:MY DaY MY WaY:

Friday, June 08, 2007 It has been a good break so far and one I shall savor for a good while. I expect to get busier after the holidays conclude, with all my returning kids, fresh and tired from play and work (or the other way around). I still have no news if I will still be around at my workplace in July, but I shall not let that worry me or for the matter, anyone at all. ~ ~ It is time for contemplation in any case, and where I will move on. I want to enjoy my break, but at the same time, think really hard about my next one year. If the letter comes, it will be like I am leaving an unfinished task to others to complete it in my absence. Then again, I will need to make a rational decision, since this training must be completed, and I cannot defer it anyway. In addition, the bread and butter is also an issue. I do not know if I was effective, and the person that does take over me would probably be more capable pedagogically, given that he/she was in service for a good one year longer than I am. ~ ~ The reasons above are largely rational and indeed self-actualizing so far I mean it to be. If not, I will be ready to continue, and indeed I have prepared my syllabus for half of term 3 when school resumes, with more work and assignments placed "nicely" at intervals. (Which means less crazy weekends fo ad-hoc lesson planning I was coping with, the last couple of months) I have not talked about expectations; it just suffices to say they can do so much better if I was more competent. Some have done well obviously, which is good. A change in the personnel every few months is not going to help learning and development, and a stable person, at least till the end of the year will be so good for them. ~ ~ The proverbial throw of the coin will be good, and we shall see. ~ ~ A few days ago, I decided to trudge down to this place called the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple (not the real acronym, but it will suffice) with my mum and brother. I always preferred to take shots of artefacts or landscapes rather than people, and it was no exception this time (It was a pity the gold chamber was only for the eyes and there seems to be a problem with uploading of images-will try to fix that when the portal does.) . It was around noon when we reached the temple, so the first thing we did was to head to the basement for lunch. It was air-conditioned (first time I experienced air-conditioning in temples) but the eating hall was also strangely (in my opinion) bathed in pale yellow light. I guess this was to create a relaxing environment, which paved the atmosphere for the remaining duration of the trip. Lunch was bee hoon and mixed vegetables, which was nothing too great, but it is an act of faith, and even if I did not like vegetables a lot, I still did finish my share of the greens (not without some help from mum, and reluctantly from brother). ~ ~ After exhorting that we should head to Maxwell's Food Centre after the meal, (Vegetables fill the stomach quickly but will just come out as quickly, whereas meat stays between the teeth and the aroma lasts longer) we headed to the sanctum on the ground level. It was not as noisy as I would have imagined, and the rushing waft was conspicuous from the lack of burning joss. Rather, the environment was more akin to a Shinto shrine. I was like a tourist, giving scant regard to the sombre surroundings, and snapping at the decorative artefacts callously. It seems a little bit rude to take pictures animatedly, and at the same time, trying not to disturb the monks in practice. Nonethesless, I got some good pictures on the first level from sheer endeavor. ~ ~ Subsequently, the 2nd and 3rd levels were exhibitions about Buddhist doctrines, so there is no need to elaborate. The 4th level was the main sanctum, which were meant for our eyes, since they disallowed photography. I had half a mind to snap a shot and bolt, but I decided it was unbecoming. Suffice to say, this was the first time I have seen so much gold, and the rough estimate is that the lavish chamber is worth tens of millions at least. The 5th level was good, except the problem with one over-enthusiastic cleaner who persistantly stood in my way for a shot. When I asked him if he could politely step aside, I still got a sight of his sleeve fluttering in the air. Some worker they have. ~ ~ We left for the real highlight after 2 hours. We had fish soup, fried kuay tiao and curry noodles. They were good, although the curry noodles were on the salty side, and the curry could have been more flavorful. We packed 14 hum chi pengs for supper, and they only cost 2 dollars. I suppose that is a really good deal, and as a perk you get to fry your own stuff. The only bad thing is that you cannot eat them immediately, because they are straight from the wok; that is why they was meant for home and dad. ~ ~ Insofar it was a good experience for me personally, going to temples is not really for the more adventurous or more secular types. It was more to bring the family out and get some time together. Maybe I will think of something else to do this couple of weeks when I will be largely away from school. weijie froze in time on 8.6.07

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