WaspUp

Uggghhhhh! This morning as we were leaving to send Sarah to training session, a wasp flew in through the dining room window & settled on the window grill. So I told hubby to get rid of it. He said leave it. Till he saw it was building a nest. So I panic lah.

We got back into the house, hubby got hold of insect repellant spray & zapped the bugger. He zapped the nest too. It flew off, flew back in. Zap again. Flew off, flew in. Then it decided to fly into the living room, so I was hopping around trying to avoid the darn thing while hubby was zapping it. I think it eventually got woozy & dropped dead somewhere at the carpark. I hope.

Weird that the wasp came in just after Sarah got stung by a bee at camp. Anyway, my fear was any allergic reactions if any one of us got stung.

Ryan's ipod is a goner. He had it in his pocket & while going upstairs, slipped & fell. Ryan is fine but weight was on on the side with the ipod in the pocket. The inner screen was cracked & it didn't work. Screen black. Took it to Cineleisure ipod shop & was told that they don't do repairs, just one for one replacements if it was still under guarantee. Which it no longer was. Goner for sure. Ahhhh I almost forgot...when hubby approached a counter to ask about repairs for ipods, the woman told him with a smile..."please go to recession". LOL.

Had makan at NYDC at Heeren after Ryan picked up a couple of CDs. Nice place to watch the world go by. Some skincare product had a marquee out there & some promoter girls & boys were trying to get people to go into the marquees to test or buy or whatever. We were observing that the promoter boys & girls (in their late teens or early 20s) were mostly hanging around & talking to themselves. Didn't seem to be making much effort unless there was accidental eye contact with passers-by.

Sarah won't get to play in the tournament that is starting next week. She had injuries on her left leg & had missed some training sessions. Her coaches felt it was best not to have her play so soon incase the injury recurred. She was limping a tad. So her reserve is playing instead. Sarah says she is fine with it. Maybe she is a teeny bit disappointed but she knows the reasons make complete sense. And she is happy that Mags gets to play. We too think its best that she sits out at this point as she has just recovered from the injury. Best not to aggravate & let it fully recover. She sent her head coach an sms to reassure him that she is fine with the decision as she wants the team to do well. I didn't have anything to do with the sms but read it later. And I like what I read. Good girl !

Went with hubby to a fishing pond with friends & nephew. Nephew's wife was there too & it was nice just to sit & catch up as last we had seen her was in January. She has 3 kids who were with grandparents for the day so it was nice for her to get away for a bit. Before we went, I had an important question for hubby : got toilet or not. He said got, even got sofa & can bring family & do bbq. When we got there, no can do lah. Got clean toilet but fishing area was hot, too many mosquitoes, not conducive for kids, no space for bbq & best of all...the "sofa" was a single old armchair. LOL. Apparently nephew also told his wife that there was a sofa...men lol.

Hubby didn't get a single bite for the 2 hours. I am convinced I am the jinx for him. Bought him a fishing reel many years ago & he never caught a thing with that reel. Eventually, hubby gave me ten bucks like he was buying the reel from me. The very next time he took it out,, he caught a fish. Sigh...what to say ???!! So I must be the jinx lor as it was the first time I was at fishing pond with him. Probably the last time he will ask me to go lol. And he will never ever invite me to the deep sea trips I am sure LOL. Fine by me. Rather go shopping, do hair, have massage or laze at home than be seasick.

Kids are at their piano teacher's place for dinner. Teacher does this ever so often for her students. She is really good with kids. Very patient & teaches them well. Coincidentally, she taught my cousin years ago. But we didn't know that when she first started teaching our kids.

Dinner was The Prata House at Thomson with the fishing gang. Guy who cleared the table for us, took our orders & served us was impressive. Not only do work very fast but got good PR skills somemore. Never met a friendlier prata man ! Must have attended GEMs programme !

Lament for the day : men don't know the difference between a sofa & armchair.

TGIF

It was a goooooood Friday cos I met with Eve. It was really super to see her again after all these years. When I hugged her, I felt soppy. Almost wanted to tear. Loads to catch up on; spouses, kids, ex-boyfriends, old friends, who from school we've seen, who we wondered about. Brought back many many memories.


Yeah we look the same except that the faces are a little more lined & there's gray hair which we have cleverly got covered. Actually I thought Eve looked pretty good. Doesn't seem to have put on an ounce ! I on the other hand...


We reminisced about the old days. What we could remember hahah. I mean as one grows older the memory gets shot lol. But I think we did very well with some of the names & incidents.


There was a girl in school who was on the badminton team with us, one year our junior. She spent alot of time with us after school playing badminton & squash. We were badminton & squash mad. And we were pretty good too. Really. Anyway, Jeannie was her name & we, especially me, wondered what happened to her.


Then there are friends from out of school. The boys we used to hang out with. Probably pot bellied old farts now lol. The house parties which we used to go to & the days when we could dance the night away, literally. In those days, we didn't go to discos cos we couldn't afford it & I reckon there weren't that many anyway. Only the Sin Po Po Bar type. So house parties were the in thing. DJs were friends or friend's friend & it was cassette tapes (what is cassette tapes hah our kids will ask !??!), disco lights were a few people with torchlights covered with coloured cellophane paper waving them around.


hahaha no lah, that last bit is a fib. Disco light was one solitary revolving light. If we were lucky got the silver ball ball thing. Of course there was the mandatory slow music lah. The disco lights would be turned off for effect hahah. But mostly Eve & I would go grab a drink & cool off & chat. If we liked a guy, we would oblige with a slow dance.

I don't remember booze in those days. We never did booze or smoke anyway when we were teenagers & were still in school. And our parties were drug-free (bring back those old days maaan!). Music of course was disco lah. They still play songs from our time you know. I love the music of that period. And also that of my parents era.


I knew my hubby when I was about 17 so Eve knows him too as we used to hang out together. He would remember some of the house parties. I wasn't dating him then though he claims (and still does) that he had eyes for no one else. Anyway hubby & I got together as a couple in our mid 20s. Then we go "apply HDB flat" hahaha. I digress.


The most happening in those days at Orchard Road was MacDonald's. We would meet friends at MacDonald's which was at Liat Towers. Think it opened in 1979. Kids who hung out there were called the "MacDonald Kids". Lucky Plaza wasn't little Philippines then & it was still the old Tang's. The old Plaza Singapura was also another hotspot to meet back then.


We would eat at the National Library food corner, have Red House chicken pie, go to Magnolia Snack Bar, have Waterloo Street indian rojak, mee siam & bandung and the coffeeshops along Victoria Street. There was the library bus stop, Yamaha bus stop, Bata bus stop, the bookstores in the old shophouses along Bras Basah Road, the old Rendezvous. Climb up all the way to Fort Canning for squash. Go for badminton training at the telecoms centre along Bukit Timah Road...dunno why we travelled so far. Go to East Coast beach on weekends. It wasn't so crowded then.


In those days got no MRT. Have to tar bus. Bus no aircond somemore. Kena surrounded by other sweaty schoolkids was terok. Kena the sweaty army boys was lagi terok. Bus drivers were like rally drivers. With our schoolbags & racquets we would sway, totter & just about fall over. Some unlucky person would occasionally get poked by our racquets.


Then if you were really unlucky you would kena one cheeko man on a crowded bus. He would pretend to be so squished & move closer & closer to you if you were sitting on the seat along the aisle. Such cheekos would pick on innocent schoolgirls. He would then rub his crotch on your shoulder. I kid you not. Anyway, I kena before. But I was stupid in those days, didn't know how to react & just kept moving nearer & nearer the person seated next to me. Think the lady seated next to me got the picture & glared at cheeko till he moved away. Dunno where the bus conductor was at that time.


These days the girls are more 'garang'. Sarah told me about an incident with one of her classmates while they were out at J8 or somewhere like that. Her classmate turned around & yelled at the guy. Embarrassed him infront of a crowd. I say WELL DONE GIRL ! Pity she didn't kick him there.


That wasn't my only incident. I was at the bus stop after ECA (ECA=Extra Curricular Activities, equivalent to CCA today). A well dressed Indian man with glasses was one of the few people at the bus-stand. Neat, long sleeved white shirt & dark pants. Seemed so decent. He carried a black file which he held infront of him. Stood near me & angled the file, then kept looking down & then back at me. Looking down & back at me. I was stupid still. So I looked down. I saw his pants unzipped & penis hanging out. Fortunately for me my bus came at that point. I couldn't scramble fast enough on it. Told all my school friends to watch out for this character at that bus stop next time. You know, with all the showing he might have done, I hope his thingy got caught in the zipper a few times at least. Or hopefully he had the pleasure of making the acquaintance of a Lorena Bobbit (google if you dunno who she is).


Sarah's bee stung leg is recovering with the doc's meds & cream. It was best to see the doc incase it wasn't a bee & some other weird insect. Would have been funny if she were stung on the lips...bee stung lips hahaha. Sheesh, that was lame. Well at least she is not in pain & itching at the same time now.


Laments for the day : Why is Sanjaya still in ? And why is Survivor not on tonite ?

Iduh !!

Arrrrggghhh Sanjaya is still in ! Dunno what else to say except wah piang !

Sarah came home from camp with a bee sting on her leg. Its swollen & painful. Hopefully it isn't a serious bite from some other insect. Hard to tell but she did pull the stinger out. She's a happy cookie since we had the talk last night. But happiness shortlived cos she has that bite & swelling. Pooooor baby.

Hopefully son is making progress now with Chinese tuition. Too soon to tell but I have my fingers, eyes, toes, legs crossed.

Why do people procrastinate ? Honestly, get the job over & done with & its off the "to do" list. Then can move on to do other things. Here's my beef...

We a had a team that took part in a tourney & received rewards. Captain was handed the rewards to distribute as is fitting since that's what captains do. Decide how it should be distributed, make suggestions on how it may be used etc etc.

Anyway, it wasn't done immediately. Infact, members weren't informed of the rewards. Not everyone was aware that we received rewards.

After a couple of weeks one of the team members who knew, called me to enquire what happened. So as vice-captain I wrote a group email explaining how the rewards came about & requested the captain to let us know how would the rewards be distributed. Got a response from captain on when to meet to collect as he was going to be at this place for a game at such a time.

Obviously not everyone free to travel there. Which is expected. So 6 outta 10 didn't get their rewards. The 4 who did were the captain himself & the other 3 who were there for a game. I was one of the 4 as hubby was there for a game as well & picked it up for me.

After that last arrangement, for weeks the captain didn't contact the rest. Well, I didn't know at that time. CNY came & went. And we are now into March (the rewards came end January). Then one of the members tells me that he still didn't get his rewards. Sigh. So I send an email this week to remind & offered to take over the task. Which received a response.

Captain emails sorry he was hospitalised for the last 3 days. We are all sympathetic. And he says he will do it & asked members for their account numbers so that he could make the transfers. So all was hunky dory.

So I thought.

Today I get an email from the captain asking for MY account number (I received my rewards already) so that the rewards can be sent to me & distributed. In other words ask me to do lah.

This pissed me off royally. Off went an email response. Few points :-

1) The issue is not the 3 days of hospitalisation. More than a month as passed for this to be done.

2) Plenty of time to contact the members. 10 members only, not 100. And to boot, 10 minus 4 leaves only 6.

3) Cannot say dunno how to contact members as captain & vice captain has everyone's mobile numbers. Plus we have a group email.

4) At the very start, if don't want to do or got no time then say so. I would have done it as vice-captain.

5) Why only respond when I send emails to query.

6) Should have accepted my offer made in my second email. Instead, didn't & say will do.

7) Must have realised damned lecheh, so conveniently send me email to do. It wasn't even phrased a request to assist.

I refused. Just because I did my job as a vice-captain while we were active doesn't make me a sucker all the time & a girl Friday. I did it then for the team. Heck, I have my own assistant at work but I don't take her for granted. Made my point & told captain to deal with it himself. My offer to take over is off the table as it was not taken up in the first place.

Captain sends apology email. Too late in my reckoning. And I'm not the one to apologise to. Its the other members.

Its not the money issue. Its not a large amount at all. Cannot run away & buy house in JB or Thailand. Maybe (not sure) can buy budget ticket to Bankgok plus a few dollars left over. That's how unsubstantial the amount. So to set the record straight, we are not making accusations of that nature.

It just all boils down to plain old responsibility. There is no rocket science involved in the division of the rewards by the way. Not getting such a little task done in so many weeks means it ain't priority & procrastination. But when it involves other people, it should be priority.

So that's my issue today. I am such a grumpy old sod.

On to happy stuff. Hubby signed up for Mio last evening. Along with it comes a promo to buy a mobile phone at a good price. After I traded in my N70, I paid just $28 for a newer model. Too coooool ! I would have been a stupid cow not to jump on it anyway.

Time out & tomorrow...TGIF ! Plus I get to meet Eve tmr. Now that thought perks me up quite a bit !

Idle Night

So its Wednesday. American Idol day. Which is on right now. Beats watching The Dance Floor. The Dance Floor got more viewership than the American dance show So You Think You Can Dance. That's really quite amazing. But the American show got an early time slot if I remember right. Folks weren't home from work yet or were at the dinner table. I thought that show was pretty good when I did manage to catch it. The dancers were sensational.

Hubby is not home tonight, at work, on duty. He was supposed to have gotten together with some old army kakis for makan & drinking session. Too bad he couldn't make it as I know he so wanted to meet up with old buddies.

Now in their 40s, the boys (yes they will always be boys to the wives & girlfriends) keep in touch & meet up. A riotious party erupts whenever they get together & invariably, tales will be related of their stint in the army, their exploits and adventures.

The wives and girlfriends who were often included in the gatherings would roll our eyes & lament, “here we go again” & then whisper the punchlines to each other. We have, afterall, been married to them for many years and we are very familiar with a good many of the tales told. Some unprintable lolol.

But you know, all this points to the remarkable camaraderie and friendships developed and nurtured for some 30 years.

The army today is alittle different than from their time. Their experiences in the army and from each other have made them sturdy, honest, down to earth, constant. And of course they all have a wicked wicked sense of humour. And when they are together, you can skip watching sitcoms.

I must mention the most colourful character of the group is like Peter Pan, the boy who never grew up. His antics continue to this day. His bare butt adorned in just a g-string will forever be etched in our minds. And let me tell you, it’s a 40-something year old butt, not a 14 year old one that we saw ! He is hilariously funny. Something spawned from a Robin Williams & Borat consummation.

Sanjaya performed Ain't No Mountain High Enough. And it was utterly boring ! Truly, Sundance should not have been booted. Sanjaya is very cute but undeserving to be in the top 10. Voters still dun get that its a singing contest. Arggggghhhhh! Melinda & Lakisha...AWESOME !

I just had an open one-on-one girl-to-girl talk with my daughter. It was very very sweet. I am enjoying this relationship very much as I never had this openness and sharing with my mum. It was a different generation.

Tuesday's This & That

It was terrific to meet Anth after such an age. Food was forgotten with all the catching up & I mean reaaaally catching up. Much has transpired in these couple of years. Somewhat shocked to hear the news, was totally unexpected. Its heart rending to see a lovely friend in such a dilema. Contrary to when the last we met, it was in a state of near euphoria. Felt a little bit useless to be just listening. Tried to be comforting & offered my thoughts. At the end of the day, I know she will know what to do as she is a her own woman. Strong, courageous & sensible.

Booked a date with Eve, makan session on Friday. Sooo looking forward. I wondered to hubby if I would be able to recognise Eve & vice versa. He says she looks almost exactly the same, except for a few gray hairs hahaha. Eve...when you read this, thump him when you next see him. Be consoled that I have more than a few gray hairs. But I got it all covered...literally.

Last week I went for a lunchtime massage session at my regular haunt near the office. Whilst waiting for the room to be ready for my session, a man (late 40s) popped in for reflexology. Regular customer from the sounds of it. A couple of minutes later, a lady follows him in. Young (early 20s), dressed up, made up. I don't mean to be prejudiced lah but I figured her for a "China girl". And when she spoke, I was right. Dunno why lah but sometimes you can just spot them.

Anyway, he gets a call & its his kid. He says to kid that mummy is in the office & to call her there as she was not with him. I was NOT eavesdropping. The reflexology is in the common central area maah. Plus the place not very big. Even in the massage room later I could hear them.

So I don't get it. When there is all this adverse open talk and experiences about what China women are all about. Why do men still fall for it ? Hubby says when you ask the men, they will say "no lah, she is not that type".

And how do the girls do it ? The twisting of the men round their little finger ? Quite skillful leh I must say. Wives have such a hard time just trying to get hubbies to pick up their pants & drop them into the laundry basket.

They aren't exactly demure nor do they have the best of manners, plus got agenda. I guess it all comes down to the fact that they are pretty (most of them anyway), have tight butts, perky breasts & of course, offer bedtime frolics.

When you think about it...the girls get pocket money lah, shopping money lah, pretty jewellery lah, driven around lah , some even have a paid for place to stay lah. At the end of day all this is payment for sexual favours. I am convinced, must be sex & to parade around with a pretty, young China girl on the arm so that peers will be jealous. Can't be the intelligent conversations.

I have absolutely no doubt that not all women from China are that type. I have met some who are genuine about their reasons to be here. Unfortunately the errant ones out number the good, thus the stereotyping.

There were some ladies from China (late teens to early 20s) who attended English classes at a school near my office. There were loud conversations in the ladies room, the cars who swung by to get them & men who picked them up. Even a teacher reluctantly admitted to me that they had other agendas as they were not in the least interested in the classes. The school isn't there anymore.

Speaking of manners earlier, I had one occasion where two of these "students" jumped queue for a taxi. My Mandarin is not the best lah but I managed to say they are rude & they saw me waving down a cab so they shouldn't grab my cab. From the looks on their faces, I think my Mandarin sounded Greek. So much for my fervour in expressing my unhappiness.

The ladies loo is also another story. Its much cleaner now since the "students" departure. I used bemoan to my colleagues "dress so nice but dunno basic toilet manners". Stuff that we have seen there is truly, truly horrific.

'Nuff said.

Its Monday & I've gone to the goats & such

You know the Gwen Stefani's song with the mix of The Sound of Music's Lonely Goatherd ? All the time I thought she was singing "what a goat!" Yes I am what a toad ! How was I to know. It sure sounded like "what a goat". Yes my children & my children's friends...very funny hor.

I think I am getting a hang of this blogging thingy. When does one graduate from being a blog virgin ? After the first time ? Post I mean ?

Its a like a diary except typing is faster & if spell salah, just hit the back button. Diary nobody reads till you are dead. So far I haven't had any hits though. Only Sarah. Pathetic.

Monday has come & gone. My lunch with Anth didn't go as she was tied up still with the earlier appointment. Lunch tomorrow instead. Think I will tell her about the blog so that someone else apart from my kids & hubby read it. Very pathetic.

So what does one blog about ? Everything I guess. I have one topic at top of my head at present. Not so palatable :p But heck....its my blog. Plus who knows...sharing experience is good. I think ?? I don't think its gross. My kids may pengsan if their friends read this. But I think there have been worse tales.

Haemorrhoids (spelling ??) are such a pain in the butt...literally. Never had the problem till after the second baby. After straining from labour, those little annoying blobs make an appearance more often than not. Except for C-sections. Some womenfolk..."nooo never had, even after 6 kids". You think ??

Arrrrghhh...well the blobs decided to pop out for a rare visit.

So last week, I was squirming on my office chair & adopted a sashaying walk. And it wasn't cos I was feeling sexy. Lets just put it this way...thongs & haemorrhoids do NOT go together ! I have this tune in my head now...one of these things is not like the others, one of these things doesn't belong...

So off to the doc I went. Aiyo, stuttered through what my problem was. Didn't want him to examine me. Embarrassing mah. But my gynae is male...so go figure !

I had visions of an operation. Then I would have to carry a colourful child's swimming rubber ring everywhere I go & waddle around like some cowboy ready to draw weapon. Then frightened to go to toilet incase the stitches popped. But the worst...No thongs ! Inconceivable!

The good doc allayed my fears. Op is not the in thing now. Gave me Noxarel tablets (orally please) to help relax the engorged blood vessels. The first lot helped a little bit & doc said he gave me the lightest dose as he couldn't examine me. Hmm ok.

The second lot worked better. Comfy in my thongs now. So anyone who is reading this & has the same problem...better see the doc & er...nip it in the butt.

Daughter who was failing math had A1. Very very proud of her for doing that. I think its quite an accomplishment when only a couple of months ago math grade was in fail scale. Secondary math is tough. Told her I'm very happy & she did great & worked hard & that if she worked harder on her other subjects, she can do even better...all in one breath. The usual mummy nagging thing. But of course there are different scales of nagging. I think mine is a scale of 3, which is defined in earthquake terms, as minor. Often felt but rarely causes damage. Hubby's is about 6...strong, can be destructive. hahahah.

Monday is a good night for TV...Amazing Race, Desperate Housewives, Nip Tuck. This episode of Nip Tuck seems a little gross. Wondering when next season of Grey's Anatomy & Lost are coming.

Popped a vessel watching the results of American Idol last Friday. How could Sundance & Sabrina be booted ?? I dun geddit. Sanjaya...ahhhhh Sanjaya...really cannot make it. Rooting for Lakisha & Melinda.

My knee problem has recurred again. Felt & heard a little pop walking down the stairs over the weekend. There goes bowling again.

Sarah wants to go to Poly but she'll need to read the papers today. Hopefully when its her turn, things will be different. But for now, what happens to those kids who qualify for Poly but can't get into course of choice because spaces are taken up by those who qualified for JC but prefer Poly ? They shouldn't be forced to take up courses which they aren't comfortable with. It would be interesting to see how this can be resolved.

Shawshank Redemption...brilliant ! On telly soon.

Time out...

I'm so lame !

Sarah helped me set blog up. Then I couldn't sign in. How was I to know must sign in as New Blogger. I am old mah...so OLD Blogger lor.

A time for old friends

Pics taken in Phuket, Feb 2007.

My son was approached by a lady in his school who had come to pick up her son. She recognized his unusual last name. Told him she knew his dad & mum & mentioned our names. Turns out she is an old old friend of mine from school.

School was eons ago. We were great friends in secondary school & drifted apart after that. Went to separate schools, had different friends etc. You know, the usual with growing up & changes.

Growing old...growing older I mean, has made me more nostalgic. So I kept bugging Ryan to give my mobile number to auntie Eve's son. And kids will be kids, sure to forget. Or so I thought.

The 2 boys bumped into each in school & finally got me the number. Ryan says number was exchanged in the toilet !

I called straight away. It was really nice to talk to her after over 20 years. We'll be meeting up soon to catch up on lost years. Got her email address also just to be sure incase I lost my mobile phone lah or dropped it into the toilet lah...

It would seem that recently has been a time for old friends. Not too long ago, an old friend tracked me down to where I work from seeing my name in the newspapers. Ohhh nothing exciting in the papers about me lah, just some boring quote from me about work stuff.

I met up with old old friends Matt & Lu. We had dinner, a good time reminiscing & got updated with the latest. Some of it not the best of news. Cancer never is. I was saddened by that but also uplifted that my friend is living life as best as he can & the way he desires. Its bitter sweet.

Then another old buddy decides to call me out of the blue before CNY. We were in Phuket for a family holiday at that time when Rickie called. I said I was in Phuket & he says, I just left Phuket. He was posted to Phuket in December & I thought he was still in China. Ah well...nevermind, most importantly we met up for gu bak hor fun at Geylang. Still CNY so my fave tau huey chwee store next to the gu bak hor fun was not open.

Conicidentally Matt was in Phuket at the same time as we were. We met his mum, aunt, sister, brother, kids...the whole gang. It was sweet. We did have a scare though when his daughter & my Sarah went off to braid their hair & didn't come back after more than an hour. They were due to check out & catch a flight. All turned out well. Long hair needed more time for the braiding so we discovered duh !

And tomorrow, its lunch with another old friend, Anth. Haven't seen her in a couple of years. Not as long as Matt, Lu & Eve.

(

Woes of Mother Tongue

I wonder how many parents face the problem of Mother Tongue (MT) with their kids. Both of mine have major problems with it. Hubby is not Chinese & so his family certainly doesn't speak Chinese. My family too doesn't speak Mandarin having taken Malay as a second language. Then my Mandarin is just as terok. Never use it in work. Ya sure I speak basic Mandarin to some colleagues but have never used it in written communication.

So why let our kids take Mandarin ? Cos we were told it would be more useful. Little did we know that our kids couldn't cope or didn't want to cope with it. Plus grandparents, aunties, uncles etc etc all speak English. So even as little kids, they weren't exposed. We sent them to PAP kindy, but that also didn't work.

With our daughter, well we didn't know DUH, that we could write to MOE & appeal for an exemption. So she sat for her PSLE & miraculously didn't get a U grade. Still pulled her grades down but she got into the secondary school she wanted.

So with our son, we sent in an appeal. Which was rejected. So we wrote to our MP. Our son's grades in other subjects are pretty good but is likely to achieve a U grade for MT. We didn't want his total results to be affected badly by a U grade or worse kena stay back cos of one subject. MP sent letter along to MOE. Our letter included his results from P1 to P5.

Our hopes were raised when his MT teacher called & said that an officer from MOE was coming down to meet with him & his teachers. We were all under the impression that the officer was going to evaluate our son.

Hopes shortlived. I almost choked on my indian rojak dinner when I read the letter from MOE which said that they had considered our request "carefully" but had been rejected.

I was like HAH ??? Nevermind, we took time off to attend the meeting with the officer who spent two hours at the school. Nice young man, tried to be helpful. He tested our son on his writing and reading skills. Then suggested some 'strategic' methods to help our son improve MT.

Sorry lah but we weren't inspired cos these are things which we have tried already. Plus his MT teachers were already doing some of the things suggested & spending extra time with him. We were told that unless our son has joined the Singapore school system midway or has a certified learning disability then he can be exempted.

Okay so he has disabled himself from trying to learn that subject. Wonder if that counts ??

Why test our son on his written & spoken skills when the appeal has already been rejected ? I don't get it.

Maybe so that the officer can suggest a strategic programme ? I was hoping to hear a tailored programme but no leh, it was generic. So I still dun geddit !

What upset us even more was that the letter said appeal was considered "carefully" but rejected.

I suggested to the authorities that it should have been phrased such :-
“we have considered your appeal carefully and an officer from the Ministry will be meeting your son and his teachers for an assessment. Thereafter we will revert with our decision” .

This would have been much more palatable. At least, more believeable that our request was indeed considered carefully. And we also questioned what's on the Ministry's website. Ah well...

So at the end of the day. Fine. Our son will take MT for PSLE. And, we don't need another officer to come by again as the MT teachers have been absolutely wonderful with our son and would know his abilities and lack of abilities better than someone who has made just a passing acquaintance.

I know, the guy is doing is job. But it was such a farce. We can't say we wasted our time as we were trying to do good for our son. I'll just say it, sadly, opened our eyes quite abit.