Sunday, September 30, 2012

She's to be loved.

 女人不是用來理解的,也不是用來欺負和嫌棄、責備和冷落,她是用來疼的。無論她看上去多麼堅強、孤傲、或者獨立,女人這種動物,終究是用來疼的。-张小娴。

Favourite quote of the week, from writer Chong, "Women are not to be understood, nor are they to be bullied, disliked, blamed or neglected, they are to be loved.  No matter how independent, strong and prideful she looks, women this kind of animal, ultimately is to be loved."


Thursday, September 27, 2012

Homemade Snow Skin Mooncakes






Gotta share this successfully-soft 'Enid's Snow Skin Mooncake' Recipe~!

1) 300g mooncake flour
2) 440g icing sugar
3) 100g shortening
4) 360g cold water

- Mix all ingredients, except water
- Mix well. Then, add water.
- Mix again dough becomes soft.

Best serve chilled :)

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Pot luck for fellowship @ Hock Ing Methodist Church, Kapit. Purposely walked out to town to buy the ingredients after tuition, made 5 mooncakes and left it to chill before heading to work. So yes, this is made out of love. And when I spotted a sister returned to take the second piece, with delight in her eyes, I smiled.

----------------------------------------Part 3---------------------------------------------------------

"The way to a man's heart is through his stomach."

For him, I've made a mental note to learn at least a new dish once a week.

Maturity VS Naivety


Is it possible to have pure friendship between guys and girls?  That was one of the suggested debate’s topics during last month’s fellowship.  

Remember my previous post which ends with “can I have this happiness forever?”  I’m sorry if my naivety in asking obvious questions has caused discomfort among readers.  

Why do humans automatically create an invisible wall when they sense things might lead to the undesired ending? Google your answer!

3 paragraphs starting with 3 questions, how lame is that. 

Earlier on, before car-pooling to church, I met a colleague throwing rubbish; I was holding two bags of rubbish too. He greeted with “throwing rubbish ah?” 

I laughed away, and replied ‘yes’ after a 8 seconds pause. 

These ‘abuden’ situations really is amusing if one see from the positive light, and it’s obvious those are initiators to conversations and words of courtesy.

-------------------------------------------------Part 2------------------------------------------------

*blink*

9 months passed. Another 37 days, I'll be a one-year-old teacher in service. My kids, they are still as light-hearted as day 1. Exam stress? Only those creme de la creme, I heard.

Dealing with the 13 years old and Sunday School children has gradually affect the way I pose questions - child-like and lack thought-provoking questions.  

While sitting-in Form 2K earlier, I asked a girl who just entered the class, "Where are the rest?" in English, she stared at me and nervously answered "Saya ke tandas tadi, Cikgu." Patiently, I repeated and explained slower and finally she smiled.

2 days ago, I asked my best students, why do they come to school to study? I realized they were not joking when they answered a frown, 'mum will cane if I skip school', 'government will fine our parents', 'study la'. When I knock some sense like studying is to produce intellectuals and a civilized society, only then they nodded.  Still, some might not get what I meant now, but perhaps in the months/years to come, they will.  Just like how Chemistry and Physics only make sense to me long after I sat for SPM. 

-------------------------------------------Part 3-----------------------------------------------------

Lesson learned? It's high time to upgrade this sleepy mind of mine. Juniors have completed Masters. I think getting out of this town (fortnightly) in the pursuit of education will do good. 

P/s Amanda: momsy stuff ? =P
 




Sunday, September 23, 2012

Hello again, Mount Kota Kinabalu

Pack light, or hire a potter/guide (RM 8 per kg). 500ml water, ascend at 9:45am, reached Laban Rata at ...shoot, I forgot! erm, 4pm? Difficult? Looking back, not really, it's mere DETERMINATION.

Do reach the restaurants while the buffet is still on, or you'll have fried rice as packed lunch. Took a cab to Lintas for Sheng Rou Mian (top right). Direct translation: Raw Meat Noodle.

Thanks MT, for lending me your torchlight. The hike up from Gunding Lodging House was way more tough, due to the strong chilling wind. Setting foot at Low's peak (again) and the breathtaking scenery (plus meeting up friends) was worth Rm1.5K spent.
Day trip to Sabah State Museum and Heritage Village. Visiting museums completes a vacation :)

Take nothing, but photographs. Leave nothing, but footprints.

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Tasting a blissful life

11th September 2012 marks a beautiful day :)

1. Minus my failure in classroom management, I can see the students more interested in doing group work on Mahjong paper. Though the weaker class came out with In-the-Box answers, but they tried :)

2. Few amazing people entered my life recently. They made me smile, from the bottom of my heart :) 

3. A close friend just purchased a house with her bf. Glad they worked things out :)

4. Another buddy touched down London few days ago. Finally, reunited with her bf.

5. Last but not least.....*secret*

Can I wish for this happiness to last forever?

Sunday, September 9, 2012

Recall @ Kem Jati Diri

Kem Jati Diri 2012 @ SMK Kapit ended with tears.

Last night, Cikgu Funny successfully created the mood for RECALL session.  He dimmed the light in the meeting room and played the sad background music. Students came in 25minutes later than they should. Reason being we teachers chipped in money to have a barbeque supper for them.

Anyway, Cikgu Funny* was really upset (or perhaps, he used Punctuality as a set induction). Students strode in making a lot of noise. We facilitators had been waiting in the room for their arrival for a long time. They are the VIPS. They chatted happily and CF just sat in front, head down for 15 minutes. Eventually, they quieten down. CF pushed his chair backwards, slammed hard on the table, shoved the papers away and shouted at them!

The drama began!

"Tahukah anda berapa lama cikgu tunggu kamu semua?!"

"Bilakah kamu semua akan SEDAR?!"

"Cikgu tanya Tuhan, kenapalah anak bangsa ini tidak menghargai masa mereka?"

"Cikgu rela tinggalkan mak dan bapak yang dah tua dan uzur di kampung untuk datang begini jauh semata-mata untuk anak bangsa Malaysia."

"Tapi, adakah kamu semua menghargai apa yang cikgu-cikgu sediakan untuk kamu?! TIDAK! Kamu langsung tidak mengerti hidup. Adakah kamu berdoa untuk ibu bapamu? Adakah kamu buat perkara yang boleh membanggakan mereka? Tidak! Kamu semua ponteng kelas, bertengkar dengan cikgu, merokok, berjudi....jika ibu atau bapamu tiba-tiba meninggal dunia, adakah kamu akan kesal yang kamu tidak pernah membuatkan perkara yang boleh membanggakan mereka?"

The girls started to sob. When CF showed his photo with his parents, more students cried.

FYI, the target group of this camp is for the problematic students (not the hard core, but those in the border line who can still be saved).  The purpose of the Recall session is to stir up their subconscious mind.

I shed a few tears too, when CF mentioned about parents. He said, he's willing to come so far, leaving his parents at the village, just for the sake of the future generation. Every time his parents send him off, they'll hug and cry. What if that's the last hug?

ARgh...that moment stirred my emotions too.

Have I made my parents proud? Thank God they've witnessed me receiving my degree scroll on stage. I know daddy and mummy are proud the three of us have promising careers. And I also realize, as the time passed, the days spent with my parents are getting shorter.

I do want to go home. I do want to be a filial daughter and spend time with them. Thank God my brother and sister are back in Kuching. ALL my Chinese colleagues applied for transfer. Part of me hope to leave this place and just be back in my comfort zone in Kuching.

However, growing up and having teaching as a career is no joking matter. Like what my mentor advised, do you choose to live for yourself or the children?

This is where conscience came in. Thank God for giving me the passion to teach. Something bad happened during this camp. Many of the teachers are disappointed. Some are immuned by the students' attitude. I am saddened to see their hopeless and disappointed look.

I find the students creative, playful yes, but they are not that hopeless. Recalling back their smiling though tired faces, I smiled. They acted, they danced, they sang, they cheered. They praised others, they helped each other, they support their team members. They learned and practiced saying Thank You to teachers and greet us with nods and smiles. Though some of them still walk like they're taiko, but when they are on stage or being praised, they shy faces once again, reminded me, they are kids. Even as adults, we make mistakes.

Perhaps not all of them gained from this camp, but I strongly believe the activities carried out DO impact some of their lives. As a 8months old teacher, I do hope my hope for them will not diminish. Without hope, I find no reason to continue serving here.

Did I enjoy the camp? You bet I did! \(^_^)/

Saturday, September 8, 2012

Kem Jati Diri Day 2

Second day of Kem Jati Diri.

The Night Walk last night was .... funny! Haha. Sorry, some girls cried out of fear as they were asked to walk in the dark around the school, guided by a nylon string along the route, ALONE, at 12:30midnight! They were given a candle each. Most candles blew out by the time they reached the second station. Some committee members jumped out of bushes to give them a fright of life!

Group performance, with the theme of 'Kasih Sayang Terhadap Guru' will start in another 20 minutes.

The highlight of this 3D2N camp will be the RECALL program at 11pm tonight. Our counselor will create a mood which will make the problematic (personally, I find them....just hyper active) students CRY...

Till then!

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Hot Coffee

She was sitting alone at the verandah. Rows of thunder can be heard from the distance. She could feel the cold air brushing against her skin.

Her family members are sitting quietly in the living room, watching TV.

The sky was pitch dark. And suddenly she saw something white. It was all very strange and eerie. She had never see anything that eerie before.

The rows of thunder became louder and louder. And the rain poured harder and harder.

Much to the surprise of her family member, the woman told the family members what was out there. They never see anything such frightening in their lives.  A little girl screamed out of fright.

The father urged everyone to enter the house.  The woman then told the neighbours to look up into the sky. 

The two men had experienced this before in the jungle. Flashes of lightning showed the silhouette of the thing.

Few minutes later, the men returned to the verandah where all the family members gathered. In deed, someone must be brave enough to fight it.

One of the  man said, there ought to be some hot coffee, to make the whole thing funny.

"Why not? Hot coffee will make the whole thing happy," said father.

A older man asked the young girl to wash her pale face.

Minutes later, more people came by to see what happened. It was something that the girl will remember for the rest of her life.