I'm BACK!!!

Hey people,

I'm BACK!! Sorry for the MIA status for over 2 months. Life has never been busier! I don't know why I longed for university life again while I was undergoing my teaching practice! Life has been so crazy over the past couple of months that I hardly have time to do anything else but to sit in front of the computer to type out the assignments!

So anyway, much has happened since Chinese New Year. As Rats are not having the best of luck this year, it started a bit rough but all is well now (Fingers crossed). But then again, it did start out pretty well... As many of you would have known, my dad got me a Satria Neo for my 24th birthday! Yay!! I'd never thought that he'd get a Satria for me!! I had bugged him for a Satria ever since I first saw the Satria GTI when I was in secondary school, but he had always said that Satria is not a good choice because it only has two doors. And Oh-My-God, he got me a Satria Neo for my birthday!!!!! How cool a dad is that?? He also kept it a secret from my mom and family until the final few days coz he needed them to take me to the showroom and get the car because he was busy. =)

So, what happened on my birthday eve was that my mom, sis, bro-in-law, Brian and I were supposed to go and have a birthday lunch at The Curve. But before that, my bro-in-law claimed that he wanted to go to the Proton showroom to take a look at the new Proton Saga and maybe go for a test drive. The funny thing was my sister who is hopeless with directions was asked if she knew how to go to the Proton showroom near The Curve. I didn't think much about it coz she is always hanging out at the area anyway. So off we went to the showroom and the salesperson shook hands with my sis and my bro-in-law. Weird. Then, while we were looking at the new Proton Saga, the fella signalled my sis and bro-in-law to the back of the showroom. My bro-in-law covered up and said, "Oh, can test drive the car ar?" and we tagged along to the back of the showroom. Then, the fella signalled to the Satria Neo sitting there, and I was like, didn't my bro-in-law say he wanted to test drive the new Proton Saga? And then my mom was like telling the fella, "should put a ribbon on top la", and my sis was laughing away...hmm...me - blur. Then the fella was complaining that he had to rush to get the car delivered that day and put on the car plate number and then my mom was asking if I liked it. I was still blur, as usual, and I was about to say that I liked the Satria GTI better when my bro-in-law noticed my blur-ness and said "it's yours la". And then I was too overcome with emotion to say much. Haha... So, here are the photos...my new car from my daddy-kins!

Me and my new car!!

Me crying tears of joy after finding out that that car was mine! =)

Yup, my dad got me the car like months ago and forced the salesperson to deliver it before my birthday. Hehehe...I knew my dad was planning to get me a car but he kept quiet after a while, so I just figured that he changed his mind. But...I was wrong about my dad again. Hehe...

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So, my car is 1.6, full specs, AUTO of course... Er... Willie, I don't know what other specs you want to know. Hehehe...

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Happily, we left the new car at the showroom and went for lunch after that at Sakae Sushi. My dad joined us shortly after that. After makan-makan, we went back to get the new car. Brian and I were sitting in my new car and I drove. Less than 2 minutes of reversing the car from its parking lot at the showroom, I was crying. Coz I hit a curb while turning from the showroom and the whole front bumper was cracked into two and had partially come off. Hahaha... Good thing Brian was there to calm me down and my sis and bro-in-law were there to laugh it off. =)

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So anyway, Brian and his dad had to take a whole afternoon under the hot sun to help me glue the crack back together. =) And Brian's dad was complaining that Brian was so worried about how it looked that he was grumpy. Hehehe...thanks sweetheart!!

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Don't you just feel that you are so loved by the whole world sometimes? \^O^/

Chinese New Year is coming?

Chinese New Year is a week away and I'm swamped with work. Well, I suppose it is the way with many local university undergraduates. It is always during CNY that you have to hand in your assignments, sit for tests etc. Sometimes I think that it is unfair. But then again, what do we do during CNY these days anyway? The most is that we will be a little busy with relatives and friends who are visiting on the first three days. After that, it is basically back to the normal mode.

One of the things that happens as you get older is that you tend to enjoy the celebrations less. I remember that when I was younger, I get excited waaaayyy before CNY, Christmas, Hari Raya or Deepavali was due to arrive. I used to insist buying new underwear even to celebrate CNY. These days, I would even wear my old T-shirt and shorts to entertain the guests who visit my house. And as the years pass, the guests become less and less lively and enthusiastic. The situation used to be that us children running around the house, begging attention from the uncles and aunties who come and visit. We used to look forward with anticipation the arrival of the lion dance troupe and watch in a mixture of awe, excitement and fear as they set off firecrackers. We used to enjoy eating all sorts of sweet meats and mandarin oranges and drinking jugs of carbonated drinks come CNY. Of course, the children and adults alike enjoy the traditional culture of receiving and giving of ang paus. We used to receive RM 5 from an uncle and be very happy and contented with the extra money. Nowadays, children pooh-pooh at an uncle or aunty (behind their backs) when they were given RM 5 as ang pau.

Perhaps it is with the banning of firecrackers that the celebration has become a little more mundane as years go by (it is also ironic that firecrackers which were traditionally for chinese to scare the devils are no longer often set off during CNY but more during Hari Raya and Deepavali). Perhaps it is the economic downturn that never seemed to end that has dampened the feelings of everyone. Or perhaps it is just that more and more Chinese are losing the tradition as they no could no longer link themselves to the point of celebrating the coming of Spring (coz Malaysia is summer all year long?)?

Whatever it is, CNY doesn't have as much meaning to me and the younger generation, I suppose, compare to the older generation. I will not be surprised that I will one day cease to celebrate CNY as the reason for celebration becomes more remote to me in the future. I am not saying that I will be abandoning my cultural identity, it is just that I do not see the point of celebrating the coming of Spring anymore. Perhaps, the superstitious part of me would still follow the lunar calendar, but to make a big deal out of the coming of Spring? Well, maybe I will make a big deal out of it if I have a dozen kids who are eligible to receive ang paus from relatives who do not have children. Hahaha...

But then, as morbid as I may sound, I do look forward to the once a year gathering with some friends. After all, it will not be long before everyone becomes too busy with their own family to be bothered to have a gathering with their old school mates whom they hardly spoke to. :) So, guys, better set a date to meet during CNY!

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!

We should do this again, folks!

Dedicated to Melwin...:P

Hi people...Happy New Year!
Well, a lot has happened since the post about the Kedah trip. I was in Hong Kong and China and then spent Christmas in Singapore. Phew...it was a fulfilling holiday! I'll upload the photographs later coz I still don't know how to use the memory card reader. Hahaha...

Anyway, here is a piece of work that we were supposed to do in class which I told Melwin I'd upload so that we can check each other's work. You might find it weird that it looks more like a blogpost than a class work. But, the lecturer did say "write it as you would a diary!". Hehe...

Before reading the article, I used to think that it was important for one to speak correct English. I cringe whenever I used to hear mispronunciation, glaring grammatical errors or what Malaysians affectionately call “Manglish”. To me, language is beautiful. I believe that every language should be used correctly and properly, and be treated with respect and admiration rather than being butchered. Where English is concerned, speaking it correctly, to me, meant that it is spoken like a prim and proper Caucasian British (isn’t it funny that the image that normally conjures when you think of a person who speaks proper English is the image of a CAUCASIAN newsreader on BBC even though they also have many newsreaders of different races?).

Reading the article has made me reflect my perception of correct English. What is “correct English” anyway? Who decides if it is correct or incorrect? Is the Malaysian form of English not correct English? To many Malaysians, flour pronounced as /fla:/ is correct and when pronounced as /flau3/ would be thought as ‘flower’ or a mispronunciation. But that is language. It changes through time and it changes with the places it is spoken in.

Thinking back, it is ironic that I (and many other Malaysians, I think) would frown upon Manglish but accept African American English, for example, as a different form of English! But then again, I would also laugh whenever I hear people faking the accent and try to speak African American English or Australian English in Malaysia. I think it makes these “posers” sound so lame and pathetic.

But I digress. Back to the point where I mentioned that it is easy to think that English “belongs” exclusively to Caucasians. It is still difficult to remove the stereotype even after so many years of use outside of Caucasian-land and when there are millions of non-Caucasian English speakers. As mentioned in the article, many second language users of English have made it their children’s first language. This is evident in many of the Malaysian Indian and Malaysian Chinese families. And this trend is also emerging in many urban Malaysian Malay families. And that is just the case in Malaysia.

Many Commonwealth countries such as Singapore and South Africa have a majority of English speaking citizens. If these non-Caucasians who hardly spoke any other languages at all are not considered native speakers of English just because of their skin colour, then the issue is definitely RACISM.

Before I pursue on that very controversial issue, let me share another point that was made in the article which made me think: the importance of English 50 years from now. Even though many have predicted that Mandarin may become the most widely spoken language, I feel that it is unlikely. My reason is that having met Chinese nationals of different levels, the impression that I was given is that English is a high-class language that they have to strive to learn. Actually, the impression that I got was that anything Western is to be strived for. Hence, the possibility is that Mandarin would never be more popular than English because the Chinese themselves do not appreciate the language much and are willing to give up Mandarin and speak English so as to be more “high-classed”. Imagine, if my grim prediction is true, by 2050, English will probably be the main language spoken in China and many languages including Mandarin will be almost extinct! And of course, by English, I also meant the variations – Manglish, Singlish and maybe Chinglish (China-English) – and the “evolved” English.

Well, I may be too critical in my judgement. Whatever-LAH. Hah. I’ve used a Manglish term in my writing of a semi-formal assignment and it didn’t kill me. And I actually think that it makes it more friendly and distinctly Malaysian. :)

Kedah - Day 5

Day 5 of Kedah trip started with all of us moaning about being tired. But there was not a moment to be wasted! Early in the morning that day, we set out for Penang! And it was the first time for me that Penang meant that we were travelling south!! But before that...how can we forget breakfast? Hehe..and breakfast was northern style prawn mee!

Northern style Prawn Mee which is very different from what you find in KL.

Our first stop in Penang was the obligatory Snake Temple which has lost its charm from many years ago. There were a few small snakes in the temple whose owners were trying to get us to take photographs for a charge of RM 25! Cut throat o! There wasn't much of a scenery to take photos there too. So, after using the toilet and going one round, we left to find the famous Penang Cendol in one of the alleyways. It tastes special because they add a bit of Tuak in it. DE-LICIOUS!

Very good Cendol!

What is a trip to Penang without having the famous Char Koay Teow. We had to wait for almost 45 minutes for the famous Char Koay Teow even though not many were there. But...our expectations must be too high coz it was not as good as we expected it to be.

Waiting for the Char Kuay Teow took so long that it made the stuffed us sleepy!

Then, we went to Kek Lok Si temple. Much has been improved since the last I went with my schoolmates back in '96. There is even a cablecar-elevator thingy now!

Posers!

In the elevator-cable car thing.

After Kek Lok Si temple, we went to eat Asam Laksa! It was good but I think the one that my mom makes is better. :P

The famous Asam Laksa.

By then, the sky has turned slightly dark. So, off we went to Gurney Plaza for a walk before setting out to Gurney Drive to eat again. I was actually a little disappointed with the lack of good food that day. The only delicious food we had there was fried chicken skin. The others were mediocre.

With a full belly, we went for a walk along Gurney Drive.

Aduh! Sakit kepala!

And after that, we headed back to Kedah.

On the ferry to get back to the mainland.

Tired. But still want to gamble. Hahaha...

Kedah - Day 4

Day four in Kedah was still in Langkawi. This time, we woke up early in the morning and went on the island hopping package we signed up for. First up was to Pulau Bunting, where we stopped for an hour at the freshwater lake in the middle of the island. We decided to go "cycling" in the water. Brian and I were so heavy that we had to paddle two times harder than the others to go the same distance. :D

Before setting off for our island hopping trip.

Beautiful lake in Pulau Bunting which we paddled on.

The others reached the jetty way before us and went in for a dip.

Continued our island hopping looking at eagle-feeding area. It was a very awe-inspiring sight.

Eagles coming in to feed.

We ended the island hopping trip at the Bras Basah beach. The water was so shallow that you can actually walk to the nearest island! And the water was crystal clear too!

Reluctantly we had to end our island hopping and head back to the hotel to check out. Alas! we had an adventure when we realised that the van keys were lost!! Haha...just kidding, we just sat around at a stall and waited for the man to come with the replacement keys. Back to the hotel for a quick shower and off we went to the Mahsuri's Museum. That I thought was another rather sad gimmick to cheat tourists of their money. It wasn't very bad, just that it needed more attractions.

Then, it was time for us to leave the island for the mainland. By then, we were famished and quite tired. We practically wolfed down our dinner prepared by MeiJu's grandmother atMeiJu's house when we reached at around ten that night. But then again, what was a little starvation when you are with your friends enjoying yourself?

Kedah Trip - Day 3

Sorry for not updating for so long. I have been busy teaching part time and travelling around and... hmm..what else arr? I dunno lah but my holidays had seem to be very busy and I haven't had enough time to rest and do all the things that I had wanted to do.

So anyway, before I digress further. This is about Day Three of the Kedah trip: We went to Langkawi.

We left Sungai Petani at around 6 in the morning so as to be able to catch the first ferry to Langkawi. We were able to reach the jetty around 630 in the morning, in time to catch the first ferry. When we reached Langkawi Island, we rented a van and went to a hotspring. There we were snapping photographs happily...

Sharing is caring

After the hotspring, we went to the Black Sand Beach which seemed to us looked very dirty and sad. But we snapped photographs anyway...hehe...

Give me your hand!

After a rather pathetic lunch we went to the cultural village in Langkawi Island to go on the cable car. We brought rain everywhere with us and we could not see much of the view.

When the sun came out of hiding again, we went to a waterfall and took many nice photographs there.

Beautiful day, beautiful girls...and a guy. :P

After that, we went on a hike of 400+ steps to take a look at the famed Tujuh Telaga. I nearly fainted halfway through because Brian wanted to keep going. I ended up climbing up the torturous stairs with Hwa Cheat and her mother. We persevered and forced ourselves to take another step. We felt triumphant when we finally reached the "top". And what a surprise when we were there! There was not a well to be seen!!! We were supposed to look at the "whirlpool-like" things under the running river! To me as a tourist, I felt cheated! VERY cheated! But what the heck, take photographs only! :P

600+ steps altogether.

Me nearly dying half-way up to see Tujuh Telaga.

See what? Where? Never mind...take photograph anywhere only...

When we finally hiked back down, we were all quite exhausted. So we checked in to our hotel (I forget the name) and rested for a while. Brian and I decided that we would go to the beach and when we saw MeiJu and YiLoon take a swim in the sea, we jumped in too.

I love doing the twist in the beach.

After that very refreshing rest, we went to hunt for food. Glorious seafood! Didn't take any photographs because we were famished and couldn't be bothered! Haha... What is a visit to Langkawi without shopping at the duty free shops? We shopped ourselves broke and still wanted to buy some more. Hehehe...

Then, it was the obligatory visit to the Eagle Square which was great if my camera could take better photographs at night. After a long night, we were all mentally and physically tired. So off to the beach we went for a beer and some chips. Ahhh...that was life... Reluctantly, we returned to the room and got some sleep to prepare for another full day tomorrow...

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!

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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!

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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!

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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!!

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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.

...

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...

...

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.

...

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*

...

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!

......

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.

.....

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).

.....

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.

.....

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!!