Long delayed

The long delayed post.

Sushi cravings satisfied at Sushi Zanmai :)

 I think this is avocado soft shell crab sushi

 Crispy oyster sushi

 Tried the soft shell crab pancake.

It tasted like takoyaki (octopus thingy hence I like it).

 Salmon sushi

Before the Raya break..

We had a farewell dinner for three of my colleagues

This is by far the best chocolate cake that I've ever tasted.

It doesn't taste like cake when I bit into it as all I can taste is chocolate.

Ahhhh..

So it's goodbye to these three gorgeous ladies:

After Raya things will definitely be different at the centre.

New faces, new kids.

I'll miss them.

Although I've only known the ladies for a few months,

But I've learnt a lot from them.

No words can describe how awesome they are 

C:

More amazing colleagues of mine

The happiest thorn among the roses :)

 My ex-classmate who is now my colleague ;)

Group pics.

Yes, they all look very young.

I guess working with kids really bring out the youthful side of you.

Even my bosses look like one of us although they always say that they are old compared to us.

PS: I have really cute and funny bosses :)

But, one thing for sure is working with them has been a great experience.

It's rather hard for us to get together like this since we all have different schedule at work.

Even lunch time is spent with our kids or rushing for our next session.

Some of us may work with the same kid but mostly, we work as a team :)

On a different note,

Jyun and I paid a second visit to Burgertory at SS15.

We got the same burger.

It didn't disappoint.

I tried the mozzarella cheese stick.

I wish they gave me more of those though cause I like it very much.

They only gave me one of the stick :( 

My parents gave me my super early birthday present recently!

Whoop whoop! 

My job

It has been approximately 2 months since my life as a university student came to an end. I am still trying to come in terms with the transition from being a young adult to learning to take the responsibility as an adult. 

I've had a new job since February and I hardly talk about my job with anyone else except for a very handful of people. It's not that I don't like what I'm doing, but I really do like what I am doing. I am still learning and trying to be great at my job. So what's my current job you may be wondering? I am a trainee ABA therapist by profession. Right now I am working under supervision since I am quite new to the therapy and albeit I've learned the therapy in theory, but the practical side of the therapy is rather new to me. From there, you'll know that I am working with autistic children. And I want to be good for the children cause they deserve someone great to guide them in their unpredictable world.

Before this, I was a teacher aide at a special needs centre and I learned the basic of managing special needs children behaviour from that centre. I had a great supervisor whom I looked up to and I must say I am really grateful to have her as my internship supervisor, for she taught me a lot about being a special needs educator. I've always had an interest when comes to children's pathology but I am not sure if it's the idea of working with them or I really do like working with the children. The internship gave me a rough idea on how is it like working with special needs children and then I decided to go ahead learning more about them. 

So far, I know that besides having an abundance of patience when comes to working with special needs children, is that they really need to genuinely like working with them. It pains me to see the look of disgust at some inconsiderate people's face when they come face to face with such unique children and yet they still want to work with these children when they cannot even stay in the same room with them and froze at the sight of them. My students are really smart, adorable, and really talented in their very own ways. I am not being bias but I know children that comes with special characteristics have their own gift and all of them are really adorable.

I've learned in theory that autistic children have their qualms when comes to social interaction but what I do notice is that my students did try to connect to the people around them but they just don't know how to. I can see that although some may not understand certain social norms and couldn't read emotions but I know in their very own way, they do somewhat can decipher emotions but just don't know how to react to it. Time out will not work for very young autistic children but then again, I think time out will not work for really young children either whether they have special characteristics or not. 

One of the few things that makes me happy is when I see that my students learn. Something so simple for other children may be difficult for my students but boy, they do learn fast. Even before this at the centre, I know my students are fast learners in their very own ways and although they sometimes make your blood boil by being so very cheeky but at the end of the day, they always managed to put a smile on your face with their very own antiques. 

Like any other working adults or young adults, working life is indeed exhausting. I've worked before part time back in my high school days during the school holidays and later in my pre-u days and when I was a university student and it has been the same experience for me. During the weekends like today, I am really grateful to have some me-time and to be able to spend time with my favourite people before I go back to thinking about work fully recharged.

The children are unpredictable. So we have to be prepared for anything which includes, tantrum, hyperactivity, and many more. 

So these are my thoughts. I have a lot more running in my mind but I don't have the motivation to do so now *smiles sheepishly*. So yeah, happy weekends and have a pleasant week ahead!

"Autism is an unpredictable, one-step-forward-two-steps back condition. There are no certain outcomes, and no two autists are the same" (Moore, 2004).

Artisan Roast Coffee & Internship

Sometime this week,

I was out with the guys not shopping, but just hanging out this time:)

Well initially it was just Jyun and I at Artisan since we told Baezy that we'll meet him for dinner.

But he surprised us at Artisan since his boss said that he can leave work early that day:D

 The many facial expression of Baezy

 Our mocha

It has been a week since I last worked as an intern at ECC.

I miss the kids but did I mention that the end year party was a blast?

Yes it was.

We danced, laughed, and sing.

It was also my last day with the children, singing their theme song, and enjoy their presence.

Now I am left with the amazing memories.

Working with special needs children taught me many things.

It builds my character and it also brings out qualities in me which I didn't thought I'd have.

I had so much fun working with the other interns who happens to be my classmates.

Those lovely ladies are amazing. 

I learnt so much from them and I could go on and on about how good they are towards the children.

As for the teachers at ECC,

They welcomed us and made us feel like home.

The parents of the children were really amazing too and extremely supportive.

Although the teachers are really young (despite of what they said about our age gap),

But they are very experienced. 

I've learned how to be more creative as I work with them,

How to think critically and be more efficient in my work production since working with children with special needs requires us teachers to be a good problem solver.

I am still learning how to deal and manage certain issues and challenges when I work with special needs children and teenagers.

I've seen the children grow to be more attached to us interns,

I've watched how those children learn and help their peers despite of their shortcomings.

Most of all, I've learnt the meaning of unrequited love.

I love my job.

It was a really fulfilling job.

And I'm looking forward to working with populations with special needs in the future.

Thank you teachers and the lovely ladies who made the experience of my internship a very meaningful and fulfilling one.

I should give Amy/Eric the credit for taking such a beautiful photograph of us.

It has been ages since I stayed up at this hour of the day to work on my assignment.

Since I'm done with my internship,

I have to work on my thesis and internship report.

And right now, I am chasing after my deadline again.

Halloween

I attended a conference and met my classmates after so long..

Since we are all doing our internship,
We had a lot to catch up with regarding to our work.

Basically it's a yearly conference whereby psychologists, academicians, researchers and students got together to exchange ideas or their areas of research.

There were some pretty good talks and research ideas..

My poster was presented on that day too.

Didn't expect that when I submitted my past research paper.

A lecturer of mine encouraged me to submit the paper and I thought alright, 

Just give it a shot and if it's not accepted then I don't need to go for the conference!

Since I can't decide whether to attend the conference or not..

Then there's my grandma's birthday:)

Forgotten how old she is..

But she's still young:)

Then one of the weekend..

I had brunch at Antipodean cafe with Jyun:)
The cafe was PACKED.
And it was a great atmosphere to dine in since it's lively and there was awesome coffee smell in the air..
We also saw a family with their dog which is a rare sight here since you hardly see dogs joining their owners for meals at restaurants..

 Jyun's hot chocolate..

It was too sweet for me..

But to him it was just right to go with his big breakfast

My cup of latte..

Rich with coffee and that's what I need that noon

 My croissant, pork sausage, with fluffy scrambled eggs and spinach.

The croissant was sinfully good since it was so buttery..

This is one of my ideal brunch or breakfast:)

I prefer this as compared to their big breakfast since I'm not a fan of beans.

Jyun's big breakfast..

 Today:

Lunch with Jyun at Betty's Midwest..

 Corndog

 Dog food

After a long day at work,

I usually have to go through the damned traffic.

It can be very exhaustive most days,

But the sight of the sunset greeting you on your way back home,

Can be very pleasant and it makes the traffic more bearable..

 But of course today's traffic was HELL since it was raining on my way back home..

The pic above was taken sometime last week I reckon. 

Lastly...

Happy Halloween:)

Those stuff are Halloween decorations at One Utama.