I'm blessed, aren't you?

Students' presentation...(before the holidays)

Students asking questions to the presenters. Some funny answers were given by the presenters which kept the session lively.



Interesting topic but not well presented.



Positive effects of stress to students...




Is having relationship in KMK healthy?



Interesting findings...

SHOOT!!!

Suddenly I got so bored with my life ...I didn't even have my breakfast today. Plan to do many things but everything's cancelled. During this semester break, I'm supposed to see a gynechologist ( don't get me wrong, I'm not pregnant) and a tukang urut to massage my ankle (it's painful again...), mark exam papers (bercintanya aku...) and see a dentist. Unfortunately, none is happening. No specific reason. Just MALAS!
Tomorrow, I'm due to see my parents in Ipoh and I'll be driving and bringing along my 2 small children and Amirah. I plan to get this small stool at Yawata supermarket so that Abah can sit comfortably when he moved around the house. Tonight, I'm buying some prawns for my parents from the Night Market. Nak masak Sambal Tumis Udang untuk Abah. And some ikan beso2 for my mum. Nak masak gulai ikan.... Also some fruits...





Abang on his birthday last two weeks...He's gone again. Poor me...

FAIZAL TAHIR: CUBA - ANUGERAH JUARA LAGU (AJL) KE-23

Faizal Tahir - Cuba

Cuba kau dengar
Cuba kau cuba
Diam bila ku cuba
Tuk berbicara dengan kamu

Pernahkah kau ada
Bila ku perlu
Tuk meluahkan rasa hati

Dan bila kau bersuara
Setia ku mendengar
Agar tenang kau merasa

Siapa
Sebenarnya aku padamu
Mungkin sama dengan teman lain
Yang bisa kau buat begitu

Dan bila
Tiada lagi teman bermain
Kau pulang tuk dapatkan aku
Itulah aku…padamu

Cuba kau lihat
Cuba kau cuba
Renung ke mata aku
Bila ku kaku melihatmu

Pernahkah kau ada
Bila ku perlu
Tuk menyatakan rasa sakit
Dalam diri

Dan bila kau perlu
Setia ku menunggu
Agar senang kau merasa

Siapa
Sebenarnya aku padamu
Mungkin sama dengan teman lain
Yang bisa kau buat begitu
Dan bila
Tiada lagi teman bermain
Kau pulang tuk dapatkan aku
Itulah aku…padamu

Maafkan kerana aku tak pernah
Terlintas tuk menulis pada mu
Salahkan ku
Tak mungkin lagi aku meminta
Untuk kau mendengar..
Untuk kau melihat ke mataku

Siapa
Sebenarnya aku padamu
Mungkin sama dengan teman lain
Yang bisa kau buat begitu
Dan bila
Tiada lagi teman bermain
kau pulang tuk dapatkan aku
itulah aku…padamu

(It's not just a song....)

Datuk Lee and the Juara Lagu

I watched the Korean Open from the kitchen coz I was preparing lunch at that time.


Last Sunday, I got to watch the game of our Datuk Lee with this Denmark player that he beat in another badminton game in Malaysia. Yes, he played well, and so is Gade. But I still cannot hide my disappoinment over his lost. Pschologically, I think there's something wrong somewhere.

Then, the wound began to slowly healed as I watched Juara Lagu on tv that nite. I'm no one's fan but I think Faizal Tahir is superb! He was really into the songs and I loved every minute watching him performed. When everyone was liking "Sampai Syurga", I like 'Coba" better because there was no props involved. It was just him and the song. The deliverance was no doubt, excellent!

Indie music was also my kind of music ( talking about Meet Uncle Husin...I like indie movies as well) but my preference is still Faizal Tahir. His vocal is incomparable. Meet Uncle Husin is unique and different but the voice could not 'vow and wow' me. Sorry guys...but congratulations on the win.

Anyway, some comments on the opening of the event...The Stomp Dance. Although I like modern dance, the stomp dance that they had did not do any justice to the competition. Why do they like to have modern dance every year? Why don't they have something more traditional? Well, of course not Mak Yung...just something more exquisite and subtle? Something that can represent our culture. Maybe any Tarian Istana? Something for a change? The closing part was fine...

Break but No break

My multipurpose favourite outdoor table


Yes, I'm now supposedly to enjoy my ten day semester break, but...like always there are always work, work and more work! I have about 80 ++ exam scripts to mark with 1 essay (this is the real headache...), 5 multiple choice and paraphrasing questions. The problem is...I don't get the momentum to do it. I'll be marking 10 scripts at the verandah of the house, then I start looking at my phone , wishing that somebody would sms me. Or, walking around the house talking to the flowers...Then, I thought, "Ini tak boleh jadi..." so, I took all the scripts back to the house, into my bedroom and landed them all on the bed...Mark more scripts and guess what, I started to feel the comfort of the bed. And so, my eyes began to feel heavy...

GONE BABY GONE!

Palestinians and Jews

Dr Ismail Farouqi


When I was in the US studying, I befriended a Palestinian named Razan. She introduced me to ISR (Institute For Survey Research) where I worked part time, as a coder in the beginning till I was promoted to a Supervisor before I graduated. She's quite modern but she wore scarfs like most Muslim women do. She's very nice and polite. One of my lecturers in the States was also a prominent Palestian figure, Dr Ismail Farouqi. He was kind (like a grandfather) but at the same he was also very strict with his students. He married an American who was specialized in Islamic Arts and Music. Unfortunately both Dr Farouqi and wife did not live long to witness what's happening in Gaza today. They were killed by a black man in their own house. It's believed that their untimely death was plotted and not by accident.

And...the irony thing is I also got to now this Jew when I was boarding a MAS plane from Los Angeles to KL. He introduced himself to me and he said he's goingto KL fr some business. I was on my way home to send 'Adilah to her grandparents. The Jew sat next to me on the plane and he was very nice to me. Everytime I wanted to breastfeed my daughter, she would turned away his face from me. Otherwise, he would be talking to me if I was not sleeping. A few times he ordered fresh milk for me whenever he asked for one for himself from the stewardess. I was thinking at that time...(and now too...)was he a zionist?




My heart broke eveytime I saw pictures like this. Anyone still remember Sabra and Shatilla?

Dinner with my Account students

Khairul called me around 6pm today, inviting me to have dinner with him and his classmates. So, around 8 something, I drove myself to KMK. The students had already prepared barbequed chicken, nasi goreng, some fruits and drinks for me. It was nothing grand but I could see that it's very special and joyful. We chatted and took some pctures while eating till around 9.45pm. Then, after thanking them, I drove back home, feeling very touched and moved. I never thought they could remember me in such a way.








p/s: Actually I was so tired today. Hubby's been outstationed since Monday. Workloads at home and office are increasing. Meetings...Making papers, assignments, due dates...Aargh...!

My long lost friend

Have u ever met someone and he/she became one of your friends that brightened up your life during 'winter'. Then, he's gone, don't know where...no news what so ever till now?

Yes, I have one...His name is *** ( a long one actually). His tall, quite handsome but a bit skinny and very rugged looking He liked to wear torned and worn out jeans and always had this 'key' on his head). He's known among our friends for his talent in music and singing. He could play guitar beautifully and he has a nice voice too (During summer he always played guitar and sang M. Nasir's songs at the pavement. Some Americans would mistakenly thought that he was a beggar. So, they would throw some coins at him when they passed by).
*** was actually a brilliant student but due to some 'personal' problems that he had, he seldomly went to class. "Ponteng kelas' is part of his life back in the States. However, he was excellent at practical subjects. He once told me that he scored A in his practical Electrical Engineering subject. Unfortunately he failed almost all of his written exams because he didn't study at all. he said that he was too lazy to read any books.

I was not that close to him till I asked him to repair my walkman. He took only about half an hour to fix it. Indeed he was an excellent mechanical person.
"Ini rambut sapa ni? Aku jumpa dalam walkman. Patutla tak jalan!" I remembered him saying that with some strands of hair, my hair... in his hands.
But I just laughed when he said that.

I also had some other 'funny' moments with ***. He once pushed the elevator stop button between floor 6 and 7 just to scare me. There were only 2 of us in the elevator. We just came home from attending class.

"Engkau makan pisang ni...berat sangat. Sebab tu lift tak jalan."
"Engkau tak makan pisang ke?" I asked him back.
"Nope! aku makan apple hijau. Baru 3 kalori. Pisang tu 100 kalori tau?"

I told him that I would scream if he kept on scaring me like that. He just laughed. As I was about to open my mouth and scream, he quickly pressed the green (on) button and the elevator moved up. He laughed and laughed until I stepped out from the elevator at the floor where I stayed.

"Engkau mengumpat pasal aku ya, semalam? Aku tau la...Aku ada pasang camera dengan speaker sekali dalam apartment engkau." he also told me one day
" Mana ada?" (The puzzle thing is...yes, my housemates and I did talk about this weirdo that night.
"Oo..tak mengaku ya?"
"Kat mana engkau bubuh?"
"dalam bathroom."
I don't know whether he was telling the truth or not but my friends and I were having the conversation at the living room, not the bathroom! However, whenever we enter the bathroom we would always looked at every corner of the room to see if we could find any camera or speakers.


*** always have some problems with money. He's not very good at savings but he never borrowed any money from friends. He will 'sell' some of his belongings in order to get some income. I bought his yamaha keyboard unwillingly due to my pitiness for him. He was really out of cash...And where did he spend all his money? Not on clothes or food? Guess what? On the Game Machines! When we were busy going to classes, he will be busy playing at the Game Machines...

Till now, all of our friends do not now his whereabouts. Is he married? Or still single? Is he an engineer now? Is he still alive? No one knows...but the keyboard is still with me.

p/s: But these memories can never be compared to the ones that I have with my hubby...

Hello - Evanescence

I'm not a die hard fan of Evanescence but I've liked My Immortal, Bring back To Life, Missing, and this song....it touched me quite deeply. It's actually a goodbye to a hello..? Sad. Real sad..

Lyrics:
playground school bell rings again
rain clouds come to play again
has no one told you she's not breathing?
hello I'm in your mind giving you someone to talk to
hello

if I smile and don't believe
soon I know I'll wake from this dream
don't try to fix me I'm not broken
hello I am the lie living for you so you can hide
don't cry

suddenly I know I'm not sleeping
hello I'm still here
all that's left of yesterday



p/s: Seorang sahabat menelefonku tadi setelah sekian lama menyepi. Menderita Chinkugunya rupanya...Semoga cepat sembuh.

Gimme a break, will ya?

It would be heaven if I could only walk on the pavements of Chestnut Street in Philadelphia and sipping Pina Colida bought at the Orange Julius stall in Gimbles. Hmmm...(dream on..)

Meeting of the STFians

The school gym, tempat kita solat Terawikh and Qiamulail disetiap bulan puasa, solat Raya Haji untuk sapa-sapa yanag tak balik Raya, PJ waktu hujan turun and tempat kita semua buat Ujian Tara yang rasa macam nak mati tu...Heard that it's going to be demolished or memang dah GONE? Hmm...



Sunday, 28 December 2008. 2-5 pm




Saadiah and I was one of the earliest to be at the Melting Pot, Concorde Hotel,KL. There were also, Radin, Isham, and Yati (to our surprise..sebab lama tak jumpa). Then, came the others...Adik, Ins and daughter, Adeeb and Rubi (who went to the wrong Concorde Hotel at first), Yatt, Na, Intan, Mashi...(did I forget to mention any name?) They were a lot of eating, laughters and talks. I don't think anyone kept quite. There were a lot of things to catch up with, many stories to tell and ideas/opinions to be shared. It was all joy and happiness.
About an hour later, Halimah or better known as Oochew showed up. She surely stirred the atmosphere (we hardly recognized her. She looked so different from her tomboy look many many years ago. But she's still very lively and bubbly and her American accent...didn't change at all..). The conversations became merrier and noisier.
Radin was talking about her clinging son and motherhood. Yati, just came back from Sudan and will be going abroad again in February. Ins (I always found it's fascinated how she could capture the heart of such a young man to be her husband)talked about her family and work. She also took us back to the old days in STF. Isham looked very wise and she's indeed a good listener. She's very calm and not so 'hu-ha' like many of us.
I didn't get much time to go around the table coz I was really busy intertaining those who were sitting near me. And, of course we talking about our blogs too. However, before we departed, I managed to move my butt to where Adeeb and other friends were sitting. We continued chatting until the last minute when we began to receive smses and calls from our hubby and children. Time to go home....
Yes, it was such a memorable event and I hope more people could join the gathering next time.


p/s: Abang is 43 today Bought him a slice of secret recipe's marble cheese cake, lamb pie from the same shop and a bottle of orange juice during rush hour (lunch time- had to fetch my kids from school, buy them lunch and return them back to school for KAFA) and 'visited' him at his office. Ok dak?

It's lucky to have someone to share your thoughts, your problems....with.

El (Fadhil) came to see me around 4.30 today. It was a real surprise for me because we don't have any serious business between us since after the storytelling competition and KAKUM. He looked so down and weary.

"hi madam. Am I disturbing you?"
"Not at all..." (I was a bit sleepy and tired actually). How's your study? Your exam?"
"Not quite well..."
"What's your CGPA? You have a new hairstyle now? Brunnette?"
" Only ***. I don't know what do. What to be. That's what happened to my hair. It was really distressful.."

So, we talked and talked and laughed and talked again until everything was blurted out. Such a dedicated student but things were not really working for him. His English is very good. He also has a voice that can really capture people's attention. Loud and very captivating.

"thanks for you time madam."
"No problem. Stop by anytime you come here."
And off he went. Wish I could help him more.

They say, love is sharing.....

I heard a lot of my favourite songs on the radio today beginning with The Reason by Hoobastank very early in the morning. Then 'Alone' by Heart (not Celline Dion). I did my housework happilly and at full swing. Later, more and more of my favourite songs were aired on the radio. Old songs, new songs...In the car, I heard "Here Without You" by 3 Doors Down and In the End by Linkin Park plus Matahariku by Agnes Monica.
However, what struck me the most is when one of the DJs said,

"Alangkah bahagia hidup kita bila di kelilingi oleh orang-orang yang kita sayang dan merekapun menyayangi kita juga."

That is very true because it's sometimes hurtful to know that people that we really care and love are simply ignorant. EGO maybe? Or they just don't care. For me, the easiest way is just expect the UNEXPECTATIONS. Then, you won't get any headache...Don't put any high hopes to avoid frustrations. Just do your best and let it go with the flow.

So, I 'shoove' 2 of my children off to their boarding school today. Both of them are going to sit for their Major exam this year. I prepared them some lunch packs to be eaten at school. The school only provide dinner today.

As for Masyitah and Anisah...they looked quite excited to go to school tomorrow They kept reminding me to set the alarm clock and wake up early tomorrow morning. Gosh! I'm going to be very busy again starting tomorrow...


P/S: THE HOUSE IS SO....QUIET!

New year, old resolutions?

Well...I'm going to be 43 this year which means that I'm not getting any younger. 3 of my children are going to sit for their major exams, SPM, PMR and UPSR. Amirah will be getting her SPM result in March. Headache? I should be but I'm not getting it just yet...To make things a bit easier, I have custom-made 5 pairs of Masyitah's and Anisah's school uniforms so I don't need to dig into the laundry basket every other day to wash their clothes. I'll also be 'chauffeuring' again , maybe more often than before coz Anisah will be finishing her school hours at 2pm while Masyitah at 5.30pm (because she has her religious KAFA class).

I'm thinking of going back to Ipoh to see my parents once a month because they are now very weak and fragile...But I don't know coz my own schedule will also be very tight (but not rigid) and hubby is also not that well nowadays. So, I really don't know. I can only plan, I guess...

I have always wanted to be a kinder person, more tolerant and less emotional. I hope I can achieve that this year. PATIENCE. That's something that I lack off, sometimes. So, I'll try to be more patient towards SO MANY uncertainties and things that go beyond my expectation (negatively) this year. I hope I can be more calm and composed.

OTHER WISH LISTS:
1)Help Ning and Izi or Fadhil to bring back Storytelling Competition trophies which will be held in Port Dickson next month.
2)Realizing my trip to Pulau Payar or Mangrove Tour in Langkawi with my students by the end of February or early March.
3)My own trip with some friends to Indonesia in April.
4)Read more books.
5)Doing Masters programme? Hmm...

I also want to make my home a happy place to live, more beautiful, peaceful and serene; My hubby to do better in carier, my children to excel in their studies, Mum to be able to bear with her pain and agony (what more can I do or say...), Mukmin to overcome his studying problems, Adikm to complete his research and can further his study after that, Jun to be able to carry on with her life happily, Sham to conceive and have children and the list goes on and on...

In a nutshell, I hope everyone will lead into a happy and prosperous life this year (more children this year, Ins?). SELAMAT MAAL HIJRAH and Happy New Year.


p/s: And I WANT MY MONEY BACK...(Help me God)


My eldest has gone to the States using the American Pasport. She has a dual citizenship because she was borne there.

A Word A Day

I watched Shark on Star World just now and just learned this new term - Rape in Concert which means that by their (those who involve in the act) presence at the time of the alleged assault, they assisted in facilitating the crime. In other words, they could be one or more person raping the victim and the rest just assist/help to make it happen. It's different from gang rape where everyone in the group joins the 'party'. Phew!!! that's scary.

p/s : I'm supposed to write my high tea reunion with my old school mates but I have problems uploading the pictures...Huhuhu.

New Year anyone?

Why do we tend to remember more of the lunar New Year than our own Maal Hijrah?
How many of us really recite the end of year and beginnning of Awal Muharram du'a this year? To be honest...I just recite my own du'a in Malay because I was away in KL at that time and had 'du'a book no where near me at that time. And the only 'yaasin' available in the apartment was with mum-in-law. Not a good start heh? Yeah, ok...at least I remember. It was on the 29th December 2008, the last day in our Islamic calendar. Though I could not recite the surah, I pray to God that He guides me to the right path always and forever coz I know I'm at my most fragile and weak position almost everyday of my life.
To all my friends and those reading this blog, Have a fruiful Maal Hijrah. And Happy New year too to my non Muslim friends, students, Genevieve (my best friend in Primary school), Karen Shane (my supervisor at Inst. Survey Research, USA), Michael (the only Mat Salleh who congratulated me at Temple U), etc...etc...
See you all next year? Tomorrow....

p/s I want to write more but my eyes are very tired... I'll write more tomorrow. (oh yes, Sellin called and Adik too...made my night fairly interesting.)