Happy New Year!

Work has been really hectic these days...yes you guessed it, since it's going to be the end of this semester. I have to evaluate each student and gave them grades according to their performance. Sure their parents will see that when this school term ends.

In addition, there's a tragedy happening in the southern asia--the death toll from the tsunami, triggered by a magnitude 9.0 earthquake off Indonesia, has risen to more than 120,ooo people. The 3 countries ( India, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka ) are the most severely afflicted and some associations in TW are trying to help.

OK time to talk about something pleasant. I got the report for the health check, which was for free remember? :D And it said if the items are printed in red it means those organs can't function well. So hehehe none of the items on my list is in red. And we were there comparing our bones--I got +3; the teacher beside me gets +1.5 :D Most teachers are not as good as us. The doc there told us it's also important to get some exercise if you wanna have strong bones. No wonder...my rodding students every morning does work. :D

I watched some TV talking about fortune in the coming 2005. It said the top 3 signs that have the best luck in 2005 are Sagi, Libra, and Aries. The 3 best colours are red, blue, and purple. That master suggested we can either wear in them or decorate our place with some stuff in these colours. I feel lucky since I like the 3 colours! :P got plenty of clothes in red, blue and purple already. LOL~ no need to waste money buying clothes.
Anyway...I hope everything's getting better. And I wish you all the best in the new year 2005! :D

Merry Christmas!

Had lunch with my best friend.

It's Xmas Eve. Too bad we don't celebrate Christmas in Taiwan, since most Taiwanese are not Christians? Maybe... *shrugs* But people can still have some fun, you know. :P As for me, I planned it already and told my students I'd wear a very short skirt they've never seen and long boots. They just went, aiyo ni yi ding shi pian wo men de lah! -_- didn't know my image in their hearts was so evil. ( Well they even made me a Xmas card and someone wrote: to the most evil teacher I've ever known :P ) So yeah, it's the 'face' problem now! I wore my mini jean skirt and black long boots to school! :D Awww you can imagine that many people saw me and woo~ ( because teachers here don't wear this 'hot'. guess they are more open in western countries? no idea...never studied in any western school hehe )

Moreover my best friend ww and her hubby asked me to have lunch with them. So I took a few hours off and proceeded to Gong Guan and met them at a vegetarian restaurant. They were so surprised to see the presents I gave them. For ww it's a cosmetic set, and for her hubby 2 crystal balls. One is green to wish him good luck in business and the other's yellow for their fortune in lottery. :D We chatted and most of the time it's her husband who talked the most--he couldn't wait to share their romantic stories with me. Too bad I got nothing for him to return the favour. :P It ended up we ( ww and me ) got 2 sessions to teach later and got to leave around 2 pm. So at MRT before saying bye, the lovely couple invited me to visit them in Vancouver after they settle down. Of course I'll go ( they wanna fix me there LOL~ ) pay them a visit. Suddenly her hubby came give me a big hug--really xia yi tiao... :P but wsesterners must be, like what I said already, more open. Then I looked at my best friend and said, na wo men yie lai bao yi xia hao le. ( to be fair and square ) *chuckles* So ww and me hugged too. :P

At the beginning of this week I've planned what to give to some students who help me a lot in class. The pic below 'Jenny and me' was taken after I gave her the little gift. See how happy she was! For other students I got lots of candy and they could choose 2 different flavours--strawberry lollipops, soda candy, brown sugar candy, yoghurt candy, and one kind I don't know how to say in English...it's malt with a plum ( suan mei ) in each. Guess my friend would love it. :P However, it's time to relax... and I wish all of you a happy Christmas! :D

Mini skirt for Xmas :P

Jenny and me.

Wrapped Xmas gifts today

Wrapped Xmas gifts today

Ah...weird

I got 2 sms yesterday from Martin, but it's the first time...feeling weird since they are all blank in the massage box. Why bother to send someone sms like this? not even a strange code in there. @_@ Ah, can't understand guys. Anyway I just delete them. *chuckles* I am very sure he's not to spend money on a female he is interested--the only thing he's good at is 'I do earn a lot because I sold some houses recently...' LOL~ so what. :P But I think it's normal in this practical world. Why waste time and money? Martin you need some woman who is very, truly, definitely desperate. She'll pounce upon you happily without any effort from your part. :P

Eearlier this week, some doctors and nurses came to our school and gave us a free health check. some item like the condition of your liver, intestines, and bones. It's ok to go for the test for bones--got to put one foot in a medical equipment and it would tell you the number, or shall I say the measurement. I got 3, which means the density of my bones is very nice. :D You know some of my colleagues got the measurement minus like -2, -0.3 or what... They were amazed how come a vegetarian could have such bones. LOL~ no wonder I am kind of 'tough'...or 'difficult'? Now then I know I am not to be blamed, but my bones. :P Then I needed to stay in the gals' room ( of course everyone knows why ) to test the functions of my kidneys--good. :D The most scary part was to draw blood--I stared at the needle and saw it get into my vein...*sighs* some blood lost then. But it's not bad to have such an examination, for free! :D

Justy's back

Congratulations! Justy has been back to me. Looks fine now...tho my wallets doesn't feel fine after 1350 NT's gone. :P All the problems have been fixed, and I am happy not to squeeze the towel anymore after rainy days. :D

We watched Scary Movie III this afternoon. Before that I was shouting hard at 3 boy students at the doorway in front of our classroom. They were naughty enough to be absent during our nap time from 12:25 to 13:05. Last time I shouted at 3 gal students since they dared to skip their Chinese class. Being a homeroom teacher, my big responsibility is discipline students in my class. So...they don't see me get mad often, but if I do they will truly have a tough time. :P Hope they are smart enough not to get to my nerve often...otherwise their ears will have lots of chances to get trained ( to loud noises from me ). :P

Justy's away

The front door has some problems. It causes terrible leaking every time after a storm. And you can imagine how hard I had to work for that--soaking the water in the little pond in my car with a towel and then sqeezing the towel again and again. Moreover I can't open the door with the key; maybe it's rusted or whatever. The safety bumper in the back is kind of falling. -_- I know I know...I just don't know how to drill ok. Being a single woman I can only rely on those mechanics and happily get ripped off. ( I am surely not complaining now. :P ) So Justy will stay there for a few days I guess, and I'd better prepare myself for the expense...awww!

Mon blue

4 sessions to lecture was ok. 1 long and boring meeting was not. Boss asked us to work harder for our lesson plans since she would like us to win some prize. Fine tho if we could get something rewarding. I think if anyone would like others to work extra for him/her, he/she should know some motives are needed in advance. I ask students to work for me as well--nothing to do about their studies, for example, moving my stuff to another office at the beginning of a school term. They'd get candy or pearl milk tea. That's why I only *shrugs* :P I didn't promise anything. To do lesson plans for the next semester is a must. But to win some prize for our boss is another story.

They are done! After being baked in the oven. The right ones look prettier for sure. Yummy!

Mom is applying some egg yolk on them. Leave 2 alone since they are for me, a vegetarian you know. ( cannot get any kind of eggs )

Mom is making some snacks. First, wrap the mochi and zai ni paste ( a friends mom gave me that when I went visit them earlier this year ) with cheese layers.

Poll day

Voted for law makers. hehehe My family support the pan-blue party, and very happy to all the three we voted for have been on. Taiwan's situation isn't easy...and we think the party we stand for can do better to deal with international affairs. :D Anyway we had a good time today. And I also watched a movie "Shark Tale". How come the main character--that fish, not the shark, reminded me of a movie star I like so much, Will Smith. LOL~ the way it sang and danced. :P I think the main idea is no matter who you are, a somebody or a nobody, you shouldn't lie to yourself or others. Otherwise life will be big disasters because of your karma. ( I am not lecturing tho. :P ) Songs in this movie are nice. :D

Happy birthday!

So we had lots of activities today for our school. Students in year 9 ran into me and quickly asked: where's your Catwoman costume. LOL~ I showed them the white cat on my vest--see? Here it is. Of course they went -_- erm...lao shi pian ren. :P ( too bad they found it so late? hahaha )

And we had many vendors on campus--my class was responsible for this 'Funny Glass Balls'. 10 NT for each round, and some candy, lollies, and soft drinks for the prizes. I played a few rounds too. Also had to visit the vendors set by those who are taught by me. Got some iced green tea, cokes, chocolate, and a toy. A toy??? Yes a toy. Altho it doesn't sound like something that should appear in a public middle school. But who cares. Students wore them and looked great. I can wear it and take a pic of it for you too, my friends. See if it's cute enough for us at school...*chuckles* However, $ flied away. *sobs*

Many pics were taken for my students, and I finally felt relieved...all important activies have been held for this semester. From now on I just teach in class till our final, then winter vacation, Chinese New Year...our bonus! :D woo~ Another thing surprising. One net friend of mine who lives in UK wrote to me and said he's to come to Taiwan again. Last time he came to Taipei and learned Mandarin in NTNU for 3 months. No idea what he will do this time. Anyway it's his business. :P

Very tired

No not my day. Justy was blocked by a blue ven at the alley when I was to drive to school. Sure the driver was kind enough to leave his tel # at the front window--you think it worked by calling that? Hehehe you don't understand some Taiwanese well then. It ended up my calling three times and nothing could be changed. I left a voice msg hopelessly...and quickly proceeded to school. Lucky I was not late. -_-

At school I had to do a lot of planning for the activities for tomorrow. Jerry mom's gave us a hand too...she even said she's to pay for the fee for renting the 6 dan4 zhu1 tai2 for our class! *so touched...* Anyway I'll have to go to bed early tonight, will wear pretty clothes for tomorrow. :P In class we were talking about what to wear for this important day--students suggested that I could dress like: Spider Man, The Incredibles, or Rabbit Girl :\ neng kan ma??? I told them I prefer Catwoman tho. :P

Scary Movie II

Today is Wed, my students' favorite day of the week--Movie Club! We watched Scary movie II, and just like last time as we watched the I, the classroom was full of big laughters. -"- My kids like such stuff so much...am I at fault? :P I was working on the list for our school's anniversary this Fri meanwhile. My class will have to do a little business and hope we can earn some money for school. I am dead busy this week...*sighs* need to prepare all the stuff for this important day. I'll surely take pics on Fri--students will have unforgetful memories I hope. woo :P

A new desktop?

My boy student Ricky gave me some catalogues which show the models of some desktops and the prices...woo you know I can never resist such high tech products. After working for me for a few years ( since 2001 ), my old desktop can't work well enough. Once it even shut down by itself without any notice while I was typing my blog. -_- No need to ask me if I had enough time to save my bs before it's gone. Of course NOT. That's why I dare not type anything important ( erm I think my monologue is important this way? hehehe maybe :P ) on that pc since then. I kind of...was moved by the price offered there on the catalogue. But I want a LCD...so it's much more expensive than if I just get it CRT. Hmm anyway our bonus will come by the Lunar New Year. If it's a good bargain that time I'll go get one new set. :D

Thanks...settled down

Something very troublesome happened. My boy student Sean's parents seperated since the mom had affairs. Sean left with his dad and lived in another place. Sean's elder brother lives with the mom. But the bro is to leave for military service soon. So he asked Sean to come back home and 'take care of' the mom. Last weekend Sean left his dad for his bro without a notice--of course the dad felt hurt. He called me and hoped to talk with his son at school. Since I am Sean's homeroom teacher, I have to get involved for his advantages. Thanks God our talk went smoothly, and I told the dad it's better to forgive the other party even if he's not at fault. He agreed too. Better for Sean to go back because it's more convenient for him to go to school. However, the dad would like his son to call him and keep in touch as often as possible. I am happy to see everything turns better for them.

8 gua time

Sis came back home and we ( mom, sis and me ) relaxed in the living room talking, having tea and some fruit. I read some news which said 1 gal came online chatting with a guy. Feeling intrigued, they agreed to meet each other in person after going offline. So the gal went with a female friend of hers. The guy also went with a male friend of his. The 4 met at a KTV and had fun there--the gal had a cup of gao1 liang2, which is one kind of alcohol here and well-known for its very strong effect. Therefore, it ended up the gal's found lying on the side of a road, half naked ( the clothes for the lower part of her body was gone ). She bursted into tears in the police station after her mom and bro came fetch her. The female friend's not been found yet. :O
Then my sis said her hubby's friend lives in our neighborhood; he told my sis he can see me drive to work at least twice a week. :O Lucky he said 'wow your sister looks so pretty.' LOL~ *flattered* No, you don't suggest anything now...that guy's taken ok. :P

Warm sms...Not

Got that guy's sms again! :O Friend said that guy follows my motto: Never give up! But...but I don't really want guys to learn from me this way. :P However here's the translation of his sms: Typhoon in Dec, it's hard to find in the history! It's pretty weird...the temperature tomorrow will drop 5 degrees all of a sudden. Please put on more clothes and don't catch a cold. Pay attention to traffic when you go out. Then you're a good girl...Martin. *blinking* mushy or not?
Lucky enough the rain stopped in the evening when I would like to go have my favorite hot pot. :D~ NO GREEN STUFF today. LOL~ Then my friend told me about an interesting website--send one shot and then they will give you the analysis...Well I got low intelligence, you know...*falls laughing* So yeah...must tell my students and they will all have confidence! hahahahaha~

Typhoon

Yes...in Dec. And CWB said it's the first time for the past hundred years. We never had a typhoon like this; so it's windy and rainy in Taipei all day. The typhoon will hit Taiwan this weekend--too bad it wouldn't wanna come next Mon tho, otherwise we could have one day off. I still went out to get some fruit and food and chase the garbage truck, ended up washing my feet couple of times after entering the house. :P zhen ma fan.

I watched the movie Scary Movie III in the evening. It's funny and I was LOL while I saw the scenes copied from Matrix III. :P Remember the room with lots of screens? woo~ and it's like another movie Sliver--the old guy in the chair spy cammed Cindy in the bathroom...LOL~ naughty right. :P But quite the same style as the other 2 Scary Movie you know. So yeah...can't expect more ( than a lot of bsing ) there. Happy weekend. ^^

Sick for a while

Yeah it's the food again. Since mid-term these 2 days, students only need to stay at school till 12 a.m. then no school in the afternoon. Homeroom teachers of year 8 decided to have a gathering--drove to Wu Lai and had lunch at a well-known restaurant, where some celebrities visited before. The boss told me it's not easy to make veggie dishes for them, but they still tried to fix me some vegetables and soup. After chatting and eating lunch happily, colleagues wanna go to another place in the mountains to take a talk and breathe fresh air. I didn't wanna go since I felt tired...so I took a bus with a math teacher ( she catches a cold and couldn't go have fun ) and I came home early. No energy to do anything else...I hit my bed and took a rest, didn't fall asleep. Then I went out to get dinner and some snacks...you know what, walking on the street I felt myself walking like someone dead. My facial expression looked so 'dumb', or 'numb' as well. Lucky I felt better after taking a shower and having my hair shampoo--some karma washed off? :P I could come online and type my blog finally. *sighs* I always have such problems eating with friends in a not vegetarian restaurant. Hao ma fan oh! -_-"

Countdown

30 days to go. :P wow it's the last month of 2004 already. I feel very good, you know...altho I got up very early for the homeroom teacher meeting at 7:50 a.m. at school. That's why I got 2 cups of coffee to keep myself alive. :P Well I know I can still stay alive without coffee tho. Maybe one day I just cut it down...or cut it off at all to show how strong-minded I am. *chuckles* ok I am crazy to say so I think. Nice songs I am listening to--they are Japanese. The Gospellers-You Are My Girl. Chemistry-Mirage In Blue. woo~ altho I don't understand what their lyrics mean, the melody is smooth...beautiful. My gal student Jenny lent me Scary Movie III VCDs today. :D I shouted her a pearl milk tea this afternoon ( kind of wanna return the favour. don't wanna take advantage of students tho they are happy to give me stuff I want. :P ) LOL~ no they don't give me money ok. There will be our mid-term tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. I'll have to grade lots of tests as usual. -_- wo tao yan gei xue sheng de kao juan, but no choice...for a living right. Moreover, it's dead hard to find a parking space near my place this afternoon. I had to park at a corner and waited--for a lady driving her white March away. And you know there were other cars waiting nearby also...so I guess I have nothing to complain for today. I typed my blog with appreciation, with pleasant songs playing on...I hope I can sleep early as well even if I had 2 cups of coffee and some pearl milk tea... :P

A new friend

We have a new friend who comes from Holland in our channel. She's fun and my 2 friends had lots of fun chatting with her first. Because of the time difference these 2 guys had to go offline early. After they 2 went for la la land, it's me the talktive op in there chatting to her. But things were different--I was not asked to marry her for teaching any Chinese. ( I guess my friends were happy to be asked so tho. :P ) We talked about majors and she's very smart to study laws now in a univ. But she sounded a bit frustrated since her favourite major is medicine but she couldn't get in. That's why I consoled her and hope she can figure it out what is the most correct way for her. She asked what my friends' majors and age...and sure you guys can trust me as always--I didn't sell anyone there. :D I think it's better to keep her intrigued and then she'll come on staying to find out the answers herself. :P She did make a guess--she thought both my friends were students. How come they could sound so young? ( Some friend did mention the term 'horny'...maybe that's why...? LOL~ ) And she guessed I studied as well--oh no -_- I was not like them ok. However I had to leave her early too for some TV...so it'll be the 'Dream' from Taiwan to keep her company in that channel. So yeah...good show TBC? :P

Can you find the green caterpillar :P  

Hot pot, me, and some scene on th street 

The hot pot I got today 

Not on purpose

It's getting cold and I went have my favourite hot pot this early afternoon. woo I ordered hong shao guo and I took some pics for friends overseas. My pleasure always to let them drool...it's good to have some longing isn't it. :D The only problem is the batteries were running out, so the flash couldn't work at all. You will see the pics I would upload later a bit dark. But you can see some street scene since it's bright outside the glass window. Oh I forget to mention another problem. Since I am a strict vegetarian, I never wanna have any kind of meat, seafood, let along eggs. But unfortunately I found something green floating upon the hong shao soup after I almost finished the stuff inside. 'Erm...wait let me get closer and take a look. Oh my goodness it's a green caterpillar!' Cooked, of course. -_- Ok...this is why I made the title 'Not on purpose'. I stopped eating as soon as I found it in the hot pot. To think bright, the vegetables which got caterpillars on must be safe...not much chemicals used I mean. Anyway...went shopping afer being very full, and spent some money as well on new clothes. *chuckles* Yeah I think I am a normal woman too. :D
On my way home I visited the computer store I used to get stuff. Well I had some questions to ask for sure--how come another Acer NB couldn't get connected to the Net even as I plugged the cable connection into the card and the 2 lights were on. The boss Zhu taught me to do some settings for XP and I even wrote them down on a piece of paper in case I forgot the procedures he said. So I came back home and tried to follow them step by step but weird I just couldn't find the TC/PIP part. @_@ mei you ban fa...I made a call and asked again. Zhu said if so it might not have the drive for the 10/100 card--oh my! How could they give me the card installed in the NB already but forget about the drive very necessary! -_- mi mi hu hu de ren zhen duo ah...( just like me? maybe :P )

Some good news and something bad also

I had a long break this morning ( 2 hours ) and then I went check the PHD's schedule and found he had a 1 hour break just then. So yeah... :P I went to his office and told him I couldn't come online when I used my NB at my office. He was kind enough to come to my office and helped me check it out. Since the OS is 98, he said 'long time no use the commands for 98...' It took him a while to figure it out--must type ipconfig /release_all and ipconfig /renew_all in DOS. Then it needed to do the setting for DNS also. -_- Well you know I have no idea how it works...but anyway, it finally worked! :D
Ok...I should have nothing to complain right? But still I wanna do a little complaining here...why? Since I was told by a colleague that school has decided to take away the computer desk and the only pc in our office on Thurs. Quite ridiculous isn't it. That a desktop is used by 29 homeroom teachers in an office already sounds so...so 'poor'. And boss wanna take the only pc away from us--they said teachers must go to a certain room where puters will be located. I guess they might install some spy cams there and see if we teachers will go to some 'interesting' sites. *chuckles* Wait a sec. I can't chuckle at this moment thinking I can't come online anymore at my office 2 days later! :O Damn the boss who has made the decision...he'd make it so inconvenient for all the teachers to use pc. What a wise man...and wish such a wise man deserve the karma he is to get. *grins*
Lucky students around are nice. Rachel's father went to France and he brought me a bag of coffee beans when he came back to Taipei. Previously she asked me what I like, perfume or chocolate. I didn't think they needed to give me anything tho. A colleague, who is an expert in coffee, told me the brand her dad bought for me is well-known. woo~ And moreover...Jenny lent me the VCDs 'zai jian le ke lu' ( Goodbye Kuro? ), which is a very famous movie on now. Judy gave me the VCDs ' Shark Tale! I got it online already...but nice to have its VCDs too. :P Therefore...I must say I have nothing to complain again I guess--do appreciate such nice persons in my life...thanks a lot!! :D

Tired but fun...

Monday. Usually we have a meeting on Mon afternoon, but not today. I decided to go out...(shirking, yeah :P ) I asked the other homeroom teachers to take care of my students for a few hours, then walked out into the light rain. Well...I was all alone, walking on the street in Taipei...imagined that I was a stray. Taking the MRT, I leaned on the window beside my seat, and let my long hair cover half of my face. I didn't smile...I didn't wanna have any happy facial expression--just wanna be myself, a woman who struggled hard to fit in the situation Fate had arranged. Looking around, frowning...I kind of felt like I was expelled from the fortunate kingdom. So...however, I went back to the fact a few hours later, knowing it's time to have the 8th class and put on my mask to serve kids in class. :P

Hectic

This week I was so busy...the 3 gal students kept making trouble. My new toy could work for a short while after I went ask a teacher who was responsible for my school's network. He did some setting and my NB could come online with the connection plugged in. woo~ but that's in his office. He asked me to try in my office and I did--too bad my NB didn't wanna work again. -_- I have to go ask him to give me a hand again next week then. But that guy is kind-hearted... :P guess I can solve this problem in the near future. Never give up! :D

She Bangs

Ricky Martin's song. A passionate girl. Me? Of course not. :P It's Ruby, my gal student, who just ran out of school this morning. The doorman told us she ran so fast that he couldn't catch her in time. Her classmate told me ( sure it's under the table ) that Ruby has a bf, who lives not so far away from our school. They have been together for around 2 or 3 months. :O Well...I thought I'd better call her mom but couldn't since it just went into the voice mail. I left her a voice msg and as you can guess this careless mom wouldn't call me back. So I had to call her again in the evening. Oh no I worked OT and it's no extra pay for me. BTW some $ gone since I called her mom's cell phone. ="= Her mom's a bit crazy. How come? More than once I called her when Ruby was not present. School asks homeroom teachers to call parents to make sure if students are safe home if they are absent. She answered me, 'urm I am not sure...for I didn't come back home last night. But I think she might be sick so she didn't go to school today.' Fine. However I've done what school asks me to. Finally I made it, and told this woman what happened earlier today. She said, 'Is it possible?' Sure, my dear. It's always possible for any gal to get a bf, and it's also possible for any gal in middle school to be a young mom if they don't wanna protect themselves well. :D The woman said she would be back and ask her cute little daughter. *grins* You had better do so, otherwise you may be a grandmom pretty soon if you don't teach your daughter how to take some protection.
That stupid guy tried to call me today and I didn't answer the phone. I must take some necessary action now--stopped using this # from now on. I went get a new SIM card at a convenience store in the neighborhood. It's also prepaid. :D The # sounds beautiful...most are my lucky #! I think it's fated--I must use this right away. So...goodbye forever, Martin. I am not yours, and you'll never be mine. You go your own way and I go mine! :D

Justy came back to me

Previously I thought I wouldn't see my dear Justy this week...but surprisingly! It was parked at the alley near my place, and I found the car keys in the mailbox. @_@ Didn't my Shi Xiong say he'd borrow it for a week or so...However, I am really glad that my baby has come back to me! This morning I went to school on foot and yeah it's nice to look around in the market on my way. But more convenient when Justy is around! ^^ Not long after I got home SX called me and said they didn't need my car since his relatives have gone to Kaohsiung. But Justy had served them well while they went have fun in Yangmingshan yesterday. hehehe Guess what I got for this time lending them my baby--a cute teddy bear! I'll take a pic of it when I have some free time. :P

As for some mushy news, the 'lovable' Martin guy sent me sms today, telling me to take good care since the weather's getting colder recently because of some coldfront's approaching. woo :P Shouldn't I be glad for such warm greetings. Shouldn't I feel so touched for someone's never giving up trying that hard to keep in touch. LOL~ ok friends you know me--I did give him 3 chances before. :P I think I am very generous this way...maybe too generous -"- don't you think so. Anyway it's not even a fling; to be opposite, it's more like a big trouble in my life--must consider to give up the degree 3 cell phone seriously now I guess. -"-

My new toy--Acer TravelMate 320T

I think it might be in 2007 for your latest question, my friend. *chuckles* Don't you worry! I have had a life as you know...whether I have a bf or not. :D Furthermore, I am pretty much into high-tech products--that's why here is this new toy for me, which I got from Yahoo auction, a small notebook! The only problem is the seller told on his page he made it windows XP and it ran well. But after we met this afternoon he told me he didn't think XP ran well enough and then he changed it to windows 98. -_- Not that I am a person who just likes to complain, but I do think what you said on your page should be HONEST. It's not a blog, you know...if it was, I wouldn't take EVERYTHING serious since I wouldn't say I am being serious on my blog either. So yeah...12000 NT spent, and I will have to find the drives. My friend did try to help there...he's always kind enough to do so for ppl around. Altho I am sometimes too dumb, or too smart -_-... to figure what he taught me out. ( I go sleep on the sofa in the living room...LOL this is what I used to laugh at myself while I was making mistakes. I think better for me not to get married since me so good at pissing guys off. I wouldn't be allowed to stay in the bedroom but got to sleep on the sofa...or in the bathroom? hahahaha~ ) Ok back to very serious mood. So yeah...I have a big problem now--my NB's USB can't work for me. What to do? I really have no idea now...but I am sure I don't give up. Maybe later I will have some inspiration...some terrific ideas just come and I can solve the problem. :D ( way too optimistic you can tell... )

Gathering

No idea why but I got a headache from this early morning, not like I caught a cold tho, no coughing, no sneezing. Only the upper part of my head hurts very much. It's Sat! And I had to go out for a gathering--had a late lunch ( from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. ) with 2 friends from another channel. We had buffet at my favorite vegetarian restaurant near Zhongshan MRT station. :D~ Needless to say it's very enticing...many kinds of dishes, and yummy snacks. Best of all, since they both stayed on IRC longer than me, I was happily listening to those exciting stories ever happened. Some have quitted and others still keep in touch--and their relation to each other is pretty amazing. :P Somehow I think the Net is quite surprising, you know. More than once I heard friends tell me how they fell in love with ppl who they didn't even meet in person--only by conversation...even the gal who I met today did. She fell in love with a guy who is a Taiwanese but he's a Canadian citizen now. The most interesting thing is that guy never sent a photo--see? Nobody knows how he looks yet. *chuckles* I am not here to lecture or what...it's my monologue--I can comment! :D It's difficult for me to love a guy who I never met before. I do think physical attraction is very important... :D

Me at my office desk.  

What a week

Winter time's coming...I become too lazy to do my blog these days.
:P yeah the weather is too...too cold? nahh...it's over 30 C the
highest during the day recently, I mean for this week. So that's why
in the photos below I still wore a short sleeve blouse or dress
these days. I don't mind tho, since there's always something fun
every day whether it's hot or cold. :D Just like a few days ago, the
boy student Jason finally raised his hand in class: 'Teacher may I
ask you a question?' 'Sure.' 'If I ask you out for a tea would you
agree and go out with me?'

Needless to say, altho I am pretty much this kind of person who
enjoy being treated by guys whether it's a meal or a drink...'No
way.' I replied. LOL~ Really fun to look at his facial expression!
And then another boy Guo brought some VCDs: Scary Movie I and II,
which I watched them both before but I didn't get the VCDs. ( I have
their avi. tho ) Of course he's glad to lend them to me. :P Guo even
asked me if he could intro his cousin to me: 'You can talk with him
on MSN, teacher.' 'Err but I prefer to chat in English.' 'It doesn't
matter. My cousin majors in architecture.' 'Erm...@_@ I...' Well
well, how come they are more desperate than this single teacher! :P
But friends you don't worry for me--being dodging is truly my strong
suit. So yeah, safe!

To my surprise there are quite a few Scorpio in my class: Scott and
Patric this week, Sandy and Rachel next week. In the photos Scott
was the boy on the left, and Patric was in the middle. My mini digi
cam is not a brand name stuff, but it got some colourful frames. I
chose this 'happy bday' one for them and hope they are cheerful for
both the photo and the butter flavoured chocolate from me as a
little bday gift. :D In fact my school doesn't ask students to wear
any caps. So where are those blue caps from? *chuckles* It's Sam's
idea...quite creative isn't it. He folded his blue sport jacket and
then made it a blue cap. I was almost 'xiao si' as soon as I saw
them wear that in class: 'Hey you guys all become over 180 cm now!'
Oh yeah boys in class are not tall...the average is around 160 cm,
or less? Anyway not as tall as me. But the gal who drew a cute cat
on the blackboard, our class leader Vivien, is the same tall as me!
Maybe a bit taller now...the one on the left in the photo. And
Simone was on my right side--she was laughed at by classmates: 'Hey
you are standing but you're nearly the same tall as our homeroom
teacher who's sitting now!' Awww!

However nothing is perfect. Some unfortunate events happened as
well. Our classroom was broken in one night and the next morning we
all had to clean up all the powder ( it's pink and a bit purple too
) from the fire chemical extinguisher. I was kidding: 'Oh wow our
stuff now look so elegant--being painted white.' Furthermore, I
found one pile of broken glass in the doorway this early morning, in
front of our classroom. I was :O and then quickly asked Jerry, who's
responsible for our class' property, to come and help. While I was
helping put them in a thicker plastic bag, my finger was cut by 2
tiny glass trash. -_- I had to pull them out of my skin carefully,
you know...and a little bleeding. Therefore I reported to my boss
and suggested spy cam should be installed at some places in our
school because such events have had happened a couple of times.
As for damages from the nature, there were some earthquakes: twice
at night when I was in my bedroom and once in the morning when I was
sitting at my office desk. No need to ask me if I was scared. Of
course I was! It even made the tile under my chair broken. Somehow I
think...we shouldn't 'ji jiao' too much since we really don't know
when we will kick the bucket. :P I am not that kind of person who
would just quit without leaving friends a message. I must give a
reason previously. But if I just disappear...*chuckles* I hope you
know why. ( Yeah my pc got problems sometimes, you know :P ) It's
Friday, and I planned to send my Justy for a check. Too bad many
cars were in there waiting and I could do nothing but drove back. :(
My shi xiong will come borrow it on Sun morning. Wish him good luck then.
*grins*

Cute cat  

Happy birthday, Patrick! :D 

Cool caps! 

Happy birthday to Scott!  

Some more SJB

Work's not hectic today, but I decided to blow my cool in
front of my students in year 9 this afternoon. They were noisy
in class while I was helping them review Book 3 for the coming
test next Wed. Some of them didn't concentrate on their
studies--in fact I know it's impossible to ask EVERY student
to study English hard, but they shouldn't make so much noise.
I didn't wanna bear with that anymore. So I stood up without
looking at them, neither did I scold. I slapped the English
refernce book onto the desk--it fell off the desk onto the ground, and
then I stepped out of the classroom. All students became so
quiet when I was standing outside the classroom. I
counted...and thought ok it's enough for them. I found that
reference book was already put on the desk again. So...a good
performance I did today. And hope from now onwards when I am
lecturing they know what they have to act. :P

And some more sjb things. After class students came up to me
as usual, asking questions ( about English, about my personal
stuff, about everything :P ) and joking with me. Suddenly I
found someone was approaching too near on my left--I turned my
head and almost hit her face! The gal student who 'proposed'
to me a few days ago was to kiss my cheek. -_- I must be
careful...very careful I mean. LOL~ Not only her...but another
gal from year 8, who isn't my student now since I don't teach
their class this semester, met me during a break while I was
leaning on a fence in front of a classroom. She came take my
right hand and said: 'Coffee ( my nick ), do you wanna spend
one night with me?' @_@ I was...'flattered'? Should I laugh or
cry? :P

Dino and me.  

Relay Race

We had the relay yesterday afternoon. There are around 90
classes in our school--you can imagine how noisy it was on the
court. Year 9 went first, then year 8 and year 7. My class is
in year 8, but I also teach some students in year 9. They
asked me earlier if I could go 'jia you' for them. That's why
I was standing there watching and trying my best to
encouraging them. It's very exciting to see students
running...and lucky, I was thinking...no such competitions for
us teachers. Otherwise I might broke my bone when I couldn't
get the baton from another teacher and fell off there. LOL~
thanks goodness I am content with being an observer. My
students really did their best...but they couldn't win the top
3 places. Well good enough I told them: no one got hurt during
the race. Everyone got an iced soya drink after the relay--
hope they can feel better soon.
I saw an interesting stuff in my office today, a dinosaur toy.
A Chinese teacher told me one of her boy students brought it
to school and she didn't think it's a good idea for middle
school students to play with such a toy in the classroom. So
yeah, the green creature was standing on a shelf in this
homeroom teachers' office, watching us grading homework or
tests and listening to our jokes from time to time. I took a
picture with it...wondering if hs students in western
countries would do so as well. Erm maybe they are more mature?
They might bring guns. *grins*

Treat or trick :P

Since we are a traditional Taiwanese family--no decoration at home for sure. But I saw something interesting on the street! It was evening and I know the photo would be dark. Anyway, for some fun here.

Racing time

Well it's the season of racing again...couple of activities will be held the coming November. 24 students in each class will attend the running racing--each is to run for 100 meters with a stick in one hand and then give it to the next runner. So yeah...me, the homeroom teacher has to act like a PE teacher at this moment, need to keep them company on the court and watch them practice. I would use '狀況百出' for this situation--some ran the wrong lane, some didn't hold the stick well enough. Worst of all, it's running racing--but most of my girl students can't run fast. That's why we were sighing after we practiced and suggested some boy students should pretend, or disguise, or whatsoever...to look like girls and run for our class. *chuckles* Anyway I will pray for them and hope no one falls or gets hurt while the racing is taking place. Ahh...hao lei! I didn't even run tho...but I guess paying a lot of attention on them, staring hard at them also must have consumed most of my energy. So...had better go to bed early tonight.

Funny or SJB?

These days...um I don't know whether they are eventful or not. I can't understand how come a guy can be so persistent--most of the time my degree 3 cell phone's off. After I switched it on...I got a sms soon. Then later got another one. In fact I have already blocked myself from getting any message online from him, or any other guy in there. ( wanna live a simple and peaceful life now...) He really should try his luck other places. Good luck, Martin, altho I have no yuan fen with you. :D

Jason from the class in year 9 told me his heart would beat hard everytime he sees me. Eh how come teens are so weak nowadays. Please don't get a heartache in class--I don't know how to apply CPR well. :P Moreover...I think I should say more crazy...a gal Yang kneeled down on one knee in front of the classroom after class dismissed, holding my right hand. -_- She proposed to me and suggested we could fly to L.A. to get married. I never expect my future husband would be a teen aged gal tho. LOL~ So I pulled her up...*pats pats her* and told her: 'well I'd ponder over it later. You study hard...I want my students to study hard.' :P What a life!

Typhoon day, shopping day?

No school for today altho it's Monday. Well...not that here it comes another national holiday, but the powerful typhoon Nock-ten lashed Taiwan. It also got Taipei the strongest wind ( 12 on the scale ) which has never been seen for the past 27 years. :O Of course it must bring a lot of damage to many places--cost 3 lives so far because of the flooding. It's also no good for me altho I stayed home all day and thanks God there's no flooding here. I spent lots of time surfing ( how nice the net can still work while there's no electricity in some areas! ) and finally ordered a 512MB mp3 player. In addition, I surfed even more for a second hand notebook. -_- Oh no...I must control myself and stop surfing like this. High-tech stuff are so interesting, so alluring...and so dangerous to my wallet. :P Anyway it's quite boring trapped at home all day long, and the price of vegetables soar...*sobs sobs* real bad news for a vegetarian isn't it!

Camping

離開令人愛恨交織的台北兩天,卻不是為了感情問題...

Finally I came back to my beloved city Taipei. The reason I had to leave for another place and stayed in a hotel room for one night was absolutely NOT for some trouble or feelings and such. It's because of my work--students went camping in the mountains of Miaoli county and we homeroom teachers got to keep them company. That's why I brought my digi cam and 2 SD cards which has 256 MB capacity each. So students had a lot of fun playing games, setting up tents, learning how to cooperate and do team work well, and they cooked for themselves in the field...woo~ Very good lessons for teenagers isn't it! :P My responsibity there was take good care of myself and students could concentrate on their learning--no need to worry about their fragile teacher. :P

I am proud of them since they did their best for the performance at night by the campfire. I also danced with them and that made some of them WOO a lot since I used to be 'serious' at school. Of course I have to...who would dance in the office or in the classrooms? -_-" So... Charles said 'wah teacher you danced so hot!' when we were on our way home on the bus, I only replied 'urm you saw someone else. that's not me.' LOL~ he yelled 'ni pian ren!!!' hahahaha~ da dui le! :P Not only photos I took for them but also did quite a few vid clips. I hope...one day, maybe 10 years later when they take a look at the pics and vids...many beautiful memories will come back on their minds. :)

Getting colder

台北的天氣一向如此,只要過了中秋節就開始涼起來,我今天連夾克都穿上了,不知道在哪一篇文章看過一句話:秋風一起,就是海枯石爛的心情...可惜喔,我沒有託付這種心情的對象. :P

So...the best is enjoy myself no matter what. I watched Harry Potter and the Prisoner of the Azkaban and the principal's line impressed me most: 'Happiness can be found even in the darkest times.' I do think so. Bad weather is no fun, but nice music can always cheer me up again. I got Nelly's latest album and listened to it even when I was taking a shower--I put the CD player on the toilet bowl and covered it with a towel. LOL~ I found it a good way to pass my time in the bathroom. One girl student lent me a CD-RW in which she ( or her dad? not so sure ) burned around 15 songs. Last time the stuff she lent me was a handy HD ( how to say that in English? maybe I have to ask my friend to make sure. ) it's small, and the capacity seems to be 256 MB. I got a 32 MB one--it's a free gift from ebay. :D Oh I returned the CD to Wang and he asked me what my opinion was. I said I did try hard and...not once, but listened to it twice. 'Very painful...' I told him. LOL~ Poor me...next time he wouldn't lend me anything new since I was too honest. :P

Rainy but not too bad

Finally it is Monday, and rainy all day long. ( now I can still hear the rain. ) Just like what I said earlier I had a very busy weekend. Well it's not easy to see so many bishops on a Mass--even the cardinal came. Of course I brought my digi cam and took photos even took some vids. :D My friends in the choir can get a CD later and enjoy watching and listening the songs we sang.

The only thing I wouldn't say happy was I had nothing to eat. No lunch, no snack, and no dinner either. Sometimes I think I am just too dumb to foresee or to make a prompt and correct decision. I should have known I would starve and found some friends there in time to ask them to give me a ride. Then I wouldn't be stuck in traffic jam in the late evening and had fun listening to my tummy's singing. -_- However I hope I can alawys learn something after I know I made mistakes in my life. Being a vegetarian, you know, NEVER expect others to take care of my need. :P

Back to my quiet life...I wish

Yeah it's Sat. Another very busy weekend again. We need to practice for
the performance tomorrow in Xinzhu--a very important occasion. It's the
fiftieth anniversary of one nunnery, where all the nuns have to stay
inside till they get very sick or leave for the heaven. Maybe one day I
can stay there too I think...

However we practiced hard since the choir master said we had to perform
very well: 'You guys think for a while. We will all be dead 50 years
later! We don't have another chance to sing for their next fiftieth
anniversary! Please pay attention and sing beautifully, like you are
praying so deeply...' Okay...I tried my best even when I was having a
stomachache that time. Another memeber told me, 'hey you look pale
today.' I didn't explain to her since I didn't have enough energy.
Later in the evening I couldn't even eat anything for dinner. -_- How
sad...especially for a vegetarian who used to have a good appetite like
me. No idea if it's because of not enough food for today, I feel a bit
down and keep thinking I should go back to my quiet life. Too many
activities...I need some free time for myself. Working hard at school
is enough. After this performance I hope I can quit, at least for a
period of time, and live a relaxing life again.

Earthquake--7 on Scale

An earthquake happened to the north of Taiwan this early afternoon, which was 7 on Richter Scale. I was sitting in the office talking with a colleague and students. Then I felt my butts started shaking a bit…hmm…’I am too weak to sit straight or what…’ ‘Earthquake!’ others shouted. Oh phew…’I am fine…err wait! Earthquake!!!’ :O I stood up, thought that I should run out. However you know about my personality—never give up. I mean, never give up proceeding to the wonder land nirvana, you know. :P So yeah, I sat down again, decided to ‘let it be.’ Well…since I can still blog here now, I think it’s still some way to go for my attention to get there ( the nirvana ).

Talking about the metal music, the CD which Wang lent me, I think it’s really not my cup of tea. Take a look at the first song’s title—Thirteen Autumns and One Widow. Isn’t that…urm, weird? I have no idea. :P And how to express my feeling? I felt my heart so heavy while listening to it. I couldn’t breathe easily. Wang told me to listen for a few times, and too bad…I couldn’t make it—listened twice though. Maybe I don’t feel down enough? Such music is never for those who wanna put their heads in the clouds, I guess, but good for people desperate to let go their strong feelings, or maybe their depress? Hehehe however, it’s wonderful to know about something new to me. Thank you, my boy student Wang. I remember to bring some chocolate for you. :D

Teatime!

It is autumn so you can see I wear a pink jumper today. This photo was taken in a cafe, where I had some tea this afternoon with my colleague, a math teacher.

Cruelty and the Beast

Finally the boy student Wang lent me the CD he mentioned a few times to me--metal music, Cradle of Life-Cruelty and the Beast. Um I've never been into metal but it's no harm to give it a try. Wang talked with me about this CD for quite a few minutes after our class' dismissed. "It's a story and the music doesn't sound good at first. You will have to listen to it for couple of times..." I was erm no idea if I had enough patience. Then another boy student Chen walked up to me and asked me to make him a copy of this CD. I downright refused him since I didn't know how to. Hey you know CDs nowadays are already 'protected' from being burned. But Chen started to 'lecture' to me how CDs work on PCs and it's not difficult to 'clone' it if you get the 'Clone' software and so on. I was err...and tried hard to escape from this knowledgeable teen's preaching: "It's easy for you and you can get the English version blah blah..." "No I wouldn't understand and I don't think I am able to make a 'clone' for you!" Once I submitted I would have so many requests from those smart little brats, no I mean those smart teen-aged students of mine, you know. :P

Half a day leave

I took half a day leave and went out with sis. When I told students I wouldn’t be at school this afternoon, they looked so curious…and so did my colleagues. Finally they couldn’t help but ask me: ‘Are you going out to date someone?’ LOL~ if I did I would be happy to share with them this good news. Too bad everyone knows I am pretty much living a nun’s life! Sorry, friends around me…no date so far.

Then I took MRT and felt bored—forgot to take my MP3 with me. -_- That 256MB one is very good…to kill time. :P I met my sis at a department store and then we proceeded to the vegetarian restaurant where I think the dishes are very nice. One thing is weird—I did mention that I like this restaurant a lot to those guys who had the intention to be ‘closer’ to me. But none of them got the hint. Never did they suggest ‘hey let’s have dinner at this restaurant.’ *chuckles* I think they would never know why things never work out. :P ( mei you ban fa…ta men tai ben le! :D ) Of course my sis and I had a wonderful eating and having small talk in there. I even got 2 pieces of cakes—one green tea flavored and the other chocolate! :D Oh I got the second coffee as well…hope I can fall asleep easily tonight. :P

Naughty :P

Being a teacher I can’t always talk about vocabulary and grammar in class—students would get very bored if so. Sometimes I talked about something funny that happened in my life. Today in our last session we were to read some articles about Culture. I could tell those teens in year 9 looked tired, especially their homeroom teacher just told them off before I entered the classroom. So…in order to inspire them (?) I talked about the latest sms I got from that guy: ‘The weather is getting colder and please take good care. Wear more…I miss you terribly. Martin.’ Yeah…they were definitely refreshed by such…erm…very touching lines? No one felt sleepy again and started to give me feedback—well not nice enough. I told them not to mentioned our Chinese 4 letter words. :P I hope we can do a reply ‘elegantly’ but let him know his intention is not welcomed. LOL~ After all we could continue our reading class happily—good enough. :P

When I dismissed the class some came up to me as usual. The boy student who asked me about some terms like ‘succubi’, ‘lich’ previously was surprised as I said: ‘well when will you lend me the CD? Maybe I appreciate metal music too.’ :P ‘Would you?’ he said. I chuckled. In fact I have no idea if I would, but you know me…I am curious. ‘Bitter suits to the succubbi.’ Hmm… interesting. Then some girl students came talk to me, urm…more like greeting I think. One was naughty enough to take my left hand. I was thinking what she was to check…oh my she’s to kiss the back of my hand!!! I pulled my hand back quickly before she took action. LOL~ Now then you know why I have to keep alert so much. :P

Hot pot time ( shabu shabu )

The weather’s getting colder, and time for my favorite meal again—shabu shabu, which is not an English term for sure, but Japanese. It’s similar to our Chinese hot pot, but the difference is it’s a smaller steam pot and only for one person does, while Chinese hot one is bigger and for all the members there to get the food inside. Yesterday evening I went to a shabu shabu restaurant and have one for dinner. I don’t know if restaurants in western countries afford the same stuff: plus the main course ( the food for hot pot ) they have soft drink ( coke, soda, sprite, iced lemon tea ), even some ice cream--3 flavors in that restaurant: grape, peanut, and the best…mango! They are tasty of course. Oh yeah they gave sweet soup ( ai yu ) in the end. And the price for each is around 200 NT. *sighs* I know, I know…and I am thankful. :D

Today I didn’t do much but rested a lot. No idea why…maybe I am workaholic? As soon as I got up this morning I got a severe headache. During weekdays I think I am too busy to think or feel that I have a headache? *chuckles* I don’t know…but my headache did stop me from going out, and I had to stay in bed a lot. Well, it’s not too bad since I live a very busy life most of the time, teaching at school getting along with teens dealing with their naughty sometimes evil problems. Amazing that I don’t find my hair becoming white fast. LOL~ In fact I only found one short white hair on the top of my head. :P I was woo~ and happy to keep it there. Nan2 de2 ahh…I think. Many of my colleagues have to dye their hair because it’s white. My family have the tendency ( not sure if I use the correct term here ) to get white hair early. By ‘early’ I mean they start getting white hair in their late twenties, and have quite a few after thirties. So yeah, I might get a lot too pretty soon? :P I look forward to the date I need to dye my hair then. LOL~

I am crazy...LOL

Friday…I don’t know why but these days seem crazy to me although I only had 3 sessions to teach today. It’s quite relaxing and fun, you know, especially I ran into some girl students who I taught during summer school time. They were on their way to the girls’ room too, happy to see me: ‘Teacher! How come you don’t continue teaching us this semester!’ ( not the first time I heard such statements…) ‘Teacher you look sexy!’ ( I am to worry since I look sexy to a teen girl…*sighs* ) ‘Teacher I want a hug!’ ( … I can’t even remember the girl student’s name. But I gave her one—you know me, too kind-hearted. :P )

The degree 3 cell phone has rested for quite a period of time and I decided to let it work for me again. Not surprising…I got some sms again. And that guy’s daring enough, or should I say ‘thick-skinned’ enough, to send me mushy stuff. Sometimes I talked about it in class and I told all my boy students not to do so when they are to woo girls they are fond of. *chuckles* Sweet talk is fine, if comes along with nice behavior and if that person is adorable. Too bad…those who only know about bragging their high commission are never my type. 2 other guys from another channel are trying to make friends with me now; one asked me for my cell phone # but I haven’t decided whether to give. Work is hectic in October, so I don’t have much free time for them even though they both said they have good income. LOL~ again. :P Shall I tease them for that…*evil grins* well maybe I can make fun of them, when I am in the mood sometime later. :P hahahahaha~ lucky they don’t read my monologue here! *winks*

Thanks I am getting well

I don’t know why, but maybe it’s autumn and the weather is changeable—I got a cold and didn’t feel like going out often for a few days. Lucky it’s sunny and warm again today, and I took a walk in the morning when I had no sessions to teach, 3 hours break! Not too bad huh. :P There is a traditional market near my school and I can always get something useful and cheap there. What did I buy for today? Hehehe some papayas and bananas! Also got some lemon flavored potato chips and chocolate cookies. I know it’s not good for one who wanna keep fit. But…well I am 170 cm and 56 kilos. :D I would like some coffee and enjoy the snacks later.

Our watching movies at Movie Club time on Wednesday afternoon has to stop for twice since mid-term exam is coming. Students are disappointed but they have already accepted the fact—their evil homeroom teacher, me, forbid them to play chess and sports these days also. :D Oh? You ask me why they wouldn’t go against me? Because…LOL~ you know the answer right? :P

Busy weekend

Oh my, this weekend was so busy. On Saturday I was working hard for the periodical test of year 8. I am responsible for the listening comprehension, vocabulary, and grammar parts. Worse, it’s autumn now and the weather’s getting colder—I caught a cold. -_-“ I was having a severe headache all day and still working on the exercises. I had to since we will have a meeting the coming Monday and need to discuss my work there. Finally I finished it and my friend was so kind to check it for me, to see if I made any mistakes on spelling or sentence structures. Well…I did make one: a preposition was missing. LOL~ Of course I am grateful that I have such a good friend who can help correct my English. :D

Today we celebrated my dad’s birthday, and the chocolate cake is vegetarian! My sis bought it in a veggie bakery in her neighborhood. And she’s nice to get me some buns as well. I gave my dad a red envelope, in which is 6000 NT dollars. It is more of my dad’s cup of tea. If I got him any present, he would say, ‘oh you wasted money again, because I have had such stuff blah blah…’ That’s why my sis and I did the same on his birthday since ages ago. Dad is happy, and we daughters are happy too!

A field trip--part II

And it’s Oct now. :P hahahaha I am to finish the part II. In fact there are several different areas for us to visit in Taipei Water Park. But the best for my naughty students, of course, is the Water Park. I let them play in there for one and half an hour after they listened to the guide’s lecture ‘patiently’. :P Then boys and girls all hurried into the pool and played excitedly in the water. I didn’t go into the pool—no students were daring enough to drag me in…*grins evilly* I then took a walk Kuanying Hill Hiking Area with a girl student and 2 boy students—they didn’t wanna play in the pool that time and would rather follow me. Stepping on the wooden stairs and feeling the breeze was so pleasant, and you know it’s not something we can easily have in this city life—to get so close to our Mother Nature. I watched the azure sky and some white clouds…thinking, such a simple life for me, a person who has no big ambition, was just fulfilling. Too bad there was no café by the path, otherwise I could sit there sipping a latte and enjoyed more. ( urm…with the 3 students? :P ) Finally it’s time to get back. Students were so reluctant to leave! They told me they had a lot of fun and would like me to take them out for a field trip again. Certainly…I told them—‘if you guys behave well, study hard, and improve your grade…I will.’ :P *chuckles* no pain no gain right?

A field trip--part I

I guess I have done all the exercise I need to take for 2004 in one day—to be more specific, in one afternoon. :P Yes this afternoon I took 40 teens—my cute but very naughty students, out for a field trip. Our destination is Taipei Water Park—a nice place to go when it’s sunny and warm like today. :D

We had lunch at school, cleaned the classroom up, and then we left our school happily for the MRT station. I, the homeroom teacher, was smart enough to bring me with the speaker and microphone I use in class—yeah sometimes I would have to ‘shout’ at them. :P ‘Follow me, and watch out while you are crossing the street!’ After we got to the Taipei Water Park, a ‘tour guide’ was there waiting for us, since I booked this trip 2 weeks ago and they could arrange it well for us, you know. The lady led us to take a look at some old equipment which were used to pump water, and watched a video clip telling us the development of our life with the very vital material, water. And I am too tired to type the whole story now. *chuckles* Let me finish it some other time when I have enough energy then.

Happy Teacher's Day and Moon Festival :D

Well I got more cards and presents yesterday and I felt grateful. In fact I told students not to give me anything—this is my job and I do get paid already. I don’t think there is a need to give me gifts, but maybe people in this country still pay teachers a rather higher respect. I don’t know. :P Since I never went abroad to study, no idea if students in other countries would do so too. Teachers there have the same high social status also? I learned earlier that guys in Taiwan think the # 1 choice as picking up their wives is concerned is—not surprising, teachers. *chuckles* no wonder I never worry. :P However, my advice is: if a guy would like to pursue a teacher, he had better be intelligent enough and always keep update with this high tech world. Otherwise, it’s really boring to talk with a guy who has poor knowledge, and worse, that he is only good at making a great brag of his ability. *chuckles* I don’t think I am very wise or what…but it’s always interesting to learn something new and know about trendy stuff. That’s why I can talk with teens at school about Internet affairs, movies, pop songs, fashions and so on.

Here in Taiwan, most of my good friends are from the same educational world, and somehow I would like to, and I did try to, make friends from other fields. I think maybe they can teach me something different; that’s the reason I knew the guys—the real estate agent, the architect, and the Scorpio guy who works in a bank, via the Net. Well…I found they are quite boring. Once I asked the choir master, who studied in the U.S. before and got her master degree and now she is still active in teaching music here in Taipei, how come I find it’s easier and more fun to talk with friends who are also teachers. She replied me easily: well because they ( not teachers ) don’t read or keep up studying. That’s why it is so difficult for me to build up friendship with some people. I guess. Even a guy from a channel, in which I am a regular, talks silly—he is to get his PHD soon can you believe it. We have an idiom here for such guys: man2 nao3 jin1 chong2. Well, in English, the direct translation is: his brain is full of sperm only. Sorry if it doesn’t sound elegant at all. :P A bit rude, but to the point. I wonder what kind of girl will fall in love with this PHD-to-be. LOL~ Anyway I don’t care about that. :P

Oh my dad got some brand-named mooncakes—it’s Tian1 Ren2! In fact this company is well known for its tea leaves. And now they make some tea-flavored mooncakes. Too bad I cannot have any since they are not vegetarian. So…can only had some fun taking pictures. Anyway…after my silly monologue, I hope everything is fine with all my good friends here in Taiwan, and my lovely friends Yuppy and Kenny in OZ. 祝大家心想事成! :D

Rainy weekend--good for ba gua

No need to turn on air con these days—it’s rainy and cool in Taipei. Most of the time rainy days don’t affect my good mood. And our choir went to a church in Wanhua to have a performance yesterday evening. Even the Father came tell me that our songs could rock all Taipei after the Mass—he’s kind enough to say so. *chuckles* I had a good time there, and the best for me was I didn’t take the choir leader’s car. In fact I told my family what he did to me in his car this evening at the dining table when we were having dinner. My parents said he was very passionate—he hugs people from time to time. But I don’t think he would take anyone’s hand and put it on his lips, or hug someone tight ( yes, tight ) from behind. So I asked the Scorpio guy if he could come give me a ride and lucky I ended up sitting in his car safely. He wouldn’t do anything to me—thanks Goodness! :D

As for today, I didn’t do anything important. My sis came back home with a bigger tummy and her son will have a bro or sis next January. We discussed where she would spend her maternity leave—must choose a good after-maternal care center. Of course you guys know it’s very painful to give birth, and the process also hurts a mother’s health a lot. I will accompany my sis to see the care center near our place and my mom said she would check it first. We all hope she can get the best treatment this time. Ok…bs enough, you know. I parked my Justy under a tree and I think I will have to leave home earlier tomorrow—to wash my car, which got quite a few leaves on the cover and the windows. My car is neither new nor expensive, but I would like to keep it clean. If a guy who wanna pursue me is to give me a ride, he had better wash his car first…otherwise I would feel ‘yike’. ( Just like when I saw Martin drive a dusty car…all the 3 times we met, you know. ) LOL~ ok ok…I admit I am so hard to be pleased. :P

Coffee

One more, this is a big heavy present. In fact I told all my students not to give me anything expensive--10 NT cards will be good enough. So I didn't wanna accept this when the gal student handed it to me at school. But she insisted and said her parents would like to thank me. Ahh...bu hao yi si again. BTW, the 2 photos were taken at my place and I did use flash. Still I look so tan. LOL~ well well...anyway I am not the focus, but the presents are. :P

Chocolate

This is the chocolate I got yesterday. Very pretty the package is! The gal student's dad runs a cram school in Taipei, and she told me they had this chocolate and her dad thought it's nice--so got one for me. *chuckles* bu hao yi si.

A bit cool but nice :)

It’s been rainy and getting colder now in Taiwan. I feel good and it’s pleasant to walk on the street…at this autumn time. Of course if there is no rain. :P Yesterday evening I went practicing with the choir—we will have a performance tomorrow evening. These days I got too many potato chips ( yes, the lemon flavored ones ) and not only I got a few acnes but my voice became not so good. :D Sure I know why—potato chips are heaty enough. Well since I cannot give up the yummy chips, I would have to drink as much water as I can. *chuckles* It seems another good example of my ‘never give up’ motto here.

Teacher’s Day is coming, and I got some presents for that already. The class in year 8 gave me a heavy one—very useful stuff, a dozen of Lux soaps! One gal student in my class gave me very expensive presents: coffee and chocolate ( both are brand named ). I’ll upload the pictures later when I have more free time. Ah…sleepy.

Bye now, my degree 3

‘As soon as I got up, I miss you…On my way to work, I miss you…When I have a meal, I miss you…As I am online, I miss you…While taking a bath, I miss you…The time I go to bed, I miss you. Oh I just cannot stop missing you! I miss you so much!’ *claps* :P

Well…it seems my prayer last night did not work well. And I still got a mushy sms today and a missed phone call. In fact this guy left me a message online that he KNEW I was busy working and I could call him if I had free time for him. See? But I have no free time for such a guy, who wants nothing but a free ‘that’. :P He must think a single woman like me in Taipei would be so desperate…so needy…she wants a guy who can hold her tight and enjoy something for only one night? LOL~ great…he will get nothing but my pretty much coldness. It’s a pity that I wouldn’t tell him what is the right thing to do if he wanna woo a woman? *chuckles* Well I do think guys should figure it out themselves how to pursue the ones they want. Whatsoever! I am not to be bothered by such a guy anymore! :D Now I have decided to switch off my cell phone for degree 3 for a period of time. I hope he can forgets about me…as soon as possible! I bet there are plenty of desperate women in Taipei and it’s easy to find ONS nowadays, you know. Leave me alone. I am happy to stay in my solitude…*smiles*

Got gifts

We finished watching Tomb Raider—The Cradle of Life this afternoon. Well…I don’t know if I have such great courage to kill a partner who I loved before for all the others’ safety on earth, just like what Lara Croft did at the end of this play after she finally found the Pandora’s Box. Yeah she is cool, and this action movie is entertaining. I don’t mean the ‘killing someone who’s the beloved’ part though. :P

In class, one year nine boy student gave me 2 gifts—a mirror with lovely pink covers, and a cute comb. Honestly speaking, I didn’t know this boy’s name until…you know. :P Since he is not like those who always perform actively, or look very brilliant. Well you guys might think what kind of teacher I am—so cruel to ignore the students that can’t do well on tests? No it’s not like that. I know some students are interested in learning but others are not. That’s why I don’t usually pick on the latter, you know—I only hope they enjoy my teaching and have a good time watching me in class every now and then. He seemed shy when I said ‘wow~ my first present for Teacher’s Day!’ I think he blushed. LOL~ Other students in class also said they would like to give me gifts. * sob sob * I feel so touched… Being a teacher I don’t get a high pay, but the warmth and happiness I get from those adorable teenagers is a nice complement. :D

I still got calls and sms from the Martin guy. And I didn’t answer any of them. WW called me and we talked on the phone for more than one hour this evening. She told me not to go out with that guy again. I NEVER would ok. If he was the last man in this world, fine…I would rather go directly to the heaven than go seeing him. *chuckles* A great challenge? I hope not. And please give me up...

A nice encounter

I talked with a monk today. Well…he is not a pretend monk, but a real monk. *chuckles* So, no ‘woo’ please. He is a student in year 7 at my school. In fact I noticed him because of his cassock when we had a school meeting on the court all together at the beginning of this new semester. I was thinking…too bad I was not his homeroom teacher. Otherwise I could take good care of him since I am a vegetarian too. School doesn’t afford vegetarian lunch boxes. So I am the one who orders veggie lunch boxes for other teachers and some students—3 options: rice, noodles, and rice noodles.

So maybe it is fate. I couldn’t open my car door and I had to walk today. After I stepped out of our school gate, I found he was walking ahead of me. Then I walked faster to catch up with him, and said, ‘erm…hey…’ He turned his head and looked at me—a total stranger to him of course. Then I told him I am a homeroom teacher and I am a vegetarian too. I wondered what he had for lunch at school. He then told me he lives in a Buddhism Centre in the neighborhood. I know that place. And the monks there would come to school and bring him lunch. But it’s troublesome—he said they have a lot to do every day. Thus I told him to find me at my office and tell me what he would order for lunch from tomorrow onwards. ‘But you ask your masters there first.’ I told him before we said goodbye. We had a nice chat. The feeling is very different because he is not like any other boy student at my school. Most 13-year-old boys are just like little monkeys! The way he talks is not anyhow like them—sure thing though, at 13 and has been a monk. I think he must be very enlightened. Maybe I will be a real nun in the future as I am enlightened enough also. :D

I had 3 sessions in the morning, hardly had enough time to grade students’ homework, and got a meeting in the afternoon. After the meeting I came back to my office and felt so tired that I took a rest at my office desk for almost 1 hour. The colleague sitting next to me never saw me sleep like that before. :P My eyes are tired… I think I will go hit my bed early tonight.

Double trouble when we get together?

I did have a lot of fun playing with my cute toy, the mini digi cam, and you guys saw some of the photos taken recently with it. The quality is ok, and sometimes it’s blurry since the kids who took them couldn’t keep their hands steady enough. You know I am always willing to teach students if they wanna learn. As soon as they saw this lovely baby, they asked me how to take pictures well. So I showed them the basic functions and they were eager to try it. Of course they don’t make it sometimes, especially our vice class leader. He trembled so much while taking photos of me that all of them were like those taken in Ghost Month, you know. And the best is I have long black hair. LOL~ That made it a very vivid effect I think. :P Anyway, the thing is I will have to send the camera back to the company since there’s something wrong—the ‘flash’ can’t work at all. Sure I read the user manual carefully and tried several times—no flash. They will have to either fix it for me or give me another one which can work well.

This early evening, my best friend WW called me. Being long-winded always, we talked on the phone happily. She said she told her husband, the Canadian artist who stays in Toronto now, that she paid me a visit yesterday. Her husband said he’s so worried when we 2 get together—he called us ‘double trouble’. LOL~ Yeah we should be flattered, right? :P He thinks we are pretty enough to make guys on the street fall? Talking about ‘fall’, once I was walking on the street in my neighborhood, and there was a guy passing by on his scooter. He turned his head to look at me too much to make it balanced, so yeah…he fell, and so did his goods on the scooter. Well…do you think it’s my fault? :D WW’s husband also thinks we would do something crazy—‘double daring’? :P He thinks too much I have to say. The only thing that’s real crazy is WW would like me to be her neighbor after she moves to Vancouver! She told me, ‘Flo, my husband said you had better give up Taiwanese guys. You should look for the One in western countries…find a westerner!’ What…hahahahaha~ The couple think too much I have to say it again. WW and I went to a shi jie’s place. She sells crystals…and we had a wonderful time watching those beautiful stones. WW told me she could buy some and sell them at the night market in Vancouver’s China Town. OK then…now I know where I can go during my summer vacation in the future—bring crystals to Vancouver and make a fortune with my best friend. Sure, I know I know…WW said it too, we will wear very sexy Chinese gowns and try our best to boost our business there. :P

The poster for Teacher's Day

Okay...here it is! The poster for Teacher's Day made by my lovely girl students! Isn't it cute! :P ( Taken in my office, and I know the light seems a bit dim there...both our faces looked tan. :P )

Drawing a poster

My girl students were drawing a poster for the coming Teacher's Day. School always asks some classes to make posters for certain occasions, you know. And my class is responsible for this very important date--Sep. 28th. I will also upload the finished poster for you all. :D

My colleague and good friend

My colleague and good friend--the math teacher, who's a bit younger than me but much smarter for sure! Her husband 'fixed' my teeth this summer vacaion, you know, for free. :P

My new toy--Praktical mini

Yes I got my new toy right today! It's so much fun to play with it...you see, even got the 'frame' function! Altho it's not a brand name stuff, I think I will have a good time taking some craps and sharing with you. :D The pic was taken in my office...ain't the 2 girl students of mine cute!

Not Alone...from Gothika

I am still sick today…my throat hurts. But I didn’t stop working since my students need me so. :P One boy student, Jason, who is in year 9, said he will be my fan forever in class. You can imagine my facial expression there… :O awww~ my ‘fan’?? Well I am no star ok. I told them I wish I could be the teacher who teaches Chinese—I think those teachers are cool…can always come up with elegant Chinese terms and sayings. I pretty much hope my students don’t learn from me if I happen to spit out curses when I go mad. :P

We watched Gothika today for our Movie Club. It’s not bad. A boy student said he’s afraid to watch scary movies. Sometimes he covered his eyes and ears even while I was sitting near. This movie is not scary enough! Basically there were some murders, and the thing was those who got killed didn’t rest in peace—they would like the truth to be revealed, the murderers could be punished. Thus, the only way was find someone who could ‘see’ them, and finally ‘work it out’ for them. Most students don’t understand the concept at first—the cause and effect. But for a person who used to watch a lot of TV programs about ghosts like me, it’s just too easy to miss the general idea. *chuckles* I enjoy guessing who the murderer is while reading a detective novel or watching a movie like this. And it’s easy this time. :P

Got sick...

Ahh…I am sick today. In fact I felt my throat hurt ( not serious ) last night. I was wondering if I caught a cold. This morning I overslept for almost an hour! :O As soon as I got up, I found I really got a sore throat, but no runny nose—thanks God. *chuckles* why? Because I can still lecture in class with a sore throat. Just the voice may not be so cheerful, low pitched I think. If I had a running nose, I would be busy sneezing, blowing my nose, and consuming a lot of facial tissues.

I also felt extremely tired in the early morning due to my dreams before I woke up. There were two parts…I can’t remember them very clearly now. In one part I was late for a class, in which a teacher was there teaching students making some potion. ( Yes it reminded me of Prof. Snape in Harry Potter. ) My best friend WW was making her potion already on the desk. WW was once my classmate when we studied in NTNU. She showed me the outcome by putting a cloth into the boiling potion, and the cloth immediately changed its color! I thought she did a good job… Then it went to another scene; I walked on the street with another friend of mine—no idea who the person is in my life though. I was lead to a forest at night…I felt something dangerous approaching, and I started to run. I couldn’t see anything, running in complete darkness hastily…lucky I didn’t hit anything. But finally I stopped; I touched some stuff which was rough on earth. Weird I knew I was in a dream, and I hoped to wake up since I wanted to ‘see’—I still couldn’t see anything that time. I fainted I guess. After a while I was up—seemed a couple saved me and put me in their kids’ room. I saw 2 little kids sleeping near me on the bed. The hostess came, and I talked to her. She told me I was doing something terrible, like hurting myself, when she saw me. I kind of…couldn’t believe that I would do so. ( I never got a thought to hurt myself no matter what…or I did? But I was not aware of it…)

That’s why I was so tired in the morning. This thought came to me unavoidably: Am I sick? It seems so. Am I sick both physically and mentally? I don’t know… But I know what to do. And I hope my good friends, no matter from this cyber world or from the real life, can be doing fine. I am to say goodbye to you here now. Please take care.

Went shirking

The extra session for this new school term started today—we teachers can get extra pay for that. So…yeah it’s more tiring, but I still feel lucky that I can work OT. On Monday afternoon we used to have meetings, but not today. Yes, I did slack off—no classes for me, and other subject teachers would teach my class this afternoon. The weather was fine, warm and sunny. I happily walked out of the school and ran into a boss near the school gate! He asked, ‘not had lunch yet?’ I didn’t reply but smiled to him…LOL~ It’s very easy for me to go out and have a coffee with friends, see? :P Most of the time when I have a longer break, I would stay in the office, read something, and listen to music on the radio if I have finished grading students’ homework. But sometimes while I am in a good mood, I would go out for a walk, maybe do shopping, or just look around on the streets. Taipei is never boring to me! :D Therefore, I had a good time shirking, hey…by myself ok. Anyway…a coffee a day in the early morning seems quite enough for me at this moment. :P

Rainy Sunday

It’s been rainy these days, and the CWB urged people to maintain their guard against heavy rain, especially when the storm Haima will still effect our weather here. ( Lucky it’s not coming to Taiwan. ) But many districts in Taipei got heavy floods caused by nonstop rains since a few days ago. In some areas, the floods ran as high as over one floor—oh my God…big loss you can imagine! Fortunately I don’t live in any of such areas. My shi jei called me last night and her house is even higher—it stands on a hill. So when I asked her if everything’s ok, she laughed and said, ‘hey if there was a flood in my place, Taipei City would disappear then.’ ( It would be in the water, that is. ) Anyways… I had a nice, relaxing Sunday, not doing anything important at all. I had shabu shabu in a new opened restaurant. They even give customers puddings and red bean flavored ice blocks as snacks. All the hot pots are 20% off—pretty good! :D

Teachers-Parents Day

Raining all day, sometimes very heavily, I couldn’t help worry if there would be less parents coming to the Teachers-Parents Day in the early morning. I planned to wear a sleeve-less black blouse, and a dark green long skirt, but finally I changed my mind since I don’t think it’s a good idea to wear something long while it’s raining. So I put on a red ( like red wine ) blouse, and a black short skirt ( the length is to my knees ). Well, I must say I still look like a pro. :D

So I was early to school, on a Saturday morning: 8 a.m. you know. Some girl students came too and gave me a hand—since school said we had to tell parents to sign their names on a paper. But I would be busy talking with parents who were eager to know about their kids’ performance at school. I really appreciate their help! :D I will give them extra marks later in class. Therefore, the meeting started at 9 a.m. I stood in the front on the platform like what I used to do at work, and began to ‘lecture’. LOL~ not really. I should say it’s more like communicating with all the parents, to inform them what my expectations are—both for students’ grades and their behavior. Then some parents asked me how come their kids couldn’t do well on their tests. Well trust me I kind of know I would encounter such problems, year after year. The solution is so easy: kids got to concentrate in class and then review, brush up on what they have learned. How come we have this saying both in English and Chinese—Practice makes perfection. See? Everyone knows it. It just depends on how much effort one makes. I think I will still state like this here, if I am still blogging as the next TP Day comes. *chuckles* Most questions are the same old stuff, except one. Sandy’s mom sort of ‘questioned’ me, ‘hey didn’t you say you’d wear a super short mini skirt today? We came to school for that you know?’ *falls laughing* However I met around 30 parents and it was good enough comparing to other homeroom teachers’ record. *claps*

When I was home again in the early afternoon, I found I got a missed call and a sms in my ‘degree 3’ cell phone. I checked them. The vegetarian architect who lives in Taichung called. What did he want? *chuckles* He’s a few years older than me but still seems so immature, never made me feel he’s interesting although his self introduction said ‘I have good looks.’ So what? I have better looks. :D I guess this time is just like last time: ‘hi Flo I am in Taipei now, just finished meeting for a case. I have free time at this moment. Can you have lunch with me?’ LOL~ too bad, Larry…I have no free time for you! Because I am NEVER spontaneous. :D And the sms is from Martin, who just doesn’t know how to pursue a woman with a proper way. Thus these 2 guys go to the ‘lousy tao hua’ group for sure. Poofed! :P