2018 Week 4 Update

So how was your week?

This week I did something that I can tick off from my life bucket list; I watched a film alone in the theatre. It’s always been quite weird to think I could see a movie alone, but wanted to break free and do it anyway! The children wanted to watch Maze Runner Death Cure and when I checked, in the same theatre, there was a show for Padmavaat running around the same time. So I bought tickets for both movies and saw the movie. S could not make it as he had something on and anyway, he was not really interested in the movie.

I’ll post a more detailed movie review later in the week, but for now, after watching the movie, I just don’t get the hype and hullabaloo that had been and is continuing to happen in India over this film.

In another career related news, this week, I should hear back from two places I had gone for an interview earlier in the month. They had told me they will get back to me by the end of the month, so that’s now. Let’s see if something comes up from either of these.

Have a wonderful week, we’re within spitting distance to February!

2018 Week 3 Update

We’re in week 3 of 2018 and depending on how you look at it, the year is either as slow as molasses or zipping faster than you can catch it! Which side are you in?

The cool weather I wrote about last week has ended and we are back to our hot and humid climate again where turning on the air conditioner is more of a necessity if you want a decent night’s sleep. Well, it was good while it lasted! Climate change is real people and those who are still sceptical should just read the news daily to be convinced!

As for my week, it went off quite fast. As I wrote yesterday, I went to parent support group meetings in both schools. I also walked a fair bit this week and exceeded my target of an average of 10k steps per day. I have not been reading as much as I like and am woefully behind my reading schedule for the year. This is something I would like to address this week.

As for the job front, I did meet one person, the third in this organisation and it may work out. But this organisation is not looking to hire someone under their own steam and want the successful candidate to be their own contractor. It’s something completely different than what I was led to believe and I need to do more research to see if this is something I am comfortable doing as well as if it is financially viable. I also would need to negotiate to revise upwards my rates because I didn’t take into account some of the standard perks available to employees here when I first gave them my asking rate. Let me see how this pans out as they will get back to me only at the beginning of February.

Well, here’s to hoping that the week is a joyfully productive one!

 

2018 Secondary 3 Week 3 Update

Another week of school and the children are settling in school. It’s a new environment with new subjects for both of them. Their common tests are coming up soon, earlier for GG than BB, but I also understand that they will have class tests in the meantime.

I also went to both school parent support group (PSG) meetings this week, and the contrast between the two was quite telling! GG’s school is the older one,  but the PSG is not strong and parents are quite indifferent. BB’s school, on the other hand, has a very active support group and parents are quite on the ball in partnering with the school.

Nothing much happened in school this week as it is still early days yet, so let’s see how this year pans out for both of them.

 

Top Travel Destinations for 2018: World

Trip Advisor comes up with a list of top travel destinations at the start of each year for that year and I really look out for these lists. It’s super helpful to me when planning my holiday for the year (and I also know which destinations I should avoid that year because it will be overcrowded and overpriced!).

For 2018, the top 25 destinations in the world are:nature-mountain-volcano-asia.jpg

1. Bali, Indonesia

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2. London, United Kingdom

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3. Paris, France

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4. Rome, Italy

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5. New York City, United States of America

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6. Crete, Greece

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7. Barcelona, Spain

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8. Siam Reap, Cambodia

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9. Prague, Czech Republic

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10. Phuket, Thailand

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11. Istanbul, Turkey

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12. Jamaicapexels-photo-92090.jpeg

13. Hoi An, Vietnam

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14. St. Petersberg, Russia

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15. Roatan, Bay Islands

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16. Marrakech, Morrocco

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17. Ambergris Caye, Belize Cayes

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18. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

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19. St. Martin, Saint Maartendestinoplayadelcarmen_tcm55-176480

20. Palya del Carmen, Mexico

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21. Dubai, United Arab Emirates

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22. Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

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23. Kathmandu, Nepal

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24. Bora Bora, Society Islands

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25. Cusco, Peru

Some of these places are there almost every year and some are already on my bucket list. Some places, I’m hearing for the first time so these will go on my bucket list after more research. Click the link to see the full list available on Trip Advisor

Trip Advisor also does individual continents, of which I will do Asia in more depth in a later post.

Disclaimer: Most photos are from the WordPress free photos. Siam Reap is a personal photo. For the other photos, the links are embedded in the name of the destination. Crete, Phuket, Istanbul, Jamaica, Roatan, Marrakech, Ambergris Caye, Rio de Janerio, St. MartinPalya del Carmen, Grand Cayman, Kathmandu, Cusco

 

2018 Week 2 Update

Another week for us at home. The weather in Singapore has been very good for the past week. It’s been raining continuously for the past week, almost 24/7, and the result has been a windy and chilled country! This weather won’t last long according to the meteorological department, so we have to make the most of it while it lasts. As I write this, I can hear the wind singing outside my window. For those who live in countries which actually have seasons, this may be routine, but for those of us living in tropical countries, which only have one season – hot, this is novel indeed!

In other news, I’ve had a passive-aggressive thing going with someone in GG’s school parent support group. This person, whose child has already graduated, got in touch with me and started asking me what I am going to contribute to the group this year. I replied that it would depend on the activity, the time commitment needed as well as my schedule. Then this person came back and said members can’t choose the activity they want to get involved in. I lost it then because this is completely voluntary and so when pressed, I responded by saying in such a case, I am willing to become an inactive member. I expected this person, who is the admin of the WhatsApp chat group where all this was taking place, to remove me from the group, but this hasn’t happened yet. There’s a meeting this week, for which I am still in two minds about attending or not. Let me give it some more thought before I make a final decision.