My Pride N Joy

My GOLD Trophy!! 

My dad unearthed this 'treasure' from the rest of the stuff at home and he cleaned it before passing it back to me! 

Oh, how joyous!! 

My Pride N Joy!!

Now, my gold (but not shiny anymore) trophy sits proudly on my desk to remind me that hard work pays off and that I love the English language so very much.

<3 <3 <3

Song on Repeat (for now) - Impossible Year Panic! At The Disco

Song on Repeat (for now) - Impossible Year by Panic! At The Disco

Stepping into 2020 has been most unusual and most interesting and most fluid and most disconcerting and most worrying and most unnerving on so many fronts. 

Everyone is aware of the C-virus. It is everywhere and anywhere - so BEWARE! We face a deluge of C-related news daily!

I chanced upon this song and it has been on repeat because the lyrics from the first stanza resonate with me so deeply. 

Moreover, Brendon Urie's voice is totally ASMR. He sings soooo well. The haunting music and well-written lyrics move me. 

And well, so far, 2020 has been an Impossible Year... 

Listen to it if you haven't. 

"Impossible Year"

There's no sunshine

This impossible year

Only black days and sky grey

And clouds full of fear

And storms full of sorrow

That won't disappear

Just typhoons and monsoons

This impossible year

https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/panicatthedisco/impossibleyear.html

It's a lovely and heartfelt song. 


And... 
We shall rise for as per Ernest Hemingway has entitled one of his best books ever -- The Sun Also Rises!
Like the sun that (also) rises, we shall rise and make this Impossible Year --> I M Possible. 

To my homies: Hang in there. We are in this together and we shall get out of it together. 

Of Vaulting Ambition & (Harsh) Reality

Of Vaulting Ambition & (Harsh) Reality -
Lantern Making using Red Packets

A week or so before Chinese New Year 2020, Dear Son came back home with a 'parent-child' project. We (actually it means I myself) were supposed to make a lantern using red packets. 

"Mummy," he yelled excitedly in his still-baby voice, "do you have red packets? Teacher says that I need a lot of red packets to make a lantern."

My heart sank like the Titanic. "Another project? Another art-and-craft thingy? A lot of red packets?!" I thought wearily. 

I told him, "We have to do research first because prior to making the lantern, we have to find a lantern that we can make. We need to learn the steps to make it. Let's do this step by step. Follow my instructions." We were on a mission! 

We browsed YouTube for ideas. Dear Son, being the ambitious child with high self-esteem that is beyond the charts, decided that we should make a huge lantern using 48 red packets. 

I gawped at him and reasoned as calmly as I could, "How about no?" That lantern was magnificent. It was ginormous. It would take ages. It would be a struggle to make. It would drive me nuts. So, how about no? 

Finally, we settled for a small lantern using 5 red packets. That's a 'huge discount' off 48 red packets, yes? After drawing lines, folding edges, grappling with stapler, searching for red string... the lantern - our lantern (actually my lantern) - was "born". 

And here it is: 

The Lantern - Our Lantern (which is actually My Lantern)

So, what do you think? :)
Decent enough, I suppose? :) 

Conversations with My Students - Social Distancing

A huge perk of teaching is that I get to meet plenty of interesting students. My students, honestly, add A Rainbow Of Colour into my life. They are a funny bunch. Every student has his/her quirks and I am privileged that they feel comfortable enough with me to joke around. I am thankful for the rapport that we have because good rapport is priceless. 

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The corona-virus is driving everyone up the wall. There is a deluge of depressing news about the rapidly increasing numbers of cases and sadly, of deaths too. Measures to help to safeguard our communities and health have been implemented.

One of the means is Social Distancing.


Here's what happened just a few days ago.

ME: Here are your worksheets. We shall be focusing on using P-E-A* method today. Read the passage first and look up all unfamiliar words as always. 

Student, LPYC, sits bolt upright on her chair and stares in disdain at the two papers before her. She reads them while sitting in this stiff position and is pretty far away from both the desk and her worksheets. 

ME: *looks at her in amusement* Are you socially distancing yourself from your worksheets (too)? 

LPYC: *bursts into laughter* 

ME: *raises and eyebrow* *grins* 



* P-E-A method refers to Point - Evidence - Analysis used for English Literature