Being the GREAT food and restaurant critique, I AM SO GOING THERE!

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My tag…it was previously spelt as ‘CHEESY THIAN’ because I was given the wrong alphabets to spell my name.
(read: here)

Being the youngest lecturer can be quite fun and challenging. Some of them called me ‘the baby’ of the school.
So many people have mistaken me as a student.
When we were attending training
workshop (only for staff), other colleagues mistook me as an administration staff because I can’t be mistaken as student if I attend
staff training workshop. And most of the time, if they know I am a full time lecturer, they will think I am above 25. Well, which is very sad
because…mm..
Do I actually look that old??

When I first joined the school, I was introduced to various people. The first reaction I have gotten from them was:"Oh..I thought you were a student!" I have gotten that so frequent that my standard answer has always been:"Thanks, I’ll take it as a compliment!" There was once when I was checking out notice boards at the corridor. A staff approached me.

Staff: Are you wandering around?
Me: Erm…not really, just checking out the notice board.
Staff: Are you waiting for your lecturer?
Me: Erm…I don’t think so co’s I am a lecturer myself.
Staff: Ohh..I am so sorry. I thought you were a student!
Me: Ah..it’s ok. I got that all the time.

Today, I have attended a training (for new staff) for teaching higher education. We had lecturers from different disciplines and background coming together to share their experiences. All of them have at least 5 years of working experiences. Some of them switched their careers from the industries to education.

Some have been teaching for their whole life. I used to be an adjunct at Curtin University and I found that there were so much to learn from these people.

It was amazing that these people have different tactics to deal with students. I really felt like a baby among the adults! But I was glad that I had the opportunity to learn from these experts.

During the tea break, we got together to chat. When my colleagues started to chat about their kids, one-by-one surprised me with the whole marriage with kids thing. And obviously I was the only one is still single and of course DOES NOT HAVE KIDS. I am really bad in guessing one’s age. Most of them don’t look like wives and husbands who have KIDS!!! Man…the surprises just keep on going.
"You have kids?!" in exchange of "Oh..I thought you were a student?"

However, I really do enjoy counselling my students when they have problems. I am very glad that they are very open about their problems. Teaching is a two-ways learning process rather then the teacher goes on and on ‘preaching the students. I certainly love the interaction between us.

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I was very homesick and the temptation of going back to Penang struck me again. My mom wanted to go back as well so I went to search for airfares online. I was very pleased that there were still discounted fares available from xx Airlines. When I was about to book the tickets, it said ‘SOLD OUT’. Very disappointed and mad, I called up the airline to make a booking instead. The lady told me that I can still get the discounted fares if I choose another boarding day/time. So I happily placed my booking for both of us and was advised to
collect the ticket from the ticketing office before 9pm the next day.

I went to work and my mom helped me to collect the tickets with the given reference number. Guess what? The guy said our booking was cancelled by the system. Worse still, he said the discounted fare was only available through internet booking. Mom called me several times during my meeting and I had to excuse myself to settle this matter. I have talked to manager to be advised on this matter. After all, we were given a booking reference number and the system can’t cancel our booking just like that.
She said if I still want to travel, I can get other fares (which cost double the price!). Because of their mistakes, I have to pay double for the tickets???

Luckily the manager was kind enough to ‘retrieve’ my booking (with discounted price of course). After she printed out the itinerary, my mom spotted the wrong return date
(for my flight). I was supposed to fly back on the Sunday but the lady from the previous night booked a Monday flight instead. It was too late to change my booking because the Sunday
flight was already fully booked. So obviously I can’t go back anymore. Very frustrated and furthermore, I was dealing with the client at that moment. I have to endure and put away my ‘misery’ behind me.

But let me tell you something that can’t be more co-incidental. A friend from China sms me that he dreamed of xx flight crashed and told me to be careful. (he had no idea that I was flying anyway). I received the sms about the same time when I was dealing with the manager. Don’t you feel it’s freaky? After so many obstacles….from stopping me to board on the plane. I once watched a documentary about people dreaming about plane crash and it turned out real. Was it a sign?? Anyhow, now the fact is, I still can’t fly…

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My mom and I decided to reward ourselves with a free and easy trip to KL…by BUS! We hadn’t taken a coach for so many hours before but we wanted to do something ‘spontaneous’ and ‘adventurous’. So we got ourselves a coach from Golden Miles Complex. Man, this place looks like a Little Thailand. And funny enough, we both found this place quite ‘charming’ and interesting. It is absolutely a different facade from others in Singapore. 99% of the shops owned by Thai and everyone speaks Thai there. Mmm..not sure why all the express bus companies chose to operate there though..

I know! I know! It says, XX supermarket!

The departure

I must say it is the most luxurious bus I have ever taken. It is exactly like travelling on first
class on flight. There was a nice young looking chap with blazer checked us in upon arrival and we rested and waited at the executive lounge with TV, snacks, drink machine etc.

The first class lounge..

After boarding, the attendant made announcement just like what a flight attendant does always. "Welcome aboard ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of the coach captain Mr. xxx, we would like to welcome you to xxx coach. We hope you enjoy your journey and we look forward to serve you better.."

Then the meal was served and throughout the journey, the attendant served drinks such as coffee or tea. Plus, there were more than 30 movies and games to choose from.

The 16 seaters bus with media entertainment

Was watching ‘Constantine’ with fried noodle.

Guess what? The seat comes with massage device. Mm..frankly speaking, I only felt the vibration though…

FIRST TIME in Johor

A night at MPO (Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra)

I am so blessed to have this opportunity to witness the outstanding performance from the Australian Chamber Orchestra at the Petronas Tower. The moment I entered the hall, I was speechless by its awesome architecture and great choice of lightings and the warm touch of woods. It was glamorously with ladies dressing up in elegant gowns. We got a strategic seat right at the middle of the hall.

I love the first song – Danzón No. 2 (by Arturo Márquez b.1950) and Oblivion (Astor Piazzolla 1921-1992).
The Oblivion made me smiled from the heart because it was so beautiful. I felt as if I was transported back to the classical era. But at some point I felt like crying. I felt so lonely and my heart ached because it was so sorrowful. Silly me… But it was great! I can’t stop smiling even after exited the tower. =)

EAT!

When I travel, the first and foremost thing is to EAT! I managed to revisit some of my favourite makan places. I took my mom to JW Marriot at Star Hill for its thai food. I love the decor very much and there are many types of cuisine to choose from. Each corner is uniquely and carefully designed.

The nightmare!

The bed bugs! I never thought I will come face-to-face with bed bugs! I thought it was something people like to say before going to bed. Now, I need that more than anyone else. The hotel that we stayed, I mean the bed that I slept on had BUGS! After the first night, I saw red and swollen bumps all over my legs and arms. I thought I was allergic to dust (because my nose failed on me too). The bumps were not itchy and that was why it didn’t
cross my mind that I was bitten by some creepy crawls. My mom even switched the beds with me but she was alright with no bites or whatsoever. During the second night, I stayed up the whole night because I started to feel the itchiness. My mom helped to look for bugs but we can’t find anything.

The next morning, we wanted to lodge a complaint to the management but we can’t prove that it was caused by the bugs. Mom wasn’t convinced and she started to look for every trace. And guess what? She found 2 skin-coloured tiny but fat (full of my blood of course) bugs! My mom squashed the first one and kept the second one in a small plastic bag. Of course, the management agreed to take me to the doctor and paid for my medical claims. I have 20+ bites on my body ok!! They were lucky that we didn’t sue them.

Squashed stupid bug with my blood!

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