it sucks to be me

being a subject leader to a large cohort is extremely challenging.

as kate monster and company from Avenue Q would lament, "it sucks to be me!"

not only do i have to worry about standardising the teaching, facilitation and marking of students' works, i've to constantly send out emails to my other 29 subject colleagues to keep them updated on what's going on, what to do, what NOT to do in classes etc.

you'd think that it'd be a straightforward task, since we're all supposed to be "experts" in our field of COMMUNICATION. but nothing could be further from the truth.

what an irony.

it's frustrating to no end. especially when i've got colleagues who *don't* read emails and *don't* follow simple instructions and *don't* do what they're supposed to do!

i just wanna to kick some butt off the face of this planet!

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

well, here's my mood music today - no surprises, it's "It Sucks To Be Me" by the Avenue Q ensemble:

terrorliza@play

some of my friends have commented that i'm rather mean by giving my kids unflattering nicknames like 'monsterina', 'rascalrella' and 'terrorliza'.

coincidentally, most of these well-meaning friends don't have children of their own (yet) so perhaps they haven't experienced the frustration and realities of dealing with young children who can be oh-so-adorable-and-angelic one moment and evolve into a nightmarish creature the next.

sometimes, they're so unpredictably impossible i don't know whether to laugh or cry!

anyway, here's proof of how baby wei *is* a little terrorliza but at the same time, a really cute one. the next few photos were taken on a long weekend. wen was feverish and ill, so the hub slept in the girls' room to watch her while xian came over to sleep with wei and myself:


HAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAAA!!!

i carried wei to the bed in the morning and she didn't waste any time in trying to wake her eldest sister up to play with her!

it's always a joy to watch the girls play together. :)

too fast, too furious

my baby wei is 7 months' old today!

it seems like only yesterday when i was waddling about and trying to keep whatever i eat inside my system!

she's sprouted two tiny front bottom teeth, but so far i've been unsuccessful in trying to snap a picture of them - she squirms and wriggles too much. and if i'm not mistaken, her top front teeth will make their appearance soon. and, as usual, i'll be her first victim when she bites to sooth her swollen gums.

this little terrorliza's also the hub's favourite. out of our 3 girls, he spends the most time with her (age for age comparison) and since i leave for the office earlier, he's the one who bathes her in the morning before he goes off to work.

and she'd stay up and wait impatiently for the hub to come home, no matter how late he is. wei would get all excited and laugh wildly when she sees her daddy, although i'm the one she looks for during bedtime because i've got her "pacifiers".

i'll openly admit that i feel a tinge of sadness at the speed in which the girls are growing. and i don't mean just the physical changes.

as i watch little wei crawling around and learning how to stand/walk, i realise that this would probably be the last time i experience the joys of raising a baby. wen's 3 and her little streak of independence is bursting out of the seams as she challenges authority and starts to dictate her own wardrobe choice. as for xian, she's already starting primary one next year. my 6-year-old has lost 4 baby teeth (so far) and she reaches up to my chest now.

scary, huh?

and to prove my point, here are some pictures of the older girls at their kindergarten graduation concert held on 7 november 2008:

xian with her classmates

queueing up backstage

the little graduates - before making their entrance

receiving her kindergarten diploma

xian on stage

the 2008 K2 graduation class

xian's 1st performance of the day

the sisters introducing the next segment together

wen's up next!

she's the youngest girl - the only girl from pre-nursery class

xian's 2nd dance routine

xian's 3rd performance - chinese drama!

all the little tikes up on stage for the finale

wen and the 3 boys in blue next to her are the only students from the pre-nursery class

xian with her principal mrs tan

wen with mrs tan

xian with mrs jonas

wen and mrs jonas

wen and ms chong

the girls with zhang lao shi

the girls with lin lao shi

this marks the end of xian's kindergarten days. and i'm sad to add that Paya Lebar Chinese Methodist Church Kindergarten will no longer be in operation after 18 years. dwindling numbers (there're only 5 students in wen's pre-nursery class) probably forced the management to re-evaluate their options and they decided to close the kindergarten.

the school's obviously seen better days. but despite its slightly run-down facilities, the school had wonderful teachers who were experienced and nurturing, and both my girls enjoyed their time there.

in less than 2 months, xian will embark on her primary school journey while wen will start her nursery at St. Paul's Church Kindergarten. and all too soon, little wei will also join her sisters at school.

*sigh*

the girls are really growing up. too fast and too furious.

Obamamania!

the people of United States have spoken.

they want CHANGE.

and Barack Obama, the Agent of Change, has been elected as USA's 44th President.

i was rooting for Obama all the way. i honestly didn't expect him to triumph over the powerfully connected Hilary Clinton during the Democratic primaries. however, once he secured the support of the democratic delegates and super delegates, i knew there was a strong chance of him becoming President.

just last week, before the elections, the hub and i were discussing who'd win the Presidential race. the polls had indicated Obama would win, but i was still skeptical.

then on 5 November (Singapore time) the results were announced state by state, and it became obvious that Obama was the clear winner even before all the ballots had been counted. it's a historic victory because a few years ago, no one would have believed that an African American would be given the country's top job.

and if there was any niggling doubt after the win was announced, the President Elect's sombre yet inspirational victory speech in Chicago erased all that uncertainty. to me, his most important words were:

"The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even in one term. But, America, I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there.

I promise you, we as a people will get there."

Obama delivered his speech with utmost sincerity, dignity and credibility - all the makings of a great President.

and i am sure he'll be one.

McCain or Obama?

within the next 24 hours, the United States of America would have selected their next President.

will it be Republican war veteran John McCain the "Maverick"?

or Democrat Barack Obama, who'll make history as the first African American to head the so-called most powerful country in the world?

US citizens have begun to cast their votes. punters have placed their bets on Obama, and even the polls indicate that he'll walk away victorious.

but it's politics. and everyone knows how dirty and unpredictable it can get in the race to the White House.

i'm going to be glued onto CNN and check the detailed updates on http://www.cnn.com/.