Sunday arvo Quote of the Day

If you want love and abundance in your life,

give it away.

Fashion your life as a garland of beautiful deeds.

BUDDHA

Sunday Fitness - Bodybuilding and Training at Home

Starting from today, I will be working with Nutritionpark.com, and bringing to you fitness articles on every Sunday! This week... we shall start with...


Techniques to Gain Muscles Fast : Bodybuilding and Training at Home



You don't have to join the gym in order to get a muscular body. There are many reasons that contribute to one's need to stay at home. Stuck at home with things to look after? Can't be bothered going to the gym after work? Don't have the money to join the gym? Whatever your reason is, exercising at home is still viable for bodybuilding. You can choose when and what you want to do without having the stress of other peoples' eyes looking at you. Simply put, you can have your own free gym membership in your own home. Look around your house. You'll see many things you can use to exercise!

1. Abdominals Training
A. Air Bike - Lie on your back and put your hands behind your head. Raise your legs so your thighs are perpendicular to the floor while your lower legs are parallel to the floor. Curl up and bring your left elbow toward your right side while drawing your right knee in to meet it.

B. Crunches - Lie flat on your back with your feet flat on the ground, or resting on a bench with your knees bent at a 90 degrees angle. Place your hands lightly on either side of your head, keeping your elbows in. Begin to roll your shoulders off the floor. Your shoulders should come up off the floor only about four inches, and your lower back should remain on the floor. Hold it there for five seconds. Return to starting position and repeat.

2. Biceps Training
A. Concentration Curl - Sit on the sofa, spread your legs apart into a V and lean forward slightly. Grasp the dumbbell in one hand with your palm facing upward. Rest your elbow on the inside of your thigh and let the dumbbell hang. Slowly curl the weight up while keeping the torso, upper arm and elbow still. You can substitute the dumbbell using a kettle filled with water (Vary the amount of liquid within the kettle for varying weights).

B. Bicep Curl - Hold two dumbbells at arm's length and stand with your legs shoulder-width apart. Turn your palms up and curl both dumbbells up toward your shoulder. Keep your upper arms against your side at all times! When you reach the top, rotate your wrists so that your palm faces almost straight down. Go back to the starting position and repeat.

3. Calves Training
A. Calf Raises - Stand with your legs shoulder-width apart. Raise yourself onto your tip-toe and hold yourself there for ten seconds. Slowly return to starting position. Repeat for ten to fifteen repetitions. You can carry a fully loaded backpack if you want to increase the intensity of the workout.

4. Chest
A. Push Ups - Kneel down on the floor and place your hands flat on the floor and slightly wider than shoulder width apart. Move your feet back, placing your toes on the floor, so that your knees are off the floor and your legs are straight. At this point, your body should form a straight line from your shoulders to your ankles. Lower yourself to a position almost touching the floor, but never doing so, stay there for five seconds, then return to starting position. Throughout the whole motion, the movement should be well-controlled without any jerks or sudden movements. Your body should remain straight throughout this exercise. You can vary the positions of your hands to target different parts of your chest.

5. Hamstring
A. Leg-Curl - Load your legs with wrap-around ankle weights, then lie on your belly on your bed, with your legs hanging from the side of the bed. Then, lift your legs into a 90-degrees position with respect to the bed and slowly return your legs to starting position in a controlled manner. Repeat this motion with sets of 10. You can increase the intensity by increasing the weight of your ankle weights.

B. Dumbbell Lunges - Hold a dumbbell in each hand and pull your shoulders back. Lift your chest up and look straight ahead. Slowly bend your knees, lowering your hips so your rear knee just clears the floor. Pause briefly in this position, then slowly straighten your legs and raise your body back up to a standing position. Perform ten to fifteen repetitions and increase the intensity by increasing the weight of the dumbbells. Repeat with the other knee being the rear knee.

6. Quadriceps
A. Weighted Squat - Stand with your legs shoulder-width apart and holding dumbbells. Squat down until your thighs are just past parallel to the floor. Extend your knees and hips until legs are straight. Return and repeat.

7. Shoulders/ Quadriceps
A. Iron Cross - Stand in a low parallel squat position, feet shoulder width apart and holding dumbbells parallel to the ground with palms facing in. Move arms out away from your sides in a giant "T" as you stand upright.

8. Triceps
A. Bench Dips - Place two chairs facing each other, about three to four feet apart. Sit on one chair facing the other, with your hands grasping the side of the chair. Using your hands to support your weight, lift your feet onto the other chair so that the rest of your body is suspended between the two chairs. Slowly lower your body toward the floor by bending your elbows until your upper arms and forearms form a right angle. Return to starting position.

B. Kickback - Stand to the right of a bed. Bend your left knee and rest it on the bed, and place your left hand ahead of you on the bed for balance. Your back should be as straight as possible. Pick up a dumbbell in your right hand. Bend your arm and raise your elbow up to shoulder height. Hold it there for five seconds. Slowly lower the dumbbell back to starting position. Let the dumbbell hang. Repeat for ten to fifteen repetitions, then perform the same process for the left arm.

These exercises are good solutions if you demand convenience. Remember to pay attention to areas such as "start slow, increase gradually" and be sensitive to the people around you. When you train at home, you might incur disturbance for your family members. With that said, good luck in training at home!

About the Author: Colin Tan is a fashion model, fitness trainer and sports nutritionist based in Singapore. See more of his articles at http://www.nutritionpark.com .
This article is brought to you by Nutrition Park - Bringing you good nutrition and real results.
http://www.nutritionpark.com/ .

写给所有失恋朋友们的一首歌。

From omy.sg

初院时期，　为一位失恋的朋友写了一首歌。　
歌词里写的是他真实故事。
在此和大家分享一下，　也希望为那些失恋的朋友们疗伤。
献丑了！


原版－　永恒的爱


double-image版本　－　永恒的爱　（献丑了！！！）

歌名：永恒的爱
曲： 庄智翔
词：苏建发

站在雨中
我脑海起伏飘动
她的影子
又浮现在我脑中
她那迷人的脸孔
和那腼腆的笑容
忽然间和我一起
穿梭时空

站在雨中
我脑海起伏飘动
其实我一直都活在虚幻中
看着
那大楼前的时钟
不可能回头转动
难道这段爱情
被他们说中

我渴望。。。
在这个世界有段叫永恒的爱情
可惜没有人愿意给我那种权力
难道我没有魅力
还是我不讲道理
你没告诉我便悄悄的离去

我真的需要一个叫永恒的爱情
和我一起去制造这个爱情结晶
我的要求很容易
只希望你能答应
让我有勇气在告诉你我爱你

一夜间 我们俩 变成一对陌生的人
为什么 这样对我 你知不知道 我真的好难过

My Sister's Keeper by Jodie Picoult

I suppose that by now, everyone that wants to read this, or see the movie, has done so. But just in case you haven't...

Had been meaning to read this one for ages, even before I knew there was a movie being made. In fact, if a movie is made it's really neither here nor there for me. I have read Picoult before, and I wanted to do so again. Her novels are incredibly thought-provoking, dealing with complicated issues in non-linear ways.

What's this one about? Well, in case you've been living under a rock...

Anna was an IVF baby. The embryo that became her was selected specifically because she would be a perfect genetic match for her sister, Kate, suffering from APL, a type of leukemia with a low survival rate. The idea was that Anna's umbilical cord blood would provide stem cells to potentially cure Kate. However, it didn't work out that way, and over the years Anna has donated blood and bone marrow to Kate, who's health has continued to deteriorate. Now Kate's kidneys have stopped working, and a kidney transplant from Anna is her only chance, if she's strong enough to survive the surgery. It all comes to a head when Anna retains legal counsel to sue her parents for medical emancipation so that she can make her own decisions about being a donor for her sister.

I think Picoult relishes writing about difficult subject matter. She avoids giving clear-cut answers, and reveals more and more about her characters, little by little. I think she purposely keeps you guessing so that you keep thinking. She's also the master of the tear-jerker. Enough said.

So if you haven't yet read My Sister's Keeper, I recommend that you do. And I've heard that they've changed the ending for the movie, so I don't think I'd bother with that. (The ending is a very big part of the story - I can't believe they would change it!)

My Mum has a ride in an Ambulance

The call came while I was at gymnastics watching Alana. It was my sister. "Mum's had a bit of a fall here."

It took a while for it to sink in. Mum? She's still young, and full of energy, and very steady on her feet. Sometimes I find it hard to keep up with her!

"She's in a lot of pain. We called an ambulance to take her to the hospital. They think she might have broken her shoulder."

It turns out that her shoulder wasn't broken, just dislocated with a bit of bone chipped off. (Yeah, I know, still horrible.) Once she was at the hospital, and they had x-rayed her shoulder, and got a doctor to look at her, they were able to put in back in place. But boy, is my mum a character!

Apparently she was instructing everyone, including the ambulance officers, not to fuss over her, and not to let my sister come in the ambulance with her "because she needs to stay and look after her kids". I spoke to her this morning, and she raved over the psychodelic drugs that they gave her for while they were putting her shoulder back into place! "Ooooh, I could see all colours! And they said I might have some pretty vivid dreams last night - and I did!" And God love her, she was sounding pretty chipper, and reminded her how lucky she was that it was only dislocated and not broken.

What a trooper! Love you mum, and hope that your shoulder is back to its best in no time.

A call from the States!

感动 leh... hahah. Thanks for the call arh!

He called me early in the morning....@ 10am...haha. The moment he called...

"Freaking hell, take so long to answer."

"Huh, who's this?" (Afraid that was my IA company, feeling apologetic)

"A call from the states lah!"

"ORHHHHHHH!!!! DENNIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"


Hahhaa... 想你多多 la. Nobody forget you in hall lah. Hhaha...see you soon!

Mr. Sotong

Early in the moring...went to buy breakfast. While waiting...and looing at my foot... I saw...



That's how blur I was.

Mr. Sotong!

Weighing the Soul by Len Fisher

This book is for adults who still ask "why?", and "how does it work?", and like to learn a little something every now and then.

From the cover notes:

"In this witty, insightful and engaging book, scientist and broadcaster Len Fisher reveals why common sense can be the biggest enemy of good science as he takes us on a tour from one American doctor's attempts to weigh the departing human soul, via alchemy, frogs' legs, lightning rods, polaroid sunglasses, the structure of DNA, Frankenstein's monster and the dimensions of Hell, to the necessary, but common sense-defying, mysteries of modern science."

And from the author's introduction:

"This book tells the stories of scientist whose ideas appeared bizarre, peculiar or downright daft to their contemporaries...science and common sense often don't mix...Those who proposed bizarre-sounding ideas were often forced to do so after recognising that the accepted wisdom, or 'common sense', of their era was simply insufficient to understand what was going on...This book traces the route of the procession trought the stories of those who forced the changes, and shows how many of their ideas, which seemed to be so at odds with the common sense of the times, are now used by scientists to understand and tackle everyday problems."

The cover notes were enough for me to rescue this book from the 'bargain bin' and take it home. I, quite simply, love to learn, and thought that the subject matter sounded fascinating.

You don't need to know a lot about science to enjoy this book, but you should be interested in the subject matter. Recommended also for history buffs; Fisher has researched thoroughly to ensure that his stories of scientists past are grounded in reliable documents such as original diaries, papers and notes.

A very interesting read that you can pick up, and put down, as the mood strikes.

Dear Fatty by Dawn French

Dear Fatty is a memoir written as a series of letters Dawn's nearest and dearest. Touchingly, many are written to her father, who died when she was only 19, to update him on what has been going on in her life since then. Dawn is known as a comic actress, and is one half of the comedy duo French and Saunders. Her reminiscences are so honest, and real, that they had me both laughing and crying.

Dawn's warmth, and immense love for her family and friends, comes through every page. Every embarrassing story is told with joy, and noone is spared her brutal honesty in the telling!

One of my favourite stories is the tale of the day that the Queen Mother visited the air force base that her family were living on, and her family had been chosen to receive her in their house. Dawn describes the flurry of dusting, mopping, new haircuts and new outfits; not to mention the curtsy practising. She describes her extreme disappointment that the Queen Mother's head was adorned with a hat, and not a crown. And, horror of horrors, the Queen Mother had black teeth! She was clearly a witch!

A very enjoyable read.

Most Embarrassing Mum Ever

Here is a scanned photo of my beautiful daughter doing her "modern expressive" solo at a recent eisteddfod. She dances to Show me Heaven by Maria McKee.

Anyway, I think I may be a contender for the Most Embarrassing Mum ever. I always suspected that I would excel in this area, after all, my own mother was very embarrassing when I was a teenager!

At the eisteddfod, we were sitting quite close to the adjudicator. When it came time for the competitors in the classical ballet improvisation to listen to the music that they would have to dance to, I did a little classical-ballet-in-my-seat in time to the music. Just having fun! The adjudicator turned to me and said, "You've got the right idea! I hope some of the competitors dance like that!" It sounds all very tongue-in-cheek, but actually I'm sure that she was complimenting me on my excellent interpretive skills! I came back with, "Yes, next year I'm going to enter." To which she replied, "I'll lend you a tutu!" A lovely little exchange.

So, after the classical ballet improvisation competition was finished, it was time for the adjudicator to announce the winner. Before that though, she recounted the tale of how a mother that was sitting right near her had the right idea, and that this mother might even enter next year wearing a borrowed tutu!

My daughter turned to her father, and, with a roll of her eyes said very dryly, "That was Mum."

"I thought so." he replied.

So, are any of you guys contenders too?

Nearly, nearly, nearly finished.

Here are the roses that my hubby bought me "just because". Isn't he a sweetheart? They are in a blue vase which you can't really see because I took the photo from above (standing on a chair). The background is the checkered tablecloth on my dining room table.

My final assignment for the semester is very close to finished. It is so very tempting to just submit it now so I don't have to look at it anymore. That's why I'm taking a little break; so I can resist the temptation and take a little more time to read over it and make sure that I'm super happy with what I've written.

Think I will make myself a cuppa and visit some blogs for a while...

10 Random Thoughts

1. I'm still listening 下雨天 by 南拳媽媽. That day this song had been looping on my I-phone from NTU Hall 14 to Shunfu Road. Haha..not that I don't have any songs, but too nice liao. LoL.



2. That Friday Mark and Suhui dropped by my house to take Astro Quiz Essence...Long time since we ever chat for so long. From our secondary school days... till now... and Mark is SUPER funny. Hahah.

3. Today I slacked whole day... just listen to One online lecture...and now I'm feeling so damn guilty.

4. Thus I'm going to punish myself for staying awake till morning to finish my lab report.

5. I think I will be so screwed because I have to work at 8.30am till 12.30pm.

6. My weight has been decreasing due to sleepless nights.

7. I just watched a movie on channel 8 by stephen fung and gillian chung. Hmm, kinda emo show... really hates to leave someone.

8. I have been drinking cups of coffee...teh o peng... teh peng...to keep me awake.

9. I have been telling myself...take in a deep breathe... and 笑。 It helps. Really.

10.I seriously need to rush my report now.

Bye bye.

Not Boomz...but Shingz! Yet another Ris Low Series. Laugh out loud!

If he can do it, I can do it too.

I came back from Justin's room, sitting down infront of my table, and saw a video that clement introduced.



=)

Life's hard, but never give up. Everyone can look down on you, but the only person who can give yourself one more chance, who can give you tolerance, who can accept you... is... YOURSELF.

加油. Don't give up.

And now... sleeping time!

Citibank Gathering

Over the weekend... meet up with citibank-ers for dinner...

Anticlockwise : Myself, Xiuli, Serene, Tommy, Jennifer, Rachel, Alvin, Gina

Long time no see... but its still kind of heartwarming to see everyone taking out their precious time to meet up. The never ending citibank stories... the funny things we used to do in the past...and the gossips that exists...

Though we are not working there anymore... but the reminiscence still lingers. =)

Taking a little break from work.

Here is my beautiful daughter performing her classical ballet solo at a recent eisteddfod. My apologies about the scanned image, but I had to buy copies of the photos taken by the official eisteddfod photographer. They arrived in the mail yesterday.

Doesn't she look gorgeous!

At present she is watching the latest New Moon updates on YouTube. Of course, she should be doing her science project, or practising the piano...Much like I should be working on my uni assignment!

Only a few days to go, and all my assessment tasks for this semester will be finished!

omy.sg presents Coraline Movie Preview

Attended Coraline Movie Preview with Daphne, thanks to Omy.sg for inviting me. It's a 3D animation movie, and yea... both of us are quite noob, cos this is the first time we are watching a 3D movie! Yea... just crawl out from the mountain. "Mountain Turtle".


Yea, Kinda excited with the heavy glasses. LoL


Daphne and Myself


Coraline Trailer

"From Henry Selick, visionary director of THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS, and based on Neil Gaimans international best-selling book, comes a spectacular stop-motion animated adventure the first to be originally filmed in 3D!

Coraline Jones (Dakota Fanning) is bored in her new home until she finds a secret door and discovers an alternate version of her life on the other side. On the surface, this parallel reality is eerily similar to her real life and the people in it only much better. But when this seemingly perfect world turns dangerous, and her other parents (including her Other Mother voiced by Teri Hatcher) try to trap her forever, Coraline must count on her resourcefulness, determination and bravery to escape this increasingly perilous world and save her family."


A review on the movie Coraline found on youtube.

Basically, I did enjoy the show... seems to travel back to our childhood days of watching " Cartoon " , haha...maybe a high class "Cartoon" . But maybe I'm abit not used to it, felt quite giddy after the entire show arh. Not very comfortable thought.

Plot is good, occasionally bringing trills down the viewers' spines, Daphne screamed at some parts of the show though. Hahha. I guessed this could be also due to the graphics, which seem so real that sometimes you will feel that the characters are just right infront of you!

Just like some typical horror movies, the director uses loud audio effects @ certain scenes, to create thrills to the audiences. But... overall, I think it's okay lah, but maybe the kids will be frightened, need parents to be around with them man. haha. No wonder Adrian Pang bring along his entire family down!

After watching the movie... it put some thoughts to me : Treasure your family and friends around you, and be contented with your life. They may not be the best, but they loves you. What seems to be the best, may not be that good after all. Everything comes with a price to pay.

Overall rating : ♣ ♣ ♣

What have I learned???

I'm struggling a bit with the second part of my ETL504 assignment, the bit where I need to discuss how my learning in a particular area has developed. I do get to choose which area I talk about, (from a list including 'quality management', 'innovation and change', 'conflict resolution'...) but I'm not sure that I have enough to say about any one of the choices! This is the part when I stop and think - so, what exactly did I learn? And it's all a bit of a blur...

I'm supposed to use my learning journal (this blog) to guide my discussion. I've been reading through my posts labelled ETL504, and I do say a lot! But can I demonstrate any real development of thought on any one topic? I feel that we have had so much to cover that it's been a bit like one of those tours where they say, "If it's Monday, then this must be Paris!". Except I'm saying, "If it's week 5 this must be 'negotiation'!".

I hope that you see my point. I'm saying that we have moved so quickly through so many different topics, that I'm finding it hard to chart my development on any particular topic.

I'm sure that I must have learned something! I just have to capture that learning and get it down onto paper.

My belated birthday celebration... with the Engineers!

Last Friday...went to celebrate my belated birthday, yea...almost a month, haha...with my engin friends, Yanpei and Peishan. The thoughtful girls came out with a series of activities, that made my birthday celebration a special one.


We started having our Jap late lunch at Jurong Safra... Peishan and myself


Then after that...we head on to Jurong Safra Kbox... wah. I tell you...this Kbox is damn damn damn special. You can do recordings and send it to your phone via bluetooth!


Wad else...there's a very big touchscreen pad, majiam Iphone... which you can select your songs. And for boring dudes out there, you can play games on the machine. Haha, so for those friends who feel so bored everytime you hit kbox...fred not now!


Yanpei and myself. Oh yea...and price is the same rate! No extra charges for the recording purposes.

Okay...here's our recording! Yanpei and Peishan don't let me upload theirs... ehh...so I abit buay hiao bye...upload mine lah. Paisay Paisay. Hha!


最近 - Kevin Soh

Hahha... this Kbox is located at Safra Jurong, beside Boon Lay Mrt. Ehh... I not recieving any benefits from Kbox lah, haha...but I just find it quite cool...to share with you guys lo.

After Kbox...we head to Taman Jurong for stingray...and Bowling sessions!


Yan Pei and Peishan


Yanpei , Peishan, and myself


The 2nd round loser...Yanpei (Have to treat cab fare) and the 1st round loser...haha, had to treat them desert.

Alrights...Back to mugging. Now its like 3.30am? yea, I just woke up... Wierd sleeping time. Argghhh

Complexity and the Change Process

Fullan, M. (1999). Complexity and the change process. In Change Forces: The sequel (pp. 13-30). London: Falmer Press.

An organisation can be thought of as a living system. It changes and grows over time, and cannot be assembled in one single act of creation or change. It is one thing to see an innovation up and running, but quite another to get there in your own organisation.

One of the most important aspects of change and innovation is knowledge creation. An organisation creates knowledge by finding the sources of knowledge and disseminating it throughout the organisation.

We should be inspired by the mandates and vision that comes from above. Top-down mandates and bottom-up energies need each other. Success comes when initiatives combine accountability (from above) with the development of individual capacity (at the bottom).

We should make sure that any initiatives combine sound pedagogical theory with explicit strategies for change. The local context is a crucial variable.

Differences and conflict, if respected, help us learn more and have creative breakthroughs. Sharing of tacit (hidden) knowledge among individuals with different backgrounds, ideas, values, and perceptions is a vital first step.

"Small groups of self-selected reformers apparently seldom influence their peers." (Elmore, 1995, p. 20)

Organisations going through change are complex almost to the point of chaos. Allow for flexibility within a structure of priorities, targets, deadlines and responsibilities. Create opportunities and processes for communication within the organisation.

High quality interconnectedness and emotional support allows collaborative cultures to keep tackling hard problems.

In education, there are so many new policies, innovations and competing pressures, that unconnectedness becomes a problem. Principals are essential as integrators and synthesisers. What is important is to create procedures for making meaning from tacit knowledge to bring it into the open to be shared. Also important is to create ways to integrate or connect each now opportunity with the organisations central focus.

Doing the Happy Dance!

Hooray! I have submitted my ETL501 pathfinder-and-critical-analysis assignment.

Now I have to get my head back into ETL504 to finish off my Portfolio (sounds fancy, but it's really just a multi-part assignment).

While flicking through yesterday's (Sunday) paper over lunch, I was reading my favourite column, Sarah Wilson's This Week I... in which she describes her ongoing experimental journey, trying anything and everything to make life more meaningful, happier, sweeter. I really enjoy her column, because I too want to make my life more meaningful, happier and sweeter. And a lot of the things that she tries are things that I might like to try too.

Anyway, for a while now I've been wishing that she blogged, because I think her blog would be one I'd like to read, and voila! Follow this link to check it out.

It's nice when something that you wish for happens!

As for ETL504, I'm getting my head around development in leadership theory, and how they might relate to the role of the teacher librarian. There's plenty to get my teeth stuck into!

Super Duper News and Super Sucky News

My son got 3rd place (bronze medal) in Level 2 Mens Short Track Tumbling at the NSW Gymnastics Country Championships!

That's him with his team-mates and a cheeky smile :)

In less super and more sucky news, I have been in touch with my lecturer and need to do some serious revision to my pathfinder for ETL501.

Enough said. I'm celebrating the wonder that is a 9-year-old boy cartwheeling his way along the tumbling track and loving it!

That red packet

I donated my blood today... hope it will benefit someone , somewhere =)


Today went kbox with yanpei and peishan... this song...stuck in my head. Because...it somehow relates to me so much.

"...我在搞笑 藉著熱鬧 掩蓋著心跳

邊哭邊笑 偏要說著 一個人真好

當人群散了 突然覺得我可以死掉

我受不了... "

Good news, bad news

The good news is I am still here!

The bad news is I have no time for clever, witty blog posts.

The good news is my pathfinder is finished!

The bad news is I am over my word limit.

The good news is I have a wedding to go to tomorrow and then Josh's gymnastics comp on Saturday!

The bad news is I only have until Monday to complete my pathfinder and accompanying critical analysis.

Take care everyone :)

I just want to blog - Mid Autumn and Birthday Celebrations

Just now celebrated one of the freshies, Eileen's birthday, who happen to be my sub-comm too. The big family of hydrus.


My bestest pals in hall...Songwei, Priscilla, with Eileen


Yesterday was Mid-autumn cum deepavali cum hari raya celebrations... Lol. With the old old people.
From left: Darius(kena cut off), Lynette, Felicia, Myself, Huiyee, Geraldine, Clement, Ben (Behind)


Not forgetting...my one and only most resourceful(provided me with contact lenses solutions everytime when I need it the most) and the most loyal shunfu buddy... DAPHNE LEONG QIAN QIAN!

Okay lah... i very STRESSSSSSed. Later 11.30am got quiz... SIANZ SIANZ SIANZ.

Boomz.

Coraline - Thanks to omy.sg!

I'm invited to Coraline movie preview next Tuesday, thanks to omy.sg!

Thanks to Omy.sg - 被挑为青奥宿舍 南大厕所欠维修

Just wrote this entry on fifthave... and today...I saw it in the news. That's fast man.

Here's the article:

被挑为青奥宿舍　南大厕所欠维修

南大宿舍的厕所缺乏维修，omy部落格作者质疑学府真的为青奥准备好了吗？

新加坡青奥运组委会去年8月宣布，青奥选手村的地点改为南洋理工大学，并且会在南大校园进行翻修和增添设施。不过，昨天一名住在南大宿舍的学生在omy部落格上载了宿舍厕所缺乏维修的图片，还把厕所失修逐点列出，标题打上“真为青奥准备好了吗？”。

学生Double Image在网上表示，对于南大宿舍的现今状况感到失望。他指出，住在那里的学生都有付费，可是宿舍却没有提供应有的设施维修。

他把目前关于宿舍设施的问题一一列出：

●厕所没有获得维修

●地板不平

●着色的镜子太“黑”

●男厕无隔间

●厕所水管爆裂

●没有热水供应设施

他还把厕所污水管爆裂后，厕所被粪便“充斥”的图片放上网，并表示有其他住在宿舍的学生还有拍下录象。他声称，为了选手村，却殃及宿舍学生“受苦”。

南大发言人：厕所水管 被牙膏阻塞

南大发言人回复时指出，宿舍厕所的污水管阻塞发生后，当天已经立即处理并且进行维修。水管阻塞的原因是因为一条牙膏在内所致。

发言人也表示，南大一向来都确保宿舍厕所及设施被例常清理及维修。学生也被奉劝要好好运用这些设施，如果有任何损坏，学生可以拨打24小时的宿舍维修热线。

宿舍厕所的污水管阻塞是一起孤立事件，发言人表示，青奥的准备事宜正在进行中。

张思乐：南大逐步展开翻新

青奥组委会顾问张思乐受访时指出，南大已经和青奥组委会挑选了几座宿舍，进行建设及翻新的工程。

他表示，南大会在规定的时间内，完成上述事项，不过他相信南大目前已经逐步进行工程。“我本身也是南大校友，在90年代住过宿舍，那时的环境还不错。南大一直以来都有进行改进宿舍的事宜。我觉得如果目前宿舍肮脏或设施不完善，并不完全是因为青奥的关系，才需要作出改变。”

他认为，学生有意见，就应直接向宿舍管理处反映，其实与青奥无关。

Thanks Mummy. =)

She say... must eat...must eat... everyone must eat noodles with eggs on the lunar birthday. It was a belated one... she looked so guilty when she had forgotten about it.


Had the traditional noodles with eggs...


And just when I thought chicken wing with fillet is good enuff...


My mum actually went to buy roasted duck drumstick for me...

Feel so good to be home. I thought I was the forgotten one... I had to even hint my friends for my birthday present. Haha, so buay hiao bye rite? LoL.

At least... mummy remember for who I am.

I wonder...if one day I'm gone...will anyone remember me? Or my ashes will just be blown away together with the wind?

*shrugs*

Daphne's 21st Birthday

Celebrated daphne's birthday at Vines Seafood and Steak restaurant... together with Clement, and Geri. We call ourselves the Nua Family...Nua King clement, Nua Queen Geri, Nua Prince Kevin, Nua Princess Daphne. Haha... cos we are super lazy person. Nua(hokkien) = Lazy



After Vines, went to eat Ice Cream...



Geri and Clement...the sweet couple of Hall 14, are going to exhange together next semester, to Holland... honey moon arh? Hahha.


Daphne...the birthday girl...going to Denmark...

Everybody going for exchange lo...Hall getting quiet again... so lucky! Take photos come back let me see. Haha. Kevin dumb lah...cant go exchange, never mind...see photos good enuff! All the best and jiayou!


Once again, Daphne, Happy 21st. =)

This one's for you, Alana.

With many thanks to Diane at the Book Resort!

I had a lovely break from the angst of uni assignments today. I had a lunch date with some girls that I went to high school with (we finished 20 years ago!), their husbands, and children. We had lunch in a nice, upmarket hotel not far from where we grew up. It has been updated quite a bit since our high school days of underage drinking! Now it has a lovely family-friendly bistro with an indoor play area for kids.

It's always great to catch up with the girls, we make sure that we "do lunch" about four times a year. But it had been ages since we'd caught up with all the kids. Of course everyone sees their own kids every day, and doesn't always realise just how much they've grown since the others saw them last. But with cries of "look how big they are!", we all admired each other's children!

Josh was thrilled not to be overrun with girls for once (he has lots of girl cousins!), at five boys to three girls the boys were in the majority. We hardly saw him all afternoon - the play area and the other boys kept him occupied. It was a little bit harder for Alana, at eleven she was the oldest child, and officially too old for the play area (designated for children up to 10). She did go in a few times with the younger girls, but couldn't quite stand up inside it and had to stoop a little! Poor thing!

Now I'm back home and back to work. I feel like the last couple of readings that I'm plowing through are finally getting to the heart of the matter. ETL504 is called "Teacher Librarian as Leader", and I finally feel like I'm understanding what this subject is getting at. Better late than never. I just hope that I can translate what I'm learning into assignment gold!

Lambert, L. (1998). What is Leadership Capacity? In Building Leadership Capacity in Schools (pp. 1-9). Alexandra: ASCD.

This article adds to the ideas explored in the last one by Hargreaves & Fink. It too, is concerned with how to maintain the momentum of change and improvement in schools beyond the tenure of any particular leader. It too explores the idea of leadership being shared among the school community rather than residing in one person.

Lambert explores the idea that a school must create its own internal responsibility for direction in order to maintain momentum and stay afloat. A significant number of teachers (presumably ideally all of them) should understand and be committed to the shared vision and central work of the school. This understanding will involve more than just knowledge about the innovation or program, but also leadership skills including the ability to capture the imagination of colleagues, negotiate changes and tackle conflicts.

This broadens the traditional concept of leadership into a shared endeavour of a community as they work towards a shared purpose. It is about learning together and creating shared meaning, generating ideas together, reflecting and having conversations. These conversations will lead to plans, strategies, responsibilities and continuous feedback and improvement.

Lambert suggests that it is important to use action research to generate information about how well students are learning. Then it is important to compare beliefs and expectations with the results of the research. This comparison is where a dialogue begins to work out strategies for the implementation of innovations. And once implementation is underway, the talking shouldn't stop. Teachers should continually tie what they are doing in the classroom to the shared purpose of the school.

These conversations can only take place in an environment of trusting relationships.

Now what, you may ask, does the picture at the top of this post have to do with the content?

Hargreaves, A. & Fink, D. (2003). Sustaining Leadership. Phi Delta Kappan, 84(9), 693-700.

"the vast majority of educational change that deepens learning and allows everyone to benefit from it neither spreads nor lasts." (Hargreaves & Fink, 2003, p. 694)

Sad, but true.

What makes educational improvement sustainable?

Sustainable improvement demands committed relationships. It contributes to the growth and the good of everyone. It requires investment in building long-term capacity for improvement, and creates an environment that stimulates ongoing improvement. To make changes that last, improvement must truly foster learning, not merely change schooling. It must be supported by available resources. And it must not negatively affect others.

The question is: How can leaders ensure that changes in their schools are sustainable improvements?

School leaders must make sure that their central focus is on learning. They must maintain this central focus even in the face of competing pressures that pull their attention away from it. Long-term improvement matters more than short-term results, and true learning will be reflected in higher test scores and the like in the future.

The overwhelming demands of leadership can only be met by using everyone's intelligence and skills. Distributed leadership is more than mere delegation. It means creating a culture of initiative where all teachers are encouraged to propose new directions and innovations. Leadership can not rest on the shoulders of the heroic few.

Leaders must make plans to ensure that their improvements do not disappear when they leave. They must put processes and structures in place to ensure some continuity beyond the scope of their own leadership.

I think one of the most important points that this article makes is about the relationship of resources with the sustainability of change. There is no point making grand plans for change if you don't have the available resources for it. There is no point spending all your money on initiating change, if you don't have any money left for ongoing maintainence of it. Any plans for school improvements should be made with the available resources (time, money, staff etc) firmly in the picture.

Definitely Dead by Charlaine Harris

I am a very bad person. I am struggling to complete two uni assignments, offloading my children to my parents to be entertained for the holidays, not doing any housework...but still I manage to read Definitely Dead by Charlaine Harris.

Book 6 in the Southern Vampires or Sookie Stackhouse series, and still loving it. From the inside cover notes:

"...Sookie Stackhouse...her cousin Hadley - a consort of the vampire queen of New Orleans...as unexpected heir to Hadley's estate, Sookie discovers the inheritance definitely comes with a risk. Someone doesn't want Sooke looking too deeply into Hadley's past..."

In this instalment, Sookie heads to New Orleans to settle her cousin's estate and meet with the vampire queen to hammer out the details of her attendance at the upcoming vampire summit. What seems like a relatively simple assignment quickly becomes more complicated. Sookie and her date (you'll have to read it to find out who!) are attacked by newly bitten weres after a pleasant night at the theatre. A half demon is killed in Sookie's yard while attempting to deliver a message from the queen's legal representative. And the dead body in Hadley's apartment closet turns out to be not so dead, when he rises for the first time as a newborn vampire as night falls.

I thoroughly enjoyed this episode in the Sookie Stackhouse series. The love interest (read it to find out who!) was satisfying! And I'm loving Amelia, a young witch who becomes friends with Sookie and helps her solve the mystery of the newborn vampire.

I also liked the way Harris wrapped up some loose ends that had been dangling for the last couple of books, like "What brought Bill to Bon Temps?" and "Will the Pelts ever give up looking for Debbie?".

I'm definitely looking forward to the next book All Together Dead. I'll try to wait until my assignments are submitted...

Mugging friends

Quiz coming up at 11.30am later... had been mugging with Yanpei and Junyue from as early as 12pm ... (after lessons) to as late as 11pm, for the past 3 days...this module is seriously a KILLER. Tired, shagged, emo.


Junyue getting tired...


Yanpei trying to focus...


Lunch time...we get abit high.


Yanpei was introducing to us this new product..that keep your hair firmly up without tieing or a hairband...


Junyue tried...


I tried too...


Oh...and u can stick it up there... and write lil notes up... and try to peep!


Found this video in my Vado HD...taken by Yanpei, show you wad Engineers do... Aye, mundane, sad life. But accompanied with her kuku commentary. LoL

Haiz. Stressed. Having moody days...ordeal will only end next Wednesday. =(