Carrot Juice: Ho... Ho... Ho...liday!

What a day it's been! First up was my Christmas Eve class - my first ever. In all my 5 years of teaching, I've never conducted a class on the eve of my favourite time of the year; not that I was complaining.

I decided to have the class do something meaningful on this special day. So, I let them assign themselves to different 'departments' to think up ideas for a charity fundraiser, to plan a day's activities at an orphanage and to stir up their creativie juices in creating posters and fliers. It was important to remember the gift of giving during Christmas and hopefully, we'll turn today's plan into reality next year.

After presenting their ideas to the class, the Domino's delivery man stepped right into our class with boxes of pizza stacked high. We wrapped up our discussion and laid out the 'yummies' on the table. I then played a slideshow of my Christmas memories with that new classic version of 'Christmas Don't Be Late' as we enjoyed our little pizza party.

After filling our tummies, we had what was the most meaningful part of the day. All of us sat around the table as we lined the presents along the grey surface. We each picked a tiny ball of paper with a number on it. Then, we took turns to take our present as we each said a few words of thanks. Some just said, "Thank you. Uhm... thank you. Thank you." Calling them 'shy' would be an understatement.

We then took photos as usual. I think this generation has something for taking lots of photos anytime and anywhere; something they call 'camwhoring' but I'm not complaining. Afterall, I'm just like them!

Look at all 'MY' presents! I wish - Haha!

Everyone's happy 'cause they had pizza. Poor souls - never seen pizza in their life. Haha!

My Christmas presents - for real! The chocolates and cane candy are from my students. Sweet!

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After going home and being greeted by carollers, I took a shower to freshen up before going out again to fetch my students. The 4 of us were going for the Christmas countdown at Pyramid. Surprisingly, the roads were pretty much clear of traffic 'til we reached Sunway. Again, we were surprised to find parking in the carpark easier than we thought.

We headed down to meet our other friends on the walkway at the main entrance. It was packed like crazy and merry-makers were already chasing one another with spray cannisters, shooting away as noise and foam filled the night sky. It was like a war zone as we each armed ourselves with a minimum of 3 cans each. All night long, random groups attacked each other while I played bodyguard to some of my students. I tried my best to protect them but it was mission impossible as shots of foam showered upon us from every direction. It was messy but a lot of fun.

The next thing was figuring out when the cue for the countdown was going to come. A minute passed on my watch before we heard shouts of 10... 9... 8... from a distance and before we knew it, there were screams of 'Merry Christmas' all around.

The night continued 'til 12:30am before my students and I decided to head back home. I don't think we'll be together again this time of the year in 2009 but I'm not going to let that dampen my mood. We were happy together tonight and that's all that matters.