3 weeks. 3 exams. I am done.

Doesn't say very promisingly about the excitement level of my life but I'm feeling a quiet sense of accomplishment now.

3 more modules before I attain a translation diploma. Then, cross one off my lifetime to-do list.

A guy needs to know that he's living life on his own terms. Sounds egoistic but there's something I realise and appreciate this year:)

HSK aka Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi (The Chinese Proficiency Test) is one of the more interesting examinations I have taken in my lifetime.

Rather well-designed, it comprises the testing of reading, writing, speaking and listening, all within 3 hours! Of course, this means that each candidate would have to pay 10 bucks for the use of the recorder since who would bring along a recorder for the oral component, right? How enterprising of the test authorities sia! haha.

it was quite disconcerting trying to speak into the recorder. now, imagine the hall full of exam takers speaking into their recorders at the same time! i was quite distracted by this unexpected turn of events. I thought i would be ushered into some private room or something. sigh. stuttered too much, used too much "ermmm....s", very disappointing performance. argh! argh! argh! can i console my bruised ego by saying that i am confident of performing well if given another chance, since i am mentally prepared?

well, i hope to get a B. we'll see how things go.

going through the 2007 Compre on Gender Relations was actually fun!

i liked injecting my personality and sharing some life insights with intrigued audiences. no, i don't really care if they thought i was boring them. it's refreshing to have an opportunity to just hang loose and not be preoccupied with text deconstruction. :P

the link Basith made to penetrative power with the term Alpha Male was rather shrewd!

"cher, how do you know that your best is your best?"

after declaring how i was a partial, not complete loser, i answered, "you will know one lar. you will know when you should push yourself a little bit harder and when your best is your limit".

this was the first time that 218 listened to me in rapt attention. i felt like such a sage that i felt compelled to say how, "k, i shouldn't philosophise so much."

the class spontaneously turned to joseph, the resident philosopher. an action that i didn't expect.

it's nice to teach a class that has inside jokes and nice to share this moment of chemistry with them

"At times you get tired of carrying Coach Rake around. You want to be able to screw up and not hear him bark. You want to slide and maybe cut a corner without hearing his whistle. Then the voice will tell you to pick yourself up, to set a goal, work harder than everybody else, stick to the basics, execute perfectly, be confident, be brave, and never, never quit. The voice is never far away."

Fine words from John Grisham. Do I dare to believe that I am half the inspiration to some of my students? Heh. Anyway, seems like Coach Rake, though tough as nails, has something going on about him.:)

I'm not really in the mood to blog these days. I think this is due to age-I have mellowed down and do not feel as angsty as in the past. Still, it was nice to take out the journal that I had handwritten 5 years ago and savour the memories of my first Malacca trip.

I was quite impressed when i watched Chen Liping wax lyrical about satay "steamboat" on her show recently. Little did I know that I had actually tried Capitol Satay half a decade back. I actually forgot about this experience! Whoever said about how memories die hard needs to have his logic examined. haha.

I was very happy to return to Jonker's Dessert. That chendol really stood out after all these years. It was like meeting an old acquaintance again--you aren't exactly close to him but you are sure as hell happy to see him again. And I patronised that stall--all 3 days of my stay.:)



5 years ago, a travel companion asked us this question, "how do you see yourself 10 years from now?". I think my response was, "I'm not exactly sure but I definitely know I would be well-travelled."

Sigh, am I getting there or not? I'm not exactly sure. In any case, this Malacca trip yielded good returns in terms of shopping! I didn't expect Jonker's Street to be this happening. Didn't expect Melaka Megamall to be up and running. Bought SEVERAL tees, a pair of FUNKY jeans, a pair of WORKING shoes, a cap, two comic books, some snacks. Considering that I only buy collared shirts and forgo jeans, Kai Le was a happy man over there.:P

Being the facilitator that I was, I asked my current travel companions, "so, what was the most memorable thing that you have done in 2008 so far?". It's only september, so it's kinda tragic how I feel compelled to take stock of my life already.