Month one of Sec 4 is over. Next week is a very short week because of Chinese New Year. Monday is a half day with hardly any school work as the schools will celebrate CNY. They will go back to school only for two days this week.
School has been fine so far, with no major issues coming out. So I am thinking it as no news is good news.
I’ve drastically reduced BB’s computer usage from this month and when he came back saying that his friends don’t study so much, I countered that if he can get as much marks as his Best Friend (who is in the top 5 in the class) then I will back off. So we will make another call after the first common test which will take place at the end of this month.
GG, as part of being her CCA leader, was asked to meet with her school’s vice principal. The VP was meeting all CCA leaders from the graduating cohort to talk about school work and how they are coping with school and CCA pressures. He also asked about future plans and has told them to reach out to their Teachers if they need any help.
This was a bit of a busy week for me and I was actually surprised when Friday came around.
I went for an interview this week after a fairly long time, as it turns out. Actually I was sure I would not go to this interview. What happened was someone from this organisation called me last week and asked me if I was free this week for the interview. Normally, a call is always followed up with an email confirming the interview and the details. But the email never came until a day before the supposed interview date and after I had given up on this organisation for being rude and disrespectful of me and my time. When the email came, I was surprised that the employee handbook and a detailed job description (along with targets and KPI) were sent. This intrigued me enough to actually go for the interview. As of now, I am still undecided if this is the right fit for me, but I have decided to keep an open mind for now. They are seeing others, obviously and will let me know if I have to go down for a second round. The interviewers were also interested in the fact that I blog and wanted me to send them links to this space. I declined since I blog anonymously and don’t want my privacy shot. The price I pay for privacy! Should I privatise these updates posts and share the rest with people? I am still on the fence on this.
On other sad news, last Friday, I heard of the demise of one of my managers. I have now known him for more than a decade and he was too young to go, he was in his mid fifties only! I learned that he had been sick for a while now and was hospitalised in a bigger city around 170 km from his hometown. He died fifteen minutes after he was sent by ambulance to his home surrounded by his wife, children, parents and siblings due to multiple organ failure. He was a good human being and a boss who cared for his subordinates so I was quite upset when I heard the news on social media. May his soul Rest In Peace.
We will enter February later this week and I can’t help but want this year to go slow. We have the GCSE exams at the end of the year and I am just not ready for it.
On that note, have a great and productive week folks!
No, I am not leaving WP yet! Goodbye 2018 and hello 2019
It’s a bit later than I would have liked, but no time like the present to do this post. I for one believe that at least for the first two weeks of January, you are still finetuning what you want to do in the new year and so on that note, I am not late at all!
I ended 2018 the same way as I started it, with hope that the coming year will be better for all of us. 2018 was not a very good year for us, what with the children not really doing well in Sec 3 (which is considered a harder year than Sec 4) nor with me continuing being mostly a SAHM. I did get some relief in the form of some freelance work which I have been doing for the past few months, so I am grateful for the that.
2019 is a crucial year for us as both GG & BB will be sitting for their O level exams at the end of the year. This will then mark the end of their school years and once the results are out, will start their tertiary studies. What that will be, I don’t know at this point. They both have ideas, but these will be translated into reality only when the results come out. So my nagging mode is super on these days, so much so that BB just sighs in frustration all the time. But it is for his own good and he knows that, so he just grins and bears it!
This year, I decided not to make any resolutions which I will inevitably break a month or so later. Instead, I decided to use a couple of words to guide me this year and not stress out when I slip up. My words this year will be ‘Simplicity’ and ‘Productivity’. These words will guide me to lead a more simple but productive life this year. The words will also help adjust my goals and resolutions as the year goes by.
I also decided that I will try and change habits instead of trying to fulfil resolutions. I am currently trying to track 10 habits across different areas in my life. I hope I can do them every single day, but if I slip up some days, I am still ok with it. I will come back at the end of the year or the beginning of 2020 to say how I fared with changing habits.
So that’s my plan of action for 2019. I am hoping for a more simple, minimalistic and productive year for me and you!
What have you thought about and planned for 2019? I would love to hear from you!
School’s out officially for the year and both have been promoted to Secondary 4. Since next year is their O level year, they have to go back to school for one more week where their teachers will start the Sec 4 syllabus and complete any sec 3 portion that was undone.
We also got the results this week and BB has done atrociously. I am very appalled with his marks and he got a real talking to from both me and his form teachers. I fact, because his school does not have a formal parent teacher meeting for the end of the year, I emailed all of his teachers for either a face-to-face meeting or a phone call to see what I can do to work with him over the holidays. During the face-to-face meetings, I also requested he be pulled out of class to meet with the teachers so he knows what we discussed. BB has promised to do better in sec 4, so let’s see.
GG on the other hand, did better, though not with stellar results. But she is the more dedicated and diligent child, so I am not that as concerned about her as I am about BB.
Who amongst us does not love the thrill that only comes from finding the perfect pair of shoes, that dress or even a bag! And if you managed to find it on sale, the thrill is doubled or even tripled.
Memories and Such 