2009 is.....TOMORROW

2009 is just round the corner. I thought 2008 was a long year. I guess 2009 will be longer....geezz. Next year's deployment....heavier than this year's. I guess I should have expected it...saw it coming.

Running SWC for the second consecutive year. 3NT Integrated Curriculum. IDEAS. Geeezzz....will I have time for my CCA then? Long year it will be...
Hopefully better prospects too.

Anyway, I went to HK in the middle of this month....11 - 14 Dec with my wife. Not bad. Pretty much like Singapore I guess....other than the weather.

This end of year "holiday" doesn't feel like a holiday. Work work and more work. What to do...preparation for 2009.

Then again, how much can you prepare? There's only so much that you can do.....

I seriously do not know what I should do for now....too many things. Anyway, I'm trying to enjoy my New Year's eve and not think of work. Till we meet again in 2009.

Burning-out,

RuDy

A few more days.....

Geeezzz.....a few more days and I'm a year older.
Time flies huh? I guess it flies when you're relaxing and chilling out. It never flies when you want it to fly. Oh well.

Money matters. I still need to spend $250 dollars and then make claims in school. $250 is no joke. Especially when I'm broke.

Had difficulty sleeping last night. Was just reminiscing the past few years of my life. Don't want to sound melancholic but it's been fun. The last 10 years especially.

I mean, I finished army in 1999. Army was fun with cool mates to chill out with. That was when we did lots of stupid things. haha. I guess a bunch of mostly single guys would just do anything when they have free time. haha.

A couple of months after ORD, I left for Sydney.
2000 - Sydney was different. After all, it is 4 wonderful years of my life that I spent there. Even though money was limited (hey I was a student, getting $$$ from parents), I had good times. Of course there were times that I envied the people that I knew there. I mean they had the means to buy cars, eat out at restaurants and stuff but I guess my parents taught me the value of money. I don't come from a filthy rich family like those buggers. For that, I thank my parents for guiding and bringing me up the right way.
First year, Foundation year. The people I met then, are still the people that I keep in touch with (though only a few of them).
2001 - Not all made it in uni. Some had to leave UNSW since they couldn't get into uni. Some went to other colleges while other left the country. Only a handful were left in UNSW. And I was pretty much the only one with Ayumi who did Media & Communications. Of course she had her own stuff to do as well. It was uni, back home, soccer on Fridays and Sundays and chilling out with Desmon and Din almost every night. Where? Everywhere in the city.....literally everywhere. Staying out till 3am and not going for lessons the next day. What do you expect? I was "learning", in a different way though.
My studies were horrible in 2001.
2002 - Decided to buck up when grades in 2001 were horrible heading south. Great results. If only I had put in effort in 2001. Started opening up in uni, getting to know more Aussies. I still don't hang out with them but took part in a futsal tournament. Came in 3rd overall. Was the only Asian in the team. Not bad huh?
My only regret? Not joining the uni soccer team - simply because training was far away. I was pretty sure that I could have made it into the team then. I was all gungho and confident then. Oh well, too late for that now.
2003 - Final year. I kind of change my lifestyle a bit. Stayed home more often. Didn't go out much. Save more $$ to eat better food. No more "happening" lifestyle like in 2001. Great results as well. If my parents could have afford it, I would have gone on to do my honours degree. But that's alright. I'm more than greatful that my parents used up all their savings to support my education there. They worked REAL hard to support me there.
2004 - Difficult 8 months. I was job hopping. Then came an interview with MOE. September 04, I did contract at Woodlands Ring Sec. Up to July 05, posted to NIE.
2005 - 2007: Fun times at NIE. Not as fun as others but I had my share.
2007 - 2008: And then came reality....AISS and now WSS.

2009 is just round the corner. Hopefully another fruitful year....hopefully.

Resting,
RuDy

I was on RazorTV...

I'm a celebrity now. haha. I was on www.RazorTV.com.sg last week. Yup, it's on every Monday 8.00 live online. I'm invited again tonight but unfortunately I can't make it. Another week perhaps.

Anyway, I went to Malacca with the councillors last Wed and Thursday. 4 hours drive. Tiring. 34 students and 4 teachers. It was an alright trip I guess. The food was good. Accomodation, could have been better. I didn't get enough sleep. It was a tiring trip I suppose. I mean, it was suppose to be an incentive trip for the councillors but in way, it's far from that. The day before (Tuesday) the councillors had to work hard during Amazing Race. Then in Malacca, they had another Amazing Race - the exact same one that we did when I went o Malacca in May with the 4NT. At least we visited a school there - St Francis Institution - supposedly one of the best in Malacca. I was quite impressed with the head councillor. Young chap but impressive.

The teachers who welcomed us were hospitable as well. After the visit, we went to Baba Nyonya museum. It was a good experience.

Oh ya, and yesterday I went for the New Paper Big Walk. 5km walk, easy walk. We saw the Marina Barrage....the one at Marina Bay. It was well organized....could have been better though but generally it was alright.

Anyway, time to go home. Just got back from the school gym. A bit of work out. Time to go...

Regards,
RuDy

Me on Razor TV

TV TV

Am I on TV or what?? hehe. Will update later...need to go now.

Selamat Hari Raya...

More than 2 weeks since Hari Raya. What did I do? Eat and grow fat.
Sheeshh....eat and eat and eat. Getting lazy to exercise nowadays.
Anyway, holidays coming up soon.

Don't know where to go and what to do. Hmm....where's a good place to go? Bintan? Hongkong? Taiwan? Aiyah....just stay in Singapore will do. hehe. Save $$ also. Economy's not so good now. Singapore's in a recession....and recession means less bonus and therefore less $$$....what to do.

This month also broke. 3 weddings to attend....
End of this month, going Malacca. Hopefully it's not going to be a boring trip. No idea where we're gonna stay either.

I think it's about time that I go for a relaxing trip. After all, I've worked hard this year. hehe.

Anyway, that's all for now. Laterz...


Worked-hard-all-year-long,
RuDy

Fasting month will be over soon....

29 September 2008...two more days to Hari Raya.
Fasting has been pretty easy I must say. I mean, comparing to last year, I'm having a much easier time I must say. Maybe it's because I'm getting sufficient water to last the whole day.

On the the past 2 Saturdays have been pretty challenging. Then again I am partly to blame...silly me went to play soccer at 1st Toa Payoh sec. No joke to play 2 halves of 40min without water. Thank god it ended a few minutes before time to break fast.

Exams are just round the corner. Starting this Friday 3 Oct.

Preparation for Hari Raya? Nothing much actually. Can't wait to makan all the goodies. ahaha. Rendang and sambal. yum yum!!

Anyway, that's all for now. Update laterz....need to get the monkeys out now...

Regards,
RuDy

19 September 2008...

When am I ever free? I thought I'll be less busy this time round the year but hell no. Fasting period still on. So far so good. There are days that I do feel extremely tired but most of the time alright.

Tomorrow, soccer at First Toa Payoh. MOE game. I do feel a bit intimidated. After all, the good players will be there tomorrow. Oh well, just enjoy the ride. One problem though will be the weather. Hopefully won't be so hot.

Went to Geylang last Friday night (after the course). Super crowded. Geezzz....I don't know how people can stand the crowd. We didn't buy anything, just a baju for the wife.

Anyway, haven't done much interesting stuff lately. Just simple too lazy to do stuff. haha!!! Getting so unfit as well. Can't do nuts the past few weeks....want to go gym, I'm dehydrated. Go for a jog, I'll just faint.....how to play tomorrow???

Oh well, time for relief...

Regards,
RuDy

2nd day of fasting...

2nd day of fasting....so far so good.
Thank god it's the holidays. What to eat for dinner tonight?? Hhhmm....

Anyway, SMS' started to pour in yesterday and the day before. SMS' of happy teacher's day and stuff. It really brightened my day.

Wei Lin, ex student from Woodlands Ring, SMS to wish me happy T' Day. She's in her final year of poly now - Sports & Wellness at NYP. It came as a surprise....I mean, we seldom contact each other. It's often once a year kind of thingy....T's Day.

To think that 3 years ago, I was at Woodlands Ring. She was the captain of the badminton team...ya. Can't believe I was the badminton teacher i/c.

Anyway, gotta go now.

Regards,
RuDy

Happy Teacher's Day...

Last entry was 15 July 2008......1 and a half months ago.

I simply am too bbeeezzzzeeee to blog. By the time I get home...I'm done. Can't do anything at all.

Teacher's Day celebrations today. Did I get anything? Yes........not gifts, but thoughts of appreciation from my students. Am I disappointed? In a way........why?
Let's put it this way, I thought I meant something to some students. Guess not. Those that I least expected, weer the ones that surprised me. Am I really a lousy teacher? I don't know. I think about it all the time. What kind of relationship do I want with my students. I just don't know. IS it good to be friendly? IS it good to be strict? I'm learning....every day of the week.
Do I need gifts? I don't think so. What do I need then? Appreciation? Hugs? Recognition? I don't know what I want and I don't know what I need.......maybe not. Maybe, all I need is a word. A simple word...."THANKS".

With Razif coming to this school, where does that put me. Would I be better off in Woodlands Ring? Would I be better off in AI? Where should I be. Questions, questions and more questions.
Is this the right job? Is teaching fulfilling? I feel good spending time with my students......

Again, I ask myself, "Do the students feel the same way?"

I put in time and effort, as much, if not MORE than what other teachers have done. But it's just different. Not getting the same response.....

I'll live another day.....another week, another month, and another year.......


"Happy Teacher's Day Mr RuDy....."

RuDy...

1 month ago....

Last time I blogged was one month ago. It's been one hectic long month. NYAA camp aside, I'm tired. Only in the 3rd week of semester 2. Things just seemed to keep on coming and coming and coming. Maybe it's just me...

I'm starting to think that people want to "makan" me just because I'm new. Hey, there are newer staff but people don't makan them. It's just me.

The NYAA camp went well. Thank god it went well. Not exactly my head that's on the chopping block. I'm only Philip's assistance but the land ex was mine. I'm quite happy with the performance of my camp leaders. At least I know that I trained them well. A few hiccups here and there as expected but overall, it was good. It is after all a learning process.

Now the SWC stuff, lots to do as well. Aiyah...don't know how now. What to do? Staff dinner etc. Aiyah...stress ah. Venue set....Marina Mandarin. What is not set is the food!!! Damn it. Halal kitchen cleansing is $150 per hour. That's going to take a while. See how lah...

Anyway, too busy to blog. Got to continue marking.

Regards,
RuDy

What a holiday......or was it a holiday?

Holiday or not?

I also don't know. First week of the school holiday was a good break. Went to Bali with my wife. Relax, have a good break. We stayed at Grand Istana Rama. It sure was good. Makan at this place right at the beach itself....yup. Seafood by the beach. Spectacular.....Jimbaran. We also went parasailing.....way cool. We were attached to a parachute and a speed boat took off. We flew....nice.

The following 2 weeks killed me. Went for the AFC 'C' Coaching certificate at NIE under Robert Lim and Arasu. Tiring.........physically and mentally. Never did I expect that such a course could kill me. 8am - 10am practical. 10am - 12noon....theory. 12noon - 1pm lunch. 1pm - 3pm theory. 3pm to 5pm practical again. My body ached for the first few days. After first week, it was alright. But my joints are killing me. I'd rather ache my muscles......growing old already.

And now, final week of school holidays...where am I? In school.....sigh. I know. Poor me. No break other than the first week. So many things to do. Gazillion stuff. Plan for this, for that. Aiyah....this weekend burn some more. Going to Jln Bahtera campsite for camp leaders training.

Ok lah, enough is enough. Back to WORK. Laterz...

Work-is-piling,
RuDy

Pictures Pictures Pictures....

Got some pics to post. Haven't posted pics for sometime. I was too busy to take pics that day. I think it was Shahira and Pat who took the pics...

Finally got the National Schools Cross Country pics. Nothing much to be proud of but nevertheless, some pics for memories.

Calm before the storm...

My first ever cross country.....as the teacher-in-charge

This looks like Weiwen....

Memories to last for sometime now. Hopefully it's going to be a different scenario next year...keep my fingers cross...

Trigger-happy,

RuDy

M-A-R-K-I-N-G...

Tired, shag, exhausted, drained, worn-out, weary.....that pretty much describes it all.

From what? Marking of course. Hehe....I guess it comes with the job huh? Oh well...what to do.
Oh ya, the day before yesterday, I got the results of the National School X-Country. Unbelievable....the C Div boys winner, came in faster than the B Boys winner. Sheesshh....I wonder what he eats!!!! But I have to admit, he has the perfect physique for a long distance runner. To a certain extend, I'm happy that Singapore can produce such athletes. Hopefully it's for the long term and who knows, he could be a world beater in years to come.

Need to finish all this marking as soon as possible. I don't want it to afffect my weekend...well, it definitely will affect my weekend but not up to the point that I can't do anything over the weekened.

Don't know if I have a game this weekend or not. If no game, then looks like I'm out of the team again....damn it. I guess it's who you know in the team and how vocal you are that gets you to places. I mean, we have like the shittiest player in the team and yet he knows people and is vocal, so he gets to stay with the team. Honestly, I guess that's how the world works. So what if you're a better player...doesn't mean you'll automatically be in the team...just because I don't know people.

Oh ya, haven't visit Charles also. See this weekend how. Hopefully got time lah.

Ok, back to you-know-what...

M-a-r-k-i-n-g,
RuDy

It's MAY!!!!!!!!!!

It's already May....sheesshh.....5 months down. A few more to go.
It's exam period now. In fact....first day of exams today. I'm invigilating 2F. Ok class I think.

Went to THE CAGE yesterday. Even though not much people, but we had fun. Lots of laughter. Kena whack by Jingquan at you-know-where with a ball. Not once but twice...duh. I still want to have children ya know. After that went for makan at Leisure Park....and of all places, makan at KFC...boring.

Then bought myself a pair of Nike Pro Ultimate tights. Was actually looking for the long Nike Pro tights. Don't have...

Anyway, got soccer match in school against Fuchun Sec Staff now......AI staff...you're next.

Regards,
RuDy

Nationals over...

The National School X-Country was last Wednesday. Basically, the season's over. The boys did decent I guess...especially the B Boys. Guhan came in 34th position. Hopefully he'll do a bit better next year. I'm glad he's only 15 now. The top 40 boys came in within 1 and a half minute of each other. Unfortunately Ramarao was injured that day....I'm pretty sure he would come in before Guhan.

All in all, I'm happy with the results. Not like ecstatic but happy that they put in effort. If there's a couple of things that could be improved, would be their attitude. I see students from other schools crying even though they came in top 20. Not tears of joy but tears of disappointment. Even sad and distraught that they didn't do better and yet, students from WSS, simply has a I couldn't care less if I came in 1st or 1000th position....only the B Boys were disappointed. I'm also very happy with the effort put in by the sec 1s. All of them put in tremendous effort. It was good exposure for them. I guess there's the big difference there....the attitude and mindset.

Met Charles, Tan Boon Seng and Rauf there too. Also saw How Chong. I saw a few of the AI students there too...namely Wei Wen. I thought she did well considering that she's only in sec 3 this year. She's got one more year to go. I'm sure with hard work, she'll do fine.

Sports Day was yesterday. A few of my athletes did very well. Raj and Amalesh in particular. They were pretty much neck to neck in almost every finals. Amalesh got the individual championship though....I do feel for Raj. I would think that Raj would deserve it more but hey, that's how it goes....by results. And for once, I was involved in a staff race. Our team came in second. I was the last runner for the relay...the final 100m stretch. I guess I couldn't catch Gary in spite of the fact that I ran like a mad cow.

Anyway, this flu is killing me. On Thursday as I was doing the oral exams, my nose couldn't stop running. And it's still running as we speak. What in the world should I drink/eat to stop this flu. The flu panadol doesn't exactly help. Oh well.....rest and watch tv. I didn't even go for my game today. Didn't want it to get worse. Exams next week too.....so little time so much to do.

Flu-hit,
RuDy

21 April 2008...

Wow...it's been close to 2 months since I last blog. It's been an extremely busy semester.
Update update.....
My form class 1I is giving every teacher hell. They are one notorious bunch. Let's hope I can keep them check. They're only in sec 1....many more years to go. I guess I've got to come in hard on them.

I just came back from my reservist over the weekend. 16 LONG days...3rd April to 19th April. Tiring??? You bet. Physically I'm drained but mentally I'm great. 702 GDS....cool unit, made some good kakis. Unfortunately some of them tend to shoot their mouth off. I just don't understand how some people can just open their mouth and be so insensitive towards other people's feelings. Not to me specifically but when I hear them shooting their mouths off, I wonder if they've ever been taught when they were younger. There's just this lack of EQ and social emotional feelings towards other people. The company mission exercise was alright, just a bit of walking and attacking. The battalion mission exercise (BME) was a blast. The highlight of the BME was the fact that I had the opportunity to get on a Super Puma helicopter. It's definitely an experience of a lifetime (though it was only a 7 min ride). We started walking from 10pm all the way to 6.15am. Rested for like half an hour and proceeded with attack at first light. 8 freaking hours of walking with FBO. On map it was 12km but I'm pretty sure we walked more than that with the bashing and stuff. I started to hallucinate between 2-5am. No idea what I saw and no idea where I was. Sheeessshhh.....so sleepy then. Thank god I managed to tahan. One of the most difficult part of my reservist by far. I salute all the other guardsmen with their matador and FBO. Super heavy load.

Anyway, the National Schools X Country is on this Wednesday. 2 more days.....and yes I'm sending a team each in all 4 division. But honestly, it's just for participation. There's no way in hell can WSS win. We're nowhere near the standard of other schools...not even anywhere near the standard of AI. I'm just happy if they can come in top 40 individually. That's all I'm asking for. As long as they are doing their personal best. It is after all, a competition for the students...nothing to do with me. It's their time to shine. Keep my fingers cross that there's no injuries and stuff like that.

Alright gotta go. Will update as and when I'm free. Hopefully I won't have to wait for 2 months.

Regards,
RuDy

One down.....many more to go...

In fact...two down...many more to go...

Yesterday was the CNY "Brunch" celebration. It went well I think. Well, that's what Thiru said. And today was the school's X-country which went fine as well. No hiccups....not that I know of. No major casualty. Everyone came back safe and sound. Other than the usual scratches and bruises...no one was evacuated or sent to the clinic or hospital. I am sooo glad.

A bonus was that the magnificent 7 (my 'B' Boys) came in the top 7. What more can I ask for. Ramarao (broke the school record), Guhan was just a couple of metres back, Vikram and Himel came within 1 second of one another, with Raj behind them, Ashwin was right behind him and Amalesh came in 7th. Quality stuff. They should be proud of what they did. Kudos to them

Oh ya, Singapore's hosting the YOG in 2010. Yup, we won the bid to host YOG. At least I did my part helping Singapore win this bid. My Saturdays burn - going to SMU with students just for this YOG, meeting Mr Teo Ser Luck etc....hopefully some of our students will be there in 2010.

Anyway, so many things happening the past few weeks. So little time. Ok lah....report later. Many things to do...

Good day,
RuDy

It's February 2008...

I can't believe that it's already Feb. No time to blog....rubbish. No time to even relax. I'm so looking forward to this CNY long weekend. At least I can chill out and REST. Even prepare my lessons well. Been too busy with school...parents meet, CCA, camp leaders, CDP etc. Upcoming, school X Country in less than 3 weeks. One step at a time Rudy.....one step at a time.

Weekends is the ONLY time I have to clean the house. Cleaning a house is never easy. I've still got tonnes of boxes unpacked. Maybe I should get some students to do CIP hours in my house...get them to unpack and arrange my stuff. haha.

I sprained my ankle pretty badly yesterday. Played for the MOE team 3. Thank god the RICE treatment helped. The ankle guard is helping a lot too. I couldn't even walk yesterday. Still limping badly now. Don't know if I'm coming to school tomorrow. haha. Anyway, I've got tonnes of preparation to do now. Laterz...

Limping,
RuDy

Finally...

New Year's Blog.

Happy New Year to me. It's also the first day of the Muslim Calendar today...1st Muharram. Anyway, I'm blogging from my new house. Feels good to have your own house. I don't like the cleaning part though. It's still messy as hell. The only thing that's done are the living room and kitchen.

There are still boxes everywhere in the master bedroom. Except for my computer, everything else is still in boxes in my study. The other 2 bedrooms are just as messy. haha! It's gonna take me months to get things done at this kind of rate. I just haven't had time to do things with such a busy schedule. Geeezzz!!!

Anyway, since the first day of school, I've been working non stop. I've got to prepare for the school's cross country in Feb, start a new CCA (which is taking off), SWC chairperson, CDP Committee as well as taking care of the student leadership committee. Rubbish...too much work. How to juggle so much? I just feel that with me being so busy in all these committees, I'm short changing my students...not crafting and able to come up with interesting lessons. I'm the form teacher of 1I....NT class. Not easy to handle my boys. Teaching EL for both 1I and 4E (another NT class). 4E's graduating this year....added stress with N levels in September. I'm also in the NT program just started in my school meaning every Monday's I have to take my NT students out of school for PE. Kayaking, dragon boating, outdoor soccer, Macritchie runs etc. That's in the afternoon. Where got time to do so much things? My house is in a mess...

Shit...can't believe I'm bitching so much. On the other hand, it keeps me occupied. Damn it...time to cook dinner....shit. Use to have mum cooking...now it's me. Damn it.

Blog-another-day,
RuDy