Quick Updates.

I realised that it's been about 10 days since I blogged and I'm quite behind on all my writing. So here goes...
It's Halloween!
School's officially ended for the students...my last day of "teaching" was Friday but almost all of it was taken up by the filming of GEPers Creepers, a 7:46 minute short film by my Secondary 1 students. (Kevin Low's debut as director + a great effort on the part of 1.12, 1.13 and 1.14...special kudos to D. Kyle Lexmond, technical whiz kid who pulled a 4 hour editing job to get the film done by Saturday.) GEPers Creepers was a success in it's own right and much laughter was heard across the CPA. It also prompted a whole slew of "How do GEPs breed?" questions from certain (female)GEP students from a school of white uniforms and red words...(Repressedmuch?)
My sendoff by the Secondary 1 department was meaningful...I am leaving in good company. A teacher who has been there for 24 years is leaving for a higher calling...It's sad to see her go. She's been an icon and the school's losing a teacher with a true heart for the kids. I got a t-shirt. :)
Staff dinner was a bust. I couldn't stay in the presence of certain cackling individuals who were mostly hair and all ass (being named after one) so I went for drinks with Anoises. I had a Corona and he had a Kilkenny draught. I arrived about an hour and a half late and left with a Moulinex steam iron and a water bottle, courtesy of HSBC and a mind for useless information about music. Nice to know that I know the Matrix theme well enough.
The public speaking competition was a success thanks to Meu and the kids. They really worked the things to perfection. Like I said, video was a hit.
Saddest part of yesterday was saying goodbye to the kids. I've known them a year and I can say that I'll really miss them.
*igh.

Old Friends.

Old Friend
O this is so like you
To drop back in
Well you're right on time

~From Hello Old Friend, By Kim Richey.

So one of my best friends's back from Melly. I haven't seen her since she last popped back last September so it's been over a year and considering her technical expertise (read: Lack of...) keeping in touch has been minimal. I met her at the MRT station and I recall wondering if she was there already (being 10 minutes past the meeting time...) and I just didn't recognise her. But she (finally) appeared and there was the obligatory hug (tight and squeezy, but nice...) and we carried on where we left off over a year ago.
I've known her for 7 years...and she's one of the remnants of my life in Melbourne that remains close to my heart. We met under the most irritating circumstances (depending on who you ask, the story changes...) and it's just been bickering and more bickering from there. It's fun really.
Timing's right too because I'm working on nothing much now that I'm between schools. O well. Now to get my brain working again. :)
Welcome back Sharon.

Troll Update.

Trolls are horrid carnivores found in all climes, from arctic wastelands to tropical jungles. Most creatures avoid these beasts who know no fear and attack unceasingly when hungry.
Trolls have ravenous appetites, devouring everything from grubs to bears to humanoids. They often lair near settlements and hunt the inhabitants until they devour every last one.
Trolls walk upright but hunched forward with sagging shoulders. Their gait is uneven and when they run, their arms dangle and drag along the ground. For all these seeming awkwardness, Trolls are very agile.
A troll's rubbery hide is moss green, mottled green and gray or putrid gray.

~From D&D Monster Manual 3.5

A true case for the lady.

So we're driving down the expressway today when a van cuts us off. I slam on the brakes and horn whereupon he slows down almost to a halt...(a vain attempt to make me smash into his van?) So I overtake and the driver starts yelling at me out of the window...So I retaliate with the universal salute to assholes. I guess I shouldn't have done that but hey, I'm human too.
He then proceeds to follow me off the expressway and tries to stop my car by cutting into my lane once again and jamming his brakes. I drive into the SSC in a vain attempt to avoid said confrontation when he gets out of his car and runs up the ramp and bangs on my window. He then proceeds to hurl obscenities at me full swing. I get out of the car and we talk before I realise that I'm holding up traffic and the conversation's going nowhere because he's spoiling for a fight. (He's about a head shorter than me and about 20 kgs lighter BTW) So I get back into the car and park. Following which I go have dinner and forget the ugliness that occured.
Here's the punchline: On the rear window of said van is a little car decal with the picture of Mother Mary with the words, "Have you met her?"
Way to advertise your faith dude.

On other news: The Saab ad for the 9-3 was in the papers today...the car's called the Troll. It's actually got the badge on the boot that says "Troll".
OK...last I checked, Troll = Negative connnotations.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
On the Internet, troll is a slang term used to describe:

A person who makes posts (on newsgroups or other forums) that are solely intended to incite controversy or conflict, or cause annoyance or offense.
A post that is intended to incite controversy or cause offense. (Many posts may inadvertently cause strife as collateral damage, but they are not trolls.)

But then again they're a bitch to kill in D&D games so I guess that's pretty good.
O well...I say that it ranks almost up there with Glower Trichologists.

Sam the Man.

The idealistic speechwriter is well-liked by just about everyone. He's known for his excellent writing, sense of humor, and tendency to be clutzy. Although being younger than the rest of the staff, he's often treated as so, much to his dismay.

:: Which West Wing character are you? ::

Here

By Vast

Where do I put the shame?
It feels like a broken toy
I can't play with anymore
Where do I put the hate?
To a pixilated screen
I can't watch anymore

All I know is that I'm here
Drifting somewhere in the vast
Somewhere in eternity
And I never want to leave

Where do I put the books?
There's so many i could read
But they all are filled with lies
Where do I put the lies?
There's so many I could say
But it seems they're in the books

I have faith that you're out there
Living high up in the vast
Somewhere in eternity
And you're never going to leave

Have i been telling lies to myself?
Hold me now you know i am so afraid
To be at all
Have i been telling lies to myself?
Hold me now you know
I am so afraid to love at all

I looked up and I saw the moon
Is it the same one that betrayed you?
I looked up and I saw my place
I looked in and I saw no hate

Where do i put the love?
Where do i put the love?

Goodbye Superman.

Christopher Reeve died on the 10th of October 2004.
To many like myself, he was Superman. I remember seeing him on the silver screen and the moment that he took flight, I truly believed that a man could fly. I was a kid then and I remember going home and demanding that I get a cape and costume and I would fly around the garden...and in my rather deluded mind, I was Christopher Reeve, the man who flew.
He was the embodiment of that god, the myth...the legend that burst out of the comic books and became flesh.
In 1995, when a riding accident left him paralysed, he made a bold statement and said that he would one day walk again...and I believed him, because he was Superman. It's funny how much grief one can feel about losing an icon but I do feel a certain loss now that the man of steel is gone. I once wrote an essay on Christopher Reeve and his star power. There was an aura that managed to transcend the disability that left him breathing on a machine and stuck in a wheelchair...I don't know. It was something.
In my little way, I paid tribute to the man today when I brought the Superman DVD in to school to mark to...and for that 2 plus hours, I once again believed that a man could fly.
Goodbye Christopher Reeve. We'll miss you.

Brothers in Arms

By Dire Straits

These mist covered mountains
Are a home now for me
But my home is the lowlands
And always will be
Someday you’ll return to
Your valleys and your farms
And you’ll no longer burn to be brothers in arms

Through these fields of destruction
Baptisms of fire
I’ve witnessed your suffering
As the battle raged higher
And though they did hurt me so bad
In the fear and alarm
You did not desert me my brothers in arms

There’s so many different worlds
So many differents suns
And we have just one world
But we live in different ones

Now the sun’s gone to hell
And the moon’s riding high
Let me bid you farewell
Every man has to die
But it’s written in the starlight
And every line in your palm
We’re fools to make war on our brothers in arms

Thanks guys. It's been an honour.

Always Look on the Bright Side of Life

Some things in life are bad
They can really make you mad
Other things just make you swear and curse
When you're chewing on life's gristle
Don't grumble, give a whistle
And this'll make things turn out for the best

aaand

Always look on the bright side of life
<>
Always look on the light side of life
<>

If life seems jolly rotten
There's something you've forgotten
And that's to laugh and smile and dance and sing
When you're feeling in the dumps
Don't be silly chumps
Just purse your lips and whistle that's the thing

aaand

Always look on the bright side of life
<>
Always look on the right side of life
<>

For life is quite absurd
And death's the final word
You must always face the curtain with a bow
Forget about your sin
Give the audience a grin
Enjoy it, it's your last chance any'ow

aaand

Always look on the bright side of death
<>
Just before you draw your terminal breath
<>

Life's a piece of shit
When you look at it
Life's a laugh and death's a joke it's true
You'll see it's all a show
Keep 'em laughing as you go
Just remember that the last laugh is on you

aaand

Always look on the bright side of life
Always look on the right side of life
Always look on the bright side of life...

No Such Thing.

By John Mayer

'Welcome to the real world', she said to me
Condescendingly
'Take a seat, take your life
Plot it out in black and white'
Well I never lived the dreams of the prom kings
And the drama queens
I'd like to think the best of me
Is still hiding up my sleeve

They love to tell you "stay inside the lines"
But something's better On the other side

I wanna run through the halls of my high school
I wanna scream at the Top of my lungs
I just found out there's no such thing
as the real world
Just a lie you've got to rise above

So the good boys and girls take
the so called right track
Faded white hats
Grabbing credits, maybe transfers
They read all the books but they can't
Find the answers
And all of our parents
They're getting older
I wonder if they've wished for anything better
While in their memories
Tiny tragedies

They love to tell you Stay inside the lines
But something's better
On the other side

I wanna run through the halls of my high school
I wanna scream at the
Top of my lungs
I just found out there's no such thing
aas the real world
Just a lie you got to rise above

I am invincible as long as I'm alive

I wanna run through the halls of my high school
I wanna scream at the top of my lungs
I just found out there's no such thing
Aas the real world
Just a lie you've got to rise above

I just can't wait til my 10 year reunion
I'm gonna bust down the double doors
And when I stand on these tables before you
You will know what all this time was for

Well, they've decided to let me go. So as of next year, I'm not going to be teaching in my alma mater anymore. *Shrug* I guess that I'm glad to leave purely because of said "them". I can't pretend to say that I want to leave. There's still a lot of stuff that I would love to accomplish where I am. I would love to see the 1.12 OM team lead their charge onto the world stage. I'd like to be there if my 2.14 lit boys need any help in any of their IB stuff. Heck, I'd love to see JC hand in a piece of homework.
Worst part about this is I wouldn't have known if I hadn't gone down to ask what went wrong with my promotion thing. Aaaargh...knife in my back! Pull it out! Pull it out! The WWB gave me rather vague terms...leads me to believe that I'm leaving because I'm not well liked by the SA.
Go figure.
So here I am at home with my JD and cola (Vanilla coke's pretty pleasant with it...) waiting for S to get back so I can have a nice chat with her and figure out where I really want to go.
*igh...Sometimes life just takes these turns. They throw you, but I figure that it's all just part of the journey.
C'est La Vie.