Okay, i haven been blogging for a long time, again! A range of factors were responsible for this. Simply, from laziness, to the focus on a micro-management game that i was hooked to, and the lack of time due to work and play.

First up, i got addicted to this game called CivCity: Rome. It's a micro-management game. i dont know why, but i love such a genre. Other games under this genre include SimCity 4 and Caesar III, both of which i spent hours of my days playing in the past. CivCity is like a better version of Caesar III, with a more interesting gameplay and better visual graphics. Maybe i like management. i like to be put in charge of things that require my attention to micro-manage. Because at the end of it all, when things turn out perfect and as according to plan, or exceedingly so, the level of satisfaction is high. Can almost literally taste the "fruits of my labour". In any case, i'm not sure if the game is short or what, i completed the game, both the peaceful missions as well as the military ones, in a time frame of less than 2 weeks. But certainly, i spent many hours on it. So much so that when it was time for me to leave the house for work or other activites, i was full of relunctance. i just didnt feel like being interrupted while i execute my "perfect plans". Hahahaha! =D

Next up, before school actually starts in August, i've already begun studying. i'm currently taking a part-time course in ITE. This course, AutoCAD, with CAD standing for Computer-Aided Drawing, is a night course which is held twice a week, 3 hours each session. Many a times, when i mentioned this to my friend, i will almost always have to explain what the course is about. And sometimes, there will be times when i mention draftsperson, and it still doesnt help. Then i started rolling out what kind of drawings i'm capable of drawing at the end of the course. A few examples will be that of floor plans, architecture blueprints, oil vessel design, air-con pipings, etc.. The kind of drawings is actually very broad. The usage of this skill can be on anything. The limitation will be that i can only draw 2D. 3D drawings will only be taught under the Intermediate Course. Mine is a beginner course. In any case, with no condescending tone, i never thought i would ever find myself in ITE. Being the shallow me in the past, i always thought that ITE only teaches students who are unable to make it into polytechnic, and with that, the age range will be between 17 to 23. Now that i've opened my eyes, i realised that there are so many other courses in there being taught part-time and full-time for a broad range of ages.

Work has been nerve-wrecking. There are two kids that i'm currently undertaking. Let's call them P and W. W has a good command of English while P has a better command in Chinese. To put this in a positive light, the current situation has allowed me to brush up on my English and Chinese simultaneously. Naturally, when one has a better grasp of one language, the other language will most likely be compromised. i guess i have been lucky, for at home, i speak both. Towards my mum, it's almost always English. A little Chinese is peppered in for the Singlish flavour. Towards my dad, it's near 100% Chinese. i always find myself having to do serious translation when speaking to my dad. i remembered once having to translate 'altitude' to Chinese. i'll never forget the words to be 海拔. Also, during secondary school , i always have to translate the subject names for Chemistry, Physics and Biology. They are 化学，物理学，生物学. In any case, W has a good attention span. It is just that his parents have really been stretching him to the limits, with so many supplementary lessons other than my tuition sessions. He's almost always feeling tired. i can tell that he spends the effort to concentrate. But his attitude towards Chinese can be better. As for P, he's quite a nightmare for anyone who attempts to teach him anything. For me, i'm a visual person. i learn and memorise best through imagery. For P, i have gathered he is a audio-kinestatic person. His attention is easily intercepted by sounds and he always have to move his hands, i.e. draw and write. Therefore, during the initial stages, i always get very irritated when he doesnt look at the question i'm teaching. It was only after a while before i realised that his eyes can be elsewhere, but his ears were with me. P is the kind who is hyperactive and has his thoughts easily flowing to other places. But there is no way i can make him sit down and listen intently to me. If i do that, in a short while, his hands will mvoe to grab some pens and papers and he will be drawing and colouring away. i have yet to find a good solution to this problem. Just for today's tuition session, i spent 1.5 hours on 3 simple word problems teaching him fractions. i almost went insane today.

Life has its ups and downs. It's all about balance and perspective. i cant be wrong on the balance part since i'm a Libra, the sign of scales.

i want to go diving soon! i'm missing the underwater world.