Thoughts

It's 9.12am now and here I am hoarding a 4 seater table in Macs trying to complete the long-winded 三字经 (Three Character Classic) flashcards.(apparently Athena was taught this in N2 or was it K1 so I hope to teach Aricia.)
It's the second time I'm doing flashcards here, I think they will start recognizing my face n kick me out the next time they see me. I see a Wireless@sg logo right infront of me. Maybe next time I shall try to bring my lappie n use their plug? Allowed? Afterwards *poomf* whole Macs blackout?!?! I get my pix plastered in all Macs across the island. *instant fame*

All the rubbish talks, its interesting to see what happens on weekday mornings (when all the while I had been lazing in bed for so many years at this time). I see ah-mas n ah-gongs exercising and then they come into Macs. Here in Macs, I see people from all walks of life except young children/toddlers who are either in school or at home sleeping. Students gossiping; students doing their work chats. Next to my table is a group of JC students from TJ and VJ. They talked about childish things (well not childish to them). They sounded so young and innocent and I feel so old....and I am only 33 *gasp* 34 this year!!!! Shit! Hitting mid 30s soon.....

Mind wondering about now as I am wasting time to meet A later.
>> I wonder if next time my children will also pontang school without our knowledge??
>> Recalling my old school days I am thankful that I have two girls in walking through the same "those wonderful days I had". (I'm not going to talk about my 'kept pontang-ing 1st 3 months attachment' where we could hardly hear what the A. Math teacher was talking about. Where I struggled with my hopeless Chinese, where I almost hated GP until one paper we did was about our Education System - oh boy! I really wrote well for that paper of mine - was very critical about it. Haha! And I decided that although my grades permitted me to go JC, I refused to go in to suffer and probably fail.)

Beginning with my secondary school in KC. (though I hope my childrens' grades will put them in a better secondary school) We always have Book n Music Week, which probably explains why the school nurtured so many successful journalists, newscasters, TV artistes. And of course not forgetting the people who really stands out are the best actresses of them all - the Singapore Girls. Yes, I mean our SQ girls. You'd be surprised too how many KC girls there are inside.
In school, I was in the school choir - soprano ( so that's where I got my 长 气 and loud voice from) so we also had to put up performances. We were involved with SYFs too! Can be enjoyable coz we have the excuse to skip lessons for rehearsals etc...

At one year too, we had this mass IJ school performance (think it was for SYF?) where all the IJ schools come together in a performance. With that huge amount of students, it was a massive performance of fairies. I think it must be awesome for the spectators. We couldn't see it, we just ran in when it's our turn. And I really wonder how I managed to see... we had to go spectacle-less and I was as blind as a bat!! Lucky thing I didn't trip and fall.

We have mass twice a term, or was it once? After being exposed to masses for so many years, i know the sequence n of course hubby was surprised when I knew what to respond, I only don't receive communion otherwise I can be mistaken for a Roman Catholic. Then it also means I have perfected doing the 'sign of the cross' it will take some time for Athena to do it properly too. Now its hilarious to see her poking herself everywhere. When it came to mass, I like it coz I'll be singing to my hearts content or talking.

We clean up our classroom before the last month-long term starts.

We didn't have lockers until I think it was my last year, n its not 1 for 1. Can't really recall how those people got it. Pay $? We can't leave textbooks inside lockers coz the teachers do spot-checks. We left our books under the table (I think the teachers knew n closed one eye). For me, I'll do my homework in class while waiting for the next teacher to come in n leave it there. My schoolbag is really light. Once there was a surprise spot check going on during recess time. Good thing some of us hang around in the classroom at that time, our classmate the Vice Head Prefect came in to tell us. Wah piang eh..... Everyone panicked like crazy, help to throw ours and the rests of the classmates' books somewhere and everywhere. And boy! We had a hard time retrieving it later. Some came back blur didn't know what happened but we were really united if u think back.
And I remember too we had to change to PE T-shirt when it's PE time and change back to our blouse after our PE. We'd close the doors and draw the blinds. We all mastered the art of stripping quickly. Once dunno which idiot classmate screamed "ahh...man!" We all screamed. Siao eh! I don't think it was the man (cleaner or teacher) deliberately looking at us.

Celebrations : All work n no play makes Jills dull girls. We seem to celebrate this and that. And I love Teachers Day, we put up performances for teachers. In return our teachers performed hilarious skits for us. We had Mrs Norris (God bless her soul) who is really good, and we had male teachers exposing their hairy legs donning funny costumes. Oh my! We had the most sporting teachers! Wolf whistles and all, real boisterous lot of KC girls.

Haunted stories? I don't think there was any coz' we were in the new premises.

2.4km run : Run around the place and hopefully spot for any handsome VJC boy. Hahaha! And I don't know what "hide in the bushes" thing some girls in Facebook were talking about. Duh! How come I don't know?!?! Stupid me run the whole 2.4km until shorts dropping; hair dropping; panting like siao!

Ohhhh!!! How can I forget this!! The famous lovebirds of KC girls and St Pat's boys and the LOVE BRIDGE. Whoever started this stupid naming?! I hardly used that bus-stop coz' it's really crowded. I'd walk to the other " No love at all bridge" bus stop, better chance of me getting on the bus.

Many things to share; too much to write here.

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On to Primary School, it was on that steep hill up Jln Khairrudin. Every morning I worry for my dear life when we have to go down that steep slope down from Siglap Road, it's like SFO's Lombard Street. Down and up the hill, every day we go through roller coaster ride.
There's a roundabout we have to go through which is lined with frangipani trees. And then kids starts telling ghost stories about pontianaks appearing next to frangipani trees etc... sometimes I am forced by mom to alight there instead of the main area and oh boy! if I am in the morning session.. I started saying Hail Mary even though I'm not Catholic and start running for my dear life.
That building is old and spooky and maybe those ghost stories were made up, but even if it is fake - the spookiness of the building was scary enough. Freak! We seem to have ghost everywhere (kids just tell stories) - the music room; the toilets; the field; the ...??? We're practically studying alongside ghosts. The scaredy cat me tried to wait for someone to raise her hand for permission to go toilet and I'll try to go. If I can't hold, I make a dash in/out of the toilet. Didn't even dare to look into the mirror. So now I don't even want to tell Athena about any ghost stories for fear that she'll not want to go toilet alone.

I had my books flung out of the windows eh.... dunno how many times. Geez... I think the teachers are not allowed to do that now. (And FYI the teacher who did that is still teaching in the school).

I wasn't a class monitor (how to be when my books fly out of window?) but I was a responsible cleaner! Every day my mom comes to pick me up from school, I'd run out to her to tell her to wait for me coz' I have to sweep the floor; throw the rubbish away. Then she'd ask "how come it's always you." Ahem.. yup sometimes I'm rostered sometimes not but... think about it I was really honest (dunno how to run away from duties) and responsible. And so this time round, when Athena came to tell me on Wednesday that she's a monitor and leader, I told mom & mom's response was "is she going to clean the classroom too?" I bursts out laughing.

Yah yah not a monitor but I was a librarian. And the teacher in charge is Ms Rabot (still teaching). I remember how this friend and myself would go "Sshh....silence please" when our voice is louder than the students in the library. Fun! It was real fun. Stamping the date to return on a slip of paper in the front page of the book, take out a card from it and slot it in the students' card holder and place it in the library folder. Stamp and stamp, this time round also stamp and stamp. ( stamp "Excellent" , "Good Job" etc.. in her assessment books)

During recess time, I love to hang around the bookshop (which I'm sure Athena does that sometimes too..otherwise how can she ask me for increase in allowance at 2nd week) and see/touch the erasers; pencils etc.. Other than that, it was off to play zero-point, yeh-yeh, five stones, run in the huge field (only to have some stupid idiot screaming "Japanese soldiers" and we run back screaming.) or sometimes we can gather the twigs and make a house for ourselves on the ground.

There's also the time we all have to squat infront of the long drain to brush our teeth. And once in a while we have to pop the red colour tablet (I hated that so I always bring it back home for my sister) into our mouth.

Performance :
Once we had a celebration for ?? maybe it was our School Anniversary? All of us had to put up performances, if I'm not mistaken I was P3. And I was doing a coconut dance. Whole time dance at home (so excited mah!) until I break the coconut. And then mom had to go to the market to get another coconut shell for me and did the painting for me.
On the night of the performance (note it was night time), we had to dance barefooted and it had rained earlier. So the field was wet and soggy - yucks! Once we finish our performance we had to leave the field by running to the end of the field and go up the walkway, so the next performance can come in. Some children were screaming "eekkks...worms worms." And all of us were scared and making alot of noise, and also we knew we were nearing the end of the field. And the break came when some stupid idiot child screamed "Japanese soldiers!!" That was it, we all screamed even louder and ran like siao. Quite a mayhem but it's really funny when I think back.

Donations :
We always have to sell things to raise funds. Catholic Welfare tickets, paper weights and dunno what nots. I wasn't good in money, or should I say I was rather forgetful. Everytime I get payment for the sale, I put the money somewhere and then forgot about it. One fine day, dig my pocket and then happy like crazy, tell mom "mummy, you see I found money." And then I went to spend it away. Ha! Guess who had to top up the money for me. I must teach Athena how to handle when the time comes, I don't want to top up the $$ for her.

I had such fun time in school and now that Athena tells me she loves school, I am :
1) relieved. No worries of a clinging girl clinging on my fat thighs, pulling my blouse
2) happy. Coz' I'm sure she'll tell her children next time how much her school brings her fond memories.

I'm tagging Mel & Yvonne!!