how i spend my time these days

current interest (or rather, obsession) : fashionable males.

1. purposeful, but subtle

2. deliberate but understated

3. messy in a neat way

4. maximum attitude underneath simple ensembles

and i am all set to drool.

regular visual reads would be: the sartorialist, the lookbook

to look out for: pascal grob (in my opinion).

top of the (my) list this week:

i cant even begin. here

he married style and..literature? double points! here

his main accessory: the 50's moustache. here

if i were a boy, i'd be wearing this. and most of his other ensembles.

nobody can ever get enough of white and cotton.

note: the tote, and the sandals. perfect. here

i am not literate in fashion. i dont speak its language. but i like to look at well-dressed people. well-dressed does not necessarily mean clean crisp clothes. to me it means giving thorough thought into what you are about to wear to finally end up looking like you just put on the first thing you saw when you woke up that morning. the more effortless it looks, the better.

fashion evolves, but style remains.

look at me baybee

can somebody say hot!


i like the whole look. the black peeptoe, leather tights and checked oversized bf shirt.

BUT, what really caught my liking and now made me drool and hate reality coz i know i wont ever get my hands on it, is the car plate.

it's embossed carved on metal. wowwee! the ride looks like a merce or could even be a volvo. but who cares i want the plate!!

photo taken from here.

grey

today right now this moment
more than half past midnight
where lonely souls wander
aimlessly in undefined air
i see golden streaks and
splashes of red blue black
and white.
black and white
equals grey, but you are not
neither am i but we
we are
definitely absolutely totally
grey.
wave the brush and
paint me magic and
stroke the wand and
pull an arrow out of the hat
but there is nothing to it
it is just talk and no walk
words evaporating in the
muddy air with sweet dreams
falling and melting on the
dirty ground with
footprints.
those of the past and present.
those of you, me.
those of -
those that are
overlapping crisscrossing
intertwined;
but no ends meet
none.

second best is fine, as long as you're not 'it'

mom borrowed my car, so basically i am nowhere out of the 500m radius for these few days. going to school spells car-pooling. not anyone can walk too far with the extremely hot and humid weather nowadays, plus the haze.

despite that, the weather now is pretty relaxing. the haze actually provide a barrier between the sun ray and us. which means, i dont have to squint my eyes and also the occasional wind gives a perfect situation for taking wedding photos. and.. it is Sunday. i have always loved sundays.

i wonder if the normal week begins with Tuesday and Monday is our Sunday, would it feel the same? i bet not. because Sunday is the sun's day, if y'know what i mean. though i pretty much like the sun less now coz it made me look a tone darker than normal, but who cares. and also coz it made all of us have higher risk of skin cancer. but thats ok, as long as Sunday gets to be the last day of the week.

and if we were to change Tuesday to be the first day of the week, would everyone still have the Monday Blues? or it would then be the Tuesday Blues? Haha. rubbish.

eye candy

outrageous! but i like :)

from fashion bits and bobs

always have a soft spot for loafers. i wish i can get a pair of the tassel ones soon. they are majorly sold for men, so pretty hard to find one that spells old and new at the same time showing femininity.

spot me if you can 2

from here

sugar in cider

drops of water

gels together
salt and pepper.

sprinkles sugar

to apple cider

life gets better.

where people are pleasantly strange..

..and counting the change.

"you dont know why"

everything you want.

what they really want

i dont even know where to begin.

i am only half way through, but it felt like an epic; practicum. i have so many things to share, so many problems to be solved, and yet i couldnt get around in putting it to words. this has been one of the best periods of my life. i have a feeling that i just cant get enough of it, i wouldnt even if you pay me to stop.

some may speculate that the fact that i like teaching so much is prolly because of other factors: the school, admin, students, facilities etc. yes, i dont deny all those contributing factors, although my school is definitely not one of the best (hell no). but what really hooked me to it (teaching) is the rapport, the special bond i have between the students and i, as the teacher.

let us be reminded that each and every class is different, let alone every child in the classroom. they have varying experiences and feel different emotions at the moment you are teaching. it is your duty to pick those (experience and emotions) up. every 10minutes of the lesson is also different. everything happens very quickly in the class. you have to be very spot on and work well under constant and rapid pressure. failing to do so can cause many backlash from students that may affect you and the children.

a classroom is an onion. intricate and complex. fragile when the layers are separated, but strong when in a unit. there are multiple layers of cultures and subcultures and socio-eco-demographical factors, to be peeled one after another by the teacher. the time you take varies. you can never set a list of the same steps and rules for each class. they are all different. so take your time..get to know your students. and, one thing i learned is to not to 'get to know' your students under technical and visibly purposeful terms. do it on purpose, but do it because you want to. because you really care and this will help you throughout the rest of your teaching days.

i have to admit, some students you can get close to them with a snap of the finger; but some are very reserved and secretive about their background. it is our job to find out what makes them who they are at that point of time in the classroom. informations like illiteracy, being victims of bully should not be revealed hastily and impulsively. these are the things that you should keep under the concept of trust that the students have for you and, especially, to not use it against them.

for example:

"Haa Ali (bukan nama sebenar)! Hish buat kerja la! Awak ni tak nak pandai ke? Nanti dah besar nak jadi apa? Mak ayah awak dah la orang susah!"

Thats a violation of two important things:

1. you are using the child's personal information against him/her and therefore breaching the trust he/she has towards you.

2. you are humiliating and demotivating the student and telling him to change something he cannot (the status of his parents).

in short, what we are actually doing is putting the blame that the parents are poor on the student.

at the end, it comes down to two things. students either want your attention, or they need it. you have to be able to tell. because those who need your attention (especially those who are less smart and have learning or personal problems) normally dont want your attention. so you have to give it without them asking.

for me, all these kids want and need is love and attention. they have an insatiable thirst for love. they like it if you listen with your eyes glued to them, although you dont understand a thing about the MMORPG they are talking about. but they appreciate. and when they notice and appreciate the time and attention you invest in them, they will do anything in the world for you, trust me.

kids are the most honest bunch of homo sapiens. if they dont like you, they will show it in their actions or they will just tell you straight. and if they do like you, they will let that be known too. so if they can be honest to you, you can be honest in your love to them too. and they will know if you are sincere or not. (they are very observant and sensitive!). they will do everything they can to make you notice them, especially in a big class. they will break into a fight, shout, or for the quiet ones, they will rebel and not do their homework for example. those are some of the negative ways. positively, they will ask to help carry your books, or always walk around in the staff room aimlessly..and etc.

you see, i can write a whole lot more, but i think i'll save it for later posts. hehe. im not so good at this myself; still learning as i go. but i guess you can say that i am eager and excited to learn and i wouldnt mind sharing what i learned with everyone.

as for now, if you feel like you dont love teaching enough, take some time and put yourself in the little shoes of the students. they dont want many things (like money, fame, great marriage etc), they only want small things that adults are too ignorant and stingy to provide them with. and those things are free. think about it.

till then, happy teaching! :)

(thats what my superviser, Mr.Kieran always say to me: Happy Teaching)

TGIW

Thank God It's the Weekends.

I have a whole sack of things to do, but i remembered that an individual can choose when given the freedom of choice. therefore, i choose to be a true Weekender by not doing anything (related to work)! and now i feel super awesome; with rain on a sunday morning. oh. bliss.

anyway, im checking out a japanese contemp dance at the central market. well, i dont want to waste my sunday i guess. at least im doing something i love!

gotta get get hommies!

not just some guy

okay, another featured guy in my blog. what can i do? i love boys! LOL.

taken from The Sartorialist

Oh, can somebody say yummy? fashion-wise and style aside, he is almost fiction. that far-away gaze of his, and the brawny collarbone and shoulders..oh mercy, my nose should bleed. look at that pierced elfin ears. what did i tell you about fiction? he can easily be somebody straight from Tolkien or that A. Lloyd, taking a break in between medieval chicks and chronicles of mythological wars.

and i feel safe (or unintimidated, rather) that he too, possess a set of eyebags. haha talk about insecurities. man, i got issues. anyways, yeah. those are symbolic of the time he spent for sleeping (which is less than normal, prolly). so he could be someone who has irregular working hours, or shifts, or just a 24/7/365 cycle of work. he must be in arts, one thinks. yes indeed, he is a dancer. oh how graceful he must be when his moves and grooves are coupled with some rhythm!

but he can work the style out. i mean, im fine with the whole laid-back-im-scraping-food-from-garbage look, but he could at least accessorize. but he's colour-coordinated, so thats again, points.

you know, you can put this guy anywhere, any time era, any timezone, on the mountains, the ocean, the forest, the sky..he would fit perfectly. this is what i call a universal facial feature. he should be a model or something by now. except that he's a commoner, HAHA, he likes doing common things. i wonder if he likes politics and NatGeo. i wonder if we make a..ehem..great pair. LOL. not in a mill!

p/s: i hope he's not gay..

do.suitcase.or

there was the door,
that pinched me
in the gut, everytime
sight is laid upon it.
why do you ask?
you dont even care.
they are invisible, the
footsteps

becoming more clear
with every of my own
footsteps

and then there
it is, the famous
suitcase. carried and
stuffed and thrown
with some of mine
and some of yours
-memories. if you
must ask me. listen
to that. the trod stomp
of feet. that is you. i
know, just cant get enough
just never enough. well
then, dont forget that
suitcase. and the door.

patronized

don't fix me
side by side
with the king

in control
over me
i am weak

great power
patronize
all of me

i shall not
be compared
to the king

wash your hands too!

yes, in conjunction with the swine flu. somebody proved to be efficient enough to make a parody out of the real song, Nobody. haha, ok, learn a thing or two from it alright!





dont forget to wash your hands!


source: YouTube, obviously.

a pair of those and..

.. brandon flowers
[crush/lust]

sight-seaing

able to see
but blindfolded
sight deep as sea
mind far wondered

jwcfree

I've been listening to Sungha Jung's covers and they are all awesome. plus considering the fact that he is only like 13yo or something! he's been playing the guitar since he was a kid and he just gets better by the days!

and in this video im featuring here is my most favourite (amongst many others - U2, mozart, Richard Marx, he does cover a whole lotta famous numbers!), Living On A Prayer of Bon Jovi's where he co-performs with Tomi Paldanius.





or if trouble occurs, try clicking here.


aren't they fantastic?! sometimes he plays better than the original. i hope he grows up and find his niche in songwriting and become one of world's best musician. i wonder if he ever want to try singing though :)


*jwcfree - his username on youtube. dont forget to subscribe :p

butoh

pictures are taken from here

i was stunned. it is not something simple to do. it needs a lot of concentration and strength (mental and physical). widely known as Butoh, or the dance of darkness in japanese. you can try to google it for more information on the history yada yada yada.

there will be a Butoh Jam at the Annexe this coming August 8th and you can bet i will be going! you can watch a video of the best butoh group ( in my opinion), Sankai Juku, on YouTube. click here. i was just hooked on it.

definitely:

ART IS LIFE IS ART

:)

tasteless words

im not very expressive lately. i cant believe how love can make one so subdued. like swimming underwater at the depth just before i can crack the surface. i prefer to tell it in circles.

how far have we gone? it's like countless numbered days. i sometimes missed the taste of the wind (notice how i always refer back to the wind? running out of perfect symbolism) from the southern hemisphere. thats a clue.

i noticed i've channeled almost all of my energy and passion towards only certain things that i have none left for other things that i really want to do. and i realize that life is too short to do the things that you dont like. but these are the things that i have to do. so there's the ultimatum.

im again, bound by fated crossroads. why are you always doing this to me. gee, pick someone else to bully.