Oct 112011
 

For a few reasons, I thought I’d jump into the meme that Kim Cofino, Clint Hamada, Keri-Lee Beasley and others got into. Firstly, I haven’t blogged since WayTooLong. Secondly, I did a similar commute-in-pictures thing when I moved to New York two years ago, inspired by Brighde Reed. Thirdly, I do like to compare my commutes not only with the people listed above (and others), but also with myself — compared to other places I’ve lived.

So here is Singapore!

I’ll start by saying that I rarely leave my apartment at the same time from day to day. Some mornings I am out the door at 7am, other mornings 7:15 and some (really rough) mornings, even as late as 8:00. I’m not good with mornings, or routines, so morning routines are really tough for me! It was for this reason that I struggled to keep the same taxi driver when I lived in Vietnam — I was never consistent (ehrm, reliable). Ooops. Anyway, On this particular Monday in Singapore — just yesterday — it was

I always leave the house with my travel mug full o’ coffee and part of my breakfast (the other part is usually in my bag, to be eaten after I finish the first part or when I get to school). I also have gotten into the habit of picking up the local my paper, which is a free morning daily here and it mysteriously appears outside my door without fail every morning! It’s been several years since I’ve had the opportunity to read an actual newspaper in English, so I think this is kinda fun.

As I got to the bottom of the building, I realized it was raining harder than it had been earlier and that I would need to dig this out of my bag:

Juggling my iPhone, coffee, breakfast, and now umbrella, I walk out the front gates of my building, and take a right. Directly across the street from my apartment building is Raffles Institution (RI), one of Singapore’s “premier” private secondary schools — many of Singapore’s presidents, prime ministers, writers, and most successful CEOs have graduated from here. It’s also Singapore’s oldest school, starting up in 1823. And, as you might imagine, it’s a ginormous sprawling campus that takes up several street blocks. It’s a new, modern, attractive campus and is hard to miss!

It’s about a 7-minute walk to the Marymount MRT station, and those RI students are usually streaming out of the mouth of the station (easily identifiable here– the girls are actually students of Raffles Junior College, affiliated with RI).

If I leave the house earlier there are normally more students, but on this particular day (did I mention it was a Monday?) I left at 7:40 which is a little late for RI and Raffles JC. Just before I enter the MRT station, I stash my coffee mug into my bag because NO food or drink are allowed on the MRT. (I’ve usually finished the first half of my breakfast by this point!)

Down the escalator stairs, through the fancy MRT gates with my FlashPay card, and it’s never too long to wait for a train. On this particular day things were a bit chaotic on the platforms because it was the first day that the Circle Line was going in “the other” direction, so there were some confused people milling about. Those of you who are familiar with other subway systems – note the glass doors on the platform. I like that Singapore’s MRT really works hard to minimize safety hazards.

Typically when I get on the train, it’s not too busy. This is one of the reasons I get on at Marymount, to be honest. My apartment is actually the same walking distance to Bishan MRT in the other direction — a station that’s only one stop away from school. However, I opt to get on at Marymount instead most days — two stations away — because the crowds are really crazy at Bishan (I mentioned I’m not good with mornings, right?). 🙂 It’s totally worth the extra 10 cents in fare.

But by the time the train gets to Bishan, the next stop, the crowds pile on and pretty soon we’re all squashed in.

The next stop is Lorong Chuan and that’s where I get out. Out the station and up the escalator this time…

From here is my biggest “hike” — a 10 minute walk from the station to school. It’s an easy walk along a semi-busy road — not too bad at all. And I pull my coffee out of my bag, too! If I’m lucky I run into my colleagues on the way and so we chat and catch up. Today I didn’t see anyone I knew, though. Adjacent to the station is this big building: the New Tech Park. Most of the young working professionals who get off the train with me end up walking towards here.

I pass several residential buildings, including one under major construction, and another school. At one point I cross over one of Singapore’s (in)famous canals: (keep in mind it’s still pouring rain!)

At the corner I wait with a pile of our students and parents for the light to turn so we can cross the road. Normally the bus bay Gate isn’t open for us to enter — the pedestrian gate is another 200 metres ahead — but on Monday I think the guards felt sorry for us because it was such a downpour! We ran in — I tried to take a photo but it was raining so hard and I couldn’t stay still!

Under cover, I walk towards the school block where I work. Above me is the Senior School, for Years 10-12. The glass building is where I’m headed — that’s the Middle School block!

Through the doors… and up more stairs!

Third floor, where I round a corner and walk through the Year 8 pod area.

Ah, here we go — the Year 8 staff work room, where I currently have a desk. Here are two of my lovely and friendly year 8 colleagues to greet me on the first day back! Hi to Andrew and Bernadette! (Sorry about the photo, Andrew!)

And here’s my desk. Wow, still POURING out there — that’s the view from my desk. I got a bit wet. But despite that, am very ready to start the day!

Hmm, so who should I tag? I think Brighde Reed, Jessica Allen, and a new Twitterfriend, Melanie Shurtz.

**all photos are mine, unedited! be kind!

Like this? You might also enjoy these:

 11 October, 2011  Posted by at 11:47 am On the Personal Side Tagged with: , , , , , , , ,  6 Responses »
Dec 132010
 

No, I’m not talking about doing yoga in my teeny tiny apartment, as was recently suggested when I mentioned this phrase (you know who you are). I’m talking about this final week I’m heading into right now, the last days of my life as an M.A. student.

On Friday, I presented my thesis at the NYU ECT M.A. Colloquium. The event was livestreamed (thanks sava!) and recorded. At some point I will take the video recording and sync it with my Keynote slides and put it all into one pretty movie and post it here or on my main site. But it’ll take a bit of time because:

  1. I’m not done yet, and
  2. I haven’t used iMovie since early 2009 and .. uhh.. it’s rather different now and I’m slightly intimidated, so it is going to be a bit of a learning curve.[1]

Anyway, my presentation went surprisingly well, and I was (am?) quite pleased with myself. In the days and hours before, I had rehearsed it but not nearly enough. I was crazy nervous. I’ve been a teacher for a long time and have also given many workshops to teacher peers, but I have never before stood in one spot and talked for 30 minutes.  (Which, btw, is a bit ridiculous — I’m not sure anyone needs to hear me talk for 30 minutes. I’d so much rather do something with an audience!) Anyway, when I was rehearsing, nothing came out right. I’d get to a slide and completely forget what I wanted to say, or I’d use the wrong word, or I’d jump ahead, or say something off-the-cuff that I shouldn’t, and so on. I was thinking I was going to be a bit of a disaster. Even in the moments leading up to when I got behind that podium (I hate podiums!) and my computer, my heart was beating insanely. I was sure it was going to leap out of my chest and land on the floor in front of me. I had to have a glass of wine to calm down — not even joking. (It helped.)

But somehow, the minute Francine Suchat Shaw introduced me[2] and I began to speak, everything was fine. My heart was still pounding but somehow my mouth knew exactly what to say and how to say it, and my brain did a mighty fine job at pacing, too. At times it felt like someone else was speaking, not me. It was a bit like an out-of-body experience, and watching myself on video later it feels like that even more.

I’m glad it went well — I feel really good about it. Friday was a huge high. 🙂

However, as I said above, I’m not done yet. I still have to finish my thesis document (that is a design document, and will be roughly 40 pages-ish — my estimate, anyway) and then write two independent study papers. Eek. Yeah, a bit to do.

Worse, in all of the frenzied nervous activity and excitement on Friday, I somehow lost my NYU ID card. Yeah, less than a week to go and I lose it now. Nice, huh? Have to pay for a new one, too. What that meant was that all weekend I was essentially “locked out” of NYU buildings — including the library, where my locker is which contains all my research documents and books. I could have worked on my thesis document a bit, I admit, but I pretty much just turned into a lazy sloth all weekend and vegged out at home, sleeping and getting some much-needed house cleaning done. I also find it quite difficult to do any intense work at home because there is so much else to do there. Not to mention my cat is always clambering onto my lap or shoulders. Anything beyond reading or note-taking is not really going to get done in this space. So, really– I did nothing all weekend.

I’m not feeling too guilty about that, honestly — I know my body needed the sleep and goodness knows my apartment needed to be cleaned. But it’s going to be a very intense week ahead.

Here we go! See you on the other side!

Like this? You might also enjoy these:

  1. [1]In the meantime, you can access my Keynote slides here.
  2. [2]For anyone who was wondering, the correct phonetic pronunciation of my surname is Mi-KET-tee. In Italian, “ch” is pronounced like a hard “c” in English.
 13 December, 2010  Posted by at 2:21 am Academia, On the Personal Side, ThesisLand Tagged with: , , ,  3 Responses »
Dec 062010
 

I’m not sure why I’m writing this.

Let me clarify.

After my unintended hiatus, I kind of got into a routine of blogging every Sunday — similar, I discovered, to how Kim Cofino blogs regularly. And I was happy to be writing again.

But now, here I am at 1:17am (okay, 2:30 after editing) and completely burnt out. I’ve stayed away from Twitter nearly all day (unusual for me as of late). The past 5 weeks, I’ve spent an average of 9 hours/day at the library. My wrists and elbows are sore, my back aches, and my brain feels like mush. But I must go on. I have no choice.

My thesis presentation is on Friday. The final document is due on Wednesday, December 15. I’m stressed and bogged down. I am not where I thought I would be at this moment, despite meticulous planning and organizing, and mountains of work already done. I’m insecure about my entire thesis project and fearful that once I present, people’s reactions will be, “That’s it? You’ve spent the last 4 months on this? Really?” I am afraid that what I have to show will not be representative of what I’m capable of doing. And this saddens me. I hate that this fear lurks inside me.

Here’s what I want my thesis (and its presentation) to demonstrate:

  • that I can apply learning theory and research to the design of a digital space intended for learning
  • that I can design a digital space intended for learning
  • that I know what tools and features support the creation of a community in a learning space
  • that theory and practice need a bridge
  • that designing learning spaces isn’t easy
  • that formal learning environments can still have a community element
  • that teachers need a community of practice to learn, thrive, and grow
  • that the teaching profession is dependent upon communities of practice if it is to develop and evolve
  • that the IB wants teachers to learn and grow together in a supported environment
  • that I don’t have all the answers, but dangit I have a few really good ones

And here is what I fear that my thesis (and its presentation) will actually show/say/demonstrate:

  • Dude, that’s one sad-looking website.
  • Is that all? You mean there’s no more?
  • Wait, don’t all websites have social elements these days? You did how much research to figure that out? Man, I coulda told you that in 10 minutes looking at one page of that “learning environment.”
  • Huh, what’s the theory again? and why is it relevant? Theory schmeary.
  • That doesn’t look like a place where any learning will happen.
  • This would be cooler if she designed something totally new.
  • That Adrienne doesn’t know how to design anything — she went to grad school for this?
  • Wow, the IB sure has strict professional development guidelines.
  • I don’t get it.

Put your money down, folks. Which side will win this battle — Thesis wants or Thesis fears?

So why am I laying it all out here in the open? I guess to make it real. That’s part of it. Another part of it, I think is to document what I’m thinking and feeling, so that I can look back on this and remind myself that sometimes insecurities make us stronger (at least I’m hoping that in the end of this I come out stronger!). I guess I’m also sharing with you in the hopes that you’ll give me some feedback, push me along, tell me what I’m doing is worthwhile, etc. — yeah, so maybe I’m fishing for a bit of an ego boost. That’s what happens when we get insecure, isn’t it?

I’ve been giving myself a pep talk the last couple of hours but it isn’t working so well. I think being sleep-deprived isn’t helping my mood. Sava‘s been trying to puff me up a bit too — her feedback has been tremendously helpful and I’m infinitely grateful. But she is also in the midst of designing her own projects, and I know she is stressed and tired, too.

It’s finals week for everyone.

Whose idea was it for me finish my thesis project in the weeks leading up to Christmas, anyway? That person needs her head checked. She’s obviously never before done a thesis project involving research and design.

What was she thinking?

Like this? You might also enjoy these:

 6 December, 2010  Posted by at 2:31 am Academia, On the Personal Side, ThesisLand Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , ,  4 Responses »