07S09!

My very first PAE form class! And a fairly interesting assortment of personalities, from the seemingly unobtrusive to the blatantly attention-seeking. (No prize for guessing who falls into each category)

A fun-loving lot, the students have bonded with each other pretty well (judging from the amount of camwhoring and level of noise from the chit-chatting during tutorials), especially since they bothered to take the effort to take these class photos even though it is a temporary class.

This one, in particular, was pretty memorable. Other classes were having PE and running around the track, so we had to make use of every bit of time to pose, shoot, and get out of the way before we get trampled on.



Having received their O level results last Friday, there are only 2 weeks (with plenty of holidays in between) left before the JAE posting results come out and PAE 07S09 will cease to exist. I guess it's impossible for the whole class to stay together, and I'm not even sure if I'll be teaching them in term 2. Still, I hope it was a fruitful and enjoyable PAE for them, and that everyone is happy with wherever they are going. =)

proud owner of a set of wheels

Just collected my new car today. =) While people around me are all congratulating me, i am not exactly overjoyed because the car is a painful reminder that i am moving to the god-forsaken place known as jurong West. (And having spent 1 year in NIE and 2.5 years in Sungei Gedong I feel that I am fully qualified to say thatJurong West is indeed a remote place. To give you an idea, if you look at the street directory, there are only 10 other blocks of flats which are located further west than my own) In other words, the car is out of necessity, not out of luxury. =(

NEW TERM

The new term is kind of...uneventful.......for me. So far. Haha. Since JC1 tutorials only start in Week 3 I don't have that much on my hands at the moment. Although on the first day of school I did receive numerous SMS from my students who are now in JC2. They all read something like this:

MR CHUA! How come I'm not with my class for GP! I very sad leh, nobody to talk to! Can change class or not?

Well, I guess S23 is especially affected since they are split under 6 different GP tutors (although I can safely say that they are in good hands. They should be glad that they are not under some people, and of course I'm not going to mention names here!) Anyway I hope that my three classes can adapt quickly to the new environment and start striving towards their A levels. And I DO miss you guys. =(

Speaking of which, I have FINALLY finished my blog entry about S23, having procrastinated for some time. Yeah..so those interested do check out that earlier entry... hee

Just came back from orientation finale. It was deafening, having to hear them cheer and shout in an enclosed space such as the CC. Sob sob I do miss the days when I was a student, where I can shout and jump and act crazy without having to worry about restrictions and social etiquette and sense of propriety. I think it is rather sad that as we grow older we become more conscious of how others perceive us and we find it harder and harder to act the way we want to.

Saw some familiar faces in the J1 batch, from MSCO of course. Liankai, Tong neng, etc and a few more who I don't really know that well. I wonder if I'll teach any of them...=p

Harajuku...the haven for Japanese teenage fashion. After trotting down Takeshita Doori with its very enticing shops (even for me who is not really an avid shopper), we came to this strange looking building which is like buried in some back alley.



This building is called Design Fiesta,sort of an art gallery for budding artists wannabes who cannot afford to hang their canvases in the pretentious hallways of prestigious art galleries. Mostly art students I would think. But it is really a place where creativie flows freely, as can be witnessed from the facade of the building.



There are numerous rooms in the building, not spacious by any standards, which anyone can presumably rent for a number of days, and just put up whatever they wish to showcase to people. As we walked around, people were still hammering, gluing, painting, and whatever, busy putting up their displays with the kind of meticulousness and attention to detail that only artists have. Some are eating their packed lunches, friends and relatives come visiting and to lend their support, enthusiastic artists wander around hoping to get a stroke of inspiration. All in all a very friendly and conducive environemtn to get the creative juices flowing, something which will not happen in our sunny little island.

There was this group of talented and friendly young manga artists (oh did I mention they were cute as well) who were deeply apologetic that they were still working on their displays. However, they were happy that we showed interest in what they have to offer and allowed us to take a look at whatever was ready. I was captivated by this particular picture.

I thought the use of colours was striking and the expression on the girl's face was deeply enchanting.

Some other random pictures of this fascinating little alcove:




All in all a great way to spend a lovely afternoon, especially when you have to seek respite from the mind-boggling and overwhelming fashion apparels that are pouring out of all these shops in Harajuku. Another memorable moment!

Hee..have been organizing the pictures in my laptop these few days...there are so many of them..Switzerland, Japan, China, various concerts, and I've never really got down to putting them in their proper places. Maybe I'll make use of this chance to
showcase some of the more exciting/interesting parts of my life (other than school =p)


This was the apartment where I stayed in Tokyo for 2 nights (Dec 2005). This shop (gender-free!) is on the third level while i stayed at the fourth.





Even for those who can't read japanese, I guess there are enough contextual clues to pick out what this shop is. The words in the bottom right hand corner of the red sign says "Cross-dress, SM Play, Petting Partners OK"

Btw I did not pick this place on purpose! Neither did we patronise it(it's highly exclusive anyway, with prohibitive prices).Firstly it was my travelling mate Kaile who chose it, and secondly we were just going for the cheapest place we can find. I think this place was 1000yen per night (which is like $15..in TOKYO), situated in this very colourful but dodgy neighbourhood. It was certainly an eye-opener.



As we climbed the very narrow stairs to the fourth storey, there was a huge sized "lady" standing outside the third storey (where the ULALA shop is) carrying a broom in the most subservient and docile manner. While Kaile didn't realize the nature of the shop, I certainly did and could tell who this "lady" was. It was really amusing see her being so prim and proper, she even stopped sweeping to let us walk past her. =)

Our apartment, on the other hand, was like the most cramped room I have ever seen, accommodating FIVE people(including us). Really, once we have set down our luggage we have hardly any space to manoeuvre. The other three were all japanese guys. (Kaile thinks one of them is a girl, but I am rather sure he is a guy, erm...which I deduced from the way he used the toilet.)

Hee well I guessed we couldn't expect much for 1000Y per night. While it was most uncomfortable, it was certainly a highlight of the trip that I would remember for years to come. I mean..come on, how many tourists get to stay above a gay whorehouse and in such close contact with locals squeezing in this one-room apartment?

Junkai..here's a pic to scare you

CENSORSHIP? Puh-Lease what a joke

Finally I'm back. This new beta blogger or whatever is causing lots of problems!

Tired....will blog in greater detail subsequently. For now I just want to say that the uncensored version of Royston Tan's 15 is actually available on youtube. Gosh..it's infuriating....two (or was it three) years ago at the age of 23/24 I wasn't allowed to watch the uncensored version because of censorship(17 cuts if I did not remember wrongly), but now teenagers are accessing the unadulterated version. Oh well..I'm always against imperfect asymmetrical information flow anyway... =p

I was surprised at the male nudity scenes(actually just one) though, I've always thought youtube did not allow such explicit details. In the meantime those who want to watch it might want to hurry before it gets taken down or someting. It's a shame we Singaporeans have to resort to such means to watch a refreshingly original local production.

While I'm on it, Royston's 4:30 was wonderful as well, although it was as painful to watch as 15. Somehow the emotions are stripped bare right in front of you, which can be awfully unsettling.