My lastest order

I made it just in time before the back-to-school promotion by Apple Online closes.
Today, I reached home to see one big and a tiny box in my room.
My order from Apple Store has arrived after close to 2 weeks of waiting.
*I always thought of taking pictures after I have opened the packagings.*

After a close inspection of my Mac Book Pro, I notice that the cover is bent.
When the lod is fully closed, the left side is slightly higher and on the surface, I can see a slight bent mark.
Time to sent back for replacement.

p.s. The Mac Book Pro box is cho and shiok lah.

Woot,
Peiyan

Yearbook Yourself

If you have noticed, there is quite a number of people with some kind of old fashioned looking kind of hair style on their display picture on msn on facebook.
I finally knew how they did it.
It came from a website called yearbook yourself.
Basically, you find a photo of your face and upload to the website.
From there you can choose the different kind of fashion style from the timeline.
But do that note that the face shape and space may not fit nicely with your face.
Here's what I did to myself.

Typical old teacher with those beehive hairdo kind of look.

Will I look like this when I slim down? (minus the hairdo hahah...)

I tried with Gerald's face.

It was fun choosing which look to go.

Yearbook Yourself too,
Peiyan

Happy Mooncake Festival

One more day to the mooncake festival.
I went for an outing with a group on CLubSnap.
Met them at Chinatown in the late afternoon for some street shots in Chinatown before proceeding to Clark Quay for the floating laterns.

Can't reveal the names of those in the group but we definately had fun together.
And I met Tengyong at Central.
There was fireworks at Central which caught us unprepared.
Hahahaha.

Enjoying pomelo,
Peiyan

Chai Chee Sec: A happy day

Few things made me end my week on a happy note in school today.

I am starting to see my 4NA students helping each other out when doing their past year papers. They ask each other when in doubt and I'm glad that the friend was able to teach and explain though it was a bit on the "eh.. you stupid lah" kind of tone.
But on the brighter side, they are learning from each other and when both are unable to solve a problem, they approach me. I hope that they can do well in their N levels.

Then came the 3NA class. I was fortunate that a very experienced teacher came back and now she's my mentor. Every wednesday and friday, we work together with my 3NA class and hope to guide them into passing their final paper. Today's class focus on pythagoras' theorem and recapping the materials we covered since tuesday. Actually, the class is not that weak. They just need the guidance and some pushing to start their stalled engin going. They need constant reminder of the things they have learnt. Hey... applying pythagoras' thoerem was not that difficult after all. The most surprising thing was that one of the students, who totally gave up maths, after some coaxing actually tried the worksheet questions and she managed to answer most of them. I'm surprised. Most of the time, she's sleeping in class or doing her own things. But somehow, the things I taught this week reach her brain and must have been stored somewhere. I'm glad that some of them have understood the things I thought this week.

My last class for the day was with 2N2. As usual, the boys are misbehaving and always very noisy. I have not found the solution in getting them to pay attention in my class. The surprise came when I noticed that Sean wasn't disturbing the class. Instead, he was at a corner, teaching his classmates how to do the activity worksheet which I gave out for students in my group (I split class with another teacher on some days). And when he was done with that corner, he walked over to another student and taught her, despite having to repeat his explanations again. I thanked Sean twice in class today for helping me to teach his classmates on probability. Teaching in this class is not easy when I have to overcome problem of noisy envirnoment in the classroom. Even if the student are able to hear me, they are unable to concentrate because of the disruptions going on in the classroom.

I am researching on how to manage the class but so far I have yet to find the correct solution to it. Especially managing noisy class with hyperactive students. Their energy level never seem to go down.

Anyway, it's FRIDAY!
Peiyan

Chai Chee Sec: Réflexion numero trois

It's the beginning of a new term.
I should be feeling great and refreshed.
Well, I did feel refreshed until my second class.
And hence, my first day of the new term became a exponential misery growth.

The students of my sec 2 class requested for group teaching for those who wants to learn.
There are 7 students in today's class who listened to my teachings.
The rest?... Wild monkeys set loose in a classroom, busy beavers focusing at their own spots, flocks of birds gathered together chirping away.
Somehow, when I was teaching with that small pool of willing to learn students, my mind wasn't even bothering about those who couldn't care less to listen.
Except for once in a while, a few intruders who kept budging into my teaching territory which really irritates me as I have to keep pausing my teaching.
A surprise walk past from the P and he was watching at the student's behaviour in class
I did not really know what to do.
In fact what can I do?
That the reality of how the students behave during my class.

Today's after school program for the sec 3 class was a totally misery, disappointment.
With reminder on thursday before the term break and having the term break to study, I can confirm plus chop with guarantee that none of them even bordered to do it. (except for those who when for school overseas trip)
Only 11 students turned up for today's lesson.
Of the 11 students, only 2 really attempted the questions but failed eventually.
The rest couldn't be bordered, not trying, not even tried reading the questions.
They were happily talking amongst each other, laughing away during the whole duration of the test.
I really don't feel like looking at their test papers.
I don't feel like marking them even.
How I wish that I can one day get so fedup that I'll just stop teaching for that class. I can just go into that class and do my own work.
How I wish...

Sometimes I wish I can just hide somewhere and be alone.
Sometimes I wish someone can really knock at least some sense into them to wake them up.
Sometimes I wish that they will transform into sensible students and study hard and do well for exams.
Sometimes I wish...

I feel so miserable,
Peiyan

Wall-e

I went to watch Wall-e today with Jeanbean and Leonard.
The very last movie I watched was Indiana Jones in june!
3.30pm show at The Cathay + student pass = $6 !!!
lol.

Anyway, it's a rather touching show about eathlings in the next 700 years.
Looking at the size and handicapped humans in the show after 700 years is funny but scary.
They are so dependent on the automated chair and robots that they have never step out of that chair they have been lying on.
I hope that humans and the earth will not become like the movie in the next 700 years.
What's so great about living in space when the amount of rubbish created is as much as on earth?
It's only the space envirnoment which makes the disposal of the rubbish infinitely able.

Walllll... e...
Peiyan

I crashed lecture

It's term break...
And I decided to give my prof a surprise by sitting in his lecture.
The last time I went to consult him on some LaTex issues, he showed me the website for his lecture this semester.
I managed to notice that his lecture days are Tuesdays and Fridays.
But I missed the timing and venue.
So I got one of my friends to help me check.

And so...
I sneaked in from the back door of LT26 to his lecture.
The lecture had already begun went I went in and there are a lot of freshies inside the hall.
The greatest thing of all was that he didn't realise that I was listening to his lecture from the beginning right till the end. Lol.
I managed to talk a shoot of the scene during his lecture.

Seriously, I miss going for lectures and listening to him talk about the interesting mathematicians he met and the stories of mathematicians he knew.
But my objective of this lecture crash was to note how he teaches using tablet and the pdf annotator software.
It wasn't really that useful as I am not doing a lecture but a classroom teaching.
And... I don't have a high table to place my tablet on it so that I can write with more comfort.
Nevermind all these.
After the lecture, like all other students making their way out through the front door, I walk down to the front from where I was sitting and waiting at the first row of seats.
Students were crowding in front of my prof as he tries to answer their questions and pack up.
It was a nice surprise for him to see me in the lecture theatre while he was keepin his things in his bag.
Hahaha... one happy face from him.

I waited for his students to finish their questions and after that I went up to his office and had some interesting chat with him.
Prof Chan popped the question if I wanted to study Number Theory. (since I have been looking him up many times as compared to other professors)
Yeah... I wish I could study Number Theory but like he said, it is a rather difficult and challenging course.
I got a B grade for his Intro to Number Theory course because I was hardworking and I ask questoins when I a not sure.

Prof Chan shared with me some of his plans.
He was disappointed that his application to NTU has been rejected.
He is travelling to Japan this december and in September next year he is going to Collage de France as a visiting fellow.
*envious* aw...

I like to sit in his office and look at his book shelf filled with 2 layers of books on each shelf.
He told me that the estimated amount of all the books on the shelf is about $10k.
O.o

Maybe I'll pop him a visit again with my jiemei when we come back to return the graduation gown.

He's my favourite prof.
Peiyan