The Legend of the Escaped Terrorist

So the long-awaited COI report is finally out, and the DPM & PM addressed the house on this yesterday and today.



Some are screaming for heads to roll, some are disappointed that something as silly as this could happen in singapore, some want to learn, forgive and move on. Some felt that since our ministers' pay are pegged to private sector, they should face similar penalty as private sector folks.



And i suppose there would be a small pocket of people like me, looking on, yet having an entirely different movie playing in our heads.

That would be the Conspiracy Theory crowd.



No, i'm not one of those who think that Mas Selamat was killed secretly. If that were the case, and *people* wanted to cover that up, saying it's suicide would have been a much easier and less embarrassing way out.



I'm thinking along the line of ... A Collateral. A Threat. Ransom. And The Exchange was the only way out, the only way to keep the nation safe. That would explain the timed release of information - it was part of the deal, to allow a reasonable chance for MSK to leave unnoticed.

*raise right eyebrow twice*

"They were very cautious in releasing information about Mas Selamat as they wanted to be very accurate. If they didn't have the information clearly in their minds or on the records, then putting out information will simply be more problematic. It is a balance between speed in telling the public about what he was wearing, what he looked like or whether he was limping or not, and the need to have accuracy of information."

(...days later..."He limps!"......and even later, "can only see he limps when he walks quickly")

See, not timely, not accurate. You think Singapore's info dissemination is THAT lousy? Na-uh!
*whispers* There's something else going on! "They" HAD to let him go. *nods knowingly*


Ahem. But this ofcoz, is baseless speculation. It doesn't help the situation (if any) at all, so don't take me seriously.
it's....just an idea for a movie plot, yeah? ;)

Meanwhile, if you see this man, call 999! Remember, he's still in Singapore!


PS He might look slimmer by now.
Or fatter, depending on how he reacts to stress.

Preggy News, 9 months on!

Time Flies

Time flies... i'm entering the final month of pregnancy!
Motherhood's gonna start anytime in the next 4 weeks!!

Can't quite decide if i want it to be soon or not... on one hand, i can't wait to meet Glory-Faith Wong (ummm, yes, slight change of name again.). But there's also an inertia... i'm now quite used to carrying Glory-Faith with me wherever i go, knowing her every move, quite used to the humongous tummy, quite used to being a preggie.
There's a finality about transforming from a Preggy to a Mummy that's very unsettling. Life as i know it will drastically change. No turning back. Never, ever the same again.

Plus, there are still things left undone - like my New Year resolution (which i have not started on) to get my spoken Mandarin up to par ( target: Zhifeng-Anthea standard) so that i can teach my baby proper Mandarin. Yikes. Need a crash course quick!

But that's the thing about time - it passes whether you are ready or not, whether you want it to or not.

O, I realize I was depressed!

Was reading a baby mag that peck bought (why did she buy a baby-mag? hah, dun speculate! she bought it for the confinement food recipe in it, she's gonna cook for me sometime=)) and i realized that there's such a thing called Prenatal Depression.
As i read the article, i found that I could identify with so many of the symptoms and feelings the sufferers experienced. [Pregnancy being a time of misery rather than joy. Anger and frustration at sickness, weakness and fatigue. Resentment abt the pregnancy. Feelings of guilt for resenting the pregnancy]
I suppose it showed in my blog entries... i crusaded against procreation, i think i've never been so grouchy and grumpy in my life! And then i felt guilty that i was grouchy and grumpy... so i resolved not to talk about it anymore.
I thought i was faring badly, that i was coping terribly with the pregnancy, that i would never ever want to be pregnant again.
UNTIL....
1. i came across an internet forum for mums-to-be, and there was a thread for mums-to-be who are teachers. There were many who had it so bad that they used up ALL their medical leave AND hospitalisation leave and they weren't even in their third trimester yet! Hey, i didnt have it so bad!
2. Several colleagues actually commented that i seemed to be taking pregnancy quite well (!!!) and could cope with pregnancy and school (!!!). i found that comforting, coz it meant that i wasn't doing as badly as i felt i was, or acting as miserably/grouchy as a felt/blogged.
3. I started having company!!! J's having a baby in September, R's having a baby around Dec, XL and L are both gonna have their babies around Oct too... Weeeeeee! Baby Fest!!! =)
4. The End came in sight. Receiving the weekly updates from Baby Centre always felt great- not for the info, but just to see the "Week 30" progress to "Week 31", then "Week 32" and so on...
5. I finally 看开。　There are things i really can't do when i am pregnant, and i should stop beating myself up.

Anyway, i think i am officially undepressed now. Thank God, He always sees me through my patches.
And yes, i've also stopped warning gal-pals about the perils of pregnancy.
Ha, maybe i HAVE become one of The Others.
Y'know, the Parents-gang, who'll always say things like, "It's worth it".
Maybe next Chinese New Year/ wedding ceremony, i'd wish people "早生贵子” and really mean it.
Maybe i'd even stop glaring at/ pinching Munch whenever he hints at a #2 or #3...
Maybe.
Just MAYBE only.

Hey Baby

Hey Baby,
why were you up all night? and what was that nobbly thing sticking out of my tummy? Was that your arm? Or was that your knee? What were you doing when i felt you flip like a fish? Why do you give sudden punches?
I love feeling you move, even though it keeps me up all night, even though it sometimes hurts. i love how close you are to me all the time. i love knowing when you are awake and when u are asleep. i love prodding at you to elicit a response. i love guessing your position as you squish around inside me.

You used to look like a little cashew nut, now you've taken on human shape. We saw you wave your little arms, move your little legs. We heard your heartbeat, we looked at your face... Baby, those times we looked at your ultrasound images, the puking was forgotten, the sleepless nights don't seem to count.

It's so hard to imagine, sometime next month, we're finally gonna see you!
i wonder if you'd have your daddy's brow bone. Last night as you danced the night away, i looked at daddy sleeping, and tried to imagine how you'd look like if you had his browbone and nose. I hope you'll learn to be patient like him, kind like him, giving like him. And i hope one day you'll marry a man like him. Little One, you know you're so blessed to have a daddy like yours. He loves us so much, he gives of himself to caring for us... Love him too, baby, and try not to break his heart. Be respectful to him always, be sweet, be loving. Honour him and treasure him always, dear one.

so, so soon, you'll be coming out into the world. The world's so different from this womb you're used to my darling. i think about the times i've been heartbroken, the times i've been distressed, and baby, i so hate to ever have you broken hearted. i wish i could always shelter you from those pains. yet i know i can't and i shouldn't. One day, an unkind word may pierce you, a friend may hurt you, a boy may break yor heart. Baby, one day you may hide in your room and sob. You probably would think i don't know, you probably would think you're crying alone. My heart would be broken with yours, but i'll remember to let you grow, i'll remember to let you learn, i'll remember to let you decide.

I'll remember to remind you that along with the sadness, there's beauty too.

There may be so much expectations on you one day. i may be guilty of that. Remind me then, of the times when just your heart beating, just you moving around, was more than enough for me. Remind yourself then, that it wasn't Mummy who made you, but God. That you are His masterpiece, that you're so precious. And because God stitched you together inside of me, that's reason enough for me to love you always, unconditionally.

And the best best thing i can give to you is to train you up in the ways of the Lord, to help you grow close to Jesus, to know that while Daddy and Mummy may err, while Daddy and Mummy can't always be there, while Daddy and Mummy aren't always strong, God is always wise, God is always with you, and God is all-powerful.

So grow up well, my little one. Be wise, love God, love others. You don't need the best schools, you don't need the best grades, you don't need the best clothes, but be the best little child God made you to be.

HeyHey! A nice week!

Was a nice week.
Most of the school was out for camp, leaving only the graduating classes. i was excused from the camps, which means i'm only left with lessons with the very sweet n grown-up Sec 5s, so you can imagine how easy and light work was this week. =) =) =) I super appreciate this "break".

Enjoyed the archery session and the etiquette class with my form class. =) They are so much fun when u dun have to worry about their results and they're not in an emo/angsty mood.
Enjoyed lessons with the Sec 5s... impressed with the way they listen and work so conscientiously even though we were having 2 classes together at the same time and it would have been so easy to skive/ be naughty. But they were so on-task you just know your efforts and energy are not wasted. =) =) (Which made me wonder if i would be happier dealing with adults rather than kids)
Enjoyed the slow start to the mornings with no meetings to rush for.
Enjoyed the emptier timetable that leaves me time to set exam papers and have breakfast AND lunch.
Enjoyed chatting with colleagues who shared about their experiences with their classes, coping with ... well, life and so on...
The week just felt so manageable and enjoyable...i could even attend Bible Study at night! Which i really really needed - was sick of too much thinking, sick of the feelings of guilt at not meeting my own expectations, sick of too much mundane duties and sick of busying myself with earthly concerns. Was looking forward to this series of BS - not that i know what it was going to be about, but simply because i just know i needed to be immersed in God's word so that i can renew my mind and perspective. And it was just so nice to be taught by Ps Tiak (yah, i'm quite biased sometimes - i like Ps Tiak's bible studies, i dun like those feel-good-sound-good-but-not-biblical types).
It is just such a lovely week - the kind that doesn't feel like work and i would gladly have it replayed over and over again, the kind that i would gladly do without salary, the kind i wouldn't mind coming back for, even if i'm on maternity leave. :O Hmmm.. perhaps therein lies the answer to MOE's perennial problem of teachers' attrition/burnout/IMH rate! A reduced workload! (As in, REALLY reduced, not some other add-on initiatives) Then they wouldn't have to spend so much money reviewing salaries of teachers, there might even be people volunteering to be teachers, and they wouldn't have to worry about merceneries who don't really care abt students!

Anyway, back to this lovely week... Saturday was great too! With my papers set, and energy tank still undepleted, and with the impending birth threatening to take away future opportunities to gallivant/shop aimlesly, munch took me out =)
We started the the day well by waking up when we felt like it, sans alarm clock.
Then we had dim-sum breakfast while watching CJ7. Next we went to get our tyre fixed (yeah, our very puncture! we heard the strange sound and noticed the "drag" when we drove on Wednesday morning, but it took us till Fri night after supper to realize it was due to a flat tyre!! quite goondu hor? And then we thought we'd need to have the tyre replaced. To our great delight, it was mended at a mere $8)
And then our date started =)
We wanted to go to town, and i convinced munch to park at bishan while we take a train to Orchard. ( Save on ERP and exorbitant town-area parkinf fees) It was quite fun taking the train again, after so long. But y'know what? I still had to stand all the way on the train. Grrrrrr.... 8 months alr leh!
Shopped/waxed at Paragon & Taka, then had dinner at Lawry's.
I'm mad.
I'd scrimp and save like crazy, eat vegetarian beehoon everyday coz it costs 50cents less than other meals, park at bishan to save on ERP and parking fees, then blow $200 on dinner.
Mad, i tell you.
But i enjoyed it though. =)
And thus ends a very lovely week.

The weeks coming up look like it's gonna be a bit of a tornado - NE validation's on Wednesday!! Praying for smooth preparations and interviews and successful validation!
And then Founder's Day preparation's next, then exams, then i should be popping anytime! Ahhhh!
We didn't attend any child-birth classes, so i'm still quite clueless about what will happen. Have read a couple of books/ websites though, and i suppose the doctor will guide me thru the rest.
Had quite a few questions & worries (What if i go into labour before the school hols begins? What if i go into labour in the middle of a school day? How to arrange for relief?) But lloyd went thru the SOPs with me (before school : As per Medical leave procedure. During school: Inform General office, then scoot) and somehow knowing that helps.
HAven't confirmed a relief teacher to cover my classes yet - the one who was gonna cover decided to go get a full-time job instead - so that's another niggling problem.

[ Anyone interested? Or know anyone who might be?
May '08: invigilating duties and marking papers. Answers provided!
July/Aug'o8: Actual teaching for Sec 3s, Revision for Sec 5s]

Juliana also gave us a very practical advice today - we should move over to Neram before the baby comes so we have time to adjust and prepare ourselves and the things there. Hehe, it's so sensible and practical, i don't know why we didn't think of it.

Oh, and, church camp's coming soon! I secretly really wanna go... i'm sure it'd do us more good to be there and be refreshed and renewed and recharged and with the church, than just being at home. Struck a deal with munch - if Baby comes out in the first half of May, we'll go! Though i also secretly know that we're gonna get LOADS of nagging from in-laws!

Oh, and latest update of Baby's name.
Wong Ji-Hyun, Glory.
黄紫宣。　（purple - royalty) (announcing)
Imagine when she sings certain songs ... eg "King of Glory enter in......"
it'd be so personal for her ;)