JaYNE RulEs...!!!... the toiLEt. *

Wednesday, March 01, 2006

~ Angel, Reappeared ! ~

Miss Taaaaaaaaaaaaan!!!!!!!!!

Stefane Tan. That's the name of My Angel that I've been searching high and low for, for the past 15 years.

Helped out with the registration and facilitation at the Organisational Learning Conference at Raffles City Convention Centre for the past 2 days. Damn tired!!! Woke up at 5plus in the morning and had to force my contact lens -Bausch and Lomb Soflens.... shit. Die. - into my eyes. I looked really comical with my eye bags popping out of their sockets the entire day, like those lame cartoon characters.

Was busy with all the registrations and in the midst of my frenzy, I spotted her!!! She really stood out from among the crowd cos like every angel, she has this glowy thingy all around her. I almost couldn't believe my eyes when I saw her from a distance.

"Hey that's my primary school teacher!" I said out loud. Then I simply stood rooted at the spot for a long long while...... Before it dawned on me that it might take me another 15 years before I see her again. Gosh that's unthinkable! Sobz!!! I wiped off the tear on my cheek, dumped all my duties, and ran and ran after her!

And I caught up with her!!!

"Are you Ms Stefane Tan?"
"Er... Yes?"
"Hi Ms TaaaN!! I was your ex student! In Huamin Pri School! I'm Jane. I don't think you remember me though...."
"Gosh this is so embarrassing!! Ya... I can't really recall... maybe you could help me out? Who else were in your class?"
"Erm Shilun, Luojia, Kenji, Hafiz,..."
"OK..."
"Are you still teaching?"
"Yes I'm in Meridien Primary now!"
"Really? I remember you very clearly cos you were my favourite teacher!!"

But she just couldn't remember me. =( Handed her my namecard and she promised to pass hers to me the next day. And then we parted.

Ten mins later, she reappeared!
"I was trying to recall for the past couple of minutes and I finally remember you! Jane! You were very quiet right? You were fat too. And a bit grouchy!"

Grouchy. -_-"

Yes I'm certain she truly remembers me cos if you haven't seen the fatty little Jane, you'll never have imagined that the Jane today was little Fatty when she was in Pri 3. And as for quiet and grouchy... that leads to another tragic story to be told. I mean how rara and Happy do you expect a Fatty to be? I could only maintain a low profile, keep my head hanging low and hope and pray that nobody notices that humongous piece of flab seated at the corner of the classroom.

But Ms Stefane Tan saw beyond the fats and grouchiness. She saw an angel in me, all waiting to be nurtured. I was a fat angel who thought she was too heavy to fly and so was destined to be rooted to the ground. But she gave me wings and gently taught me how to fly. And when times were tough, she was the wind beneath my wings and brought me to greater heights.

Awww... how touching! =)

She was really my favourite teacher cos I could feel the honest love she had for me. She was totally sincere and honestly cared for every single one of us. She was patient, selfless, kind, motherly and can be firm when there was a need to. She had this amazing quality in her that made all the kids respect her, without having to raise her voice at all. It's like voodoo! Since then, every time I felt like shouting at the kids when I was relief teaching at Huamin Pri School, I would look to her as my inspiration and attempt to keep my cool and tell myself to be very very patient.

I still have vivid recollections of some of her lessons! One of which was music lesson when she played a Carpenters song. Then she told us how talented Karen Carpenter was but sadly, she died of anemia at a very young age. On her death bed, she was still lamenting how fat she was even though she was down to a pack of bones. Ms Tan was really upset while she was telling the story (she probably idolized the Carpenters then) and started to tear a bit. Sniffs.

And of course I remember all the little gifts she gave me for being a clever and obedient girl! A straw handbag, memo pad, stationery... You know how these small presents can mean a lot to a fat pri 3 kid! She even made me a Prefect, together with Shilun. Well, I think that contributed largely to the rumours about Shilun and I later on cos we were the only 2 prefects in the class… Ha! And yes, that's another long memorable story altogether!

Anyway, Ms Tan got transferred out of Huamin Primary School when I was in Primary 6 and I didn't manage to find out where she went to... But on a Sunday morning in year 2002, I saw her being featured on the papers! She was awarded the President's Award for Teachers in 2002! Of course I wasn't the only soul she has managed to touch!

And that was the last I heard of her... Before the meeting yesterday of course! After telling me how cheerful I now look, we moved on to attend the conference. She later smsed me during tea break and this was what she wrote:

"Dear Jane, m so happy 2 meet u. time really flies. When things get tough, angels appear. U are my angel today. U have grown into a beautiful lady. When I finally recalled who u were, I can't help but notice how bright-eyed n cheerful u have become! M tickled when u said I was one of your favourite! - Stefane"

Yes! Time really flies! But Ms Tan hasn't aged at all! It's scary. I seriously am thinking if I should go into teaching, just to preserve my youth. Angels. Me? An angel? That's so sweeet! And angel sounds very pretty. But I totally dun deserve that. She has given me so much guidance, but me. What have I done for her?! Like nothing? I was just quietly being my own fat, obedient and grouchy prefect. SHE has got to be MY angel instead! That's indisputable. As for beautiful, well I've lost quite a bit of weight thankfully! Skinny is beautiful. That's a sad fact. And bright-eyed? Yay! My expensive Ettusias Mascara, Mac eye-liner and Shu Uemura's all-famous lash-curler are working! And cheerful wise, yes I'm rather happy with my life now! =)

Ms Tan came looking for me this morning and she was holding this

She had this motherly look and said, "Jane, can u read this word?"
"Oh yes, it's 'le' as in kuai le, Chinese for happy"
"I passed by this shop selling accessories at Suntec yesterday and I bought this for myself." She said, pointing to a jade necklace she was wearing. Then she added, "And I saw this necklace and decided to get it for you cos I want you to know that meeting you yesterday has really brought me happiness."

Oh mi gosh. Oh mi gosh.
Can I cry?
Please?

Oh yes, on a different note, I was seated beside Paul in the Ballroom yesterday morning.

"I see a pretty face in one of the icons on the screen." Paul told me. Hee hee. I blushed a little, looked away, gave a shy smile and replied with a gracious thank you.

AND THEN, bloody Paul nudged the participant seated beside him, and pointed to the same picture of me on the cover page of the conference workbook. "You see this beautiful lady in the picture? That's her." He smirked wryly to the participant and pointed at me.

-_-" Qi si wo le. But Ha! It was fun so I played along, closed my eyes, took a deep breath and tilted my head upwards.

"Oh yes, that's her!" The participant exclaimed.

And he flashed me a wide grin and said a big big Hello to me when we bumped into each other the second day. What a cool way to make friends.

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Wednesday, March 01, 2006

~ Angel, Reappeared ! ~

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