Read the rest of this entry »

I finished reading Totto-chan, the Little Girl at the Window today. I had wanted to read the book since some time ago, and just a few days back I managed to find an ebook version of it. Reading about Totto-chan’s life in Tomoe Gakuen made me feel warm inside. Tomoe Gakuen sounds like a wonderful place to study in, and the headmaster sounds like a great person as well. If only I could have the experience of studying in such a school!

Totto-chan was what most teachers would consider a problematic child. She was so disruptive in class that it reached a point where her teacher couldn’t handle her, and she was expelled from her elementary school. Her mother brought her to a new school, Tomoe Gakuen, which Totto-chan liked upon first sight. Totto-chan was brought to see the headmaster, Sosaku Kobayashi, who asked Totto-chan to tell him anything she wanted, and patiently listened to her.

Totto-chan felt she had met someone she really liked for the very first time in her life. You see, up till then, no one had ever listened to her for so long. And all that time the headmaster hadn’t yawned once or looked bored, but seemed just as interested in what she had to say as she was.

At Tomoe Gakuen, the classrooms were made of unused train carriages. Their methods of teaching were unconventional as well. For instance, the children could decide the order in which they wanted to complete the day’s work, and were allowed to go for walks after they had dome so. As the headmaster thought that the children should “learn how to get up in front of people and express their ideas clearly and freely without being embarrassed”, he also proposed that one child should stand up to talk about anything he wanted during lunch each day. The headmaster was always very supportive of his students, and never failed to encourage them using different methods. The children in Tomoe Gakuen learnt this as well.

Tomoe Gakuen might have been destroyed when the war started, but those who once studied there had never forgotten about their life there as a student.

Read the rest of this entry »

I didn’t want to wake up this morning because the weather was perfect for sleeping, and who wouldn’t want to sleep in should they be given the chance to? But now that it’s bedtime, I don’t feel too sleepy, even though I spent most of the day out, and didn’t take a nap after coming home. I think I’m somewhat nocturnal since I tend to feel more awake at night than during the day. Gotta try to sleep early though, because trying to get myself out of bed when I’m still sleepy is such a torture. Especially on Mondays!

After not driving for what I think is close to a year, I finally drove a bit this weekend (in the carpark, heh). After just getting my license a few years back, the thought of driving seemed really great, but as time passed, I would rather sit in the passenger seat and be driven around. (I believe this is the same case for some others as well.) Sitting in the passenger seat is certainly more relaxing that sitting in the driver’s seat, and being the passenger, you can look at the scenery or even take a nap if you’re tired. So why not enjoy being the passenger? But at this rate, if I still don’t try to drive a little now and then, when I want to drive I probably will end up endangering the lives of myself and others if I go on the road. And no driving instructor will be there to guide me or brake for me should I make some misjudgment.

I think I need to get used to driving again before I try to go out on the roads, since I’m really rusty now. And my parking is still terrible. Somehow I can never get into the lot properly! I wonder if I will ever learn how to park properly. Maybe I need more practice than what most people need. A lot more. What’s the point of being able to drive when you can’t park after reaching your destination right?

I came across this site a few weeks ago. You can get samples for free, the only thing is that you have to pay for postage, which is calculated by weight. Good for trying out new products, or getting sample size versions of products that you’re currently using to bring along when you travel. Worth a look, if you’re interested in this sort of thing.

I haven’t been feeling too well since around lunchtime today. Could it be due to drinking too much coffee this morning? I drank 1.5 cups of coffee since Jasmine couldn’t finish hers. Hopefully I’ll feel better after some rest, because it sucks to be sick over the weekend.

Just now, when I was waiting for the bus with Jasmine, she brought my attention to this person who was standing at the same bus stop. At first glance I couldn’t tell whether he was male or female. He was wearing a black tank top from Mango. I know that Mango has a men’s range, but is it available in Singapore? Even if it is, the tank top is exactly like those I see selling in the stores, which are for females. He was wearing white, snug-fitting capris as well. When I see guys wearing bottoms of that length, they usually wear them loose. There was something about the cutting that felt off as well. Jasmine later noticed that he was wearing pink Birkenstocks. Nothing wrong with guys wearing pink, but that whole dressing makes that guy seem like a female, especially from far. Why do I refer to that person as a guy though? Because his chest is flat and his arms are quite muscular. His facial features, while not very masculine, are not very feminine either. For some reason, I feel quite disturbed when I can’t tell whether someone is male of female. Apologies if that person is a female though! I just felt kind of confused when I saw that person at the bus stop. When you meet someone whose sex you are unsure of, how do you decide whether that person is male or female?