

Some told me they'd miss me, some asked me to stay, some...are still thinking that photo session is now a new part of their classes. haha...i guess i know that these kids would "move on" in a split second. I dont think any of them would remember me if i came back in December to say hi. If they did, I don't think they'd miss me much...which would be kinda sad actually. but that's the only downside of teaching kids.

bahh...now im becoming emotional. I miss them...:(

on other news, Standard Chartered Marathon 2008 is on! I hear it'll be in November. I PRAY it'll be in December. :)

Saying Goodbye: Round 1

i guess what clouds my mind these days is how to say goodbye. i believe everyone who leaves their home to further their studies, or for a job or even to emigrate for that matter goes through the turmoil of emotions i go through everyday now.

the excitement and thrill, growing and expanding, just waiting to burst the seams. so many new things to see, new people to meet, new fun to experience. its greater than walking out of the final exam paper knowing that you're done with exams. even greater than unfurling the script which has your name in big bold letters above a degree certification. and far far greater than landing your first job.

and i say this simply because, while others go through what i'm go through before all of the above, i am fortunate enough to experience this AFTER all that. And with hopes to experience all that again for a second time 3 years from now.

and yet there is a conscious knowing that an obscene amount of cash has been swallowed up just like that. just so i can have this chance to pursue something i think know i will make it in life with. a decision made based solely on dreams, visions, imaginations and hope. i don't even know if i am cut out for this degree, or if it will propel me forward for sure in future. all i have is complete faith right now.

and the heaviness of having to wave goodbye to family and friends. no doubt i'm home in december. it'll be barely 5 months. but 5 months is a million and one opportunities for things to go wrong. then again, it's a million and two oppoetunities for me to live the time of my life also la...hahaha...

u see where i'm getting at? i'm a wreck of mixed feelings.

anyway, yesterday was the last day of my job in Cosmotots. And i've said my little goodbyes to my colleagues and to my beloved little rascals. And you know what? i really really miss them. To bits! i even dreamt of them last night. almost every one of them. I can recite their names and what days i see them. I know their little antics and their soft spots. All in 6 weeks! Kids aren't hard to read at all. in fact, it is their transparency that makes them so pure, so unbiased. Kids never lie. They pull fast ones occasionally but all in the name of a good laugh. They bear no malice and they're just the sweetest little things ever. I miss them so much...

on other stuff, i watched Beauty And The Beast the musical. it was a whopping RM129.50 for me, but it was pretty worth it. Wasn't the best I've seen, but Disney and its characters have their way of penetrating through to my heart. I left the theatre singing and bobbing my head all the way home. I loved it...i think its cool to be in a musical. No wonder Yuh Huey's life is like a fairytale to all of us...

I'm even more determined to make my happily ever after now. Not in terms of meeting Mr Right and marrying him. More so in the context of making it in life.

I'll get there! Watch me!

more quotes

"Aunty!!! Someone passed motion in the toilet!!!"

"Ok, so? that is where you're supposed to pass motion..."

"The motion is still there! never go away!"

***

Me: What do you want to be when you grow up?
Boys: Doctor! Pilot! Taekwondo Master!
Girls: Nurse!
Boys: Yer...why you want to be nurse? why dont want to be doctor?
Girls: I am a girl la! Crazy meh, want me to be doctor?

***

"Ok you want to be a doctor can you play the role of the doctor?"

*kid pretends to do surgery, and poke injections*

"Jun Ying, what are you pretending to be? Why are you sitting so still"

"NO!!! you are not supposed to see me! i'm the INVISIBLE MAN!"

***

"Aunty kawern...."

*ignores*

"Aunty kaweerrrnnnnn...."

*ignores*

"Aunty kawern, aunty kawern, aunty kawern, aunty kawernnnnn!"

"yes? what?"

"nothing!"

*runs off giggling*

k.i.d.s.

i think working with kids is a God given privilege. you're never judged by what you wear, or how you speak, or what you do, or where you come from. they're easily pleased and they're first instinct is to like you rather than hate you. if you do something they don't like then yea you get to yell and frown and pull faces at them, but toss out a magic word and award them points for acting silly as a clown and they're your best friend again. they'll tell you their deepest darkest secrets without a second thought.

i think i'm gonna miss these rugrats quite a bit when i leave end of this month.

ROLF Charity Run

Keith and I drove all the way to Nilai this morning to participate in a charity run. I ran 10 km he did 5.

Run was good. No complaints. I didn't come home with cash though. I was hoping i could but i am but a humble RPM instructor (trainee) now whose running legs have been replaced with that of an indoor cyclist - large, muscular, heavy. Stamina's gone down, but pumping uphills is a whole lot easier now. I did my run in 56:28, which is not too bad i guess. Now the last thing i need would be for someone to come and tell me it was actually less than 10 km. haha...

Keith was blown away by a bunch of really good Indian runners. They ran in a pack that if they were counted as one person, Keith would've come in at 2nd place. haha...anyway, he did well too trying to keep as close to the bunch in front as possible.

I would like to commend the organizers on a very successful event. i think they did a smashing job, because everything ran smoothly. Everything was professionally handled, and if there were any glitches, i saw none. The run was like any other run i've been to, if not better. I've been to runs organized by big million dollar corporations and even their standards did not come up to par with today's run. My hat's off to the Inti Nilai Adventure Club.

I had always always wished to organize a run back in my school and college days, but the skeptic in me doubted that I'd get sufficient manpower to help out. Perhaps my leadership isn't quite as good as some, but though i had very loyal and hardworking committee directors, to be able to command respect from a large number of people willing to work with me from start to end was something i never achieved. Watching the organizing crew today, their eyes puffy with unrest, their expressions weary with responsibility, but their tired sincere smiles showed their commitment to their duties. Lecturers and admin staff were also clad in sporty tees and track pants, all ready to lend a helping hand. I really am impressed.

And i guess i missed being a student leader. I miss the stress, the hair pulling moments where things could potentially go wrong, the endless phone calls from the people we have to answer to, the fabricated excuses we crack our heads to come up with just to buy us a little more time to rectify whatever complications we sunk ourselves into. I miss the nights where I long to head home and lay my head to rest, but when i finally get to do so, my mind continues to churn out "what if's" and "did i's" and "what happened to's". and i miss the long draggy hours i stay back at the hall, or the college with colleagues sharing the stress among ourselves, and knowing that we're actually having a great time. most of all i miss the very moment someone says "congratulations on a job well done" and every single damn drop of sweat seems worth it. the satisfaction. priceless.

***

on other things. I had a pretty huge and random SMKSJ gathering last night. It was quite cool coz i had invited a few friends and had asked them to call whoever they fancy and a whole bunch of people came! some of which i've not seen in years! most of them are still studying so it hasn't quite reached the stage where we bitched about bosses and workmates yet. but it is still fun to see how far we have all come and where our different paths have landed us. i can't wait for the next gathering of this sort!

what it feels to run

It's been awhile since i last ran. The last time i went any faster than a walk in my trainers was the NB15 km run on 18th of May. so that's exactly 3 weeks run-free. criminal.

i decided to run today. thought i'd shift my RPM to tomorrow and just hit the road today. So i came straight home after work. Weather was nice coz it's right after a drizzle. I munched a few biscuits to ikat perut for a while, coz im usually quite famished by 6.30 pm. And then i set off.

I thought i'd be panting the moment i hit the ss18 hill, but to my surprise, my feet pounded powerfully on the road all the way up. i guess RPM has done wonders to my leg strength as well as my cardio. stamina remains doubtful though because i only ran a short 5 km loop so i could come home for dinner.

But it feels great to run. 3 weeks of only RPM was turning me almost into a cyclist. I was starting to enjoy cycling more, or so i thought. but the moment i worked my legs into a comfortable pace, i am reminded of what it feels to run, and run fast.

i love running. :)

Roxy Seventeen Summer Splash 2008

I'm not one for crowds. I guess i'm almost people shy. I have this paranoia that crowds equal lots of opportunity to be groped, pick-pocketed or simply injured. Especially when majority of the crowd seem to think they own the darn place.

So you can tell for the most part, i didn't quite enjoy the Roxy Seventeen Summer Splash. I went with Steven, which is a good person to be with when i'm in potentially agitated situations, coz he knows how to lighten up the mood.

In short, there was a lot of queuing up, a lot of curse words being thrown here and there, a LOT of sand flying around. The sand throwing really pissed me off coz i had it in my eyes, my mouth, my bikini. bleaaarrrghhhh!

But fun did not elude us completely. We had fun with some of the inflated fun fair games they had there. Like the gladiator, and the elastic run. Somehow Steven and i summoned up our courage to sit on the G-Force. Which is almost like a human sling shot. But we don't get flung off la. And Altered Frequency was good. Real good. The rest you can guess from the pictures below.

the crowd before getting in...

angry policeman yelling at the crowd coz someone actually threw a water bottle at him!

pink boxers. wet pink boxers. seriously, not the best sight ever.

steven and i

G-Force!

quotes

"Hello, my name is Aunty Karen. Who here knows how to spell my name?"

*hands all waving madly in the air*

"Ok, you! How to spell my name?"

"m.y. n.a.m.e!"

***

"Today we're talking about super powers. Name me all the super powers you know.."

"Diamond head!" "Worm!" "Bomb!"

*many strange words later*

"Don't your super heroes fly? or have lightning speed?"

"Cheh...so boring waaaaaan....my superhero don't need to fly, he can blink wan ar!"

***

*Richie comes with his hair flat down across his forehead, no longer spotting the mohawk*

"Richie, how come your hair is no longer standing up?"

"I change my hairstyle already"

"Oh, so last time you were David Beckham, now who are you?"

"David cook!"

***

"The Invisible Man is a stranger in the story book. What is a stranger?"

"Bad guy!!"

"A stranger is someone you don't know. Not necessarily bad. You just don't know the person yet"

"Owwhh...like Red Riding Hood ar?"

"Yea! Remember Red Riding Hood's grandmother told her not to talk to strangers? So what is a stranger?"

"WOLF!"