ATCL Exam Result

Hi Me,

Right now I'm really nervous on my ATCL exam. I have been practising 2 hours almost everyday to correct my mistakes and somehow to no avail. I really don't know if I will make it for my exam. I know I definitely don't stand a chance on getting distinction.

Last Sunday, I went to borrow the studio and when I play, I know that I don't think I can make it.

I sounded bad.

Real bad.

Even my sister thinks so too. She said my mistakes were amplified.

Ever since then I started working on my notes, making my ornaments more articulated, tempo correct and the sound.

I have never been so anxious and hard-working for a piano examination before. I guess this is the difference between LCM and Trinity. Furthermore, a diploma.

Been having late night sleeps partly because of this anxiety and also injured myself when practising one of the pieces.

Only my Chopin sounded okay.

And it didn't helped when I came across this forum whereby one of the teachers mentioned that only 40-50% of the students passed.

I don't know how would I turned out. I also don't know if registering me into the examinations means that I can sort of pass? However, I do know that there are many students of better standards than me, and I remembered him briefly mentioning that I may just be able to pass.

May.

Indefinite.

Omg. Seriously. I would be severely heartbroken if I don't make it, not because of the money but because of my confidence shattered.

Sometimes I wondered why did I bring this upon myself. I could have quitted music and let go of all  my students.

Yet, when I always find myself way back into music when I promised myself not too long ago that I would stop.

Somehow I got a feeling that I'm going to be dropped after I have been through the exams... i just feel that I am not fulfilling some expectations. And I know I have no one but myself to blame.

I really want to perform well.

..
..

Let me know if I managed to pass.. in well, two weeks after the exam is done.

From,
Me
9/12/15
5:42pm
P.S I really want to go home right now to practice.

Full-time Piano Teacher

Hi Me,

I'm really tired, are you?

Have you converted to be a Full-Time teacher instead?

It's just that for the past few weeks, I have been receiving queries about my fees and time slots. It makes me wonder how it will turn out if I'm converted to full time?

For starters, my salary will be more.

Assuming I work 5 days a week, one day teaching eight students and all are beginners.
Rate: $30 /45mins

One week: 40 students
One month: $30 x 40 x 4 weeks students = $4800

That's almost twice of my current salary plus CPF.

From Me,
9/7/15

ATCL passed?

Hi future me,

I'm in despair. I am totally lost and do not know if I will pass my upcoming piano exam happening on 15th Dec. I'm soo worried and scared. After listening to Mr C's all students' performance I just realised that I'm that worst in the group. It's saddening and frustrating. Worse is that should I fail, it would be another year of learning and I would have spent $2000 on the exams alone. Booking the room cost $135 per session.

Three months after the exam results should have been released. So... how am I doing?

Did I passed?

From Me,
30/11/15
3:45pm

Places that inspired Disney

Hi Me,

I have just stumbled across this post and I got really excited.

https://www.yahoo.com/travel/20-real-world-places-that-c1425072854070/photo-chateau-de-chillon-photo-1425073258434.html

One day, I will visit them - most of them.

Although I'm pretty sure they left some places out, like the Guilin and Great Wall from China that inspired Mulan's most sceneries.

Belle- Colmar, France Alsace.

Do you think it's possible?

From Me,
21/7/15
2:50pm

80% Confirmed trip

Hi Me,


转了一大圈，还是回到原点.

So it's been decided that we will go to Finland and Sweden, after all these discussions we had.

The decision came quite sudden as out of no where, Shiqi announced that her company is shifting their office during the Xmas period. So she asked if there's any other days which we can travel.

Initially, I agreed to travelling because I thought it is really a good deal as we have two public holidays on Fridays, so I get to enjoy longer holidays at the expense of very little leaves. But now, that I can't be done so we have to seek alternatives.

I wasn't extremely keen nor was I reluctant but since I had already promised her that we will go somewhere and she seems really excited about it, I can't let her down.

So we planned to bring forward our trip to September.

And that's less than two months away!

We were looking at flights and were in discussion (again) on where we will go given that we had a shorter time period. To be honest, I was a bit relieved that we didn't get to go during December but was also a bit disappointed. Winter in Europe is going to be cold but I will get to enjoy white Xmas if I had went during that period.

We kept messaging each other on the dates we are available and more importantly given the very few leaves I have, we try to work out a week we can go.

But anyway, we were looking at the options we have and was almost decided to go London when Shiqi suddenly spotted a flight to Spain. So we changed back to our initial plans.

I guess she is really keen on Spain but just what can I see in Spain?

Then when I thought we were finally settled on Spain, she landed a bomb on me once again. We are going to Helsinki and Stockholm since Finnair is having promotions.

Okay, that's better than Spain, I think.  And it's really cheap! 2 countries at a price of one, actually it's even cheaper than the price of one.

Plus, I might get to see Aurora.

I have already asked my manager and she gave the nod. So I'm good to go. All what's left is for Shiqi to apply for her leaves and we can go.

I'm just excited and also sceptical if this trip is even possible.

But we'll see.

And it changed .... once again

So it has changed to Spain.

Hmm.. why am I not surprised.

Because boss decided that she wasn't that keen on Austria after all. So she suggested Spain, somewhere she did not go before. Which was kinda surprising since she has been to Europe for three times already, some places she even we twice.

I'm just going to keep quiet because who knows, she may change her mind again. After all we are still six months away from the departure month. Three months away from the booking month.

Usually you book your accommodation three months before you fly. That's when the price will be slightly lower, but who knows.

We'll see.

3 More Days

Hi Me,

I'm soo excited right now as I have just watched several videos on Terminal 3 airport tour during the lunch break.

I can't believe I will be flying in just three more days. Actually it should be four, but I factor out the day I will be flying so it is three more days.

How are you- me? I'm sure there are plenty of computer around and free internet access in the airport. So I should be updating now when I'm waiting for my plane. :))

4:24pm
20/5/15

Nine more days

It’s nine more days to the departure day. My manager asked me again if I’m excited. I gave her a flat no and she stared back at me appalled.

“If it’s me, I would be over the moon now”. Not her exact words but I know she meant that. 

Sure, who wouldn’t be excited to go travelling? Especially to the place I will be going. But like I said many times, it’s still more than a week to go. Plus, I have so many things on hand right now. I felt weary and tired.

Yes, I do occasionally try to restrain myself from jumping out of glee whenever I looked at the date or I stumbled across Changi Airport’s Facebook page. 

However, the concert I am going to perform on Sunday just dampen my mood. The fear of embarrassing myself in front of the audience overweighs my excitement to travel. I have been furiously practicing almost every day and I extremely exhausted. I don’t know if I have improved but I can say I play my piece with much more ease.

Good things just don’t come by easily. As I reflect on the hours that I have clocked in everyday to practice, I recalled my meeting with Christopher while we were on the road. We met coincidentally on the train where he causally how was I doing. I told him that I am doing my diploma in performance under with his recommendation teacher and he was really nice and professional just as he said. We then did a little chit chatting before asking me whether I have practiced two hours every day.  I told him I rarely had time to practice with the upcoming exams and part time work I hold. He shook his head in disapproval upon hearing that. 

“There’s just an excuse” he said. I know what he meant but never truly understands his words until today. All along, I had known about prioritizing and finding time. 

Yet, only until I have managed to scrape out 1 hour after my full time and part time work had I really understands “There’s always time”. 

14/5/15
5:13pm

Planning WAY ahead

Hi Me,

I'm planning my Canada/New York trip. 

The supposed Canada only trip has turned into a Canada/New York trip. Initially, I only had Canada in mind but as I search on the Internet and talk to my other cousins I realised that there are not much I can do in the country. Sure, their Natural Reserves are beautiful but it's a you seen one, you seen it all. So I'm not sure if I want to visit all of them, maybe just one fraction of it. Besides, I am going to Tibet in just fourteen days. Not sure if I will still be impressed by Canada after I have seen the Himalayas. 

I searched several travel agencies, there isn't much options for Canada tour. I guess there wasn't much to do except to go one reserve after another. 

Fishy suggested going to New York. 

I guess it will be a bit more exciting since I will get to see the Statue of Liberty plus Wall Street. Plus plus I will get to tick off one country off the list. 

The only one pulling factor to go to Canada will be the Athabasca Glacier. I don't know how this is going to work but there's going to be a LOT of internal flights involve. 

Which also makes the trip pricier. OMG!

I better weigh out the cost soon before deciding whether to go or not. 

But.. out of curiosity, did you manage to go to Canada?

Materials:

British Columbia

From: Edmonton

Athabasca Glacier 

Banff and Jasper National Parks

Ottawa 

Parliament Hill

Central Area 

Peace Tower 

Rideau Canal

Niagara Falls 

Niagara cruise 

Toronto

City Hall 

University of Toronto 

New York/New Jersey .

Times Square 

Fifth Avenue 

Liberty Island cruise - Statue of Liberty 

Castle Clinton National Monument 

Wall Street 

New York Stock Exchange 

Federal Hall - Charging Bull Statue

Boston 

Harvard University

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Beacon Hill 

Boston Common 

Quincy Market 

From,
Me
9/5/2015
5:43pm

Pack luggage now?

Hi Me,

It was just a few days ago that Mum wanted me to pack my luggage. I laughed at her 'kiasu-ness' saying it's too early to do so. After all, it's still at least three weeks to our take off. 

It was also just yesterday that my manager and colleague asked if I'm excited of my trip. 

All these just make me wonder why people think we are so near to the departure date when it's a good nearly a month away.

But today, when I looked at my calender, I realised in fact I don't have much time left. Well, in terms of preparation I mean. Yes, it's still almost three weeks away  (It became 18 days as of today) but I am left with 2 more weekends to buy all my necessary clothings for the trip.

I guess Mum did had a point of wanting me to pack my luggage. She must had wanted me to put together a list of things to bring so that I can grab whatever I am missing. 

Will have to look through the list that I will be needed to bring. Knowing my character, I think the preparation of my luggage will get me a bit excited so I will have to bear in mind that it's still 3 weeks away. 

Sign off

5/5/2015

6:03pm

Changed back to Austria

Hi Me,

As I thought, we changed again. 

Finland was cancelled off after Boss found out that it was mostly dark nights for the 11 days of stay. I knew of this fact and thought she did too so I wasn't very opposed to the idea of going there. But since she's a bit reluctant to, we switched to back to Austria + Germany.

She wanted to go Berlin because the Berlin Walls will be demolished next year. The news shocked me too. I haven't even been to Berlin yet and they are going to demolished it?

So I told Boss let's just go and she got really excited about it. 

Hence, our planned changed. She's a bit enthusiastic about it - first time I seen her like this. No wonder she's so bent on going to Germany. I thought she has a lover there or something. Haha!

This is our (her) drafted itinerary. Initially she dedicated more days for Vienna but I told her to do some away since I don't think she will want to spend most of her time there and frankly after researching online, there's isn't much to see in Vienna. So we replaced the last few days of Vienna to Berlin. 

25/12 - Vienna
26/12 - Vienna
27/12 - Innsbruck
28/12 - Innsbruck/Hallstatt
29/12 - Hallstatt/Salzburg
30/12 - Salzburg
31/12 - Salzburg
1/1/ Salzburg - Berlin
2/1 - Berlin
3/1 - Berlin
4/1 - Berlin/Sg

I checked out the place she mentioned but the ones that I am really keen on are Salzburg , Hallstatt and Berlin. The remaining two were just yeah.

Honestly, I'm kind of worried of the weather there. It will definitely be around a single digit degree Celsius to maybe minus degrees for the whole of Europe and possibly with lots of rainfall which may dampen the spirit. So maybe we will not be able to go out as often as we want to. see as much as we planned to. Besides, I haven't been to places this cold, at most a 15 degree Celsius. Which makes me doubt my ability to adapt. Please, I really don't want to fall sick there. 

People are getting out of Europe, we are going Europe. Pretty dumb, but hey. We wanted to enjoy some Christmas and New Year Spirit over there. So I guess it may worth it? Anyway, we will be going to the Christmas Market over there. Would be really great to go to a real one instead of its imitation back here in Singapore. 

I hope as we get closer to date, I will be more excited about the trip. Right now I'm really half-hearted about the year end travel although I was initially really thrilled about it. I guess I will be more enthusiastic if its Finland or maybe Italy and France since they are places that I really wanna go. 

Still, I'm not sure how this trip will work out but my fingers are crossed.

Flight Details

For now I will just list out the places I want to go in each city and then maybe we can cross reference to see if we have similar places of interest. 

As of now, I'm still not very excited but I guess that's because we are soo far from the departure date.

Let me know if we eventually go to Europe. :)

From,

Me

28/4/15

10:12am

Reference

http://www.passportchop.com/europe/austria/shopping-getting-around-in-vienna/

Austria:

Vienna
Schönbrunn_Palace
Stephensdom Catacombs (Katakomben)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRI8ffYKA8c

Salzburg

Hohensalzburg Fortress
Schloss Hellbrunn 
http://travelerfolio.com/salzburg-mozart-austria/

Results are Teachers' rewards of hard work

Teaching is one profession that is most rewarding but the least remunerated. It exhausts both mentally and physically of the being.

With all these bad points, I have never thought of being a teacher before. At least not on a long term. Plus, being dubious of my own ability and qualification to teach further restrain me from going into this line. It was only until I have seen many of my peers teaching part time, that I have decided to give it a go.

Teaching is one thing, teaching music is another.

The subject itself demands strong technical ability of the teacher before he or she is able to impart the skills to the students. So our ability to play are often challenged and we have to constantly improve ourselves.

Another headache is that, there are no clear defined lines to follow. Music is not as straight forward as Mathematics where you must learn certain concepts on certain age. (Eg. to count by thousands when 11 and learnt algebra by 12.) Yet there are certain expectations of the student depending on the grade she is in. Because of the ambiguity and lack of standard materials to follow, teachers have to source their own materials and slowly bring the students to higher level. So our job is to try to get our students as exposed to different music as possible. On a silver lining, we are granted more flexibility on the songs we can choose for our students.

With all that being said, it is a difficult job. Much more than an administrative clerk.

This year, I finally put my skills and teaching abilities to test by sending my students for exams.

I was worried, and nervous. Many times I had wanted to stop teaching but I always managed to convince myself otherwise.

What if my interpretation of the songs were wrong. What if I have been teaching them the wrong things. What if they fail? 

I couldn't sleep. This is my first time sending students for exams.

At last!

On the 16th day after the exam date, the results were released. It was late and I had been refreshing my account page since a few days ago to check on the result status.

When the results page showed on the small screen of my handphone, I must say, it was one of the best moments in my life. The rewards of my persistence and hardwork are paid off.

Two students which I had registered for exams had a Merit and Distinction!

A HUGE RELIEF!

So with this I should put a stop of me doubting myself and believe in my own abilities.

I am really proud of my students and it's really encouraging that most of my friends even my music teachers and conductors share the same joy. I will continue to work hard as a teacher and as a better pianist. 

So that's that. A huge mile stone and a big tick off my 2015 to-do list!

Planning ahead

Hi Me,

Time seems to pass really slowly these days, but I guess that’s just me getting impatient.

It’s thirty-two days away from the departure date and almost a year since I last flew. Well, to be exact it’s actually nine months. Still, this long period of staying put in one place kind of puts me off.

All the balance of payments are settled, except for the clothes and packing. But hey! We still have a month more to prepare.

And as it turns out, Aunty Sim will be going.

Mum and I actually had a bet on whether she would join us for the tour even though she had previously stated very clear that she won’t be. From my observation I don’t think she will be fond of being separated from her boyfriend for such a long period. After all, they are still in the lovey dopey period so I bet that she will eventually join us. Mum thought otherwise considering she had family circumstances but it turns out I'm right.

Frankly, I am quite glad that she is joining us. This will be the first time that I will be traveling with her and I know it won’t be the last. Of all the tales I heard of her, finally I get some of it live.

That aside, I’m already planning for my next trip and the subsequent one. Anxious you may think I am to have planned so much way ahead but I have to decide where I am going before leaving aside the very little leaves I have. It’s all in talks now and not confirmed and I don’t know the likelihood of it happening. 

I didn't planned for a trip although it did cross my mind to maybe take some day off.

However, Boss suddenly popped out asking everybody if we were keen to go on a trip with her at the end of the year. The response was cold as usual. Everybody couldn't make it.

Initially, I told her I couldn't as that is my peak season but after knowing that she wanted to travel during the Christmas and New Year period, I hesitated.

As these two holidays fall on Friday, all I have to do is to take a few more days of leaves, maybe 6 to enjoy 12 day of rest.

So I told her, I probably can make it but my leaves are subject to approval.

We have planned to travel around Germany but we changed our mind to Slovenia since both of us have yet to been there. I changed once more to Austria since there's no flight to Vienna at the timing I wanted.

And now we are going to Finland because Boss hasn't been there and she's swept off her feet by the photos of Finland. Since we have been changing our mind, I really don't know if we will change our destination again.

I'm quite skeptic on whether this trip will be possible but all fingers' crossed.

I really don't want to spend another year before I can make a trip to Canada.

My plan is to travel twice in a year. I don't think I can stay put in a country after I have the monetary power now. I don't mind if it's just a short trip to maybe Taiwan but I just want to go somewhere. Moreover, I plan to visit almost every country. In order to realise my dream, I have to start travelling or if I travel one country a year, I can never finish 195 of them. Well, maybe not all countries especially those war-torn nations.

Funny that before I go on to the first trip of the year, I am already planning my next. Haha. In fact, I'm planning my trip in 2016.

It's very crucial to plan ahead especially if you only have 14 annual leaves and are planning for a long trip.

Your trip isn't going to be a mere 5 days.

I have already did some research on the place and where to go but we will see.

My fingers are all crossed now.

Reference
http://whenshetravelstheworld.blogspot.sg/2014/03/review-finland-tour-packages-by.html

Bus from airport to city

http://www.finnair.com/INT/GB/information-services/at-the-airport/transportation.


Kakslauttanen (Glass igloo)
Kakslauttanen: Accommodation: http://www.kakslauttanen.fi/assets/2014/01/KAKSLAUTTANEN-WINTER-ACCOMMODATION-2014-2015.pdf

Rovaniemi: http://www.arcticsnowhotel.fi/

Aurora + Sleigh Ride:
http://www.kakslauttanen.fi/assets/2014/03/KAKSLAUTTANEN-WINTER-ACTIVITIES-2014-2015.pdf


Aurora Trip

http://www.laplandwelcome.fi/activities/winter-safaris-in-rovaniemi?id=131

Finished Writing on:

25/4/2015
3:31pm

Latest Update

My leaves have been approved.

Now what's left is to up for the day to arrive.

WAHHAHAH

False Alarm

False Alarm!

The promotion will end one day before I fly off. So there will be no good reason to reject my leave request. Bad unfortunately, Aunty Sim couldn't really join us.

She had just received news that her sister will be undergoing an operation so she felt that she should stay beside her. She said that her sister would wish Aunty Sim to be beside her.

I guess maybe that's why her sister was throwing a big fuss when she mention that she is going overseas.

Oh well, I guess that's that.

I have already applied for leave so now all I have to do is to wait for the approval.

One step down

We went to book our place at the Travel fair yesterday. 

Went to the booth, talked to the travel consultant, made known our worries and then registered and paid. 

This just means we are one step closer to Tibet. 

The next crucial step is to, apply my leaves.

As of now, I have only 7 days of Annual Leave but I need to take 8 days off. I will have to wait until tomorrow to be able to use all 8 days of leave as the remaining one day will then be credited to my account. 

After this, there's still one more thing to worry though.

That is whether my boss/manager will approve my leave. I will be in deep shit if she don't. There is a chance that she won't approve because our promotion last all the way to the week I am flying off. By right, according to the schedule she gave me, promotion should have ended by then. 

It seems that there is a change of plans.

I hope it will be fine since there won't be any important things I have to do during that week. The work load was always toned down during last week of promotion for the past few events.

Another bad news is that, Aunty Sim may not be joining us. Apparently, her sister and her dad disapprove of the trip. She said that if she really want to go, she can just book without their consent but her main concern was that she didn't want to worry them. 

We just went ahead to reserve a slot for her so she has until this Wednesday to think about it. Till then, I guess she will be in a dilemma since her boyfriend is joining us though. 

I really can't control much of my excitement since the trip is just next month. Although there's still more than a month away from my take-off, I can already start preparing the things I will be bringing. 

Which means, shopping! :DD

Let's just hope all will be well and I can successfully go to the land of my dream. Till then ~

Pay Day

My "boyfriend" looked at me in pure excitement as she announced enthusiastically: "Yay! It's pay day!"

I watched as she threw her fist in the air before turning around to give me the brightest smile.

"Why are you so happy? Are you in need of money?" I asked, trying to make sense of her excitement.

"Ya, so I can go on a date with you mah", before giving me a hug.

And then I wondered to myself.

Yes, it's pay day; but why am I not so enthusiastic about it?

In fact, why should I? It's time that the company remunerate me for my work isn't it? In the past maybe, that I would be gratitude upon receiving my payslip.

But gone were the days that I think that issuing salary is an act of benevolence.

I guess besides thinking that receiving salary as a matter-of-fact, I'm not in a poor financial position.

All thanks to my sideline jobs, I have been receiving additional cash to sustain my living. AND, all these sideline jobs are paid on the spot after the day's work is done, which replenishes the wallet whenever cash falls low.

So I am never resorted into asking for advance payment, neither do I need to struggle with expenses to last till the payday.

So I guess, I'm glad I have another job to keep the cash flow healthy but I don't know how long will I be able to keep this up.

Nonetheless, it's always prudent to have an additional source of income. At least you are not entirely dependent on one.

Piano Exams (For the first time)

Hi Me,

I'm suddenly nervous and worried.

A parent of my student texted me just 30 minutes before the exam time. She asked whether does my student need to repeat in one of the song as there's a repeat bar.

It sort of make me panic.

After replying her no, I searched frantically on the website whether it is a requirement to do repeats. I was very sure that there's isn't a need to. Because if there is, there will be an indication and many of the videos online showed that they didn't repeat.

To my relief, I found the answer I want but still it doesn't give me much assurance.

But just what make the parent text me? Is it because other students or playing the repeated bars or are they merely revising the piece?

According to my marking, both my students should get respectable marks but during the search online , I came across this post on forum that she had scored really badly even though her teacher thinks she does alright.

I'm really worried and I really want my students to score well.

I hope the exam results turn out alright. 11 days count down. :((

P.S Is the travel booked?

http://www.abrsm.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=57574&page=2

Lunch Sanctuary

I like a little time off.

Not just a 15 minutes break where you sit in your cubicle and blank out, but somewhere where I can sit down, relax my mind and just read my book or listen to music.

I call it The Lunch Sanctuary.

Mainly because the only time I can afford to have a little 'me' time is actually my lunch break.

I used to do it in my previous companies whereby I will go somewhere quiet and just sit down and read my books.

The time off actually gives me ample personal space to calm my emotional down if I'm having a bad day and also time to reflect on what I have done.

So today, I went to a new found sanctuary for this 'new' job of mine. And... it wasn't satisfying at all.
I don't really have time to do what I actually wanted which is pretty sad because that means my emotional rage and all are all trapped with no where to release.

I guess.. a lunch sanctuary is really a luxury that not everyone can have.

The only thing I can do now is to look for a new one.. which I don't think is accessible anywhere close to here.


Hmm. But there's a good new.

Update: Tibet Trip
Mom told me gleefully this morning that dad told her that he is able to apply leave on the dates we presented to him. Which also means, we are heading one more step closer to reaching Tibet. Hooray?
From the looks of it, its almost for sure that I am going to Lhasa!

11/3/15
17:59pm

The man has yet to pass his decree.

Hello Me,

Don't know if you have already changed your job like we planned to but the topic of today is actually the Tibet trip. (Yes, my mind is full of it now) The only thing that prevents me from job switching is actually that particular trip we have been anticipating ever since the first year of Uni.

Mom finally got hold of the itineraries from several agencies and apparently, after speaking to them, she's a bit put off and doesn't want to go now. Still, because it's Dad's wish to be able to go, she felt comply to.

There are many reasons to why she suddenly lost her interest but out of all, there is one that bugs her the most.

Firstly, the departure timing and arrival timing is really bad. Since we do not have direct flight there, we have no choice but to take connecting flights. The timings are either too late into the evenings or at the wee hours of morning.

Secondly, the long time lapse between the connecting flights can fetch up to 6 hours. To me, this isn't really a problem. On a positive note, there's room for flight delay. However, my mother is upset about this. Her concern is that, she has to spend 6 hours trapped in an isolated airport with nothing to do but look at each other.

But these two problems pale in comparison with my mother's main concern which is the train problem. For most tour agencies, we have to take the train up to Lhasa. Which is fine, except there's one problem.  There is a low chance that we will be placed in the same cart, and having to stay 26 hours on the train separated from the rest can be quite depressing.

Moreover, the trip up will not be a comfortable one so you can say we won't be having ample sleep. To make things worst, after the train ride we will straight away carry on with the sightseeing tour which won't be enjoyable since we are all exhausted.

Being old and lazy, the reward of seeing magnificent view does not outweigh the inconvenience she will face. However, like I mentioned, since my dad is really keen on this trip; she's willing to sacrifice.

So what's really left is to consult the another two travel companions (which should be fine), and then...

whether my dad is able to apply for leave.

He's the main problem.. even though he's the one who's excited about the trip, I mean yes I am excited but I am willing to trade for another equally exciting trip which is the Silk Road or going to Henan province.


The forecast dates are 25/5 or 4/6.
The amount of leave I will be applying is the same so it doesn't matter.

Will hope I get to go. Till then

10/3/2015
3:59pm

Waste of time

Completely waste of my time.
Didn't expect it to take so long.
Next time, I hope they take more care in their selection.
Because of that, I am in deficit of $42.30
Urggh, and I know my Manager wasn't pleased.

Urgh.
It didn't went well and I hate the feeling that they put us through.
We were treated like vegetables. It's where, even though the process is pretty much like it but do have a little bit more respect.

I'm gonna stop my search for now.
I can feel with every bit of me and with every effort I made, my dream is becoming further and further away from me. Whatever I did was not right.

Tibet

Hi Me,

How are you? So have you managed to change job?

A job that is of a higher pay, lesser working hours and better growth opportunity?

Seems a bit too overly greedy but with the current job as the benchmark, I don't think this is hard to achieve. However, should I accept another job I would have to endure another 3 more months of probation period and also forgo my chance of going to Tibet.

Honestly, I really want to go to Tibet but the workload and job scope is really small. I don't see growth opportunities.

Or have you decided to stay on?

Actually, it's not like we can change job as and when we like to. It actually depends whether if there is an opportunity given to switch.. But anyway, I look forward to May. Hopefully, I will be able to go to Tibet.

Sign off.
17/2 12:02
P.S: I have been writing, erasing, writing erasing for days and I think, might as well just jot things down like a note instead of weaving it into a presentable diary. What's a standard diary format anyway.

Curiosity kills the cat

I did something wrong.

To give a summary of what I did just look at the title. No other quote can explain it better.

"Curiosity kills the cat."

That's basically what I did - Being curious

I asked a very obvious question and I obviously know they are not going to like it. Yes, I'm stupid.

But I don't know the severity of the subject.

So out of curiosity, I asked and what I got for a reply was shocking.

I asked my student the stupid question during one of the lesson when her parents weren't around.

Unlike the normal reaction that one would usually give, which is either shocked or stunned, she seemed rather cool and kind of expected that I would one day ask. So instead of answering straight away, she recounted on the day when her previous teacher asked the same question.

She told me that her previous teacher asked the exact question during one of the lesson and that she told her teacher the family secret even though she wasn't supposed to. My student then added that she eventually told her mother that her teacher knew about the family secret some time later.

After that she blabbed really quickly like she always did and I could barely made anything out of it, but it just happen to catch that both her mom and uncle don't want her to talk about it to anyone.

And then she added, after a few lessons later (I don't know how long), she changed the teacher to me.

.
.
.

I was shocked beyond words.

I told her I don't want to know the answer any more and she said she's not going to say it anyway. I guess she now know the severity of the subject which made her mouth shut this time round. She even added that she's not going to tell her mother that I asked but knowing that she's a kid, the chances of her not telling is 0%.

Alas, my curiosity really kills the cat.

As I anticipate the arrival of my dismissal, I can only sigh and wait. I feel bad for my student actually, if I was given the go. I don't really mind not teaching, it's just that it's so unfair to my student. Plus I would miss her. To think she had to change teacher repeatedly whenever the question pops up. However, it can't be guaranteed that the next teacher wouldn't ask the same question.


For now I can only pray.

Feng Shui

I saw this link to a Feng Shui website just a few days ago and it made me really excited.

I never was into Feng Shui and always took it with a pitch of salt because in some years it's extremely true and other times it was not.

So when I first saw this I had my scepticism.

One thing you should know about Feng Shui is that different masters have differing deciphers. I am not sure how they calculate the fortune (apparently through astrology) but sometimes when I looked at another source, it said the complete different thing from the previous source I read.

As per the link, this year my Zodiac is forecast to be exceptionally good.

It has been mediocre for the past three years but this year is predicted to be extremely well that it's hard to be true.

Every Chinese New Year, Feng Shui masters will come up with their own deciphered lists of prosperity , health and so on of each Zodiac Animal. The typical few topics that they will forecast are Wealth, Love Life, Health and Career. Then they will give you some advice on how you deal with problems if you are predicted to do not so well, and also to remind to grab hold of opportunities to those who will do better.

What was predicted to be extremely well for my Zodiac were two things that I really wanted.

These two things topped my list and they were what I have been wishing and praying for but to no avail.

So when I first saw this write up on my Zodiac, I was elated over the moon! Sceptical as I always am, I immediately googled up more for Feng Shui articles for this up coming Chinese new year. These different sources said almost the same thing!

FOR THE FIRST TIME!

But I guess, it's still too early to be happy now since it's still two months away from the new year. Perhaps the predictions I read may be wrong. And I should wait when it's closer to the new year to look up on the predictions again. By then, more write ups will be available (by different masters) and I could cross-reference of its reliability.

No matter this source be true or not, I had already acknowledge this as the confirmed write up of my Zodiac and gonna abide by this. My mood is already up lifted and well positive outlook will tide me over all difficulties right~

So this year MUST be a good year for me.

I can't wait!

Meanwhile, I'm not going to sit here and do nothing. I shall do something to boast my luck and chances in achieving the two things!

For those who wants to take a look, here's the link:

http://fengshuibeginner.com/must-see-year-2015-chinese-zodiac-forecast-with-english-subtitles/