Kedah trip - Day 2

So, after a good night's rest, we went out for breakfast at nearly ten in the morning. Hwa Cheat's mother suggested that we go and have dim sum. Mm-hmmmm....delicious stuff! We also had kay chap (which looks like bak kut teh but with chee cheong fun kind of kuey teow in it).

The dim sum that we had in the morning.

After having the filling breakfast (THANK YOU Mrs. Saw!), we went to Hwa Cheat's other house to lepak. Mei Ju and boy went to get cendol, a jelly like dessert and OTAK-OTAK for us! Heavenly...just heavenly. Of course, the girls and BRIAN had to laugh at me because I didn't know that cendol is always mixed in santan (I had thought that the white stuff was soya bean - how can you blame me when I never had cendol before??). Ok, so anyway, I must have finished at least half of the cendol that they bought and a quarter of the Otak-otak. Too bad I couldn't tapau some of them home.

Enjoying the otak-otak, cendol and the jelly-like dessert in Hwa Cheat's house.

We brought rain with us everywhere we went. It started to rain in the afternoon and we decided to go to the temple that is frequented by Hwa Cheat and her mother. It is a first time I go to such a temple - it is in the middle of a plantation/orchard. Mrs. Saw made us delicious French toast and coffee. And the priest in the temple was kind enough to chop down a few coconuts and a tandan of bananas. Yee Loon did the honour of cutting the coconuts for us while the girls happily drank the sweet coconut water away..

In the orchard of the temple. Behind us is a building for mining birds' nests.

The girls posing with coconuts in the orchards. I didn't know that some coconut trees are so short!

The girls enjoying the thirst-quenching coconut water and the soft flesh of the coconut.

Having had a eating marathon the whole day, Yee Loon's mother was so kind as to invite us to go to their house for a steamboat. Although it was drizzling, it did not dampen our spirits. Nor was our already full stomach not tempted by the tentalizing aromas and the delicious foods. We pigged out for almost an hour and a half before we sat our plump selves in front of the tv. The gathering was also a birthday celebration for Yee Loon's father. Stuffing ourselves with cake, we decided to leave as we had to wake up very early the next morning to catch the first ferry to Langkawi.

Steamboat in Yee Loon's house.

Happy Birthday Mr. Ooi!

Keep visiting for more photos!

P/S: Melwin: We did not spend much for this trp. Start saving about RM 5 a week: we go to Kuala Selangor, ok? And Sunway Lagoon before that! ;P

Kedah trip - Day 1

Dear friends,

Sorry for not updating for a long time. Being at home means I rarely go online because I cannot resist the temptation to pig out on the bed. Haha...

Anyway, the Raya holidays had prompted 8 beautiful girls and handsome guys to head north to Kedah. =) Ok la...so the other 5 of us just wanted to "menyibuk" and visit our friends' hometown and also to go on a short holiday in the nearby Langkawi island la. So off to Kedah we went in 2 Proton Sagas driven by our macho guys. We started our journey from PJ at 715 in the morning. *Yawn*

Even though it was Hari Raya Pertama, most of the drivers we saw on the highway were Chinese! What is a long journey without rest stops. Our first stop was made at 745 a.m. at my house because I had forgotten to take my camera and goggles (which I did not use in the end). After the short stop, we stopped at Bidor for a super-duper-delicious duck noodle. Mm-hmmm...we had to wait at the crowded shop for about an hour to be seated and served. But it was worth the wait. We wolfed down the food in less than 20 minutes and continued our journey.

Yum yum! Duck noodle at RM 6.50 per bowl (dry or in soup)

After that filling breakfast, we drove for another hour or so to stop at Ipoh and be led by one of our macho guys' friend. We stopped by a cave temple for a short visit and looked at the time: just nice for us to have lunch (hehe). So off we went to buy a whole salted chicken and to the original Old Town Kopitiam. Apparently, the original kopitiam owner has been cheated of his copyright to the recipe. He doesn't have any holding to the many franchise of the Old Town Kopitiam eventhough the recipe and coffee come from him!

The coffee was good as always and we had the loh mai kay(glutinous chicken rice) which was heavenly! We also had the chicken we bought earlier too. I hardly had the chance to take much of the chicken when it was picked clean. Haha...don't think pretty girls will be shy to "fight" for good food! But it was all fun...just look at us enjoying ourselves!

Outside the original Old Town Kopitiam.

Enjoying the good food with good friends.

With a very full stomach, we continued our journey and made a detour to Taiping to send one of Yi Loon's friends home. We toured the beautiful Taiping Lake in our cars because it was raining. Sadly, these magnificent trees would be cut down soon.

Beautiful old trees to be seen probably the first and the last time.

After sending his friend home, we continued "touring" Taiping town until we found the highway exit. Hehe...and it was all the way to Sungai Petani, Kedah after that. And would you believe it, we arrived at Hwa Cheat's house at 6 o'clock in the evening. After a short rest and shower, we headed out for dinner. The delicious dinner was paid for by Mei Ju's father. THANK YOU!! After dinner, we went for a short visit in Mei Ju's house. We headed for Hwa Cheat's house after an hour or so. As tiring as it was, the girls had fun talking and laughing until Hwa Cheat was left talking on her own! =P

Stay tuned for more photographs of our trip to Kedah. :)

Resolutions revisited

A reminder to myself: 2007 is not over yet, so I can still try to fulfill what I had resolved to do in the Chinese New Year post.

Yup, I had 5 resolution listed during Chinese New Year and I vowed to fulfill at least 1. Well, let's see my progress so far:

1. Try to eat right, sleep right and exercise more

Ok, for a while there, I got my cholesterol level under control. That was about 3 or 4 months ago. I don't know what's the level now. As for my sleeping habits...well, I suppose it is good news now that my bed time is at 1030 or 11 at the most, no matter what time I wake up. =P Exercise...am still working on that. I have been walking Woon's Siberian Husky twice daily for the past a week and a half! And Demon can really RUN when you are trying to JOG alongside him. Let me see if I can get a photo of him later. ;P

2. Lose weight

Ok, so much for my resolution. I've put on approximately 3kgs since July. So, my newer resolution, try to lose the 3 kgs by the end of the year. The other 5? Can wait til next year la...

3. Donate blood again

I am planning to donate blood again but I've been rather sickly since the teaching practice. Hope I can do so before the year is out. Fingers crossed.

4. Save money

Considering I've used up most of my savings for the Australia trip, I think I have saved quite a lot (although it meant part-timing and being a "gu hon duk" for the past few months =P). Hehehe...well, at least I can say that I have saved a bit more money this year compared to the past years! Let's see if I can keep it up and not blow my savings on some stupid stuff like diet programme. =P

5. Stop procrastinating

Nope, no progress on that, although I did try to kickstart my assignments earlier. Still procrastinated til the very end. Guess this would have to be resolved again next year. =D

Sigh...so much for making my resolutions public!

____________________________________________________________________

On a different note, these are some very, very backdated photos that I had wanted to post:

Among the many nice-looking desserts served in the hotel from my China-Fujian trip last year (yup, I know!! =P)

Shark's fin soup at a famous chinese restaurant to celebrate my father's birthday. My family must have killed a few sharks that night!

Abalone (pronounced ab-uh-loh-nee) at the same restaurant. 2 for RM140! Sheesh!!

Tiramisu at Itallianies. MM-hmm....other must try's: cheese stuffed mushroom as a starter. Ooh la la!

The perks of being a practical teacher in CBN (1). We escorted some pupils to Menara KL and we got free lunch at the Barra restaurant at the bottom of Menara KL. Food was lousy but am in no doubt expensive. Look at the cute bottle that they gave us, shaped like the Tower. I only had it with me for less than an hour because I forgot to take it when we were done with lunch. =(

Obese - I hate the word!

Dear people,

Sorry for not updating for so long. Life in school was a quite tiring although it was fun and satisfying. The My School Rocks dance competition has been won by the Penang champion (St. George's Girl School). I suppose CBN's loss was partly because not many of the young pupils know how to use the internet (besides, the site takes forever to load!!). But all is well as I think it is actuallyvery remarkable that our school students are able to dance well and (mostly) coordinate the dance themselves! Bravo!

..

..

The last day of teaching signified the beginning of a very long holiday. Instead of rushing home as I normally would have, I decided to stay in my rented house for another week or two. Why? Because I have no place to sleep at home, and also as an effort to lose weight! I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw my weight on the scale! I gained another 2 to 3 kilogrammes during my stint as a teacher trainee. I think it must be because I'd been going to bed really early since my teaching practice - maybe an hour or so after having dinner. The extra 2 or 3 kilogrammes officially put me in the obese category according to the BMI of WHO. Heck, I ain't gonna be an obese pig! So I've decided to really put my foot down and go ona diet! And I can tell you that going back to my family home during weekends is an absolute bane to my diet efforts! My mother tries to stuff me with all my favourite dishes all in one meal!

..

..

Hmmm...One and a half weeks have gone by and I am still struggling with controlling my eating urges. SIGH---there are just too many temptations around! KFC, McDonalds, Pizza, Burger King...mm-hmm...I've had all of them in the week that I was supposed to be on a diet! Hahaha...guess I now know why I could never keep a conscious effort to go on a diet - my cravings for these foods becomes greater whenever I try to eat less. Not to mention the cruel fate that would bring me close to places where these fast food restaurants are the best choice for a good meal!!

..

..

Well, I guess I just have to have more willpower and try to defeat the monsters in my stomach! Wish me luck!!

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!

...

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.

...

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.

...

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!

...

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!

...

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?

...

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!!!

The big five-oh

No merdeka post this year. The big five-oh doesn't mean much to me except that my coursemates and I at CBN (1) are asked to perform tomorrow on behalf of all the teachers in school. Sheesh...and they only told us before we left school just now. That means that we only have less than a day to prepare. Best part was, they asked us to prepare for 2! What they think, we all superhumans meh?

.

So anyway, preparing for tomorrow we did. Since the easiest to perform was to recite a poem, we decided the guys could do one in BM and we girls would do one in English. Actually, I'd rather sing but since I've lost my voice due to sore throat and shouting at the monkeys who were talking and walking around during test...poem it is!

.

Scouring the internet for patriotic poems about Malaysia is a bit difficult. Good thing Americans are very patriotic and generous as they share their poems on the net. We found one that we think we can use for tomorrow, but of course, we adapted it. No plagiarism ma! So here it is:

..

THE ORIGINAL: Flag of the Free
.
Look at the flag as it floats on high,
Streaming aloft in the clear, blue sky,
Rippling, leaping, tugging away,
Gay as the sunshine, bright as the day,
Throbbing with life, where the world may see-
Flag of our country, flag of the free!
..
What do we see in the flag on high,
That we bare our heads as it passes by,
That we thrill with pride, our hearts beat fast,
And we cheer and cheer as the flag goes past-
The flag that waves for you and me-
Flag of our country, flag of the free?
...
We see in the flag a nation's might.
The pledge of a safeguard day and night,
Of a watchful eye and a powerful arm
That guard the nation's homes from harm.
Of a strong defense on land and sea-
Flag of our country, flag of the free!
..
We see in the flag a union grand,
A brotherhood of heart and hand,
A pledge of love and a stirring call
To live our lives fro the good of us all-
Helpful and just and true to thee,
Flag of our country, flag of the free!
...
Flutter, dear flag, o'er the lands and seas!
Fling out your stars and your stripes to the breeze,
Righting all wrongs, dispelling all fear,
Guarding the land that we cherish so dear,
And the God of our fathers, abiding with thee,
Will bless you and trust you, O flag of the free! -by Walter Taylor Field-
.
.
Our version: Stripes of Glory (Jalur Gemilang)
..
Look at the flag as it floats on high,
Streaming aloft in the clear, blue sky,
Rippling, leaping, tugging away,Gay as the sunshine, bright as the day,T
hrobbing with life, where the world may see-
Flag of our country, the stripes of glory!
...
What do we see in the flag on high,
That we bare our heads as it passes by,
That we thrill with pride, our hearts beat fast,
And we cheer and cheer as the flag goes past-
The flag that waves for you and me-
Flag of our country, the stripes of glory?
...
We see in the flag a nation's might.
How our forefathers had fought for our right,
Promising safety, unity and harmony,
Flag of our country, the stripes of glory!
...
We see in the flag a union grand,
A brotherhood of heart and hand,
A pledge of love and a stirring call
Despite the difference in skin colour and all-
United and true to thee,
Flag of our country, the stripes of glory!
...
Flutter, dear flag, o'er the lands and seas!
Red, white, blue and yellow dancing in the breeze,
Bearing the spirit of Merdeka,
Guarding our beloved Malaysia,
And the Gods of our fathers, abiding with thee,
Will bless you and trust you, O stripes of glory!
...
Hahah..ok la, so we didn't change much of the poem, but what do you expect? We have our own work to do still, you know? Anyway, while looking for suitable poems, found these three poems which I think are not bad either...check it out:
...
Malaysian Mentality
You are a 3rd World Country (A gentle reminder to all Malaysians)
...
Progress is not solely about prosperity
Nor buildings that look pretty
You may have the KLCC
But some places like Penang are still dirty
So you are still a 3rd world country because of your mentality
...
You try to beat the queue to get a taxi
And don't even bother about road courtesy
Not to mention parking indiscriminately
Without signalling you overtake randomly
And abusing lanes for emergency
Rising deaths on the roads is how you celebrate festivity
...
You created the MSC
To emulate Silicon Valley
You talk about high technology
And preach about (each family having a) PC
But broadband is (still) denied to many
...
You also can't supply stable electricity
Your roads have potholes and are bumpy
And tyres fall off your LRT
So this is Malaysian quality
...
(Creating) the best schools, roads and toilets in the country
Are what Malaysia Boleh should strive to be
But (in truth) Malaysia Boleh is so (lame and) funny
You break records just to make yourself feel happy
...
Decades passed but this mentality I still see
Will this carry on till the next century?
Or will this change when we turn 80?
You are helpless and just let it be
Let it be
Will tomorrow be better for you and me?
15 years from now come 2020
If this goes on you will still be just another 3rd world country
Because of your mentality.
...
...
...
3rd World, A Reply
..
I know Penang is dirty
But I've been to Birmingham you see
The buildings in Bronx are full (with) graffiti
How bad is that compared to 3rd world country?
...
Have you seen the London cabbie
Or the New York taxi
And what about Italian drivers,
Who are famous for their manoeuvres?
...
Vision is a sign of progress to me
Ambition is a good thing you see
Perhaps fishermen rather go to sea
No matter how accessible broadband can be?
Go to London if you don't mind
How many cyber cafes can you find?
....
How many countries have LRT?
Even Shinkansen got derailed, mind you
But this is certainly news to me
That Malaysian built LRT train too?
My goodness what a shame
When everything goes wrong, Malaysia gets the blame
....
There is one thing I can tell
Criticising people without fail,
How can Malaysia do well
When it's always failure that YOUR KIND dwell
Constructive criticism is the name of the game
Contribute something to Malaysia's fame
If you are too good for Malaysia my man
Get out of our country as soon as you can
Don't earn a living in our land
....
I'm wasting my time, there's a lot I can do
But I just can't stand people like you
..
..
Fellow citizens,
There are two poems on the net,
One criticizes, the other objects,
Both poems have different views,
But both have points but not the clues.
....
Malaysia has room to improve,
If you can't see it, you ought to choose,
Between being patriotic and being brave,
But to 'self criticize' is not a waste.
Why should we compare ourselves,
To countries that destroy themselves?
If Birmingham has graffiti,
Are we right, to leave Penang dirty?
If Malaysian drivers are rude these days,
Did they learn it from overseas stay?
....
If you've been to advanced land,
You can find they have broadband,
They use technology that we still lag,
Why is that? You might add.
....
We invest (lots of) money to gain new things
We have KLCC and highway links,
But when things fail, we say "we don't know",
We set our standards far too low,
....
If we believe that "MALAYSIA CAN"
Let us "self criticize" and improve my man
If we sit back to wait and see,
We will always be a 3rd World Country.
.....
For those of you who might want to read the discussion about the poems, you may click on the link which I got the poems from here. Anyway, gotta go do my own stuff now. Happy holidays people!

Saje update

Hi ya people...

Well, life has been good this week because the school's having their monthly test. No lesson plans to prepare, no need to shout at little monsters...Ahhhh...that should be the life of a teacher. ;)

The holidays have gone by too quickly. I haven't even done a single thing, and it's back to school again. Well, the holidays have been a good thing. Most of us were already feeling the stress and feeling demotivated before the holidays. And as though we haven't had enough, a particular Dr. J from UM gave us enough reason to just withdraw ourselves from the program and just give a finger to the whole system. 5 years down the drain? Don't give a damn la...if the Dr is so clever, go teach kindy or year one kids la..they are more difficult to teach compared to Uni flers what...

Whatever la...I'm just so glad that it's coming to September already. 5 more weeks to FREEDOM!! Hahaha... But then again, I am feeling a little reluctant to go back to my home in Rawang. My grandmother has returned to stay with us permanently again, that meant that my family is one room short (my sisters and I used to share a room but I've been kicked out since my sister married). Being the youngest, I always end up sleeping on the floor of my parents' bedroom. Once a week for a night or two is ok...think 5 or maybe 8 weeks of holiday? Hmm...

Maybe I should try looking for a job in KL for the five weeks? I've been trying desperately to save a bit of money since my trip to Australia. Sheesh... our money these days is almost comparable to rupiah, I think. One day's worth of work = RM 15 - RM 30. One KFC value meal = RM 15. How to save money like that?

Ok, gotta go eat away my salary from my part-time job again. Adios!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEETHEART

Yup, age is finally creeping up on Grandpa. Hahaha...

This post is dedicated to you...

I Love Just You

Hey, birthday love, I think of you

Every moment of my life.

You bring me joy in every thought,

My precious, loving sweetheart!
So be my love for all our lives,

And I’ll be your love, too;

Each birthday is another chance

To say, "I love just you!"

Adapted from a poem by Joanna Fusch

Haha..ok, so I'm not creative! But the poem says all that I have to say. :P

Love you Grandpa...

Hospital Bahagia here I come!

Dear all,

It's almost the school holidays. YAY!!! Whoever said that teaching is the easiest job one can do has definitely never been around more than 10 children at any one time! Year One kids...I do not know how our teachers stayed sane! I remember vaguely that I would sometimes do what the kids do these days...cry, seek the teacher's attention 24/7, run around in class, talk etc. But I don't think kids in those days were as active as kids these days. Future parents, don't la give your kids all those high-tech milk solution thing...drink breast milk la...they might not turn out to be so hyper...makes your life and the teachers' lives easier!

..

I can't tell you how much I dislike going into the Year One class. I lost hope in the class last week when a Year One kid ignored my repeated instructions for her to stop doing her other work in the class. It's not just because of that one girl that I lost it. It's just that that was IT. I couldn't take the class anymore after that. Weeks spent to drill into their thick heads the concept of subtraction and they can still give me nonsense like 8-9=1. GRRRRRRRRRrrrrrr.... Whatever la...my efforts to make them understand were repaid by insolence and high blood pressure. Should I still take it smiling? Of course not! No more nice Miss Tee for them these days (except for a few pupils OUTSIDE the classroom)!

..

It has been real tiring the past few weeks. We would have to return to school again this Saturday for some nonsense. 5 days week? Half-day job? Maybe. If you want sane teachers to teach the kids, then let it remain so. And half-day isn't half day when you think about it. We start work at 730 a.m. and our work has to be completed daily. So if you have many classes to teach and many books to mark, your day often only ends at 5 or 6 p.m.

..

Am I sure that I want to take this path? I'm beginning to question myself... Life is hard...

CBN - Week 3

Dear all,

Phew...it has been a very hectic week indeed. After my last post, Woon and I were asked to help dress the CBN performers in OCM. Just for your information, Mama Kok won an award. So, congratulate her the next time you see her in college. The GPK Koko of CBN, Ms Petrina Low was the main award winner last year for her contribution towards rhythmic gymnastics.

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Well, Woon and I were not told that we were also invited for the dinner, so the both of us were casually dressed (while the other guests were dressed to the nines as the Queen was supposed to be there). Anyway, as though the both of us were not 'obvious' enough, we kept going in and out of the hall because we were supposed to help with the girls' costume. Hahaha...

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I didn't know that teachers had so much to do. Many people think that it is just a 7a.m. to 1p.m. job, but the extra-curricular activities, and the planning and marking and and what-nots take up a lot of time. Brian has already complained a bit that we hardly spend time together anymore since I started teaching. In other words, I have no life. It's from home to school and from school to home. If I did go out, it was for school activities (except for the time I went to a concert and a musical - blog about it later). I mean, not all the teachers are involved in so many things - you have to be selected to help out in these occasions. I am very grateful of course for the GPK Koko, Ms. Low to try to involve Woon and I in the school activities. I mean, I saw more things and I know I can learn a lot from this Super Teacher (she refused to accept the award when it was offered to her). It's just that, doing just a fraction of what a super teacher does when we are not up to par yet is very tiring.

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After their performance in OCM, they were invited to perform in Mandarin Oriental Hotel. Phew...the hotel is GRAND. I mean, it's REALLY grand. And the best part of us helping out was that we get to get free food and goody bags. Hahaha...the Fried Rice in the hotel's cafe was horrible though. The buffet looks good and the Hainanese Chicken Rice looks quite nice too. But I must mention the cakes. Oooohhh.....heavenly. MM--Hmmmmmmmmmm....*kiss fingers*

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Oh, I'm hungry already...and I haven't done any Maths lesson plan at all since I started teaching practice. HELPPPPPP!!!! Better start doing or I'd fail the semester. Hahaha...next post - Emil Chau concert and The King and I musical. Stay tuned!

Week 2 of teaching practice

Arrrggghhh...why is it so hard to teach Year 1 kids? *sigh* Yup, I'm teaching Year One Mathematics. Easy? Well, I'll give you RM 50 if you can make them just sit down quietly, listen to you for one hour and do their work without making the mistakes that you have just tried to clarify! RM 50 not enough? Imagine, I'm doing it for less than RM 20 a day!

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I don't know if it's just me or it happens with every Year 1 class, but kids sure do love to cry. No, they don't cry because of me. They just cry because they feel wronged or they were hit by their friends whom they just hit in the first place. I have been in the class 4 days now and I am still struggling to get them to understand how to find the difference between two numbers. The first day, everyone was quiet and listened to me but their homework was atrocious. The second day, they were listening but every now and then one or two kids will come to me to ask if they may drink water or go to the toilet. The third day, 3 kids were crying in the class because of abovementioned reasons while at least 8 of them came to ask me individually how to do a sum that I had just taught them and the others were busy asking for permission to drink water, colour their work, go to washroom etc.

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I finally lost my temper with them today when they still do not know how to find 2 numbers with a difference of 1. Even while I was scolding them, kids were still coming up to me to tell me that they haven't bought a magic book, they have a toothache/ sore throat/ stomachache, they have finished their work, they got a 'Good' written in their book (which I wrote, of course) etc. Kids? How can anyone remain sane with all these nonsense happening in class every day.

I was just telling my partner, Woon this morning that I wish I can be a student again and cry and beg my mother to allow me to stay home. School's no fun, especially when you are in Year 1 (whether you are the pupil or the teacher, trust me).

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Fortunately, my Year 4 English class is easier to handle. There are a few pupils who look arrogant enough that you just feel like kicking them out of your class, but most of them I think are glad that English is no longer a case of 'take out your books and copy these down' or 'open to page xx and do until page xxx'. But that doesn't mean that they would still do your work. I gave them a piece of my mind too this morning because some girls did not complete the simple task that I asked them to do.

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Yup, you can say that my blood pressure today must have gone up by a hundred points at least. Girls' school does not have discipline problem? I think where there are kids, there will be Trouble with a capital T. Ex-teachers of mine whom I bullied/ looked down upon, you have my respect now. So, please stop praying that I reap what I sowed! I believe in Karma already! Bless you!! ;)

CBN (1)

Hi people,
Yay! It's Friday finally. CBN (1) is not that bad at all. In fact, there are many normal teachers there. Haha...only a few there like Joanne (yup, our senior from MPIK), Ms Low, Ms Noor and a few others are Super Teachers. It is undeniable that most kinds from CBN are quite talented and are a bit ahead of their peers in other schools. Other than that, it is just like any other school. Some times you can hear the teachers screaming at the top of their lungs because the class is so noisy, at other times you can hear the teachers droning away at some facts in the lesson.

I suppose the first thing that you notice about the school teachers here is that most of the teachers here are very responsible. They go into their classes whenever they should and they are always marking books or doing something. The one week that we've been there, we hardly see any teachers sitting in the staff room chatting away while selling their direct selling products. We don't see the teachers sitting at the canteen yakking away for hours too. In short, the general attitude of government servants are not being practised here (you know what I mean).

Good thing also is that the teachers here are rather friendly. Unlike being bullied like Melwin in her school, the teachers here are almost all very friendly. Not to mention, Joanne takes care of us too by trying to involve us in the activities in school such as choral speaking and movement songs trainings.

Well, I suppose everyone is enjoying their teaching practise. I enjoy it too but I am also very glad that the weekend is here so that I can sleep in a bit later. Waking up at 530 a.m. everyday is not kind to my eyebags. Haha...more in the next post. Cheerios.

Convent Bukit Nanas...yup, that's the name of the school that I got for my teaching practice. What is my opinion of the school? Well, the teachers and the school look all right...the pupils? Well, let's just say that I wasn't hoping to get a well-known school for my teaching practice. Like a lecturer said, you shine brighter and easier in an average or below average school. It's not as though I want to shine and show off, it's just that I am very intimidated by the pupils. Yup, the PUPILS.

I guess I have to believe in karma. I used to bully teachers, now I'm going to be a teacher who is most probably going to be bullied by these pupils. SIGH...scareeeeee.....

Guess there won't be many updates for the first week of school. Do wish me luck and pray for my mental health. Hahaha....

Updates on Australia will be delayed. Sorry ya!!

Australia - Day 4 Sydney

Like I said, my mom told me that I should try to catch sunrise at Surfer's Paradise. Being in Gold Coast the last day, I was determined not to miss it. Willie went and watched the sunrise the morning before and he told us that sunrise was at 5+. So, both Brian and I braved the cold and dragged ourselves out of the warmth of the coccoon of the comforter and left the apartment slightly before 5 a.m. We had actually wanted to take the car but for some reason the car wouldn't start. Oh no! Time was ticking away! It was already 5 a.m.!

Without trying to figure what was wrong with the car, we quickly walked towards the beach. There was no one around except for a few odd joggers (who were in shorts) and a man doing yoga in the park. The sky was pitch black and the wind was howling. Brian and I were freezing. When we reached the beach at about 520 a.m., the beach was empty and dark. The waves were roaring at a distance. Brian and I decided to wait for the sunrise at McDonalds opposite the beach. We waited and waited and waited in the freezing cold, drinking a cup of fast-cooling tea. Finally, we asked an employee and he told us that sunrise wasn't until 6+. GRRRRRRR...

Since we were already there, we continued waiting and the sun rose at approximately 615 a.m. but we could not see much because there were lots of cloud...

At around 6 a.m.

The sun had risen, the clouds were blocking it and my camera sucks. But nothing is better than freezing my nose off with Brian. :P

When we got back, we had to quickly pack and leave for the airport which was an hour away. The car started when Willie pressed the clutch before/ while starting the car. Apparently it was a safety feature. So anyway, we drove to return the car at the international airport, got a shock because of all the surcharges and was driven to the domestic airport less than 2 km away.

About 2 hours later, we were in Sydney!! We bought a weekly travel pass and took the train to King's Cross where our hotel is. King's Cross is a red-light district which is quite notorious. My father's friends have warned me to not to go out at night and to be extra careful when they heard that I'll be staying there. Well, accommodation in Sydney is expensive and the cheapest and most value for money place that we could find was in King's Cross, so King's Cross it was. We reached King's Cross at around 1 p.m., so we dropped our bags at the hotel and went for lunch nearby. Instead of retracing our steps back to the hotel, we went for a walk and went past many, many backpackers inns. Yup, it was a haven for backpackers, and not too expensive either.

We didn't want Willie to blame us entirely for spoiling his backpacking trip, so we asked Willie to stay at the backpackers if he wanted to. We had already pre-paid the hotel that we booked, so whether or not we stayed there the money would be deducted. Looking longingly at William packing his bags to go to one of the backpackers inns, Brian and I went to the suite that we had booked. Sigh...the problem with travelling as a well-protected girl - you can't do many adventurous stuff without worrying your old folks and your boss. I truly envy some people who don't give a damn and can do what they well please. Heck, I always tell my mom (she wouldn't allow me to go out on my own anymore these days. Damn those robbers and rapists!) that if something bad happens to me even after I've taken all those precautions, it will be just my luck la. SIGH~~ So anyway, like old folks, Brian and I stayed in a suite while Willie travelled like a youngster should.

After checking into our respective hotel/inn, we took the train to go to Queen Victoria Buiding (QVB) and Hyde Park which are near Town Hall. The parks there are simply beautiful. There are also many art sculptures scattered around town. And when I say art sculpture, it is art sculpture and not those giant durians that we have in the middle of a roundabout, which costs at least triple of what it should, courtesy of the people's money.

The famous QVB behind us.

One of the many art sculptures scattered around the city. Hmm...what art is that red one? :P

After that, we went to the Anzac Memorial and went past a few well-known cathedrals. Then, we walked all the way to Darling Harbour to have dinner. It is so beautiful and you can't help but envy the Australians for having so many places to just relax. Not to mention the weather was also perfect when we were there...

Anzac Memorial at Hyde Park.

Breathtaking view at Darling Harbour. Even my camera can capture the beauty!

Willie continued taking photographs around Darling Harbour and went off to get his free booze while Brian and I chomped down on our whole chicken in the food court(hey, cold weather and a lot of walking make people hungry, ok!). As Brian was worried for my safety (damn my big mouth for telling him what the uncles told me), we went back to the hotel right after that. Sure enough, on our way back, we saw lots of prostitutes and bouncers. Surprisingly, I feel much safer in King's Cross at night than in KL in the afternoon...

Stay tuned for more of Sydney in the next post!

Dedicated to you...

Got a dedication request from my boss this morning. Haha... so this is it:

Wider, goofier and older. Lubdjuu Grandpa!

Australia - Day 3 Brisbane City

The next day, we went to Brisbane City. Yup, I forgot to tell the guys that it would be better if we were able to make it to the city during the weekend because there would be more activities there. So, because of my blunder, there wasn't much to see in the city. Well, because it is just another city.

We drove an hour plus to get to the city. We originally wanted to go to the Art Centre but the parking there was expensive. After a bit of discussion, we decided to just walk around the shopping area and maybe try to get to the koala sanctuary out of the city. My initial "mission" to Australia this time was to cuddle a koala (not many places in Australia allow it).

So anyway, we walked around the main shopping area *Willie says it's Queen Street Mall* and went to visit a couple of cathedrals/ churches. Like I said, there is really nothing much to see in the City - we basically just walked around, looking at the sights and that was pretty much it.

Finding our way around the city.

One of the many beautiful parks around the city.

Inside one of the cathedrals.

For lunch, we bought Pizza and ate in a park near where we parked the car. Lunch that day was one of the most filling one we had in the entire trip! Haha...Anyway, after walking around for another hour, we decided to head back to Surfer's Paradise.

The view from our picnic spot.

In one of the shopping malls in the city.

While Willie went off to more of his walks, Brian and I went shopping (again, YAY!) at IGP. Yup, shopping is the best thing to do when you have nothing to do. Hehe...Anyway, like most Malaysians do when they are in Australia, we bought loads of Tim Tams. And I do mean LOADS. After shopping for other stuff like instant noodle and what-nots, we decided to head back to the apartment.

My mom told me to watch the sunrise at Surfer's Paradise because it was beautiful. We missed going out in the morning (Willie complained about it as usual - :P) because I couldn't get my cold butt out of the warmth of the bed. So, determined not to miss it, I decided that Brian and I would go watch it the next morning before we leave for the airport to go to Sydney.

Australia - Day 2 Movie World

Yup, after much needed rest (about 12 hours for me, haha), the three of us were eager to start another round of thrill-seeking. This time, we went to Warner Brothers' Movie World.

Like the day before, we were there by 945. So there were not many people, save for a few tour groups and some people wearing cocktail dresses who were there for the premiere of Shrek 3. With the map of the theme park in hand, we started our day in the Batman-themed rides. First, we went on what looked like a much lower version of the Solero Shot. We were the first batch of people to go on it so we did not know what to expect. It was just a ride that propels you to the top of the tower and then drops you slowly. We went on that ride three times that day.

After that ride, we went to the Batman Mansion for a motion-master-like ride. Before the ride began, a bunch of us were told that we were on a mission. And with the mission, we went from room to room and helped Batman deal with the Joker, Catwoman and Freezone.

After the Mansion, we went to the Superman's ride. THIS IS A MUST TRY FOR EVERYONE!! We went on it twice and if not for the long queue, we would have gone on it again and again and again. The story is like this: we were on the Metroline or something but the station has been destroyed by bad people. Our train cannot stop at the station and has to keep moving. Alas! Our train came to a complete halt just after the burning station. What are we to do?? Then, Superman appeared at the end of the train and calmed us down, "Don't worry. I will push you out of here...FAST". And with that, we travelled super fast (something about 4 G and negative 1 G?? - or like my friend told us, from 0 to 100km/hour in 0.3 secs) down the roller-coaster-like rail. Whoa...I came down with bruises on the back of my arms because I was afraid and kept pushing back at the chair. Hahaha...but it was simply AWESOME!!!

You can see William here...

After the super-thrilling ride, we went to the Lethal Weapon-themed roller coaster ride. It was another awesome ride. We went upside down many times, with the ground just barely a metre or two above our heads. That was why they not only have a minimum height, but a maximum height imposed for that ride. I took photos of William on the ride. I was too slow to take photos of him coming in, and took the people behind him instead, that explains his "d'uh" look afterwards. Hehehe...

Me camwhoring with William's stuff. Look cool, eh?

There are not as many rides in Movie World, so we managed to go twice on most rides. We also went on the Scooby Doo ride which basically tossed us around in a dark room. Super cool wei...There was another ride whose theme was an old Western gold-mining movie which got us all wet (and sent William's cap flying. Hahaha). What I like about the rides there is that they do not just propel you forward, some rides reverse and make the ride even scarier because you cannot see just how steep the fall is.

After the rides and some lunch, we went and watched Police Academy-themed stunt show.

You can't go to Warner Brothers' and not watch the Parade! Austin Powers, Scooby Doo and gang, Shrek and gang, Batman and gang, and not to be missed, Bugs Bunny and friends were all there waving away. After much hysterical screaming for more of the cartoon characters (no, seriously ;) haha), we went and watched Shrek 4D. The 4th D, to some who might not know, is the special effects such as water or air that can is on the 3D screen e.g. Donkey sneezed and you get a bit of water sprayed onto your face etc.

Sesat characters? Nah...just three flers on their way to the 4D cinema.

After another fun day out, we went back to Surfers' Paradise for some shopping! Look what we found!

Vibrators!! And lots of different brands too. Haha...I also saw some things that I never knew existed. For guys, girls and SMs...Hahaha...

Who can say that they've been to Surfer's Paradise without actually going to the beach? While William was busy taking photographs of the beach and himself at night, Brian and I were also camwhoring. Haha...Ooh...and William got a super cute present from the beach too. Maybe he will update about it later.

Anyways, more in the next post. Hehe...

Australia - Day 1 Dreamworld

Australia

Australia...a beautiful country with an interesting history. A country with a unique mix of culture. A country with many unique animals. A country whose food and lodging cost a lot. The country which 3 naive youngsters decided to go for a "budget" tour and with 2 who returned broke last week.

Hehe...yup, time for me to update about the trip to AUSTRALIA.

Let me start from the beginning:

The adventure began some time end of last year when William asked if I wanted to travel because he still has free air tickets (his mother works for Thai Airways and they get lots of benefits). I've always wanted to go to Australia again because I enjoyed my trip there very much back in 2000 and because we have friends studying there, so I suggested that we go to Australia. The planning began in December when our friends who are studying there came back for holidays. It started with Brian, me, William and Woon - 2 guys, 2 girls PERFECT. As planning began and we looked at the air fare, my parents suggested that we go in a tour. Tour to Brisbane is about RM 4 k but William thought it was too costly (which I agree after the trip). We decided to go on our own. Woon decided that the trip costs too much and decided not to go. So it became the three of us again. We tried to look for a fourth person but it wasn't easy.

So anyway, fast forward to the trip. William, Brian and I flew there together by MAS. Although I did not sleep for two nights before the trip, I watched 4 movies in a row during the 12 hour flight. We had to transit in Sydney, which was a waste of time. We reached Brisbane International Airport at 1130 pm (Australia's 2 hours ahead). The train service had stopped by then, the shuttle bus to Surfer's Paradise from the airport costs Aus $ 40 per person and taxi would cost around Aus $ 150+. With these choices, we decided to rent a car which costs Aus $ 29 per day, terms and conditions apply.

We rented a yellow Hyundai Getz. Great car!

With a map in hand (in Brian's hand- the boys never even considered letting me hold it), we drove an hour to our 2 bedroom apartment in Surfer's Paradise. This is what I call backpacking in style. Hahaha...

Our 2-bedroom apartment with washing machine and dryer and a full-function kitchen!

So anyway, the next morning, William made breakfast and lunch for us (thanks Willie!) and we headed off to Dreamworld, which is about half an hour away. The theme park opens at 10 and we arrived at a quarter to ten. After paying Aus $ 64 per person, we went in and (I) screamed our (my) heads off for one whole day.

First, we went on The Claw (the first ride that we saw as we entered the theme park). It was super scary. I mean, I've never had such a wild ride ever! We were swung around everywhere. The arrow shows the ride and how our world was upside down for lots of time.

Look at those people being swung around at The Claw!!

After that, we went on a tamer Wipeout which tossed us everywhere. Good thing we didn't eat much for breakfast. Anyway, we went on every ride there was in Dreamworld. We even went on the kiddies' ride. Kiddies' ride basically just turn you around and around until you are dizzy.

People being tossed around at The Wipeout.

We went on a couple of other rides before this, but I can't remember what they were. I think they were the usual roller coaster rides which were nothing after The Claw. The Vortex is a room that just goes around and around until there is zero gravity or something which made all of us woozy after it. Then, I decided that I wanted to ride on a kiddy ride which made William incredibly dizzy. :P

Dizzy but still smiling after The Vortex.


Behold the ride that made William light-headed! :P

Because William was still unable to adapt to the nauseating motions, only Brian and I went on the next kiddy ride. Hehe...sorry can't resist mentioning that again! :P

After that, we sat down for lunch and went on the scariest ride in the whole theme park. The Giant Drop. Genting's Space/Solero Shot? Nothing and I really mean NOTHING compared to this World's Tallest. It's a little disappointing that Brian and I didn't go for a second time, but nevermind, there will be a next time, right Sweetheart? Hehehe...

Whoa! Is it high or is it high?

Then we went to the Tower of Terror which is shaped like a car going at dunno what speed, which shot us up the other side of the World's Tallest tower. Not as exciting, but not bad either. I screamed as usual. Hahaha...every shot of me showed my eyes closed and shrieking while Brian sat emotionless next to me. :P

We also went on a log ride which got us all wet but there are no pictures for that. We wanted to catch a show at the IMAX cinema so while William went for a second ride on The Claw, we old folks sat down near the IMAX cinema and ate...GELATO!! Mm-hmmm...love macadamia nuts! Yum-yum...

Macadamia nuts, chocolate and rum and raisin. Mm-hmm...

After that, it was another half-hour ride back to the apartment while William prepared dinner. Hehehe...thanks William! Next time I go travel, I bring you along so that you can cook. :P Hahaha...That's all we did on the first day. More in the next post. Cheerios!!