Happy buns

I love this new yr because it's the year of my favourite one!
Plus, I'm stuffed & have gained back all the weight that I lost previously

When it pours non-stop,

This is what happens. View of the fog/mist forming on the hill from my balcony.



Lunchies this week & the past. Spot the similarities?



My hands & feet have been ice-cold all week because of the weather.

Recharged

Today's lunch (fried egg, lettuce, ham & shrooms sandwich)


Yes, after a full week's rest (quit my job last week), am feeling so much more energized & refreshed. Plus, I've more or less recovered from the flu which pestered me for over 2 weeks since Christmas eve. Apart from the long working hours, I think another reason why I felt so exhausted, down and moody over the last few weeks was because of my flu. Now that I'm fully rested, I actually miss work (can't believe I'm saying this); not the crazy 12-hr work shifts at my previous workplace of course, but just working in general. In fact, I'm actually ready to start work anytime but the only problem now is to actually find a job. Jeez, I really really hate job searches.

On the other hand, if I have good stuff to keep myself preoccupied & entertained currently (traveling for instance), I probably wouldn't even miss working at all. And watching all about the Fiji islands on discovery TLC yesterday really makes me wanna travel there to dive, slack and soak up all the warmth, sun and beauty of that paradise-looking place. NZ and all those gorgeous island nations near it have now topped my travel wish list.

Neways, freedom allowed me to try out 2 new (to me) eateries with my pals last week. The first one's Kko Kko Nara, a korean place which serves super duper good fried chicken. The other dishes my friends ordered are probably good too but I didn't really try them because they were really spicy and i was still having a bad cough last week. The other eatery is the very hyped about Food for Thought. Contrary to the raves I've heard about over their sandwiches, it was nothing fantastic imo, but the shrooms pasta is really good and so is their salad, which comes as a side. Will probably go back to check out their pancakes another time soon.

I think I'm already immune to the irresponsible and crazy antics of my korean bosses because I find myself surprisingly calm despite their latest screw-up. I'm supposed to work at their Paya Lebar centre on Mondays and was told by the female boss to do 12-hrs shifts there for 3 Mondays starting from last Mon. So, i dragged myself outta bed early this morning ( i take abt 1hr 15mins to get to PL from my place) and lo and behold, what do i arrive to?? A closed centre. Called my male boss (because he runs this branch) and he tells me that there are no morning classes today and i am just supposed to work the usual afternoon hours. When I tell him that I am already at the centre and asked him why no one informed me that i don't have to work this morning, he's tells me surprisingly that his wife or their assistant was supposed to do so last week and starts apologising. Why am I not furious at this stupid screw-up which wastes my time, energy and money traveling from west to east back to west and to east again in the afternoon and back to to the west later at night?!?! Probably because I know I just have to endure another few days of this crappy bull before I bid this hellhole goodbye.

On a side note, I will miss the students when i leave because i really like most of them. If only the centre was run by decent folks.

Some of my students munching on x'mas candy during class:

Cheol Hee (initially quiet and shy but full of drama antics when he gets familiar with u)


Ji Tae & Jun Seok (extremely adorable and likeable boys who are in s'pore for a month or 2 for the English crash course)


Geun Tae (one of my fave students)


Super mischievous but extremely adorable Min Ji

It's Christmas but i feel like crap right now; throat's hoarse to the max and my body feels like an overworked grandma's. Plus i'm still extremely pissed with the fact that i experienced the shittiest Christmas Eve ever last night, all thanks to my shitty korean boss. Worked 12 hrs yesterday (yes, there's no 1/2 days when you're working with koreans) and the fact that 1 teacher was on leave meant that the bulk of all the teaching went to me, eventhough there was another teacher on duty too. Reason? I'm the newer teacher and the quiet sort and the boss thinks it's easy to take advantage of me. Something which she's been doing the past 2 weeks. I taught a record high number of students yesterday and was the last teacher to be let off. Didn't even have time to catch a bite/drink or even go to the toilet for 6 hrs straight because the students kept piling up on me. Wtf? She thinks she's running a prison camp or what? I was so exhausted to the point that i had no appetite for the x'mas dinner prepared by my mom last night and i headed straight to bed feeling crappy and feverish all over. Thank goodness the fever and body aches have gone away after a proper night's sleep though I still feel sick.

Whatever, am just gonna quit on the spot when i get my pay next week. Was initially thinking of quitting only after i get a new job but i've seriously had enough bull from these people.

I'm this close to going mad. After working non-stop for almost 12 hrs today, i can't seem to fall asleep. Reached home ard 9pm, ate dinner, bathed & went to bed ard 10pm. And 3 hrs later, i still can't sleep which is freaking annoying because i am 101% exhausted, mentally & physically. I'm soo tired that i had difficulty keeping awake and concentrating during my last lesson but now im wide awake though im positively sure that my brain's already shut down, plus i can feel the start of a migraine throbbing its way through my head again. And the shitty thing is, i have another 12-hr work shift again tmr!!! ARGH, i just want to fly away to some paradise place & sleep my time away. Really am so stressed up recently; the migraines are more and more frequent and i've lost 3kg in a month or 2. Don't know how long i can continue stomaching this kinda crazy work schedule; just feel like quitting at the end of the month.

Happy holidays NOT!

My body's like a magnet for ailments. Just when the nasty tongue ulcer is gone, a serious case of rashes started on my right leg last week & i have no idea what caused it. Could have been some insect bite or allergy reaction and it was itching like mad the first couple of days. Thank goodness the itch is gone and the swelling has subsided now.

Anyway, the very familiar sense of tiredness (which i experienced with my previous job) is creeping up on me again now that i'm scheduled to work frm 9.30 in the morn till 8.30 at night (with only a 30min lunch break in between) thrice a week. Even though my workplace's a mere 10mins away and i get paid for the extra hours, I still hate working mornings & 12-hour shifts. My boss' a real slave-driver & i wonder whether all or most Korean employers are like that? 'Cause according to my mom, Koreans are known for exploiting their workers. Just hope i dont have to put up with this crappy work schedule for long. Hopefully the job market'll improve next month :(