Confessions of a Fish Guzzler......

I am an avid fish-eater, I confess. I like them steamed, baked, grilled, barbecued or even deep fried. I will try to avoid those with lots of bones but it is difficult to resist the fish especially if it is fresh and yummy. I am fortunate to be able to find my dream food in many places.

At home, the fish that I eat is usually steamed with ginger and garlic, salt and pepper and sesame oil. I love the steamed Cod and Threadfin.

At this hawker centre near my house, I always order the sliced fish soup with noodles. I enjoy it best with a little soya sauce on the fresh slices of fish. Here, I can also buy slices (steaks) of Batang fish from the Vegetable Rice stall. They are usually fried with a little dark soya sauce. I like the salty taste and it is easy to devour the fish because of the way it is cut. Another delicious fish is the barbecued Sting Ray. I like it because it is very spicy

If I crave for the Sardine and the Tuna, I can buy them in cans from the supermarkets. The Sardines are usually cooked in tomato paste but the Tuna come in a variety of flavours. I like the tom yum flavour best.

Grilled fish (usually Dory or Salmon fillet) is available at western food stalls and cafes. Grilled fish is tender and a little oily.

I do not eat the deep-fried fish very often but I like the one at a ‘zhi-char’ restaurant that sells Thai food. The fish is very crispy but one has to be careful because it has many bones.

So you see, I like many fish dishes and fish is good for health because they contain proteins.

Well, how about a fish treat?

English Differentiated Assignment for “Nothing but the Truth” (Linguistic)

Philip’s Final Blog……

Ah! Tomorrow I am moving to Washington Academy. All because of that Narwin. I really dislike her! And everyone including Coach Jamison, Superintendent Albert Seymour and Mr. Lunser sent me their ‘goodbye’ responses :

Coach Jamison thinks that I am very naughty and mean. He is very furious that I had a huge mess out of a small thing. He even ‘congratulated’ me for failing my English; not able to get extra work from Miss Narwin to pass English; not getting into his track team and having to transfer to another school that does not have track! Mean old Jamison. He even said it served me right for destroying Miss Narwin’s career. He thinks she’s a really nice woman and he condemned my actions. And it was he who suggested the petition against me. He then smugly said “Do enjoy your new school……” Maybe he was right about my wrongdoings, but he’s just too mean!

Miss Narwin screamed that I was a rude, disrespectful and outrageous student! I was shocked at her outburst. Ok, she has the right to be angry with me, but she screamed into my ears! She claimed that I had ruined her teaching career and ‘asked’ me whether I knew how hurting and painful it was to read the letters of complaint sent to her. She added that I may have won the first round, but her former students and Coach Jamison are on her side and they hate me till no end! She even hoped that my new school would be very strict and discipline a rude student like me. I know how she feels about me but I am not going to apologise to her. Never!

Superintendent Albert Seymour was very kind. Imagine he started with ‘Dear Philip, I hope you will enjoy your new school’! He gave me the good news that Miss Narwin had resigned. He believed that I was right in being patriotic and Miss Narwin was wrong to kick me out of the class. Wow, there is someone supporting me! Sadly, he reported that most of the kids from my class hated me just because Miss Narwin was nice to them. And he really felt sorry for me! Nevertheless, he added that I should cheer up and try to enjoy the new school. “All the best to you ” (from Seymour of course). Good old Seymour. What a gentleman he is and I am going to heed his advice!

Mr. Lunser, the joker, started with ‘Hi, Harrison High’s own Uncle Sam! I am so sad that such a famous person is leaving my own humble class! Hope you miss my jokes’! Well, the truth is that I do miss his jokes. He asked what really happened between me and Miss Narwin. Did I really sing and was kicked out by Miss Narwin? Or did I attempt to sabotage her in any way? I didn’t answer him. ‘Don’t get me wrong! I am not on her side!’ he added. And of course, he ended with ‘Do enjoy life in your new school, you bozo’. He doesn’t seem to be serious but I think he’s on my side.

Ah, so it’s even, two on Narwin’s side and two on mine. I am not going to apologise to Narwin and I hate Jamison! But, no matter what, I am going to enjoy life in my new school. No one’s going to stop me. It’s Malloy Magic time!

Final Blog for Term 1

I love writing blogs!

I like writing blogs as it helps me to improve my English, especially my spelling and writing and definitely my typing skills. It also gives me a chance to use the computer and to go on the Internet. And I do not mind sharing general information with others but not personal information. Also, blogging makes me feel that I am connected to the digital world.

The main thing that I dislike about blogging is that it is a little time-consuming as I do not have good typing skills. It is also ‘electricity-consuming’. And sometimes, people can post nonsense in their comments on my blog. Some may use improper English. Maybe the whole ‘blog’ thing is suitable for not so serious stuff or anything general that anyone can read. But to use it for our assignments is a very good idea because it helps to save some paper.

Nevertheless, the whole process of blogging is not too difficult for a new blogger like me. I am not sure whether I have the time to maintain the blog, maybe only when I have an assignment to do. With access to the electronic bookshelf, I can select books that I like to read, do reviews and post them on my blog. On the whole, it has been fun.

Want to check out the latest book I have read? Clicking the link at the bottom.

http://weread.com/profile/1A107/C8A2B96A-CC9C-48E0-B33B-34F4F2350932?refuid=C8A2B96A-CC9C-48E0-B33B-34F4F2350932&src=&auri=

My top 3 learning preferences……

1st : Please give clearer instructions before we do an assignment. For example : When doing comprehension, you can explain the passage and the questions briefly so that we have a better idea what is expected. And please provide us with answers to guide ( giving out the answers after finishing our assignment ).

2nd : Please provide us with more ideas on how to develop our essays and share some good essays with us.

3rd : I would like to have some online exercises (to save paper) in school ( maybe 1 period a week in the computer room). The online assignments can include : grammar, vocabulary and other aspects of English. Yes, I like to go to the computer room to work!

My reflections on narrative and graphic novels......

A narrative novel tells a story in detail about what happened and how did it happen, so it is straight to the point while a graphic novel with a lot of pictures but no words gives the reader “food for thought”. In graphic novels, the story seemed more interesting because it is usually unexpected and most of the time it does not really give the reader a clue what would happen next. Though the style of writing a story is different, the writers may want to share the same story or idea.

I would prefer graphic novels as it is more relaxing to browse through them and they give us a chance to imagine what would happen next. Graphic novels are also easier to read and it saves time. We all know that a picture is worth a thousand words and that is why it is easy for us to digest a graphic novel easily. For narrative novels, we have to read a few pages before seeing the plot unfold……