green solar eclipse.comes around once every 51 years.

highlight of the day: i saw a solar eclipse at 9:45 in the morning.: ) i was looking at it through one of those electrical construction masks (the kind that has a tiny glass slit for the eyes). this person on the street let all of the TAs use it.the kids all lined up to peek through it.

my first reaction was: "wow it's green."
ricky's first reaction was:"wow! it's green!"

haha i love how we said the same exact thing.i'm really going to miss that kid come august. he's not going to the august camp so...i have exactly 4 more days left as his teacher.: |

currently caught up in a lot of decoration work. i perfected the cover and table of contents page for their worksheet workbook. finished the posters and name tags. have to make one set of the name tags 3D for table decoration. mm. i'll do that tomorrow. just need to breathe non-work air right now. i've been feeling a bit suffocated these past two days because of the multitude of tasks and deadlines - i feel like a robot when i'm not hanging out with the kids. which reminds me - i should go find some string for tomorrows Arts and Crafts. i'm teaching them how to make dream catchers. snap. i should have started cutting up the plastic bottle rims. i should also learn how to make an actual dream catcher in case the sink netting doesn't turn out right.

speaking of netting, i am quite frustrated and annoyed at the dress code for next mondays presentation day. apparently, the teachers (3 of the 4 are guys) decided that the girl TAs should wear netting leggings and be "sexy pirates." i find that very disturbing and am very uncomfortable about the whole idea. when they first told us that we were supposed to dress as pirates, i was okay with it because i've done it before for x-dress day back in high school (dressed up as Johnny Depp) so i was teaching the rest of the TAs how to dress for it. now they want the girls to wear netting leggings. THE CRAP. i refuse. i'm going to try to negotiate - but i have a feeling the two other TAs will be too obedient to try to go against the idea. i tried to talk to them about it today; they just think it's inappropriate for the parents to see us wearing that. one of the teachers said:" yeah it's very sexist." i agree but i don't think he'll tell the staff to change the dress code. i'm just infuriated at the staff for agreeing to the teachers' decision. no one seems to have a mind of their own at the workplace; they just work.

yang luh duoh ice and an unsettled mind

我還是想不通為甚麼我臉的狀況一直沒辦法好. ||-.-||

I've tried and done everything I can
But just from looking at my appearance
Others can't possibly understand
I am persistent and I do value cleanliness
But how come all my efforts seem in vain?
It has become a real pain
to look into the mirror and see no progress
It makes me wonder if I'll ever have a clear complexion
and what will happen if I continue as I am
the pimples may never fade
their scars i will wear with shame
because everywhere i go people ask me
why is it that my skin is so bad?
what's worse is they try to compliment how beautiful i am
but unfortunately, your facial skin kills your chances
what chances? why does a person's face weigh so heavily in the world?
i feel like a prisoner, trapped behind a blemished wall
i pound and chip, i try to make it fall
but it just stands there, strong and determined
to keep me discontent and exhausted
from trying too hard.

HAHAHAHA.: )

dorothy's family portrait.ROFL.

I love this candid shot. kids being kids.

the mother and father. hahahahha.
friends again. God does discipline those He loves. It's always for our good.: )

One of the really baller things that happened today was when i carrying the mini mountains for the Neverland model down to the office. I realized that "with faith even as small as a mustard seed you can move mountains." it wasn't a coincidence that i happened to be "moving mountains" and witnessing good teamwork among my students during arts and crafts time. i enjoy working with them so much on my own. it gets really tiring but i wouldn't want it any other way. maybe cut out the C.C. letters and morning exercise time (yeah joyce, one of the main staff members, complained that i made them dance too much. i prepared a game of charades but i was too lazy to switch from dancing to a game so haha. it requires changing positions for the kids which takes them around a whole minute). yeah i'm getting quite annoyed at all the complaints that the staff members give me but i'll just cope with it because i'm only a T.A., not a full-time teacher.humbling down and taking orders is something i need to learn.

jealousy, patience and overreacting.

there's this kid called Jonathan who keeps bullying Ricky. It irks me like crazy because i don't like punishing both of them for "fighting" but i don't want to be overly biased towards Ricky (he's the much better kid in my opinion). But the next time i see him punching him, I'm going to send him to the office. seriously - i hate how bigger kids bully others. they single them out and prevent other kids from playing with him. why does anyone have the power to do that? it's so hard to discipline one child with so many others trying to get my attention.

this bullying is definitely stemming from jealousy. ricky has way better english because he spent two years in singapore. he's also two years younger and is more of a teacher's pet than jonathan is. i guess it may also be because i pay more attention to him because he's more loveable. they used to sit together and take pictures together on field trips; now they just hate each other. : |

i'm also having my own issues with jealousy of this future co-worker at A.E. she spends the whoel day in the office even though she's not working yet. she'll be a T.A. in august so i'll be seeing her for the rest of the summer. i better get this jealousy out of my heart or else i'm going to be very miserable come August. i guess i have a hard time liking her because for one, she has a clear complexion; secondly, she's the same height as me, around the same size, has long curly hair, is super girly and quiet. i know she's really smart because she's going to tai dah and she translated "charlotte's web" when she was in 5th grade (means she's very famous and probably popular among her peers). i don't know her very well but somehow, she irks me. her presence at work ticks me off for no reason. she happened to be using the computer i was using today when i was trying to print the pictures for the Communication Corner letters (weekly behavior reports.my least favorite thing about work) and i nearly blew up when i went into the computer lab. i was already flustered because of the malfunctioning printer and all the time i was wasting and seeing her there was just...yikes. it was quite tense when i told her to get off the computer for a moment. hm. anger management.

patience is dying; i really want to punch something at times. i can't control my tongue; i just want to take control and force everything to go my way. it's very immature and selfish but i find myself doing it so much at work. i can't stand being governed by the staff members for very long without giving them a hard time with my vague answers and forgetfulness. oh dear.

there's a kid called patrick who keeps touching me (more than he should.seriously). it irks me that he's seems so young but is actually more mature in his thinking (or emotional development). i'm trying to keep my distance - if it continues, i'm going to tell teacher joe or ask for someone's advice. i don't understand why this is happening but it might be because he lacks physical touch at home and is very needy of it. i guess it just bothers me because he's a boy and i'm 10 years older than he is.

third and last outing for july.

we went to...taipei (surprise surprise haha) today. it was right next to the place we went to last week. time for puppet-making.

i told my kids to bring their sunglasses.: )

naughty and angelic.reversal of roles.

he made a vampire for his puppet. dang what a coincidence.: ) vampire studies haha.

cutest girl in my class. she sat on my lap for the group picture.: )

dude ricky is so cute.

cuteness.: )

the girls having lunch.

oh man. this is hilarious.

front side of robot statue.chained prisoner.

haha i had no idea i looked that confused when helping the kids tie the puppet strings. thanks kenny.

playing in a robot statue band. haha i wish i could actually play saxophone.

kenny and i got really bored during the museum tour so we were playing around with the puppets.

so concentrated.haha.

I really love my class and am going to miss them next month.i wish i could teach them for another month but i have to switch with kenny.: |

work continues on a happy beat.

picture of the day.this is jonatha's movie report for the movie Enchanted.

I would post some more pictures from today but I was using one of the staff members camera because I left my memory card at home. Which reminds me - I better go put it in my bag right now or else I'll be dead meat - outing tomorrow again.

The next two weeks are picking up speed - the final production and exhibition is on the 27th (12 more work days). for now i need to:

-pick out colors for 5 posters (actually only using 3)
-think of something else to do along with making hats for next weeks arts and crafts
-make a cover for their workbooks

then for later on:
-decorate and finish the exhibition posters
-actually make the crafts and keep them in good condition until exhibition day
-print out 10 or so copies of the cover after getting approval from the TA manager

so this is what work is like. haha many deadlines and a huge responsibility - it's not even about the fear of getting fired; it's about making sure you don't get slaughtered by the parents of the kids.

a snippet of what the kids have been practicing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-aE8NXJHI8

this is by far my favorite part in the play.: ) love the narrator.