Dear all,

I dunno what was the occasion today. It took me an hour and a half to travel from Cheras to Rawang just now! The traffic was slow from Cheras Loke Yew all the way to Jalan Duta. The reasons:

1) There was a slight drizzle

2) Malaysian roads are lousy

3) Weekend drivers drive at 40km/hour in the fast lane

4) Malaysian drivers create their own lanes in the emergency lane and cause bottleneck when the emergency lane ends

5) Malaysian drivers stop for anything that remotely looks like an accident

Sheesh...even the costly highway was slow-moving! I just don't understand it! Like the social service message on the radio, Malaysians can be courteous if they wanted to, but most Malaysians turn into barbarians when they are behind the wheels. I mean, I am not saying that I am a very courteous driver, but at least, I try to. Tailgating, cutting queues, not letting other cars get into your lane eventhough the fler has been flashing the signal for ages...what's the rush la wei? It's not as though you can get very far ahead when you do that also. You are bound to be stuck in a jam just a few kilometres ahead anyway, why can't drive nicely??

So anyway, the UPSR week had just passed. The parents these days really amaze me. They are even more nervous than their kids who were sitting for the UPSR examination. I think back to my younger days, and I don't remember my mother sitting at the canteen waiting for me to finish my examination. I don't remember my mother revising my work with me either. And I managed to get good results. My parents never worried about my PMR or SPM either. I was happily watching Taiwanese series when I was sitting for my SPM. These examinations are just a whole bunch of BS if you ask me. What was the point? Get As in all the subjects, get all Bs, what difference does it make? Whether you could get into a local university? They don't look at your results much, if you haven't realised by now.

Well, Woon and I met up with our Mathematics supervisor the other day. She is a well-known psychologist (apparently). She made sure that she told us that the teachers in school may recognise her because she is often on TV (Woon and I were blur because we never watched programmes that would invite her! Hahaha). Anyway, I have a feeling that the UM lecturers were intent on not allowing any of us to get an A for the teaching practice. To them, we are a source of embarassment because some of us are still not proficient in English - as though the undergraduates that they took in for the same course are highly proficient! But, I've stopped aiming for a very good grade because in the end, the results do not matter. I do feel a bit sad if I were not able to maintain my current grade's category, but I don't think anybody cares if you are in the dean's list or barely passed your final semester. The whole education system in Malaysia does not place its priorities right, if you ask me. My point is, the lecturer told us that it is impossible that she would give us an A, she just hoped that we would not get a C. Isn't that motivating to hear? Well, I think the lecturers can keep their As up their *ahem* nostrils for all I care.

On a happier note, CBN (1) is officially the representative for KL in the High School Musical 2 dance competition, My School Rocks. I had wanted to post the link to watch it on YouTube but unfortunately the video has been removed because of the poor quality. I'll see if anyone has a better video. The school was chosen from 140 teams. They are really THAT good, trust me. I had actually wanted to cry when I saw them dance and when I saw the strong support that they received from our own supporters and other teams' supporters. I think the whole routine will be aired on Astro on the 9th September at 7:30 p.m. on Disney channel. After that, you can help them win the whole competition by voting for them on the internet. Trust me, you should really watch these Year 3 and 4 kids dancing their hearts out! They were much better than many secondary school kids. And of course, this is all to the credit of their choreographer/dance teacher, Ms Noor who was one of the final 6 in the Malaysian So You Think You Can Dance competition.

Can't wait to see the whole routine. The girl who had a solo breakdance is my Year 4 pupil!! :) Please vote!!! I'll post the link for voting when I find out how. Hehe...cheerios!

A jumble of thoughts

Just want to wish a Happy Belated Birthday to my dearest cousin sister, Ashley who turned 22 last Saturday. Ahh...time flies. I still remember her as the chubby cousin who didn't understand a word of Mandarin (and whom I loved to bully). :) Wishing you all the best...Lots of love from me!

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Brian finally joined my family's activity on my brother's birthday last Saturday (well, considered a family activityla, even though my father wasnn't there). I'm relieved that my family (except for my father) is finally able to accept that the youngest in the family has actually grown up. =) May there be more activities involving Grandpa. No, I'm not going to tell the whole world how nervous you were. Oops...did I just tell the whole world? Hehehe...

So anyway, birthday boy (my brother la) gave me the seventh Harry Potter finally, after tempting me for weeks. My sister in law had intended to buy it for me in the first place but my brother would prefer to torture me with false information about the story before giving it to me. Hmm...so much for brothers! Anyway, I finished the whole book within 24 hours despite the fact that I had a lot of work to do. My verdict: I think the part about going to King's Cross was a bit anti-climax and does not make much sense. Overall, I think Rowling ended the series quite nicely except for bits here and there. I also do not like the final chapter. SUPER lame lor.

Ok, ok...I know it is meant for children and is not suitable for analysis. Like Woon said, I sometimes blame Ms Amyzar for making us like this: analysing the motive or the hidden meaning of a certain line (whether or not the author intended to relay a hidden meaning).

Haha...gosh, I miss the days in college. Madam Jo scratching her head whenever she is trying to recall some point, Madam Joyce putting the whole class to sleep and talking (ONLY) to me because I looked as though I was paying attention...too fast, 5 years have passed. Our 6th year now and most of us are still reading kiddie stories, watching cartoons, getting excited when there are sweets or cuddly teddy bears. Hehe...or maybe it is just me?

So anyway, 3 and a half weeks more before we return to be a pain in the neck for the lecturers in UM. Can't wait...muahahahaha....

Post-Merdeka post

Ok, I cannot resist it. I have to give my 2-sen's worth of what I think about Merdeka. Well, the 50th Merdeka has come and gone just like that. What did most Malaysians do? I bet they did what I did - catch up on sleep. I don't know if it's age catching up on me or it's actually true - the celebrations are worse as years pass.

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What does Merdeka mean to most people anyway? The little kids do not know anything about Merdeka except that it is a holiday and all the pupils are forced to buy a little flag. Heck, they don't even know what the colours mean or which coloured stripe should come first. Some don't even know how many stripes or spikes the flag should have! To them, singing Jalur Gemilang every morning is just a fun thing to do.

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Ask yourselves, do you still know the words to Negaraku? Do you still know the Malaysian flag? While the politicians were fighting over how fast the tempo of the national anthem should be, most Malaysians couldn't care less, or even worse, some couldn't recognise the national anthem when it was being played!

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I am not saying that the country has not been treating its citizens well at all. It is just that the current situation in the country is so sad: Year One kids telling their friends that they should only speak in Malay and be friends with Malays etc. When you think about it, who taught them to think that way? It must be the adults, right? Or their reincarnation must have been not complete as their souls are still stuck in the Dark Ages!

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I don't know what is to become of the country, really. Haven't some people had enough benefits? What else do they need? A decree that says that they don't have to work at all? That the other races would have to give them a certain amount of food and money every month? Isn't it almost like that already?

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Well, I suppose it might take another generation or another war before Malaysians realise that the country doesn't just belong to one race. They have to realise that the world doesn't just belong to one race or one religion. If not, may Monkeys rule the world. Hahaha...ok, I'm talking nonsense now. Gotta go finish my work and go home for lunch. MONKEYS RULE!!!