only just

Two days ago, after two self-imposed postponements, token amounts of preparation and a heck of a lot of anxiety, i finally got down to taking my ippt. I only had a week left in which i had at least to attempt it once, and if i had failed, it would, for all  intents and purposes, have meant that i would have to be down for way too many (thought one is already one too many) mandatory training sessions. You can understand why i would therefore be on tenterhooks, dreading in particular the sit-up station, which currently assumes the rotating position of my ippt Achilles' heel, a position that it has held for the last few years (At first it was the 2.4 km run, but since the chin-ups and standing broad jump have also taken their place - so typical for me that once one improves, another will get worse and leave me perennially struggling to clear the ippt every year, just due to a different station.)

My aim was, of course, just to clear the whole thing, which would mean doing at least 30 sit-ups in a minute, 5 pull-ups and jump 212 cm (i have no issue with the other two stations at the moment, but who knows what may happen next time?). And that was precisely what i was able to do - nothing more, nothing less (well, ok, one more sit-up, but that was only because the machine counted 31 after i got up after finishing the 30). After finishing those three stations, the rest was a breeze. I was even possibly eligible to get $100 if i had completed my run within 11:20, which i thought i had a shot of doing. It was not to be though, as owing to the fact that the route was six rounds of a running track, the slower runners were hogging the inner lane, which meant that i had to cover extra distance just to overtake them - and so i must have probably covered quite a few extra metres, and in the end missed out by 2s, which i'm sure i wouldn't have been the case had there been no need to overtake.. But oh well, i am thankful for what i got in the end - and am looking forward to slightly laxer standards next time round, owing to turning thirty - for now the best thing i can think of by far about reaching that milestone.

Pacing, Racing

Time's Paces

Henry Twells
amended by Guy Pentreath

When I was a babe and wept and slept,
Time crept;
When I was a boy and laughed and talked,
Time walked,
Then when the years saw me a man,
Time ran.
But as I older grew, Time flew.
Soon, as I journey on,
I'll find time gone.
May Christ have saved my soul, by then,
Amen.

So, can I still keep up?

facepalm (oil)

It has been a hazy past couple of weeks or so in Singapore. Or at least so i heard. Thankfully (for me, at least), the haziest period this year (so far) coincided with the June holidays, so there was practically no chance that i would still be in Singapore by the time the smokiest and most suffocating days came by. I was very shocked when, while on holiday i came to hear of PSI readings of more than 300 - i distinctly recall the 200-ish readings back in 1997 when i was still in school and thinking that it couldn't get much worse than that, so it must have been really bad.

Long before this haze outbreak i had been critical of the increased usage of biofuels in general, and specifically in the Southeast Asian context, with palm oil. The trend towards their increased use for fuel has undoubtedly further fueled the problem, regardless of which countries the firms are from. As a result, i have, half-heartedly, been trying to avoid consuming products with palm oil for quite some time already. It's not easy though, given the ubiquity of the darn thing nowadays in all sorts of food and other products. Earlier today when i was just reading a post encouraging people to boycott palm oil products i felt a sudden burst of inspiration to do so, but then i realised that at that moment, i was munching on a cadbury bar that of course had to contain palm oil. Oh the irony.

I will continue to try to avoid palm oil products in any case, though not religiously. However, i've often wondered about the effectiveness of boycotts, especially if the company you're boycotting is not aware that you're boycotting them - how would that have any effect on what they do then? Then there also is the matter of ethically-sourced palm oil versus the other stuff, though here in Singapore i've yet to encounter the former labelled explicitly, so i assume only the latter is around.

aimless

Or at least that is how i feel sometimes when things wind down somewhat (they never, ever wind down completely) as far as work is concerned. And that's the case now that the school holidays have officially started. But of course there's still stuff to do, just not so much that falls into the urgent and important quadrant, which is why i'm able to take some time to note that i've started three consecutive sentences with conjunctions (which is something that i tell students never to do). Heh...

A price worth paying

Of late, i've been pretty efficient at marking (in terms of number of assignments/tests marked over total number of submissions, within say two weeks of their being submitted). Now that's really not saying much at all, given that i think i've set the bar pretty low over the past few years. And just like in any good history structured essay question topic, there are various factors that have played a role in this being the case - less classes, less students, less random last-minute duties being those that come to mind.

Something else that has factored in is that, after so many years, i've come to the realisation that home is far from the best place for me to do any marking, and so when i'm not in school but still have marking to do over the weekend (i.e. every day of every weekend), i sometimes find myself marking while parked in some cafe, having ordered one or two overpriced drinks (and perhaps an overpriced slice of cake/ pastry too) in order to buy me at least a couple of hours of solid marking time. And thus far suffice to say that this strategy has paid off.

As is always the case, success comes at a price. In this case, rather literally. Having always been one to tut-tut at seat hogs who somehow can make a single drink go a hell of a long way, i tend to feel guilty about having my cup/plate empty while i'm still taking up space in the cafe, and so, particularly if i've a lot to clear, i may spend close to $15  (which by my standards is high - enough to buy one 473ml tub of Haagen-Dazs and still have enough change for a small cup) in one marking session. It doesn't help that i'm rather a slow marker, as i generally cannot help but write quite a few comments for each script - score one for formative assessment. The result: when i was clearing old receipts from my wallet , i did an impromptu summing up of all the marking-related receipts over just the past few weeks and the result was a three-figure sum. Gasp.

However, if the alternative is going back to being heavily behind in my marking (as opposed to the current status of not-too-heavily behind), give me the current state of affairs any day. Just hope that the formative assessments are actually forming something of worth in the students' minds...

127 Years

11 Founder's Days have passed since i've left the school but rather unexpectedly i'm quite excited about this year's one, to a level far surpassing any other Founder's Days in recent memory. I think that somehow it being a Friday and also a no lessons day at school due to our cross country has put me in the mood, especially since the students sang the school song so loudly and proudly today. Granted, it's not the same song (nor the same school), but the warm and fuzzy i-love-this-school-so-much vibes were resonating so strongly in me, reminding me of how i felt when in JC we were bused over to the old Police Academy to support our rugby team - we lost to RJ when i was in year one but trashed them the next - but both times i was cheering my lungs out in a way i had never done before, and never did again (i did cheer for the Tar Heels while on exchange, but i was probably more caught up in the moment of everyone else's cheering than anything else).

Another thing was that while i'd never really paid much attention to all the AC-love on fb on previous Founder's Days, this year i've seen the postings everywhere (never realised how many AC friends i have - no wonder for the longest time i thought that everyone in Singapore spoke English and had the financial resources to take an overseas holiday at least once a year). Truly there must be something special about the school to evoke such strong feelings of school patriotism (the actual word for this, if it exists, escapes me). Of course the amount of AC haters around (even among the alumni) shows that things are not so straightforward (i myself have my fair share of things i don't like about the school) but well the school definitely has been a blessing in the lives of many, and i dare say that the good has outweighed the bad.

So happy 127th, ACS, and here's to many years of being blessed to be a blessing ahead :)

Monumental Importance?

It was with a mixture of much satisfaction and some surprise that i responded to reading yesterday that the Civilian War Memorial is to be gazetted as a national monument this year. Satisfaction because it is due recognition of the importance of this monument in Singapore's historical narrative. Surprise because i had thought that such an act was unnecessary since it would be understood that such a significant structure (particularly one with the words "war" and memorial" in its name) was something that was to be preserved.

Perhaps regarding my latter sentiment, in response one could argue that the gazetting of the Memorial as a national monument was a necessary formal acknowledgement of its importance, in order to give it official due recognition. After all, as far as i am aware, this is the only one of two post-war structures in Singapore that have been gazetted as a national monument. In fact, it and the Singapore Conference Hall post-date the next youngest national monuments by a good 25 years at least. Not that relative (or for that matter, absolute) age should be the most pressing criterion in deciding to gazette any building as a national monument, though in a place like Singapore where structures dating even from the first half of last century are becoming an increasing rarity, it is understandable why it is one of the most significant criteria.

What i am afraid of is that this official recognition will be just that - a nod to its significance from the higher-ups which has little implication on the consideration given to how the Memorial is to be treated. I say this with the precedent of the recent story of the joggers using the steps of the Cenotaph (another national monument) as a piece of warm-up equipment still fresh in my mind. Regrettably, there was little follow-up to the publishing of that initial story (and if there was, i plead busyness with work as the excuse for my ignorance) in the public square. How can that be, given the fact that the Cenotaph honours those who fought and died in both world wars? (I refuse to elaborate on that statement for the statement alone ought to be enough justification for it to be left alone).

Now we have the Civilian War Memorial, which serves a similar function of according due honour to our war dead, though in this case wholly innocent civilians (the remains of some of whom actually are buried there), being gazetted as our latest national monument. Again, to me the preceding statement alone contains enough weight in itself to warrant the Memorial being given its due respect. Yet to my prolonged horror, for every year since its inception the organisers of the Singapore F1 Grand Prix have deemed it fit to erect a gigantic temporary grandstand (i believe it is referred to as the Stamford Grandstand) on its grounds. Adding insult to injury, by the time they dismantle the grandstand after the race every year, the grass on the smothered ground is dead, smearing the grounds of the Memorial with an unwelcome and irreverent shade of brown. While i acknowledge that i am not a fan of the race in itself, even if i were i would be similarly disgusted. No matter how much big bucks the race can pump into our economy, it should, under no circumstances, come at the expense of desecrating the memory of our ancestors who have lost their lives during a war that we are taught in schools (rightly so) never to forget. What again is regrettable is that there has (again, to my best knowledge) been little, if any public outcry regarding this as well. Could it be because we really do not appreciate the significance of the Memorial, such that the annual emergence of a steel monstrosity that conveniently obscures a good deal of it from view does not bother us?

In the interests of the ongoing and never-ending process of nurturing our Singaporean identity, i hope that this act of gazetting the Memorial will do much more than pay lip service to the importance of treasuring our past, no matter how painful it may have been. Those who have lost their lives, and in fact, the people of Singapore (past, present and future) deserve nothing less.

reMARKable

During a conversation with some colleagues just now while doing some marking on a bus on the way back to school from a learning journey, i realised that in the past four years or so i've done marking while on the road, at sea and even in the air. Bet that will never feature in any recruitment ad...

Miserable Musings

If even based solely upon the fact that it's the first movie i've seen in a cinema in four-and-a-half years (only because my father had charity tickets), i thought that i might want to post my random musings about Les Misérables, especially since after having watched the musical once and heard the soundtrack countless times, i think i know the musical at least rather well..

• Being the lead singer of 30 Odd Foot of Grunts does not equate to being suitably equipped to play Valjean, not in a musical version at least. If it were a non-musical film adaptation of the Victor Hugo novel then i would have no objections though. In other words, Russell Crowe is a fine actor, just not one who should be doing musicals.
• If you want to be really particular, then how could Fantine manage to sing I Dreamed a Dream the way she did with a freshly-extracted tooth? (Although one could argue that she channeled the pain from the tooth into her song). Just as well they didn't remain faithful to the novel, which took out her front teeth - no way she could have sung the song then.
• Unlike most, i was not all that impressed with Anne Hathaway's performance. It was solid, but nothing impressive as far as i'm concerned.
• Who was more impressive to me were the actors who still frequently perform in musical theatre (e.g. Samantha Barks, Eddie Redmayne, Aaron Tveit).
• Speaking of Samantha Barks, while her performance in the 25th Anniversary Concert was not something i cared much for, i thought she did brilliantly in the film adaptation. I am so glad the rumoured near-casting of Taylor Swift as did not materialize. If so i might have been quietly happy when Éponine died.
• And talking about her death, i thought that it was such a pity that they cut some of the lesser-known songs, including A Little Fall of Rain, and also The Attack on Rue Plumet, even if it was in the interests of time.
• In fact, coupled with the cutting of her harmony part when Valjean is about to die, Samantha Barks got quite the raw deal. Her name didn't even appear in some of the trailers despite of the major role she plays.
• There were some nice minor touches - the re-envisioning of Enjolras' death scene while keeping the iconic image intact and Javert's pinning of the medal on Gavroche's body come to mind.

All in all, i'm glad they did a film based on the musical, in spite of my gripes. Better than not having one at all..

Last words

As quickly as years go past, this past year has really taken the cake. That would probably be due in large part to the busyness factor as far as work is concerned. At the end of each year, i would think to myself that i could not imagine things being any busier, but then they soon do. At the same time though, the past year has certainly been the most fulfilling one in a while in several areas. Again work comes to mind, in terms of greater opportunities to connect with some of the students, opportunities that i'm very thankful for, though there are other areas as well. The year's had its fair share of disappointments too, but nothing that i can't get over by God's grace.

And i guess that's precisely what i'll need to recognize and depend upon more in the year ahead. On paper it doesn't seem so bad, but given my poor track record in forecasting anything, it's probably a good idea to brace myself.

tripped out

After being away for pretty much three quarters of the past month i'm back here for at least the next six months or so. The trips could not have been more different (well, apart from the effect on my skin colour). I'm glad for both of them though - i really do feel that i am in my element when away from home, and as such i can't help but see my spending an extended period of time overseas more of a when than an if. It'll definitely still be a while before i get there though. In the meantime, hmm, i think i have some work to do?

between trips

Just got back from ten days in Cambodia - was there for a service learning trip with students (second one in three years at that). Was quite a good experience overall, and certainly better than i had thought that it was going to be at the start of it all (and am certainly more tanned than i had thought i would be too but that's another story). I'm now more able to appreciate the value of such trips in terms of the impact that they can have on our students. That's not to say that there's been a miraculous change - on the contrary, there's a long way more to go for them (and let's face it, for me too), but certainly i think for all of them it's at least a step in the right direction.

Since getting back i've about a week to prepare for the next trip, which i definitely am looking more forward to than i was the previous one. And to my semi-surprise i've actually gotten quite a bit of prep done (though my bare minimum is rather easy to reach - it involves just listening to this). Few more days to go!

bled dry

The above is the result of the past few weeks of marking, in preparation for the ongoing exams. This has by far been the most i've had to mark, and understandably so given my classes. If only they had been so enthusiastic about handing work in right from the start. But then again, i'm happy to see that they're finally more stressed than i am :)

Can't wait for the opportunity to recharge. It'll take longer than usual to come, but better late than never eh..

by a whisker

The past two weeks have been somewhat more relaxing for me than usual, as i was having reservist. It's a tad disturbing that in someways i've had a more enjoyable time these past two weeks than i've had at work, because one could argue that by extension, i'm better off leaving my job and signing on with the SAF instead. But of course the two weeks is a far from accurate picture of how life would really be like, and if not, truth be told, at least for a split second, i'd be tempted to make the switch.

Perhaps that split second would have come when i somehow managed to do relatively well for my ippt. The run in particular went far better than i could ever have expected. For starters, i came in first, which i don't think has ever happened before. More amazingly was the fact that i ran more than half a minute faster than i've run in living memory, probably attributable to me running longer distances recently. What really counts, though, is not any of this, but the fact that i managed to siam having to go for remedial training, which i was threatened with after having failed my previous ippt by one sit-up.

Anyways, while i'm definitely somewhat dreading going back to work tomorrow, after two weeks of relative mental vacancy (though the first week was spent desperately trying to visit some important marking), i'm also looking forward to seeing my students through their final exams. It's really just a matter of weeks before that's all she wrote, and hopefully after getting back their results i'll be going back to see them really raring to go. Hopefully. Heh.

Appreciated

As much as i'm pissed about the untimely loss of the actual holiday due to typical bureaucratic inflexibility, having this Teachers' Day holiday coincide with the end of the term makes this last day of the term that much sweeter. While i (and i suspect, many a teacher) would much prefer it if, instead of the gifts and other acts of appreciation that come once a year, the students would just give it their all throughout the year, it's always affirming and encouraging to be at the receiving end of these acts. And after today, i must say i've come to appreciate my students even more, not that i'm only saying this because of the gifts, of course. And at the least, this is all the more reason for me to try my best to see that they too try their best, as daunting as the hurdle ahead is...

overdue

Well once again it's been a while since i was last here, and all of a sudden this site's url has changed. And as evident from the many weeks of silence, so has my stress and busyness level. What a change from soaking under the warm, inviting Croatian sun to soaking in my own sweat in the similarly warm but not so inviting classroom. Things seem to have gone by so quickly, but unfortunately far more quickly than my pace of marking can keep up with. Which probably explains why i should get back to my marking and end this abruptly here. Looking forward for a more structured rambling time next time round...

Checkered thoughts

It's three days into my time in Croatia. Here are some typically random thoughts so far:

1. Qatar Airways has my business for as long as i'm able to maintain at least my silver privilege card status. The lounges may not be the best (they are the botton-end ones after all), and the obnoxious types still make it in, but at least they're not so crowded and they do offer some kind of free food, which already is aces as far as i'm concerned.
2. I know it seems as though i've some kind of Europe obsession - i was just thinking back and realised that this is my sixth time in Europe within the past four years (i tried to make that sound as un-show-offy as possible - but really each place i go to is different, and Croatia is no exception.
3. They obviously don't have or get much Asians here, which on the one hand is refreshing (simply because i travel to places with the aim of not being reminded of home), but one the other somewhat discomforting. This is particularly so when so many people give you strange looks, almost as though you're in a zoo. And cultural ignorance/stereotyping comes into play too - so far i've heard some guys mumbling something about karate when i overtook them on a pathway, and also had some guy check his girlfriend's bag to see that all the zippers were tightly shut after she pointed out that i was behind her.
4. I've not been couchsurfing yet as in the places i've been to so far, there aren't many couchsurfers to begin with, and i've also not had timd to send out requests. Will try to couchsurf when i'm back in Zagreb, the capital. This means that i've been in hostels, which so far have been pretty good (well, there've only been two so far actually). You can't choose your hostel dorm room mates though. There was a bunch of young Brits who came in at around 3:30am last night after a pub crawl, switched on the lights and made lots of noise zipping and unzipping stuff and the like, and after five minutes of that, they started talking rather softly and said "hey, don't talk so loud, we might wake them up." I was tempted to sit up and say "too late!" but i controlled myself :p

lounging

It's hardly luxury, but not bad for a start to a somewhat intimidating holiday...

post-marking hangover

Really don't feel like doing anything productive this weekend. At least where work is concerned. Did manage a 2.5 km run at the ECP - haven't run that little in such a long time, but as i'm still recovering from a URTI, i figured that i wouldn't push myself. Also managed three pull-ups. My token way of preparing for the IPPT that i'm supposed to take by mid-August. Much more training to be done. Feel far more inclined to do that than the work stuff, but you know which one will have to be done at the expense of the other. Oh bother.

of damaged thumbs and crossed other fingers

Considering that close to four years of accumulated teaching resources are on it, perhaps it would have been less painful to break an actual thumb