undisturbed sights and sounds at West Coast Park

happened to be attracted to this flower of the cannonball tree. somewhere in west coast park where there was no kids running and screaming.

what amazing colours..

here’s a small insect gtting nectar, while pollinating it as well. and out comes the fruit..

its so amazing how the flower can appear in this manner, and project out a fruit so big. which many students still cant link the fact that flower size has nothing to do with fruit size. the only link is that the number of ovules = number of seeds.

right at the same time, some squirrels were running through the leaves of the coconut trees. another squirrel was running on the drain railings, eager to join in the fun.

heard some birds flying around and was attracted by their green colouration. until i realised, that what i was seeing were parrots. woa… one of the rare parrot sightings i have had in the wild – not those in JBP.

for a moment, i stood there, admist the tall trees and smell of fresh grass, and i looked around, appreciating the sights and sounds of West Coast Park, the undisturbed part of it. no kids were there because there was no sand. no sea. all i could hear was the mild squeeks from ppl trying to learn roller blading. everything else was just the sounds of the squirrels running around. at some point, it got so quiet, i swear i could hear the squirrels munching off something. the occasional dropping of the seed of the fruits that the parrots ate. wow…. surreal….. really.

i smiled to myself when i turned 360 deg.

Here is the video

saw this fig tree of not sure what species.

while we saw on the breakwater, it was slightly low tide and it showed these intertidal organisms…

a pong pong fruit.

as we left, we saw a shore bird perched up on a tree… a good farewell…

it was definitely a trip where i saw much more than what i expected…

 

oil spill off changi

oil spill hits chek jawa

i wish i could do something to help, but… i really cant….

:’(

on the 25th of may, when i heard the news that there was an oil spill, it got me shocked. was our shores really going to get affected?

now it has. and i havent done anything to alleviate the situation.

follow the updates on wildshores.

these are the flora and fauna from tanah merah , east coast and chek jawa that could potentially be affected.

i am really sad. 5 days of oil slick…. i am sad.

 

my childhood friend S

went for my childhood friend’s engagement and ROM yesterday. true, all the usual nice stuff abt the 2 of them being nice to each other, bla bla bla.. what really attracted me was that one nice family was now in-laws with another nice family. they have already started treating each other like their own family. even to the extent of adjusting their jewellry for each other. helping the bride get to her feet after she pays her respects. i just think its really nice that 2 good families are now in-laws.

my mom and his mom were friends even before i was born. S and i and my bro, once we reached the age where we know what kids do, we did all sort of things together. we had a secret hideout place where we’d go and play. not the kind of fun we’d have at playgrounds. this secret hideout gave us an adventure. its a feeling and bond that binded the 3 of us.

we always left S’s little sister behind cos she was 7 yrs younger than us. therefore she didnt belong where we belonged. we were quite mean to her, and till today, she still remembers how the 3 of us always dumped her with the boring ‘mommies’ while we went out for wild and wet adventure.

those days, my mom had to work to supplement my dad’s income so that we can pay for the maisonnette. i remember when she worked late, she’d put us at S’s house and pick my bro and i up at around 11pm and walk back home. it would be a quiet walk home because my bro and i would be sleepy by 11pm. and my mom would be fully exhausted.

S’s mom has always taken care of my bro and me. and for that, ive always been grateful. their help was something i could always count on. and they were genuine.

S and his sis didnt have a smooth journey. both their academics suffered at different points, and had different effects. i volunteered to teach S’s sister for free, but they managed to find someone to tutor her. apart from academics, S had to be in bed rest for 6 mths during his NS cos an injury. his sis had to go for an op (i cant remember what). their dad left the job (cant remember why).

but throughout all these issues, S’s family has been the most supportive of each other. even S’s extended family is a close knit supportive family. and thats something ive always wished i had. but i guess not everyone is that fortunate.

yesterday, S’s parents fulfilled their job as parents, as they got their son engaged to this girl G, traditionally. and then S and G registered their marriage.

no amount of photos with the bride and groom can tell you how happy i am for them. my childhood friend is now embarking on the next chapter of his life. his aim and goals in life will change. he will change. but i hope we will still continue the bond that keep our our families together.

may the both of them be blessed.

 

everything is difficult in the beginning

maybe i’ll learn to cope. maybe i wont.

maybe i’ll understand the tricks of the trade. maybe i wont.

maybe i’ll discover my true potential. maybe i wont.

maybe i’ll realise the power that i have. maybe i wont.

maybe i’ll make a difference. maybe i wont.

maybe i’ll start to enjoy it. maybe i wont.

maybe things will get better. maybe they wont.

but everything is difficult in the beginning. and at least i know, im trying my best. the experience i’ll get, is still an experience learnt.

 

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Interesting sights at Kranji Bund

off to kranji bund on International Day for Biodiversity for yet another horseshoe crab research and rescue session. turned out to be such a rainy start. we were worried that the rain wouldnt stop, but it eventually trailed off to a drizzle and stopped.

just as we walked to the site, there were 2 mangrove trees that were flowering and fruiting. am told that its a species of Sonneratia.

just look at the stigma sticking out. and the numerous white stamen.

and once pollinated and fertilised, the petals drop off, and the fruit starts to develop.

this plant is so interesting because it is one of a plants whose flowers only bloom at night. and for sonneratia alba, it blooms only for 1 hr at night. so you can imagine how busy the insects will be doing its job of pollination.

anyway, over 200 horseshoe crabs were collected (including those we rescued).

this boat with fishing nets was brought to shore by one of the guys who found it. he had 2 buckets full of HSC to give up. woo hoo…! and then some of them got down to cutting the fishing lines to free the horseshoe crabs.

and off the rest went to collect the horseshoe crabs. we found many mating pairs. many young ones. but, not as young as ive seen before. so… mmm…

quite a number of oldies were collected too..

this one covered with barnacles, shows that the shell has not moulted in a while

found this nice oyster shell……..

this animal that looks like a whelk, but not sure whether it is.

here’s a snail i saw…. its really ticklish as it glides across your hands. and sometimes it literally seems like its walking on ’2 feet’ when it raises part of its body and places it in front… so cute…!

after the trip, we walked outside to the busstop. found this interesting fruit hanging on this tree. VB said it was noni. Morinda citrifolia. apparently it has medicinal uses and its quite expensive to buy them on the market.

and then we saw acacia (?) flowers…

and this nice flying insect on a leaf. on close inspection, you can see it has 2 eye-spots on its back, a defense mechanism to ward off predators…

cool isnt it..

an enriching time at kranji bund, and indeed, a day for exploring biodiversity..

 

Dear Mr Toh

spent a while with him yesterday. saw a photo of him with our principal for his long service award presentation. he looked so different.

his medical condition caused him to lose so much of weight. he must have dropped many waist sizes. his face now looks sad. he looks long drawn out. he walks slowly, although still in the same manner.

he stays alone in the printing room all day long. i guess he reports for work at 9am and leaves at 6pm/630pm. all day long, he’s sitting in that room. occasional visits to the washroom and thats about it. all day long. Mr Tan from sci lab comes down to talk to him now and then. and i appreciate Mr Tan for that. apart from that, all of us enter, say hi, give him things to print, say thanks, and leave.

i dont know how many children he has. i dont know whether his wife is still alive. i dont know what his favourite colour is. what his favourite animal is. what is favourite songs and movies are.

i had always wanted to buy him a gift. but never managed to. so i decided to ask him, “Mr Toh, what do you like to eat?”

he stammered and replied, “no no. nothing.” and after some persuasion, he continued, “bread only. i can only eat sandwich from home. nothing else”

i almost dropped a tear. i dont know whether its because i felt sad for him, or whether i was afraid that i’d be like that one day.

growing old is really a scary concept. and im genuinely afraid. sigh…..

Mr Toh is one of those ppl whose help we really need, but many ppl never recognise him. so many of the worksheets that students use are printed by him. all the letters to parents. termly schedules. invitations, program sheets, exam papers, etc…. and through all these paper that helps students get through sec sch life more conveniently that it was for us, i think he isnt sufficiently acknowledged.

EAS award on teachers’ day? thats just formalities.

i would like to give him a card to show my appreciation. i think it might be weird to give him a card out of no where. but, i do not want to wait till teachers’ day to show my thanks and appreciation.

because, im worried that it might be too late, and he’d never know that someone bothered enough to write him a card in appreciation.

when he had his first attack, i immediately asked, “can teachers visit him?”

and i was told, “no. we will visit him. you have things to finish and submit. we will visit him on everyone’s behalf”

if i remember correctly, he had a second attack. i think most of the teachers were concerned. surviving a second attack at his age takes alot of luck.

but really, spending that time in the printing room, deciding to help Mr Toh with the cutting and laminating of the biology game cards, i feel really sad that someone i know may just be priming the end of his life.

i dont know if he’ll survive a third attack.

May he be Blessed that if these are his last months or hopefully years alive, that he live them in the happiest and most fulfilling manner.

 

stagnant and stoning

been kinda out of mood to blog. not sure why. its been a week. its one of those things where i feel that saying why i feel so out of mood wouldnt make a difference to the way i feel, so why bother…

a student noticed that i seem down these past few days. and i am touched that he noticed. i know why i am feeling down…. but thats besides the point.

i have at least 10 articles from my RSS feeds that i have saved and want to read. but, really, all im doing is to save them because i find the titles interesting. i am in no mood to read, let alone, write abt them.

ive got all my weekends booked from last weekend till june, last weekend. that means that i do not get to do what i would generally love to do during weekends – stone all day long.

the MYE has been giving me a good break. marking, yea. but thats still fine.

i did some last minute assignment. started the 7-page assignment at 1 pm when i was supposed to submit it at 5pm on that same day. i thought i could make it, but what can i say. not paying attention during the 3-day lecture means that i had to read what i missed out. and so i couldnt finish it by 5pm, wrote in to ask for a 1-day extension. and i managed to submit it the next day.

sch’s been like how sch usually is. just that, exam time, i get to eat breakfast with my colleagues. and im thinking that, its so pleasurable just spending the whole day doing invigilation and marking and teaching the sec 5s…. i probably wont think that way in the long run. but seriously, it feels fantastic to have hours at hand to complete some work. (and maybe play a game or 2)

my right foot is hurting. for some reason, the outer part of my left foot hurts when i put pressure on it. so i got to consciously land my foot on the inner side. that feels weird. YW said, “sigh…. old age”

i cant wait for the EOY SJAB ATC… woo hoo….. that must be the only exciting thing that happened this week. but having to sit through a 2 hr session with the vendor ws painfully tiring, when i was trying to forcefully keep my eyes open…

oh! and a forensics science course, which im hoping i can sign up for if i dont have lessons on the friday of the 2nd week of june.

something is bugging me though. its all a cycle. what goes up must come down isnt it? end of sem 1 means its time for all the AARs and RADARs and stuff.. and being in a meeting is alot easier than conducting the meeting. lets see… meetings on 17, 18, 19, 20 21 may. oh wait, thats the whole of next week. sigh….. “to continue, or not to continue”

im secretly wishing the year will end at june so that i can get out of the mess ive gotten myself into….. argh… 6 mths more.. will go by fast.

weather’s been so ridiculously warm that i think i might consider migrating to antartica…

i really really want to study. but i cant make up my mind. and my mom wants me to do the-other-thing-that-ppl-my-age-are-supposed-to-do, before i think abt studies.. so, im going to have a hard time convincing her that “life goes on…..”

today was yet another successful sabotage of TBL… she least expected it because it was 2 days after her birthday. i told her, it is the one day i look forward to the most because i can finally get my revenge for all the times she bullied me……. lol… poor thing. but i got injured. my left thigh now has a huge patch of contusion (thats blue-black bruising for the laymen). and now i cant lie on my stomach cos my thigh hurts. anyway, all this means is that i need to armour myself with loads of expensive electronic equipment on my day. i’ll become untouchable…!

its maths trail tmr. great….. i’ll be able to check out labrador. but, too bad. the low tide doesnt coincide with our trip there tmr. high tide reaching its peak at 12pm… sigh..

nvm, HSC coming up next week and ive got a trainee to guide. so thats one more person who’s learning why HSCs need to be rescued…

its 945pm. believe it or not, i wrote this post over a duration of 2 days. thats how much i havent been wanting to post a post…. but anyways, its done. i might stay silent for a while more, until i get the mood back…

till then, im going to have an early night, just because my eyes cant stay open. goodnight world…

 

wonder whats on my mind

looking at similar situations in past situations and today, i learnt something new abt myself.

i realise that i cant spell when i have too many things on my mind. and i cant speak in grammatically correct and structurally sound sentences when i have too many things on my mind.

being in this profession where i am either writing or talking all the time in class, this probably comes off as quite obvious for students who know me well.

i wonder why this happens for me….

neurones just intercepting each other’s pathway???

 

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