Predicting religious holidays

Ever wondered why it's so difficult to portend when Hari Raya Puasa/Haji, Deepavali, Vesak Day, Chinese New Year comes every year? Fret no more, as an NUS Maths professor explains how the different calendars (lunar, solar, Gregorian, lunisolar etc.) come together to make planning leave so chaotic.

Source: http://www.math.nus.edu.sg/aslaksen/calendar/public-talk.pdf

End-of-year hols 2008

My plan for the end-of-year hols:

So here's my to-do list:

1. Plan Pros Retreat in early-2009
2. Long-term plan for Students
3. Get credit card [UOB/POSB Everyday/DBS/Maybank]
4. Buy semi-SLR @Funan [Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX3 @$799]
5. Download songs
6. Watch borrowed movies [I Am Sam, Pursuit of Happyness, Pulp Fiction, Aviator]
7. Plan for wedding [plan brothers & sisters' New Year's Day party]
8. Read Spencer Kagan's Cooperative Learning, JK Rowling's Harry Potter, Neil Humphreys' Be My Baby, Gary Chapman's Five Love Languages, Bill Hybels' Axiom

Mr Bean's Holiday

Flixster plot: Plot: In his latest misadventure, Mr. Bean - the nearly wordless misfit who seems to be followed by a trail of pratfalls and hijinks - goes on holiday to the French Riviera and becomes ensnared in a European adventure of cinematic proportions. Tired of the dreary, wet London weather, Bean packs up his suitcase and camcorder to head to Cannes for some sun on the beach. Ah... vacation. But his trip doesn't go as smoothly as he had hoped when the bumbling Bean falls face first into a series of mishaps and fortunate coincidences, far-fetched enough to make his own avant-garde film. Wrongly thought to be both kidnapper and acclaimed filmmaker, he has some serious explaining to do after wreaking havoc across the French countryside and arriving at his vacation spot with a Romanian filmmaker's precocious son and an aspiring actress in tow. Will Bean be arrested by the gendarmes or end up winning the Palme d'Or? It's all caught on camera as Atkinson again applies his awkward athleticism to a comedy of errors in Mr. Bean's Holiday.

My take: It's just a lengthier version of the TV series really. Nothing really new. Just a schmaltzy waltz revisiting his age-old antics and his copious quantities of good and bad luck. The fact that I find the 'oui, non & gracias' joke the funniest tells you that this isn't the funniest thing in the world.

Free Time

Plan for my free time:

1. Agape
a. Teach guitar to Agapeans [Beginners: Angela, Kenneth, Yinglei; Intermediate: Shannon]
b. Meet/call Agapeans [Matt, Duncan, Edwin & Jayne, Seng & Sharon, Edgar & Jiahui]

2. Meet/call friends [Art, Amy, Hafiz, Chongkiat, Sab, Nat, Keh, Ting]

3. Professionals/Students
a. Follow-up Exco [Oct-Dec 08: Yewhock, Jasmine (Yinglei), Phyllis]
b. Plan Professionals retreat 2008; forge Professionals vision/mission [bookmark]; launch buddies pledge

4. Entertainment
a. Watch movies [Aviator, Listening with Your Heart, Pulp Fiction, Pursuit of Happyness, Tommy Igoe's Groove Essentials, Worms 2]
b. Read J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter 4-7, Jason's Top 25 children's books, Newbery Award winners

5. Spiritual/Physical Health
a. Drink more water, MRET or otherwise
b. Do more QT
c. Sleep ONLY 8 hours a day, before 11pm
d. Spring cleaning: files and books in the corner
e. Exercise: Before shower - push ups [spider, normal, triangle], climb more stairs; weekly - swimming, jogging, cycling, tennis & football [when better]; KIV - dumbbells [tricep, bicep, pectoral]

6. Wedding/Flat
a. Plan for 23 May 09 wedding with Angela, Yewhock, Sharon, advisors [TBC: Edwin & Jayne, Edgar & Jiahui, P Nettie]
b. Plan for Damai Grove (renovation)
c. Wedding favour [iTunes playlist on CD-R]
d. Counselling

Sengkang Primary

Met up with a HOD at Sengkang Pri this morning. Nothing doing mostly, just given a few forms and informed of meeting dates and holidays during the holidays. Started at 8 and was done by 9am. Met two fellow graduands who did their practicum there and they filled me in on what the school is about.

Everything sounds OK so far, though the fact that shouting at the kids is frowned upon throws up a small red flag. Contact Time is known to go on to 4pm, so that's another red flag. Apart from that, there's daily PE, active kids who wear PE attire perpetually and a quaint school environment that reminds me of a traditional Tao Nan-esque school - I like.

CCAs are modular, meaning kids choose which sport/game/hobby they want to learn at each level within their house.

So working life begins.

http://schools.moe.edu.sg/skps/

Jul/Aug 2007 holidays

Again, I plan for my 1-week hols:

So here's my to-do list:
1. Teach guitar to church people [have identified people; started with Wan Loong, Angela, Amos, Andrew]
2. Meet friends I seldom meet up with [Nat, Samuel, Amy, Chong Kiat TBC]
3. Learn driving [practical test on 18 Sep]
4. Prepare Mastering Money & Taming Your Finances lesson plans & make relationship seminar arrangements for mid-Aug and mid-Dec 07 respectively [in progress; arrange with Matthew]
5. Watch VCDs and DVDs [50 First Dates, Aviator, Boogie Nights, Pulp Fiction, Pursuit of Happyness, Tommy Igoe's Groove Essentials, Worms 2]
6. Buy guitar [Epiphone $299 offer at Swee Lee?]