Oxymoron In The Tropics

This weekend, I thought about friends. I've had a few and of all sorts.  Some were like dandelion fluff, spinning away into the sky when the wind blows.  Some were part of the background, always there but when the scenery changed, they changed too.  Some carried 'daggers' with poison tips.  And of course some were gems. But as usual, life's not so clearcut black and white.  I cannot point a finger at anyone and say,"I regret being a friend to that one."  For all my friends brought something to my life. G gave me lots of academic discourses and sharp witty remarks mixed in with laughter n common sense. C taught me how to handle extremes in life and showed ME I had extremes in me. Q played with me in the sun and after stocking up on fun n games, Q dashed cold water in my face. Brr..then I dried off and had some more fun. R went through school with me and we shared plenty of dreams, pain and nescafe. T took me aside when my heart was ...

It's rock solid official... if you're hoping to do your PhD with the govt footing the bill, your deadline is AGE 40.  For those who are doing their PhDs now with that coveted scholarship, you lucky people... For those who are close to 40, HURRY UP! For those who are big-eyed and still with sparkles in your vision, plan carefully. The circular's on the MOE website.  Sad sad sad...

Yesterday was a good day. One of my favourite people in the world, Yon, got married to his lady. I used to wonder why people got all teary-eyed at weddings.  Kinda wet, don'tcha think? Yesterday I found out why.

Last week, 32 teachers from my school (including me!) went on a benchmarking trip to KL.  We visited SMK Taman Keramat in daerah Gombak and Victoria Institution.  Went to VI's museum (!), computer labs, resource centres and peeked into its exam hall (in use at that time).  In one word, wow.  Harassed the SMK Taman Keramat teachers about their efforts to build up their school to the point they were awarded Sekolah Harapan Negara for their state.  Man, we've got a long way to go before we reach their level. But it was a good time - we got to see how excellent schools worked and we also worked on our teamwork...:)