MAY TODAY BE BETTER THAN YESTERDAY

DO NOT LITTER!

2009-10-25T21:37:00.005+08:00

I just want to write a simple entry today.

I get very irritated when I see people throwing rubbish just anywhere they like. I guess many of us share this opinion too.

I also get very irritated when I see people smoking at prohibited places. This very simple rule of NO SMOKING IN ENCLOSED PUBLIC PLACES is very difficult to follow by most Malaysian smokers. These group of irresponsible people (the smokers, I mean) do not seem to understand that non-smokers have the right to breath fresh, healthy, tobacco-smell free air. Smokers do not know that people who smoke smell bad to nonsmokers. The World Health Organization points out that diseases linked to smoking kill at least three million people each year, one every six seconds.

Actually, what I wanted to write is that a few days ago, while driving to work, I had to stop at a traffic light. It was quite a long stop, and I had time to notice that the driver in front of me was smoking. I was not very irritated because since my windows were shut, naturally I can't smell the 'bad odor' from this particular driver in front of me. But I vowed to myself that if this driver should throw his cigarette bud out of his car, I will definitely honk my car. True enough, he did throw his cigarette bud to the ground even before the traffic light turns green! Of course, I honked my car!

You see, to smoke is already bad. To throw the cigarette bud simply anywhere at one's whimps and fancies is even worse!

Do you know the owner of the car in this entry? This person shouldn't get emotionally upset if he/she happens to read my blog. I am just sharing my morning experience, what is important is the values that one gets by reading my entry.

WHY THE STUPIDITY

2009-10-17T06:55:00.002+08:00

I would like to share this email that I received from a friend.

HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED WHY?

Why do drugstores make the sick walk all the way to the back of the store to get their prescriptions while healthy people can buy cigarettes at the front.

Why do people order double cheeseburgers, large fries, and a diet coke.

Why do banks leave both doors open and then chain the pens to the counters.

Why do we leave cars worth thousands of dollars in the driveway and put our useless junk in the garage.

Why do we buy hot dogs in packages of ten and buns in packages of eight.

Why do they have drive-up ATM machines with Braille lettering.

Why the sun lightens our hair, but darkens our skin?

Why women can't put on mascara with their mouth closed?

Why don't you ever see the headline 'Psychic Wins Lottery'?

Why is 'abbreviated' such a long word?

Why is it that doctors call what they do 'practice'?

Why is lemon juice made with artificial flavor, and dish washing liquid made with real lemons?

Why is the man who invests all your money called a broker?

Why is the time of day with the slowest traffic called rush hour?

Why isn't there mouse-flavored cat food?

Why do they sterilize the needle for lethal injections?

You know that indestructible black box that is used on airplanes? Why don't they make the whole plane out of that stuff?!

Why are they called apartments when they are all stuck together?

If flying is so safe, why do they call the airport the terminal?

TELL ME WHY

2009-08-16T13:09:00.001+08:00

Sorry, I should have made this acknowledgement.
The previous post is lyrics of a song by Declan Galbraith.

TELL ME WHY

2009-08-16T12:57:00.001+08:00

In my dreams, Children sing
A song of love for every boy and girl
The sky is blue, the fields are green
And laughter is the language of the world
Then I wake and all I see is a world full of people in need

Tell me why,(why) does it have to be like this
Tell me why, (why) is there something I have missed
Tell me why, (why) cause I don't understand
When so many need somebody
We don't give a helping hand
Tell me why

Every day, I ask myself
What will I have to do to be a man
Do I have, to stand and fight
To prove to everybody who I am
Is that what my life is for?
To waste in a world full of war

Tell me why, (why) does it have to be like this
Tell me why, (why) is there something I have missed
Tell me why,(why) cause I don't understand
When so many needs somebody
We don't give a helping hand
Tell me why (Tell me why)
Tell me why (Tell me why)
Tell me why (Tell me why)
Just tell me why (why, why, why)

Tell me why, (why) does it have to be like this
Tell me why, (why) is there something I have missed
Tell me why, (why) cause I don't understand
When so many need somebody
We don't give a helping hand
Tell me why (Why why, does the tigers run?)
Tell me why (Why why, do we shoot the gun?)
Tell me why (Why why, do we never learn?)
Can someone tell us why we let the forests burn

(why why do we say we can?) Tell me why
(why why is it still the same?) Tell me why
(why why do we talk and run?) Tell me why
Can someone tell us why we let the ocean die

(why why do we always say?) Tell me why
(why why do we pass the blame?) Tell me why
(why why does it never rain?)
Can someone tell us why we cannot just be friends

(why why do we close our eyes?)
(why why do we really lie?)
(why why do we fight for land?)
Can someone tell us why cause we don't understand
Why Why?

EIGHT MONTHS LATER

2009-08-09T13:48:00.001+08:00

It has been 8 (eight) weeks since Monsieur A passed his viva. Tahniah!!! Felicitations!!! Congratulations!!! Congratulazioni!!! I have not been updating my blog since the day Monsieur A had his viva. He is now a busy man, he has some hours of lectures and lab, he supervised some Masters/PhD students and also one of those in the management team at COIT UNITEN. (College of IT) Good money comes with big responsibilities.

But being an IT guy, he doesn’t like the management job… he just likes his research and his students’ projects. But since there are not many senior staff at COIT, he had no choice but to accept the post just days after he got through the PhD viva. It is a two-year kind of compulsory post since 1st January 2009. (ooopss… 1st January is a public holiday, must have been 2nd January then) He has been saying to me that come 1st January 2011, he will relinquish his admin post and would like to concentrate on research, blah, blah,blah. Well, do what you are good at, and what is important is that you are satisfied with it ….

PhD VIVA

2008-12-29T11:25:00.002+08:00

Today is Monsieur A's viva at UTM Johor. I know that the viva was scheduled to start at 9 am. It is now 11.30 am, so I am not sure if it is over. I have not received any call or SMS from Monsieur A. Probably they (the professors from UTM and also from University Nantes, France) are still grilling him or it is over but Monsieur A is too busy to buzz me. I didn't want to call him yet in case the call might disturb his concentration.

I wish you all the best, my dear sweetheart! I trust that you will be able to breeze through the viva!

ANOTHER WEEK TO GO

2008-10-25T20:02:00.003+08:00

I have not posted any entry for more than 2 months. Lazy me. Suddenly I feel like I want to write this ... In exactly a week Monsieur A will be back from Nantes, Insya Allah.
Both Atiqah and Afiq have told me something that they would like to do when Abah is back. Atiqah made plans to visit the aquarium complex - AQUARIA KLCC. And surprisingly Afiq has requested to go to MPH to get a book by Bear Grylls (I think he said the title of the book is Man vs Wild, hope I am right...)

I must admit that for the past one year, the children have not done much traveling, not done much outing, not done much visiting to relatives, etc. We do missed out on a lot of family activities ever since Monsieur A left for Nantes in October 2007 to complete his PhD. I blame this scenario on myself - I am not that adventurous by nature. Being married to Monsieur A has made me become a more 'outdoor' kind of person. So when he is away, family activities have been somewhat dormant! . Hopefully, when he is back next week we will have more time as a family!

DINER AVEC UNE FAMILLE MAROCAINE

2008-08-08T05:58:00.005+08:00

Last night my husband and I had dinner at a Moroccan family's house. This family is Moroccan by origin but they are of French nationality. Before I came to France, I heard a lot about Zakaria from my husband. Don't worry Zakaria, he always talk good about you (smile!). In case you are wondering, Zakaria is the handsome young man in the striped, navy blue shirt.

Zakaria, his mother (Madame Latifa), his two younger brothers (Mosab and Abu Hanifa), and his only sister (Houda) live at Malakof. It is about 10 minutes drive from my husband’s studio. Houda studies at a management school in Bordeaux and unfortunately she was not home last night. Mosab is the one in the white shirt, while Abu Hanifa is the one wearing grey t-shirt.

It was an enjoyable evening with this family, despite the fact that I only know very little French and Madame Latifa can only speak French and Arabic. These boys were born in France and naturally they speak French like a French! I can understand 30% of their conversation because they tried their best to use English and partly because 60% of English words originated from French!

Merci beaucoup pour Madame Latifa! C’est très bon dîner!

MUSHMELON AND POTATO

2008-08-05T04:52:00.004+08:00

Monsieur A and I arrived back to Nantes from our vacance (French for vacation) on 2nd August 2008 (Saturday). We left Nantes on the 26th July 2008 (Saturday), and within one week we were in 5+1 countries. We started in France, and were in Spain, Andorra, Monaco, Italy and Switzerland. It was great! J'ai eu un temps merveilleux!

After we had lunch on the day we arrived Nantes, we went to Carrefour to get vegetables, fruits, milk, rice, etc. Hmm…I feel that I can’t go without cherries, melons, avocado, etc.

Just want to show you the delicious mushmelon that we bought from Carrefour and also the potatoes that were pulled out from the garden. These potatoes were planted by Monsieur A slightly more than a month before I arrived France. The French word for potato is pomme de terre , literally translated into English, it means “ground apple”.

DUBAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

2008-08-03T05:33:00.005+08:00

18th July 2008, 915pm: Arifah, Afiq, Atiqah and my sister-in-law sent me to KLIA. On the way, we stopped at INTI University College Nilai to fetch Afifah. My flight to Paris, transit at Dubai, is at 12.50am, 19th July. After checking in at about 10.30pm, I asked them to leave for home because Atiqah has to attend school the next day.

19th July 2008, 4am: I arrived Dubai International Airport. I was a bit lost since I was alone and it was my first time at this airport. After passing through security, I asked a lady worker about subuh prayer time. She could not understand my English very much, but from her sign language I could understand that I will be able to hear the azan when subuh is due.

4.20 am: Alhamdulillah, Praises due to Allah, Azan for Subuh could be heard throughout the airport. I managed to locate the prayer room. Hmm…ladies were sleeping in the prayer room despite being asked by an airport worker to wake up and perform prayers! From her looks, this airport worker is a Chinese origin. I was quite shocked at the way she reacted to the ladies who could not be bothered with the sound of the Azan. May Allah protect her. Most of the ladies just continued sleeping…

After I have performed my prayers, another airport worker again asked the ladies to wake up and to leave the room if they do not intent to perform subuh prayer. She threatened that she will call the security if they refuse to leave. Look like these ladies are stubborn and no threat or scolding will make them budge!

I left the prayer room, and just walked around while window shopping around the many shops in the airport. I saw that Emirates also give meal vouchers if passengers transit for more than 4 hours – I qualify actually! But the queue was too long and I doubt if I have the patience. Moreover I wasn’t hungry.

I think Dubai Airport is very huge and beautiful but one set back is that there were too many people sleeping on the floor!!!!

MAT REMPIT

2008-06-28T18:43:00.002+08:00

Young men (most of the time, anyway) riding on motorbikes performing dangerous acts that endanger other road users – yes, they are known as MAT REMPIT in Malaysia. I wonder whether this phenomenon is unique to Malaysia only. I always wonder also, how this MAT REMPIT terminology came into existence… (Any experts from Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka out there???)

Afifah, Atiqah and I went to the Bandar Baru Bangi Post Office this afternoon. I had my car parked under a shady tree in the compound of the post office while I asked Afifah to go into the post office to do some chores. After a while, Atiqah and I saw two MAT REMPITS (sorry for giving the plural form of this noun) doing a dangerous act about 70 m away from where I was. Fortunately that road is not very popular except when they have the Pasar Malam.

In away I was glad that they both fell (ouchhhhh!!!!!) and they looked somewhat hurt. I saw them pushing the motorbike to the side and they were there for maybe 15 minutes. I was sure they hurt themselves quite badly! If Afifah had come out of the post office fast enough, I would definitely go to these two rascals and give them a piece of my mind! Too bad, by the time Afifah got back to the car, the two guys rode away, albeit much slower than they did before the accident (kah…kah…kah…) I pray that they will have some feelings of regret and that there will be lesser MAT REMPITS in Bandar Baru Bangi, well at least lesser by two!

CAN'T WAIT

2008-06-24T13:57:00.003+08:00

What is this Emirates Airlines doing here in my blog? Well, this is a form of releasing my excitement… I will be flying on Emirates Airline on the 19th July 2008 from the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG). Paris CDG is the largest airport serving Paris. It is also the second busiest passenger airport in Europe after London Heathrow.

My three weeks leave has been approved by the Human Resource Division, Ministry of Education. In the public service department in Malaysia, one must fill up a special request form to go overseas, even if it means going to Singapore (across Tebrau Strait) or going to Sumatera, Indonesia (across Malacca Strait). Hmm… Government servants as we are called, so I have no choice but to abide by the government rules and regulations. Well, that doesn’t hurt me as long as I get to see my beloved hubby in Nantes, France.

I am really looking forward to this trip. I have never flown Emirates Airlines before but I had no other alternative, since the Malaysian Airlines (MAS) fares are beyond my limits! When I made the ticket reservations in April this year, Emirates Airlines seem to be the only wise choice. I don’t mind the transit in Dubai, yes, during both the to and fro journeys the plane will transit in Dubai – I hope I will be able to do something interesting there. BTW, my journey home will be on the 10th August from Paris CDG Airport back to KLIA.

COLMAR TROPICALE, BUKIT TINGGI

2008-04-05T00:54:00.005+08:00

My unit (refering to my professional unit at work in Putrajaya) will be having our first PDP (Professional Development Programme) for 2008 from the 7 - 10th April. After going through the proper procedure, the project manager (Cik 'Ain) manage to convince the Procurement Unit that we can have the meeting at Colmar Tropicale, Bukit Tinggi, Malaysia. Kudos to Cik 'Ain!

Well, just in case if there are any French who happen to stumble on my blog - we do have a Colmar in Malaysia. Every architecture and furnishings in Colmar Malaysia is almost identical to what you get in Colmar France. I guessed the only difference would be the temperature and the language that people use!!!

Having been to Colmar France in 2007, I am looking forward to see Colmar Malaysia, not just for the sake of comparing. But of course, to gain new experience and knowledge from the PDP would be my main priority. We were informed by the Unit Head that the two focus in this PDP are Finance and ACA :) Please do not be paranoid...I believe attending is believing.

COUNTING THE DAYS

2008-02-05T23:11:00.001+08:00

I want to have this short piece documented. Suddenly I realised that very soon Monsieur A will be back to Malaysia for a short break. Hmm...I did not make any entry when he left.......

He left for France on the eve of 1st November 2007, it is just over 4 months now! From the calls, chats, emails, SMSes, etc (what else?), he said that his progress is good. I am making doa that he will finish his research before the due date, ie one year from October 2007. Huh....huh.....still a long way and a long wait.

Being a temporary 'single mother' for the past 4 months was a real test! What more, my maid fell very sick just a few days after Monsieur A left for Nantes, and I had to send her back home. (Home is Indonesia, of course). A month ago, Arifah, my eldest daughter met with an accident. When I recall the night that I received the call about the accident....I cannot imagine how I survived that night. It was due to Allah's help that I managed to calm myself down and also to calm Monsieur A. Otherwise...... I don't know what stupid decisions I would have made that night. It was the 6th of January 2008! Hmmm...Arifah does not seem to remember the date!

BTW, Monsieur A will arrive KLIA on the 7th March 2008, Insha Allah (God Willing).

TIARA BEACH RESORT

2008-01-31T21:42:00.000+08:00

I had a busy week at Tiara Beach Resort Port Dickson from the 28 - 31 January 2008. My unit had a Coordination Meeting with the Officers and Clerks from the State Education Office all over the country.

The meeting was related to one of the exam boards that the Ministry of Education Malaysia administer, ie. the ABRSM. We were honoured to have the ABRSM Regional Consultant for South East Asia, Mr Bill Thomson, to attend the meeting.

Bill was also delighted as he got to meet his old acquaintances like Sukhaimi, Johnny, Latifei, and Mdm Chen, just to name a few. We had Thai dinner on Wednesday night. And on Thursday morning we had a formal meeting - Bill spoke to all of the participants about his function in Malaysia. All the participants introduced themselves to Bill - I was glad to discover that all our officers and clerks could speak good English. It is just a matter of getting used to it, especially at formal meetings like this one! (smile everyone!!!)

At the end of the day, I have to admit that all of us, especially me and my unit mates were very tired. To my Head of Unit - we understand that the challenges that you had to undertake from this meeting were indeed not easy. It is your duty to remind officers/clerks if they go off course.
Personally, my wish is that those who attend our meetings will benefit professionally, else we will be answerable for our actions.

WORST ACCIDENT IN THE MODERN HISTORY OF MALAYSIA

2007-08-21T21:44:00.000+08:00

My apologies to those who are reading this entry. It is a very negative title for an entry right? But this is the talk of the town since the "Super Express" belonging to Syarikat Kenderaan Bukit Gantang became a "Super Horror"!!! At first I heard that there were 20 deaths, unfortunately, a few days after the accident one of the seriously injured victims (a three year old child) passed away. That gives a total of 21 deaths and almost ten people injured, I think.

Everything that happened has been fated. Yes, true. But to discover that the "Super Driver" had 13 summonses and two warrants of arrest for traffic offences is beyond human comprehension. Obviously some authorities in my country, Malaysia, which will celebrate its 50th year of independence, are not doing their job :(

Forget about the call for the setting up of a royal commission to investigate accidents involving public transport. Set up a ROYAL COMMISSION (Suruhanjaya Bebas) for this and for that!!! It is a waste of public fund. The public is tired, angry and feel cheated by the so many royal commissions being set up only when the issue is being debated. What happens after a few months???

Today, slightly a week after the tragedy of the “Super Express”, the newspaper / television is still reporting about accidents involving drivers of express buses who have summonses for road offences. I wonder if this is happening only in my country or there are other countries that you can get such ironic and absurd news!

COLMAR, FRANCE

2007-06-09T23:14:00.001+08:00

19th-20th May 2007 (Sat-Sun)
Upon arrival at the Frankfurt airport, we drove to Colmar. We rented an Opel Corsa that we travelled in for the next nine days of the holiday. It is a cute, 2-door car. Sufficient for the two of us.
The distance from Frankfurt to Colmar is about 290km. We took more than 3 hours for the journey because we stopped a few times to take pictures. Really can't miss the opportunity to click the camera which was at my disposal since Monsieur A need to have both hands on the stearing wheels! The good thing is that we did not have to pay a single euro for toll!
Colmar is situated in northeastern France. Colmar's attractions are its crooked houses, half-timbered and painted, on crooked lanes – all extremely pretty.
Initially, we did not plan to sleep in Colmar. But both of us were just too exhausted to drive on. I suppose it was the jet lag and the walk around Colmar that made us just want to sleep and rest for the night in Colmar...
The next morning..., imagine a Sunday morning! Of course most people are still in bed... but we had to be up early since it will be another traveling day. But before we left Colmar we were lucky to be able to wave at some adventurous lot who were having fun in a hot-air balloon. We had a fun time waving at them!

MY HOLIDAY

2007-05-30T07:00:00.001+08:00

I was away – away as in out of the country from the 18th – 28th May 2007. Monsieur A and I were in Europe. During the 9 ½ days, we were in 4 different countries of Western Europe. The countries that we visited were France, Germany, Austria and Chez Republic.

Although it was a busy period for me at the office, this trip was something that I really looked forward to. Actually, Monsieur A was having a conference in Vienna, Austria for 2 days on the 21st and 22nd May 2007. My friend was teasing me saying that the trip was like a honey-moon for both of us. Another honey-moon after 22 years of married life...

It was just the two of us. We left the children who were in the midst of their mid-year exams. Unfortunately, Monsieur A also left the poster that was meant for the Vienna conference at the KLIA Mc Donald’s. But luck was with him, the organizing committee in Vienna was kind enough to have his poster printed in colour out-put and it was done for frei (frei is ‘free’ in German).

BTW, if you visit Austria, you will not be able to visit Vienna because over there Vienna is referred to as Wien (pronounced Vin).

We really enjoyed ourselves albeit somewhat exhausted because of the non-stop driving from one city to another. Oops…I did not drive at all although the car rental company said that I can drive using the Malaysian Driving Licence. We also walked or ride on the tramp or train in the cities.

I will try to post pictures and write on our holiday experience in my coming entries! Watch out, ok! For now, you can recall your geography knowledge from the maps that I have put up!

TEACHER'S DAY

2007-05-18T13:31:00.001+08:00

Every year on the 15th May, I notice that the florists, souvenir shops, super markets, 5 Ringgit Shops or even 2 Ringgit Shops are packed with children and parents! WHY? Because 16th May is TEACHER'S DAY! The children want to buy something for their teachers. I have a friend who lamented at parents who bring their children to the 2 Ringgit Shop to get presents for the teachers. To me the value doesn't matter, it is the thought that counts. Just imagine if one has 4 school going kids and each of them has like 7 teachers, and each kid want to give something to their cikgu (= teacher) on Teacher's Day!

I was a teacher for about 13 years before my present job in Putrajaya. Most of the time I was teaching Additional Mathematics and Mathematics. At one time, I was asked by the school head to teach English. That happened in 1991 when we moved to Alor Star, the little town in the North of Peninsula Malaysia. I told the head that I am not trained to teach English although I can speak fluent English. He said that the school does not have enough English teachers. We exchanged looks. I took up the challenge and I taught English for a year at SMK Seberang Perak, Alor Star. Any of my English students reading this blog?

Back to Teacher's Day, since I left school I get less and less of the 'HAPPY TEACHER'S DAY' messages. Well, my youngest student should by now be 24 years old! They could be teachers themselves, but hang on! I don't think so. I have never met my student who is a teacher. They are either engineers, government officers, managers, doctors, etc.

This year I received only one 'HAPPY TEACHER'S DAY' text message from my student whom I taught in 1997- 1998. Currently, he is working with Petronas as a chemical engineer. A polite boy. Oops...he is a grown up man now. He graduated from the land of many koalas and kangaroos like me and my husband.

I would like to wish everyone 'HAPPY TEACHER'S DAY' - we all have teachers and we are teachers at one point or other in our lives.

HAPPY 15th BIRTHDAY AFIQ!

2007-05-13T10:01:00.000+08:00

At 7.16pm, 11th May 2007 I received an SMS from Atiqah's number. The message read "Ibu ari ni bpe haribulan". (Mum, what is the date today). I was quite surprised because Atiqah was with me at that time. Suddenly I realised that it must have been Afiq who is using Atiqah's mobile. Instantly, I remembered it is the 11th May - Afiq's birthday!!! Oh, No! I forgot!

After Mahgrib prayers, my husband, Arifah, Afiq and I sent Atiqah for her Taekwando lessons at UKM. We then went to Metro Kajang to get a football for Afiq. That is what he wanted for a birthday present from his Abah (Dad). I got him a birthday cake and Lamb Pie from Secret Recipe.

After all those shopping, it was time to go back to UKM to fetch Atiqah. Can you imagine the aroma when Atiqah entered the car - I mean after a sweaty 2 hours Taekwando activity!!! Both Arifah and Afiq had their noses covered!!! Cheeky brother and big sister teasing the little sister.......

Back to the house, I could see a happy and smiling Afiq - clutching his Nike football and deeply indulged in the Chocolate Indulgence Birthday Cake.

PUT THE BLAME ON.....

2007-05-06T22:26:00.000+08:00

Does it need an Arab tourist to lament about our polluted beaches, the sour face taxi drivers or their offensive smell cabs? Looking at the situation in the past and present (may be future???), I would say that more often than not, the relevant authorities in Malaysia will react instantaneously to complains. Sad to say - after the quick reaction but without monitoring by any ministry or authority, we will be back to square one!

Take for example, smoking at public places. Do you think people care? My personal statistics show that when I eat at open restaurants (not fast food outlets), during more than 90% of the time I will encounter people who just smoke as though they can control the direction of their cigarettes smoke! Dear smokers, don't you know that secondary smokers face a higher risk than you???

Sometimes I blame it on the restaurant's owners for not being strict to their patrons. Once I told a restaurant owner to tell one of her customers not to smoke in the restaurant because the smell of the smoke was really disturbing me and my children. And all the owner did was to smile at me. Period! With the thousands of the 'TAK NAK' bill boards around the country, I think so much money, time and effort has gone to destruction.

I don't mind if smokers want to smoke. These are my tips for them:

Smoke in your own house!
Get into your car (alone), wind-up the wind screen and smoke as much as you want!
Go into the deep jungle where there are no campers. Smoke there and don't come back to civilization.

Many years ago, I did not really mind smokers. I started to abhor them since I read that even though secondary smokers are not smoking, they are more likely to acquire diseases like heart failure and other sickness related to smoking. And also a car whose owner smoke habitually while driving will still have traces of nicotine that can pose a danger to others who are in that car even after many years later. So, please be careful the next time you buy a second hand car or get into some one's car!

BIBI WANI

2007-04-28T23:58:00.001+08:00

Today, my eldest sister and her family came back from Kuantan with my mum's maid. Her name is Purwani (Bibi Wani). Bibi Wani is an Indonesian maid who has been staying with my mum in Kuantan for the past 4 years (if I'm not wrong). My mum is staying with another sister in Kuantan. During the day, when my sister goes to work, Bibi Wani will be Mum's company.

Tonight Bibi Wani is sleeping at my house because tomorrow, Monsieur A and I will take her to LCC Terminal, Sepang before subh. She will take the Air Asia 6.55am flight to Solo. She is on a one month leave. I can see the shine on her face. Can you imagine not meeting your family for 2 years? Just now I helped her unpack and then repack her belongings (did some tricks!?) so that her check-in luggage will not exceed the allowable weight. Air Asia allows a maximum of 15 kg for the check-in luggage only!

Hmm...well cheap fare and only 15 kg of check-in luggage. So, if passengers were to be fined for their over weight luggage, it would be equivalent to paying for a MAS fare, won't it? People like Bibi Wani would of course have lots of things to bring home. Well, who wouldn't? Besides the souvenirs that she bought for her kids and her other family members, my siblings also gave her some souvenirs to bring home. I just hope that she will not be fined for bringing excess luggage tomorrow morning.

I will have to wake up early tomorrow to send BiBi Wani to the airport. I hope she will have a safe journey home. Jangan lupa pulang ka Malaysia ya Beek....Bibi Wani's favourite colour is PURPLE!

MY ATTEMPT TO UPLOAD PICTURES

2007-04-26T21:59:00.001+08:00

Today I was almost glued to my laptop. Luckily it is a public holiday today in Malaysia - installation of our 13th King, the Sultan of Terengganu.

I was trying very hard to generate my web album - putting titles to pictures, comments that go along with each one, arranging them in chronological order, etc. Well, for a first-timer I think I was quite successful. Thanks to my beloved Monsieur A, but let me tell you that it was not an easy task. At the end of the day I managed to generate TWO web albums and ONE of it is already on the web. Temporarily, it is residing at Mannlehrer's web page. He got free space through his employer's home page. (Excuse me, I hope I am using the correct ICT terms here!)

This gives me the idea that I should ask for an account from my employer so that I can upload information, pictures, etc on to the web. May be no one in my organization has asked for this before! Hmm...that will be another task for me. Being in the civil service, I wonder if this is allowed. Come to think of it, why not? After all, the objective of the government's smart school initiative is to produce a new generation of IT-literate Malaysians who are creative and innovative, adept with new technologies and able to access and manage information to enhance the competitiveness and productivity of the economy.

OK, wish me luck in getting my information and pictures to reside at a free server!

BLOG WAVE

2007-04-24T20:22:00.000+08:00

My goodness! My last entry was like...7 months ago! What makes me want to return to my blog? Well, recently two of my collegues from the State Education Office in Sarawak and Sabah created their blog at wordpress. Well, theirs is mainly work related issues. But why bother! If they can spend a wee bit of time to write, so can I. And here I am.

My Sarawak friend, Johnny, has his blog at http://jonibong.wordpress.com/
The other friend is Mdm Chen. Hers is at http://mdmchen.wordpress.com/
I told you that their blog is very much work-base! Well, at our age, blogging is a bit more of the serious stuff, you know.

BTW, today I received an email from a friend, Erfino, who is an Education Attaché in the UK. I realized that at the bottom of his mail he has written his blog address. Now that is another reason why I feel that I should not waste the blog that I started in June 2006! If you are interested, you can visit Erfino's blog at http://erfino.blogspot.com. His blog is mainly written in the Malay Language (majority of Malaysians speak Malay), a bit of English and also some Arabic. Erfino can speak 3 languages! Hang on, maybe he can speak four languages! I think he speaks Javanese! No offense Ustaz!

HOW MANY RAMADHANS HAVE WE EXPERIENCED?

2006-09-29T23:00:00.002+08:00

We were going for our Isya' and Tarawikh prayers (Isya' is mandatory every day while Tarawikh is obligatory prayers in Ramadhan), when suddenly Monsieur A reminded me and the children about Bilal. A year has passed (it happened last Ramadhan) since we had Bilal staying with us. He came on (I think!) 2nd Ramadhan last year to our house.

Bilal is a French muslim and he express his interest to come and spend Ramadhan in Malaysia. He was with us for the whole of Ramadhan and followed us to almost everywhere we go. During Raya, he followed us to Monsieur A's kampung, ie up North in Kedah. But of course poor Bilal had to with stand the nasty mosquitoes there.

I just realised that I had written the above paragraphs and saved is as draft. Too busy in Ramadhan to blog. Anyway, I am still posting this little story about Bilal. BTW, Bilal called Monsieur A to inform that he was in Yemen during Ramadhan this year. Bonjour Bilal!

Assessment (Do you prefer Exams?)

2006-09-25T23:32:00.000+08:00

From the 1st - 15th September 2006, I was practically running at the office because on the night of 15th September my organization had a 'malam anugerah' kind of function, and the VVIP was the Minister of Education. Well, nothing like Anugerah Skrin or Anugerah Era, it was an award for Tokoh Pentaksiran Pendidikan (award to people who have contributed a lot to assessment - assessment in education). Does anyone out there realize about the changes in exams/assessment that we went through? Remember the Penilaian Darjah Lima --> UPSR, Lower Certificate of Education --> SRP --> PMR, etc.? BTW, I was the last batch of students who sat for the MCE; yes, I did Maths and the pure Sciences in English.

Last week, from the 18 - 22nd Sept 2006, I was a participant of a workshop on School-Based Assessment (SBA) in Melaka. The Min of Edu (MOE) is presently revisiting assessment (past, present, future) so that we can make our children view assessment as a means to improve their learning. (Graphically: Teaching&Learning --> Assessment --> Improve on Teaching&Learning to make education enjoyable and ultimately children learn). MOE wants to educate/inform its stake holders that assessment (what public know as EXAMS) is to let children know what knowledge they have acquired and how to be better at it (improve their knowledge, skills, abilities).

I hope parents out there will write some positive feedback / comments regarding assessment (loosely, exams) in Malaysia. Write something that may help the society / help our nation, not just criticize the system.

Lastly, a reminder to me and those reading this entry: Observe the holy month of Ramadhan as it should be observed.

5-day Week

2006-09-08T22:22:00.001+08:00

Since 1st September 2006 Monsieur A has been on a 5-day week work schedule. It is quite a relief for me as well, at least we will get 2 days/week off from work. Unfortunately, tomorrow he has decided he will go to his office - that room on the 5th floor of the CoIT Building of UNITEN. So, I have decided to go shopping with the kids tomorrow (09092006).

Are you wondering why Monsieur A would want to go to his office tomorrow? You see, enrolled for his Phd in the year .....(quite some time ago, and I've forgotten when!!!). Until this very minute he is still a part-time student doing full-time work. My friends would term it as MAHASITUA (MAHASISWA would be more professional, don't you think so?) So, he needs to hibernate and finish what he is suppose to finish, ie. his research on SVM = Support Vector Machine, Pattern Recognition, etc. Any SVM fans???

Tomorrow my eldest daughter, Arifah, plans to go back to UPM. She has been on a one-week semester break, she will resume class on Sept 11 (ring a bell???) but plan to go back to college tomorrow instead of the normal black Sunday evening. As I am writing this piece, Arifah is not back yet. She has gone to KLIA before Maghrib with Bibah or was it Mimi to send off a friend who will be flying to India (Manipal Medical College) to study medicine.

BTW, all of us in the family were fasting today, including my youngest daughter, Atiqah (10 yrs old). Atiqah, was worried because a few times she forgot that she was fasting and more than once she accidentally drank and also ate chewing-gum. I had to tell her that its OK because it was unintentional and that Allah will not penalize her!

WHERE ARE THE BINS?

2006-08-14T22:05:00.001+08:00

Today Monsieur A and I went into our car with two bags of unwanted items. One bag contains empty milk cans, sardine cans, etc (basically METAL) and another bag has ketchup bottles, soy sauce bottles, Horlicks bottles, etc (this bag is basically GLASS). We were trying to find the bins (remember the advertisement - orange bin, blue bin, and brown bin) for throwing our metal and glass items.

Well, we thought that we can fine the bins somewhere near to our house but too bad...we had to travel quite a distance ie. to Bangunan PKNS Bangi. Anyway, what was important to us is that we dispose the two bags of items at the proper place so that they may be recycled.

But Monsieur A was telling me his frustrations after he dispose the two bags. It seems the public put all sorts of rubbish in the bins - when it was clearly labelled as KACA or KERTAS or LOGAM. Can't people read? They can, but they have attitude problem. They just do not behave in a way that is acceptable to other people.

In western countries, you would only find bottles inside the bins labelled GLASS, people there even take the trouble of putting the small, circular caps of the bottles into the bins labelled METAL. In Malaysia, the government had to spend so much to educate people on the need to recycle. Learning about recycling is one thing, doing it is another.

OK bloggers, let us recycle. Recycling is very important. The amount of waste we produce daily is enormous. The more we recycle, the more we can reduce waste generated and our local council can reduce on waste management expenditure.

HOW DO MALAYSIANS USE THE ________?

2006-08-07T11:48:00.000+08:00

As I have promised in my last entry, I will share with you something that Aiko asked me. Well, it is quite humiliating actually. The thing that Aiko wanted to know from me was – How do Malaysians use the toilet???

I had a hard time explaining because I had to give her some background about how toilets were like in Malaysia 30 years ago compared to the toilets that we have today. I had to tell her that some Malaysians are so used to another type of toilet, so much so that they are not comfortable when they have to sit on the toilet seat. I somehow could sense the thing that is really boggling Aiko’s mind. True enough – her concern was why are the toilet seats dirty as though people stepped on them instead of sit on them!!!

Well, to all of you out there, please teach your children the proper way to use the toilet duduk. It was design for you to sit on it and nothing else!

Well, I do hope that Aiko and family will choose Malaysia as their holiday destination again next time!

AIKO - Seat 19C

2006-07-30T23:13:00.000+08:00

Last Thursday I was on a flight from Miri to Kuala Lumpur. I checked-in with a colleague and she was given seat 19A while I got 19B. I was hoping that when we board the plane we will be at our seats before passenger 19C arrived. As the mentioned in an article in MAS's inflight magazine, most often than not, if you ever get the window seat during check-in, the passenger occupying the aisle seat would be there before you. The article claimed that 'the window passenger will arrive at the seat after the aisle passenger is comfortabaly seated' is a theory. And true enough it happened to me and my friend!!! Luckily, passenger 19C was a nice, young girl, may be about Siti Nurhaliza's age (that was what I had in mind when I saw her).
When we have settled down, I politely asked passenger 19C where was she from, if she is alone, etc.....

Passenger 19C's name is Aiko. She is a Japanese who is two years younger than SN. She is on holiday in Sarawak with her parents, an elder sister and her niece. For the whole of the 2 hours-plus journey, Aiko and I talked and talked and talked. (My friend, Sleeping Beauty, was ofcourse sleeping most of the time). Aiko is an English teacher in Japan and showed great enthusiasm to learn Malay. During the Miri-KLIA flight, I managed to teach her satu, dua, tiga, empat, ...sepuluh, nasi goreng (she already knew ayam), ayam goreng, mee goreng. I gave her some general idea about the Malay language - it has no plural nouns and no tenses like in English, no gender forms like French and Arabic. I told her Malay is an easy language to learn, blah....blah....She was motivated and asked me if she can come to Malaysia to study, she asked me whether universities in Malaysia except foreigners, etc.

Aiko and I talked about so many things. Luckily I remembered to give her my professional card and she said that she would email me when she get back to Japan. Before we said goodbye, I gave Aiko's niece some sweets and in return she gave me an origami piece - a polygonal ball (it is something like a ball, but it is not rounded like a ball and it has many edges).

Well, that was my most enjoyable domestic flight on Malaysia's national carrier, MAS!!! Actually, there is something else which Aiko asked me that is worth sharing....I will try to include that in my next entry, insya Allah.

BREAKBONE FEVER

2006-07-20T23:12:00.000+08:00

Assalamualaykum everyone. Anyone out there wondering why I was ‘quiet’? Something terrible happened to my first and last daughter. They were both weakly infected by virus. It was no ordinary virus, mind you! Virus brought by the evil mosquitoes!!! Yes indeed! They were taken ill (very ill) due to the dengue fever, or the BREAKBONE FEVER! Yeap, this fatal fever causes severe pain in the joints – it feels like some one is breaking up all your bones!!!

Actually, Atiqah started to have fever on the 2^nd July 2006. My husband took Atiqah to Pusat Rawatan Islam Az-Zahrah (PRIA), Bandar Baru Bangi and an FBC (full blood count) was done. It was at the low end of 200. She continued having high fever and the visit to PRIA on the 5^th July indicated that her FBC is now 106. Upon the paediatrician’s advice Atiqah was admitted to PRIA. I was actually staying in at the Eastin Hotel in Petaling Jaya attending a meeting but had to leave early because of Atiqah’s condition since my husband has gone for his consultancy work in KK, Sabah. (Thank you Pn Nawal for being understanding and allowing me to take care of my daughter. Pn Nawal bt Salleh is my superior at MES, Putrajaya).

My darling Atiqah was warded but Arifah need only repeat her FBC everyday – her FBC did not get too low to call for a ‘stay’ at the hospital, Alhamdulillah, praises to Allah.

Atiqah was at PRIA until the 9^th July. Fortunately, the 10th July 2006 is Atiqah's 10th birthday. Luckily I bought her a present already. Guessed what she got??? A personalised pencil case - I had her name written on the pencil case. She was grinning from ear to ear when I presented her with the pencil case. I am glad the saga is over now. Atiqah was back to school on the 12^th July – the week when all her friends were sitting for the July monthly test. I am yet to get her marks!!! Arifah missed her first day of second year at the new UPM Medical Faculty. She is now almost settled at the new college – seldom comes home. Well, I know it is not easy to be in Med Fac!!! Study Smart, Kakak!!! May you be a doctor for the people, do not be greedy in acquiring material gains, never boast about your success , remember your origin!

RETURN OF AFIFAH

2006-06-28T22:11:00.000+08:00

At about 9pm my second daughter, Afifah, came back from kl. BTW, kl is Kuala Lipis! Afifah is a Form 4 student in the MARA Junior Science College(MRSM) there. It is Wednesday - the middle of the week and it is not the school holidays yet. Why is she back? Actually, all the form 1, 2 and 4 students were given 'unrecorded (?) leave' because her college (wah... kolej konon, bukan sekolah!) is the host for the Coral Speaking Competition among the MRSM. She will be home with the family in Bandar Baru Bangi until 2nd July 2006 (Sunday). It's nice to have all my four kids at home, but ofcourse me and my husband will have to suffer their shrieks, shouts, quarrel, etc. I am sure you have heard of feud, grudge, enmity and rivalry among siblings.
Yesterday Afifah arrived back to MRSM kl after spending 5 days in MRSM Trendak. She was there for the Kejohanan Olahraga MRSM. She took part in the 3000m event. Not bad huh...never imagine that she could be active in sports! Congratulations Kak If! (our family's nick name for Afifah).
She is also a Taekwando blue (II) belt. She has temporarily stopped her Taekwando lessons because since she went to MRSM kl in March 2006 there is no Taekwando instructor there yet. Any MARA affiliated bloggers around - please get a Taekwando instructor for the students at MRSM kl!!!!
I hope my other 3 kids will be patient to wait for me to write about them. (Maklumlah, ibukan baru mula blog ni.....)

26.06.2006 - The birth of my blog

2006-06-26T09:24:00.000+08:00

This is my first attempt to have my own blog. I am not very good at this but I would like to answer my daughter's call - "Ibu, come on, start your blog".

MAY TODAY BE BETTER THAN YESTERDAY

DO NOT LITTER!

WHY THE STUPIDITY

TELL ME WHY

TELL ME WHY

~~~~ EIGHT MONTHS LATER ~~~~

PhD VIVA

ANOTHER WEEK TO GO

DINER AVEC UNE FAMILLE MAROCAINE

MUSHMELON AND POTATO

DUBAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

MAT REMPIT

CAN'T WAIT

COLMAR TROPICALE, BUKIT TINGGI

COUNTING THE DAYS

TIARA BEACH RESORT

WORST ACCIDENT IN THE MODERN HISTORY OF MALAYSIA

COLMAR, FRANCE

MY HOLIDAY

TEACHER'S DAY

HAPPY 15th BIRTHDAY AFIQ!

PUT THE BLAME ON.....

BIBI WANI

MY ATTEMPT TO UPLOAD PICTURES

BLOG WAVE

HOW MANY RAMADHANS HAVE WE EXPERIENCED?

Assessment (Do you prefer Exams?)

5-day Week

WHERE ARE THE BINS?

HOW DO MALAYSIANS USE THE ________?

AIKO - Seat 19C

BREAKBONE FEVER

RETURN OF AFIFAH

26.06.2006 - The birth of my blog

EIGHT MONTHS LATER