Anyhow, I'm suddenly recalling the chicken rice that I had in Chinatown sometime in December last year. Maybe I should bring you there some day. When? Well, any day that we meet up next. And if Chinatown is too far, we can just head on to the place that we frequent for cheap, spoonilicious food.

What say you?

My favourite canteen sister didn't cook today because she felt ill. It took a strain on my stomach but hey, her health is more important. I had my virgin meal from the new vendor: a $1 bowl of mee siam that had no boiled egg. The lady substituted the missing egg with a spicy sambal fishcake instead.

I was so ravenous I polished off the entire bowl within minutes. (Imagine, 5 periods back-to-back with no food consumption before nor inbetween lessons. And I still felt hungry after that. Sigh.

Thank Allah it's back to the staple sandwich tomorrow, courtesy of my lovely Kak B. Yummieh yummieh.

Oh, and have you read about his strange chicken rice dining experience?

There's this perpetual "stoned" look on my face; it more or less gives me the fixed appearance that most people associate me with. I asked a buddy of mine, P, as to his first impression of me. And he said exactly what I had in mind:

"Too quiet and stoned out."

Haha, P...how true is that my friend. Even my colleagues tell me that I look super-stoned too. I don't only look it, I feel it too. Like how Bilbo from LOTR once remarked to Gandalf:

"I feel sort of stretched..like butter.."

I can't even remember the exact quote from the book/movie but that's about it, roughly. (Call myself a fan.)

My sleeping pattern has pretty much gone haywire. Nowadays, as much as I am anxious about getting to work on time (usually by 11 in the morning, early for my standard), I find myself being unable to fall asleep until the clock strikes 2 or 3 am at least. It seems like a bad habit but I guess it's just my body adjusting with age? As one gets older, one tends to need less and less sleep, with the average number of hours for the average adult ranging anything from 4-6 hours per night. It's scary but yeah, no matter how tired I may feel on week-nights, I will usually end up sleeping at most 4-5 hours. I can zonk out at 12.30 am sharp and be suddenly alert when the clock strikes 5.

Of course, I usually go back to sleep again, with much success. *grin* (Lazy arse me!)

I am seriously thinking, do I want to remain a teacher for the rest of my life? Is this really what I want to end up doing after all? Even when I'm nearing the quarter-mark of a century, I'm having such doubts.

It's not that I don't know what to do; I do. I want to impart knowledge to children and youths alike, and perhaps inspire them in the process. Harhar, idealistic words for a pragmatic like me. But yeah, I like teaching and I enjoy it when my students learn and understand my lessons. I just wish that there is another way that I can do that without the nitty-gritties of administrative work, CCAs and departmental meetings, AND with the added stability and benefits of being a civil servant.

Hurhurhur, fat hope Suhaila!

I remember a close friend's dream of opening up her own school. Perhaps not on this land but elsewhere? Hey babe! If you're still keen on this dream, you know I'm willing to be employed! Heheh. At least, it would be something different from the current policies pertaining to education. An alternative to the mainstream? We'll see about that.

Oh, and how can I forget the one true dream that I had? Like the fictitious Getbackers who claim to have 100% success rate, I can (not so modestly) say that I too, have achieved the same. Well well, why not merge it with my love for good books, music and food? (Not necessarily in that order.) If you happen to know what I'm talking about, good for you!

If not, any guesses? *wink*